Railway Inn

3 stars for the food, 2 stars because of the over-​served regular!
I’ve been to The Railway Inn a few of times. Went once for breakfast and had the basic eggs, bacon, toast and hashbrowns which were decent and extremely cheap.
The other times for dinner I had the hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. I love this sandwich… they use real roast beef (not sliced, but shredded) and the sandwich is HUGE. I love the fact that you can order a half order of this because that is still plenty for me. They have different daily soups and I’ve liked the ones I’ve tried in the past.
The bar is old and pretty small. It is owned by a husband and wife team. It could definitely be labeled a «dive bar». It sits right next to railroad tracks, so it is kind of fun when a train goes by. The folks that run it are always very friendly.
This last weekend we decided to take my parents there to eat. They had never heard of it, and after we told them about our past experiences there, and that is was super reasonably priced, they wanted to give it a try.
It was fairly crowded, so we chose a table near the kitchen. The waitress was quick to get our drinks and toss some menus on our table. Just after she delivered the menus I noticed some commotion at the bar which I was facing. The remainder at my table actually turned to look what was going on. They looked just in time to see an over-​served customer getting ready to puke. He was an older man, and his buddy and I believe a waitress grabbed a metal beer bucket just in time for him to puke into. He was clearly a regular. None of us needed to see that. The worst part is they allowed him to sit there for another 15 minutes before he finally left. He was mumbling (slurring) about how he couldn’t believe he puked, and his buddy commented about the excess of alcohol he had consumed.
Now I get that this happens in bars, but c’mon. Get that drunk dude out of there. Probably should have quit serving him when he started slurring. When the waitress came to take our order I asked if they were going to escort this guy out. «Yes» we were reassured. Unfortunately it was at least 15 minutes later that he finally left, and his «performance» stuck with us throughout our meals.
The special of the night was a broasted chicken dinner. My father ordered that, and my mother ordered the hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes per my recommendation. Another at our table ordered a taco, and for some reason I decided to try the pork tenderloin sandwich. I wish I would’ve went with the beef sandwich because my tenderloin had absolutely no flavor to it. Chicken and beef dish were enjoyed by my parents. I tasted the broasted chicken and thought it had good flavor. It came with mashed potatoes with country gravy and also corn. The taco on the other hand was not so good. It was not crisp enough to pick up and eat or else all the meat fell out of it. Not as enjoyable for some to eat a taco with a knife and fork, especially when it is to be fried and crispy.
I believe it was one of the owners that actually stopped to ask me how I enjoyed the pork tenderloin sandwich. Perhaps she noticed I had not eaten much of it. I was honest and told her it had no flavor. She agreed and said she had been trying to get the kitchen to take it off the menu for a while now. Hmmmm… the owner should be able to do this in a blink of an eye! Shortly after that our waitress came over and said the owner would like to buy us a round of drinks, which was nice!
Will I go back? Probably. However it will probably be awhile to get the drunk man’s «performance» out of our minds! Eesh…

There are bars on the windows and for good reason. The idea is to keep out Nebraska marauders from stealing Reubens and returning them to their rightful home.
The sign above the kitchen door reads «free beer tomorrow.» Yes, that is correct unless you are a Democrat and running for President.
The Reuben was good, but the corn beef was a little tough. A ton of french fries and they are cooked with the skins on.
The patrons know each other and the help. One customer delivered tomatoes to the bartender.
Considering the location (cheap real estate) and that the fixtures are fully depreciated, the food prices are high. Bathroom needs cleaning and updating. Caulk around the sink had fungus.

We were told that the Pork Tenderloin sandwiches were to die for here. Sadly our experience was disappointing. The sandwiches looked fabulous but were very gamey. The meat was dark and wasn’t what we were used to. All the other food was good however. The burgers, drummies and appetizers were all good. The service was great. Our waitress was extremely friendly and if not for the tenderloin would be a 5.

The hot beef sandwich is my go to meal. burgers and home cut fries are hard to beat also

We picked this restaurant based on Unilocal reviews, and, when we walked in we could tell it’s the kind of place where everyone knows your name… great place to watch sports. There were Hawkeye, Creighton, and Husker fans, so don’t worry about allegiance to one team.
I ordered an amaretto sour, which was very delicious and larger than other bar’s mixed drinks. I would’ve given this bar 4 stars, but the wait was long for our food, and the waitress didn’t apologize or offer to refill our drinks. It’s not their fault that a large party came in before us, but they could at least check up on us from time to time to apologize for the wait.
Now to the food: I ordered the Reuben, which was the most delicious Reuben I’ve had in a long time, bread crisp to perfection and filled with a large portion of pastrami (see photo). My date ordered the chicken salad, which was the standard salad on iceberg (see photo). Insert the joke here about ordering a salad at a bar… we ordered thee quesadilla as an appetizer, but it arrived at the same time as the meal (see note above about service). It was not crispy or golden brown on the outside with standard jarred salsa. The cheese was barely melted (see photo). Many reviewers commented on their breakfast, so I would be interested in returning to try the breakfast.
An added bonus was that two trains rolled past during our meal to create ambiance!

Good food! It is a little old and shabby but very clean and the staff was great! We will be back for the Reuben! Little dummies were hot and crispy and a great appetizer! Only complaint were my fries were a little limp, but my husbands were nice and crisp. Great value!

We are from Colorado, and Stumbled on to the Railway Inn a few years ago. Ever since it has been a must stop. Great inexpensive food, friendly staff and ice cold beer.
Stop for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just Happy Hour.

I started going to the Railway inn about a year ago. After a couple of time visiting there, I figured out that it was a safe place to take my wife and son for a meal. It Is clean and the staff are friendly and attentive. The breakfasts and other meals are very tasty. Every day there is a meal special and the portions are good sized too. It is worth a try!

Lookup «dive bar» in the dictionary and you’ll find Railway Inn. A few things that set this bar apart from other dive bars…
+ Awesome service. Friendly and attentive. It starts with the ownership. Great people.
+Great food. Pub grub done right. Broasted chicken (yes, that’s broasted). Get some.
+Cheap drinks (kind of the norm for a dive bar…).
+Cheap food specials and big portions.
+Three sand volleyball courts.
If you are not a native to Council Bluffs it is somewhat tricky to find but it worth the extra effort to venture off the main drag.