4th Street’s Hidden Mile
Please find the Friday Guest Blog below, this was written by Shawn Harrington
Before getting started, I must first admit that I’m partial towards any establishment that has a multiple-month countdown to St. Patrick’s day broken down by the day/minute/second. Also, throw in the shock factor of having Court Ave portrayed as the big flashy club/bar scene within the first month of living here, and then stumble into the dark and eclectic pub only half a block off of the main strip. With that out of the way, there’s been many other reasons why bar patrons across Des Moines have come to love the Royal Mile.
To refer to it as a hidden location may be a bit unjustified, due to its popularity, but the environment that it provides is unmatched by any other in Des Moines. It took me the 3rd or 4th visit to the Mile though to find the “Red Monk” tucked away on the east end of the 2nd floor. This serves as their secondary bar, specializing in Belgian and bottled beers. To find the unmarked and unnamed bar, one must wander through the upstairs dining room and out to what looks like could be nothing more than a door to the fire escape. For those of you who currently enjoy the privacy that it provides, I apologize for blowing your cover.
While the Red Monk caters to its own crouds upstairs, the main bar downstairs can always be counted on as a stop for anyone except your typical Bud/Miller/Coors light drinkers (no, they don’t carry it, and yes, the bar does feel insulted when you ask for it). While this town has many noteable restaurants and wine locations expanding our pallets, sometimes you need a staple like this to educate yourself on what you may be missing out on by sticking to your one and only beer. According to the bar’s website, they currently have 28 tap selections and over 120 bottled beers. Sometimes, you just need to trust your bartender and order what you’ve never heard of before.
After having the luxury of living down the street from the Old Toad in Rochester, NY, it now feels like any city I live in is not complete without an authentic British pub and restaurant. Did I just say restaurant? It must be true, because on my most recent visit to the Mile, my friend Darrell mentioned that they have pretty good Shepards Pie, too. Outside of the food, they also pride themselves on providing you with over 85 single malt scotches.
There it is, on a week when this site continued its dedication to the locally owned establishments of Des Moines, I had to extend some blog-love to the Royal Mile. I feel much better now.

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