Splash Seafood Bar & Grill: An Expensive Occasion Pick

The overall read

Splash Seafood Bar & Grill remains one of Des Moines’ more prominent seafood-focused dining rooms. Its Google rating of 4.4 from 588 reviews points to broadly positive experiences, especially among guests celebrating anniversaries and birthdays. Public feedback repeatedly credits caring, attentive service with making those dinners feel special.

The restaurant sits firmly in the expensive category. That makes consistency particularly important, and the available reviews do not present a completely even picture. Several diners describe excellent food and memorable hospitality, while another reports a noticeable decline compared with an earlier visit. Splash appears best approached as an occasion restaurant with strong potential, rather than a guaranteed value play.

Seafood and standout dishes

The menu’s appeal is clear from the range of seafood mentioned across public reviews. Diners have highlighted crab cakes, Oysters Rockefeller, seafood pasta, miso salmon, carpaccio and a seafood boil. The boil was described as hot, fresh-tasting, generously seasoned and filling, with the expected hands-on messiness treated as part of the fun.

Chilean sea bass is the only specific dish to recur in the supplied feedback, but reactions split sharply. One birthday diner praised it alongside mashed sweet potatoes and risotto, while another found the fish almost flavorless. That contrast captures the principal question surrounding Splash: the kitchen can deliver a polished celebratory meal, but the execution may vary.

Carpaccio earned unusually enthusiastic praise from an anniversary party. Another group enjoyed every dish it tried, including the crab cakes, Oysters Rockefeller, seafood pasta and miso salmon. Those reports suggest that a shared starter followed by a seafood main is the clearest route through the menu.

Service can lift the experience

Hospitality is one of Splash’s strongest recurring themes. Anniversary and birthday diners describe service as caring, excellent and willing to go beyond the basics. One reviewer singled out a server by name for exceptional attention, while another said the restaurant helped make a birthday feel special.

That level of service matters at an expensive restaurant. When the food lands well, the combination of seafood, drinks and attentive pacing appears suited to anniversaries, birthdays and other planned dinners. The public feedback gives less reason to view Splash as a casual stop or a value-driven choice.

Where expectations need managing

The most detailed negative review raises specific execution problems. A Kung Pao calamari and shrimp appetizer reportedly arrived with too much sauce, too little seafood and a soggy shell rather than a crisp one. The same diner found the Chilean sea bass lacking flavor. Another otherwise positive party felt that some offerings were priced beyond the quality delivered.

Taken together, the reviews support a favorable but qualified verdict. Splash offers a broad seafood selection, capable service and real special-occasion appeal. Its best meals sound memorable, particularly when hospitality is firing on all cylinders. Still, diners paying expensive prices may be less forgiving of oversauced appetizers, muted seasoning or dishes that feel stretched on value.