I have heard such amazing things about this place. And I finally got around to going this Sunday for the very fun themed "Beatles Brunch".

The atmosphere is quaint and elegant without being stuffy. I love that you can sit on the porch and relax. Just lovely.

The food, outstanding. I have the "Rubber Soul" (each item on Beatles Brunch is named after a song), which was their Grand Marnier French Toast. So good.

The service, a little slow at first, but better towards the end of our meal. Something slightly annoying is for tables over five they won't split tickets, this is just a small hiccup in what was a great brunch.

The food at Cafe Di Scala is wonderful. The home made pastas really are incredible, especially the home made cavatelli (which can be made without meat!) I would say the service is always hit or miss, which can be frustrating but doesn't stop me from wanting to go back.

I've been to Cafe di Scala 3 times, and I feel like I have wasted too much money there already. The service: horrible, The food: entrees- horrible, appetizers- not terrible. Wine: great! Atmosphere: could be nice, but late in the evening when the owner is drunk and lound, bad-mouthing the neighbors...well, that is just sad. If you peek around back, you'll find the staff that was hard to get service from, smoking- right next to the kitchen! Gross. Tony Lemmo has a lot to learn about being a business owner. What a horrible replacement of Chat Noir.

Visited Cafe Di Scala for the first time with 3 other friends. Definitely not what I expected from the food, and kind of overpriced. The mussel appetizer was good, but no-one really cared for their entree. The bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breast looked great, but the ricotta stuffing had little to no flavor....thank goodness for the bacon. The $29 for a plate of beef stroganoff was definitely not worth that price. Over $25 for a few squash ravioli was a bit much as well. For dessert 3 of us had the Italian wedding cake, which was described as coconut cake with marzipan frosting. All of us, at almost the same time, said 'this tastes like breakfast cereal'. No coconut taste to speak of. The person who had the flourless chocolate cake with some sort of brittle on the bottom nearly lost the cake off her plate trying to cut a piece....the brittle was VERY brittle, to say the least. The menu looks so good, and I would think has potential, but definitely was not the dining experience you'd expect from the prices. None of us will be dining there again. (That said, the service was good.)

Outstanding meal and service every time I've been here. Perfect timing from our server last time, and she was able to pair up a spectacular Bordello with our pasta. Wine is wonderful, the spot is fantastic and the detail is beyond words.

Des Moines is blessed to have a spot like Cafe di Scala.

Last night was the 2nd time I've eaten at Cafe di Scala. The first experience wasn’t great… but I wanted to give it another chance and I like to support local business. We had reservations for a birthday party of nine 30-something professional adults for 7p on a Thursday evening.

No complaints about the atmosphere and we were seated immediately. The server then brought over 2 glasses of complimentary champagne, for the birthday gal and her date, a very nice touch. Drink orders were taken and brought in a timely manor… then no attention at all for a good 15 minutes.

Everyone had finished their drinks, wondering when we would be able to order our appetizers. We finally flagged down our server and some guests ordered appetizers and entrees in tandem while others only entrees. The appetizers were brought out in a timely manor, were decent-sized portions, and absolutely delectable. The mussels were the best I’ve ever had, cooked to perfection and bursting with flavor. The eggplant dish was fresh and also boasted a complex flavor so rich and wonderful I considered ordering it for a meal on the next visit, but there won’t be one.

Dinner entrées were served almost immediately after appetizers were finished. My entrée was the only one that fell flat… and it fell hard. I ordered homemade ravioli with eggplant, chévre and fennel. The 6 ravioli were approximately 3 – 3½ inches in diameter and paper thin, I mean less than ¼ inch thick at center. The entire dish had no flavor. Well, the fennel had notes of black licorice, of course, but the ravioli itself and the chopped tomato topping had no flavor to speak of. I have a culinary degree and a sophisticated palate… this was a terrible dish.
I advised the waitress my entrée was quite bad and had no flavor, to which she responded, “Oh, I’m sorry.” No offer of alternative and no further interaction other than later asking if I’d be ordering dessert, which I declined. I didn’t insist on a remedy because it was SUPPOSED to be a fine dining experience with close friends to celebrate a birthday. I twice told the waitress of my displeasure, and I’m not going to throw a fit… I just won’t return and I’ll write this piece. I attempted to email the owner as their web site says ‘please email or call us,’ however there is no email listed or hyperlink to be found.
I ended up paying $18 for what tasted exactly like Chef Boyardee canned pasta, IF you washed all the sauce off and scraped out the filling. I will say the pasta was tender… but that is the only positive adjective I can offer.

I had the 3 guests nearest myself try half a ravioli each and all agreed it was unpalatable. Two guests shared their entrées with me (steak/layered gratin-style potatoes, salmon/potatoes/light summer salsa) and they were fantastic. Better than fantastic, in fact, they were worth their $23+ price tags.

I will not return to Café di Scala because the lapse in service between drink orders and food order was obscene, but mainly because my entrée was ridiculously terrible and no remedy was offered. The waitress didn’t even go as far as to offer a coffee or a dessert on the house when she cleared my plate… and she certainly didn’t offer an alternative entrée… even though I again expressed my displeasure and she saw 3 ravioli out of 6 remaining on my plate.

I can prepare gourmet food at home, but sometimes it’s nice to be served. I refuse to pay for sub-par spotty service. I know Café di Scala CAN serve superb food as the other dishes I sampled from around the table were incredible. Our table of 9 spent well over $500 combined… I didn’t want anything free, just palatable. Poor customer service will certainly keep this chef from coming back.

The pastas on the summer lunch menu are amazing, particularly the Penne Para Pranzo. The waitress certainly didn't pay us much attention, however.

Wonderful! After moving to Des Moines from a larger city I was thrilled to find a restaurant like this. The unique, friendly atmosphere in addtition to great food and service were a welcome surprise. My friend and I sat at the bar for wine and appetizers and ended up feeling like we had made a new friend in wine steward David!
I can't wait to go again and try everything on the beautiful menu.

Neat setting in Sherman Hill but my entree looked and tasted like Chef Boyardee and had to be sent back because it was cold.

Cafe di Scala ranks as a superb eating experience, utterly satisfying every detail of menu, drinks, setting, and service. My wife and I have enjoyed dinner there eight or ten times now, eating early and late, and we've never found the food less than flawless, the wine list less than fascinating, and Chef di Lemmo and his staff less than gracious and dedicated. Des Moines is lucky to have such a skilled and caring kitchen.

More's the miracle, Cafe di Scala has a lovely location, on the first floor of a great slice of late-19th-Century gingerbread, formerly one of the grand private homes of Sherman Hill. A dinner out on the porch, in summer or early fall, can make any weekend a celebration.

Di Lemmo's menu has a few perennials, in particular his great adaptation of eggplant parmesan. But he changes the menu for every season, making adjustments to take advantage of the best home-grown meat and produce around. His pork entrees take Iowa's best to a new level, giving it the attentiveness and zest of Italian cuisine.

This cuisine, in the case of Cafe di Scala, emphasizes the flavors of southern Italy, which are often hard to find in the U.S. For meals like this, in fact, Americans generally have to go to Southern Italian enclaves like the North End of Boston. But at di Scala you can sample one terrific Neapolitan or Calabrian dish after another, always with some special Iowa touch -- and also many lip-smacking southern wines, rare finds. The well-stocked cellar has won praise from national wine writers, and it's got a wide range of Italians. You can by flights of five glasses, too, taking a brief gastronomic tour of certain regions of Italy. Then too, there's a generous selection of bottles from other parts of the world.

All this is handled is explained with great friendliness by a wait staff that's full of information. They clearly enjoy the food and the camaraderie. Di Lemmo himself gets out among the tables as much as he can, answering questions, taking suggestions, doing everything to make the dining experience as pleasant as possible. He's brought in marvelous acoustic jazz some Saturday nights as well, the kind of extra touch most chefs can't be bothered with.

Five stars, in short, can't begin to get across what a good time -- and a great meal -- can be had at Cafe di Scala. Go and go again.

I'll begin with the good: The hostess was quite nice when I called for a reservation, and when I called to change the reservation. The food was excellent (for the first few bites, see more on this below), my wife had Oggi wine, which was also excellent. Atmosphere is nice, but not quite 20+ dollars a plate nice.

Entrees ranged in price from $20 on up for the "secondi piatti" (main dishes). Dress seemed to be somewhat universally business casual.

Upon our initial seating, the waitress was okay--we had a tall blonde waitress, which I strongly suggest avoiding (as noted by another reviewer) if you have a choice. Her personality deteriorated throughout the evening. By the end, she rudely dropped the bill folder on the table without even looking at us. Not very professional, and certainly not at the price we were paying for our dinner.

Initially, ordering went well, and we received our food fast. Too fast. My wife and I both ordered chicken stuffed with cheese, wrapped in prosciutto (pollo con formaggi, maybe). The first few bites were excellent, until we realized that it was completely pink/uncooked in the middle. At $20 per entree, this is entirely unacceptable.

By this time, it was rather hard to get the server back to the table. Then, when I pointed out the rather pink center of my chicken, she started poking at it with my fork instead of just taking it back to the kitchen no questions asked, which is what should have happened. It was my wife's birthday, and we were rather nice about the whole thing--we both really liked the taste of the entree, and were willing to put up with the issue just so we could have a nice dinner.

Next is the thing that dropped them down major pegs on this review. She offered us a dessert while we waited for our raw chicken to be cooked, we said okay and ordered tiramisu. About 1 1/2 minutes later, the waitress comes out of the kitchen, but not with our desserts... she had our microwaved entrees in-hand. Yes, they literally microwaved $40 worth of delicately stuffed chicken and prosciutto.

We finished our Stouffer's cuisine and she brought out our Tiramisu without talking to us. We briefly managed to flag her down to order some coffee. The tiramisu was decent, abeit a little devoid of flavor, and the coffee was below Folgers on the taste list. Definitely not something you'd expect at a nice Italian restaurant.

On the bill, they managed to charge us for all meals and the dessert that was "offered" to us. Had it not been my wife's birthday, I definitely would have requested to talk to the manager about both the food and the server, which were sub-par.

The whole situation was unfortunate. The food (were it fully cooked) could have been excellent--it was a great mix of flavors, and my wife really liked the wine. However, due to their overpriced entrees, poor handling of our situation, and inexcusably rude server, the life-long customers they could have earned that night will never go back.

This is an overlooked gem in this city. It is so easy to go to what is convenient and corporate. Tony Lemmo is a passionate and amazing restaurateur. His menu has overseen an underappreciated evolution over the last year. He has really put his focus on the simplicity of Italian cuisine, both in his traditional and contemporary selections. The money and time he has put into this charming house in Sherman Hills can not be missed.. . .from the porch, to the recent painting of the house, the gold leafing of the bar ceiling, to the improvements in the dining space itself.

And lets talk about the wine list, which seems to always be overlooked by those who offer quick and shallow criticism (especially The Register's bias and, certainly, culturally under-educated food critic, WHO RARELY FOCUSES ON WHAT REALLY MAKES A RESTAURANT UNIQUE IN THIS TOWN, from wine lists to a well constructed and researched menu to the hard work and money put into a small business).

This list is 100% Italian, which in itself is highly unique in this town, let along the state. 25 by the glass selections for all over Italy, in addition to "Sips." This is GREAT! I was with a guest who did not have an experience the diverse selections from Italy. . and she really enjoy the change to try 2 oz. pours before committing to a glass. FUN! And the Reserve or "Anthony's Cellar Selections" (most stored in his climate controlled cellar in his house) is an adventure from those Italian wine enthusiasts. 125+ selections with the best Brunello, Barolo and Barbaresco choices anywhere. . .with prices for everyone to enjoy a special bottle. A lot of care and work has gone into this list.

We had a great experience talking to David, Scala's bartender and wine manager. Very passionate and knowledgeable. . . one of the best I have experienced in DM. . .and it was passed on to the staff.

Try this restaurant. . .I am bothered by those who so quickly judge from bad experiences. . .every restaurant has bad nights. You are telling me the "corporates" are perfect all the time???? Support and give a chance to the small restaurants in town. . they deserve the chance. Every part of our evening was a great experience.

I dine at Cafe di Scala regularly, and have never had a meal that was less than outstanding. The servers have always been attentive and friendly, but then again I'm pretty easygoing (i.e. not in the practive of demanding food or drinks that a restaurant doesn't serve). Keep up the good work Tony!

Love the Sherman Hills area. Went to the restaurant with a group of friends. The appetizer was small and pricey. The main meal was extremely salty. Upon asking for the division of the tickets, I was told "no" by the waitress. Would have been nice to know that in advance, especially because our ticket added up to several hundred dollars. Attempted to make a professional recommendation to the owner, but was confronted with attitude and violation of my personal space, which was extremely threatening and uncomfortable for me as well as my party. I will never go back to or recommend this place to anyone, as it was my worst dining experience ever.

I had the wonderful opportunity to dine at Cafe Di Scala about a week ago and I have to say I was rather impressed. I could definitely tell that Tony takes pride in everything he does, from being the chef, to making sure his customers are completely happy in every way. I thought the food was fantastic, and the dessert was out of this world. I had the flourless torte and it is definitely my new favorite. The cavatelli was far from resembling chef boyardee, and the penne was just what it should be, al dente. Anyone who has taste and class would know this. In case you don't know the meaning of al dente, I have copied the definition at the end of this review. The atmosphere was perfect. My only complaint is that Cafe Di Scala is not open nearly as often as I'd like it to be! ;)

***Al dente:***
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In cooking, the adjective al dente (IPA: [l dnte], [l dnte]) describes pasta and (less commonly) rice that has been cooked so as to be firm but not hard. "Al dente" also describes vegetables that are cooked to the "tender crisp" phase - still offering resistance to the bite, but cooked through. It is often considered to be the ideal form of cooked pasta. Keeping the pasta firm is especially important in baked or "al forno" pasta dishes. The term comes from Italian and means "to the tooth" or "to the bite", referring to the need to chew the pasta due to its firmness.

Cafe' Discala does NOT serve liquor. What they do have is a fine selection of wine and beer.

It is one thing to complain about poor service, but it is entirely another to complain about service when (you) the guest goes out of their way to be just plain RUDE.

It sound like (and from my experience) that the owner went (and often does) above and BEYOND his call of service to accommodate your needs.

Perhaps you SHOULD give Café Discala another go and then think about upgrading your dinner partner.

I have to give a very mixed review of the first time I visited Cafe di Scala. The resturant inside was very nice and romantic but that is about the only thing good about the place besides the fish and the hostess

Our dining experience was tainted by the incredibly bad service. Our blonde server seems annoyed about everything we requested! It took us 15 minutes to even place a drink order and then another ten minutes before we got our wine. Inexcusable. My girlfriend ordered a martini and was told that they didn't even have martini glasses. (not to mention no Crown Royal or Jack). After my GF said that a martini glass was an absolute MUST, The owner of the restuarant went upstairs to his private residence and brought down one of his own martini glasses which was great but you could tell the server just wanted to rip my girlfriend's head off everytime she asked for something. She disappeared for long periods of time and was downright rude.

As for the food the special which was Orange Roughy was excellent. But I had the Cavetelli di Lemmo and it tasted like Chef Boyardee Beefaroni. It was really bad, really plain, and hardly resembeled what my idea of cavetelli is. too bad it is the family recipe because it was laughable, not bragable. it definately needs an upgrade.

I'll still probably give the place a second try, but I hope the service and food is better next time. btw the hostess is lovely, the bartender is bitter, and the waitstaff is well..... horrible.

Excellent!!!! My husband and I loved this restaurant. We had a filet and cavateli. Not only was the food and service fantastic, but so was ambience of Cafe Discala. Great Italian wine selection, along with a unique "sips" menu where you can try expensive wines and not have to buy the whole bottle! Highly recommend this restaurant.

Cafe Di Scala is definately one of my Des Moines favorites! Regretfully I have to say the service DOES fail by comparison to everything else Di Scala has to offer. The bartender is often VERY rude, almost as if she is being perpetually "bothered". Hopefully the owner will iron out these glitches as Di Scala is a fantastic culinary destination!

Disappointing for what we anticipated to be an excellent dining experience.
Reservations: They do take reservations from 5-6 in the evening on weekends, so our party was seated immediately.
Service: Our server hovered in the beginning and seemed annoyed while we were still trying to make decisions. Then she disappeared for a good portion of the evening--our meals brought to us by a completely different individual.
Food: The bruschetta appetizer was very good. 2 of our party had the stuffed chicken wrapped in prosciutto--they enjoyed it but the prosciutto was a bit overcooked. The sides were uninspired. 1 person had the gorgonzola beef which he enjoyed. I had the pasta stuffed with squash. The pasta was VERY underdone, unless the chef interprets al dente to mean chewy and tough. The entire dish was completely overwhelmed by the butter sauce in which the pasta was drenched.
Alcohol: Nice but pricey beer and wine selection.
Price: Steep especially when there is no salad or bread included with the entrees.
Ambiance: Classy paint job and artwork. However the restaurant was packed by 6:30 and our party could barely hold a conversation due to the noise. Losing the bookshelves which were previously in several rooms prevents the sound from being absorbed. Due to this we did not stick around for dessert.
Overall: We miss Chat Noir!

Cafe di Scala has very nice ambiance, nice food, too few tables, and entirely too many squatters. We called for reservations and the host told us they do not take them. S/he failed to mention, however, that they will put your name on the list if you call before you leave the house. Due to this "oversight," we ended up waiting two hours for a table. The wait, however aggravating, was understandable. We were a party of four, waited ten minutes, two friends showed up, and we requested changing to a party of six. Two hours later, we were famished, but finally seated. I say the wait was understandable because hardly anybody left their table--there was little the restaurant could do. In fact, the owner graciously bought a round of drinks for the people at the table we were waiting for on the condition that they had the drinks at the bar. Based on our experience, I think the old-house-turned-hip-bistro ambiance might be too nice. Sitting in what was once a living room, guests apparently feel there is no need to leave because they are at "home."

Our food, and our server were good. Our friends tried the zucchini and bruschetta as a first course, and by a unanimous vote, they were both excellent. I had soup of the day, which, if I remember right, was some kind of squash, zucchini maybe, with rosemary--two hours of waiting at the bar on an empty stomach, remember--and it was also excellent. My wife's salad was okay, but came swimming in dressing. She likes a lot of dressing as a rule, and it was too much for her to handle. For entrees, everyone at the table had pasta. Two had the Cappellacci con la Zucca, squash-stuffed pasta with browned sage butter. It was excellent. The pasta was underdone and suited the dish perfectly. The sage and squash were wonderful together. The only drawback was the pool of butter. It was a bit too much for me. The Cavatelli di Lemmo was also an "underdone-by-design" pasta with sausage and marinara. It was also very good. I am not a sausage fan by any means, but I liked it. My wife ordered hers with "light sauce," which, unfortunately, did not happen. I missed my friend's description of the eggplant, but it looked and smelled delicious, so much so, that I regretted a little not ordering it for myself. My wife and I skipped dessert so we could have some espresso, but the machine was "broken." ("Broken" is, of course, bar lingo for "I don't want to make a stupid daquiri, so uh, the blender is broken." Hopefully, this is not what we encountered.) Our friends thoroughly enjoyed the cannoli and "super-duper chocolate cake" that was available the night we visited instead of the chocolate tort.

Wine was nice, but was pricey as one might expect from a place like the Cafe di Scala. It was not out of line with what similar restaurants charge. In addition, the bartender and server were both very knowledgable on their wines. The service was excellent, except for the "light sauce" issue mentioned above, and this could have been the kitchen.

Overall, this was a nice evening out. Cafe di Scala has good food, good service, and nice atmosphere. Our party expected to have dinner and then maybe go somewhere for drinks, but thanks to the squatters, who apparently run rampant at the di Scala, we had our plans reversed for us.

If you want a place where you are guaranteed a sexy ambiance, exciting southern italian food and and wine, then eat at Cafe di Scala. If you are looking for corporate food with corporate service, then eat at the McCheescake Factory... but if you are looking for someplace out of the ordinary and exciting, then head to Sherman Hill for Cafe di Scala.

My service was outstanding, prompt and professional. My wife and I called ahead for reservations at 6pm (and seated promptly), shared a bottle of something called "tears of christ," a dry, refreshing and unique white wine. We ate an amazingly cared for garlic and onion soup, and ate homemade cavitelli and some pasta wrapped squash or something like that for our main courses. Anyway, upon recommendation from one of the commentators here, we tried the chocolate torte and just about fell overourselves in love with it.

As perfect a dining experience as we've had in Des Moines. It took us only 50 minutes, and the service was worth the 20% tip we left our waitress.

The total bill was $54 or something, which might seem a lot, but really, people.... How many chances are you going to have to eat in a 100+ year old home in a charming neighborhood, and eat authentic well prepared food, AND please the wife with your good taste?

Okay, I'm rambling, but it was great and highly recommended.

The wine is very very VERY good. The food is okay if you don't mind paying extra for it to be cold and like your appetizers to come with your entre. The service SUCKS (as in, they leave you at the bar for 2 hours because two people forgot to put your name on the list an hour apart!). We lovingly refer to this place as Cafe La Crappa. Ironically, each of the Register reviews mentions the bad service. You'd think the owner would get the hint.

The flourless chocolate torte is the best thing I've ever eaten in my life, hands down. Order it for dessert with coffee and you'll be counting down the minutes until you can make it back to Cafe di Scalla for dinner the next time. The stuffed chicken breast is fantastic, and the roasted new potatoes on the side are the best in town.

We went to the *new* Cafe di Scala in the old Chat Noir house. I was hoping to be wowed, and I was...by the ambiance. It was fantastic, and I would go back just for the warm, intimate decor and live jazz. BUT the food was not what it should have been. The pastas sounded great on the menu, but were pretty uninspired on the plate. The service was abrupt and not terribly attentive. The bartender was so friendly, though...and there was a nice selection of wines and beer. I will go back for the ambiance and hope the food and service start living up to their surroundings.

This is probably the best penna pasta I have ever tasted in my entire life. You have to taste this stuff to believe it. Cafe Di Scala is the bomb and hands down the best italian in Des Moines. Friendly staff and unbelievable eats.

This place rocks!!!! it's located in the MetroMart. This guy, Tony runs it and he makes the tastiest sandwiches. I think I've tried them all. Do yourself a favor and go in and try the famous Nick's Special. MMMMMMM

After hearing people rave about Café de Scala, my wife and I were excited to finally have an opportunity for a romantic night out along with some good food at this off the beaten path restaurant. We wound up really disappointed.
I called and left a voice mail for reservations. I was eventually called back by a fairly rude woman, was told there were only two reservation times open, 5:00 or 8:15. We took the 8:15 reservation.
Upon our (on-time) arrival, despite the fact it took 10 minutes to find a parking place, we were told our table was not quite ready, it would be “just a few minutes”, but we were welcome to have a drink in the bar. So, for the next 45 minutes the hostess came into the bar to tell us it would be “just a few minutes”. Meanwhile, at least one table for two who arrived after us with reservations after us had been seated. The hostess explained, “Well, they had reservations for three people, but then they were just for two people, so a table opened up faster.” ?!?!HUH?!?! So, finally, an hour after arriving, we packed it in. The bartender, who was actually gracious and wouldn’t let us pay for our drinks, said, “I hope this one bad experience won’t keep you from coming back to Café de Scala.” Unfortunately, it probably will.
Or, well, then there’s the exorbitant prices.
Oh, and there’s the practically sitting in the laps of the pretentious snobs sitting at the tables next to you, and being unable to carry on a conversation over the din of the place.
Too bad, too – I hear the food’s pretty good.
So, as we were leaving, and I’m not making this up, the hostess was practically chasing us, saying, “But your table’s almost ready!” Give it to the poor shlubs with the 8:00 reservations.

I wouldn't know how to rate this restaurant. The message I left to make a reservation was "lost", wait, no, maybe they couldn't understand my phone number. Long silence... a new female takes my call and asks me "what's going on". I explain (again). Oh, well, "I don't know what's going on with reservations, I have to wait 'till the chef gets in. I'll call you back..................soon." A day passes. I make reservations elswhere.