Food and service was great, large group, tried seating us together. Reasonably priced! Lots of coffee refills too! We must have all looked tired. read more

Hole in the wall but great food. Ham steak eggs and hash browns cooked to order and perfection Waitress was quick and friendly read more

It's truly a hometown restaurant and the people and food are fantastic. Just friendly people serving and proposing comfort food we all crave. There's nothing fancy about the place but it's always clean and the food is great. Always a lunch special and breakfast special. read more

I love this place. The service is top shelf. The food is fresh and amazing. The prices are reasonable. We were on a short vacation and seeking a great meal experience. We found it here and were thoroughly pleased with every element of the restaurant. If you're out that way - you should give it a try. You won't regret it. You'll be glad you stopped and grabbed a bite. read more

Went in sat for 12 minutes never was acknowledged ,other people came in after us, and was given drinks and menus. Finally, we took off, called them back and the waitress said that the cooks were arguing, ect.... read more

We stopped here after a morning at Aikman. My daughter had a pancake and bacon. My husband had the friend chicken which was fresh as they warned us that it would take 30 minutes. I got the fried fish was tasty too. My daughter's food came out first and they brought it right away so that she didn't have to wait. The rest came out hot when ready. Our waitress was awesome and super friendly. I would recommend this place as it was quick and good. read more

Hen House Restaurant & Gift Shop - Menu - American Near Me - Arcola, Illinois

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Loved this place. Went twice, once for breakfast and once for lunch. Breakfast was amazing. HUGE portions. Got the Half order of biscuits and gravy. Can't imagine a full order. I was there very early with some local old timers and enjoyed conversations with them. Lunch was very good. We got the special and again, huge portions. I'm from Dallas and the guy I was with was form Jersey. He could NOT believe the bill. In jersey our meal would have been 4 times more expensive. Great place in a great town. If you're passing through a must stop for just good old American, stick to your ribs amazing. read more

We stopped at this little restaurant for lunch on the way back from Aikman's wildlife adventure with the kids. Really cute little old fashioned diner with a very welcoming and friendly staff. My husband had the breaded tenderloin and I had a hamburger, both were absolutely delicious- so fresh and the patties were made in-house and sourced from a local meat market. Really glad we stopped in here, great little mom and pop breakfast/lunch place. Cute little gift shop by the register as well. Will definitely stop in again next time we're out this way! Thanks for a great meal! read more

Hen House Restaurant & Gift Shop - Breaded tenderloin sandwich (may not be the biggest but really has to be one of the best) with fries and a side of sausage gravy - American Near Me - Arcola, Illinois

Quaint little mom and pop type restaurant. Looks like its been here for years. The wooden tables and chairs have obviously been here for years, showing lots of wear and tear. Clean, friendly and super fast service. The eggs were fried just the way I like them, bacon was perfectly cooked, biscuits and gravy were gr8 and the home fries were not what I expected (they were like French fries that had been cut into little cubes). Even tho Illinois requires face masks I was the only one wearing one, not a single mask to be seen on staff and customers! Otherwise I would have given 3 stars. read more

My dude and I were on our way to Memphis to meet up with my mother in law for a mini break. We needed to break for dinner and got off at the nearest exit. We decided that the Hen House sounded like a better choice than the Mexican joint across the street... dontcha think? Hen House was exactly what we thought it would be: a slightly dingy diner kinda place. My dude had country fried steak and I had the special, fish fry. Both were good (the fish was probably the better of the two entrees). But... part of the draw with places like this is a server with some charm. Ours was lacking. The fish fry was all you can eat but since our waitress was outside on her cell for most of the meal, we didn't have time for a refill because we had to get back on the road. In the end though, $20.02 for two meals, two beverages and tax ain't bad at all. The "gift shop" is a RIOT. There's a display of Amish themed "romance" novels that had me giggling as we paid. Amish romance novels? Isn't that an oxymoron? Some dusty stuffed animals and those "what happened in the year of your birth?" pamphlets rounded out the inventory. It was a decent enough stop. read more

Not sure why the reviews are so low. I had an excellent lunch. Great service and very reasonable priced. don't let the revie fool you.

Good ole fashioned home cookin!! Hubby & I stopped here on the way home from a camping trip in Shelbyville- and I'm so glad we did!! I had the French toast (which was perfect) along with bacon, eggs, and potatoes! Everything was delicious!! Our server was quick and attentive, even though they were pretty busy on a Sunday morning!! I will definitely keep this place in mind next time we are in the area :) read more

Hen House Restaurant & Gift Shop - a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast - American Near Me - Arcola, Illinois

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This is right off I-57 in Arcola Illinois. The place needs some TLC, but don't let that stop you. Excellent home made food and plenty of it! We had pot roast & the ham & turkey club. Both were $7-$8 each. Also had a cup of the beef vegetable soup, good ol' comfort food! read more

Hen House Restaurant & Gift Shop - car parked outside - American Near Me - Arcola, Illinois

Had the all you can eat fish and the fish was pretty darn good. But, that is about all I can say about the meal. The corn was flavorless but my daughter ate it after adding ketchup to it. Yes, she added ketchup to her corn. The mac and cheese was cold and stiff. The jello had a weird substance on top however the jello below the substance tasted just fine. The kids had breakfast and it was just so so. We were fortunate enough to have a very good waitress who was extremely busy. She was the only one working the tables and the register so if my daughter had to get up and get her own ketchup for her corn that's fine with me. Overall it was not a bad experience and the fish really was good. read more

no one in this place was wearing a mask not the cooks, patrons or waitstaff. my advice--stay away! pretty small but busy place. no 6 feet rules were being used. booths and tables were all being used..not every other. we walked in the door and server said "just sit where ever you want" and i pointed to my mask and said why is everyone not wearing a mask? we turned around and left. some guy who was leaving and most assuredly in my bubble said 90% of people dont where masks! uh....obviously hasn's been out much. read more

We stopped here, coming off the highway, for supper on a Sunday evening. The place was unusually full per the waitress comments. Even with a full house, food was good, a pizza was hot and service enjoyable. The restaurant building is a make-over of a fast food location. read more

Food was really good, coffee just ok, quick service and hot food. Sad to see how physically run-down the restaurant looks though. read more

Hen House Restaurant & Gift Shop - Country boy breakfast... had biscuits n gravy with it ! Yum! - American Near Me - Arcola, Illinois

First and last experience here. My husband ordered the grilled chicken horseshoe and the chicken rubbery and seemed like it was cooked in a microwave. My chicken fried chicken was rubbery and inedible. The "mashed potatoes" were either instant or over whipped, my assumption is instant. They asked if either of us wanted something else, I opted out on ordering anything else, while my husband got a double cheeseburger and the lady came back with our bill and said she had taken care of it. Well, got to the register and we had to pay for the double cheeseburger that was there to replace the meal my husband didn't want. I wasn't under the impression that we were going to be paying for a replacement meal...but ok, never had that happen before. The only thing this place has going for them is the fried mushrooms. read more

Had the Fried Chicken and it was great. Not greasy or dry, just right. The place was full of locals who will tell you it is the best place around and the price was right for what you got. Good food on a budget! Don't forget to try the chili read more

Everything we ate was excellent - fried chicken, mac n cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, soup, fries. Nice home-style food, just what I was looking for. This is right by an Amish town. Boy if looks could kill from the two Amish ladies we walked past I'm sure we would have all burst into flames right then and there, with my daughters in their shorty short shorts and strappy tops lol. Thought I would check out the "gift shop" by the register. Quite a few religious items including Bibles. The best were the books titled "Satan You Can't Have My Husband" and "Satan You Can't Have My Daughter" - love it! If I am ever in the Lake Shelbyville area again I will definitely eat here again. Very very good food and great service. read more

Great country breakfast place. Try the Country Boy. It your standard "bacon and egg" breakfast, but with extra meat and also biscuits with gravy. I did not need to eat again until dinner. read more

Just had my one and only experience at this location. Restaurant was not even 1/2 full (very small place) sat ourselves, as the sign instructed in the center of the restaurant in plane view of at least 3 different members of the wait staff, all talking amongst themselves and other customers. Our presence was definitely detected but we were clearly ignored. Complained to the manager who was one of those who ignored us. Walked out. Will never return. read more

The tag line on the business card is "Good Home Cookin". We both ordered, at additional cost, onion rings. After waiting about 20 minutes for sandwiches and onion rings, what came to us was not the best home cookin. The onion rings were so overcooked that they looked like the skins from the onion. The breading was off the onions. When I told the waitress I wasn't paying for something I couldn't and didn't want to eat, she just said "Uhhh" and walked away with the bill. No apology or no offer of a replacement. The sandwich was edible and I did pay for it. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant even if you were starving. read more

The Hen House is a small restaurant very close to I-57. You will probably find decent food for a reasonable price and relatively friendly service. DO NOT not go if you are not Caucasian, you will not be served. The sign said please seat yourself, so I did just that. After five minutes of sitting at the booth I went up to the counter and was ignored. The place wasn't busy at all. Just go to the Subway that is connected to the gas station. You needed to get gas anyway. read more

Stopped on our way to Tennessee for vacation. On the plus side the food was decent but the service was terrible. From the time that we ordered till we received our food was 45 minutes. In that time 2 other couples came in and ordered and got their food before us. We had 2 blt's and 2 patty melts with cole slaw. When we finally got the waitress to come to our table and inquired why it was taking so long her explanation was they had 2 cooks who were slow. No apologies. When our food finally came we asked for utensils and napkins since we had none. She asked what we needed. We replied at least a fork to eat our cole slaw. Of course we got no drink refills the whole time we were there. When paying the lady asked how it was and we politely said food was pretty good but the service was not. Again no apologies she said it's been a long day. I myself come from a small town and can tell you our restaurants have great waitstaff. Thought it would be a charming small town restaurant and we were sorely disappointed. Would certainly never return. read more