Dirt Burger

Wow. What?! The burgers at this place are straight up amazing! The Volcano was perhaps the best plant-based burger I’ve ever had! The spice, the crunch—everything was just enough. I did NOT want to share with my husband. He got the Bel Air. That burger was great too, but we both really preferred the Volcano! The fries were good, but nothing particularly special. We really liked the minimalist, clean vibe. AND, as they mention on their website, this is a non-pretentious vegan joint. It was quite busy when we went, and we even saw families with children enjoying the food their! The keep their food cheap, which is great word play on the restaurant’s name! Not to mention dirt…which plants grow in…anyway—clever name! We don’t live in Des Moines, but will come back here as often as we can for these super clean, super yummy, crave-worthy burgers!

Here's a burger even omnivores can enjoy. I'll admit the name is what caught my attention, but the flavors were way better than the mud pies my sister used to feed me 60 years ago. I tried the Cobra Kai as suggested by the friendly and patient waitstaff. The Asian style toppings made for a great accent to the burger (still not sure what it was made of...). A side of "Dirt Balls" is a MUST! (Deep fried mashed potato balls with an herby twist) I won't become a vegan anytime soon, but I will gladly return to Dirt Burger.

A Hidden Gem in Downtown Des Moines. I was shocked that the burgers were great the salad was excellent and you have to try a Vegan Soda. The whole restaurant was spotless. They take great pride in what they're doing. I love that. We would definitely go back again again and again.

A must stop! I was only in town for a couple days but walked by this place and had to stop in the next day. I’m not vegan but wanted to try anyways and was not disappointed. I ordered the original dirt burger on fresh greens instead of the bun and it was great! The staff and ownership are very friendly as well, and the environment is very cool! I highly recommend!

The coup de gras after I ran the Des Moines Marathon: I walked myself down to experience Dirt Burger in downtown Des Moines. What I got was the best damn veggie burger - no, the best BURGER that I've ever had. Why? It was slutty and savory, saucy and full of different textures. It was a perfect mouthful. Like a Big Mac, only without the disappointing patties and bread in the middle. I know, you're going to say that I forgot and what meat tastes like. I haven't. I know for some folks the ideal burger is a meat patty with grease that runs down your arm. I get it. I happened to prefer a veggie burger, and I think this is more interesting with lots of unctuous flavor, and it ain't health food - except that with so many whole food ingredients it kind of is. But it felt really indulgent to me, especially when I paired it with their real potato french fries and the tiger sauce the staff recommended. And she was so, so right. As they said once on my beloved show "Chef!" with Lenny Henry, "I've never had a liquid as good as that in my life." They had vegan shakes that looked absolutely amazing, but I didn't have anyone to split with, and I knew I would be in pain after I packed it all in... Also, I'm weird, but I had some granola at the hotel room that I was pretty excited about. Anyway, all this and gluten-free since I ordered it on the GF roll. Staff was also incredibly friendly. I'm seriously jealous that Iowa has this joint, but it's all for the best since I would gain 5 lb a week if this place was down the street.

GOOD AND CHEAP! it’s so rare to find a cheap vegan spot thats amazing but this place really has it all! Tried their original dirt burger, dirt balls with tiger sauce, and a vanilla cone for dessert. Kinda disappointed on the ice cream. Lacked sweetness, but was only $2 so I’m not mad about it.

O.M.G. the most delicious vegan place I have ever tasted!! Croquettes were great as well as the different vegan dipping sauces!! The mushroom burger I would eat every day for the rest of my life.

Disappointing - not worth the money or time spent waiting for our orders most likely will not be back. It took close to 40 minutes to get our order - which consisted of the Original dirt burger, Austin BBQ burger, 1 order of fries and 1 order of Dirt balls. The Original dirt burger tasted just like any black bean burger you can make at home, nothing special about it. The Austin BBQ burger was better but really had no taste, I expected BBQ taste and got pretty much nothing. For $7/burger its extremely pricey to get something that either tastes way too much like beans or nothing at all. The fries were $3 for a very small portion, I like that they weren't your typical french food fries but way overpriced for the very little amount you get. The dirt balls were good but small in size, you get 6 for $4. They were out of several sauces, at the end I have no idea what they actually gave us. Giving it 3 starts simply for being an all vegan restaurant, although they don't 100% have my trust because I remember months ago looking at their website that stated *All ingredients at Dirt Burger are Vegan meanwhile they had a menu item that had honey listed as an ingredient. I looked at the website again and the honey mention was gone so I'm hoping they learned that honey isn't vegan.