Royal Mile

I really, really, really like Royal Mile.  

They get major bonus points for being open on Mondays.  (I'm looking at you, Confluence/515.....)
And they have my delightful Goose Island Matilda readily available.  Among many other tasty selections.

I love this bar and especially the Red Monk upstairs that serves killer Belgian Beers. I always get their Guinness stew over mashed potatoes which is perfect on a cold winter day.

I do however wish they would become the dedicated soccer bar of Des Moines. We need a good soccer bar and this should be the place!! What do you say Royal Mile you into soccer?

We are still enjoying our Westy 12 (XII) that they were able to get in, very cool that you guys participated.

I come to Des Moines once every few months, and I've had great experiences here in the past.  Solid Pub food, knowledgable bartenders, and a very cool whiskey / scotch wizard machine with touch screen.  I'm a huge scotch guy, so that's what I came here for this time.  They are known for their excellent selection. I went here expecting the same level of service I had last time.  Then there were several disappointments.

-The whiskey/ scotch wizard was broken!  One waitress even commented, "I'm kinda new but it's been broken since I've been here."  Another waitress gave the ambiguous promise, "We plan on getting it fixed."
-I thought, oh well, I know what it recommended for me last time, So I ordered the same scotch (Pedro Ximénez).  After a few minutes of searching...looking like he wasn't sure what he was searching for...I was informed by my waitress that they are "out"
-I asked the waitress if she could recommend a similar scotch.  I wanted to tell her the region and taste I was looking for.  She only knew about / liked one scotch from a menu of dozens.
-I asked if anyone there was knowledgeable...the waitress said she probably knew more than the bartender...basically a no...I found out he was "new" also
-The pours seemed light, I even asked if they were 1.5 oz pours.  The pour felt like an ounce...and I pour with measuring a good deal at home.  I put this towards the bottom because I have no proof, but after going through so much trouble to get a scotch...and paying $15 (about 1/5 of what the entire bottle would cost)...I didn't expect a light pour.

The reason I gave more than one star is because the staff was friendly and apologetic.  I never felt unwelcome, but I was still disappointed.  I also wrote management and after 5 days did not get any response.