Mary's Restaurant — Restaurant in Herrin

I'm rating Mary's at 4 stars, but there are some qualifications. First, make no mistake the food is delicious. But when you are paying $35+ for an entree then I feel you are allowed to expect exceptional. And quite frankly there were some very unexceptional moments in our dining experience.

To start, the atmosphere is decidedly wanting. It is almost quirky, but several glaring issues make it feel rather awkward. You are eating a delicious meal in either a room the size and scope of a small gymnasium enjoying the scenic view of the neon lights of the Huck's gas station across the street, or in a room barely large enough to be an office right by the front door.

We arrived about 15 minutes early for our reservation, and they were able to seat us almost immediately. Our first server promptly appeared at the table, clearly frazzled, and accidently poured water on the table, knocked my wife's glass over, and then knocked her spoon to the floor. He apologized, cleaned up the table, and replaced her spoon with a clean one. For some reason, they have decided that having a menu, wine list, or any sort of literature on the food wouldn't be fitting. You literally have to sit and listen to your server verbally list the options they have for drinks, appetizers, soups, salads, and entrées. The novelty of this is very short lived as you have to patiently wait and try to remember and rank the food and drink that sound appetizing to you. Apparently they also don't carry a surplus of either glasses or silverware. When I ordered a second beer the server apologized and said they had no cold glasses available at that time. Also one of my forks and one of my spoons were so dirty you could literally see and feel the stuck-on food that didn't get cleaned off from the last patron. Again quick apologies from our server as they addressed the issue.

Culinarily, the food was well prepared. Everything was well seasoned and tasty. There are some odd choices on what is included on the plates though. Every entrée came with a large slice of muskmelon, regardless of what you ordered. Also, our lobster ravioli came with a slice of pineapple on the plate. It was a jarring and incoherent addition to a delicate appetizer. The seafood was perfectly prepared and tasted fresh. I had the swordfish which was one of the best preparations I've ever had. Beautiful texture and rich flavor was enough to right any wrong. The veal was tender and flavorful, but the flavors weren't quite as balanced as the swordfish.

Overall, I give it a solid 4 out of 5. I do want to reiterate that this is some of the best food in the area. But when you are charging $150+ per meal you better bring your A-game and sadly I feel that Mary's ultimately fell short of that mark. If you are looking for the perfect dining experience for a special occasion I would recommend making a trip to either St. Louis...

We went for our anniversary. Because it was New Years Eve they were only offering pkg pricing. Entree, choice of soup or salad, twice baked potato as your side(it was more like cheesy potato casserole, the round blob on the plate) wouldn't have been my choice, croissant, dessert, and tea, soda and coffee included. I had the Grilled Chicken Oscar. It sounded good but was just okay! The presentation left much to be desired. The asparagus was barely cooked and so much cheese it was hard to see if there was crab. My husband had the Roasted Duck breast with Date-Port wine sauce. It was a very small portion. He said the duck was chewy, and not at all what he expected. He didn't like the sauce but I did. I didn't care for the presentation of that dish either. For dessert my husband had the cinnamon bread pudding with sauce and a scoop of ice cream, and I had the flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. The desserts were both pretty good. My husband had iced tea, I had water and we both had coffee with our dessert. Our bill with tax and tip was $102! These entree choices were the least expensive on the menu @ $40 ea. I don't understand all the amazing reviews! The food was average. I was expecting more and was disappointed. Our favorite place in Benton has way better food for the same $$ or less. They could use...

My husband and I celebrated my birthday at Mary's. We were both very impressed. Everything was perfect! The host gave us a warm, friendly greeting and seated us right away. The ambiance was great and we loved the decor. Our server was amazing! We didn't wait for anything but our appetizer, salads, entrees, and desserts were all served to us at a much more leisurely pace than other restaurants. We didn't feel rushed at all to hurry up and eat so they could clear the table and move the next party in. We were able to thoroughly enjoy our meal. It was wonderful!! And the food, OMG!! The shrimp and lobster were most definitely fresh, never frozen. The steak knives they gave us weren't necessary. The steaks were so juicy and tender you could cut them with a butter knife and they melted in our mouths. It was all deliciously seasoned and cooked to perfection! Last but not least, the best cheesecake ever! Hat's off to everyone at Mary's and thank you for making my birthday...