Watrous Heights is a residential neighborhood, not a formal restaurant district—and that is part of its charm. The food scene here is made up of modest storefronts, longtime south-side institutions, neighborhood bars, international comfort food, and a few excellent destinations just beyond the neighborhood’s quiet streets. The best way to explore it is by car, following corridors such as SW 9th Street, Fleur Drive, Watrous Avenue, and nearby Army Post Road.
Whether you want a quick egg roll, a classic Des Moines taco, coffee and pastries, or a sit-down dinner with a glass of wine, Watrous Heights puts plenty of satisfying options within a short drive.
Start with Sam’s Fine Food & Egg Rolls
One of the area’s best hidden gems is Sam’s Fine Food & Egg Rolls at 3300 SW 9th Street, tucked into a small shopping center near the Watrous Heights area. This family-owned restaurant specializes in Chinese-American comfort food, with a menu built around egg rolls, fried rice, lo mein, crab rangoon, and other familiar favorites.
The restaurant is small and casual, with only a handful of tables, so many regulars order takeout. Prices are generally in the $8–$16 range, making Sam’s an easy choice for a filling lunch or an inexpensive dinner.
The obvious order is an egg roll—or several. They are crisp, generously filled, and substantial enough to serve as a snack or part of a larger meal. I also like Sam’s for the relaxed, neighborhood feel: it is the kind of place where you can ask about a dish, order an off-menu favorite, and leave feeling like you have discovered a local secret.
Jim’s Coney Island for a classic Des Moines lunch
At 3700 SW 9th Street, Jim’s Coney Island represents an older, wonderfully unfussy side of Des Moines dining. The menu centers on coney dogs, burgers, chili, fries, and other classic counter-service fare.
Expect to spend roughly $7–$14 per person. Jim’s is a good stop when you want something fast, nostalgic, and filling rather than polished or trendy. Order a coney with chili, add fries, and settle into the sort of lunch that feels tied to generations of local food habits.
This is also a useful reminder that the Watrous Heights food scene is not only about destination dining. Some of the best neighborhood meals are the ones that fit easily into a busy weekday: a hot dog, a burger, or a paper basket of fries eaten without ceremony.
Francie’s Bar & Grill: the neighborhood classic
For a more leisurely meal, head toward Wakonda View Drive and Fleur Drive for Francie’s Bar & Grill. Located at 2100 Wakonda View Drive, Francie’s has been a south-side fixture since 1987 and remains one of the area’s most dependable places for American-style food, drinks, and sports-bar atmosphere.
The price range is approximately $10–$25, depending on whether you stop for a sandwich and fries or order a larger dinner. Burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and familiar bar-and-grill plates make up the menu. The covered or seasonal patio is especially appealing in warm weather.
Francie’s is the place I would choose for a low-pressure dinner with friends, a televised game, or a casual burger when everyone wants something different. It has the friendly, lived-in quality that makes a neighborhood bar valuable: regulars know the staff, newcomers feel welcome, and the menu does not try to be something it is not.
Skip’s for a special occasion
When the occasion calls for something more polished, Skip’s at 4000 Fleur Drive is one of the south side’s longtime standouts. Housed in a remodeled-home setting, the restaurant offers American cuisine with steaks, seafood, pasta, burgers, salads, and specialties such as chicken de burgo.
Plan on $20–$45 per person, with steaks and seafood at the higher end. Skip’s is a good choice for birthdays, anniversaries, business dinners, or simply an evening when you want a more substantial meal without heading downtown.
The menu is broad, but the strongest appeal is consistency and comfort. This is classic Des Moines dining: generous portions, familiar flavors, a full bar, and enough variety to satisfy a group. If you are introducing someone to the south side, Skip’s is a reliable place to show that the area’s food scene extends well beyond quick-service restaurants.
Coffee, pastries, and a movie at Fleur Cinema & Café
Fleur Drive is also home to one of the area’s most distinctive food-and-drink experiences: Fleur Cinema & Café at 4545 Fleur Drive. The independent theater serves coffee, espresso drinks, beer, wine, Italian sodas, popcorn, and dessert bars, allowing you to make an entire evening out of a movie and a café stop.
Café items generally fall in the $4–$12 range, while movie tickets are modestly priced compared with many multiplexes. The café is especially useful for a casual pre-film coffee or a post-movie glass of wine.
For locals, the Fleur is more than a theater concession stand. It is a comfortable gathering place with an artsy, independent personality—one of the few spots near Watrous Heights where food, conversation, and culture naturally overlap.
Mayalu brings coffee and South Asian-inspired bites
A short drive north on Fleur brings you to Mayalu Coffee at 4226 Fleur Drive. The café serves coffee alongside pastries, momos, and curry puffs, giving the corridor a welcome South Asian influence. It is open daily and is an excellent stop for breakfast, a midday snack, or an afternoon caffeine break.
Expect to spend about $5–$15. Try a pastry with coffee, or make a light meal of momos and a curry puff. Mayalu is noteworthy because it feels both practical and distinctive: it works as a neighborhood café while offering flavors that are not typical of a standard coffee shop.
Bakeries and easy grab-and-go treats
Watrous Heights does not have a dense cluster of independent bakeries, but there are still convenient options nearby. The Hy-Vee at 4605 Fleur Drive has a full bakery department with breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, and prepared foods.
For a more bakery-focused outing, consider making the short drive to La Mie Bakery at 841 42nd Street. La Mie is known for French pastries, breads, breakfast items, sandwiches, soups, and café fare. Prices are generally $4–$18, depending on whether you are buying a pastry or sitting down for a meal.
Follow the food trucks
Food trucks are part of the broader south-side dining culture, although Watrous Heights does not have a permanent food-truck park. Schedules change, so check Food Trucks DSM before heading out. The directory regularly lists taco trucks, Asian food, burgers, and other mobile vendors around Des Moines.
For south-side taco runs, keep an eye out for trucks and stands near Army Post Road, SE 14th Street, and nearby shopping-center parking lots. Fantastic Tacos, listed at 900 E Army Post Road, is one example of the affordable Mexican street-food style that locals seek out, with tacos, quesadillas, and tortas generally in the $3–$15 range.
A south-side food tradition worth embracing
The Watrous Heights food tradition is wonderfully practical: Chinese-American takeout, coney dogs, burgers, flour tacos, pork tenderloins, bar food, coffee, and bakery treats. Des Moines’ famous flour taco tradition is especially easy to enjoy at Tasty Tacos, whose south-side location keeps the city’s signature puffy-shell taco within reach.
The best food crawl here is not a polished restaurant tour. It is a day of small discoveries: egg rolls on SW 9th, coffee and a pastry on Fleur, a burger at Francie’s, a movie with wine at the Fleur Cinema, or a taco from a truck whose location you found that morning. That mix of dependable classics and easygoing surprises is exactly what makes eating around Watrous Heights so enjoyable.