Best Authentic Restaurants in East St. Louis, Illnois

Where do I begin? The main purpose of coming to the Preston this late in the holiday season is because the Chase./Sonesta decorates for the holidays up there with the Drake Hotel in Chicago, hotels in New York. It’s just beautiful and creates an ambience. The other purpose was to bring three girlfriends to a breakfast before the holiday madness, because we have a rich history of grandparents/relatives who lived in the CWE, growing up, so we remember when….. Alice was our server, and was so beautifully attentive, kind to take multiple photographs of us, gave us the space and the time we needed to see and visit with each other, which is very important not to feel rushed. We really liked the selection and choices for breakfast. We had Eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles, and bacon, and ate every single bite. One friend noticed that the hollandaise on the eggs Benedict was far superior to any other breakfast place that she eats at. We normally have dinner at the Preston, which is always good, so this was truly a treat. Well done👏🏻

The experience was wonderful from start to finish! The server was welcoming & quick to get our drinks. We had several starters which were great. Cannot miss the French onion soup. We had burgers & a steak. The pommes frites are outstanding...a treat! Overall one of our favorite spots to dine with great cocktails & wine list.

Very good food and service in a relaxing atmosphere.

This weekend evening at dinner time when the local baseball game was on-going should have provided personalized and individualized care. However, with one bartender and one server (I so no food runner or assistants or managers either) the service was slow. When it happened, the server was marginal but the bartender, Toni, was absolutely fabulous! She not only made you feel welcome and appreciated, she made the BEST Paper Plane in the Universe! The mix of doos that we selected was well presented and tasty. The menu however is very small and Pennydrop is more of an upscale bar with a small bar menu as opposed to a full service restaurant with an amazing bar. When the baseball game finished and a crowd from the game flowed in, the service slowed even further and lines at the bar were much longer. With a few more staff members, the experience would have been maximized. Regardless of this, I will be back for my next Paper Plane before I head out of town.

Great place! Our server was obviously in a hurry for us to leave. I understand it was also Mardi Gras but the place had open tables for those waiting.