I have a hard time deciding between "liked it" and "loved it" with Flying Mango.
I love, love, love the food here. Every time, hands down, good food. I have never had anything that I wouldn't order again. And the cornbread is simply incredible!
The downfall is the service. It's so lacking. I joke that I usually have to know what cocktail I am going to order and tell the person who seats us, just so that I have something to make me less crabby when I wait.
That being said, it doesn't stop me from going back to Flying Mango, I just have to remind myself to look at a drink menu before I go!

Came on a rainy night.
Aroma coming in door good enough to knock you out.
Service great.
Brisket 5 stars, ribs 5 stars, good coleslaw.
The meat is terrific, tender and flavor outstanding.
Skip the (cold) sweet cornbread...
Red beans & rice good but...
Homemade bread pudding with mango sauce very good.
Great value and great BBQ.

The below reviewer should eat at home and not even go out.

2 words REALLY STUPID come to mind.

I have never ate better BBQ done upscale in my life. If you dont want some BBQ pinched between 2 pieces of white bread then this spot is for you.

Pork Chop Dinner is to die for and the Half chicken is huge.

Service is great and the owner is a class act.

I've eaten here several times. But, what didn't get me to come back was the "service" I received when I visted as a singleton. I was seated, given drinks, and then asked to move to another table, so the restaurant could accomodate a larger party coming in. I felt really out of place because of their request and asked to take my food home. I haven't been back since.

Great food - great atmosphere. The only reason it's not getting my full 5 is because of the seating arrangement they utilize. It's quite cramped and can make for a heck of a trip to the luu if you're in a hurry. Outside of that one small setback the place is top notch. Me and the S/O went last valentines and had great experience. Try the
grilled Mahi Mahi.

Cramped inside, creating an interesting blend of conversation. Servers are lacking skill, but the food is just awesome. I think the corn bread is the best I've had (although some are turned off by the hint of lemon). I wasn't a huge fan of the ribs on the 2 times that I tried them, but the remainder of their smoked meats and cajun dishes are outstanding.

Plain & Simple. If you like BBQ, you must go to Flying Mango. The food was excellent, serivce was fast, and the wait staff was extremely informed and helpful when picking menu items.

One of my favorite restaurants in Des Moines..

This is a very nice restaurant. I wish I had more time to write a longer review.

The main selling point here is the food. It was flavorful and well presented. My wife and I shared the chicken drummies, which were blackened and didn't come with the usual buffalo sauce, but had what our server described as a bitter sauce. They were an excellent start. The wine list is well put together, especially for the budget conscious---there were plenty of $5 glasses and $20 bottles. Both my wife and I ate sandwiches, and after the blackened chicken drummies, her cajun chicken sandy was too much black. She focused on my fantastic cole slaw instead. Seriously, it was the best I've had. I ate my andouille sandwich myself, and I liked her corn, although she said it was undercooked and under buttered---I thought it was brilliant with lime sauce and chili pepper.

The owner, Mike, is selling point number two. He was more active in the dining room than the servers, it seemed, even with a bum ankle he sprained while working with the meat smoker. It was our first time there and he chatted with us as if we were regulars. He noticed my wife didn't eat much of her sandwich, offered her something else, and when we told him we had eaten our fill, he took it off the bill.

We liked the decor of the place---it is upscale, but you would be comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt.

The prices were a little higher than I expected, but the food is good, so I suppose it is fair.

The only minor drawback to our evening was that our server was a bit inattentive. She came to the table late and through the evening other servers did much of her delivering and refilling. She was pleasant and helpful, however, when she graced us with her presence.

Overall, TFM is a definite winner and has earned a place on our dining rotation and our recommend-to-friends list.

When you get down to it, this is the best restaurant in Des Moines. The owners are awesome. They are always there and come out to check on how you enjoy the the food. I love that. I went to one of there dinnners and fell in love with a musician there. I simply refer to as eric. Check him out at the house of blues this next week. He is mind-blowing. Thank yhou flying mango-
Charles

Ribs to tough to eat, service was lacking!!

Undoubtedly the greates BBQ in the area, certainly better than the best Birmingham, AL had to office last week.

Mary & I find a way to visit often. The variety of dishes and sides can satisfy almost anyones taste.

A few months back we had four couples who were deciding where to go, the citeria by one of the women was good catfish. I called Mike, who was honest about the possible wait on a busy evening. We arrived, enjoyed a couple of refreshments, were seated. I was advised that the catfish was the best they had experienced.

Three couples are now fans and will return.

I’m a recent transplant to Des Moines and am in search of a restaurant my partner (M) and I can call “our place.” I had heard several good things about The Flying Mango, and thus moved it to the top of our “must try” list. After two visits, I’m not sure I’ll be back.

To be fair, it was a holiday weekend the first time we attempted to dine at here, and although we arrived a full hour before closing, the man who I assume is the proprietor, told us they were shutting it down for the night due to the fact that business is slow. Being a former waitress and bartender, I could appreciate him letting his staff off early so that they could enjoy what was left of the evening. We were promised a comp and imagined we’d get great service upon on return, but alas, it was not to be.

We visited again the following Thursday evening, this time at the height of the dinner hour. None of the staff looked familiar from our first visit, so we didn’t mention the fact that we were promised special treatment upon our return. Now I wish that I spoken up. It took us about five minutes to be seated, which we thought nothing of until we were ushered to our table. The dining room was half empty, but filled with promising aroma of Caribbean seasoning and barbeque sauce, so we tried to remain optimistic. My date and I each ordered a bottled beer and asked for a few minutes to look over the menus. Clearly, our server was flustered from having to serve three whole tables as once, because it took another five minutes for our drinks to arrive. Next, we ordered dinner: I went with the lemon pepper shrimp fettuccini and M ordered the ribs. When my pasta dish arrived, I realized that I should have asked further about preparation. My shrimp were large and succulent, but the noodles were drenched in butter and not very warm, which made the entire dish seem greasy. M’s ribs were wonderful, prepared with a flavorful dry rub and served with barbeque sauce, they and the accompanying beans made it almost worth the trip. He also really enjoyed the cornbread that came with my meal.

The huge disappointment of the evening was the quality of service. I am generally very lenient when it comes to waitstaff expectations, but I’ve had some bad experiences recently that lead me to believe that I should anticipate a lower level of service in Des Moines than I am accustomed. Our waitress at the Flying Mango never checked back with us once our food arrived (and one of her co-workers delivered our food, which was luke-warm), disappointing because we would have each ordered another beer. Instead, our server busied herself chatting up a table nearby (I can only assume by the personal discussion they were having that the guests were friends of hers).

Bottom line, not sure if the price of the food warrants the poor service. With so many restaurant to choose from in Des Moines, I think that we’ll keep looking for “our place.”

This is our favorite restaurant. It falls into a comfortable category between classy and casual with consistently great food. The staff is very professional and friendly. The smoked meats are cooked to perfection and there is always enough other entres on the menu to satisfy any other diners who accompany us. I also like the fact that we can usually find a seat.

We recently ate at the Flying Mango on a Saturday night, then went again the next Saturday night, and if we didn't have an out-of-town wedding this Saturday night, we would be back again! The smoked meat is delicious; the portions generous and very attractively presented. The atmosphere is upscale, yet cozy and unpretentious - we enjoyed every aspect of both visits so far. The menu selections are fairly priced and there is also a great sandwich selection - haven't tried one yet, but saw lots in the dining room and they looked large and yummy. The Mango is currently at the top of our favorite list and we highly recommend it.

Excellent atmosphere and friendly staff. Not to mention the fine cuisine and wine. Love going there and will continue to.

Very very tasty. the cuisine is mostly smoked cajun type stuff. MMMM the quesadilla are yummy and the Big Chop sometimes comes out as big as my head. Don't forget to try the sweet potato pancakes.

The owner is always chilling with the tables and pour wine and whatnot. Make you feel like he really enjoys what he's doing.

The waitstaff has always been friendly and efficient.