Best menu prices in Des Moines

DineForLess compared the dishes Des Moines orders most across 59 restaurants in Iowa. The widest gap is Salad, which runs from $4.00 at W-Tao Sushi to $21.00 across the 22 kitchens listed for it, a difference of $17.00. The cheapest plate on the list is Salad at $4.00 from W-Tao Sushi, against a typical $9.99. The most widely served dish here is Salad, on 22 menus, with a best price of $4.00.

Taken together, the best prices above come to $124.70 under what Des Moines typically charges for the same dishes. The menus behind them were read between 28 Aug 2026 and 16 Oct 2026. Every card shows where its price sits between the cheapest and the dearest in town, and each one opens the full list of kitchens serving that dish.

Across the dishes compared here the cheapest plate found is $4.00 and the dearest best price is $17.00. 18 of them can be had for under ten dollars at the right kitchen. The middle of the list pays about $14.00 for one of these dishes, which is what makes the gaps below worth knowing.

The single biggest gap on this page is Fettuccini Alfredo: Simon's charges $8.00 where Des Moines typically asks $18.99, a difference of $10.99 for the same plate. Zombie Burger + Bird comes out cheapest on 5 of these dishes, more than anywhere else on the page. The thinnest comparison here is Calamari, priced at only 3 kitchens, so treat that one as a smaller sample than the rest.

Which restaurant is cheapest in Des Moines? No single one, which is the point of the list. The dishes above are won by 16 different restaurants between them, and every card names the kitchen holding that price today, so the cheapest plate and the cheapest restaurant are rarely the same question.

How many menus is this from? 59 restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa. The prices here were read on 16 Oct 2026, with the oldest on the page from 28 Aug 2026. A dish reaches this page only once at least two different restaurants list it, so one kitchen's unusual price can never become the comparison.

Why is a dish I expected missing? Either nobody near here lists it at a published price, or only one restaurant does. The smallest comparison that did make the list is Calamari at 3 kitchens. Sizes and half portions are kept apart from full plates as well, so a side salad never sets the price for a salad.

Will I pay exactly this? Probably not to the cent. These are the prices each restaurant published on its own menu, before tax, tip, delivery or anything you add to the plate, and a restaurant can change one without telling anybody. Treat the figure as what the menu said on the date beside it.