Restaurant Review: Moonlight Restaurant in Alton, IL

Recently, my wife and I had the experience of dining out at the Moonlight Restaurant in Alton, IL. Moonlight is an upscale family restaurant that serves up American food such as steaks, chicken and fish. Here is a review based on our recent trip to Moonlight.

Moonlight restaurant has been in Alton for many years now. Actually, someone told me it is around 50 or so years now and it has been in the same family this entire time. We visited Moonlight on a Wednesday evening for dinner. When we first walked in it took a minute or two for a hostess to come up and greet us. We looked around and noticed that they have a sit down bar area in addition to the main restaurant itself.

We were seated at our table and given menus. The waitress mentioned that fried chicken is one of the specialties that Moonlight is known for; so that is what my wife ordered. I decided on the cracked pepper filet mignon. Both of our meals came with a salad and a loaf of fresh baked bread, along with baked potato and another side. The menu prices at Moonlight are not inexpensive, so be prepared to spend close to $20-$25 per person.

The salad with Moonlight's famous house dressing was wonderful. It is a combination of several different ingredients that is not too sweet and not too tart. It really has to be experienced to be appreciated.

After our salads we waited for a while on our dinner to arrive. The problem was that we continued to wait. It took over 30 minutes for our food to arrive, which I find unacceptable in any restaurant. This was the most disappointing thing that happened all night. However, when our food arrived I must say it was excellent. My wife's fried chicken was 4 massive pieces. It was enough for two people easily. After tasting it I can see why it is their number one selling item.

My cracked pepper filet was cooked medium-well and tasted great. It was a thick 12 oz filet that was seasoned very nice. The pepper added a wonderful flavor and I would recommend it to anyone. After finishing, our waitress asked if we wanted to sample a little desert, but there was simply no room for anything else!

I would have to say that dining at the Moonlight was met with mixed results. The food was excellent, but the service could have been much better. Perhaps it was just a bad night or a couple of people called off. At any rate, if you are looking to go out for a special occasion and eat a very nice meal, Moonlight makes a good choice.