Welcome to The Empire, where an old school restaurant meets midwestern warmth. Located in the heart of Downtown Des Moines.
Join us at 7 am (8 am on Sundays) for coffee, energy drinks and pastries. …
First time eating from here. I was a little worried about if the food would be hot still when it arrived because we are much further out from them but both meals were perfect! My son has sensory issues and I was worried about him trying something new. I got the Chicken & Rice for him thinking it looked similar to our chicken & rice casserole I make at home and he loved it! It was a huge portion too! It's always a relief when I can find him something on the menu other than deep fried chicken nuggets, so thank you!!! I got the Hot Beef and it was the best I've had in a long time! It's so hard to find hot beef sandwiches let alone made well! Definitely a 10/10 from this family! We will order again and have to dine in soon too!
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Juanita G
Local Expert • 28 contributions
Liked
• 8/3/26
• DoorDash order
We enjoyed everything. The Chorizo Burrito was perfectly balanced with meat and egg a homemade salsa would make it even better. The Crème Brûlée Coffee Cake was really good. Hot Honey Pepperoni was okay we've had a few other flavors and preferred them over this one. Overall everything was pretty good and we will continue trying new items off of the menu!
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William M
3 contributions
Didn't like
• 8/7/26
• DoorDash order
The first couple of times I've had the Italian beef it was fantastic but lately this place has gone down hill one time I ordered and it tasted like it was sitting all day and Burnt taste and today came cold and the beef barely cooked. The mashed potatoes aren't as mashed as before either
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Brittany C
10 contributions
Loved
• 7/25/26
• DoorDash order
First time ordering and I was blown away by how delicious and cheap it is! Hot Beef and Crème Brûlée Coffee Cake are amazing!
A
Alexa F
3 contributions
Liked
• 4/18/26
• DoorDash order
The Hot Beef was AMAZING! Super tasty, the portion size was decent. The Cup Chili was also really really good, very flavorful!
