The Depot — Restaurant in Missoula

Last night we brought our friends from NY for dinner for the last night of their visit. We know the depot is a nice place and not inexpensive but we wanted to treat them to something special. We were prepared to pay. All of the food was mediocre and of 4 entries one was actually inedible. The $36 prime rib was inedible. It was not prime rib! Couldn't cut or chew through it. Did not even look like a slice of prime rib. The seafood pasta was mediocre in taste. The yellow fin tuna was so so. The chicken teriyaki was good but the portion was small. The waitress apologized and took the prime rib off of the bill as she could see it was not eaten. She asked if she could bring something else but we had all almost finished eating by then and did not have a desire for any more of the food. I would like to add that these entries come with a potato or vegetable only not both. No salad included. The presentation is lacking! The salads are nothing special. Not worth the price. We have no confidence and will not return to the depot! We think you should think twice before dropping your hard earned money there. Not a good value by any stretch and the food is nothing special and of course you could get a really disappointing inedible plate presented to you. Try one of the other places in town and don't get embarrassed if you take out of town guest here thinking they will love it! Really unhappy with the entire meal. Grateful that they did the right thing but we would have happily paid for...

Usually one of our favorite places to dine with the most amazing atmosphere, drinks, and prime rib. June 12 we brought my mother for her 54th Birthday and were really disappointed. Firstly, we noticed the chairs were filthy with old stuck splatter on the legs and tons of dust, making us question the sanitization of the overall restaurant considering the recent pandemic. We expected to have a couple drinks, bread, and an appraiser but bred is no longer offered, so went with a tender platter for our kids. They were run of the mill, cheap diner, generic, and over fried, possibly the worst tenders at a restaurant we have had, but the kids were starving so with loads of ranch ate them. I tried to order a mojito off the menu and was told they don’t have any of their mojitos actually so went with a pomegranate martini, that tasted nothing like pomegranate and had chunks of ice in it. The kids asked for lemonade, our server asked if we wanted kids size, funny thing a kids flavored lemonade was $3.75, in a tiny cup, hindsight an adult cup would have been just fine for the same price.

As usual the prime rib was amazing, and our server was very nice, but that was sadly the only positive parts of this visit. Without the salad bar, which I server said after all restrictions are lifted they will never bring back, not offering bread for the table, and limited drink ingredients or was a total bummer dinner and were disappointed we...

Disappointing. Our server was kind but seemed frazzled and rushed. Our appetizer was served before we ordered our meal and we ate at a table crowded with menus. The menus had rips and were sticky. Our prime rib had no flavor and we were then told they pride themselves on not seasoning their meat. My husband commented it’s the exact menu from when he last ate here in 2011. The general vibe was that of a confusing time warp. Even the decor is confusing. We sat in the back lounge. I liked the lighting and the seats were comfortable but right next to the tables is a catch all station for menus, water pitchers, napkins, just really an odd placement. I never figured out what Italian pottery and cowboy art had to do with a train themed restaurant name. We had hoped for a quiet cozy atmosphere with good food and service, especially for the price. Unfortunately we were seated next to a large loud party and a family with fussy babies. This meal was way overpriced. For a $10 house salad I expect homemade blue cheese dressing or at least some actual blue cheese chunks. And can I suggest 4 or 5 house-made croutons instead of the pile of dried cubes? Maybe oil and salt the baked potato? I keep wondering, where’s the love? Is the chef okay? Did the owners give up? Based on other reviews, maybe we just had bad luck tonight. Just bummed overall. The folks working here all seemed...