Maquet's Rail House — Restaurant in Pekin

Review Date: April 4th, 2016

Mehquet’s.

The opening line to this post is very ‘meh’ but that’s how I felt about Maquet’s. A few people I know from Pekin raved about Maquet’s. When something pops up on my radar via suggestions or otherwise, I add it to my list and eventually get around to checking it out.

On a particular day where my girlfriend and I felt like traveling but not driving 1+ hours to experience something new, Pekin was the perfect place to explore. We ended up only doing a few things and Maquet’s was our second of three stops.

After parking in a small parking lot about half a block away, we entered and were greeted with probably the wood-iest bar I’ve ever been in. Top to bottom and wall to wall wood. It was well-worn wood so it had that worn in look that makes a place look snazzier rather than aged and old. In my opinion, at least. We snagged some seats at the bar and our bartender took our drink order while getting us menus.

As we waited for our food, I couldn’t stop staring at the giant fridge of beers behind the bar. There were a million different beers to pick from that even the pickiest beer drinker wouldn’t have issues finding something to drink. After the beer fridge, my eyes wandered to the rest of the bar. The aesthetics of Maquet’s was perfect. It had that coziness of a coffeehouse with a mix of drunken debauchery hidden in the walls, waiting for the fun of the night to get here. There was a big dining area behind us but since we were at the bar, we didn’t go wandering.

While my eyes were taking in the scene, my girlfriend’s eyes were on the food that was placed in front of us. I swiveled around and was shocked at the glorious meal placed in front of me. Now that’s what food should look like when served (see below for what I ate). We both got the Rail House Burger as we both love the kick of BBQ. Sadly, the looks were better than the bites.

Yes, sadly, the food wasn’t all that great. For having bbq sauce, pepperjack cheese, haystack onions and other condiments, the burger lacked some pizzazz. So many potential ingredients for flavor and none of them worked. My shy girlfriend felt the same. All show and no wow. The french fries were decent though its hard to mess up those up.

With all the praise that I heard about Maquet’s, its such a shame that it turned out to be meh. As always, I am willing to give a place a second try. I feel like maybe we just had an off day as there is no way that burger should’ve been as plain...

We are new to the Rail house, having been here two times now. The first time we went we sat at the bar and the bar manager, Debbie, was our waitress. She talked about how the Rail house started up and that she's been there from the beginning! She was really nice and I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with her. It's amazing to see how much the bar has grown and how much they've been able to expand! She talked about how they were going to be having a celebration this summer now that they have the new parking lot, that's exciting! The second time we went, we took our boys so that they could enjoy the food as well. We love the atmosphere of this place! The decorations, exposed ceiling, seating, the brick oven, signs, and wood floors are just all great! Both times I've been here, the food has been made hot and fresh, the first time I had the chicken bacon ranch sandwich and the second time, I had the barbecue bacon cheeseburger (my favorite). I enjoyed the fried pickles as an appetizer and we also have tried the mozzarella cheese sticks, curds, and the nachos. The curds were my favorite! If I could have one suggestion, I think that the potatoes need some spices and seasonings. We've had the tots, fries, and curly fries and noticed that they all lack some sort of flavor, they're just a bit Bland. Other than that we have always enjoyed our meals here and definitely enjoy the atmosphere! The service is also tip top, the two waitresses that we have had for each visit were extremely polite and helpful and seemed to really enjoy their jobs. We will definitely be back, so you guys should stop and here one day for lunch or...

So made it back today 03-15-24, was excited to have what I thought was good tenderloin from our last vist! Good selection of beers to choose from on the menu. Started with the fried mushrooms that came with a blue cheese dressing to dip them in. Piping hot and very good. Husband had the Rueben with the Onion Straws. He said it was very good. I order the tenderloin with tater tots since it was good last time. Asked if I wanted full or half Tenderloin? Let's go full! Well tots we're crisp outside just barely warm inside! New order was made and these were hot/crispy. The Tenderlion was another disappointment. Not the same as before! Not a full one but they sent out two half orders! Yea I know I was probably going to cut in half anyway but that was not what I ordered. It was pretty thin, not a fan of the cornmeal coating which was a little over cooked. No real taste or seasoning. Did not bring anything home. Can't recommend this place for Tenderloins anymore 😕 Probably go back to try other items. Pictures are from today's lunch.

Previous post about a year ago. Haven't been here since they remodeled and opened the new space. The food was good! Had the tenderloin. It isn't a thick one but also not a really thin one. What I loved the most was the tomatoes ( 3 nice slices ) pickles & lettuce were all next to my sandwich!! I didn't have to deconstruct my sandwich to make it the way I like it.!!! I really appreciated that! Great selection of beers! Our waitress Denni was great. Awesome sense of humor! Well worth going here for a meal. We will be back hopefully soon. Thanks for...