
Highest-rated comfort food restaurants in Des Moines by diners
Highest-rated comfort food restaurants in Des Moines by diners
Comfort food. Just saying the phrase manages to create a feeling of warmth that suddenly envelops you and travels directly to your stomach. It's the small, happy dance you do in your chair as your mom puts your favorite dinner in front of you when you go home to visit. It's the infamous cranberry sauce that your beloved aunt makes every Thanksgiving. It's the inexplicably delicious French bread pizza that makes you remember the nostalgia of childhood when everything was simple and eating pizza for lunch felt like a dream come true.
There's a wonderfully subjective quality about comfort food because when it comes down to it, the only criterion it has to have is that it has to make you feel comfortable when you eat it. It's the dish you eat when you're having a rough day—like a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream—or it's the dish you eat when you have something amazing to celebrate—also a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream.
Whether you're out traveling for work, enjoying a road trip for solely play-related purposes, or just tired of figuring out what to have for dinner tonight, Stacker decided to help you find some of the highest-rated comfort food restaurants in Des Moines, using Yelp data current as of July 22, 2025. The restaurants that serve the starchy, salty, sweet, greasy, cheesy, flaky, buttery comfort food that hits close to home, exactly when you need it most.
Businesses in the "comfort food" category were selected using Yelp's ranking system, which calculates an adjusted rating value that takes into account the number of ratings as well as the rating score itself. Only businesses with at least 20 reviews and within a 10-kilometer radius of Des Moines were considered. Also, in an effort to highlight independent businesses and local chains, those with more than 10 locations nationally, based on our Yelp data, were not included.
Keep reading to find out if your favorite comfort spot made it or to find a new favorite!
#4. Cozy Cafe
- Rating: 3.2/5 (102 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 8385 Birchwood Court Johnston, Iowa
- Categories: Comfort Food, Breakfast & Brunch, American
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Gilroy's Kitchen + Pub + Patio
- Rating: 3.7/5 (237 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1238 8th St. West Des Moines, Iowa
- Categories: New American, Comfort Food, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Americana
- Rating: 4.0/5 (683 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1312 Locust St. Ste 102 Des Moines, Iowa
- Categories: New American, Steakhouses, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Cooper's on 5th
- Rating: 4.6/5 (218 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 227 5th St. West Des Moines, Iowa
- Categories: New American, Cocktail Bars, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 95 metros.