Continental Restaurant is one of my favorite eateries for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The variety of menu items is amazing, although the food prices have edged upwards over the years. Then again, what hasn't? Pete, the owner of the establishment, is a gracious host who meanders to each table, greeting his patrons. The restaurant is filled with artwork and paintings which offer a nice ambiance, despite being a family restaurant. Over the years, the service staff has improved immesurably. Time between order and being served can take between ten to thirty minutes, depending on what menu item is being prepared, i.e. Grecian Chicken or Lamb Chops fall into the second time category. Because the restaurant is such a community hang-out -- that's in a good way -- one should get their early on a Saturday or Sunday evening. read more

I'm surprised to see such bad reviews on this place... My cousin lives right down the street and we frequent them every Sunday for lunch. ( no i'm not 100 years old either) since they put the new room on, it has become a bit easier getting a table on Sundays without having to wait 20min for a table. Food is always great portioning, and the staff is pretty damn nice, I cant say a bad thing about the place. Thumbs up and five stars. read more

Better than average diner food. Friendly staff. Very fair prices. It's been there forever. You can tell the owner takes pride in his restaurant. read more

Last week our family held a Shiva in the banquet room of the Continental. Pete and Emilio honored our every request. They kindly offered to handle all details during a difficult time when decisions seemed too much handle. We put our faith in them and could not have been more pleased. Not only was everything set up beautifully when we arrived, the food was delicious and the room provided great comfort and privacy. Everyone treated our guests with the upmost respect along with just the right amount of interaction. Pete is a kind man who isn't in it strictly for profit. He truly wanted to provide a service in his community and his reputation for having a kind heart proceeds him. read more

We come here often. Great family style comfort food, love all their soups and the service is usually very good. The owner is very friendly and greets everyone with a smile. My only complaint would be that they recently changed to "seasoned" waffle fries and don't have regular french fries at all (we asked the server). That may sound weird but what's a patty melt without good fries! Otherwise everything we've tried for lunch and dinner has been very good. read more

If I could give this place more than 05 Stars, I would. I have been coming to Continental with my family for years. While I have not been there for a while, I can honestly say that Continental is really great. Sometimes my family will go there on / for certain holidays. One Example: On Jewish Holidays, like PassOver, they have a special menu just for that holiday. And, That makes me feel nice inside. Because, Pete, and the other restaurant people cater to those specific cultures and holidays. And, It makes you feel special. Plus, It can help you get in touch with your culture / heritage. There are so many good things I want to / have to / can say about this place. P.S. - Who else thinks that the owner, Pete, looks EXACTLY like Dr. Phil? I DO!!!! :) :D read more

Recently had a private party here for brunch. Great quantity and quality for a reasonable price. Lox, bagels, pancakes, French toast, egg salad, tuna salad, fruit salad, scrambled eggs and they threw in egg whites at no extra charge. Desserts as well and they let us bring in a cake with no extra charge. Very accommodating for food allergies of guests. So easy to work with and good service. Would definitely recommend for a casual private party. read more

....the best service, food and Pete! The menu has something for everyone and it is the most consistent there is. I have never had a bad meal! read more

This is a great place. I am usually by myself when I eat here and always receive the same great service that the rest of the dinners receive. Food is plentiful and the prices are fair. Usually have two meals out of my order. Great breakfast too!! Owner is very community minded person and supports local activities. Has a nice banquet room. read more

This restaurant is one of the finest you will ever visit in the whole area of Lake County. As I scroll through these reviews I feel sick to my stomach. Obviously some people are too good to realize that a restaurant as popular as this one will have faults. If you can't stand to wait for 5 minutes or cry over a piece of toast being burnt you might as well stay home. Of all the places I have been I have never been to a restaurant more understanding than The Continental. For example, we know the menu, have been eating here for years. Every sandwich comes with a potato choice and soup. We have heard people countless times as for such irrational things. Extra soups for free, more than one option choice for potato, adding ingredients for free,... the list goes on. The owner, Pete, is quick to accommodate. Never not once have I ever heard him say no. His main goal is to make the customers happy and only happy. What people do not understand is the restaurant business is a very quick paced, difficult one to navigate. You will always have that one person who is bothered by everything. STAY HOME. If you can not stand to wait in a line take your business somewhere else! The reviews complain about staff being rude and food being bad... If your meat is undercooked SEND IT BACK. Do not wait until the last minute to go up to the cashier and complain so you can get a discount when you have had the whole time to fix the issue! It thoroughly angers me that people can not understand that. And I have never seen a waitress, hostess, manager, bus boy, etc. every display irrational behavior towards a customer. If you are acting like a brat to your server or constantly bugging them about anything, you should expect them to begin to get aggravated!! Some of the people who walk through that door deserve nothing more than to be kicked out. We have seen grown adults scream at the teen hostesses who work there, people yell as they run out of the restaurant swearing like animals. Customers who have had the nerve to call their servers and hostesses the "B" word. I am sorry but what are you doing wasting your time yelling at a 16 year old girl about your cheese not being melted? It is a family owned restaurant. The owner, Pete, works with his wife and daughter. I am unable to remember the name of his wife, but his daughter, Aria, is a splendid young girl. I see her running around there every time I am in. She always takes charge, is willing to help anyone, goes around with coffee, making conversation, and getting any customer whatever they ask. She also seems to not be older than 18 probably. The last time we were in we witnessed a grown man screaming at her for not seating him. When she tried to tell him that they could not seat anyone at the moment because the kitchen needed to catch up he called it "unprofessional" and "a shit show." Sickening. End of discussion, the whole city of Buffalo Grove would be upside down if anything were to happen to this restaurant. My family loves it completely and enjoys each and every time we have been there. Sure they forgot a slice of toast or the steak was a little undercooked to our liking. Anything we ask, they do. That's how a business should work. read more

Wow, I can't beleive that the other reviews are going to the same Continenental Restaurant as I am. i have been going here for years now and have never had a bad meal! The soups here are phenomenal. My favorites are the pea Soup and New England Clam Choder and the Cream of Chicken. They aren't small bowls so keep that in mind. The portions are more than generous and food has always been good. Service isn't the fastest but I go there to sit, talk and eat. it isn't a drive through, although I love the take out as well! One more thing, free Wi-Fi so i use this for business meetings as well. Timne to go, I have a lunch meeting there now! I have had the necessity to use the facilities also, and I never experienced anything like Adele, course ai didn't use the ladies room, but my wife and duaghter have and if it was as Adele claims I would have heard about it and so would Pete the owner. The Continental is a family friendly place and it really is like family when ever we go there. Some of my favorites are the portobello mushroom skillet, definitley the soups, great Matzoh Balls too, ATHENIAN PASTICIO, the lox sandwich for one is twice what you get elsewhere, the Winston Supreme pasta is great and my wife loves the Chicken Gyros! Just to mention a few! Like I said, I have never had a bad meal and I go there all the time, kind of like Cheers, where everyone knows your name and you feel at home! read more

I come here often, passing other similar restaurants. The food is very good and there's a huge selection on the menu. The owner is often there and is very friendly and obviously is concerned with his customers' satisfaction. I highly recommend this place. read more

Gave it 2 stars instead of zero because the Owner has always been a good guy BUT ...ordered Veal Cutlet and even though drowning in gravy it was totally Tasteless!!!! When quality drops I find another place to eat. Sorry Pete read more

This restaurant is absolutely my favorite because everyone there especially Patty the hostess and waitstaff make sure your dining experience meets and often exceeds your expectations read more

Came here for a second time with my girlfriend today (it has been several weeks since our first visit). The owner recognized us immediately and greeted us. Great service, attentive staff, good food, lots of menu options, good prices, clean establishment. read more

I live fairly close to this restaurant and frequent once every few months. Time and time again... staff is rude. Owner is pleasant and professional but he needs to pay attention and get tough with his staff (run a restaurant not let his staff run it along with their opinions). It's a restaurant not a gossip hour and the mouthy complaints about customers to customers is horrible; personal interaction with waitstaff is just as appalling. Food is passable. read more

The prices are too high, food is OK. Used to like their soups but NO Chicken in the Chicken soup, NO ham or vegetables in the SPLIT PEA soup. The CUT Backs at this restaurant makes me think twice about going back. read more

If I could give it a ZERO I would. My wife and I were just at this restaurant for a meeting with our club. The waitress was rude. We had to ask for food that was suppose to come with our meal, and didn't, and we got an attitude. We had other couples sit with us and she wouldn't even take their orders. Another waitress had to do it and she was fantastic. When I went to pay my bill, I mentioned the poor service to the owner and he went off on me. I went back to our meeting and before I sat back down he told us to leave or he was going to call the police. We left because we didn't want to cause a scene. The funny thing was we had a Wheeling police officer giving a presentation to our club. The food is poor quality and comes out lukewarm to cold. If you want poor quality food, rude nasty wait staff and owner this is the place for you. We will never set foot in the restaurant again. There are too many better restaurants in the area. read more

I love this place ! I first stop in about 20 years ago my wife and I we love the place the food, the wait staff and above all Pete is the best. Pete meets you with a smile when you walk in. We have never had a bad meal, and they have great pies and cakes. Continental is a lot like the restaurants my father would take me to, back in the late 1960s and most of the 1970s. Restaurants like Continental were all over the north side of the city, they had one thing in common ham and egg with the ham cut off the bone in front of you. And I have to agree with Gabriel T. and J J. They do get a lot of old timers or the " older older crowd", Over time I have learned to tune out the old loud crowd. Getting back to what we want to hear and know, 1. Good food 2. The place is clean as far as I can see, if it was not this would be a different review. 3. Pete the biggest reason I keep going back, you don't see a lot of guys like Pete he takes pride in his Continental and it shows. read more

Order some carry out the other day club sandwich and a BLT both came with fries and a large bowl of soup I have to tell you this place is amazing. the club is fresh turkey not processed. the bacon was good thick high quality bacon the fries are good the soup is amazing and it came with rolls and bialys all for under thirty bucks I don't understand how people can criticize this place in any way shape or form. I've been in the restaurant business 37 years and without a doubt this is one of my favorite places to go when I'm not eating my own food. Very good value for the money to keep up the good job Pete if I was in the area more often I would come probably twice a week. read more

This place is completely amazing! If you are into sub par tastless food and your taste buds have atrophied from years of being soaked in overfried grease. This place screams "retirement facility", and not the fun kind with Bingo and cultural trips either. More like moping around in your wheelchair and looking for a nurse, which you think is your daughter, to change your diapers. The wait staff is only nice to people that are regulars (I'm shocked someone would go there regularly), and our waitress looked like she could've been a stripper about 60 years ago. You just don't apply makeup with a spatula at that age (or any age) and wear your ponytail on a side, most likely dipping it in my food. Another waitress looked unkempt as well, as if to blend in with the spirit of this joint. I had some strawberry crepes, and they looked as if someone was jumping up and down on them in hiking boots. Completely flat and artificial tasting. Kinda like if you put a whole can of Smuckers on a chunk of playdough. Not what I expected. The French toast was also below my humble expectations, I swear I'm not a food snob. The waitress kept forgetting to refill our water, even though there were probably 5 more people in there, so it took us forever to get our stuff. To sum things up: no, I'm not going there ever again. read more

So I asked waiter for blintzes and he said crepes and I didn't say anything. Sure enough there are crepes on menu as well as blintzes which are crepes filled with ricotta cheese. So disappointed. Could find no plain milk only flavored for coffee read more

I used to come here often but no more. The food is horrible. The service is terrible. This used to be the best restaurant in town but has steadily declined. read more

My friend ordered clam chowder, not much clams, lots of potatoes. She also ordered egg salad sandwich, waitress brought her tuna salad sandwich. I ordered julienne salad and the dressing was way tooooo salty. Thank God I asked for it on the side. The waitress never came back to our table and was nowhere to be seen. So my friend at half the soup and ate the tuna sandwich. I ate half the salad with a tiny bit of the dressing. When I told the waitress about the salad dressing her reply was that everybody just loves that dressing and they always make it the same way. We will not be back. read more

Disappointed. Went in for dessert after looking them up online. Upon being seated was told that they didn't have half of the dessert menu items listed. Asked for strawberry cheesecake they came out with strawberry glaze on cheesecake- disgusting. I think of fresh strawberries when you ask for strawberry cheesecake not canned or jarred stuff. In mentioning to management that I we surprised about the glazed cheesecake his reply was he thought glazed was better than fresh . He did not seem to care about the lacking menu. This place wasn't worth the drive. Go to Omega. read more

Been coming here for years. Service is not always the best. But the overall atmosphere and hospitality makes up for it. The owner is always walking around making sure all is good. The kids always want to go here because of the treasure chest for their toys. Overall the food is good for a diner style place. read more

The service was okay. Food was horrible! My reuben sandwich was a big blob of soggy bread melted cheese and corned beef (in this order) + specks of sauerkraut. I asked for a mushed potatoes, and was given a greasy fries instead. My mother ordered a baked potato and a grilled white fish, but later waiter came and said that they don't serve baked potatoes after 4PM (it was still 3:30) and brought her "mashed potatoes", that was probably made out of stale baked potatoes (with no salt, not butter), but had 3 huge dark spots inside, that should have been removed before serving. My mother disliked her white fish, since it was horrible fishy ( I tried a bite and that was truly bad!). She asked a waiter before if a fish was previously frozen, he said no - but the taste would have been different, if that was true. Cream of spinach and minestrone soups were good. My husband and kids said their hamburgers were below average (grey inside, probably warmed in the mc). We are not coming back! read more

While the food is good, there isn't a dish I would order again and again. However, the wait staff are usually very friendly and welcoming, and I know they try really hard to make every guest have a positive experience. The owner is a very nice person who actually helped my boyfriend and I out with an issue involving someone in the parking lot. The owner stands up for people if he feels they have been mistreated, and this is why I would definitely continue to come back, because I feel the people who work there go above and beyond what would be expected of a typical employee. One important factor of a great dining experience is the atmosphere, and that aspect has been more than fulfilled. read more

Went here on a Saturday morning after Walker Bros was too crowded. I had a very good experience. It seemed like a very well run restaurant from the cooks to the managers to the wait staff. I appreciated the real silverware instead of the usual tinny junk many restaurants use. Good food, prepared well, enjoyable time. read more

We love continental restaurant. The menu is huge, it is family friendly, the staff are great, the food yummy and Pete the owner a great guy. We go there at least once a week and enjoy!! read more

I own a restaurant in the area but I get tired of eating my own food so my wife and I headed over to Continental we ordered a Reuben sandwich and an egg salad sandwich. it came with a big bowl of soup and a bread basket with bagels and bialys. The reuben sandwich was the best one I've had in the last 20 years. It reminded me of gold coin in Skokie. My wife egg salad was very good and fresh. the fries were hot and crispy. they used real Swiss on the Reuben with moist hot great tasting corned beef. Homemade soup was really good. we often go back and get soup and bialys for a quick lunch. Their prices are more than fair and you get a lot of food for your money...I don't know how this place could only get 3 and a half Stars. read more

This is the best family restaurant/ diner in the area and the food is great, especially the new menu items. We love the neighborly feel and will continue to go for a close to home dinner. read more

I'm a regular at this restaurant. The food is excellent. You get alot for for your money. Come in back and join us at the counter. Lots of laughs there. read more

I have gone to Continental for years with my family and have never been disappointed. You can almost always find Pete, the friendly owner, behind the counter, scooping ice cream for kids, or walking around greeting familiar faces. I highlyyyy recommend geting the motzo ball soup WITH NOODLES. It'll change your world. One of my favorite dishes is the LA Salad, which is a massive salad that comes in a taco shell (don't forget to ask for it chopped). Although I'm not a big meat eater, my (extremely picky) sister and dad have gotten the steak a few times and have greatly enjoyed it. It can get pretty busy during weekends and brunch hours, so just watch out for that. read more

Had went here for dinner with my boyfriend and the service and food were good. I will be recommending this place to friends!

Our family has eaten here for years and the experience has never been less than stellar. Great food, great service, great prices, and just around the corner! read more

So my family has been going there for many years and unfortunately the service and food has hit an all time low. We kept hoping things would improve like the wuality and correctness of our order but it never happened. Sorry but this place has lost it. read more

Never had a bad meal at this place. Food seems fresh, comes in large portions, and is very tasty. The owner cares a lot about the community and frequently donates to BG High School. It gets very crowded on the weekend, especially for breakfast. So come early and be patient with the wait, because it's well worth it. read more

Its a good place to eat. Me and my wife are ordering from them "to go" on a regular basis, sometimes we are going there for a dinner, because we live literally 2 min by walk from there. I can't say that food is extremely good, but its pretty fine and worth the money. I would be honest with you, don't expect something exceptional for the money, just relax and have a good time and you will not be disappointed. I like the staff over there, everybody knows us and everyone always friendly with us. Waiters are fine, mostly there serve pretty fast, sometimes slower, but overall is good. The owner and the manager are the really nice guys. This place is mostly for elderly people, I don't know why, but sometimes we are the only one over who less than 50 years old (we are 30 bty) :) read more

I am a regular and I come here because of the food, the wait staff and because of Pete. I like Pete, he is a straight forward, genuine person who likes and cares about others, not just those eating at The Continental. Pete always greets us when he is here and always visits to chat and catch up. The food here is considerably better than 'diner fare' and though the menu is large I have never had anything that wasn't done correctly and tasty. I haven't had a bad meal here, though if I had I would certainly discuss it with the manager or owner and allow them to do what they are here to do and service the client. I recently brought 6 friends for a dinner and all of them were very happy with everything from soup and salad to entre and coffee and dessert. None of them had been here before and I would like to think that Pete has some new customers because of me. I am unwilling to silently witness folks posting negatively about a comfortable, locally owned business like The Continental. Please, quit hiding behind your keyboard reviews and speak to people about what you want and what you are paying for and let the professionals do their jobs. Highlights here: matzo ball soup, BBQ Fried Chicken, NY Strip (yes, really) and a great dessert selection. I have been in this business and I know how hard it is and I admire these folks- read more