Food was quite good, service was exceptional. Definitely will stop in again next time I am in elmhurst

Great breakfast menu and friendly service. Can be crowded on weekends so best to put name in on the waitlist in advance.

Love the outdoor seating and prices are still fairly reasonable. Staff is always very friendly.

Had I written this review the first time I went, I probably would have given it 4 stars. Having been here 3 or so times now, multiple experiences have adjusted my rating a bit. First off, they use the Yelp waitlist function, which I love. Everyone should get on the waitlist train! Their location is pretty good. It's in downtown Elmhurst, and across the street from the Metra station. There's lots of parking nearby but it's often taken--I'm pretty sure that I tried to eat here before but the parking was taken on the street. However, there's a parking garage a couple blocks away (I don't know what it costs, if anything), which I believe you can use when eating here. The street parking surrounding the restaurant is 3 hour parking is there's plenty of time to enjoy your breakfast. They have a pretty large menu and they serve both breakfast and some lunch items. When you are seated, they deliver a carafe of water which is very welcome. It's even flavored slightly with fruit (orange, watermelon, lemon). The reason I didn't choose a higher rating is from my last visit. When we got there, the restaurant was half empty or less, which was a surprise since it was still a couple hours before they closed. I ordered a build your own omelet, and was disappointed when it came out. The bacon was barely cooked. I don't know what's up with this trend of restaurants serving barely cooked bacon (it's something that seems to be happening everywhere), but I don't want to eat bacon that's still barely cooked fat. I ended up eating around the bacon since I didn't want to eat uncooked bacon. I probably wouldn't have asked for it to be recooked (and I'm not sure if they even would have done that), but it would have been difficult to do so anyway because our server was kind of hard to pin down. He came by seldom and we just got the overall impression that we weren't welcome. There was something wrong with my friend's meal too, but I can't remember what--it's possible it was a similar issue with bacon, or maybe something was closer to lukewarm than hot. At any rate, this kind of lackluster experience made the bloom come off the rose a bit. I will say that I expect to return at some point; I won't completely write it off based on one experience. Parking can be tricky, though, and I only would be visiting if I'd planned to do something in the suburbs. But I wouldn't mind exploring more of their menu when I'm out in the Elmhurst/Lombard area. read more

Literally one of my favorite breakfast places ever! Their skillets are incredible and their lattes are amazing!

Excellent food. Excellent wait staff. The hostess on the other hand left us behind after seating several groups in front of us. Finally we had to step up and point that out. She was apologetic and seated us right away but we'll have to keep an eye open next time to make sure it doesn't happen again. read more

I came here with my friend when spending the day in downtown Elmhurst. I have had this place on my to try list for a long time and really wanted to check it out. The location is perfect toward the end of downtown Elmhurst. It is right by ample street parking. It is free for the first 3 hours and $2.00 for the entire day. When we walked inside, we were seated right away. It was super cute and rustic. They have a little coffee bar if you wanted to get some take out or just a coffee to go. The service was good. We really didn't have any issues, but our waitress was prompt and took care of us. They have a pretty extensive menu offering a ton of different breakfast foods. I ordered the coffee to start. I got just a regular coffee and it was delicious. I ordered the Goat skillet. It was smaller than other skillets, but that was actually nice because I was able to eat the entire thing and feel satisfied rather than overly stuffed. It was nice not having to worry about taking it home because left over eggs are usually pretty gross. I would definitely come here again and try something new! Hopefully that is delicious as well! read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Goat skillet - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

Coffee was amazing ! I ordered their vanilla hot latte and wow ! I was debating to get a second cup to go because of how amazing it was !

10/21/2022 7:50 am My Son wanted to treat me to a new breakfast spot. He had only been there once. He knew that I would like everything about this place. Greeted warmly by hostess. Found a nice table with window view. Menu had a lot to offer for breakfast/ brunch. Prices were very comparable to menu items. Waiter was very attentive brought water, and coffee right away. I ordered the 2 eggs special which came with choice of breakfast meats, fruit, pancakes (biggest fluffy ever) potatoes. Coffee was rich and bold. Just delicious. Will recommend this lovely Eatery to everyone who wants a family, warm atmosphere for breakfast/brunch. Going back soon for sure. read more

Yum! Great options for carnivores, vegans, and vegetarians. Excellent service. On our last visit it was the servers first day and you would have thought she had been there for years. read more

This morning I placed a grub hub order and received a text from the driver she was waiting on the order. I never received and grub hub notifications as usual. I texted the driver to find out where my food was and she said she dropped it off listing every detail of my home. The food was gone. I Called the restaurant to send me the screenshot of the order that wasn't showing on my grub hub as I know it was not their fault and they personally made the whole order again and dropped it off at my house in three towns over. I will def be going back to them. Amazing customer service and the food was delicious. Thank you so much again!!!! read more

I really enjoy their food, everything is always delicious the few times I have been in/ordered from them. I usually order the eggs, bacon, and sausage links. Only drawback is they will turn off their online order service when they get really busy. I understand they want to focus on their clients in-house, but I would love to still grab food to-go as well. read more

I came here for brunch a few days ago and thought the menu looked and sounded delicious! For some items the execution wasn't as tasty as I imagined it would be but you can tell they use fresh ingredients and the poached eggs came out beautifully. I'm not a big sweets person in the morning and this place has a lot of solid savory food options for breakfast. We ordered the Hunter omelette, the pesto avocado toast, and the carnitas Benedict. The pesto toast had wayyyy too much arugula which made it a little too bitter, and the hunter omelette was what you'd expect out of a meat lovers omelette with sausage and bacon. Our tables favorite was the carnitas Benedict, the pork was delicious, flavorful, and tender along with the yolk poached egg on top and the perfectly toasted muffin underneath, I'd come back just for that! read more

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First time here, hostess was very nice, waitress was off her game. Coffee was not good, no none dairy option for creamer. I had the perfectly un-Kosher skillet. It was tasteless. I was very disappointed with my dish. I couldn't finish it. Our waitress was very inattentive. The tables were way to close for comfort. Please were bumping into us from all sides. Breakfast for me is very important but, I was not impressed with this place. read more

Great variety and tasty food. Service is reliable and quite speedy. Have been there for brunch multiple times and other than the wait, the experience is consistently good. read more

Delicious food although very slow service. The portion sizes are big so come hungry!! Took a while to order and then took a while to get our check. They were definitely busy in the restaurant. read more

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We ate here twice while in the Chicago area. The first time, the breakfast was good, but we realized we could have ordered better stuff. The second time, my wife ordered eggs with really excellent hash browns. I ordered eggs with corned beef hash. We were surrounded by fathers over-indulging in super sweet treats (not our thing, but clearly very popular). Nice space. Exceptional service by Enrique. Might eat here again tomorrow :-) read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Bustling kitchen - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

I learned my lesson well! This place must think it is the most premier restaurant around! Even though we had eaten there many times before. (Too close to not go there -Food is ok). The last three times a friend of mine that lives less than a block away tried to eat breakfast there (we had eaten there many times before - too close to not go there -food is ok). We were told that we needed a reservation even though there was many open tables. Today we walked by on our way somewhere that would take an hour to visit and tried to make reservations for then. We were told by the hostess that they don't take reservations!!!! @!H#?*! and that we would need to go on Yelp to get a table !!!!! So we got back in the car and went to Our Kitchen on Lake street... GREAT breakfast and service! read more

Love this place! Food is delicious, service is excellent, and the atmosphere is just right for a breakfast place. This morning was attributed to just that. Just like any breakfast place on a Sunday morning, there was a wait and there was a relatively large group of people waiting. The owner (I think he was the owner) came out and asked everyone one by one if they wanted complimentary coffee. What a great way to cater to your patrons. Food is great too, options are abundant. Would definitely return and would definitely recommend! read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Pesto Avocado toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

The main issue with this place is the noise. It is just too loud to even eat in. Look, you might think im complaining, which i am, but it's too loud to have a conversation easily. Plus, everyone brings their screaming kids to make it worse. Food was ok. Omelets and yogurt bowl were average. There is pretty much always a wait. read more

We found this place on Yelp searching for breakfast spots. We were there on a Tuesday, late morning and it was not crowded at all. We were seated right away and waited just a short time for our waitress to stop by and take our order. The menu was pretty robust with lots of options. I had the basic breakfast of bacon and eggs, while my wife had the avocado toast. Both came out hot and fresh and were very good. I have to admit the avocado toast looked very appetizing. Server was great and offered to us arm my coffee several times. Price was what we would expect to see for this type of fare. All in all, good place and we'll return. read more

Great brunch!! Outstanding food and service. Outdoor seating can be a little loud with the Metra train going by, but on a beautiful day it can't be passed up. read more

Quite delicious food and great presentation. Decor and ambience were pleasant. Recommend the mahi mahi tacos (nice kick to them) and the shepherd omelette. read more

Love stray hen!! Great location and food! We order to go or dine in almost weekly for brunch.

I absolutely loved it. The service was quite fast and so good. The food was delicious and the servings fairly large read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

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Delicious food! The apple churro French toast was excellent. Good variety on menu! Recommend

Metra had train issues today. My train basically died at Elmhurst so we all had to get off the train and wait for the next train. I walked over to Stray to have some breakfast while I waited for the next train. Abruptly the next train arrived quicker than I had expected so I ran out of Stray w half my order. The nice man at Stray brought over the remainder of my breakfast and my tea as I was boarding the train. How sweet!! His kindness made my morning so much better!! I had ordered a side of bacon which was cooked perfectly. Nice three long juicy strips of bacon can definitely put a smile on my face. I also had an English muffin. It was nicely toasted and it came with plenty of strawberry jam and butter. Yum!! It was just the right amount of sweet to go with my salty crispy juicy bacon. Ahhhh...and then to top off my breakfast I had a cup of English breakfast tea. The tea was really smooth. I'm a big fan of black tea and this tea was a very nice blend of tea leaves. So I'm writing this review to thank the man from Stray who made my morning very pleasant even though the train situation was total chaos. I will definitely come back for a complete breakfast soon. Vinita read more

Amazing food, friendly service, a little bit of a wait for breakfast, but worth it! Cute spot!

Randomly chosen restaurant has Greek owners!Wonderful food, charming decor ,friendly staff! Nice touches like watermelon in the water! read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

The food was amazing and the staff was wonderful! I highly recommend joining the waitlist before you get there. There can be a wait. read more

Stray Hen Cafe - La Bamba Omelet - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

We stopped here with a friend for a late breakfast. The food was fantastic. We tried the eggs benedict, lox board, and the biscuits and gravy, Everything was spectacular. The portions were ample, the flavor excellent and the service was friendly. Even though it is a bit of a drive, we want to come back here soon. Simply loved it. The only negative is that it is a bit noisy, but we have endured worse. read more

Sausage biscuits with gravy, eggs and potatoes was fine but unremarkable. Biscuits were overcooked and rock solid. Sausage was pretty good but otherwise food was merely fine. Coffee was pretty good. Place is cute inside, conveniently located and gets really busy so prepare for a wait during peaktimes. read more

Delicious food and an extensive menu! I got the pesto avocado toast and a matcha latte. very good. service was good but you can tell they are trying to get you in and out, as they always have people waiting to eat! but i was hungry and the food came fast, so can't complain! read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Pesto avocado toast, side of fruit, and matcha latte - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

Papi Chulo is my favorite with the cinnamon roll French toast it is absolutely to die for

Our kids love it and they treat them well. Casual and not too stuffy. Food decent for parents too.

Pretty good spot! Family came to visit Illinois and we went here 2 days straight for brunch. Very nice staff. The water is also good as they put (pineapple, cucumber, Limon in it!) good portions as well! Would recommend. The coffee is also good as they actually have an expresso machine. read more

Stray Hen Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Elmhurst, Illinois

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Well, this place is awesome! My husband and I are always looking for new spots for the spontaneous brunch date (aka wake up hungry and nothing in the fridge) as since Elmhurst is just a quick ride from the house we looked in that area and stumbled upon Stray Hen.. total win! This place is not only adorable, clean, bright and airy but it also has awesome service and great food. I know it's pretty tough to mess up breakfast but it's also not easy to make it perfectly and this place does it. Fresh ingredients and not your average run of the mill ingredients either, cheese like Havarti, Gouda goat mixed with greens like kale, spinach or chicken sausage set this place apart from it's counterparts! We will definitely be back! read more

Love this breakfast spot! They have a huge menu and specialty drinks. They offer loves of healthy options in addition to more sweet breakfast items. It's definitely more upscale than the other breakfast spots in town, so for company or meeting friends out, or even a date, this is a nice place to share a meal. read more

Many options, need more stomachs but service needs improvement. Long waits. Omelette was huge, 2 eggs would have been fine, result a bit watery, maybe from addition of zucchini. read more

Great food, great service! Consistently good dishes - dine in or carry out, breakfast or lunch.