LOCAL BENCHMARK · SPARSE
Restaurants in Des Moines, IA.
Every business below was observed on Google Maps for "restaurant" targeted at Des Moines. Review counts, ratings, and ranks are from the IMPIOUS benchmark snapshot (internal benchmark, Apr 2026).
MEDIAN REVIEWS — TOP 3
31
P25 — MIN TO COMPETE
16
AVG RATING — TOP 3
4.67
DENSITY TIER
SPARSE
TOP-3 MEDIAN REFERRING DOMAINS
40
TOP-3 MEDIAN DFS RANK
39
AI MENTIONS — TOP 3 CITED
0 / 3
AI PLATFORMS
none
| # | BUSINESS | REVIEWS | RATING | REF. DOMAINS | AI CITED |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Café Madeleine | 31 | 4.9★ | 40 | — |
| 2 | Revelry Room Bar & Kitchen | 16 | 4.9★ | 9 | — |
| 3 | Mulberry Street Tavern | 282 | 4.2★ | 713 | — |
| 4 | Whata Pho | 53 | 4.8★ | — | — |
| 5 | Palmer's | 140 | 4.4★ | — | — |
| 6 | The Royal Mile | 1892 | 4.6★ | — | — |
| 7 | Local Bites | 261 | 4.5★ | — | — |
| 8 | Smokey D's BBQ (Skywalk) | 189 | 4.2★ | — | — |
| 9 | Teriyaki Boys | 60 | 4.5★ | — | — |
| 10 | La Mie Elevate | 209 | 4.5★ | — | — |
| 11 | Potbelly | 382 | 4.1★ | — | — |
| 12 | Judges | 62 | 4.8★ | — | — |
| 13 | 801 Chophouse | 1319 | 4.7★ | — | — |
| 14 | The Des Moines Embassy Club & Embassy Club West | 82 | 4.8★ | — | — |
| 15 | Fresko | 876 | 4.6★ | — | — |
| 16 | Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar | 1107 | 4.2★ | — | — |
| 17 | Proudfoot & Bird | 374 | 4.6★ | — | — |
| 18 | Basil Prosperi | 200 | 4.7★ | — | — |
| 19 | W-Tao Sushi | 934 | 4.6★ | — | — |
| 20 | BABA'S Gyros N More | 13 | 4.2★ | — | — |
Market read
Des Moines restaurants show zero review velocity among top performers despite median review counts of 31 (internal benchmark, Apr 2026), suggesting maturity over growth in the local market. The top-3 average 4.67-star ratings with 68/100 Google Business Profile completeness, but lack AI visibility—ChatGPT named none when queried for best restaurants in Des Moines. Backlink authority remains modest at median 40 referring domains for top-3 businesses. The SPARSE density tier and p25 entry floor of 16 reviews indicate a fragmented competitive landscape. Restaurants entering at pack level face a ceiling rather than momentum: reaching top-3 requires sustained rating maintenance above 4.6 stars and meaningful profile optimization, not volume escalation.
See "The Review Gap Is Smaller Than Everyone Thinks" for the cross-city pattern and "What the Top-3 Actually Have on Their Backlink Profile" for the backlink + AI-citation breakdown.