Carl’s Place

Carl’s is the best neighborhood dive bar! It draws an eclectic crowd, which always results in good people watching. The dart board and jukebox also add an element of fun (impromptu dance party, anyone?). If you’re looking for a relaxed, friendly place, go to Carl’s!

Everything about this bar is perfect. It’s cheap, divey, and they have big buckhunter. Everyone is happy and you will be too. Also $ 2 beers, holler.

A no-​muss, no-​fuss, no-​frills kind of place… but the drinks are cheap and strong!
They have dart boards, a pool table and skee-​ball thingie.
Within walking distance from my friend’s apartment, so, I’m sure I’ll be back.

I’m of two minds on this.
On the one hand, people are pretty much on the mark that this is quite possibly a perfect local dive bar.
But stress the word LOCAL. If you don’t show up with your own company — and aren’t part of the neighborhood herd of binge drinkers, hipsters and borderline alcoholics — you will likely not find it very hospitable. At least, you won’t quite feel comfortable. The bartenders generally treat you well, but you do generally get the feeling like you’re in high school crashing some other school’s party.

Carl’s is a special, legendary place. Amazingly they take cards. Some domestic taps and affordable drinks all around. Mix of young and old regulars. It’s THE watering hole in Sherman Hill. Pool table and darts in back. Charismatic bartenders and great mix of people. It’s an experience! The definition of a dive bar — especially the bathrooms.

This is a perfect dive bar. Great bartenders who move quickly and don’t leave you standing for 20 minutes. They have plenty of TV’s with multiple sports and other shows. Pool table in the back and dart boards in the side room. This is a place for anyone. From suits to workout outfits you will see everything. They have Live Blues on Tuesday nights and bands occasionally. Don’t let its appearance fool you, this is one of the few places in DM that has people throughout the week.

The epitome of a local dive bar!
Everyone is friendly — from the other patrons to the staff. I’ve come to Carl’s place in sweatpants, skinny jeans, business casual clothes, and in gym shorts… and I’ve been treated the same every time.
They have a some arcade games and a pool table. The prices are decent and the bar will let you «rent» the east side of the bar for birthday parties and such. Fun, fun, fun!
I just wish there were more places to sit.
Seeing inebriated male patrons urinate on the side of the building is a regular occurrence.

Yessss Carl’s Place! So many happy memories here. Yes, it is a dive. If you don’t like dives, definitely don’t bother. But I, on the other hand, love dives. Carl’s is the epitome of a dive. BUT, it’s a dive with friendly service and Big Buck Hunter and darts and pool. So yes. Carl’s is on my Des Moines staple list.

This is truly one of the worst bars anywhere, ever. It is a dirty, dirty, dirty, run down crap hole, and that’s probably giving it more credit than it is worth. If you think the outside looks beat up, wait until you see the inside. It’s worse.
It’s not like this bar couldn’t be nice – if you bulldozed it to the ground and built literally any other bar. Bottom line: wondering if you should try this place out, don’t.

I dig Carl’s it’s my kinda place. But if you are not into DIVE BARS this might not be yours! I dig the neighborhood vibe of Carl’s definitely one of those places where everyone knows your name and are always glad you came! On any night of the week this place could either be slammed or slow, so go in expecting the unexpected.
Sometimes I have gone in on a Tuesday night and there will be Dj’s spinning tunes at arena level volume and sometimes I have gone in on a Saturday night and it quite chill.
Either way the drinks are cheap, they keep em coming and it’s a bar that most of it’s patrons can walk home from.
So let’s raise a glass and just hope the floor does not cave in at some point!

One of the best dive bars I have been to anywhere!!! Will definitely be back next time I’m in Des Moines!!!

Best best best local dive bar. Always fun at Carl’s. Nice bartenders and cheap drinks. Love Carl’s Place!

The makings of a great bar? A fun, friendly crowd, reasonably priced drinks and awesome music! Carl’s Place on Woodland Ave. in Des Moines is that place. Some call this a dive bar (in a respectful way), but I call it a neighborhood bar. Truly welcoming with local character and a lively clientele (believe me!). I have visited a lot of the drinking establishments of DSM in the past 6 months, and this place is easily my favorite — followed by the High Life Lounge. Thanks to all the owners for such amazing hospitality. I will definitely be back.

This is one of my favorite bars in town. Always have a good time here. Very diverse but fun crowd and good ownership have combined to make this a great place to hang out.

If you can’t handle stanktastic bathrooms, and a little dirt on the floor, and maybe a little pimp blood then this place be not for you! This is a five star dive bar! There is a running bet amongst the regulars of when the floor will collapse. What more are you wanting from a dive bar?
On a off night it is a local neighborhood bar on weekends this place be a jumping. Everyone will come to carls. I have hung out with true millionaires and broke bums here. You just never know.
From time to time they have live bands, or karaōke, but the juke box reigns supreme here! Since it is such a mix of people you will here the most eclectic music ever from rancid to ke$ha. Oh and the regulars will break out in song-​a-​longs in dance at any moment, so leave your inhibitions at the door and join in.
There are four open rooms to this midsize joint.
1) The bar area with large round table by the juke box prime real-​estate.
2) The dart room, about 5 or 6 dart boards
3) The video game room where the stage is located
4) the pool table room
Also they have some of the best bartenders in DeMo! Stiff drinks FTW!

Solid neighborhood dive bar. Cheap drinks. Scary bathrooms.
The back room is full of dart boards — there are also a couple of pool tables to keep you entertained. Carl’s Place is divided up into a few separate, distinct areas so you can easily get away from the noise if it’s loud, or monopolize a whole room if you have a big group. Beer selection on tap is pretty minimal and basic — about what you’d expect from a bar like this — but the bottle selection is decent.
Carl’s Place is a great place to begin or end your night, which we do pretty frequently. And the previous reviewer hit it right on the money with the varied clientele comment — you never know who you’re going to run into here!
However… avoid the bathrooms at all costs. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve worked myself into a frenzy, convinced the locks were permanently stuck and I would never be able to get out of the again! The doors are very sticky and the bathrooms are just what you’d expect from a true dive bar, so do yourself a favor and find somewhere else to relieve yourself.

Perfect neighborhood dive bar with a very assorted clientele. And by that I mean the juke box could play Kenny Chesney followed by Metallica and then followed by Tracy Chapman. Pretty well reflects Sherman Hill.
Strong mixed drinks. Standard American beers on tap.
Almost always open. Bar tenders are fantastic and quickly remember you.