Fong's Pizza opened in January 2009 as a partnership between Jeff Bruning (part owner of several other Des Moines bars) and Gwen Schlepphorst. Bruning had dreams of opening a tiki bar, Schlepphorst had dreams of opening a late-night pizza joint. Fong's Pizza took over a space vacated by King Ying Low, a Chinese restaurant that had operated for over one hundred years.
Fong's is a funky mix of Chinese, Polynesian and uniquely
American touches. Tiki drinks are served in tiki mugs from Tiki Farm (when secured with an appropriate deposit). Pizza is available by the slice until well past midnight; during lunch and dinner service a wider menu is available with some traditional Chinese and Polynesian offerings.
The tiki drinks go great with the crab rangoon pizza! It's hard to know what to make of this place when you first walk in. Looks like a college pizza shop at first glance until you see the bar, but overall definitely worth a visit.
Okay so I was in town for my sister's graduation and her and her friends took me to Fong's. This place is fun and hilarious. Drinks are...alcohol. Too many flavored rums on the menu so I opted for the Dr. Fong and somethig similar to a painkiller but with a dash of guava added. But goddamn do they have a lot of mug offerings and the crab rangoon pizza is strangely delicious. Picked up a t shirt because the design was funny.
If you're in Des Moines for some reason, just go. Maybe even have a beer or something easy.
The tiki drinks go great with the crab rangoon pizza! It's hard to know what to make of this place when you first walk in. Looks like a college pizza shop at first glance until you see the bar, but overall definitely worth a visit.
Okay so I was in town for my sister's graduation and her and her friends took me to Fong's. This place is fun and hilarious. Drinks are...alcohol. Too many flavored rums on the menu so I opted for the Dr. Fong and somethig similar to a painkiller but with a dash of guava added. But goddamn do they have a lot of mug offerings and the crab rangoon pizza is strangely delicious. Picked up a t shirt because the design was funny.
If you're in Des Moines for some reason, just go. Maybe even have a beer or something easy.
Went to the downtown Des Moines location for lunch on a Saturday with some buds when we were in town on business ( there’s also one in Ankeny). Pretty packed and the wait time was about 25 minutes- which tells you how popular it is. We ended up at the bar and had a great time with the bartender, Brea. Super funny and knowledgeable. We had several different pizzas (I liked the Crab Rangoon pizza the best. The place was small and brighter than I expected- probably cooler vibe at night- but everyone was very friendly and welcoming. They had a decent rum collection, but I would have expected more from a “tiki” bar. Fun tee shirts and a couple mugs for sale, including Fong’s- specific mugs made by Tiki Farm. We didn’t have any drink (on business, middle of the day- say what you will), but the food and vibe were well worth the trip. If you’re in the area, you will not regret a trip to Fong’s.
What a blast! This place is not a pure tiki experience by any stretch but boy is it fun.
The combination of an Asian and Italian joint with a cover of tiki is crazy fun but overall it feels a little lost.
My go to is a Mai Tai. I judge all places by Mai Tais and this one haunted me.... not in the good way. I feel like maybe they ran out of orgeat and used almond syrup because something was "off."
The other drinks I had were decent but not made with the love that others tiki bars might put into these delicious cocktails.
The helmets are a fun element but make almost no sense. The food was weird, fun but not great.
The staff, mug selection and mood really save this place and really give it the kind of fun twisted vibe I was expected.
It is on the must list to visit but temper your expectations and you will enjoy the heck out of it.
Fong's was pretty cool. There was a Journey and Kansas were playing downtown the night I went so it was PACKED, but since I was a single I was able to find a spot at the bar. Maybe it was because it was so busy, but the place was a little too fast paced and "corporate" feeling for me. "Come in... look at the stuff... get a drink... eat a pizza... GET OUT!" They had a very limited supply of cups for sale. They were out of the signature cups and the it sounds like the new sig. cup is going to be a Lucky Cat, not really tiki. I wish I could have bought the cup I was drinking out of, but I settled for a 15th anniversary Tiki Farm pineapple.
over all it was a good time and if Downtown isn't so busy I bet it's more fun.
I really like Fong's. I wasn't happy with the pizza that I ordered. It was undercooked and kinda messy. The barmaid was also indifferent. She wasn't rude....just "meh...who cares....." Their drink menu is extensive and the prices are good. I wish they had more mugs to sell. The vibe is definitely tiki fused with Chinese flair. It's unique for sure.
If you're in Des Moines for some reason, just go. Maybe even have a beer or something easy.