Pullmans At Trolley Square — Restaurant in Appleton

July-30-22

Pullman's has magic and charm, and I want more than anything for it to be competitive and modern. I write this review not out of scorn, but out of a desire to see it thrive in a more competitive landscape as Appleton continues to progressively evolve in the food industry.

Pullman's has a beautiful patio and a fantastic cocktail area. That said, this is where Pullman's magic ends. The food served was overcooked, absent of any seasoning, Literally, I don't believe any seasonings were used on anything served, save salt? This spoke volumes to the apathy of the kitchen and owners. It's entirely evident that the business relies heavily on it's scenery and faithful cliental from bygone era to keep itself afloat.

I'll elaborate.

The appetizer was a artichoke spinach dip. It resembled some kind of Mayo-based freezer smoothie with chunks of spinach in it. At no point in time did it ever have the faintest resemblance to a simple spinach artichoke dip. The chips served, to my horror, would have been upgraded by buying a bag of grocery store Tostitos.

Pullmans, Tostito's are bad.

The Perch sandwich was served with cheese, which in most kitchens to be a federal crime . Further, it appeared to be American cheese..? Which upgradeded it to a war crime. Adding insult to injury, it was served like a hamburger with typical fare.

The sweet potato fries served with it were fine, but were most certainly frozen and not made in house, it was about the only salvageable piece of the meal.

I ordered a steak sandwich medium rare, I was almost positive it was going to come out well done. True to form, as if without skipping a beat, marinating in the music of mediocrity, out it came, well done. With a tasteless au jus, on a disproportionately large bun, in a square shape making it impossible to actually dip in the sauce without tearing it apart or eating half your way through it first.

I had a side of cheese curds, because it's Wisconsin, no one can f* this up right? Wrong, they were spongy, tasteless, and just all together bizarre. If I had to guess how these flavorless monstrosities were created, they were frozen and then undercooked.

In contrast to the food, the drinks we ordered were well put together and tasted great. Though their drink menu needs some refreshing as the majority of them heavily rely on just vodka and traditional staples.

If Pullman's were just a bar with a great view, even with the limitations of their specialty drinks, it would be a solid 4 stars.

That said, their menu is dated, their standards are rock bottom when it comes to quality, the flavor is completely absent, and no amount of "trying" will fix that. They need to hire an actual chef and let them completely reform their menu. The serving dishes remind me of an 80's supper club clutching it's pearls and hanging onto the past for dear life.

Pullmans, I want to love you, but you're making it so hard. 1 Star. Please, hire a chef, use real, fresh ingredients, modernize the smallest bit, and stay relevant for the...

Sorry not a great visit at all. We were just a party of 2 having dinner around 6:30 on 9/7 . Having eaten at Pullman's several times I thought I'd know what to expect. There was no wait at the hostess stand to get seated and the dining room was slow with many empty tables. From what I could tell there was an event going in one of the banquet rooms in another part of the building.

The sever was quick to take our drink order (2 waters and an old fashioned) after that things went down hill. After the waters were dropped off it seems that our table was forgotten. The wait was so long, another server became concerned and came to our table and checked on us since our waters were nearly empty. I noticed this same server constantly busy visiting tables and doing a great job multitasking. However our server was nowhere to be found only seen casually passing through the dining area checking drinks and chucking with other servers at the wait station.

After a good 15min wait bread was then served to the table but without plates. When the server finally came by to take our dinner order she noticed the plates weren't dropped off and mentioned that and she'd check on my bar drink as well. After another 10min without plates we decided to eat our bread straight out of the basket. Another 20min pass and our dinner was served however still with without bread plates or my bar drink. I had ordered the Ahi-tuna steak while my better half ordered the pecan crusted halibut. The Ahi was seared well and tasted great however the halibut was pretty tasteless and disappointing. She noted that the only flavor was some cajun seasoning that was a huge turnoff.

Halfway through the meal the server finally brings out the bread plates and just drops them off without saying a word (maybe since the basket was empty) and just walked away. It wasn't till we were just about done with dinner my bar drink finally comes out all the server mentions was the "bar was busy" and leaves once again. So after a long awaited delay for this drink it was a massive let down as it tasted like it was just sloped together with too much bitters added and had an odd medicine like aftertaste.

While I finished my ahi which was good, there was 3/4 of halibut that was asked if we wanted it boxed and we replied "just throw it away". I rated our visit 2 stars as it would have been a 1 star if not for the host staff and the server that stepped away from his own table to...

A truly, unique experience, a very large restaurant, with a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. The restaurant is named for the Pullman Train/Trolley car. There are a number of vintage pictures of the Pullman cars and signage. The bar and lounge area is large with high ceilings, somewhat reminiscent of a train station. There are numerous dining areas of varying sizes along with large banquet areas and patios. We were the on a late Saturday afternoon to meet my brother and his wife. The restaurant was virtually empty, we later found out that a wedding dinner and reception was taking place in another area of the restaurant (looked to be approx. 150 people). There was ample parking for everyone. We were sat very quickly and drink orders were taken and delivered promptly, we were given ample time to.peruse the menu, our waitress, Rachel, was polite and friendly, my wife order a crock of Lobster Bisque (loaded with bits of Lobster in a smooth and creamy broth) and the Beet Salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts and a vinegarette, she loved them both. My sister-in-law had the Berry Salad, she enjoyed the freshness of the greens and to berries, my brother ordered a Chicken BLT Wrap with fresh seasonal fruit cup and a bowl of the Southwest Chicken soup. He ate it all, which he is recovering from throat cancer operation and other that bitter and spicy he doesn't really taste much, but I did have a taste of his soup, which was delicious. I had the aforementioned Lobster Bisque soup and the Carmelized Onion Burger, made with Arugula and goat cheese of a ciabata bun. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare, which was complimented by the goat cheese, I had the natural French Fries (crispy on the outside and soft &creamy on the inside). We had a great time and the waitress knew exactly when to pick up the dishes, without disturbing our conversation. We will definitely will beback. Great job Pullman's. You have a...