Reviews for Centro in Des Moines, IA
The server was fantastic and she did a great job making us comfortable and attending to us. The ambiance is great and very... clean. As far as food goes, it was a little disappointing, decent, but not plate-lick worthy for the price. Guess you arepaying for the ambiance, not the food because I have had better Italian food at a dive bar. Read some of the reviews about burntpita bread and it was the same that came with our cheese dip. While the cheese dip was great tasting there was a bitter taste,it was the same for the Chicken And Prosciutto that I ordered. Took me a while to figure out Store-bought minced garlic. Onesuggestion to the chef would be to use Fresh Garlic/Garlic powder or if you have to use minced garlic, maybe cook it a littlelonger to mitigate the bitter taste. The chicken was FANTASTIC, juicy, and crispy. But overall the pasta dish was justwatered-down Alfredo sauce. I bet it will taste good as leftover after the sauce has thickened overnight in the fridge. Fordessert, we got crème brûlée. As you see in the picture, the sugar was over-caramelized- it should have cracked with the backof the spoon however, it only folded. The burnt sugar made it very bitter and had to scoop off the top layer to enjoy thecustard inside. It was a complimentary anniversary dessert but would have been nice if they treated it as though we paid forit. We will try again another time hopefully we can raise the star points since everyone else seemed to enjoy this place butme. Good luck and apologize for the thorough yet bitter review. Read more
The wait staff was very polite had a great waitresses. I got the homemade cavatelli it look like a big potion but it seemed like... it was just sauce very little noodles and it was barely cheese. It was not wealth the price Read more
Our server was fantastic! She checked in often to make sure everything was tasting good and to see if we needed anything. The... food was delicious and we ended up taking home leftovers because there was so much. Highly recommend checking out Centro of youhave not already! Read more
Centro offers a large (americanized) Italian menu in a more date-night/fine dining establishment. I would say it is like an... upscale version of Olive Garden as far as options and flavors go. There’s definitely some more high end food options if youare going for beef or fish, but their pasta and pizzas are priced pretty fairly. I like that there is an option for everyoneincluding some vegan specific options. I feel this is a place you can take your pickiest friend and they will find something. Iwill say that even though I enjoyed my meal, it wasn’t anything I felt was unique or better than something I would get atanother Italian restaurant. I felt my food was very oily and my salad was pretty overdressed so I didn’t leavefeeling…wonderful. I did also ask for a half order of my food and was brought the full order. I did think the portion size wasmassive for a half and didn’t realize until we got the bill I was charged for the full so that was a little disappointing. Ifyou’re looking to impress out of town guests I would say skip. But if you’re meeting up with some friends and want to get inon their awesome half price pizza deals on Monday and insane portions, I would say go. Just note this place fills up FAST sobook a reservation if you have a larger party or really don’t want to wait. Read more
It was beautiful atmosphere, the food was nicely portioned, and the menu was great. Cooked well. I would say the food still... could have been better, it certainly wasn’t to die for, and at this price I should be licking the plate! Service wasn’tgreat, the server gave us burnt bread and knew it too. I will try again, but it is a bit pricey for just alright service andfood. Great desserts Read more
Awesome experience. Italian pasta and pizza. The free garlic bread is absolutely delicious. One of my favorite places to eat in... town. Perfect for lunch or dinner. Read more
Solid 4.6 Star dining experience. I had to really nitpick to find anything wrong with our meal. Our service was excellent. The... server explained the menu extensively and worked with us to figure out an alternative to an allergy. We ordered crab cakes andbruschetta to start. Both delicious and packed lots of flavor. The crab cakes, thankfully, had lots of crab, which isn’talways the case here in the Midwest. My only knock on the bruschetta was that it could be cut further. It felt more like a saladthan normal bruschetta. Otherwise, it was incredible. For entrées, we ordered the ribeye, Scallops, Beef tenderloin, and thechicken Francese. There wasn’t a single complaint about the dishes in the table. Our beverages were also quite delicious, andthis is probably where our complaints come to play. A couple of our cocktails were served with regular ice, which diluted themquickly. I wish they served them with a large cube. Also, our wine did come out after we were almost done with our entrees, butit was a packed Friday evening. That being said, we had a great experience and would recommend Centro to all who live or visitDes Moines! Read more
Arrived late in the town and found this walkable restaurant that would open till 10 PM, so I gave it a try. The high ceiling... gives a airy feeling, and it is a pretty big restaurant. I ordered a Rigatoni with Sausage, delicious and with right spicylevel. The food portion is big. If you had their fresh bread after they seated you, then you would need a left over box. Read more