Baratta’s

Great restaurant!!! The food is always amazing. I love the bread. Everyone here is always very friendly. My family and I love this place, I am always recommending to everyone! Five stars.

This was quite the elusive one for me! We attempted to eat here a several occasions only to be met with the CLOSED sign at the door. This was in no way, shape or form their fault, it was mine for not checking the hours. I recommend you checking their hours because they are closed between lunch and dinner and do not serve lunch on weekends.
They have a spacious private lot for convenient parking! Upon entering you are greeted with a calm atmosphere of dining. To me it actually appeared smaller than I had imagined. The décor is very nice and has a intimate mood.
The menu is pretty extensive and it was difficult for me to make a final decision on what to order. We ending up ordering the Pollo Penne and Broasted Chicken. Each dish came with soup or salad and we tried one of each, both were great!
The Broasted Chicken honestly was standard, it was good, but I have had better. Now, after I received my food I wondered to myself why I ordered fried chicken at an Italian restaurant… Anyways, the Pollo Penne was excellent! The flavors and textures were executed perfectly, just this one dish gives me the confidence to say that they know what they are doing with their pasta dishes!
Would definitely come back to try their other dishes!

went there last night. ordered chicken with linguini, olive oil, mushrooms, dish started with an «A». the pasta no flavor. tasted like it had come out of pasta water, it was cold pasta. no taste of garlic, no taste whatsoever
first one seated in basement and last one to get food. others at their table ordered steak or baked pasta. they were done eating before we even got our food. no refills of drinks or even water. frequented the place often but this time it sucked.

Good food — Good service — Good people. Pepper cheeeeese soup is Grrrreat !!

Fine Italian dining in Des Moines!
Somehow it took me a year to find this place… well truth be told a friend took me here.
We chose the dinner special:
Pick an appetizer and 2 entrees for $ 20!
Our server was very nice and we did order the Garlic bread and it was amazing!
The dining rooms are nice– it is in a unsuspecting location but safe.

Had a great meal tonight. Focaccia bread and cheese sticks appetizers were amazing as usual. I had the chicken parm which was so great. My friend had calzone which she loved. My other friend had seafood pizza with salad. House dressing and balsamic dressing are great. I love the pepper cheese soup. I’ve had steak and boasted chicken in the past .very good. Chicken Amaggio has also been great. We also got the tiramasu and cannoli. Both very, very good and worth saving room for. Our waitress was great and very attentive as well. Nice ambience and great local south side restaurant.

Great fast delivery on short notice catering. Good size portions and very tasty fresh food. Nice to taste garlic, tomato, mushrooms distinctly. Everyone was pleased with their food.

The service was solid, and the bar area was really cute. The food is not well-​prepared and overpriced for the quality, however – everything was under-​seasoned. The pepper cheese soup that was recommended to us wasn’t hot. The tortellini was undercooked, so the pasta was still hard. I had breaded shrimp over my pasta (shrimp amaggio), and the oil obviously wasn’t hot enough, because the breading was mushy. We all left completely underwhelmed.
I think they need to re-​think their menu and branding. It could be a great place, and the front of the house is great… but the food just isn’t good, and the décor in the restaurant area is very early 90’s.

Great service yet unfortunately found several flaws… Tomato sauce was very bitter maybe just their style but to me was acidic and bitter not fresh and sweet. Was very dark red not bright red like when I make it at home. The veal was tough and thick I was expecting hammered thin this was thick like a veal chop again maybe just my preference … The mozzarella sticks were great salad was fresh house bread good
Was underwhelmed

Just got here. Seems a little dirty, silverware, tavle, floor. Food looks good and came out fast.

This is a hidden gem of Des Moines located in a residential neighborhood. The ambience is very nice for a romantic dinner. We came with a couple friends.
For the Appetizers we got the stuffed mushrooms which were excellent with a marinara sauce. I would definetly get them again.
We also got the scallops and they were fantastic with a cajun sauce.
The house salad with house dressing was very good.
The pepper cheese soup was fantastic.
I got the cajun chicken breast with alfredo. The chicken breasts appeared to be frozen breasts and were dry. The alfredo was very good.
The salmon with orange marmalade glaze was good.
The steak deburgo was an excellent cut and cooked pefectly.
The spinach tortellini was nicely done.
Cannolis were absolutely amazing. The chocolate cake was excellent, rich and moist, everything you would expect of a chocolate cake.
The wine is over priced, but it is Italian so I guess they justify it that way. I am ok with paying a little over retail price, but double seams unnecessary.
I gave this 4 stars because we love the atmospere, I have had better entrees here before and the chicken was disappointing. I feel they can do better on the wine prices also.

Holy cow, so good! Even if you just want takeout, a large pan of pasta is cheap and feeds a small army. The prices are very reasonable and the staff is courteous and kind. Often times the owner will swing by your table just to see how things are going. Oh yeah, and the food is amazing too!

In Iowa on business and brought here by locals. Broasted chicken was a first for me. Totally delicious. All the flavor of fried chicken but not the slightest bit greasy. Had the pepper cheese soup too which was outstanding. Very nice family feel. Reasonably priced compared to what I’m used to on the east coast.

While in town for business, I was craving a good plate of spaghetti and let’s be honest Olive Garden is not my idea of authentic Italian food. Baratta’s came up on my
Unilocal radar after a bit of stalking on the Unilocal website. Even though it wasn’t nearby since I’m staying in West Des Moines, I never say no to a 25 minute adventure to a good meal.
Restaurant is located in a residential area and is a little bit on the outskirts of downtown Des Moines. You may be surprised when following your GPS that you turned into a neighborhood but no worries you’re on the right track! Parking here is no problem there’s ample parking.
We were seated immediately in the dining area and I found it to be quite charming I had read online that the restaurant was renovated from a family home and I always love when places are family-​owned and have that kind of history. There was a full bar and a couple beers on tap I started with a boulevard because I’m in the Midwest duh!
There was a dinner special for 2 that was $ 20 for a soup/​salad, a shared appetizer, and two entrées, which we totally took advantage of. The fried ravioli was definitely worthwhile to eat-​I liked the marinara sauce that accompanied it. The cheese and pepper soup that people rave about was a bit of a miss for me, maybe I’m just not that into cheesy soups? It’s pretty much a cheesy potato soup with a wonderful peppery after bite which is quite surprising. Good, but I wouldn’t make a whole trip there just for that! Our entrees were good too, lasanga was a bit too cheesy for the bf however. My spaghetti and meatball was excellent and although I prefer my meatballs firmer, I understand there are many ways to make a meatball!
Service was attentive and the dishes were both hot and well timed in sequence. I would definitely come back!

Best dinner I’ve had in a long time. From start to finish. Bruschetta, chicken amaggio, and chocolate cake were the standouts. Great service as well. We will be back.

My boss decided to buy lunch and he took us to Baratta’s. This place is off the beaten and very clean. Service was great and the food was OK. I had their ravioli casserole, pretty much baked sausage and cheese raviolis. Decent but not fantastic. It was served with a fresh salad with my choice of dressing. Again just a basic salad nothing over the top. I really expected more after reading all of the great reviews but they came up short.

I wanted so badly to like this place after reading the wonderful reviews but I was very disappointed. Perhaps it was an off night but both of my parents and I were left unimpressed. Everything was very oily and our waitress was inattentive, border line rude. The bread however was delicious and the manager was very friendly and welcoming.

Baratta’s is very very local and filled with a family feel.
Dropped in here twice while in town for the USATF Track and Field Nationals at Drake, and was NOT disappointed.
Beginning with the great service with a smile, this place has the qualities I love in a Family Style Italian place.
Strolling in, you feel right at home. Literally. It feels like you are walking into a home. The reception area is the bar, and you get glimpses of the tucked away dining areas (the other rooms of the house) that seem to expand as you delve further into the place.
The food is solid. Good portions of well prepared food for every menu item.
While this place is off the beaten path, the venture to find it is worth the go.

Love this local restaurant! Amazing food, great prices, friendly service. They have extremely affordable catering as well! If you have never been, it is a must!

In the top two best italian restaurant in the DeMO area! It is quaintly nestled in a residential neighborhood on the south side. This is the side of DeMo where most Italian families who immigrated to DeMo got their start.
The décor is nothing fancy. Much like the residential area it sits in, it use to be a house that exploded into a restaurant.
The service is friendly from the host to the bus boys.
I have enjoyed everything I have had here. This is not American Italian, this is my great grandmothers Italian. The tomato sauce is sweet with a nice hint of spicy white pepper finish.
My recommendations:
App: fried raviolis, hand made and delicious not to be missed
Skip the salad and get the pepper cheese soup. The only thing that would make a cup of this better is three tortellini hiding inside!
Entrée: toss up from the dish that Roam would have elected as the Caesar, the cannelloni carbonara al forno, get it with the two sauces, or mikes pepperstak! You can tell that this steak has been marinating with sweet green and red peppers for hours because the taste permeates every tasty morsel!
Get the cannoli to go, and by the time you get home your stomach will have room again.