St. Kilda Cafe & Bakery

No other way to describe brunch here than phenomenal. We were visiting from out of town, and ended up ordering three entrées because the tiramisu French toast was just too tempting to pass up. Our server, Levi, also raved about the berry compote and brought us some on the side to try with it. He also gave us some great local tips for exploring Des Moines! The chorizo tacos were delicious, with huge portions – two are more than enough to fill you up. If we’re ever back in the area, we’ll definitely return!

Hands down amazing! The combination of flavors in each dish is unique. It’s a great menu with even better service. I think we will go here again this weekend. If you need breakfast, it’s worth the 1 mile walk from the Hilton. Absolutely delicious!

I have been here several times recently for brunch. This place knows what they are doing and they are really good at it: the atmosphere, the decor, the food, the service. The lattes here are the best in the area, hands down. Even the cups and saucers are beautiful and add to my enjoyment of the coffee drinks. I want the exact cups for my own home. The seasonal latte flavors are creative and never overly sweet. I do love a pumpkin spice latte, and St. Kilda has the best. I was interested in a seasonal mocha and was hesitant to order it for fear it would be too sweet, but the server told me more about it so I decided to try it. It was the best mocha I’ve ever had with the perfect balance of flavors and just the right amount of sweetness. Everything that’s a part of the Big Aussie Breakfast is prepared to perfection: thick cut bacon, delicious blistered roasted tomatoes, perfectly crispy house-made bread. Even the gluten-free bread is excellent. Last week my boyfriend got a hashbrown on the side and it was the best hashbrown I’ve ever had - a lovely soft texture on the inside and perfectly crispy all the way around on the outside. The last 3 times I’ve eaten there, we’ve had the same server. I love her! Very friendly, relatable, and a bit quirky in the best possible way. After our last visit, I decided St. Kilda in Valley Junction is my favorite place for brunch.

Such a unique modern hip cafe! I loved how worldly the menu was. The atmosphere was really nice, presentation of food was simple, and the place was clean. It was easy to find and when we got inside the restaurant was super busy, but they still accommodated quickly. I enjoyed going with my family. Points for having a changing table in the bathroom! We ordered a hot chocolate, chai tea, veggie sandwich, and I forgot the name of what my boyfriend got (sorry).

Visited this cool cafe while visiting Des Moines for a business meeting. I was very impressed. Big open space for ordering, great atmosphere and vibe, helpful and attentive service, phenomenal food!! I wish I could visit more and try more menu items and I’d definitely recommend this place for locals and visitors!

Definitely a staple for us on the south end of downtown. My first meal when I moved to DSM was here and it's a place that I continue to visit to meet friends or have a brunch date. The food is always perfect at this location and the coffee always hits the spot. It's definitely my favorite St. Kilda overall!

Who serves soup in a super wide, shallow bowl? The tomato soup was barely warm in the center, and completely cold on the outside. Flavor was spicy and texture was weird. I also ordered the grain bowl, which contained less than 1/8 of a cup of grain. Not much flavor in the cauliflower & sweet potatoes. Not impressed. Coffee tasted like it had been sitting in the pot a long time. Hubby said he liked his breakfast tacos, but they looked a little skimpy for the price (with no sides). G'dau liked her very overpriced yogurt & granola. We did have really great service, so there's that

We went here today for lunch. This place would get a 3 and half stars if there was a half. The food was decent but a very limited menu. They did have outside seating which was a plus and all the wait staff wore mask and served at a distance. I had the pork Cubans which was very good. The ladies had the salmon and the berries toast. I recommend getting the mango smoothie very good. The price was on the high end for this type of place but not bad. I would go back but would try some place else 1st.

This place is cute! It's very chic modern and has a vibe I wouldn't necessarily expect in Des Moines (but what do I know). Our waitress was very sweet. I had a lavender honey latte (iced). It was a tad watery and didn't have a ton of flavor, but I still thought it was good. I think it would have been better hot. For food, I had the eggs Florentine. It was delicious (although maybe a little cold). I also had a piece of bacon which was very meaty and, in my opinion, perfectly cooked. I would definitely come back if I'm ever in Des Moines again.

This was a highly recommended breakfast/brunch spot I saw when I was doing my research on Des Moines, so naturally I had to get breakfast here! Picked up breakfast from here on a Friday morning and it was an absolute delight of a start to my Friday! It's located just a couple blocks from the Des Moines river and near the baseball (I believe?) stadium on the west side of town. It's SUCH a lovely space and I can imagine it is booked and busy on the weekends for brunch. When I came around 9 am on a Friday though, it was basically deserted except for one table being occupied. The employees behind the counter were so accommodating and friendly, had the food ready to go in half the time they said it was going to take, and held off on making my drink until I got there since it had ice cream in it and they were worried about it melting - so thoughtful! There's a lot of Australian influences in the food and drink here, which was so fun and unique to see. Especially in the coffee I ordered, knowing that Australia has a huge coffee culture, I ordered the Australian iced coffee which was espresso with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. :) For me, it really hit the spot and was just perfect! The breakfast menu also looked divine! I believe they are well known for their avocado toast, so we ordered the avocado toast (which truly was SO good) AND a pork belly eggs benedict. I mean...come on! I have never had pork belly in my eggs benedict before and it was SO DELICIOUS because you truly can't go wrong with pork belly. But additionally, instead of an English muffin being at the bottom, it was just a ton of roasted potatoes and frankly, I preferred it that way! Both dishes were so good! I highly recommend St. Kilda for all your brunch/breakfast needs! I believe they are also open for lunch and dinner, so I'd be super interested in trying them out during these times as well the next time I'm in Des Moines!

I've stopped by here twice this year to see friends in DM and the real surprise here is the food. Yes, the sunlight and coffee are double wins, but don't sleep on the menu. The jerk chicken, avocado toast, salads, and eggs are all good!

Fabulous ambiance - modern Cafe/restaurant. The service was friendly and attentive. Could've been a 5 star if my espresso hadn't gotten lost in the mix. Maybe more than 1 person behind the bar would help out orders. It's a pricey place: $4 espresso, $9 mimosa and $16 sandwich. Definitely paying for the overhead here, but it was a nice treat before I headed back home.

Everything was pretty good and tasted very fresh. Came here with a good sized group about 6 of us and it was easy to get in for brunch. Good variety in food options as well as someone I was with has a lot of food allergies and they were very accommodating. I just thought the food wasn't anything that was super stand out. Service and ambiance were both solid

Cute quiet cafe on the corner of the street. You can order to go, or drink/dine in. I opted to dine in, and unlike most coffee shops and cafes, they will serve you like a restaurant rather than ordering up at the counter. I got their seasonal latte, which is currently a cinnamon latte. It was tasty and not too sweet, along with the perfect balance of cinnamon. To eat, I got the mushroom toast. It had some sweetness with the queso and savory with the mushrooms and was very yummy. Pricing is fair, and the girls working were nice. I'd come back next time I'm in Des Moines.

What a beautiful spot! I was visiting Des Moines for work and after reading all the reviews for St Kilda, I knew I had to stop in. The interior is bright and airy! I was in on a weekday morning so there was plenty of space. A few folks were even camping out working for awhile. I started off with their Australian coffee. Basically similar to an affogato, it was quite delicious. Their standard breakfast was also spot on. Everything from the toast to the eggs were perfectly done. I loved the little ramekin of tasty jam as well. The service was friendly and our waitress was always around when we needed her. Definitely a spot worth checking out in DSM!

I tried this new place which is connected to some lofts. Great coffee and food choices. It has plenty of seating. Good for large parties. The service was great friendly server took time to make sure that everything was to your satisfaction!

Picked this place using the true and tried foodie category on Yelp, did not disappoint. Only thing standing to five stars is that the croissant served was not warmed up, very first world issue.

St Kilda Café & Bakery in Clive, IA has a very open and airy dining area. As can be seen in my pics of the hostess area and place setting featuring the use of light wood paneling and straight line designs. The service on this Saturday morning was quick and attentive. All breads are baked fresh daily. This restaurant predominately serves breakfast and lunch from 8 am to 4 pm. We shared their Ricotta Hotcake and the Cheddar Chive Biscuit Sandwich. As you can see in the Ricotta Hotcake pic this isn't your usual flapjack. This single hotcake is about 3" think, yet it is light and airy - similar to a light Angel food cake - but kicked up a notch. Mixing in the Ricotta cheese into the batter adds depth of flavor and moistness to the hotcake. The hotcake is sprinkled with granola - not the jaw shattering type but a soft crunch version that compliments the moist hotcake. There is a drizzle of syrup adding a bit sweetness and small dollops of light lemon curd that added brightness to the bite. The Cheddar Chive Biscuit sandwich is a mouthful. The folded egg is every bit as light, as it appears in my pic. The bacon was meaty and rich. The biscuit was dense, rich and hearty. (This would have been an excellent standalone biscuit.) The edges were tough and were a bit hard on the bite. Overall, the melding of flavors worked well.

I hate to do this but we really didn't like this place at all. Menu was very limited for brunch, not at all like the photos previously posted on Yelp suggested. Even the bar drink menu was severely limited. Did they recently change ownership or management? 2 stars for the service though, the girls were great at helping one another. I had the chicken schwarma bowl, portion of chicken was very small. Presentation was nice but flavors were lacking and pita dominated as the main ingredient. Not a good sign.

Good brunch spot near downtown DSM. The restaurant is bright and airy, the aesthetic is very typical of hipster Australian-style cafes. The food was above average, I was impressed with the poached eggs which had just the right amount of runny in the yolk. The coffee was pretty good as well. It is a bit pricey compared to some other options in the area. Initially I thought this should be 4 stars but we noticed they are adding a 3% service fee for all credit card transactions (it's in the fine print) and the staff either not aware or not upfront about it, it could have been better communicated.

When I go to different cities I love looking for local fresh coffee shops / restaurants. OMG elevated food choices with details that don't disappoint. To some people food isn't a big deal. For me it's like art. Literally eating art. Someone put time, thought, preparation and then someone decides it's important enough for you to taste it, and bring it to your table. The next time you eat take the time to really see what it is your eating. Someone just didn't throw salt and pepper on it here. Tips to make it better - there a few workers that never smile. Its about the energy. You put all that work into making glorious food, and the non smiling , well it ruins the ambiance of the edible artwork. It's obvious who they are.

This is certainly a very hip spot and justly deservedly so! I had read the reviews on Yelp and they didn't steer me wrong! We were deciding if we should sit outside or inside and opted for inside - it was too hot outside - plus there were no backs for the chairs and for breakfast, I like to relax and sit in a chair with a back! So we went upstairs and sat at a long table and decided to order - breakfast taco ( (scrambled eggs, chorizo and sweet potato hash, cotija cheese, ahi Amarillo sauce, white corn tortilla) and housemate granola and yogurt (house almost coconut granola, chia yogurt, seasonal berries, and skipped the honey). And we also, ordered orange juice. We were very happy with our food. It was a different kind of breakfast with was nice. They are a full service Australian-style restaurant serving breakfast and lunch. They have all kinds of fresh baked pastries, coffee drinks, fun dishes, and a full bar! I do like the open air concept for seating as well and the old windows that are still in place. What I didn't like was the credit card fee (I as not told there would be one) added to my bill. Nice find in the Des Moines area.

St. Kilda was a happy accident for us. We stumbled across it while waiting for our car to charge at a nearby lot, and now make a point of stopping when passing through Des Moines. Consistently good food, friendly and reasonably-paced service, all in a cute environment. Breakfast and lunch recommendations: the avocado toast is delicious when ordered with a poached egg. (It's good but not great without it.) At first I thought the toast itself was cut a bit thick, but it grew on me the more I ate. The fresh berry salad is tasty as well, but pretty sweet and likely best paired with a protein. The salmon & egg is great--there's a lot going on in it and you can create a lot of different flavor combinations as you work through your meal. On that last point, a lot of the dishes at St. Kilda are a bit on the complex side, which may present a challenge if dining with a picky eater. (In our case, a starving teenager.) The Big Aussie Breakfast can work in a pinch here. We haven't had the opportunity to try St. Kilda for dinner, so can't speak to it. Maybe we'll have to find our next trip through Des Moines appropriately. Regardless, we'll be back.

Lots of natural light and wood in the restaurant. High ceilings. The Avocado Toast is substantial, satisfying, and it tasted and looked like it was made with care. If you're looking for a healthy midday meal that won't leave you feeling burdened for your second half of the day, this is a great option.

The best latte I've ever had. Every pastry and entree is super high quality with the freshest ingredients. We bring our out of town guests here to impress them with what Des Moines has to offer.

Happened upon St Kildas and what a great spot! Minimalist design, great food, relaxed vibe. We had the Berry salad, chicken sandwich and salmon & eggs. Delicious! Highly recommend

I have been wanting to try this place since my son moved to Des Moines. Great place! I had the homemade granola with chia seed yogurt. My son had the spinach florentine with poached eggs and hollandaise. My husband had the breakfast tacos and we were all VERY happy with our choices. Will be stopping in again on our next visit!

St. Kilda's was delicious! I had the breakfast tacos and they were top notch. Service was friendly as well. I'd definitely come back!

A casual breakfast place with upscale plating. You'll eat not only with your taste buds but also with your eyes. Interior has a Scandinavian feel to it with it's warm wood tones but clean and simple decor. I came during a calmer time but they do have a reservation system in case you want to ensure you get a table. The space inside is quite large with an outdoor area and several rooms inside. They have a full coffee bar along with pastries and a breakfast/brunch menu. The two entrees we got - steak and eggs and kimchi reuben were both fantastic. Plates were beautifully presented and foods were impeccably prepared and tasty. I can see why they have such great reviews! I would not hesitate to come again on my next trip through town even if the prices are a little pricier for breakfast.

Great food, great service. I would recommend to everyone. The avocado toast is my favorite.

We always have to stop here when passing through and honestly just PLAN to stop here, if we are going to be anywhere near the area. Coffee is on point.. and food is right up there with it. Got the avocado toast on our most recent visit, but everything we've ever ordered here has been incredible. Cool industrial space, with extra space in the back and a solid patio outside. It was pretty hot on our most recent visit and we had our little son.. so we decided to sit inside. It was pretty busy, but I felt like we were still able to keep spaced out, in spite of that. We had almost the entire back to ourselves, minus one other table. Service is always a little to the slow side.. but the food is definitely worth the wait.. and we can all probably benefit from slowing down a little bit anyways, can't we? ;)

Environment/Ambiance: 10/10 Food: 10/10 Coffee: 10/10 Location: 10/10 Service: 10/10 I love St. Kilda! It's one of Des Moines best gems. The food is delicious and fresh, and the overall vibe is great. It's always busy. I would recommend St. Kilda to anyone.

Spent 8 days in DSM and this was the best place. Cute atmosphere, very friendly staff and delicious fresh food. Will come back to try beet salad.

Working in Des Moines and arrived starving! I was looking for a place to work and eat some great food and so glad I stopped in here! You can seat yourself and the staff is super friendly the moment you walk in. My server was fantastic and helped me right away. I ordered the yogurt and the cheddar chive biscuit sandwich... needless to say.. it was a LOT of food lol! I absolutely loved both dishes! The yogurt had fresh fruit and granola with a drizzle of honey.. light but filling! And the breakfast sandwich is was a great combination of sweet and savory balanced with the pimento cheese and the cheddar chive biscuit with jalepeno jam. I didn't end up finishing the entire meal but every single bite was totally worth it! Also: the coffee was AMAZING! I kept it simple with iced coffee and a pump of salted caramel syrup.. just the kick I needed

I'm visiting from out of town and I found this place and it has great review so I thought I would give it a try..I went in to order for take out bc I had plans. I paid $14 and waited about 30 mins for this (see photo) this is actually very disappointing because not only does it look terrible and the biscuit feels like a rock it's the fact that I waited so long and paid so much and on top of all that it's tiny. If I could give this place a zero star rating I totally would. I also ordered a matcha latte. And idk what they used in it but it doesn't take like matcha it just taste like milk...

Always reminds me of a day. An early morning interview! It was the first cafe that opened in the neighborhood and I tried it out. Loved it

Delicious high quality food and tasty coffee. Stopped by while in town from LA, and this was better than anything I've had there

Modern fusion high ceiling vibe Server recommended her favorite Gochujang hot wings and it was interesting. Want to go again with friends for endless talking with light refreshments!

I had high hopes for this place, but I left disappointed. First off, the service wasn't all that great. They weren't extremely busy, but it took my waitress 10 minutes to greet me and take my coffee order. Secondly, the coffee and food weren't great. The coffee was very acidic. The food looked delicious, but it was far from it. I didn't finish most of it. And for what I paid, I expected higher quality, which I didn't get. Overall, I wasn't impressed and won't be back.

Great vibe, high quality food. Very unique brunch /breakfast menu. I had the poached eggs with avocado on sourdough bread, with a side of bacon. The preserves that come with the bread is excellent, definitely homemade. Others had the salmon with egg and ham n cheese with egg. Food is first-rate. The cappuccino was fanciful and tasty! Service was superb, staff very friendly. White glove clean, too.

Solid trendy breakfast. Everything is beautiful inside including all of the food and very tasty. I love the atmosphere, it reminded me of studio Magee meets restaurant with a very Chicago or Denver farm to table vibe. I had the full eggs with bacon after being pretty stressed about choosing one item because everything looked so good. I will go back for sure next road trip!

My wife had the eggs Florentine with gluten free toast and loved it. I had the Salmon and Eggs and ate every bit of it. Our server was very accommodating made sure our drinks were filled and that our food was delicious. The restaurant itself was very inviting.

Probably one of the best breakfasts I've had in awhile... We were driving through DSM from MSP to COMO (Midwest acronyms FTW), and I found St. Kilda on Yelp. The photos stood out to me, as they look colorful, fresh and not like your typical greasy spoon diner. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE greasy breakfast food, but just not so much when I'm about to be stuck in a car for another 4+ hours, ya know. The inside was beautiful, but we chose to sit outside on the patio. They had a high chair for our 11-month-old. Service was nice and prompt, which was heaven-sent for hungry travelers. My Hue matcha latte was lovely and not bitter. I got the Country Peas dish which had varietal peas, lemon, shallot, ricotta, sourdough, poached eggs, truffle, and I added prosciutto. This was an incredible dish! I was hard-pressed to share a bite with my only-child. I loved that the truffle added umami without being overpowering. My partner got the Bubble & Squeak, which had potato & leek cake, bacon, smoked tomato, brown butter sauce and egg. Each element was incredible on its own, let alone is one beautiful dish. We will totally make a point to stop here again when in Des Moines. I love that the breakfast menu is served all day!

If you're looking for a local, trendy spot in DSM with good food this is your place. We recently had breakfast here and it didn't disappoint! The food was good, service was prompt and helpful. We will be back again soon! Concerning CoVID they are wearing masks and require customers to do the same, sanitary stations around the restaurant.

Fabulous!!!! They offer indoor and outdoor dining. There are small tables, communal seating, and bar like seating where you can people watch out the window. I enjoyed the biscuit sandwich thing. that biscuit makes it. I asked for my egg over hard and no bacon to make it vegetarian. My friend had the French toast which looked great as well. The latte was so nice, I had it twice.

Stopped in for brunch on a Sunday morning, really nice to be able to make reservations thru Yelp. Got there around 9:30 and the place wasn't terribly busy but picked up while we were there. They have a lot of gluten free options and our serve was very helpful explaining what is and isn't gluten free. The portions were very good sized. The chili benedict was quite filing and tasty and the my wife really enjoyed the gluten free avocado toast. The coffee selections are on point as well. Will be back for sure if I'm in town again.

An overall trendy and well built establishment. My friend made Sunday brunch reservations. It was fairly busy so we ended up parking by the science center and just crossed the street. I ordered a pomegranate punch, which tasted like juice. I couldn't tell there was alcohol but there definitely was. It was a pleasant drink to have for the morning. My meal of choice was their saint breakfast sandwich. The patty is a sausage and it has tomato jam with it, which helps compliment the dish altogether. This sandwich was so filling and was more than I could ask for. The price of it is kinda expensive for just the sandwich but that's kind of the whole game of brunch anyway. I think this type of sandwich is more worth the price than some of their other dishes. Service was a bit slow but it may be because they do have a lot of people who come in. We did have to ask for our check since it took awhile. Overall it was a good time.

I expected a tad more and would give this a 3.5 stars if I could. To keep it short, nothing wowed us; our server did her job but wasn't super warm or friendly and our food was good but nothing zesty. Everything felt very plain and rather mediocre to me. The lack of creativity in the dishes also made the price feel high. I ate my entire elote salad bowl but found the texture of the ancient grains and corn together to be slightly displeasing and a tad odd. The bacon stood out as superior, it was thick but crispy. Kudos to St. Kilda for creating a cute and casual atmosphere. You can tell all the hipsters in Des Moines love this place, I just thought there was more to be desired.

The food was good! I liked the toppings on the toast. A little pricy for smaller portions but delicious. Love the atmosphere and my waitress was super friendly.

This is my go to spot in Des Moines. It's one of the few places where the food got better each time. I went there three morning in a row. ‍ What does that say to you? I like attentive waiters and reasonable delivered food. It had both. From there I look for delicious food that's more than I can whip up at home and worth the money. It delivered there as well.

Cute place for weekend brunch. I had a delicious matcha oat milk latte while we waited for food. We unfortunately waited about 30 min for our food, and when we got it, I had paid the $2 extra for avocado to be added to my meal, just to receive less then a quarter of an avocado (4 very thin slivers). I got the toast with two poached eggs and avo, partner got the biscuit sandwich. Food was good but a bit underwhelming for the time we spent waiting for it. Really wanted to love everything about this place. The ambiance is very modern chic and we did love the energy and young, small business feel.

My favorite place for lunch/brunch. Always fresh, creative, and tasty. I recently got the esquites special with Iowa sweet corn and it was amazing.

We weren't blown away by the food by any means, but the staff is genuinely friendly, so I want to give them props. I got the avocado toast and my breakfast mate got the tacos. It was too expensive for what we got.

FIVE STAR FOOD, three star service. Hopefully, it was a one-off and the server was just having a bad day, but eye-rolls, heavy sighs, abruptness, and annoyed energy were on the edge of detracting from the awesomeness of the food. And that would have been a shame! Bubble & squeak (which also happened to be gluten-free) was out of this world, the smoked grape tomatoes an unexpected burst of deliciousness! Avocado toast loaded with a multitude of complimentary flavors and textures. I haven't seen dukkah on a menu since I was in Australia, and this cafe does a PHENOMENAL job reflecting exciting Aussie food. AAAAAND - the presentation was beautiful.

We just ordered take out. My husband ordered mushroom toast and I got salmon and eggs. My salmon and eggs were bad. I used to enjoy their salmon and eggs. The salmon smelled very fishy and had an ammonia taste so I threw it out. My husband was also not very pleased with his food. He said it was inedible. The only item we enjoyed was the chai latte.

Long wait, however, we'll worth it. Great service and great fresh food. Service was amazing and understanding. Wide variety of drink and food options.

Stopped on our way home from Kansas. Pretty nice and clean place. The coffee was much better than diner coffee but not the best coffee shop. Pretty food. Tasty salad, but grilled "chicken" was mystery meat.