We were seated quickly and took a minute to order, but that's where the service stopped. We didn't see our waitress again until our food arrived, and that took a whopping 45 minutes. Our orders were simple, nothing out of the ordinary, so it's baffling that it took so long. The restaurant was small, with three servers on duty, so there's no excuse for the lack of service or the wait. The ambiance was the one bright spot - it felt like a classic old-school diner. But the food was a major letdown. I ordered a $14 plate and expected a decent portion size, but what I got was laughable. It was like something I'd whip up at home or grab from McDonald's. And the 'gourmet' touch? Sandwich cheese on top of the omelet. My partner's country fried steak was overcooked and burnt to a crisp. Given the wait, you'd think they'd at least try to get the food right. It's especially egregious considering we're talking about Lake Geneva, where people pay for parking and expect a certain level of service. We spent 1.5 hours at the restaurant, and most of that time was wasted waiting for subpar food. Needless to say, we won't be back. Photos of the food are included to give you an idea of the portion size (or lack thereof). Don't say I didn't warn you. read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - Philly cheese steak omelet, country fried steak (partners plate) - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

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I have been here before and had a good experience so 10 years later I brought back friends to try it again. It was so disappointing. The woman running the restaurant it seemed was so rude to people looking to eat here. She would constantly belittle people for wanting to eat there. They turned away large parties (I get it, it was busy and it's a small place) but you just felt so unwelcome waiting. Once we did get our table we ordered and it took forever for the food to come out. It was clear this place isn't staffed for the large crowd Lake Geneva brings in. We even heard the woman who was running the place make a joke about going across to simple if they didn't want to wait. The food was also mediocre. It was fine, but you don't get a lot for it being 12.99 for almost every dish. Service was slow. You can tell they are understaffed. The ambiance is cool. I liked that part. read more

Great little place with great service. However, if you're looking for gluten free pancakes or waffles, they don't have these. They do have a gluten free bagel if that works for you. read more

What a tiny little charming diner! With an old time feeling but whimsical twist this place is terrific from the moment you walk in. They have booth and tables but we choose to sit at the counter and so glad we did! The staff are amazing and were so much fun to chat with. The menu was terrific with a ton of options and the food was delicious! This will for sure be our new breakfast stop when we are in downtown Lake Geneva from now on! Can't wait to go back soon! read more

The bus boy at the restaurant has a real attitude. Least our waitress was nice. The breakfast burrito I ordered was pretty sad. It was super tiny and the cheese tasted horrible in the burrito. If you are gonna go for such basic food least pick a better spot that has nicer people. Pick another spot read more

Mushroom & onion , amer. Cheese omelette -asked for fluffy , it was Dee-lish!! When I saw the omelette It was flat, most omelettes are huge and almost a mound of eggs. So I wondered how it was going to be fluffy, but it was excellently fluffy! Hash browns crunchy outside, soft inside-perfect! No toast offered, which is unusual, but that was OK because there was plenty to eat with what I had. I'm beginning to think that most restaurants offer you too much food with too high prices. Being on vacation, we didn't want leftovers. So this breakfast was perfect, in fact, I had to stop myself from eating it because it was so good, I was full! Tammy, our waitress was so calm. She was working alone and five tables had walked in along with us, so she was slammed. She was very friendly, professional, and not rushing around. She deserved a round of applause. all the people working there were chipping in to make everything a wonderful experience. And they were all smiling while they did it. Small town community feel. The decor was so lively, whimsical.There were no matching coffee mugs. Just like it would be at grandma's house. There is a big vent next to the ceiling that is painted purple and has wings, and it looks like an airplane, very clever. One wall is painted green, splashed with different colorful paints. So fun! In talking to the multi-tasked hostess we found out that the kids had all gone back to school and that's why there was limited servers. Plus, one server had called in sick that day. Hope you love it as much as we did! read more

This place was highly recommended by a friend. I finally got the chance to try it, and it was fantastic! Awesome service, great atmosphere, and the food was delicious. I highly recommend "The Hangover" (eggs, hash browns , toast, eggs, biscuits and gravy, plus bacon and sausage. Very filling to say the least. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Reasonable prices. Definitely a return trip. read more

Wow - loved it! We were visiting family in the area and wanted to go out for breakfast one morning. We decided to try Grandma Vickie's based on Yelp reviews and experience of our family. Three of us each ordered a breakfast meal. One had a Spinach Omelet, one had a Philly Cheesesteak Skillet and I had a Corned Beef Hash Skillet. We all had Rye Toast. All 3 meals were great as was the service. We ordered the Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast meal as a shared dessert. Pretty good, though the Cinnamon Apples should have been served warm in my opinion. Thank you Grandma Vickie's! We'll be back :) read more

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A very nice Ma & Pa family Cafe. The food was awesome. Cooked just like Grandma used to make. The staff was friendly and our server Lilly was very polite and she kept our Coffee and Iced tea filled all the time. Highly recommend. It was like taking a step back in time. read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - Front of Vicki's Cafe - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

What a great find! The food was excellent. For a Sunday, it was pretty full, we were lucky enough to get some stool seats. We were greeted and had our orders taken after. They do offer gluten free options if you need them!! They eggs were very well prepared and had that real egg feel to them which is always good to know and eat. The food came out pretty quickly and was delicious!! Will recommend it to others I know in the area. Great staff. Great food. Great cafe in town! read more

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Love this place! Great local restaurant and just what you expect for a diner! Good food and happy atmosphere! Always great service too!

Wonderful food and great service. Brought my grandkids there and they were so accommodating. Everyone loved the food.

Food was okay, the person who I was dining with got a sad skillet. I got the 1x2x2 that has one large pancake, two eggs, a two sausages or two pieces of bacon. They had ambient music and almost every corner was bright and fully decorated. Service was amazing, the waiter was polite and friendly. And our food came at a decent time. I ordered Bubbl'r and they gave it to me canned with a mason jar filled with ice and the jar had a handle and I didn't even know that existed! I am sadly not going to be going here again because of the food but everything else was good. read more

This is a hidden dinner away from downtown. If you want a good breakfast at a traditional dinner this is the best. The service was fanatastic and the owner was very friendly. This is a must try! read more

Delicious breakfast! Almost no wait on Sunday 11:00 (less than 2 minutes) , super enjoyable atmosphere, lively but not loud. All meals arrived together and all piping hot! Exceptionally good natured server (sister of owner) and meal was priced appropriately. I absolutely recommend. read more

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Leave it to the retired parentals to guide the tech savvy foodnistas to the promise land. I found this to be a delicious cozy breakfast diner filled with locals and seemingly run by family. The menu was filled with quite a few appealing options making it very hard for me to choose just one. The chalkboard also displayed a few more items, including an impressive amount of gluten free pastries and flavored iced coffees for a place of its size. The vanilla iced coffee was better than I could have ever imagined it would be, compelling me to stop just before making that loud terrible sucking noise associated with slurping every last drop out of the glass with one's straw. I also really loved the hashbrowns because they were served moderately crispy which is how I prefer them. The average price per entree is $7-10, making this a very affordable and delicious option in the area. read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Great spot for breakfast! The staff was very friendly and the food was great. Definitely recommend the corned beef and hash.

Genuinely friendly service, even on a crowded Sunday morning. The coffee is great and your food is a typical old-school diner experience without overwhelming portions that leave you feeling uncomfortably full. There was a solid mix of locals and out of towners. Loved our experience and can't wait to come back next time we visit Lake Geneva. read more

Good little joint but don't come for the atmosphere. Had the Philly Omelet and it was pretty good. Nothing fancy, but friendly service and a sleepy little place to meet a friend. read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - Menu - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

First time here, place is very cute, food was average, nothing special, service was polite but on the 'cool' side. The reason for 2 stars is the bathroom was dirty and disgusting. It was like walking into a dive bar bathroom. It was 10 am on a weekday morning and slow, so no excuse for it. Dirty floor (ground in), sink, walls, toilet. If they can't keep up one small unisex bathroom I'd hate to see what the kitchen looks like! Disappointing for Lake Geneva. I would not return or recommend. read more

My fiancé and I waited roughly 10 minutes to get menus. Once we ordered, we waited another 45 minutes just to get our food. They were a little busy, but there were 3 servers in a tiny cafe. I wouldn't have had an issue with waiting if the portions were bigger, but they didn't even fill the small skillet with potatoes and meat and cheese. For $10 each, we would've like a bit more. The butter on the bread tasted like popcorn butter and made the bread so oily we couldn't eat it. I don't recommend this place to anyone looking for a quick, filling breakfast. read more

Everyone really enjoyed their food. The hash browns were the perfect crispiness. Prices seemed just a little high for the portion size but I'd still go back. read more

Somehow spent $50 on two corned beef hashes, and OJ. How does that happen? Keep in mind a breakfast place like this has the same ingredients as a McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts breakfast, but has the nerve to charge Oakfire prices! (The expensive pizza place down the street, right on the water). The ambiance is not good either. The color palette is not at all appetizing. To top it all off, our server was rude! read more

Tldr great bng great vibe, good value. This place is a great mom n pop gem.  Where all of the food is cooked to order.  They have a great counter top which seats 15, and is a great place to chat with locals, customers and concert goers alike.   The place is small and maybe seats 50. They have wifi and the ssid was cgc.  The whole staff is super friendly.  The coffee was good.  sadly standard creamer and sweetener packets, but they also dont seem to be pushing their coffee as an experience, so standard diner setup is all good. I had the hangover, which is one biscuit gravy with 2 eggs 2 peices of bacon, 2 sausage links, hashbrowns toast and a coffee.  This is exactly a perfect breakfast post alpine valley concert. The biscuits appear to have been made from scratch, with the sausage gravy done as well as I have ever been able to find in the midwest. The eggs were solid, the bacon thick and crisp but not burnt. The hash browns were crispy and mixed well with my egg yolks and gravy left over. The one thing that was just average was the sausage links. Still overall a great meal and a good value. The shakes also seemed very popular.  did not get one but they seemed to be made from fresh ingredients by vicki herself, if i.am not mistaken. read more

First visit to Lake Geneva! Hotel was amazing, bacon fest was amazing! The view and the lake and Geno's pizza were amazing! We googled this place and asked directions from hotel we were given directions and were also told about the Simple Cafe across the street. We were so excited until we walked in the place. We were stared at and felt unwelcomed! I felt uncomfortable and couldn't eat there so we went across the street to the Simple Cafe! It was awesome, friendly and the food was delicious! The staff was amazing! We will return to Lake Geneva our hotel and the Simple Cafe! The food at the simple Cafe was fresh, delicious and the atmosphere was delightful it was mother's day weekend and we definitely felt celebrated at the Simple Cafe! Fortunately I have no intention to set foot in Aunt Vickie's again I know that we were not welcomed there! read more

I was there earlier today with one other person and as we walked in, there was immediate hostile response on a wait time. There was a woman who worked there who basically shoved us through the little hallway that can be entered in the restaurant because there was another party of 4 ahead of us. We waited patiently for about ten minutes before asking if we could sit at the counter, which was only half full. Walking to the counter, the same woman told us that there were customers who just walked in to sit at the counter and she expressed that she didn't want us to be that. Once we sat down, we ordered drinks and they came rather quickly. The water tasted like tap water and neither of us drank it. There was only one waitress who was working and it took her 20 minutes to get our orders in and we waited 45 minutes for our orders, which was pancakes and a simple sandwich wrap. Could not help but notice that the three people working would rather do busy work - folding napkins and small talk, rather than checking on the customers. Once we finally got the food, no questions were asked about the food or the service in which was provided. Did not feel like a family restaurant, would not come back. Save yourself time and go across the street to Simple Cafe - even if the wait is minor, the food is worth it. Can't say the same for this place. read more

Visiting w Lisa and Vickie (really they are closet Bear fans) always makes my day... I like getting caught up on how the kids are doing and getting a sense for what is going on in town... The food always works for me too. The service is terrific - even when they are busy - a place you must stop vs going to the trendy fru fru place across the street. Go Bears! read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - Natures keeps calling in the men's room at grandma Vickie's - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Such a wonderful place and truly a gem. Food was excellent with perfect sized portions and was delicious!

I love this place! The food is amazing- Friendly staff Way better than other places- We had breakfast here and everything was cook perfectly -fresh ingredients; delicious food. read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - This hug pancake for $2.90 Prices are very reasonable ! - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Had a wonderful breakfast at Grandma Vickie's. It's a small, charming café that's popular with local people in this tourist community; it's just north of the main shopping district on the west side of Broad St. It's furnished with 50's vintage tables and chairs - the kind with which I grew up. You can tell that the owner has a sense of humor as you read the items on the chalkboard (B.E.L.T.C.H. sandwich - bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato and cheese). I had Grandpa's breakfast which was three eggs, two sausages, two links of bacon, hash browns and toast. My wife had the Philly cheese steak omelet with a croissant. We both enjoyed our breakfasts very much and the prices were very reasonable. My only critique is that I wish the coffee was stronger; it was a bit watery for my taste. The waitress was very helpful even though she was incredibly busy. I'd recommend Grandma Vickie's for breakfast if you're in Lake Geneva. read more

This is kind of hilarious. We drove to breakfast at the FABULOUS Simple Cafe. Got there, paid for parking and found they're now closed on Tuesdays. Nooooooo. So the cheap side of me said, "Find a place nearby so you get value for your $3 parking fee." Right across the street was Grandma Vickie's Cafe. We went and were seated. The place was full, probably because others are like us and don't call the Simple Cafe to find out they're Tuesday resters. The menu was like every other breakfast place. It's pricing was similar to the Simple. The ambiance was cutesy. I ordered an item that came with a breakfast meat choice so I said, "Bacon please, extremely crisp--practically cremated. The plate came with sausage. I told the server I ordered bacon. She said, "I thought you ordered sausage." It sounded like she wanted to debate the point, so I firmly stated that I never order sausage. Please bring me extremely crisp bacon." She said she would. That's when the hilarious thing happened. A different lady came over and asked me how I was doing. I told her that except for the mistake on the bacon everything was fine. She offered to get me bacon. I told her it was under control. The second lady came back with a bread plate and told me to put the sausage on it, that she was going to throw it out. I told her I'd just give it to my husband because he eats such things. She demanded I put the sausage on the plate. I said, this mistake has been an inconvenience so I'm not understanding why you want this sausage so bad. She curtly said "fine", turned on her heel and sped off with her little plate. BTW the bacon showed up about five minutes after we were finished and it was done perfectly. This is the first time in my long life where I've been suspected of trying to double dip on breakfast meat. At my age it's almost hard to have a completely new experience. read more

The service is good and great food love the friendly atmosphere. I would suggest this for people who want a hearty breakfast. The price of the food is good and cheap for something that fills you up till your next meal. I would suggest there country fried steak and eggs. read more

Excellent simple cafe. Bright colors, friendly people, and really run by a Grandma named "Vickie." Definitely not a chain with clever name. The pictures of her grandkids are right there on the wall. Clean, cheerful, fun and creative decor, GREAT prices, delicious food, prompt service. What's not to like? Enjoy! We did! Solomon & Amanda (Racine, WI) read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - Front Sign - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

This was an interesting experience. My sister and I went in on our way back to Chicago from Lake Lawn Lodge. The restaurant across the street had a 35-minute wait, but this one didn't have any line, so we went in & got a table pretty fast. It was near a staff area where the coffeepot, register, etc. were. Well, we ordered (she got coffee, corned-beef hash well-done, bacon well-done, and a scrambled egg; I got iced tea, a four-cheese omelet with hash browns well-done, a scone, and toast). My sister was particularly broke so she made sure to add up whether her items were cheaper a la carte or in combination, and she picked a la carte. The food was pretty good, I guess: -The scone was truly delicious, and warm from the microwave -The omelet was ridiculous. The four cheeses were represented not by diced or shredded cheese inside the folded eggs, but by four slices of soggy-but-not-melted cheese on top of the eggs. I ended up folding it again so that the cheese would be on the inside and had a chance to melt a little. There was too much cheese, but the omelet was really pretty good once the cheese got gooey. -Her corned-beef hash and my hash browns were very good. -My sister's egg was acceptable and her bacon was tasty but too small a portion. -My toast was dry and my sister's was barely buttered. Problems: -There was a big chalkboard with maybe ten available scone flavors, including Door County cherry pecan, banana chocolate chip, cheddar dill....sounded delicious but when I tried to order, they said they only had rhubarb. Now, the rhubarb scone was delicious, truly, though more like cake than a scone - but why couldn't they erase the other flavors from the chalkboard? -The food took an amazingly long time to come out, considering that there were always one or two people standing right behind us doing nothing (more on that later). The server said she'd bring out my scone first, but I had to ask about and then she remembered she'd seen it ready earlier, but forgotten to bring it out. Okay, that's cool, shit happens. Then we waited, and waited, and waited for the rest of our food. There were two waitresses and two hostess/manager types, at least two cooks in the back, and about ten tables total. We ordered at 11:13. Our food eventually came out at 11:45. Considering there were six people and our order wasn't anything ca-razy, I really think that was excessive. -At about the fifteen-minute mark, we started getting antsy. By the twenty-minute mark, I was ready to ask a staff member. I hadn't seen our waitress for a while, so I asked one of the non-server staff who was walking around the dining room pouring coffee, "Hi there, do you know when we might get our breakfast?" She smiled and said, "No, I have no idea" and continued walking around pouring coffee. Wow. -A few minutes later I finally snagged our server and asked her whether our food was coming. She said, "Yes, it's coming!" while walking past us toward the kitchen. She emerged a moment later to say that it would be about five minutes because "you guys asked for everything well-done." Right, we wanted it overcooked by thirty minutes, you got it. -They didn't have Splenda, only sugar and Sweet & Low. wtf? Not even Equal. -But the most annoying thing was that we were seated in front of where one of the non-servers, possibly a manager, was hanging out. I was facing her and my sister had her back to her. As we chatted, the manager would interject her comments and answer our questions as though we were part of a three-person conversation. Even when we lowered our voices and bowed our heads closer together, she still didn't get the hint. On the other hand, we did learn this way that the GVC on the wall was what the younger generation calls Grandma Vickie's. Hahahahahahahahaha -Finally, we got the bill, which was $26. This seemed high so we checked it, and my sister had been charged the combo price plus bacon, instead of the version that would save her $3. She told the server, who said, "Oh, I charged you twice for the bacon, is what happened." Then she took the check away and when she came back she apologized, so that was cool. Really, this place wasn't THAT bad, except for the really-much-too-long wait. Any one of these things would have been humorous on its own and I would have given three stars except, come on, a ridiculous wait PLUS only okay food PLUS wrong menu info PLUS the bill was wrong PLUS they were listening to our conversations PLUS they wouldn't even update us on the food wait time? Come on, man, you're lucky to get two stars. Given the 32-minute wait for our breakfast, I guess we should have waited the 35 minutes to be seated at the place across the street, who hopefully would have charged us the right amount and let us talk amongst ourselves. read more

I just wanted 2 eggs over easy, bacon, rye toast and coffee. Simple enough. Cook brought me the food. I guess the young waitress was waiting on the on the other 2 tables. Only 3 tables were full and she was having trouble handling it. I was not able to enjoy wiping the yolk off the plate with my toast. Definitely not over easy. Awwwwww. Coffee? No refills unless I asked. Well, the place was busy. 1 table & 2 booths full. Then Grandma Vicki is loud on the phone complaining to everyone about AT&T billing? service? and how ridiculous it is. 4 elderly ladies came in. Asked where they should sit. Grandma Vicki told them anywhere they wanted. They chose the table in the middle. Well, Grandma V comments loudly. "Isn't" it always that way? They sit at the one table that is not clean. They ladies heard and asked if they should move. Next time I will make it "Simple" and go across the street. read more

Veggie skillet is my favorite! Best breakfast!!! Waitresses are always nice and on the ball for filling up the coffee. read more

Bright colors, friendly staff, and an excellent atmosphere, not to mention delicious food!!! I ordered the hangover; hash browns, eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, and toast! The coffee was fresh and very good as well. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in the Lake Geneva area. read more

Grandma Vickie's Cafe - The hangover - Diners Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Grandma Vickie's is the REAL local diner in Lake Geneva. Forget the places on the main strip. If you are looking for a great greasy spoon filled with locals, this is the place. Food isn't anything fancy, but it get's the breakfast job done before you go wandering around the frozen lake in the winter. They even have a "Hangover Breakfast" which is loaded with all the fun down home breakfast vittles you could think of. They close at 2 pm, so get there early. There is nice counter space you can sit at, and if you have any questions about somewhere off the beaten path to check out in Lake Geneva, you could definitely find out about it here. Prices are super reasonable for Lake Geneva, and it usually doesn't have any tourists in it (unless you include my girlfriend and I, but we're ALMOST locals). read more

Grandma Vickie's is a breakfast place recommended by many locals in Lake Geneva. My wife and I were wholly unimpressed. The service was fast and efficient. But, when we sat down, our table had obviously just been wiped down and was very wet. Yech. My wife ordered the french toast, which was uninteresting. I had the fried eggs, toast, hash browns, and corned beef hash. None of it was anything more than average. I cannot find my way around a kitchen, but I can make better fried eggs and hash browns myself. Most disappointing of all was the coffee. It was not good. Bad tasting and bitter. I will say, the prices were reasonable and, as I said, the service was very good. read more

I read the reviews on here before stopping in - I was in Lake Geneva on a Mother's Day getaway. It was confusing at first to find it - the diner name was right underneath the liquor store sign, which is next door, but we figured it out lol! As soon as we entered, I noticed how cute and cheerful the decor was - I got the sandwich, which comes on a croissant and contains cheese, your meat of choice, with a side of hash browns. Truly yummy! My mom and sister got pancakes and a skillet, respectively, and they too were impressed with how good everything was. The portions were perfect - enough to satisfy our appetites, but not make us feel like we needed to be rolled outside to my car! I wasn't even hungry again till later in the day around 5 - and breakfast was around 10am! I was tickled pink at the sign pointing to the ladies' room - right underneath it, it read "Capacity 65," which I knew meant for the restaurant itself, but I thought it was funny that it could be interpreted as the capacity for the restroom :p Overall - friendly waitress, cozy cute atmosphere, and good food. I would definitely recommend this little diner to anyone passing through or visiting Lake Geneva. read more