How do you get into Secret Admirer?
We have not confirmed it. Secret Admirer is in the directory because it described as secret, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
Drinks of the era
We have not seen this venue’s own list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: Sidecar, Boulevardier, and Vieux Carré are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
Where Secret Admirer sits
Secret Admirer is in Des Moines, Iowa, in Polk County, in the Midwest of the United States.
Our directory currently lists six speakeasies and hidden bars in Des Moines. The full list is on our guide to hidden bars in Des Moines.
Measured from the map pins, the closest of those to Secret Admirer are Monihans Speakeasy, about 500 m away, Ken’s – a not so secret speakeasy, about 950 m away, and Alleged Lee’s, about 1.3 km away.
Iowa holds 16 listed venues in this directory. See them all on our Iowa speakeasy guide.
Prohibition in Iowa
Iowa did not wait for the federal government. Statewide prohibition took effect here in 1916, four years before the Eighteenth Amendment came into force nationally on 17 January 1920. By the time the Volstead Act was being enforced across the country, Iowa already had an established illegal trade and the habits that went with it.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in Iowa.
What the newspapers recorded in Iowa
Searching the Library of Congress run of Iowa newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from Iowa:
- Evening times-Republican, January 23, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Decorah-posten og ved arnen, January 30, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat, February 17, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Evening times-Republican, March 10, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
Hours published by the venue:
- Wednesday to Thursday, 16:00+
- Friday, 4pm to 1am
- Saturday, 2pm to 1am
Hours as published on the venue’s own site, retrieved 9 October 2026.
You can reach Secret Admirer by phone on (515) 288-8787 and through its own website.
The address is 110 Southwest 5th Street, Des Moines, IA 50309. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For Secret Admirer we hold street address, telephone number, official website, and opening hours. We do not yet hold social accounts, a published drinks list, an online booking link, or a listed-building record.
It is in the directory because its own name calls it secret.
Two independent open datasets, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, both carry this venue at this location. Agreement between them is the strongest existence check we can make without visiting.
The source data classifies the premises as a bar.