Rusty Rail Brewing Company — Restaurant in Mifflinburg

What Just Happened? I usually refrain from writing bad reviews or even reviews less than 5 stars. One reason is because it is much easier to pound a joint that has simply had a bad night or a server who is new but clueless (which is almost always the management's fault). Another reason is when I write I usually write long with the intent of hopefully fixing something that is broken and I assume that establishments who do fail on the occasion are still determined to fix things and make it right. But last evenings foray into a much anticipated Thursday Taco Night at Rusty Rail night failed on so many accounts and just pushed the last button I had even after a night of sleeping on it. So here goes. I was prompted by an article the title of which is Malcontent in the Middle- "The letdown of dining somewhere between "cheap eats and highbrow in the age of inflated prices and expectations" . (by Alexandra McInnis in Everyday Drinking if anyone is interested). Here is the list: Beer #1 was delivered with the news that, my misfortune, Beer #2's keg was kicked. New Beer #2 ordered, partner waiting for me to drink. appx 10 minutes for me to have a drink. Salud! Food ordered, tacos all around (what's a Mac and Cheese taco?!) No napkins for the fries we ordered so when that came, got up and went and found waitress at register, problem solved. Taco's came. No utensils. Alerted waitress, next problem solved onto the food. Mahi taco's- dry bland tasteless except for all the sauces and toppings piled high it would not have been worth eating. Alerted waitress when she asked how things were that they were not so good. She would alert the kitchen. Couldn't make it past the one fish taco. Asked for the check, waitress left us again. Flagged her and said we had had enough, couldn't take anymore. Summary- Not enough care went into the preparation of the food. $18 dollars for 3 taco's I want nice food. Toppings and sauce so heavy that it distracted from the fish, which was probably a good thing last night. I am a big RR fan and have had many many positive experiences there. Last night fell way short and the promised solution from our waitress to make it right or at least alert the kitchen went no where. Management- when are you going to give your servers the authority to comp something that isn't up to standards RIGHT AT THE TABLE WITHOUT ASKING THE BOSS? Do you know how much good will that generates and how very little it would cost you in the long run? I blame management on this one for poor training and the kitchen for uninspired food disguised with cheap toppings and sauces. I'll be back for sure but now you folks are on notice and I'm holding off recommending until I see if this isn't part of a larger trend of sloppiness at RR in the age of "supply chain interruption" and "high staff turnover" excuses. Covid is over time to get back on the horse restaurants. If you still want to do this...

What an amazing experience we had at the Rusty Rail!! A friend of ours had found this gem a year ago, and he was so impressed that we planned a trip to check it out with him, his wife, and another couple! From the moment that I contacted JoLynn to make reservations to stay a couple nights, I knew we were in for a treat! She was so pleasant and helpful, and booked our reservations for 2 nights quickly. She also made sure we had dinner reservations, which was a huge help!

When we arrived, we were impressed at the size and beauty of the meticulously renovated building that is the Rusty Rail! As the building was renovated, they used the materials that were found in the old factory to produce an authentic and beautiful decor throughout the structure. We checked in, and upon arriving to our suite we were amazed at the size and tasteful decorations in it! I think it was by far the nicest room we've ever stayed in!

After checking in, we went to the bar to sample the beers and were met by Ben, Zack, and Dayton, they were all extremely knowledgeable and welcoming, and each beer we tasted was carefully crafted and delicious! We followed our tasting by dinner and were waited on by an absolutely delightful waitress, Autumn, who was so cheerful and fun! Throughout our dinner she was attentive and helpful, and made great conversation with us throughout the night! She really made our experience complete! Everyone was thrilled with their meal (there were 6 of us in total) and finished dinner with a desert sampler that came with 6 different samples of deliciousness!

Throughout our stay, the overriding theme that impressed us was kindness and inclusiveness. At no point did we ever feel like an outsider or "just a customer", and in fact each "employee", or better called a team member, was open, warm, and sincere. The event coordinator, Brent, even caught us sneaking a peak at the event center and gave us a delightful tour of it, along with explanations of the murals on the walls!

On our last night, we met Thomas, the head brewmaster, and had to tell him how wonderful his brews were. I was especially impressed with a hazy IPA called "All Good" that was a lower ABV (5.2%), but had all the taste and clean finish you would expect with a much higher ABV beer!

Lastly we met Angela at the bar and told her of our fantastic experience! We later found out that she was the president, but she was as kind and welcoming to us as everyone else had been! Overall it was an amazing experience!

We already have reservations to return in October and we can't...

Was just here with my boyfriend the other day. He got the fish tacos and I got the Classic Caesar salad. If you're here on a Thursday and you don't get the fish tacos, you're making a huge mistake. They're AH-MAZING!! I would not recommend getting the Classic Caesar Salad...it's literally lettuce and cheese. For $12. Don't get me wrong, the creamy Greek dressing they put on it was delicious, but it's literally just lettuce and cheese. The kicker is, the Simple Salad, which is $6, comes with grape tomatoes, croutons, olives, onion, and cucumbers. Other than that, the beer was great, the service was great, and I LOVED the smell of smoked cedar throughout the place. I'll definitely be coming back...just ordering something else.

EDITED REVIEW 2/12/24: I don’t know what’s changed about the food and service here, but it’s drastically gone downhill. A large group of us visited the restaurant for brunch yesterday to celebrate some birthdays, and the food and service was pitiful. Myself, my husband, and our 2 year old daughter were the second to arrive in the party, the hostess showed us to our table. It wasn’t until after the rest of our party arrived and we all ordered our food that our waiter brought out the children’s menu and crayons for our daughter. Why weren’t we given that when we first arrived 30 minutes prior? Total oversight on the hostess. I don’t know what each person in our party ordered, but I got the ‘Veggin Out’ and my MIL got the ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’. The waffle that my MIL received literally looked exactly like a frozen eggo waffle that you buy at the store and she said it tasted disgusting. My flatbread was tasteless -I ended up not eating half of it and ate the rest of my daughter’s french toast instead. Since the french toast didn’t come with ANY fruit on it (WTH?), I asked our waiter for a fruit cup for my daughter, expecting a fresh cup of random cut-up fruit, and he brought out one of those little cups in a sealed plastic container that you can buy at the grocery store -again, WTH? I had to specify that I wanted a cup of FRESH fruit. Completely unacceptable for a higher-end restaurant. I don’t know what’s changed here (my guess is management and a head chef), but something happened that severely brought down the whole customer experience. Judging from recent reviews on the restaurant, there seems to be a pretty common theme of tasteless food and awful...