Fong's Pizza reveals an updated menu and giant dragon decor at its new location
Susan Stapleton
- Fong's moved from downtown Des Moines to the East Village.
- The restaurant features new menu items, including noodle or rice dishes, new pizzas, and salads.
- A giant dragon snakes along the wall while a mural showcases the Great Wall of China.
- The restaurant opens on April 1.
Fongolians, unite.
Fong’s Pizza has made the leap across the Des Moines River from Fourth Street in downtown Des Moines to East Fourth Street off Court Avenue in the Market District just south of the East Village.
Fong’s debuts its new location on April 1, no joke, with a roster of fan-favorite Asian-inspired pizzas and tiki drinks, as well as new dishes on the menu.
“I’m confident this place is gonna kill it. It’s got all the elements,” co-owner Jeff Bruning said during a media event to reveal the new decor and food. “It was destiny. We’re like a gateway into the Market District.”
Where did Fong’s Pizza move?
Fong’s Pizza closed its location at 223 Fourth St. in Des Moines on March 9 after a 16-year run. Bruning said the restaurant outgrew the historic space.
Full Court Press, the hospitality company behind Fong’s Pizza, debuts its new location for crab Rangoon pizza, honey garlic alfredo slices and kamikaze shots at 317 E. Court Ave. in Des Moines, formerly the Peace Tree Brewing Co. space.
The restaurant takes over the Quonset hut, adding a massive imported painted dragon and a tile bamboo hut adorning the space above part of the dining area.
The new location offers expanded parking, as well as patio seating and a pick-up window in the future. At 1,500 square feet, the restaurant will double its inside capacity to seat up to 100 people.
In downtown Des Moines, the restaurant offered 55 seats.
What will be on the menu at Fong’s Pizza?
With a full kitchen, steamers and such, staff can use its full fire power to fuel the menu, said Andy Massoth, co-owner of Fong’s Pizza.
Old favorite pizzas such as crab Rangoon, the Iowan with its medley of pork products and barbecue sauce, the loaded potato, and Fongolian Beef return, some with improved ingredients, said Fong’s co-founder and executive chef Dennis Epps.
“We didn't want to change it too much, since that is our No. 1 deal,” Epps said of the crab Rangoon pizza. He added more crab meat to the dish. He also started breading his own chicken for dishes such as the orange chicken.
New pizzas with an Asian twist include the moo shu pork with shredded pork, scrambled eggs and topped with a chili garlic aioli, as well as a Polynesian Sunrise topped with Canadian bacon, peppadew peppers, bacon, pineapple and hot honey. Pizzas range from $16 to $23, depending on the size, from 10 to 16 inches.
The appetizer menu also underwent a makeover, with additions such as moo shu bao, coconut shrimp, shumai, and pork potstickers, all in the $9 to $13 range. Epps also added three salads: chicken almond salad, yuzu salad, and chili garlic shrimp salad, all starting at $12.
Diners can also create their own dishes with a base of steamed rice, fried rice, soba noodles or veggies. Then customers add sesame chicken, beef and broccoli, chili garlic shrimp, orange chicken, Fongolian beef, or stir fry chicken on top, all for $13 to $14.
The new location also offers a late-night menu with pizza by the slice and noodle dishes to go.
What's on the drink menu at Fong’s Pizza?
Tiki drinks also return, as well as mocktails that can be converted into cocktails. Try a Waving Kitty with coconut rum, vanilla, coconut cream and pineapple and orange juices, as well as a Zombie with light and dark rum, passion fruit and orange juice, all in the $10 to $11 range.
Mocktails include a Hawaiian Punch, a Dove's Blossom Paloma made with Red Bull Spring Edition, and a spicy pineapple marg-tail with jalapeno and a tajin rim, all for $7.
The restaurant serves Coca-Cola products.
What does Fong’s Pizza look like inside?
With more space, the dining room is spread out with tables in the center and along one wall backed by green leather booths that customers recognize from the old location. High-top tables sit next to the windows that look out on the future patio. Much of the artwork from the original Fong’s Pizza made the move.
The bar at the left of the entrance is far bigger for tiki drinks and kamikaze shots.
Overhead, a dragon salvaged from the former Old Spaghetti Works restaurant on Court Avenue snakes along the wall over the booths while green roof tiles from West End Architecture line the walls above the bar. A giant stone mural of the Great Wall of China sits next to the bar. The red latticework panels that divided the booths at the old location now hang in the windows overhead.
What’s the history behind Fong’s Pizza?
Fong’s originally opened in the former home of King Ying Low on Jan. 26, 2009, serving a fusion of Asian cuisine and Italian dishes.
“Previously this location was home to King Ying Low, the oldest Chinese restaurant in the United States. We wanted to honor their legacy as we crafted our menu inspired by a fusion of Asian, Italian, and Polynesian cooking styles, to create our unique pizzas and other food offerings,” the Fong’s website said of the history of the restaurant on Fourth Street in downtown Des Moines.
Moo shu pork, egg rolls and Thai peanut chicken pizza were just some of the dishes on the menu when it opened.
What else does Full Court Press own?
The Full Court Press family of bars and restaurants includes the High Life Lounge, Buzzard Billy’s, el Bait Shop, Hessen Haus, The University Library Café, The Royal Mile, Lucky Horse Beer & Burgers, and The Chicken. Restaurants neighboring the new location of Fong's Pizza include The Iowa Taproom, Ken’s Speakeasy, and Truman’s KC Pizza Tavern, all also owned by Full Court Press.
Where to find Fong’s Pizza
- Location: 317 E. Court Ave. in Des Moines
- Contact: fongspizza.com
- Hours: Open from Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to late starting April 1.
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.