Lucky Lotus

The good: the snack list portions were huge! The medium: The bing bing wraps tasted very burnt so we couldn’t finish them. We asked someone if that’s how they normally came out since it was our first time there. She said yes. So I didn’t take any review points away on my mind because I can’t fault them for making a dish how it is supposed to be and me not liking how well done it is. The bad: Long wait for food (40 minutes from order to get meal. Other people had been there before us and got their food a few minutes before we got ours) We and other people had to ask for a table to be cleared and wiped down before we could sit. Had to ask for our lemonade after 30 minutes. The lemonade was not lemonade. It was more of a mango juice with dragon fruit syrup at the bottom. The restaurant is so loud I couldn’t hear the persons cross the table from me

Probably the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. Drunken noodles are 10/10. Panang curry is 10/10. Service is fast. 3/5 is a tolerable level of spice if you enjoy spicy food. Great atmosphere. Thai tea and lychee lemonade are also very yummy.

This was my first time there and it was awesome. The staff was very helpful in explaining their most popular dishes. The bibi wraps are incredible. Great laid back vibe with good food and a dining area that is perfect for talking while you eat. Very fun spot

Heard lots of great things and read great reviews. Nice fast casual experience (order/pay at the counter). Food takes a while (waited over half an hour) but definitely delicious and worth the wait! Been here a couple times now. Can’t wait to go again!

I just had the most incredible self-love date at Lucky Lotus, and I can’t stop raving about it! The food was absolutely sensational—so flavorful and incredibly fresh! On top of that, the customer service was top-notch. I’m already counting down the days until next week when I take my hubby along to share in this culinary delight!

We had the afterschool fried rice and the Bing Bing wrap with the lemongrass chicken. The flavors were great and different from the usual Asian food we have tasted so far. The service can be a little better to elevate the dining experience. The ambience was cute and quirky.

Obsessed with this cute and charming Thai/Laos restaurant located on the popular Ingersoll strip in Des Moines, IA. Best Khao Poon in the city!!! They are just killin’ it with their flavorful dishes and lots of vegan options as well. Very welcoming and casual style restaurant with plenty of seating available inside and a small outdoor patio in the back. It’s order at the counter but service is still fantastic, food flavorful and fabulous and all around a locally owned SE Asian city gem. I don’t live in Iowa anymore and every time I go back and visit, I make it one of my favorite stops for lunch and then also order like five menu items to take back home to Michigan, did I mention I love this place? Highly recommend for anyone who’s craving Thai:Lao food. Great location too!

Ordered pick up. Food was ready at the designated time Lucky Lotus text me it would be good to pick up. Food is always fresh, warm, and delicious. Egg rolls are scrumptious. After school froed rice is my go to meal. I get #2 on their heat Register, nice kick to it. Highly recommend Lucky Lotus. Folks are personable, and there is nice clean dining atmosphere inside.

I woke up at 5:30am today and had 2 bites of my leftover Crispy Rice Salad. *Holy* dried chili pod! I mean, who needs coffee ... right?!? I'm thankful my friend suggested Lucky Lotus and it's now my favorite Vietnamese/Thai restaurant. Food is great, generous portions, affordable pricing and friendly service. No delivery through the restaurant, but I need to get my steps in anyway. #success

Delicious, can't say enough! Best food! Wish it was right next door, I had the best pho ever, you guys rock! Hubby had chicken stir fry both of these were absolutely fantastic!

We stopped by Lucky Lotus for lunch on our way into Des Moines. You order up front and they bring you your order to your table; we ordered the Chicken Pho, spring rolls, chicken wings, and drunken noodles with beef. Everything was hot and fresh, the chicken wings were very juicy and well fried. I enjoyed my drunken noodles, although I felt like it was a little bit heavy on the hoisin/oyster sauce. But their thick cut rice noodles were on point and very chewy. My hubby's pho was alright, and the spring rolls had a good ratio of shrimp to noodles to veggies. Overall, the food was pretty good. And the host who took our order was also very friendly. Ambiance was clean and modern with cool wall art and decor. Would we be back? Possibly! It's not easy to find good southeast Asian spots in this area so kudos to them for establishing Lucky Lotus.

I visited lucky lotus during a weekday lunch, but you would have thought it was the weekend- it was packed! I enjoyed the decorations throughout the store. Food is ordered at the front counter where they will give you a number to take to your table. Entrees took about 20 minutes to arrive. I enjoyed the soy sauce street noodles, which was their take on pad see ew. This is the best Thai food I've had in Des Moines.

The ambiance when you walk in is enjoyable, the lighting and the music are perfect. There is a light up menu with pictures when you first walk in. You order at the counter, there is only milk, an old fashion soda, or other types of drinks. Now for the food the crab Rangoons are delicious, along with the crispy lettuce wraps, but spicy. I wish I could say the food was enjoyable but to be honest my lips were on fire! I'm pretty sensitive to spice so not my place, but may be yours. I ordered the zen noodle salad but again there was spicy stuff in it so I couldn't really enjoy it. The sauce that was served with it was also kinda spicy. The one thing I really enjoyed trying was the lemonade- it has a unique fruit I believe called Keule, so delicious! Bf ordered the pad Thai w chicken and he said it was very bland. I mean he had his plate swimming in sriracha but it didn't do anything for the dish. Be sure to mention whether you like spice or not before ordering as they are supposed to give you options but they didn't with us.

Pretty solid! Fun ambiance right down in a little business district which is kinda nice to walk around before or after. Staff was friendly and good was good. I got the chicken pad Thai and while it wasn't anything super standout it was fresh and I enjoyed it! Spice levels were good too, they can pack a punch!

Food is amazing! Soy sauce noodles resembled pad see ew which is my favorite. Wish there were some more vegetables in the dish but great flavor and good portion size. Also had the drunken noodles which were great. Will definitely be my go to for Asian food in the area.

I've put off writing a negative review but I'm done. Looked them up on Apple Maps and says open 11-3, cool, it's only 1. Placed my order online and drove down only to find they are closed. Looked at my confirmation and says I can pick up my order at 5:30pm. No prompt having me acknowledge that I can't have my lunch for 4.5 hours. Which is honestly not much worse than their normal wait time. Not to mention the times I've waited an hour for food and getting food home only to realize they hadn't added spice.

This is my favorite place to eat, with amazing vegan options that never disappoint. The staff is super kind, and I've never had a bad experience, highly recommend!

Stopped by this incredible Southeast Asian eatery in Des Moines, IA on a road trip and it was literally and figuratively. What a gem! They had Western-friendly names for some menu items, but the dishes themselves were about as authentic as you can get. For those that are sensitive to heat/spicy, I'd suggest just going with a 1 (on that scale of 1-5) because even a 2 is plenty of heat, and I have a high tolerance for spicy. They don't mess around! Zen Noodle Salad is a Vietnamese vermicelli bowl with fish sauce, and it's served warm. I'm accustomed to the noodles being room temp, but other than that, everything else in this dish was spot on including the egg rolls. Sky's the Limit was a nice stir-fried noodle dish and the shrimp exuded lots of flavor along with the rice noodles. I love dishes like this, but just be careful about getting the spicy level down to something you can enjoy! This place was a real treat for my friends and me. Des Moines is lucky to have it.

The food was amazing- I had chicken pad Thai the serving size was huge!!!! You order at the bar. No table service! The ambiance was amazing.. 10/10 loved the decor. If im ever in Des Moines Iowa again I would love to come back!

Great Pad Thai and crab Rangoon great service and can order to go and pickup. Great location. Nice staff.

Still DAAAAANG YOU GUYS! Yellow curry, Tom yum soup,Veggie egg rolls (vegan!) Mr W got the chicken pad Thai, spice level 4. All of it hit the spot. Lucky Lotus nails the food every time. I wasn't too thrilled about Tom yum soup this last round. They added waaay too many noodles and they must have forgotten my order. I waited very long. So the noodles swelled. But the flavor was good. The bowl was like an extra large. Easily a two person bowl. I probably won't be ordering that again. The massaman curry was delicious. Perfect flavor. 4 stars cuz their food is delicious and environment is great. Counter service and table service is nice. Minimal interaction as you have to serve yourself water and your own silverware. No big deal. It's just a different model of serving that many patrons may not be used to or expecting. Of course I'm coming back again and recommend

I wanted to try this place due to the glowing reviews. We went on a Friday night and it was busy. You order at the counter and we did wait at least 20-25 minutes for our food. They did apologize for the wait. I had red curry and it was good not great and I found the portion to be small based on what I am used from other Thai restaurants. If you are in Des Moines I highly recommend going a block down the street to Thai flavors, best Thai in DSM in my opinion

Lucky Lotus is SO, SO INCREDIBLE. It's a huge personal favorite of mine -- the crispy rice wraps are out of this world. They also recently catered a work event where I lost track of the number of times people asked where the food was from, ready to go back themselves.:)

This place is as the millennials say "a whole vibe". From the gold ceiling to the umbrella ceiling & Thai/Bangkok art wall, A WHOLE VIBE. Service is ordering at the counter when you walk in then they bring your food to your table. I also cannot recommend the Thai tea enough. It's like drinking sweet tea with 1/2 & 1/2 (they also have oat & almond milk). Crispy rice wraps were just that & they serve it with a flavorful sauce. They're huge so beware! Great to share. The bing bing wrap was so flavorful & had a nice crunch of veggies in it!

We have ordered takeout from Lucky Lotus at least 22 times, the last two times being the worst. We will never order food from them again, and we SO WANTED to support them. Our last order EVER, we chose a 5:10 pickup time so we could pick up the food at 5:10!!! We received a notification at 4:50 that our food was ready for pickup? 20 minutes early and 10 minutes before the restaurant even opens! At 5:10, of course the food was cold. The person actually asked if we had a microwave, so we could go home and reheat the food we ordered. We don't have a microwave, and how crazy is this question? They reheated the soup, while the VEGAN egg rolls became cold. That was pointed out, so they made fresh vegan egg rolls. The person came and took the cold vegan egg rolls out of the bag and the sauce. I'm sure the staff enjoyed them. We were sent home with hot egg rolls, No SAUCE and neither one of us has eaten pork for 20 and 30 years, guess what. They replaced our cold vegan egg rolls with PORK egg rolls. I actually had a dead animal in my mouth, it was horrific. I'm traumatized. We called to tell them how awful our experience was, and they said they would refund us, guess what...they didn't. We can make our own soup and mango sticky rice. We will never eat from here again.

The food was amazing very tasty and very well prepared. The service was fast and helpful we had some questions and they answered them shift and promptly. I place was nice and clean and very well lit the mood was nice, we enjoyed our lunch and left full and happy!

Drunken noodles... love love loved. Son in law eggs.... fantastic...dip that sticky rice in it... yes. Rainbow dessert.. not my thing but friends liked it.

Lucky Lotus is one of the best restaurants in the city of Des Moines! The service is always fantastic and is family owned and operated. My partner and I are frequent guests at this establishment and love their menu and atmosphere. We recently went on a Wednesday evening and ordered the crispy rice wraps (MUST ORDER) and I tried the Khao Poon this time. The Khao Poon really hit the spot on a chilly evening and the spice level was perfect for me. My partner ordered the Laap which is one of her favorite dishes. Everything here tastes delicious. It can get very busy but it's worth the wait and they do take out too!! We love it here and I think you will too!

Get the pad Thai! This place has great vibes on the inside and they update their menu pretty frequently. When you get there you order at the check out window and they bring your food to the table. I got a spice level or 2 and that was plenty. I also like spicy food! Parking is not the easiest because they don't really have a lot that we could find and there is construction on ingersoll currently. The Thai tea and orange drinks were great as well. Can't wait to go back!

The food exceeded all expectations and we loved the self-service experience so we could take our time and talk.

I was at Lucky lotus this Monday and for what I will say about Lucky Lotus but I was disappointed about the service time at the restaurant. It takes about 20 minutes for me to get my beef drunken noodle. I get the slowness as I went during rush hour but it is way too long compare to other time I went during rush hour. The food itself though is very great with all the flavor for me I order to extra spicy and they definitely deliver that taste to me. For ambience I think it great but the table management is quite bad at the restaurant. It is quite crowded and I was sitting at the counter side. One last thing that surprised me a bit is that the waiter is touching me on my shoulder and asking how was the food. That kind of panics me a bit as this is the first time I got tap on my shoulder at any restaurant For all of this I give Lucky lotus Food: 5 star Ambience: 3 star Service: 2 star Overall: 3.3 out of 5

Normally I LOVE lucky lotus, but I ordered take-out the other night and was super sad when my food was WAY too spicy. I got the yellow curry, which is one of my favorite dishes, and I always order it with the lowest possible spice level. I can handle some heat, but I enjoy it more when my mouth isn't on fire. One bite of my curry this time and my whole mouth burned. I kept trying to eat it because the flavor is good and I was so hungry, but I just couldn't. I've noticed the inconsistency with the spiciness before and it's definitely something that worried me when ordering from them.

Gorgeous place. Fun location. Good food. Great service. I'd love to go back someday!

Lucky lotus is SO GOOD. The pad Thai with chicken is my favorite dish--I get it with zero added spice level because my taste buds can't handle it the Rangoonies are my fave appetizer/shareable (don't sleep on those egg rolls either!) and the portions are enough that I usually have two meals out of one purchase. I've eaten both take out and in store--both are fresh, hot, and delicious. The restaurant itself is a fun place with lots of cool decor. Everyone is friendly and efficient. Seriously one of my favorite places!

Went for lunch. Menu on wall does not reflect what's being served. They've had to shorten menu & don't offer any lunch specials. We arrived around noon to an empty place. & two more tables were taken by 12:30 pm. it was Monday, which might be a slower day. The crab Rangoon were the stars of the meal. Fresh & tasty. Friend's beef jerky appetizer for her meal was ok. She purchased rice as a side. My Unami Bomb with chicken was okay. Perhaps a 2 for spice would have been better than my "1" I ordered. Help was masked & attentive. Would we go back? Probably not. Just okay.

We really like the food here and come regularly for lunch. However we came last Saturday evening and it was extremely crowded and extremely slow. We waited over an hour for our food. There were people standing in every available space. Avoid Saturday nights.

Awesome local food place! Menu options are delicious. It's like the best items selected on the menu. Eveything is delicious. Don't forget the Asian drinks.

Stopped here on a quick trip to Des Moines, and this place blew us away. I don't know if I will ever have Thai/Vietnamese/Laotian food like this ever again. Everything on the menu looked good and the staff was very friendly and helpful. We ordered several dishes, including the Crispy Rice Wraps and 5-Spice Special. These were my favorite! If you are ever in Des Moines, this place is a must.

This is one of my favorite spots in DSM. If you are looking for amazing Southeast Asian food, chill vibes, and arguably the most esthetically pleasing setting to enjoy your meal in, this is your spot. I try to get something new every time, but I always come back to their Laap. So flavorful, fresh, and the perfect portion. I recently tried it with Tofu to switch it up and loved it! I'm also a huge fan of the Drunken Noodles, Khao Poon and the Rangoonies. With most of their menu, you get to choose a heat level as well, so whatever your spice tolerance, you're taken care of. After you order and pay, staff will give you a table number, everything from there is self-serve (staff will bring your food to your table) - water/drinking glasses, condiments, to go containers, utensils, napkins. It makes the experience low stress as you don't have to ask staff for 1,000 things throughout the meal. The location is also great - right in the heart of Ingersoll, but across the street from a major parking lot so parking is rarely an issue, and they are easy to find.

This is our first time. Everything is excellent. The food the service ambulances all wonderful. I would highly recommend this lunch or dinner. The lowest level of spice was spicy enough for me so be careful.

This spot has by far the best Pad Thai in town. I tried the chicken Pad Thai for my family and I. They all loved it even my little brother who can be a bit of a picky eater. They have gluten free options which is the one I got and I'm so thankful they do that. I ordered some egg rolls and crab rangoons and they all loved them. Pad Thai was very flavorful and they give you a mix of dry peppers to add spice which just made it perfect. My brother said that they have the best crab rangoons he's had in a while. I'm excited to try the rest of the menu.

This place is absolutely fantastic! The food was so delicious and the atmosphere is amazing. I love how you order, find a seat, and then bring it out to you. The bbq pork plate with the rice was so fire and loved the sauce it came with. Also the pumpkin thai tea was really unique I'm so glad I came here.

Tried four items from the snacks menu. The service was quick and polite. Nice decor I really like the old Asian store sign behind the counter. Definitely try the crispy rice wraps but note they are huge like the size of a burrito. The wings and the curry puffs were awesome and I liked the sausage with sticky rice but wow the flavors and sauce if you don't like strong flavors maybe stay away from this one. Will be back for sure can't wait!!

I used to love this restaurant. I was thankful that they were close by. But the service and speed have become such a problem that I'm not coming back. Three times in a row. 45 minutes beyond wait time for takeout. Second time, eat in took over an hour. Third time, 45 minutes beyond expected wait time. And it wasn't that they were overly busy because they served someone who came in ten minutes after my meal was supposed to be ready their entire meal who was dine in. They just don't care. Love the food. I should just order it two hour before I want it.

They "lost" my take out order after multiple confirmations with different employees after waiting 30+ minutes I was finally told that the order couldn't be found. They made me check out and pay again. Now I'll be waiting another 30 minutes. Making over an hour for mediocre food. I'll have to charge a file back later for the original purchase. Place is pretty dirty. I don't think they have mopped that place in a week. Update: apparently they aren't capable of keeping to their quoted time even after their screw up. This place has potential, but it's horribly disorganized.

We ate at Lucky Lotus last night and left with quite a few strong feelings. The food is very good, but out of the food we had, the Pad Thai was by far the worst thing we ate. There was no pan frying/caramelization on the noodles and they were just kind of a wet pile of peanut noodles - meh. The big issue that we had last night was the service. The whole way you order up front is just bizarre. You order at the counter, are expected to tip, even though you have no idea what type of service you'll be getting. If I would have known how the service would go, I would not have tipped. After we ordered at the counter, we didn't get beverages or anything just sat down awkwardly and waited for someone to bring the drinks we ordered. The food was delivered in such an awkward cadence that it prompted me to write this review. Our main entrees were delivered basically before any of the appetizers we ordered, it was really bizarre. And when they were delivered by the kid working the front he seemed like he was in a really bad mood and couldn't hardly be bothered to lay the plate down on the table. It was really odd. I would say there was about a 35 minute gap between when we received our main entrees and then finally the appetizer that we had ordered. Again, the food here is good. That being said, the prices are WAY too high for the service that you get. $14/$15 for a basic noodle dish with the addition of protein is kind of out of bounds and I think Des Moines is starting to notice this type of pricing isn't acceptable. I have heard from many other people that they enjoy Lucky Lotus but the prices don't seem to align with their offerings. Lucky Lotus, please lower your prices and work on your timing. In food, timing is everything.

My friend took me here and I ordered the crispy rice wrap and the bing bing wrap. She ordred chicken jungle noodles. All our food was delicious I really loved the crispy rice wrap and wish I could have eaten more but we were both too full for seconds lol. We also wanted the sesame balls but they were already sold out so maybe next time. The interior and Merch they sell is pretty cute too.

We got take out but the vibe inside the restaurant is super cute!! I can't speak to the service, but the order staff was friendly. The food was solid, I got the green curry and Tom kha soup. My friends liked their pad Thai. It's not the best, but it's pretty good especially since we live walking distance to it. I'll go back whenever I'm craving something Thai.

So tasty the good flavor. Egg rolls are so yummy I love to eat them. It's also so cute inside

AMAZING!!!!truly delightful! We tried several items and everything was divine. Egg rolls were full of meat and actually had flavor! Scallion wrap was the best I have ever had. I have had these before at other restaurants and was sorely disappointed and knew that they could be amazing. This was it. I am not sure what spice was in the meat and it wasn't my favorite but I still enjoyed the wrap. Khao Jee was like eating a fried potato patty. I loved the tomato jam and didn't thInk I would. I could swim in that sauce and put it on everything! Wow! Vermicelli salad was very similar to others I have had and I loved the sausage!

A very unique and great addition to the neighborhood. These owners have had previous restaurant experiences and combine them all into this little place. You walk in to the ordering area and given a number to sit down. The food is promptly served to your table. The silverware and drinks are self serve along with condiments. Green milk tea was my favorite. A light airy taste but addicting ! I also recommend the drunken noodles. If you're looking for a variety of authentic tai food this is a great place to open those horizons .

Food took a bit, but well worth the wait! I've never had a bad thing off the menu and they keep it fresh with seasonal changes. Cool vibe for date night or family dinner.

THIS PLACE IS MY FAVORITE IN DSM! I crave it constantly, and when I venture out from my normal go tos, I am always super happy with how delicious everything is - most recently I tried the Nasi Goreng fried rice and oh. my. god. I didn't know fried rice could be so good! This is a regular for my partner and I as well as our friends. Their spring rolls are the best in the game. Our favorite are the autumn rolls with BBQ tofu they have in the fall/winter. If you are looking for good food in a really cool environment, this is the place.

This place is amazing. It's a small, cozy restaurant and parking is difficult, but the food is incredible. Efficient servers get you exactly what you want. I can't believe I missed this place for so long. I highly recommend their Crispy Rice Wraps- they are listed as an appetizer but make a terrific fresh, light meal on their own.

All Vegan options where amazing ! Food was fast and fresh & the ambiance was so friendly and uplifting. Very clean , Must Try !!

I LOVE this place! The food is really yummy. It is pretty healthy feeling for being asian and not a health food restaurant. The decor is super cute. Servers are friendly. Progressive environment.

This Southeast Asian Eatery has all the best dishes to choose from. Whether you're in the mood for pho, curry, or a noodle dish, there will be a great option for you at Lucky Lotus! I loved the ease of ordering as soon as you walk in at the register, but still having the dining experience of a sit-down restaurant here. My curry was extremely delicious with so many good veggies in the dish. Check it out!