801 Steak and Chop, 801 Grand Building: User Reviews

Ever stared at your empty salad plate for 10 minutes? Three of the items your party ordered are not even served? Everyone has finished their entree before one of your dinner companions has her entree because the wrong one was delivered. The complete indifference of the staff was somewhat overwhelming. Avoid this establishment unless poor dining is your thing.

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Great Iowa Food at New York prices.

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Simply put... Des Moines' finest restaurant.

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When I lived in Manhattan, my two favorite places for steak were Sparks and the Post House. Each had a different ambience, different legends, and slightly different crowds. All were bustling places that were definitely masculine -picture Mad Men, but not pretentious. Not pretentious, that is, in the way that spending 40 dollars for a steak and 60 dollars for a great bottle of cabernet can be done in an environment is is entirely authentic and not pretentious, and which many of the upscale franchise steak places completely fail at, being not only expensive, pretentious, and boring. Both places had great bars which huge whiskey selections where you could get happy on an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan (vodka drinks, by the way, are just expensive pop. drink whiskey when you grow up). The steaks were completely perfect expressions of carnivorous yumminess appealing to the refined cave man in all of us, served by knowledgeable staff that often started back during the Johnson administration, and not some twenty something in a butler uniform who doesn't know a Rochioli from a Ravenswood, but is pushing various 12 dollar side dishes on you.

In coming to Des Moines, I have enjoyed many places for a decent steak, but no place has the whole package like 801 Grand. The ambience, the bar, the people, the wait staff (they sometimes know more than me and seem to really like food), and the food. The bartenders know their cocktails and don't have to be coached through a mix. The ambience is gentleman's club medium, not too dark, tweedy, and oaky, but not pushing the nouveau mafioso envelope either. Did I say food? -801 Grand is not only the best steak club in town, it serves the best seafood. I wouldn't eat oysters at any other place in town, and the lobsters you can meet before you eat.

The best item on the menu is the Prime Rib, 801 cut, on the bone. It is straight out of the Pleistocene and is perfectly flavored and cooked. Usually, they are out of it because everybody orders it, and so the other favorite is the Ribeye -again on the bone. It is perfectly marbled and has that rind of super flavorful meat that girds the plain old tenderloin.

Why meat on the bone -when cooked right -the bone is exposed to cracking heats which cause the fatty marrow to explode out of the vascular foramina (holes in the bone) injecting flavors into the meat. You are correct -the fatty stuff is the flavor bomb.

I am not shy about not finishing the steak and taking it home. Next morning, taking thin slices and roasting in the pan and served next to eggs over easy and a roasted tomato, it takes breakfast to the next level. The waitstaff understands this and brings the item in a very tidy paper bag.

My favorite dessert -the espresso -which comes with a nice head of crema. I always get a quad.

801 Grand is my little piece of Manhattan in downtown Des Moines.

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801 Grand is highly respected and a popular place for special events. My boyfriend and I visited for the first time around the Christmas season. Our steaks were amazing, as were the delicious sides. We ordered glazed carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. The carrots were sweet and cooked perfectly. Our biggest complaint was the fact that the sides are quite large an easily shared by two or three people. We over-ordered, thinking they were smaller portions. I would have appreciated more direction from our waiter when ordering. He also didnt explain the various cuts of meat to us, as they do in the best chop houses, and-as we saw them doing at the surrounding tables. That aside, it was a lovely evening with delicious food and I am looking forward to going back some day.

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Delightful evening with great steaks and attentive, but not intrusive service. Outstanding, but pricey, wine list. Among the very best places to dine in the Des Moines area.

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As a frequent traveler, I've had the pleasure of dinning at several premier Chop Houses. The 801 does NOT compare favorably to these.

The calamari appetizer was served as "spears" not rings and was very tough.

Two of our four steaks had to be sent back because they were improperly cooked.

The staff was young and inexperienced.

Ambiance was good, and the food was passable, but definitely not up to the standards of most Chop Houses.

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