Rusty Duck

I should preface this review by saying it's 5:30 AM on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and I have spent 90% of the night in the bathroom. My date and I walked into the Rusty Duck around 7:30 Friday night - surprised us to see it was far less than half full on a Frida...y night. Despite the lack of any crowd, it took us over 5 minutes to be seated. After being seated we sat for another 5 minutes before actually having to ask the bartender if she could possibly send our server to our table - we were hungry and thirsty. Ordered some onion rings, a Coors Light and water for me, and my date had an iced tea. Got the onion rings before the beverages and to that our server said "The drinks should be up any time." Really? Do they brew the Coors Light, bottle it and then serve it? TEN MINUTES to get a water, iced tea and Coors Light. And we were literally sitting at a table right next to the bar. We thought about walking out at least 4 times, but for some reason stayed. I guess our mistake there. None of the food tasted the best - I had a tenderloin and she had orange roughy. I didn't even bother trying to order another beer - as we didn't want to be there for two hours. On the ride back to West Des Moines we both started feeling sick. That was the rest of the night. And now morning. She called the manager about an hour after we got home. He said in no way did it have anything to do with their food. Had to be that we both drank too much. My ONE bottle of Coors Light and her iced tea must've put us over the top. What a jerk. Guy never even apologized. Hope he never feels this way after eating somewhere. Obviously there is no recourse for us - with Rusty Duck management telling unsatisfied customers to go pound sand. Good thing for the internet though! Can spread my story as I lay here with a seemingly-perpetually upset stomach. If you are thinking about driving from Des Moines over to Dexter to eat here - don't. Spend your dining money somewhere much better in the metro and save your gas money. This place shouldn't even receive one star. BUYER BEWARE at the Rusty Duck...... Read More

My wife and I visit this establishment frequently. Tonight my wife wanted to eat and I did not. We sat at the bar and she ordered food and I ordered some drinks. My wife mentioned off hand to the bar tender that I would eat off her plate. When I received the bill, it ch...arged me $5.00 for an extra plate. When I questioned the charge, I was informed that this was a house rule. Yes they brought me a clean plate. I paid my bill, but as a person of principal, I will not patronise this establishment in the future. Spend the $5.00 wisely Brad. Read More

I refer to this place as the hungary duck! You need to go when your starving! The portion is to much but you cannot stop eatin because it's so good. Their ribeye is the BEST. It is cooked perfectly everytime we go. This steak beats any I have had in Des Moines! Th...ey are always busy but it's well worth the wait for the wonderful food! We were there two weeks ago and it was hot in there. The waittress must have noticed because she brought us a fan, we didn't even have to ask. Very thoughtful.They must have listened about all the cold complaints I just read in their reviews. I highly, along with my husband and kids, recommend the ribeye dinner. Read More

I've been to the Rusty Duck many times, with reservations and without. The service is great in spite of always being packed with patrons. The food is even better - consistantly flavorful and cooked to order. The steaks deserve special mention but by now we have tried ju...st about everything on the menu and every item is great. We always end up with a go-box because of the size of the portions. The prices are what you would expect in a small town - very reasonable. I usually ask the waitress to give the chef my compliments - especially for his steaks. Drinks are cheap too. I feel almost ungrateful in mentioning that they don't have desserts and always bring a coat or sweater because it is very cool inside - year round. Read More

I go to this area once a year or so for the fall festival. The rusty Duck served me the BEST and second best steak I ever had. I offered the waitress a wad of $ to tell me who they did it, but she wasn't giving it up. I am driving the 2 hours again next weekend just ...for this place (middle of winter). Oh and we also ended up purchasing a bottle of the house salad dressing. Good Stuff. Read More

We made reservations for 6pm party of 10 on a Saturday night. At 7:45 PM the last couple in the party were finished eating. Dishes were proptly taken up and we were asked to pay our tickets because they wanted our table for another party of 15. This was our parents 67th... aniversary and we were looking forward to some conversation after the meal. The irony of it was we all agreed to try this resteraunt again,right before we were asked to leave. That won't happen now. Read More