W-Tao Sushi, Des Moines IA

Came here tonight 9/18/2021 for an early anniversary dinner with my girlfriend around 5pm and ordered a pretty large order.
From the second we entered the restaurant a server immediately came up to us and seated us at this beautiful booth right beside a window, brought us out 2 very cold glasses of ice water (which did NOT taste like sink water, Very big plus for me as some resteraunts seem to use tap/sink water)
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Asked us what we would like for our starter/appetizer. We ordered the seafood Rangoons, and the seaweed salad. WOW! Both were beyond amazing! So flavorful, great amount of sweetness, you could taste the seafood mix in them and the wrapper was just as perfect as it's filling.
The seaweed salad was very fresh, and was seasoned to perfection,
Nothing tasted cheap and if I'm being honest they were the best rangoons I've had in years! I eat out at Japanese restaurants multiple times a month and have for years so these will NOT disappoint you.
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After our starters we were served our miso and spicy egg drop soup which both tasted Great! No complaints there, the start of our date was going great (:
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I was given a tall can of Sapporo beer and a cold glass,
Almost immediately after that, my girlfriend received her Thai spicy mango chicken,
My order of Chirashi dinner came out and both of these dishes alone looked Way beyond good! They looked like art pieces, especially my order!
The sashimi was the freshest I've seen in Iowa, it all smelled Clean which when it comes to seafood is what you're looking for! No fishy smell at all!
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We loved our food so much so that we will officially come here every anniversary from now on and on occasion during the years for special date nights!
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With my order I also ordered the spider roll, the spicy crunchy yellowtail roll, and the eel avocado roll.
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Again the quality of the food and the presentation were beautiful, the taste of every roll was Phenomenal!
I've gotta recommend everything that was ordered by us for anyone looking to come here!
There wasn't a single item we were served that we didn't love!
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The total of our night came out to about $90 and we left a 15% tip.
We loved this place!
Beautiful ambiance, dim lighting, EXTREMELY friendly staff (:

Update on most recent visit 2/3/23
Again, this was an amazing experience with dinner, slightly different order than last time. I as usual got sushi and my fiance got the NY strip. Amazing quality sushi, perfect service, friendly staff.
I love this place! Simply put.

The food was good. The size of the sushi rolls were smaller similar to other sushi restaurants post-covid. The waiter did very well. Very similar to other sushi restaurants, so I wouldn't say it's exceptional compared to others.

I ordered the miracle roll and it was anything but! It crumbled under my chopsticks like stale weeks-old cookies left out; and later my GI tract completely agree on where NOT to go for half-decent Sushi!

I love the atmosphere. Immediately as you walk in the large Buddha sets the tone. The food is traditional Japanese and some American flair on certain items. Everything is a banger, from the Ramen to sushi, and drinks.

We don't order sushis in Midwest area so can't rate those, but both noodle dishes we got were decent.

The restaurant is more spacious than I would have thought. We had a large party and were sat by the entrance which got cold when people forgot to close the door. With that being said, it did not hinder our dining experience. The food was magnificent and the cocktails were superb. Presentation was top! The space is beautiful inside and had kind of a sexy vibe. The servers were extremely attentive and we all left satisfied. Our cups and our bellies were full. Great place!

I regard it as a good sign when a restaurant is packed and W-Tao was very busy the night we dined there. We called ahead and the hostess squeezed us in, but there was otherwise not an empty seat in the place. Our waitress was prompt in taking our order and the food came out quickly. It looked better than the photos and tasted fresh too - no leftovers for us. It was great and right up there with other higher quality sushi restaurants we have visited recently.

Cozy little sushi place! Food was great! They no longer have happy hour. I got Godzilla rolls and chicken fried rice. Friend got Temptation rolls and Crème Brûlée. We loved our food and time there.

Great quality fish this month.
Toro, uni, and red snapper
W Tao is an amazing.
Great quality food.
Friendly staff.

If you like nirgri, sashimi, roles, or other, Great place to eat.

What happened? The first time we went there it was amazing. Last night we decided to go back and were served food that was not edible. The fish was not fresh (my husband took one bite and was done) and as a vegetarian, I ordered rolls but the rice was hard and not fresh, and they were coming apart. A very bad experience.

Delicious cocktail menu, very friendly service, nice little atmosphere. The food was great- as you can see I ate a lot of it before getting a box to go, but we had fried calamari which was fantastic, and then a variety of rolls in our bento boxes. There was a lot in the bento box- a good deal for about $12 (depending on your choice of protein). Very fresh ingredients in everything from the salad/miso to the individual rolls and shumai. Highly recommend!

Subpar taste at an expensive price the only saving grace was the spicy edamame.

Got a medley of different sushi that didn’t taste all that great. The pork udon noodles tasted kinda off and wasn’t to my personal standards of a typical udon dish. Everything was rather subpar in my opinion and I would rather go to a different Wasabi sushi place around Des Moines to get a better food experience. As mentioned the only saving grace was the spicy edamame as it was really good and appetizing.

On top of that, it was rather expensive and to receive a subpar meal for the night kinda made me a bit disappointed. Unfortunately I cannot recommend the place to anyone as the main meal didn’t hit right.

This is probably the most legit sushi spot in the Midwest. Authentic af.seriously. Toro served with gold & caviar pictured.

Do yourself a favor and go when they're not too busy and ask for an Omakase/Chef's Choice experience. Let the chef know your budget and be prepared to be wowed! Check out images from my recent birthday celebration. Continue keeping up the great work, Tony, Ling and staff at W-Tao!

Great food and service at very reasonable prices. Relaxed casual, but upscale, atmosphere. Good for both a casual night out or something more formal.

Best place ever. $12 bento boxes. They have soooo much good in them too it’s a steal. And the green tea creme brulee is to DIE FOR!

The food is AMAZING! Beautiful atmosphere. Affordable dishes with many options from sashimi and soups to signature rolls. Excellent and friendly service. Waitress gave good recommendations. Perfect location for Civic Center. Dressy to casual wear. Cozy for date night but quick at the seated sushi bar.