This place would be much better if the people working the train had more personality. I mean you are working with families and kids. Food was ok. read more

Such amazing service. Been there only a few times but have loved the food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Such a nice quiet place to enjoy the meals. Absolutely in love with the train section and always try to sit there when visiting. New to the area but will definitely be coming back any chance I get! read more

I was just there with my friend for breakfast and I found it to be a very charming place. The decor was beautiful and I had no complaints about my food as I ordered the protein sandwich. It came as stated on the menu and was hot. I left very satisfied. read more

Windhill McHenry - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - McHenry, Illinois

Looking at these reviews a second time, I cannot believe I was actually at the same place as all these other people. Went this morning. Food was terrible, service was terrible, prices were really high. Will not be going back. read more

This is one of the best breakfast meals I have had. I ordered the country fried steak and eggs and my girlfriend had the farm mess skillet and biscuits and gravy. Both meals were excellent, the service was very friendly, and the food came out in a matter of minutes. Although I have had better biscuits and gravy and the coffee could have been hotter, I will be back to try the pancakes. read more

My friend lives about 10 minutes away from here and was always raving about it, so we met her up there last Sunday morning. It was quite a hike for us, but I thought it was going to be amazing. No, no, no it was not. And it was not worth the drive--seeing my friend was, but I really wish we were somewhere else. Anywhere else!! It looks like this quiant little house, and since it's near Halloween, they had it decorated as such. Way.Too.Overstimulating. It was seriously like Hell threw up in the restaurant. And for them being a "family" restaurant, the rocking old lady with the vacant eyes is a little too much for my 2 year old... But enough about the ambiance. Onto the service. The only good part about it was that our food came out quickly, and it was correct. The bad part was everything else. Our waitress, Kim, was SO crabby towards us. Maybe she felt like we had wronged her in a past life or something, but she was really, really rude. And it was just to us, because she would turn away from us to greet some regulars with a big smile. Maybe it's because my family and I aren't regulars, but I thought she was quite rude. Also, refills took forever, and she was really bossy with things. Plus, she kept putting hot plates, coffee pots, etc. right in front of the one-year old who likes to touch everything. Let's think about this next time... The food was...well...really gross. My pancakes were inedible, my husband's french toast was seriously disgusting, and everything else was really greasy. The only extra star this place earns is for its carmelized french toast. It tasted like funnel cake, and I loved it. Since I couldn't eat my omelet because of the grease factor, my daughter was nice enough to share :) I never, ever want to come back. Ever. Gross. read more

My wife and I were up in the McHenry area doing some shopping and walking around, it was after noon and we were pretty hungry. I had passed Windhill several times in the past on my way to Gurnee and it always looked so quaint I suggested we stop in for a bite to eat. Cute interior, about what I expected from this historic building. Our server was really nice and attentive, despite us being there at the end of the shift and there being no one else in the place (we should've known better). My wife had the Western "Mess" and I had the Country "Mess"...and boy was it ever... Although the menu states "homemade" biscuits, which were okay, nothing else tasted good at all. The gravy tasted like it came out of a can and the mushy hashbrowns--probably frozen, which had been sitting at room temperature for a while thawing and getting soggy, weren't cooked long enough to get any sort of a crust on them. When the term cheddar cheese "sauce" is used, it typically means that it was out of a can and there is no "real" cheese in it. My wife barely ate a quarter of her mess and didn't feel right for the rest of the day. Quite frankly it was quite a let down for us. Happy Eating! --Chef John read more

Great place, nice help, but very weak NON BREAKFAST serving sizes - example - soup & half sandwich gives you the smallest cup (toddler size) and a small 1/2 sandwich with no fries for about $8-$9. At the traditional 'family' restaurants, you get a full sandwich & fries with a complimentary cup for the same price. Everything but the 'value' is good. We loved the Choo Choo Train! read more

Great local breakfast restaurant. quick service. lots of random decor. average priced

Went here for lunch today. Cute inside, has potential. Waitress had an attitude and was rude and the cinnamon roll was stale. Won't go back again. read more

Just an update, since I've been there again (forced to go!). I would just like to say that gas station nacho cheese does not belong anywhere near breakfast food. Gross. Be careful when ordering cheese here. read more

Took my fiancé there for the first time today. Service was adequate at best. I'm in the restaurant industry so I can tell when a server cares or not, ours did not. Never once checking how our food was. Food was another issue. One star solely on portion size. Very generous portions. All the food looked and tasted either frozen or from a can. I was able to easily notice the corn beef hash was Hormel from a can. Hollandaise sauce was made with pre made either powder or premade mix. Eggs looked and tasted from a package, not real eggs. Never going back. Sorry this place dropped the ball. read more

Been here twice, had a bug in my food twice. Either its bad luck, they hate me or they also have an insect collection in the kitchen.

We noted Windhill on the way to an appointment in the area, so we decided to have a late breakfast afterward. The hostess (and we guessed, owner) had a perky snap in her walk in her colorful cowboy boots, and she quickly seated us. The menus were easily the oddest that we have ever encountered. Mine was fabricated from a 1970's coffee table type of book about vintage sports cars. The first pages were covered with page-sized stickers onto which menu text was printed, completely void of color, graphics or graphic design. My wife was handed a menu fabricated of a book of arts and craft projects. Okay, strange, but it was a quirky-kitschy-WTF?!-kind-of-strange that has potential of become endearing along with other quirky-kitschy-WTF?!-kind-of-strange things such as the 1960's era mannequin that appears in the lobby, which is donned in an inexpensive Superman Halloween costume complete with a black plastic hair-cap molded in a 1950's slick-back hairstyle, and poised as our if our hero was just leaving his vintage telephone booth home, which he obviously entered just moments beforehand in the personage of the timid and mild-mannered Clark Kent, or a quirky-kitschy-WTF?!-kind-of-strange 'bar' at the back of the restaurant, which features a large working model train (elevated a la Chicago El) that delivered food prepared by a little boy Cook (maybe in his 50's) to a little boy Customer (about 5 or 6 years old), who both can be heard throughout the Pancake Parlor gleefully exclaiming "Alllll aaaboard!" in unison, just as the Windhill Express departed to make its circuitous journey, complete with vintage railroad sound effects, to deliver meal components to the 5-6 year old boy customer, who was in a state of pure joy delirium, thanks to his coolest ever kid-mom, who was clearly enjoying her son's joy. Our sweet-hearted waitress, Linda, took our order for buckwheat waffles, as she sat down with us to confer about how to compose our order in such a manner to avoid over-spending, brought one waffle at a time, because the second was a do-over because it would not separate from the waffle iron, and she wanted to serve the first waffle while it was hot from the iron. They were tasty, tender and light as air. However, we were disappointed to note that we were served "pancake syrup", not maple syrup; forgiven, because sweet Linda served it, and while she was probably busy supervising the preparation of my waffle to avoid another do-over, our booted hostess noted that we were close to requiring refills (as she seated customers), offered and served them with a smile, and a cheery "glad to" in response to our thanks. We also had eggs "sunny side up", which were not quite cooked long enough to thoroughly warm the yolks. My wife ordered crispy bacon, that was served hot and as ordered. I ordered link sausage, the type which lacks casing, was slightly dry looking, too brown, overcooked, and was served lukewarm probably because it was kept in a warmer after it had been prepared hours before at the opening of the breakfast shift. So, surprise, Windhill Pancake Parlor may not earn Michelin stars for its haute cuisine anytime soon, though it rates 4 stars from me due to our booted, hospitable hostess, and sweet Linda, and a quirky-kitschy-WTF?!-kind-of-strange charm that distinguishes it as a McHenry community treasure amid cookie-cutter chain restaurants, where all zombie-like employees up to a certain pay grade are uniformed the same, and communicate with customers in monotone and according to corporate dictate. We will dine at Windhill after our next meeting, and probably many times after, since I will bring my own maple syrup, will order scrambled eggs instead of "sunny side up" with my buckwheat anythings and crisp bacon, in place of link sausage, which I hope to be served shortly after I yell "Alllll aaaboard!", because I just happen to have the coolest ever kid-wife ; ) NOTE: Look for the child's hand-printed letter in the lobby on your way out, addressed 'to the owners of Windhill Pancake Parlor', to appreciate the artwork associated with a notation "This is how we looked after we ate here." You may look the same after reading it. Pay by cash and receive a discount. read more

This was not our first time at windhill, but it is definitely our last! Went at lunchtime, ordered a waffle with whipped cream and ice cream - what a joke! I thought I had been pranked - Oh how I wished I had a ruler! The "wafflette" was approximately 7" inches in diameter and possibly just over an inch thick - give or take a centimeter!! The one "scoop" of ice cream was about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons! And the whipped cream - (must have been the end of the can) - 5 dime sized dots! I explained to the waitress that I had ordered this before and it just wasn't the same - this couldn't be a $9 waffle. She said it was probably served on a smaller plate before, so it just looked bigger or my plate was larger now and it just looked small! Lesson learned - DO NOT ORDER THE "WAFFLE" - BETTER YET- DON'T ORDER ANYTHING HERE - unless you like being ripped off and leaving hungry. Never again!! read more

Was crazy busy on a Saturday morning but we got seated. Was very cramped and hot inside. The menu has a ton of breakfast items inclduing pancakes. The food seemed to be OK. Nothing fantastic. Not sure I'd make a point to go here again. read more

My family & I go here all the time. The atmosphere is so pretty, & I love how they always have it decorated with the different holidays. Every server my family, & I have had has always been so nice. read more

Been here a couple times over the years, definitely not often enough in the almost 20 years we have lived in town. Pretty decent food and a decent price. Service was quick and friendly on this visit with our group of 8, granted it was 6am when we visited. read more

Outstanding. Stopped in for the first time after dropping a friend off in Twin Lakes. Was immediately impressed with the atmosphere, the decorations, the staff, & the warmth. This was something created to create great memories, long term. I'm from Chicago, & can tell you, theres no place in this city like what you have. Kudos to to waitress. Me, my family, & friends will be back,,,,guaranteed. read more

Food was good, soup was wonderful. Service was HORRIBLE. Hostess seated us gave us our menu. Waited...Waited....Waited. Hostess came back for our drink order I told her we were ready to order. Waited...Waited....Waited. Server comes by our table and instead of taking our order she chats with another table. Place order. Waited....Waited...Waited. Food comes and the food was good. Server doesn't come by again even to ask us how our food was or if we needed anything. We want our check. Wait...Wait....Wait. Finally, I get the Hostess's eye an ask for box and check. We came here around one o'clock and it wasn't very busy, there is absolutely no reason for such slow service. I go to pay the bill, Hostess doesn't ask how our meal was so as she's asking me how much I wanted to tip and I did leave a tip. I say food was good but the service was HORRIBLE, hostess ignores comment. There are many places in McHenry County where you can get both great food and great service. Perhaps maybe they should just become takeout . read more

Cute place, in a house converted into a breakfast place. It's just like a bed and breakfast without the 'bed'. I have to say that it's a little stuffed, the tables are close together so you can't be claustrophobic. The food is great and the prices are reasonable. The service is also good, again with the crowded tables they have a hard time moving around to get to you but they manage. read more

Below Average across the board here....from the greeting, seating, hostess, waitress, customer service, pricing and food! Walked in, seated right away because it was before the Saturday morning breakfast rush, was not given a menu but they did take our drink order....the first waitress didn't introduce herself and noticed I didn't have a menu so she brought one over, then brought coffee and cream but nothing to stir it with and we weren't given silverware. So I sat there until she came back to take our order about 5 min later.... coffee was warm at this point... Gave her the order and then never saw her again, someone else served us after that. She was okay, a little nicer but just average as a waitress. The food was not really good, it wasn't even okay... the pancakes fell apart with syrup and they didn't taste good. And to top it off, they didn't have real butter... but rather country crock! Who puts margarine on their pancakes or anything else for that matter .... I also noticed the quality of service that I received was noticeably different from that of the other patrons. I hate to say that it was because of my ethnicity but then witnessed the way the hostess greeted 2 women that were of similar ethnicity to me and my thoughts were confirmed! It's sad to say that this still happens in 2019 but it does! The overall experience was poor and I will never go back and don't recommend unless your skin is pale! read more

I like the inside but I hate the service. The waitress has some bad attitude while talking to me as a customer. She is old enough that I think she should have known better how to serve. I went there just 3 times and 2 out of 3 were very bad service. Maybe they need to train their servers how to talk to customers?? read more

This place is so cute! The food is awesome and pretty unique, which I love. They have all the normal breakfast items but also some pretty cool ones like a Rueben omelet. The owner or whoever the guy is upfront really seems to care about your experience and really friendly. I definitely recommend it. read more

I don't know what everyone's problem is with this place! I've been coming here since I was a little kid and it has always been amazing! They have a great ambiance and great food! Everything I've had on the menu is amazing; breakfasts and lunches! They can be a bit busy when church lets on the weekends but it's well worth the wait. Even the coffee is delicious, though slightly watered down. I'd recommend this place to everyone- and after reading the other reviews; if you don't like the ingredients in a dish, don't order it :) read more

This place is a nightmare. The decor made me wanna end my life.its like a tacky old lady threw up every piece of garbage she collected her whole life all over the walls.The food is overpriced and lacks flavor. I will not be Goin back her read more

I ate here late Sunday morning on Memorial Day. As expected, it was busy, but the wait was short. The decor is definitely a lot more fun than ihop, but I was left thinking that maybe we should've just eaten there; ihop isn't great, but it is consistently good. Our drink orders and food orders were taken quickly, but after that there didn't seem to be much care taken in providing prompt service. I had to ask three times for a glass of water. The coffee was barely warm the first time and all the cups at the table were long empty before being refilled. There were five of us, but the food still seemed to take awhile (especially considering it was breakfast food). Half the table's food came out, then food was taken to at least one other table, then our table got the rest of theirs (in two different trips). The food was pretty good, but it wasn't anything great. I doubt I'll be visiting again. read more

For a few dollars more you can get a much more sophisticated and interesting breakfast at Cafe La Strada in Crystal Lake or The Pub in Woodstock. This is pretty pricey for what you're getting. The food is pretty much meh! International House of Pancakes is better and a better value and just down the street if that's what you're looking for. I was assured by my waitress that the corned beef hash was "home made" and did not come out of a can, but when it came, it had a surprising similarity to micro-diced potatos combined with over-salted corned beef mush that comes out of a can. The waitress never bothered to ask why I was returning 2/3 of my breakfast or what I thought of it nor did the gentleman who collected my $45 for breakfast, (without juice ordrinks), for 3. Interesting kitschy atmosphere, but the food is not good. read more

Eh average breakfast. Nothing too great and nothing bad. The inside of this place is nuts with all the American flags. Friends said they loved it here so we went. read more

Windhill is a long time favorite of mine. Although they have gotten pricier in the past few years, the menu is just huge and everything on it is delicious! They get packed on the weekends but the food still arrives in a timely manner. This is a must-do for visiting company looking for a unique, and memorable breakfast place. read more

Everything about this place from the food, location, prices ambiance, decorations and servers is FANTASTIC!! We love to come during the holidays for the fun decorations!! I adore the menus made out of old books and such! It's a nifty place with lots of trinkets and fun for ALL ages!! The food is delicious and the chocolate milk is great. We've tried just about all their pancakes and the omelets are delicious! Visited June 2016 read more

Fastest service I have had in the area! Great selection and friendly staff. If you have a sweet tooth this place is for you as they offer many pancake and waffle options. Call ahead and get a seat at the bar for train service. read more

The complaint I have is that you use liquid cheese on your skillets and it's just not appetizing. Why can't you use normal shredded cheese on it? It brings down the level of good food for me and seems to be the lazy way to go about it. If you could put normal cheese on the skillets, that would be great. Thanks. read more

Delicious breakfast, wonderful atmosphere, friendly and prompt service. Wide variety. We went with raspberry cheesecake French toast and eggs Benedict. Definitely will be back! read more

Decent breakfast place. Cute decor, decorate for the holiday that is current. Prices are outrageous for quality of food. If I am paying this much money I expect real butter and not margarine and not prepackaged tubs of log cabin syrup. Service and owners very friendly and welcoming. read more

Pretty darn good get there early on weekends or be prepared to wait. The eggs Benedict smash was great. The saganaki omlette too. I am a biscuits and gravy connoisseur.....1st ones in a while I didn't have to season myself. Will definitely return read more

We love this place! Great food, I love their skillets. My son loves the train. The only complaint is how packed it always is. We have started doing take out only and it is almost impossible to get in the door to pick up my order. Even when I do get up to the window, I have to wait for them to even speak to me. Their food is well worth the hassle. We enjoy it much more from the comfort of our home though. read more

Great atmosphere for kids. Train area is fun to sit in. The food is quite good. A bit pricey though.

My wife and I usually drive right past this place, but decided to stop in for the first time. We were really glad we did, it is not a run of the mill place. We experienced friendly staff, with great food, and service as well. I really like the Traditional Eggs Benedict. read more

I have been going to windhill for over 20 years and it's still great food. The prices are kinda high but the portions are huge. The staff is always happy and friendly. A great Mchenry establishment read more