Rainier Restaurant

My boyfriend and I didn’t have reservations, so we went to the hostess and she seated us immediately. We were put right on one of the large bay windows — it was a great view of the horse track! The menu prices are reasonable and range from about 8.99 to 16.99, they serve breakfast only in the morning and have a good list of salads, sandwiches, and a few nice entrees. I stuck with the ceasar salad and added grilled chicken ($ 11.99). Unfortunately, although the chicken breast looked fresh and had grill marks, it came out cold (they may think this makes sense with a salad). Next time I would specify that I would like warmed chicken. My boyfriend ordered a chicken entrée which he mentioned tasted like it was put on a grill, so maybe they have one back there. The size of my salad was good, and they also served us two warmed rolls with butter; the rolls seemed a little stale. We ended up asking for our bill, but this didn’t seem too out of the ordinary because I’m sure people stay at those tables after dinner to continue watching the races.
Taking a seat in this restaurant is more about watching the race than eating the food. I must say I was surpirised by the lack of experience from our waiter! You could tell he hadn’t been working in that position long, as he hasn’t nailed his spiel or timing on taking orders; it took him a good while to ask us what we wanted to eat. He was nice enough, but I feel like there needs to be more/​better training because when I asked for a refill on my iced tea he came back with the same glass including the same squeezed lemon I had used before and no added ice, so the small amount of ice that was left, was melting — it wasn’t very good service.
The food here is much better than at the Emerald Downs concessions stand and it gets you a great view of the track — not to mention very reasonable prices. Just be prepared to be a little forceful and picky when ordering so you get what you want in a timely manner.