The Depot

Last night was not a good experience at The Depot. I hadn't been for several years but remember the prime rib and steaks to be wonderful. It was my husband's birthday and I wanted to treat him to a special meal. Service was poor and the dining room wasn't busy! We waited 45 minutes for our meal. While we were waiting, I asked for our salads....they are NOT included!!! The meal was $95 for 2 steaks, 2 potatoes, and 2 waters. I expected to pay that amount and possibly more for a GOOD dinner. We will never go back!

My wife and I traveled to Missoula Montana to celebrate our birthdays and our daughter got us a gift certificate for the Depot Restaurant in the heart of Missoula. I had the prime rib and my wife had the salmon 🍣 with the last bottle of the 2016 Palermo they had on hand. We sat on the covered patio and the most delightful evening. The food was awesome, the owner visited our table and we talked about wine for 10 minutes or so. The server was excellent and I would definitely recommend!

The Depot does a consistently good job. As I write this I realize I've been coming to The Depot for 25 years. I've always had a memorable experience and always feel appreciated. Blackened Prime Rib...exceptional! The service is attentative and delightful. Wine and beverages are flowing. Food is always top notch.

Disappointed sums up our experience at The Depot last night. My wife and I were trying to find a nice, quiet place to eat out for our date night. When we arrived the lounge area was about half full. It was fairly loud for being so empty, but we decided to give it a shot. The waitress was nice enough, but obviously had more tables than she could handle. Our drink went empty multiple times and it was over 30 minutes before we even placed our main meal order. Appetizers came out and were extremely subpar. The calamari was edible but not great, and the chicken tenders were over cooked and the quality was not good. Then a few big tables showed up. Mind you this is a pretty expensive place, and once the incredibly cramped “dining room” was filled to capacity, it was so loud that my wife and I had to talk loudly directly into each others ears. Not quite the experience you look for when paying $50+ per plate. At this point our waitress had passed by nearby tables 3 or 4 times without checking on us. We ordered our main dish to go given the above, and it was another 30 minutes before a manager or other waiter came by and checked on us. The $48 “filet” was a low grade cut and nothing special. It came with a tiny side of mashed potatoes and nothing else. If you want an expensive and poor quality meal, poor service, and a dive-bar-like atmosphere, then this is your place.

Upon recommendation from a neighbor, we checked out The Depot to try their prime rib. Service was excellent, but the food was rather bland and disappointing. My wife got the prime rib sandwich, while I tried a prime rib pizza. The pizza, based on the crust and sauce, had the taste and texture of a Tombstone (frozen) pizza, with charred prime rib bits sprinkled on top. The sandwich was a giant slab of salt-and-pepper seasoned meat, nothing standout at all. Perhaps others have had a better experience, but I can't recommend this place based on ours.