Entry No. 71 — the Des Moines file — filed under: speakeasy

The Operating Room - Pinball Bar Arcade

A pinball barcade founded by a local orthopedic hand surgeon, leaning hard into a medical gag: bartenders pour in scrubs and the walls are covered in anatomical sketches. The drink menu runs to craft-cocktail slushies and syringe shots, served alongside a rotating wall of around ten premium pinball tables like James Bond, John Wick, and Star Wars. It opened in 2017 and goes 21+ after 7:30pm.

The move: Order two syringe shots and a slushie, then run a best-of-five pinball ladder across the John Wick and James Bond tables.

📍 Before you go 21+ after 7:30pm; pinball lineup rotates, so the exact tables vary.

• 📍 West Des Moines
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Big night
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 5515 Mills Civic Pkwy #130, West Des Moines, IA 50266

Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-23