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    Willy and Grace Diner

    4.6 (36 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 2:00 pm

    Willy and Grace Diner Photos

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    'Good enough'
    J P P.

    Mom & Pop joint with a warehouse appeal... Lacking decor but plenty of gray paint, the place could use a splash of excitement! A colorful mural of Spaghetti & Meatballs shining on the wall just might do this place wonders! A basic breakfast blends right in. A few Sunny-Side eggs and a mound of American Potatoes gets it done. Perk it up with some grilled onion and chopped Jalapeno and put some 'zing' on your plate. 'Good enough'...

    Huevos Rancheros
    Melissa M.

    Stopped in here again today to try something new! Huevos Rancheros! Woot! Another perfect meal. The place was packed, but I got a little table in the back of the restaurant and had amazing service again. I'm off tomorrow so I am planning another meal! I'm going to try and remember to take pics! Great place, casual dining, family oriented

    Chicken soup
    Felicia K.

    Eggs were on point. Again I'm very picky with my eggs. No brown spots and cooked perfectly. Country fried steak was delicious the gravy on top was very flavorful. My wife had the steak and eggs she enjoyed it her only comment was just a touch more seasoning. Service was fast and helpful. You can tell they have a lot of regulars as the server knew just about everyone who walked in the door. Two older men who seem to come here a lot were too darn cute and seemed like family to the staff. The inside has a truck stop feel to it but definitely older diner feel and that's right up our alley. We will be back and give them a second try. Oh yes the chicken soup was perfect. I'm a soup freak!!

    Butter bowl!
    Peter T.

    Breakfast perfection. This location was formerly Lark and Owl, and before that, Kendalls Kountry Kitchen. I last visited when it was the latter, in 2014. The good news? The chef thru all those years is now the owner and has plastered his own name on the front. Bravo. Congrats. Best wishes for years of success. A lengthy menu offers breakfast and lunch choices, plus daily specials. Open 7A-2P. I went with the country fried steak and eggs, which, as is the Chicago custom, came with three eggs, gravy, potatoes (choice of American fries or hash browns) and your choice of pancakes or toast (white, wheat, rye, Greek). As is also the Chicago custom, a heaping bowl of butter graced the table along with other condiments. Eggs were done as ordered, steak was flavorful and a large ladle of sausage gravy adorned it. I like Greek toast (similar to "Texas") for it's bulk. Coffee is great and service was superb. I try and support local businesses like Willy's. You should too.

    Busy Sunday
    Mark D.

    First time back for us under the new name. I had been coming often enough when it was Lark and Owl and the restaurant was always good. Under the new name we got in on a Sunday morning. It's a small restaurant and this time it was full, very nice to see. Plenty of wait staff so the service was excellent. Willy and Grace has a very full breakfast menu and the food did not disappoint. Omelettes, biscuits & gravy and the eggs Benedict were all very good. Five stars

    Avocado Toast with poached eggs, spinach and feta cheese.

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    3 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    4 months ago

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    5 days ago

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    8 days ago

    Food is delicious every time! Fast friendly service and reasonable prices. Would highly recommend.

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    8 days ago

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    3 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 months ago

    It's great service and the food is so delicious and tasty no matter how busy they are the customer service is great !!!

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    3 months ago

    The food, the service, absolutely everything is amazing, such a warm cozy spot, we love it here! Our go to weekend breakfast spot

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    3 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    Wilfredo G.

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    1 year ago

    Friendly / Delicious / Old School Diner. What more can you ask for. The menu is huge and the portions are even larger.

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    3 years ago

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    Wilfredo G.

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    2 years ago

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Nice little diner warm and friendly. Food is very comforting with good selections. Service staff is great and friendly!!

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    Wilfredo G.

    Thank you for your very kind review Kim! We appreciate you!

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    Wilfredo G.

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    2 years ago

    Best in town. Homemade food, everything fresh. Love the girl, very respectful and friendly

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Amazing breakfast! Very friendly service and welcoming atmosphere! Highly recommend Willy and Grace's for breakfast.

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    3 years ago

    Great atmosphere the staff was very attentive and professional, the pancakes were delicious , highly recommend.

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    Wilfredo G.

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    3 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Willy and Grace Diner

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    Mockingbird Bar + Garden

    Mockingbird Bar + Garden

    4.4(165 reviews)
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    Newly renovated and top tier!! The owner Kathleen did an amazing job renovating the new addition to…read moreher restaurant. The food is still amazing, the craft cocktails are spot on!! Don't miss out on this beautiful location and their seasonal new menu items. I promise you won't be disappointed!!

    I believe Mockingbird was closed for a while, as they expanded some, but not sure if it was any…read morelarger (then again, my friend and I didn't sit inside). It was a nice night, so we sat outside. Their outside has some beach chairs in one area and some covered seating in another. We sat kinda in between off to the side and it was nice. Nothing too fancy, but also didn't feel like lawn chairs at a friend's either. Food was good, but couldn't bring myself to giving more than 4 stars. It was tasty, but could have been better. My fiend ordered the fennel and sausage wood fired pizza and thought it was good but didn't rave about it (see photo). He did like the flavor of the crust, which from past experiences I remember, If you like mushrooms, definitely try their wild mushroom pizza. They are made for one person, unless you want to share for something lighter. I had the Wood-fired Hanger Steak (see photo). Looking at it, it looked sad. The steak was flavorful but a little tough in parts. But if you compare my photo to what's on their website, you will see a noticeable difference. The description matches what I received, but come on people. Throw some ]thing colorful on the plate - would have preferred the website food, though I think it's the wrong photo based on description. LOL Our server was kind, friendly and attentive. Another gentleman popped in once and awhile to ensure everything was going well. Very friendly. We will be back, but not sure I'll order the steak again.

    Photos
    Mockingbird Bar + Garden - New interior

    New interior

    Mockingbird Bar + Garden - Blueberry French Toast

    Blueberry French Toast

    Mockingbird Bar + Garden - Interior

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    Interior

    Sweet Berry Cafe - Chocolate chip pancakes

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    We had not been here in awhile and it's one of my wife's favorite breakfast spots. I was never all…read morethat crazy about it because of their breakfast potatoes. If you have read my reviews I judge all breakfast restaurants by their hash browns. I don't know when it happened or what made them change but you now get to choose between the 2 breakfast potatoes or hash browns!!!!!!!! Happy Day, this changes everything for me and warrants a new review. Again it's a really nice place, the seating is really well spaced, I always feel that I have some privacy and personal space. Everyone is always friendly and the service is excellent. This time my wife got the Portabenny which is just what it sounds like 2 portabella mushroom caps as the base of a benedict. It came with some fresh asparagus and my wife really enjoyed it. She also really appreciates the fruit side that you can get, they actually cut fruit themselves and you can choose what you want. I got the southern skillet, poblano peppers, onion, andouille sausage, fried chicken, cheese and turkey sausage gravy. Very good, very large, I only ate half and had breakfast for the next day. I don't get pancakes very often, but I did today and they really have great pancakes. The food is very good, they have a great variety, I really appreciate that they try and bring some uniqueness to their menu, and now that they have hash browns, that may be our new go to spot.

    Came to SB Cafe in Elgin on a Wednesday afternoon. The restaurant was clean and the service was…read morefriendly. I was seated quickly and I ordered a garden skillet with a choice of pancakes. The skillet-less skillet with over medium eggs came out rather fast. I liked the food and everything was enjoyed. Nothing stood out or was over the top. I had plain pancakes so I could evaluate them without being distracted by extra toppings. The pancakes were alright and toppings would probably punch them up. I think this can be a nice stop for a solid breakfast.

    Photos
    Sweet Berry Cafe - Interior

    Interior

    Sweet Berry Cafe - Buttermilk Pancakes

    Buttermilk Pancakes

    Sweet Berry Cafe

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    The Graceful Ordinary - Frisee salad with crusted soft boiled egg

    The Graceful Ordinary

    4.3(280 reviews)
    8.1 mi
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    Firstly, anyone saying the food doesn't taste good or they leave hungry is smokin crack ..... also,…read moresounds like you probably would of enjoyed a buffet instead. This place is incredible... the food is to die for. It's the first place I've been to and did not feel like bloated or so full to where I was sick because the portions were perfect. Nothing here fell short, in fact it's the first place in the burbs where the food wasn't overly salted or fried in some type of oil. Everything tasted fresh. The flavors were busting up in my mouth every bite I took, even down to snowball fight drink we had. I highly, highly recommend the bread cheese appetizer- this was something super unique to me as I've only had grilled up cheese one other time in Brazil, Queijo Coalho.... There was a beautiful twist on this cheese- crunchy, creamy, sweet, savory and the honey and tabbouleh were such a great finish to this dish. Pair this with the fresh bread and it was chefs kiss! We had the beer braised short rib and seabass- two completely different flavored entres that we absolutely perfect. The short rib you literally can't go wrong with- melted in my mouth with every bite - and hats off the the chef who cooked the onions so perfect to actually be able to taste them instead of just carmelizing or salting them! I would call this your typical Midwest comfort dish. The seabass was much different the salad was tangy with the lentils being rich- add a nice cooked crispy top seabass and you got yourself a unique dish of flavors that will have you thinking what's in it after hours! But the star of the show was dessert of course - OMFG - s'mores ice cream sunday ....... I died and went to heaven literally. I have never tasted ice cream that mimicked everything I've ever wanted my ice cream to taste like. It was the perfect temperature (trust me a lot of restaurants it's either rock hard or melted) this was epic. Creamy, almost pudding like and being able to taste every note was wild to me. The graham cracker - yes the freaking graham cracker was the best one I've ever tasted in my life. Clearly I've never had a graham cracker without preservatives before. The chocolate syrup .... Jeeze let me tell if I could swim in it I would.... The service was friendly, prompt and right on time. The server knew all the cues and timing of all the food to come out. She checked in everytime we got something to make sure everything was just right... you can tell she takes her job seriously but also knows how to interact with people - something a lot of servers lack these days so we really appreciated the service. As for the atmosphere- this place blows a lot of the chi city restaurants out of the water. The organic feel but fancy! Oh, and I can actually talk and hear myself think without blasting music over my head. We will be back ... but honestly please change nothing here- everything you're doing here is fantastic!

    Ambiance is incredibly intimate and cozy. Very comfortable…read morewaiting lounge available while your table clears, which will be a while. Food was delicious. Cocktails were delicious. Service is VERY slow. Whether by design or intent, I cannot determine but if you're hungry, don't come here or you will be excruciatingly hangry. Understand that this is not a high table turnover environment. The dinner rush is not exactly witnessed here. Ive never seen a grill line have such a lack of sense of urgency but it quickly made sense as I recognized it had been 35 minutes since an order was put in. Aside from that also understood the food was absolutely amazing, is it worth the wait? Yes if you understand the length of time it may take to get it. Come here not needing to eat immediately and enjoy the ambiance, the drinks, be in the moment, and let the food be an afterthought. I will most certainly be back.

    Photos
    The Graceful Ordinary - Dining room

    Dining room

    The Graceful Ordinary - Avacado toast

    Avacado toast

    The Graceful Ordinary - The Fox River just outside the restaurant

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    The Fox River just outside the restaurant

    Willy and Grace Diner - diners - Updated May 2026

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