Ceviche Bar

I have ordered takeout here and eaten outside with friends another time. I was disappointed both times. I was craving ceviche and this was the first place that came up. I ordered ceviche to-go the first time with tostones. It was really underwhelming. The ceviche here is salmon and shrimp that is barely marinated or seasoned with avocado and cilantro. Fatty salmon with fatty avocado in a "citrus" marinade that can barely cut through the oils. It tastes like there's not enough acid or spices. The salmon and avocado take over the whole dish. I felt like I was just eating Crisco lard. The salmon just does not work. It's not the ceviche you would think of if you've ever been to Central or South America. Ceviche is normally made with shrimp and whitefish and/or squid/octopus. The combination of these firm, mellow proteins soak up the tangy, citrus marinade which normally renders an exciting dish teeming with explosions of flavor. That's not what I experienced at Ceviche either time. Not only that but the Cuban bread I got with the "ceviche" the second time was thick and soggy. This place is a no go for me. I love to support local, and I tried to give them another chance, but no. Just no. The other two entrées we tried are also over-priced and unremarkable. If you want large servings of real ceviche that is cheap, go to Isla del Pacifico by the capitol building! UPDATE TO OWNER: No one is asking you to sell cheap food. If you go through all of the negative reviews your diners are saying that the quality of food +/ service doesn't match the prices. If you actually go through my reviews like other restaurant owners you can see that I'm happy to pay hundreds of dollars for good food. Making a slight against one of your competitors by saying that you won't use fish from China shows that you lack emotional intelligence. And, in reading your response to other reviews that also shows. Being a restaurant owner requires you to be able to take criticism and use it to your advantage. People aren't asking you to sell cheap food. People are asking you to do better. Not everyone is going to like your food. I eat, I leave reviews. I am not responsible for your actions or emotions. You are.

This bar can’t keep employees and fires the good ones. The owner, Tanya, is incompetent. There’s no management structure and she expects the employees to pick up her slack. The AC can’t keep up, I’ve personally found black specs in my ice, leading me to believe that the ice machine never gets cleaned, picture is proof, and constantly running out of inventory. I’m reporting the moldy ice to the food safety department. I was there last Monday and they didn’t even have pork for their Cuban sandwiches. I tried to go in on a Tuesday a couple weeks back and they ran out of their seafood pealle, they were totally out of toilet paper, and employees mention all of these problems to the owner and she does nothing about it and doesn’t seem to care. She isn’t ever there anyways.

If you’re a paella lover, like us, check out Ceviche’s Cuban seafood (or vegan) paella! Tuesdays is a $10 special on paella. It was delicious, so much so that we ordered 4 of them. Different than a Spanish paella (not in concept but overall flavor), but still amazing. Served with awesomely seasoned plantains and bread slices, plump shrimp and a mix of other seafoods, this dish was fantastic. Definitely something worth not skipping out on, and would be great as take out, too. Ropa Vieja: shredded beef and vegetables was very flavorful. Hard to beat the paella but we still loved it and all tried a bite. Flavor was on point. Diablo Shrimp: spicy shrimp with tons of capers, if I could combine this with the paella I would be in heaven. Very different flavors, but the diablo shrimp was sooooooo good. The latter two dishes came with an option of rice and beans or a salad. We opted for salad but they both came with rice and beans. No worries, a salad was brought out anyhow, which I loved but the others did not; tons of green olives, onions, avocados and peppers, this was definitely a “Jessica-style salad”! Espresso martini was awesome. Really really good (wasn’t mine but I tried a sip and it was fab).

Oh my goodness!!!!! The food and the atmosphere are great. Jackie is awesome. We started off with tostones and stormy mule. I had the yuca and cabbage salad. My husband had the ceviche on tostones and Cuban bread. I will be going back before I leave Des Moines to have the vegan Paella. The service was great!!!! If you are in downtown Des Moines you have to go!!!!