Horrible customer service, girl was completely rude for no reason and had horrible attitude in the drive thru anytime I asked a simple question. Parked and went inside because i was upset, got the same attitude. When I got my meal, a Frisco melt, my bread was not grilled/toasted, frisco sauce was everywhere even on the outside of the sandwich. I had 4 fries (not exaggerating) for a medium sized order. Completely disappointed. Dekalb steak and shake is a poor place to get a meal! read more

I'd rather starve than eat here! Super slow service. unprofessional staff! I door dash for this place and I literally have waited a half hour to pick up an already paid for order that was placed 25 minutes prior. Currently seeking a way to convince door dash to unpartner with them read more

I've never waited so long to get my order taken in my life while the restaurant not even busy

A friend and i went to the drive thru and waited for almost 20 minutes and no answer. we pulled all the way around just for the workers to be outside smoking. we pulled round again hoping they would see us and come back in and still no answer. very disappointed with the service and the 0 attention that was given to the drive thru read more

Was there last Friday, was very skeptical about ordering pancakes because 1 time prior I had asked for pancakes and they resembled crepes.....worst ever!!! But this time they have someone who knows what they are doing and can cook. Delicious love the coffee and service was great!!! I'll be back as long as they keep the manager cause he can "throw down " read more

Literally was sitting for an hour wait for a simple chicken tenders and fries. There was 3 staff members present but they were so worried about making sure these shakes were out and ready. Their time management sucks and put non sense things on their top priority when they need to be focusing on serving food. But it's cool, no tip for you. read more

This place STINKS. I've come a handful of times for carry outs and it's always unorganized. I usually stand around the carryout counter for roughly 5 minutes before someone comes and helps me get my food. While I wait, my food sits in a bag and gets cold and let me tell you folks, this place stinks when the food is warm. Now imagine how bad it is cold, yeah not great. Most places cook the fries once you get there for pickups, but not this joint. The fries are softer than Cody Parkey in crunch time every time you order them. They also put 0 effort into making the food. I picked food up today from this location and the fries were at the bottom of the bag on its side, the burgers weren't actually wrapped, and it looked like Helen Keller was the chef today because everything was an absolute mess. I wanted to give this place 0 stars but Yelp doesn't allow it. Take your money elsewhere people. Good shakes though. read more

if you have a taste for steak and shake, either A. dont go to this one or B.dont go inside. They always have one or two waiters for an entire restaurant and service is beyone terrible..its literally unbearable. I was almost tempted to fight paying my bill after being stuck inside for and hr and a half! yuck read more

I got a shard of glass in my shake! Unfortunately, I found it by trying to chew it. It caused some minor bleeding in my mouth. The manager didn't seem too concerned and offered a "Sorry about that. Please fill out an accident report". The hostess explained that the glasses get banged around a lot, and they have no idea whether or not there is something in the glasses. That sure made me feel better! NOTE: before this incident, I visited this restaurant 50 - 100 times over the past 5 years...and kept going back. The service has ranged from some of the worst I've ever had to some of the best I've ever had...but was generally good. The food was always excellent...for burger/fries/shake fare. Hygiene has been a chronic issue in that there is an above average incidence of dirty plates/spoons/glasses there. I think the menu prices are a bit high, but they offer ample and generous coupons which make it a great deal...plus kids eat free on the weekends. I suppose a shard of glass could happen anywhere...but like the steel wool at Yen Ching, it makes me a little spooked. I stayed away for a few months following the shard 'o glass shake...but finally broke down and started going again. They still have occasional hygiene issues, but the value (with coupons and free kids meals on weekends) is hard to beat. read more

Ridiculously long wait, but the shake was delicious. The drive thru wait was 6 minutes and the wait for food was 18 minutes. Probably won't be going back here. read more

Been waiting 30 minutes for my food in the drive through and the lady asked what we were waiting for. we weren't allowed to have separate orders 'at the moment'. they tried to make it up to us by giving us cookies but they fooled us and made us think we got these big cookies but then they were the size of my eyeball and i have small eyes... read more

This is the worst place ive ever been to. I waited over two hours for my food. I saw 3 groups of people sit down,eat and leave before I even got my food. The waitress didn't know what was going on. Never coming to this place again. read more

Super slow service. Left without getting served after waiting 15 minutes for a server. On a previous visit I waited at the cash to pay my bill for a good 5 minutes while the staff talked by the grill. I could have easily left without paying the bill and no one would have noticed. Nothing but a typical greasy spoon where you pack on the pounds just walking in the door. read more

0 stars!!!!!! Worst-service ever Waited-15 minutes to be waited on. Order was brought out by the only other server and told me that she wasn't the one that took our order! No shake, no silverware. Very difficult to eat a salad. Went to front and waited 15 minutes. The person that took our order when I told -not sure if it was-a guy or girl told me that they were working drive-thru and waiting tables. Manager not at store. Would be back later. Asked another employee and they said they didn't know how to reach the manager. Asked another employee and they didn't know-how-to reach the manager. Three employees only working on a Friday night. Server told new customers hope you like crappy service. Manager did come back. Was told they have had problems with this server and her attitude. Manager said that they only have two people working on a-Friday night after 11. This in a college town. A business is only as good as the people that work for them. read more

Waited in the drive through for 35mins for a fast food establishment that's insanity. Especially at 12am.

Had a late night dinner here and I can say the food was okay. Nothing out of the ordinary. I ordered the chicken fingers and thin/crispy fries and it tasted satisfactory. For a meal under four dollars I couldn't complain. However the service here wasn't good. It took a while to receive our food and there was a few mistakes and missing orders that we had to remind them about. read more

The service is ridiculous! I've never waited an hour just for a drink and 45 minutes just to order food!! Do not recommend at all!!

Don't know what people are bitching about. As far as SNS goes this one was great. Good food, not any dirtier than your normal SNS. They as a chain are slow, but this one runs slightly faster than most. read more

I kept coming here because they're the only milkshake place open late, despite having had meals comped due to inattentive staff in the past. Went a few days ago with a friend and we were told at the drive-thru to wait "just a minute". Five minutes later, we're still waiting for our order to be taken when I asked "why do we still come here?" and.left. No one else in the drive-thru lane, five cars in the parking lot, and it takes five minutes to take an order? The employees are always too busy chatting amongst themselves to care about their customers. By the time they stop talking long enough to give you your order, the food is cold and the shake is melted. read more

Ordered a hamburger no cheese with fries and a chocolate shake. I ate the fries first and they were good but that was the only thing! The first thing I noticed when I opened my burger was that it had cheese and then when I bit into it, it tasted almost COLD... It was quite possibly the worst hamburger I've ever had temperature wise, order wise and taste wise. There was some sort of weird seasoning on it.. If I hadn't already driven about 5 miles when I finally started my burger I would have returned... The chocolate shake didn't taste at all like chocolate, not sure what that flavor was! read more

Delicious food. Unfortunately I have to give 2 stars because of the slow service. Luckily we were given free drinks to compensate for the fact that it took twenty minutes for a server come to our table. read more

All I can say is wow. I got to my table and waited over 10 minutes for the wait staff to come over and take my drink order. Another 5 minutes to get my drink and for her to take my food order. Got my food in a rather decent amount of time. I sat there for at least 20 minutes waiting for my check so I can get up and pay and leave. Got tired of sitting at the table so I got up and stood at the register hopping that that would promot my waitress to bring me my check. That didnt haooen, so I sat down at the bar area and waited another 10 or 15 minutes. Other customers had their checks so they got up and paid while I sat there. The manager asked me if I was ready and I told him I'm just waiting on my check so I can leave, he didn't seem too concerned with me sitting there. So I sat there another 15 minutes or so. It was starting to get crowded at the register. We overheard that the manager just took off and that nobody else in the restaurant had the key card for the register. Waiting there for another 6 or so minutes the manager finally showed back up. My waitress finally showed up with my check and I paid and left. This is a shame because I love Steak 'n Shake but because of this I will never eat at this restaurant again! read more

Should not have both of their grillers on break at the same time but it's fine because they were nice about it. Although would've cut time in half if this were not the case. read more

Dekalb IL steak and shake is the worst restaurant I've ever been to. Something needs to change here. We were not greeted when we walked in, instead the waiter and waitress were chatting amongst each other. We sat for nearly 10 minutes before even getting asked if we would like to order once we finally got seated. We simply ordered burgers and water, and we have now been sitting here nearly 20 minutes, no water or waiter or food. The waitress was talking with her other coworkers saying "F" this and that. They have their music blaring in the back, music that I feel is not appropriate for customers to hear. This is the second time we have come here in the past few months and we've had the same type of service. Unfortunately we may leave and take our service elsewhere due to the horrible customer service. It's a shame because this chain is one of the only places open late. Sorry but something needs to change at this restaurant, starting with the staff. read more

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This place around lunch time is okay. Go dinner time or after and it is HORRIBLE! Came here once as the only customer and waited 20 minutes before our drink orders. Went another time and found a hair after finishing most of my Frisco melt. And then comes last night, in the drive thru. It was around 2am so the restaurant wasn't busy. It took a few minutes to place my order even though I was the only one in the drive thru. I pull to the window and waited about 15 minutes before the window was even opened for my money. Then another 10 minutes before actually getting my food. You would think the food would be hot and good then right? Nope. The fries were cold. Then as I opened my Frisco melt, it had one patty! And one type of cheese. Do not go here after dinner hours. read more

I order here on Uber Eats mainly because I wanted to treat my daughter to a milkshake before bed. Delivery time was pretty typical for Uber Eats. When I received the order, the driver handed me a random order under a different name and said that he double-checked with them, pointing out that there must have been a mistake, to which they said that's what they had to give him. Not to mention my food item was ice cold. I called the restaurant and an employee and manager were quick to blame Uber Eats, offering no help and little apology. I had to reorder my order and when I called back to ask the manager to ensure the order was 100% the second time around, she told the employee within earshot of the phone, "I'm busy. He'll have to wait." I ended up receiving the order 2 hours after placing the first order after dealing with a crying child. I realize Steak 'n Shake can't control Uber Eats and vice-versa, but I worked for a company that partnered with Uber Eats and we made it a priority to ensure customers always received the quality and service we offered in store. Apparently that's not the case for this Steak 'n Shake. It's VERY unlikely that I'll be getting food from here again. read more

Great experience at the Sycamore Steak -N-Shake. Natasha made all of the difference in a positive way at my visit to Steak-N-Shake and I shall recommend this restaurant to eveyone! read more

Very rude workers. Only one girl helped us out and the other talked bad about us to the other workers and another table of customers. Worst service I have EVER experienced. Workers sat on phones and did nothing. Worker left disgusting table and didn't clean it. 0/10 do NOT recommend. read more

I long for the day we can visit the Steak 'n Shake in DeKalb, the one closest to our residence, and actually receive good service. They have gotten our order wrong more times than they've gotten it right. It's almost as if every time we go there the person working the drive-thru is new and in training. This last time, 7/15/16, at 12:30 pm the drive thru attendant was so rude I almost went back in and complained. Why is it that I can't order a single portabella and swiss burger? I mean, I've ordered it IN the restaurant with no problem. So instead they charge me for a double, but give me a single. That's fair. Is there no option to add cheese and mushrooms to a single? Apparently there was when we dined in. read more

Steak and Shake around the Chicagoland area is bad when it comes to service and quality, but none of them hold a candle to this one. The only time I ever went to S&S here while attending NIU was when friends wanted to go. I went with my girlfriend one evening and it was the last time I would go. The server came by and took our drink order and appetizer order. Soft drinks and cottage cheese w/ peaches. 20 minutes later we got our drinks without the appetizers. She asked to take our order and we put in our food order (with salads). I asked for the cottage cheese once again and she said "oh, sorry I forgot". another 30 minutes later the server brought out our food without salads which we asked for before the dinner. I asked again... "where's my cottage cheese and salads?" She told us she forgot again and was super sorry. about 10 minutes after I had asked she came back with the salad and the cottage cheese. The salad and cottage cheese were HOT like they had been sitting under a heat lamp for 30 minutes and the salad had no dressing. I started getting really angry and said take back the cottage cheese and bring me salad dressing with a refill on my drink. She then preceeded to go back and talk with the chef for a good 15 minutes before she brought the salad dressing and refill. I had finished my burger and she came back and said sorry for the wait we're backed up in the kitchen (for dressing and a drink?!?!?!?!?). At that point I was so sick of the service and mistakes I wanted to flip out on the server and manager and skip the bill... my gf refused to make a scene so we paid the bill and left never to return. read more

I've been going to this steak and shake for a long time, every time I've gone my order has been wrong and the service has been terrible. On my most recent trip the cook had to come out and take the order and bring drinks so the waitress can stand around doing nothing. read more

Good food, good prices, good service. I guess it depends on when you go. We beat the lunch crowd and go and 11:30. Steak & egg burger is what we like, fries+ cherry coke. read more

Love the food, but the service is horrible. My husband and I waited 50 minutes for burgers and fries. Our waitress never came back to refill our drinks or to check on our order. The wait staff could be heard bickering with each other and even started complaining about each other to us as we asked about our food. We ended up leaving without our food, so who knows how long it would have taken. read more

Its always nice to go and eat here with friends when you want something different its not pricey and fast service i would say an all around good resturant read more

Worst experience I've ever had at this Steak N Shake location. Witnessed two employees fighting and cussing at each other by the fountain drinks along with our waitress not even asking if we needed anything else or to refill our drinks. Very unprofessional if you ask me. read more

If you can get them to prepare your food the way you ordered it, then it is ok. But that's a big 'IF'! The drive thru takes forever, even if you are the only one in line. After waiting for an extreme amount of time for your order, I would suggest checking the bag to make sure you get what you wanted. read more

this is the worst place ive ever been to, i waited way over an hour for my food!it was absolutely horrible, and the waitress was completely clueless and idiotic. read more

Over the weekend, I took my grandchildren out for lunch. It was pretty busy, but our server Jessica always had a smile on her face. When it came time for dessert, the kids all wanted to try a premium shake, but they wanted to mix them up. She said she would personally make them herself so we could split them 3 ways. We only ordered three different kinds so it wasn't hard for her to mix half and half. After about ten minutes, she came back to out table from the back with a frown on her face explaining her manager had said we can't have the shakes like we wanted. She was very apologetic and offered a different way to split them, said she had already made the shake flavors how we wanted but hadn't put them into the cups yet and we just agreed to have the single flavors. I'm not quite sure why a server would grant our request only to have a manager shoot it down, seems like a businiess would be willing to do anything to make their customers happy, but I guess not. OPlus since we wern't asking for anything exra, just to mix one flavor with another that we had paid the full price for, I am shocked the manager would do that and make the waitress come back out to explain if she had infact decided it couldn't be done. Thank you Jessica for all your hard work, shame on your manager for not realizing how above and beyond you were going for us!! I left her ten dollars still, because not once did she lose her smile, besides when telling us about the shakes. I would only bring my grandbabies back again if she is working and is our server. Never once even saw a manager on duty except when we went toleave and someone was standing by the grill chatting away. read more

Took the family today for lunch. Took 40 min to get our food out to us and my Chili 5-way was cold. Not to mention my sons order was completely wrong. He has a severe food allergy (and we carry an epi-pen at all times). We ordered a turkey sandwich with lettuce on sourdough with applesauce, no fries. A trace amount of dairy can close his throat up and we researched for an hour to figure out what he could have (all before we came). When we said he can't eat any food on the plate because the fries came in contact with dairy (through the shared fryer) and the bacon on his turkey sandwich was cooked on a griddle with cheeseburgers, the waitress asked the cook and she was told that there is no dairy in the fries. I don't expect everyone to understand food allergies 100%, but we told them he had an allergy ahead of time and were very specific about his order for a reason. I asked for the manager... I'll admit i was a little angry, but we were starving and i didn't know how much longer we'd have to wait to eat. He did make it right, our food was replaced within 5 minutes and the charges were removed from the bill for me and my sons food. I wasn't looking for a free meal, just a safe meal for my son. I would have given one star if it wasn't for the manager making it right. I may bring the family back for a second chance. Anyone who has to deal with a food allergy understands how hard it is to eat out. The managers willingness to make things right and his understanding in my frustration have earned them 3 stars today. read more