Smokey Row Coffee

I usually write my reviews on my other profile but just wanted to add one here also. Love Smokey row. Best coffee I’ve ever had and the only place I can get an iced chai tea latte. Once you have their coffee it’s hard to have coffee anywhere else. Their biscuits and gravy are also awesome. They know my order by heart and also know my dog ☺️

This was the second time I ate there this month . My cob salad was large and fresh. Plenty of outside seating! Great place to eat alone or with a group.

This place is awesome but seriously add another shot of espresso to your lattes. Please. I’m begging you. I ordered a small and it tasted like sweet milk with essence of coffee.

Leaving a negative review is something that I really struggle to do, especially considering the current environment of inflationary cost pressure, labor shortages, and a supply chain mess. So with that said, I do not take leaving this negative review lightly.

Tonight I stopped through Smokey Row to grab two coffees on my way home from the airport. I chose to use the drive thru for order fulfillment. Upon sitting at the drive thru menu for a bit and receiving zero service, I elected to drive up to the window where I finally received service. After explaining that I had been sitting there waiting, the individual states that sometimes their vehicle sensor doesn’t work. Ok, fair enough, except the employee makes a snide remark implying their sensor not working was my fault (“you must not have been close enough”). Ok, whatever. The better route would have been to apologize for the delay and ask for my order- nope; the delay is the fault of my car and me. I place my order and proceed to pay with a credit card that is a chip & pin card, except their processing system doesn’t like chip & pin cards. It acts “funky” as the employee stated. The employee asks me to provide a different card and I decline- accept my method of payment or I’ll go elsewhere. So we work through getting my coffee paid for and the clear inconvenience I was causing the employee. I then receive my two coffees without explanation of which drink was which- I had to ask. I now realize that one of the lids was labeled with the drink type/flavor but the employee never told me this. And it’s a black lid written on with with a black marker so visibility is not easy. A fundamental customer service rule of a multi-item order when the items are packaged the same is to tell the customer which item is which. Nope, I had to ask.

And then to top it off, the employee did not feel compelled to thank me for my business. Well Smokey Row, I won’t be back.

This is the best place to hold a one-on-one meeting in Des Moines. A lot of activity and traffic in the building but everyone is respectful of the environment. Convenient location, great vanilla latte/consistent top quality service.

Years later, it's the same vanilla latte that I originally came for.

I had the Sweet Georgia Brown & the Green Smoothie. They add natural honey to the green smoothie both drinks were delicious.

Great coffees. Atmosphere and counter people are top notch. They have breakfast in sandwiches but haven't tried them yet. Parking can be an issue during high volume. Check Google for busiest hours.

Absolutely delicious cheesecake! Melts in my mouth. Not too sweet and creamy smooth. Also got a pour over cold brew, not too bold and perfect with the cheesecake. The staff is soooo friendly and welcoming. We will be visiting again when in town!

What can I say? This really is the place to be when you need to vibe out and chill; perfect for getting some work done, reading, going on a more casual date, smokey row just can't be beat! With some of the best coffee in des moines, and with grays lake in walking distance, it's by far and away one of the prime stops to make during the week!

Great place to hang out. The atmosphere is prima.