Baratta's Restaurant and Catering

My husband and i wanted to try this place so bad Saturday August 2 2025 we finally got to go and it was amazing he was so happy that he kept saying it’s the real thing! It was a little loud but that’s only because it was so packed with some really nice costumer and staff everyone was having such a wonderful time they gave us bread before our food came out and the soup was amazing I couldn’t get enough of the soup the appetizers were amazing the cheese pull on the motz were incredible the homemade dipping sauces I also loved. My dish was half Alfredo and half red sauce i will be ordering it again and my old man had spaghetti and chicken I can’t remember what either dish is called. we had the best time. we haven’t eaten at a 5 star restaurant before this was a 5 star for sure!

My wife and I visited here after doing a test drive at a car lot in Indianola. We shared a pizza - I believe it was the Dan's special. Maybe it was the Joe's Special. They have very good bruscheta. The drink menu was very tempting and constructed by a bartender who definitely knew her craft. The cannoli is homemade, and that certainly adds to the value. We received excellent, friendly and professional service. The restaurant was clean. The food was delicious and reasonably priced.

Tried Spinach tortellini with both sauces and the cheese sticks and cannolis The service was phenomenal, very friendly very fast. Everything came very fresh I will most definitely be back for the spinach tortellini. It was great.

Had a nice family dinner Sunday night. Super knowledgeable and friendly waitress. She let us try the different sauces for comparison. We ended up with chicken parm, chicken carbonara and manicotti. Everyone enjoyed the meal. It was relaxing and educational!

Been here many times over the years. I always know we'll have something delicious and great service. My wife loves the Amaggio chicken, she orders it more times than not. Portions are fair size but I'm sure they are trying to keep costs down. My chicken parmesan was very good but the portion is a little small in my opinion. I've always recommended this place to others and we'll keep coming back.

First time here. Everything was delicious! Great service. The bang bang shrimp appetizer was delightful!

I haven't been here in years! It's still just as great as I remember! We sat in the main dining area the first time in 2021 and tonight we sat in a bar side booth. Service was impeccable both times. And, the food was again flawless. I had the Shrimp Amaggio tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I can see why this is a popular choice. We also had the Hungry Man and the steak was seasoned and cooked PERFECTLY! We finished with their seasonal maple bourbon streusel cheesecake. A perfect end to a perfect night! They even boxed everything up for us. I love the homey feel of the place. Obviously, they get a lot of regulars. For good reason! There are also gluten-free, dairy-free, and Vegan options for those concerned. 10/10.

My wife and I visited this restaurant on June 8, 2025 and here is my Yelp review: Today was our first time at this restaurant. The place is quaint but the food is amazing! Our server Debra was an absolute joy and very knowledgeable and friendly. The staff was considerate and friendly and we found the restaurant atmosphere mom and pop but in an Italian corner cafe kinda way. Very polite. The desert was awesome as well. I would give them 10 stars but they only do 5. Follow-up: I went to the restaurant again for a take out order and met the owner. It is clear that she runs a tight ship. Her personality was extremely pleasant and wanting to provide a genuine family style restaurant experience for her patrons. She was clearly busy with running the restaurant but she never waivers from being attentive to her patrons. She is a true business person and I find her quite genuine. This is why I give this restaurant 10 STARS. Did I mention the desert was awesome 🤩

Last night we enjoyed a quarterly dinner with a bunch of Des Moines firefighters and significant others. We had a group of 20. We were treated so good! Our group had our own little banquet room for our gathering. We started with a few appetizers. The cheese sticks were out of this world!! We also had the stuffed mushrooms and a heaping plate of onion rings! Both very good. Our waitstaff was very attentive and brought us drinks, took our orders, checked on us all in a timely manner. Side salads, and basket of bread were fresh and tasty. We ordered off the menu. When our food arrived, everyone commented on how it was so delicious. I had the Chicken Marsala special, and my spouse had the French dip sandwich. Yum!! The portions were so big! We took home a full container for the following day. :) We all enjoyed our time at this South Side staple. We didn't get a chance to try any desserts, darn. I guess we will have to do that at our next group visit. Thank you for your kind hospitality!

Where else can you get decent white wedding cake for dessert in Des Moines? Yes its old school, but they offer $10 corkage so you can being your best bottle. And again where else can you get chicken livers as a dinner? Even the fried chicken dinner takes me back to my childhood. Pizza is always a hit. Service was excellent with Debbie as our hostess. Pricing is reasonable. Specials change all the time, but you can always ask about the Cajun chicken pasta. They usually accommodate. They do wonders with larger groups and the food comes out hot.

Large portions Ravioli was a little on the doughy side. Overall this place was a good choice because the waitress and service were top notch

Today was our first time at this restaurant. The place is quaint but the food is amazing! Our server Debra was an absolute joy and very knowledgeable and friendly. The staff was considerate and friendly and we found the restaurant atmosphere mom and pop but in an Italian corner cafe kinda way. Very polite. The desert was awesome as well. I would give them 10 stars but they only do 5.

Great family restaurant tucked away in residential neighborhood. Have visited many times and never disappointed. Great ambiance and friendly service. Good variety of Italian and traditional meat and potatoes menu. The atmosphere is you're amongst friends and family. Food is very good and have tried most items in the menu. A great place to entertain family and friends.

Great food, professional and efficient service. It's a locally owned and operated restaurant.

Great family-style meals to go! Pans of pasta, broasted chicken, salad and house creamy parm dressing is so good.

My daughter and I were looking for a good Italian restaurant and found one! The prices were reasonable and the food was so tasty. We got the baked raviolis and I had the lasagna. We'll definitely be back!

Food was so good and really flavorful and the service was great as well. I tried it something new and it was delicious and my mom got lasagna and it didn't disappoint. Would come back!

I arranged a surprise birthday party for my son's 27th birthday. There were twenty guests total. I ordered the Caesar chicken salad which was delicious. My son had the homemade spinach and cheese tortellini which he loved. My daughter had the cavatelli and said it was delightful. Our waitresses name was Twanee. I requested a straw and was screamed at, "I PUT IT RIGHT THERE!" I apologized explaining I have a visual deficit. She was very rude and disrespectful to my son, and to the rest of the party, with the exception of one guest who is a regular patron of the establishment. I ordered spinach artichoke dip, which came out after my meal and after everybody else's appetizer and meal. Twanee NEVER refilled any of the guests waters but was on top of bringing alcoholic beverages. I even requested water and never received it. I expressed that the spinach artichoke dip was very spicy. Twanee screamed at me, "It's homemade!" When we went to cut the cake I was looking for a cake cutter and she screamed, "It's over there can't you see it?" My 86 year old father was charged for a lemonade. He approached Twanee to take it off his bill and she screamed at my father, "Sir, GO SIT DOWN!" She made my father cry. My daughter-in-law is pregnant and was charged for Pino Giorgio. My son was forced to pay for it. The food was absolutely delicious but the service we received from Twanee was unacceptable. In thirty-five years of eating out I've NEVER received such poor service. Baratta's has lost nineteen customers due to Twanee's action.

Fantastic food. Large portions. Excellent service. There are a lot of choices on the menu. Highly recommend

I had my birthday lunch here. The sever was very attentive and the food was so good! I had a carb coma after, but that was my fault! Onion rings were addictive! The chicken Parmesan was my choice with the house salad. The raspberry vinaigrette was alot better then my Italian dressing. The white cake was just like wedding cake. The lemon was very artificial tasting. Wouldn't order that again probably. I heard the strawberry was recommended.

breaded and deep fried mushrooms were my favorite!!! to go service (food wise) could be better for the price your paying. still a great spot to dine in with your family or date.

My fiancé and I were recommended Baratta's to cater for our wedding so we decided to reach out and schedule a Wedding tasting. We were emailing with Michelle - the point of contact for catering tasting and events. My fiancé emailed her the August 19th, expressing interest in scheduling a tasting September 10th. We followed up on the email for the schedule and still had gotten no reply back. When we showed up for the time Michelle suggested she was not there or prepared. Very disrespectful and disappointed in the professionalism with a restaurant we were seriously considering for our wedding cater. Would NOT recommend for anyone looking to have a reliable catering experience.

Very good food!!! Friendly people, good value I prefer to patronize mom and pop places

This place is just ok. I really had high hopes after moving to the area and having people tell me about this place but I got a seafood dish that has shells in it. The pizza was good but a true Italian pie, nay. It was your run of the mill. I did have a Grazziano's grinder that was pretty good but if you screw up a sandwich, well.. not the worst, but true Italian, I think not.

Staff was super warm, friendly, and attentive. Food was really good and reasonably priced. I ordered the shrimp amiggio, and it was absolutely amazing. It had the perfect amount of sauce, texture, and flavor. I added a bit of salt, but I tend to rely a little too much on salt. The shrimp were grilled to perfection, and the dish was beautifully presented.

We entered the large parking lot and expected to wait a half hour for a table but were surprisingly seated after about 5 minutes. Hostess was friendly and welcoming. Temperature was cool inside which was nice considering the heat and humidity outside. Bus boy brought waters and bread with butter immediately. My daughters loved the bread and gobbled it down. Our waitress had recommendations on appetizers and entrees. We went with her recommendation of the spin artichoke dip. It came out in a huge portion with hot and crisp pita chips and small toasted bread. Taste was great. We didn't even finish the appetizer when our soup and salad was brought out. I tried the house creamy parm. Also delicious! I drank the Saturday night special sangria and it was so refreshing and fruity. My order of the chicken carbonara did not disappoint. Loved the bacon flavor and the white sauce. Took half of it home to reheat for lunch tomorrow. Kiddos liked their pizza and cavatelli. We skipped the dessert tray as we were stuffed and not wanting the temptation. Service was great, water was refilled, and dishes were cleared timely. Glad we tried this not so new place outside of our neck of the woods!

My wife and I had dinner there last night. She had a seafood pasta which she enjoyed. I ordered the tenderloin and baked potato and was served the "tenderloin Duburgo" which was sitting in a pool of olive oil (is this an Italian version?), topped with sautéed garlic. Instead of a plain tenderloin, which was frustrating because we had asked about it and I clearly told the waitress "nope". The baked potato was like warm. All for $45. Disappointing at best.

I was very disappointed in my meal. I ordered the seafood genovese. It had imitation crab....I was like huh! Imitation Crab! Oof what a disappointment My wife ordered the ravioli dish and the ravioli was overcooked and un-edible. On a good note, the server was very attentive and good.

I think the restaurant is in it's 26th year... From humble beginnings what started as a residence, then sprouted a grocery story, and later in the early 90s the Baratta's we know came to fruition... You can tell as you enter the parking lot there's some history here. It may not be the prettiest building from the outside, but you can see their roots. A lot of that "home" feel is still in place there on Union. Of course they have continued to grow with Cafe Baratta's, their event and catering business, and partnering with several other metro landmarks. I still remember my first meal at Baratta's years ago... It was the veal parmesan. And I was in love... I always seem to waffle between the veal and the chicken amaggio when I visit for dinner. Though I really don't think you can go wrong with anything on their menu... Their menu runs the gamut from the Italian classics, pizza, home-style cooking (like steaks, pork chops, fried chicken, etc.), to burgers and sandwiches. I think even the pickiest eater would be hard pressed to not be able to find something they'd like at Baratta's... There's literally something on the menu for everyone. Yesterday for lunch I ordered the Italian beef/dip sandwich and a side salad with blue cheese dressing. The sandwich came with au jus, their angel ranch sauce, and a nice big chunk of sourdough bread. The sandwich was cooked perfectly. The thinly sliced beef was nice and tender. It had been toasted and the outside of the roll had a nice crunch to it. It was a good sized portion... They sure don't hold back on the meat... A reasonably priced lunch for $12.75. If you haven't been to Baratta's it's a metro classic that I'd put alongside the rich history of Tumea and Sons, Noah's Ark, Chuck's, Tursi's Latin King, and many of our other local eateries which have withstood the test of time.

Food is good , place is small crowded, service is slow, drinks are pricey , nice crowd of people go there , parking is good

Worst customer service I've ever experienced. The manager needs mental health help for sure. Don't waste ur money

I ordered Manicotti with white sauce. If you love cheese, then this is where it's at! Use their bread to sop up the extra white sauce. Leave nothing on the plate and reach a stasis so satisfying you will never need to eat again. My wife ordered Cavatelli with meatballs and Italian sausage. It had a marinara sauce on it. She was very happy. We ordered via DoorDash. Both entrees were generous sized portions that came with a side salad. The creamy garlic dressing is amazing. Thank you guys for making our night.

Service: Excellent. The restaurant was very busy but they got it done. Atmosphere: Well, it's a house. The ceilings are low and the acoustics are what you'd expect. It's loud and you can hear every conversation around you. I only saw two bathrooms but there may be more. Definitely a cozy family vibe, but if you aren't in the mood for a raucous good time, or if you're claustrophobic, go during off-hours or try sitting in the bar area where it's a bit quieter. Food: Hit and miss. The salad was crisp and cold, the dressing was housemade blue cheese with plenty of chunks. The bread was a bit tough for my tastes, but it had good crumb. My MIL's dish was very good - a sort of lemony shrimp pasta dish with veggies. My husband and I thought the manicotti was a bit bland - if you order it, I'd recommend the red sauce rather than tomato basil. However, it was loaded with tasty browned mozzarella cheese. Didn't try my FIL's dish but he enjoyed it. All in all, I liked this place and will be back. Hopefully next time I can try the eggplant and check out the desserts.

Food is ALWAYS so good. Haven't ordered anything bad off the menu! Waiters here are always friendly and helpful.

This is definitely one of my favorite, local Italian restaurants in Des Moines! Been in the neighborhood (literally) forever and they have such an amazing relationship with their regulars! It's literally in the middle of a south side neighborhood so this definitely fits the definition of "hidden gem". They have a giant chalk board right when you walk in that has the specials listed. There's also a full bar right around the door! The building is a little compartmentalized with 3 major dining rooms and a few booths near the bar area. The food is great! Large portions in my opinion (average if you're thinking homemade Italian food). The service is always great and friendly! Their focaccia bread is out of this world! My go-to is the spinach tortellinis. I've literally gotten this every single time I go. I've had them with all the sauces and most recently had them with the pesto cream sauce that also comes with mushrooms and tomatoes. Yum per usual! Highly recommend giving this place a try if you're in the neighborhood!

This is a hidden gem tucked away from the main road and surrounded by residential area. We checked this place out since a co worker suggested it- the staff is friendly and personable! The restaurant is clean and spacious with a bar and private event space. We you enter you only see 4-5 booths along with a bar area. The looks are deceiving because there's a lot more space around the corner and downstairs! We arrived around 7pm for dinner and were quickly seated at the bar. The drinks were made by Sue! We had a Long Island iced tea and Payton margarita- both delicious. We opted for an appetizer of the cheese sticks and main dishes were pizza. Everything was tasty!!!!! We will be back for sure.

Service was terrible, the server, Tawnne clearly hates her job and her life. Was very unfriendly incredibly rude.

So delicious and such amazing employees. Everything was fresh and perfect. Nicest waitress and hostess.

I had a Mediterranean salad w/I meat yesterday today upset stomach and diarrhe. Not

We seen a Facebook posting advertising Baratta's New Year Eve specials. I called this morning and made us a reservation for 6 pm. We went into our meal knowing they maybe extremely busy tonight, so please keep this in mind when reading our experience. We arrived at 5:50. The parking lot was completely full. We were lucky and got a spot from someone leaving. We checked in at the door and was taken to our table immediately. Our waitress arrived promptly and introduced herself. We ordered our mushroom appetizer and Long Island Teas. We placed our order promptly when we got our drinks. Both ordered the Prime Rib dinner, baked potato and Salad. The mushrooms and salads were served very timely however our meals took 45 minutes to receive. The waitress stopped by a few times and apologized for the wait. We were enjoying our conversation and will chalk this set back due to the full restaurant and many to go orders going out the door. Once we got our meals they were delicious! The Prime Rib is served on a plate of aujus with a side of horseradish. The Prime Rib was full of flavor and so tender. We never mention or complained about the length of time it took to get our meals however the waitress insisted we get dessert on the house! We have a piece of Carrott cake as well as a lemon cake to enjoy tomorrow. We will definitely be back to try again however it won't be on another holiday or heavy celebrated day.

We went last night and it was amazing. We had six adults and two babies and they were very accommodating. Debbie was our server and she was great. Can't wait to go back. Food is excellent and the service is even better.

I went here for a corporate dinner back in March and was not impressed. Bland appetizers. My spaghetti bolognese, which was probably the most vanilla item ordered at our whole table, came out a good 5-10 minutes after everyone else's food did. Very awkward just sitting there watching everyone else eat. My bowl of pasta was also extremely watery - like they knew they were behind with my food and didn't properly strain the noodles. As for the good, the lemon cake was great, tasty frosting and was a nice end to the meal.

The typical Italian restaurant that is a disservice to Italian food and culture everywhere. Cheese and oil and heartburn. At least they are a DSM establishment. Many people apparently like this food.

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 Yelp radar after a bit of stalking on the Yelp 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!

Great food. Had a retirement luncheon here and enjoyed everything. The table ordered spinach artichoke dip, bruschetta and onion rings. I had the chicken amagio sandwich. Service was a little slow but we had 9 people. The bread served with the apps was also very good and there were different textures. I especially liked the fried pita bread served with the spinach artichoke dip.

Tried out the hot sausage sandwich and onion rings. Very tasty. I'm anxious to try more items from here. Note do not order this from Doordash. I think it'll be better and fresher in person. Yum

Baratta's is one of the remaining Italian family restaurants in Des Moines, tucked away in a south-side neighborhood in an old house. They've been there for years and have a loyal following. The place is setup using several rooms in the house, walking into a bar area at the front door, with other dining rooms around the corner or up the stairs. We were seated in an empty dining room, but on the plus side there was a line-up of servers waiting to, well, serve, so excellent service (and throughout the meal). The room filled up quickly though, with a smattering of large families and couples. An adjacent room (a sun porch I think?) had a boisterous family gathering of some sort, but it just added to the ambiance of the place. The menu is extensive, focusing on familiar Italian dishes, and lots of different salads. One unique spin here is how they bread the chicken; breaded and broiled. It's good and they do it that way for a few of their dishes. We both had the chicken Amaggio, a specialty of theirs. The servings were plentiful, enough to take home for a second meal. Try their Sangria too. They make it themselves and it's delicious. As noted the service was superb, food well above average, and the ambiance homey. About $60 bucks for an appetizer, entrees and a couple of glasses of wine. About what you'd pay to eat at Applebee's and SO much better. Go find it (that adventure is worth it alone), and enjoy a real local experience.

One of my favorites in Des Moines. The Hand made cheese sticks are a-mazing especially with their ranch which is super midwest but so much better than other places. The service is always good and I even like ordering foos from home and having it delivered. Tonight they customized a dish for me off menu and it was again. So delicious. Will be back again and again.

It's another frigid and snowy night in Des Moines, so I decided to order in dinner instead of going out. After scrolling through the options on Grubhub, Baratta's caught my attention. I love Italian food and there were a few vegan items on the menu that looked really good to me so I ordered and hungrily waited for my doorbell to ring. When the food arrived, it was neatly packaged and free from spills. I unpacked and opened everything up. I was pretty underwhelmed by what I saw. $17 vegan pasta was mainly large chunks of zucchini. I tasted it and was shocked by the blandness. I've honestly had hospital food with more zip and zing to it. I immediately raided my spice cabinet and after the pasta was properly seasoned, it was edible. I moved on to the bruschetta. It was a watery, disgusting mess. It tasted nothing like any bruschetta I've ever had . Took a few bites and threw it out. The hummus and pita were fine. That's the only thing I ate. I spent close to 50 dollars to eat pita and hummus. I won't make that mistake again!

I order the chicken strips for lunch and they are terrible! No flavor and they were cold. Really disappointed since I have heard great things about this place

Southside staple :) We come for the chicken amaggio pasta and sandwich. Our top dishes. Breaded chicken with some light sauce. Service is always great here. The house dressing is yummy on the salad. We also ordered fried raviolis and the bruschetta as apps. Both very good.

I love this place. Great food, friendly service. They have many great things on the menu. The jalapeño cheese soup is really good. I love the spinach artichoke dip w/crispy garlic toasts. It's a nice family atmosphere.

Southside is the best food in Iowa and Barattas is always good. Love the chicken parm and sue and the rest of the staff are great

A little off the beaten path one of Des Moines classic neighborhood Italian restaurants. It has an interesting history the restaurant actually was a home of the Barrata family and they turned it into a restaurant in Italian grocery store. They got all the business maybe 25 years ago and sold it to 3 Lincoln high graduates who are still operating the restaurant. it's on Union avenue very close to indianola avenue close to the old Italian Part of Des Moines. If you've never been you might want to try for lunch it's got great lunch and specials, great Italian specials and wonderful sandwiches. The house salads are wonderful spring lettuce with a variety of dressing choices. They make excellent cocktails and since I'm retired I had a bloody Mary with my lunch and it was great. My friends are regulars there and can't say enough about it. I had the chicken Amaggio which was the lunch special it was wonderful. Marinated chicken breast with light bread crumbs broiled, served over linguine and mushrooms with in Amaggio sauce. A friend had the Italian beef and it was outstanding and another friend had a meatball sandwich which was also outstanding. They have pizza if you should want it but I would go with the Italian sandwiches and they have wonderful salads too! Did not even get into dinner which is a whole other experience and I will cover some time with an additional review well worth the trip. if you're young person check it out if you're a person of a certain age and you've never been check it out. You won't be disappointed!

Their Italian dip sandwich, chicken ammagio sandwich and French fries are great! They make their own bread and their focaccia is amazing.

Located on south Union (the address on this yelp page says state historical museum which is incorrect) Barrata's is solid Italian. I got the chicken parmigiana which was excellent. My partner got the vegan pasta which she raved about. I also ordered the lemon drop which was pretty good. For dessert I ordered the canniloni. They were very good. Service was excellent. It's hard to go wrong with anything here as it has been operating for a long time and has perfected the dishes. There is a cafe Baratta's that is located in the state historical museum (not rated by me).

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 decor 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!