It was only back in March that we first discovered The RAIL in Canton. We became immediate raving fans, and even more exciting was the prospect of them opening one in Strongsville, just minutes from our house. Well, the wait is over, and we got to preview the new Strongsville location for The RAIL this past Saturday night. The actual opening day is today – August 8th.
The newest location for The RAIL is 17885 Southpark Center (on Royalton Road) in Strongsville, Ohio 44136. (Phone 440.783.1275) For those of you familiar with Southpark Mall, The RAIL is located in the old Giant Eagle location.
Their hours according to the website are:
Monday—Thursday: 11am-12am
Friday & Saturday: 11am-1am
Sunday: 11am-10pm
The new Strongsville location differs considerably from the Canton location. Roll-up glass garage doors along the western side of the restaurant let in a considerable amount of fresh air for pleasant evening dining. Seating in this area is primarily picnic-table style with tables for four and heavy wooden/steel benches. The western half of the bar also opens into this area, with probably 16 bar seats.
There’s an outside patio seating area with upholstered chairs or sofas that will hold another 16 people or so. A glass-beaded firepit is the central focus in this area.
Inside seating is broken up into three distinct areas. The eastern half of the bar area also has a number of tables for four.
Further east yet, and the quietest location in the house, (don’t worry, you won’t be falling asleep here) is the dining area with padded booths. After having drinks on the patio, we chose here to enjoy dinner.
Lastly, the front seating area, directly across from the hostess station, gives you a full window view of everyone coming and going, and is perfect for people watching. There’s literally a seat for everyone, including high-chairs available for your little ones. There’s even a special children’s menu.
But what about the food?
Thought you’d never ask. Well, for brevity’s sake, one work describes it – Fantabulous!
The RAIL is known for locally sourcing their meats and as much other food as possible, depending on the season. You can’t beat fresh Ohio beef in my book, so, you know the burgers are going to be fantastic. Our choices for dinner? The Perfectly Naked Burger and the 7th Heaven Burger – medium rare. Juicy and oh, so delicious. Ask for extra napkins.
The other thing that makes their burgers and sandwiches so good is the selection of over a dozen different combinations in addition to the possibility of building each completely to your liking. Specialty toppings include; thick-cut Ohio bacon, fried local eggs, fresh avocado, truffle butter, and more.
Need a special order? They do have gluten free and vegan options. Their salads sound amazing as well. That’s the plan for our next visit.
Thirsty? I hope so, because they have some of the greatest handcrafted beverages around, as well as selections of Ohio beers on draft and your favorite bottled brews. My choice for a hot summer night was a delicious Double Cherry Spiked Lemonade.
Also of note, every day they have drink specials from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. for $3 each. They change every day, but, we are talking about some popular drinks like Margaritas, Long Island Ice Teas, Bloody Mary’s and more.
If you haven’t tried one of their four locations, (Fairlawn, Canton, North Olmsted and Strongsville) you really need to give one a try. You’ll be delighted you did.
