Great food, great service. The have greats soups and salads! Awesome daily specials

Usually good food and service, but, the last 2 visits were disappointing. 1st visit Monday, waiter overwhelmed. Took a while to get drinks, etc. Refills, nope. Today, ordered tacos. OMG just nasty. Returned and got taco salad. NOPE! So many onions on it, made my eyes burn. Sent ot back. Finally ordered fish. It was food. Took forever. Waitress was nice. Suggestion, go back to old menu. Leave tacos etc alone. Sad to see quality going downhill since new ownership. I will go back even though I live 40 minutes North, but will stick to foods I know are good. I hope this was only a fluke as this was one of my favorite restaurants. Customer service is not as it use to be. Grumpy staff. We miss Judy. read more

I've been here about 3 times and I keep forgetting how bad it is. Was there last weekend and it's still bad. Food came out very very fast - it was microwaved. The bacon was overdone and so were the eggs; however, the hash brown were underdone. Since it stays in business I make the assumption that it's improved...not. read more

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE! The food is always good, (had one experience that I might categorize as not so good, but the staff addressed it right away and got me something else). Try the fried chicken,UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. Maybe them best I ever had. Thanks Skillet, Keep up the good work. read more

owner is 1 crabby man. makes it a very unpleasant dining experience. use to enjoy going there , but got to experience owner george being rude twice. will not go back. read more

All you can eat walleye was phenomenal. Service was pretty good, except people who were obviously regulars got priority service (you could tell because the waitress knew their names and was chatting about family etc). Not enough of an annoyance to deter me from dining here again. read more

I don't know what people expect, but the service was great. The food was good, very good walleye on Friday! My wife liked the ribs. Portions were big. Everyone seemed pleasant. I had no issues at all. We will come back! read more

Called the night before to place an order for 8 for Mother's Day breakfast. Told the waitress that took the order that we wanted to pick it up around 8:30/8:45. Went the next morning and arrived around 8:35. Called and the owner answered. After telling him we were there to pick up the order, he very rudely said they don't open until 9. Obviously, we explained that when we made the order the day before, the waitress did not tell us we couldn't come at the time we requested. He immediately got irate. Telling us he doesn't know what he can do for us, do we want the food or not because there's no cook, just being very rude and yelling for no reason. I spoke up when he asked again what we want and stated we wanted proof that he was cancelling the credit card charge to which he angrily said he had other people on the phone and it would be a few minutes. He came out with the ticket in his hand and said the card hadn't been charged yet. He was still being pretty rude. I asked him why his waitress didn't tell us we couldn't come until 9 and he didn't know. I told him he needs to maybe talk to that waitress then and as I said this, I looked down and on the corner of the ticket it said 8:45. When I pointed that out, his tune suddenly changed. Then it was he was going to see what he could do about getting the cook in. Too late for us though. Not to mention when we pulled up, you could clearly see a cook through the window. He lost some loyal customers today. Our family has been going here for years. We've been ordering takeout during this shelter in place, trying to support what we thought was a great establishment. That will never happen again. Not to mention, we have a family member that coordinates big breakfast meetings for employees at one of the hospitals every month or so and she said she will never do that there again either. It's a shame because the employees are nice and the food is good but for the owner of this place to behave the way he did and especially being unprovoked to act that way, was VERY unprofessional. He could have easily apologized for the waitresses mistake but he escalated so quickly for no reason at all. read more

This is not fancy food but it's well-prepared. Service with a smile - always appreciated.

So, went into the Skillet and wow!! Literally our hostess looked like a stripper!! We didn't know if we should give her money or what!!! This nice yummy family restaurant has gone down hill so fast it's sad. me and my family have been coming here for years!! What a shame!!!! read more

First and foremost, I feel the owner insulted me when my date and I walked in last Sunday. He approached us, looked at my date and said "good evening, sir". Did not acknowledge me in the slightest. Friendly waitress, Lynn, but food left a lot to be desired. This is my second time having dinner here. First time we had the fried fish and the breading was way too heavy for fish. When the owner asked us how we liked the dinner we explained our dislike for the fish breading and he replied that next time we should order the broiled. Interesting customer service approach. This time I ordered the Broccoli Pasta Fettuccini and my date ordered a roast beef sandwich. Both were very dry. Almost no sauce on the pasta at all! Don't think I'm going to be back despite the old adage....third time's a charm. read more

Good breakfast with responsive, detail focused service. We felt well taken care of. Good selection. They are open early, so great if you have to be at an early event in the Elgin area. read more

This is a great family restaurant. First of all, the portion sizes are HUGE. I ordered the "Big Skillet" and was able to take my leftovers home and have breakfast the next day as well. My skillet had very good flavor and everything was fresh. The pancakes are huge and they don't skimp on the fruit toppings or whipped cream either. Our waiter was very attentive and kept my coffee and water full. Nothing fancy about the building or decor, but the food and service is definitely worth repeat visits. read more

Had breakfast here today, admittedly a holiday, slow day, but said, what the hey, let's get steak and eggs. Perhaps should have gone with the sirloin instead of the New York strip, which had been previously frozen and had to be nuked then broiled, resulting in a disappointingly half-well-done steak instead of the medium rare I asked for, although to be fair it was nicely charred. However, I would rather they just say, we're out -- it's frozen, and it's not recommended, than render up a sub-par customer experience. Hash browns were a little underdone too, tasted a bit raw. Needs refining. But, the greek toast was pre-buttered, and the coffee was hot, portion size was quite large. read more

W have been eating here for YEARS!!! Always nice and friendly, your basic menu- huge variety. Basic prices. GREAT breakfasts!!! My hubbys and kids LOVE the all you can eat fish specials on Fridays. I don't eat fish. ;) We order to go a lot, as it is good food!! read more

Friendly place with a full menu and breakfast all day. Generous helpings and fresh tasting food. Soup was a little lukewarm but not a big deal. We will be back to try more from their menu. read more

Went there for an early dinner. When we got there, it was plenty of seats available so we were pretty much available to sit anywhere. Within 5-10 min are order was taken. However, it filled up quickly. We got our salads, and then we waited and waited and waited for our meals. I even told the owner that others had come in after us had gotten their meals. He apologized but never went to the back to check. After some time later, the same people that came in after us was now leaving!!!! I politely got up and walked out after the waitress couldn't explain to me what was going on. NEVER will I EVER return there! Over an hour and 20 min wait and never ate! TERRIBLE FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!!! read more

Love these little greasy spoon diners. Good food. Great service. Fair price. I had scrambled eggs with chorizo, tomatoes, and pepper-jack. I like that you can build-your-own as I don't like onions and peppers but always feel like a jerk ordering "without ___" I wish I would have asked for crispy bacon and hash browns, though. I always feel these places focus so much on speed that the food is just barely cooked through. Overall good bang for your buck for breakfast. read more

Potato skillet is more like it. You get more meat on an egg mcmuffin at mcdonalds. If you want a good skillet, Golden Skillet on Highland put meat in theirs. We will never come here again. read more

This is a wonderful little restaurant with delicious food at a great value! The owners, hosts, and wait staff are friendly and attentive- you are really treated as family here. It's also one of the very few restaurants in the area open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Definitely give Big Skillet a try! read more

This place is absolutely disgusting, the servers have an attitude and the owners are not even all there. Management is a joke, I ordered a hamburger with cheddar cheese and it came out gross, under cooked and when I complained the owner said "I'll tell the chef". What a joke this place is. read more

Best pancakes ever! If you're looking for breakfast this is the best place! The regular order can feed two people, I go with the short stack. The omelettes are also very tasty with generous portions. This is definitely a family favorite! read more

Breakfast, lunch or dinner.....it is all very good! Love eating at this restaurant, because it is good home cooking at a clean sit down restaurant. Excellent service, large portions, great prices and friendly helpful courteous staff. The menu has a large variety of foods to choose from, plus daily specials. Fresh bread, fresh croutons, great salad dressings. Catfish, Tilapia, pork chops, ham, ribs, chicken, and the list goes on and on. We used to go to a pancake restaurant on Randall Rd before finding the Big Skillet. But we stopped going there, because the staff was not friendly and the food was not prepared well. So glad we found the Big Skillet! Give it a try, you will be hooked! read more

I went here with my roommate. They have great service I walked in and told them my name I was seated immediately. There food is good and didn't have to wait that long I recommend it to anyone looking for a GOOD home styled meal. read more

Great breakfast food. The omlettes and skillets are outstanding, the service is pretty good, and the place is clean and welcoming inside. It's just a very good mom and pop breakfast spot. read more

The Big Skillet Restaurant in Elgin is one of the Best places to get an excellent meal and excellent service! I eat there often and besides the great food, low prices, and wonderful service, the owner is always there to greet you and say, "Thank YOU" for coming. A fabulous neighborhood restaurant! read more

We love the food- a Huge menu. Great prices and a lot of food. They have a great walleye all you can eat on Fridays. You won't be disappointed and the staff is really friendly. We love their onion rings read more

Just moved to this area. Loved the German food selections, great quality and quantity. Have dined there about 5 times and brought our family. They all agree great restaurant!!! read more

The food is served cold or raw, the male wait staff leaves much to be desired, i ordered corn beef hash and eggs, when i got the hash it looked and tasted like warm dog food, when i asked if it was micro waved they said no it was grilled, now i am no gourmet chef but i know when something is grilled or micro waved these was no crispness to this hash what so ever, and the owner with his bad attitude still made me pay for untouched food. i guess they forgot to tell the new cook don't micro wave the food. in my oppinion people from the neighborhood only go there because of gas prices, they cant afford to drive to a better restaurant like the ones at the mall. read more

Nothing special, nothing unique. the restaurant could be interchanged with any other restaurant. Service was good. Food was just bland. We had breakfast . Will have to try the dinner menu read more

Yikes! Is all I can say for this place. Im not going to speak of the server because in this economy everyone needs a paycheck, but the food is nasty. I don't know what worse dumps that these other people who left reviews have eaten at in order to say that this food was good. The clam chowder should be called potato soup because there was no clam to be found. The french toast is nasty, pancakes are doughy and were undercooked and the hashbrowns well we won't even speak about that. Nothing is fresh there and it tasted like their juice was out of a can. It is cheap food but I guess you get what you pay for. Honestly I have had better food at 3 am diners on a drunken binch night. I will never be back and I can't believe this place would even get a crowd. It's gross! read more

Food is mediocre and the service is usually pretty descent, however, my friends and I frequently go here for breakfast on the weekends. Twice in the past few weeks we have been asked to leave within 5 minutes of finishing our meal by the manager/owner. It would be understandable if there were no open tables and customers waiting to be seated to try getting customers out the door when they finish their meals but to come up to your table and ask you to leave is rude and very poor for customer service. We will definitely not be returning. read more

This was the worst dining experience. After we told the waitress we were ready to order, she responded with, "I should take this other tables order first because they were seated first" even though they were not ready. In the 45 minutes it took to get our food, the waitress did not check up on us and we saw people get seated and receive their food. Even a party of 8 were seated and served before ouR party of 3 (a kids meal too). After mentioning our wait time to a bus man, the food finally came. The food was cold, did not follow any of our requests, and had a hair about 3 inches in it. A manager never came to speak with us, we only heard the excuses from our waitress and got $3 taken off the bill. That was it. I paid $35 for cold food and a hair in our food. The customer service was awful. I do not recommend. read more

Portions are generous but the food tastes about average. No real complaints, just nothing I've had in 3 visits there has really blown me away. Service times are slightly above average but to be fair I've only dined there on Saturday mornings. Certainly not bad but could be better read more

Stay away from this place. We took my mother there for lunch, we were seated at a booth. The waitress had a real attitude. We ordered, and it took almost 1 hour to get our food. when it came , it looked and tasted like high school cafeteria food. We only had silverware for 2 people. Tried 3 times to get the waitress's attention, finally had to get up and walk to another table to get some silverware. Of the 3 dishes, 2 were wrong. One I just let go, but the other was so bad that my wife could not eat it. When I finally got the waitress to come back to the table, I told her that they filled the meal with ranch dressing, and that my wife couldn't eat it. So she argues that it has to be blue cheese because that is what she wrote down. She wouldn't fix it or take it off the bill....the whole meal went in the garbage, and my wife had package of crackers for lunch....$12.00 for a package of crackers. Two wasted hours, bad food, dirtbag waitress, and got ripped off. Happy birthday mom!!!!! This place is the absolute worst-worst-restaurant in the state. read more

When the first breakfast place we were going to try today was overflowing, we did some quick searching and came to the Big Skillet. While the restaurant was busy (always a good sign), it wasn't completely packed and we were seated in no time. Our waitress Lynn was fantastic, she had a great attitude and kept my coffee topped off. Our meals had big portions and the food was cooked well (my husband can't have a rare enough steak and tends to end up with beef that is too done for him, but the meat with his steak and eggs was cooked how he liked). I got a signature skillet and had to take some home because I wanted to finish my pancakes first! I'm looking forward to going back and trying some of the other items on their menu! read more

If you like soup, this is a spot for you, two selections daily and all delicious. I love to stop by and get a container of each daily special, one for today one for tomorrow. read more

So delicious! Good old fashioned breakfasts food with friendly service. Great prices too, skillets are $9 and packed with food! I always leave with enough for breakfast the next day, and I can eat a lot. We love coming here. read more

Skillets are HUGE. Plenty to share & always delicious!! No problem customizing either. Fast service great prices!

My favorite place, love their food, I've never been disappointed, whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. Very comfortable atmosphere, all waitresses great! Btw, try the breaded pork tenderloin!! read more