The Des Moines happy hour guide
Where to find a good happy hour in Des Moines, from Court Avenue's brewery specials to the East Village cocktail bars. A neighborhood-by-neighborhood cheat sheet.
Happy hour is the smartest hour of the day. It's the low-stakes way to try a room you've been curious about, an early drink that turns into dinner, or just a good deal on a Tuesday. It's also how you figure out which places you actually want to come back to. Here's where to find a solid one in Des Moines, sorted by where you already are.
Court Avenue
The downtown strip does happy hour with volume and value.
- Court Avenue Brewing (309 Court Ave) runs weekday specials on its house CABCO beers, mules, and half-price pizzas. A reliable, unfussy spot to start a night, and an easy one to land a group without a reservation.
- Revival House (316 Court Ave) leans a little more polished, with happy hour Wednesday through Sunday in the late afternoon. Good when you want the deal without the sports-bar volume.
The East Village
Across the river, the East Village is where the cocktail bars are, and several run genuinely good early specials.
- Secret Admirer is the move for themed nights, think buy-one-get-one martinis and wine on rotating weekdays. Worth checking which night lines up with what you're drinking.
- Bar Nico, Bellhop, The Continental, Alba, and Black Sheep all land on the neighborhood's best-happy-hour lists, each with its own personality. Wander a block and you'll find one, and the walkability means you can start at one and drift to the next.
How to happy hour like a local
A few small things separate a good one from a great one. Go early, the best specials often end at six or six-thirty. Sit at the bar; that's usually where the happy hour menu applies. And treat it as a scouting mission: the spot you discover on a slow Wednesday is the one you'll bring people to on a Friday.
One honest note
Happy hour specials change, seasonally, and sometimes on a whim. Days, times, and prices shift, so it's always worth a quick check of the spot's page before you go. Catch Des Moines keeps a running guide that's a good starting point, and the venues post their current specials on their own socials.
The real tip: pick a neighborhood, show up around four, and let the evening decide the rest. That's happy hour working exactly as intended.
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