Django

Reviews 7

HE

Heather Ebenmiser

I was INCREDIBLY disappointed. We went here for a celebratory dinner and the atmosphere seemed nice and the reviews were good so I had expected good food. I would have been alright with "overpriced" or "decent" food. What I got was nearly inedible. We went here around dinner time about 2-3 months ago but the place was not very busy. My friend had ordered poutine to share. The gravy and cheese were alright but the fries were so overcooked I LITERALLY could not bite through one of them. It was as if they had been nuked in the microwave for so long all the moisture had evaporated. I have never, in my life, been served worse french fries. At the price point and with the classiness of the atmosphere I was frankly, a bit outraged. The asparagus was huge, chewy, and tasted awful. Our mashed potatoes were completely underseasoned. The spinach was equally bad, which is quite impressive for sauteed spinach with roasted garlic?? How they managed to make idiot-proof foods taste awful is a complete mystery to me. I could have EASILY made better versions of all of these things and I dont even think of myself as a "good cook!" I will say I did have really good lentil mushroom soup. A third of the group enjoyed their meal, the rest of us were frankly baffled that a place that seemed so nice could have such terrible food. Im not picky. Ill eat at a fast food joint as easily as a place that will charge 50 bucks a plate if the food is worth it. I wouldnt have accepted a meal of this quality at McDonalds, let alone a nice restaurant. but at least I would have understood why. People rave about this place, so it makes me think maybe I should try it again some day, but after the meal we had, it will be a long, long time before I even consider it. Months later and I still think about those inedible french fries.

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GA

Gabby Smithman

Our group of friends decided that we wanted to get dressed up and go to a nicer restaurant. We chose Django because it had good reviews, and the location was good as well. The decor is gorgeous, and very refined. We were seated right away and were given menus. We decided to split an order of poutine, a cheese plate, and calamari to start. The food was excellent. The meat on the poutine was very tasty, and the fries were good. The calamari was a nice ratio of breading to fish, and came with the best dipping sauces. After taking our appetizer orders, we were ready to order our entrees in about 5 minutes. However, it took a LONG time for our waitress to come back and check on us. We had been at the restaurant for over an hour before our entree orders were placed. They had asked us if we had a time constraint, and we said no, but we didnt expect that would mean we back last priority check ins! The entrees we received were great as well. The steak on my spinach salad was a bit underdone, but I didnt mind too much. The combination of cheese, dressing, candied nuts, and strawberries was mind-blowing. I was very impressed. My fiance loved his scallop dish, and the small seafood platter was great. When one of our friends did not enjoy her soup, the waitress offered to replace it, no problem. The food is expensive, but I feel the price is justified in the quality. We will be coming back. Overall, we had a great time, and enjoyed the great food.

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AL

Al Clarke

Weve patronized Djangos fairly frequently since it opened, usu. for anniversaries and birthdays, etc., coming in from Ames. The food -- or if you prefer, cuisine, is quite good, but certainly exceedingly the prices, which are a tad high for D. Moines, IA, in my humble opinion. I see some reviews questioning the service, but we have always experienced the service as excellent. There are two factors which bother me more, on each visit, however: 1. The noise/ambiance. To be fair, this is likely the overall sound of people enjoying themselves. But as with many combo lounge/restaurants, with mixed clientele, after awhile, people try to outdo each other, and it just gets louder. 2 (and more importantly), the reservation protocol needs to do be just that (savvy readers see Seinfeld Reference #124, "the car rental"). What Ive noticed with dismay is that having a reservation, even a special occasion one, is of very little avail, and you often find yourselves sititng in an aisle/cubby table, while walk-ins seem to find quiet and nice corners, simply by complaining. A small complaint, I suppose, but bothersome to us.

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WI

Wilhelmus VanderKallen

May 17 - The service and environment were nice, its just that the food was a different story. Being our first visit we didnt splurge on $40 plates, we wanted to see what the menu had to offer as a whole. The appetizers were pushed hard and it seemed the staff were well versed in how they were prepared and background of the items. The preparation and presentation were very nice. The dinners were more simple. No stories, just a "rare or medium" type question. I ordered a tuna steak sandwich that came with a salad and french fries (the fries were extra so it was a $20 plate). The Tuna was over seasoned to say the least. Im guessing they were disguising the overwhelming fish flavor that will sour your taste for another 24 hours. The salad was wilted and spoiled. I get dressing on the side, but now I know why they were so insistent having the dressing already served on the lettuce. The fries (not the ones cooked in duck grease) were nothing to write home about. In-n-out would put these to shame for one quarter the cost. Thank you for reading.

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Andy Lane

Just ate here with my wife for an anniversary celebration, we loved it and definitely want to go back! We had a 4:30 reservation and when we arrived it was fairly quiet, though it was packed when we left a couple hours later. The interior was classy, and where we were sitting it was dimmer and punctuated by a candle on the table. Our server was very friendly and informative, and made sure we were taken care of. We ordered Poutine as an appetizer, which was heavenly, and had the seared scallops and the duck duo for entrees as they had been recommended by the server. These were also delicious, and the portion sizes were larger than we expected, meaning that I was stuffed after eating a bunch of poutine and half of my scallops. We usually try to eat pretty cheaply, so Django was a bit pricier than our normal dinners. But, we had an excellent time, and delicious leftovers the next day. We are looking forward to eating there again!

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KE

Kent Schlorff

The food and service are excellent, and both the house and seasonal cocktails have excellent variety - of note was the Peach Bramble and the Templeton SangRyeA, but there is also an excellent wine selection. Apps are pushed hard, but very worth it. My fiancee and I shared a "chefs choice" charcuterie plate, but Ive also had the fried Brussels sprouts - excellent, but a bit large for two people. The coq au vin is my favorite dish in DSM, hands down. Rich umami finishes off in a delicate bitterness, and its got pearl onions, bacon, and mushrooms. Ive also had the filet a rossini, which has foie gras - not my thing, but tasty. Ive the Pot de Creme - essentially a bowl of dark chocolate mousse. Its delightful. All in all, one of my favorites in the metro.

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JA

James Fisher

Ate here in April 2015, great experience, good food and service. Enjoyed the no corking fee, nice. Ate here again Saturday Oct.31 had poor service (2 cocktails took 15-20 minutes) food not warm, all but 1 of the 4 entrees was cold, of which 1 had to go back to kitchen, by the time it got back to the table the rest of us had almost finished. Beef Tenderloin steak was under cooked, ordered med. rare it came rare. Entrees took an hour and 40 minutes from the time we we were seated. They were not that busy, plenty of open tables when we arrived and same when we left at 9:40. Menu has changed, choices disappointing for a finer dining establishment. No veal offered. Atmosphere is great. Maybe under new management/ownership??

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