In February 2022, I ordered a veggie omelette from Al's Grill located around the 7000 W. Madison street. It was made clear to the waitress that I do not want cheese on it. When the omelette came to the table, it had pork and extra cheese. I told the waitress that she gave me the wrong plate. She said," this is what you ordered." I told her that I have not eaten pork over 30 years and I do not eat cheese. Again she said," that's what you ordered." I ask to speak to the manager (Al) who is the owner. He came to the table and said, " I believe whatever my waitress said you ordered." I ended up paying for a meal that I did not eat because Al the owner was a complete anal. Al's response and action to this situation lets me know the integrity of Al's Grill. The employees can only be as strong as the employer. When the employer is weak the employees will be weak also. Anyways, this situation really took me to a higher level and changed my life! I have not eaten at no restaurants since this incident and I have saved lots of money! Whatever I want to eat, I will go to a search app, find the recipe and cook it. My omelettes and other foods are cooked to perfection using only healthy ingredients. In doing so, I have lost 60lbs since February. I look like a totally different person and feel great! Thanks Al for being the anal that you are. read more

The food was well packaged and serving size portions were good. The food itself was flavorful. Condiments were plentiful. Because of the delivery and packaging the food was still warm upon arrival. Will order from Al's Grill again read more

Als is consistently delicious. The shakes are made with real ice cream. I've been ordering through delivery and it's still a good choice.

In the context of diners, this place is very clean and inviting complemented by very friendly service. All of the servers wore Al's grill shirts that tempted me with a huge drawing of a burger. I couldn't resist so I ordered the signature Bill's Buster Burger, which had hand-pressed sirloin, mushrooms, onion, cheese and the other usual fixins. It came with fries and slaw all for under $9. Once delivered, I discovered that my burger was massive. So much, I couldn't eat it all. My first bite was great because it tasted like steak on a bun. As I continued to eat it, I realized it might be seasoned or marinated, but not entirely to my taste. I must be fair to mention that it was good quality, and I could see a lot of people liking this burger. Although I did not like my burger, I may come back to try the breakfast because this place evidently has a large following - it was fiiled when we arrived. How can so many people be wrong? So Al's, I guess I will see ya around. Cheers! read more

Al's Grill - Bill's Buster Burger - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Terrible. We came here to fill up for a busy Saturday. What we got was food poisoning, rude service, and bad food all while wasting an hour of our lives. I don't usually like to refer to the other reviews for a place here on yelp, but here I feel like I need to. This place is so bad, I can't believe any of these reviewers actually ever came here. For one thing, the "Chicago's Best" review of this place is plain fake. I had the biscuits and gravy (which they highlighted... as Chicago's Best!) and it was just 2 from-frozen biscuits covered in a Vegeta-ladened grease. This thing came to the table cold, room temperature. When I asked for it to be remade, I got a long sigh from the waitress, "It's as hot as it comes." No, it needs to be hot, please remake it. When she brought it back, it had been microwaved. Fine, I'll just eat it. Screw it. 12hrs later I was doubled over with stomach pain and had a 2 day vacation in my bathroom. This place is a dump. The cook's have no pride. The waitresses are either overworked or clinically depressed. Awful! TL;DR: BAD food, bad service. Stay away! read more

Al's Grill - Look close, the gravy has congealed. This was how it came prior to being microwaved... YUM!!! - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

See all

Damn that's some great biscuits and gravy! I had visited once before and had a skillet, but I knew I needed to give their b&g a try. Made from scratch biscuits is key. Karen is a great server and they brew a great cup of coffee too. Love to see counter seats in an old school diner, certainly a crowd pleaser. Check out their video on CBTV. #bestbreakfast https://youtu.be/qKls-arj2cs read more

See all

You can't go wring with a diner for breakfast! An ex brought me here and it was so warm and welcoming...everyone there knew hi name (like it was freaking Cheers or something.) Food was standard breakfast fare, but they made my omelette perfectly. No complaints here! read more

I came here because they were featured on Chicago's Best Thankfully this place isn't in Chicago! I have never paid $40 for breakfast for two people. Definitely sticker shock for mediocre food. Won't be back again! The biscuits and gravy arrived cold- how can that be? Too sweet for my taste. The food was delivered as ordered but not worth it. The sausage was ok, I've had better for less $. What got them on the show? Did I order the wrong things? The price was ridiculous. read more

Whenever I come to Oak Park to visit my Auntie , she always takes us to Al's Grill . She comes here probably every weekend so when she comes in its just like episode from Cheers . The staff is VERY friendly and they are very attentive . And the food is always delicious and you never have to wait long for them to serve you even on a busy weekend . Which is huge plus because most of time when you go to breakfast you are starving and ready to eat . To top it off the food is very inexpensive !! Go visit Al's Grill you will not regret it!!! read more

Al's Grill - Al's Skillet!! I also got French Toast which I highly recommend !! - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

I'm really disappointed to do this, because Al's place had the BEST hangover food (the skillet was still delicious!!), but I don't think I could ever get food from here again. When I flipped my pancake over, it had other people's fork and knife marks in it. That's so nasty! read more

Al's Grill - a pancake in a tin - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Al's is one of those typical old-timey all-American Diner's. Makes one feel a little nostalgic. It's mostly a locals place and lots of seniors and families congregate here for brunches and other meals off their extensive menu. The staff is very friendly and responsive, being very quick with the coffee and water refills. There's parking in the back and sometimes on the street, so it's very easily accessible. The prices are also very decent. If you're health conscious or just looking for something tasty, try the stuffed tomato. Tomato stuffed with chicken salad, hard boiled egg, veggies along side as well as and your choice of sides. read more

See all

Good morning, Our first time here, as we walk in we are greeted by a waitress, and the owner, seated immediately. Our waitress Nora was very nice, funny and on top of her game. Hot chocolate and French vanilla Ice Coffee Is very good. Grits are very very good, corn beef and hash OMG to die for, Biscuits and gravy WOW. Highly recommended. read more

See all

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet! It's my favorite place for breakfast in the OP/FP area. I was just there this week with my family to dine in for the first time in a year and a half. During the pandemic, we did carry out. On our most recent visit, the waitress was efficient and helpful. I got my favorite (biscuits and gravy), my husband got eggs Benedict, my mom got a veggie omelette, and my dad got a Denver omelette. They overcook the eggs in their omelets (in my opinion), but my parents really liked them. The kids meals are also good with big portions- my daughter loved the chicken tenders and fries. If you haven't already gone, I recommend checking them out! I know their business is way down- please support our local restaurants! read more

This neighborhood restaurant is walking distance from our new townhouse. I love that it's family friendly and you can tell that a lot of regulars go for the food, atmosphere, and warm cozy family feel that you get. We came here for brunch one morning, after my husband dropped off his car next door for an oil change. We were seated right away (even though it was really busy) and we took some time to pour over our menus. We usually like ordering the chicken fried steak any brunch place that we go to. This chicken fried steak did not disappoint! We also got the Colossal Skillet, which is on the side separate menu. I think it's under special menus. Anyway. It's basically the all meat skillet but with mushrooms and other veggies I think. I just like that it has a little bit of everything. Those two large entrees were more than enough for this family of three. You can order sides like grits and pancakes, so we got that. The grits were pretty good and our little one loves his pancakes. A nice sweet end to a savory hearty meal. read more

See all

Bomb breakfast place. The apple pie was okay, a little too much cinnamon though. Service is cool most of the time. Always crowded. Usual wait time.. be best for you to call it in. read more

Al's Grill - 3 panny cakes & sausage very good - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

I have to say I was thrilled that the place was a family restaurant disguised as a burger joint - the husband, not so much. His comments: 1. There is a cheeseburger in the name on the sign 2. The menu prominently features a bacon cheesburger on the cover 3. The bacon cheeseburger I ordered was grey and tasted like ass As for me, I got the typical hot veal cutlet with (instant) mashed potatoes) and some (canned) chicken soup. If you grew up around the area going to family restaurants, you know what you are in for. Certainly not worth lining up and waiting for (or dealing with the restricitive Oak Park parking), but comforting to know it's there and the staff is certainly friendly and attentive. read more

Love this place!!! Great food reasonably priced. Neighborhood all present. It's a great pop in restaurant. Friendly. Waiter staff helpful. Very clean rest rooms. I'm now a regular, along with family, and some friends. read more

This place was packed Sunday morning. The service is fast and they very friendly. The place feels very home like and relaxing. Food was alright. We had the chicken waffle, corn beed hash and bacon. The chicken was a bit hard but the waffle was just right. Fist time I had the corn beed hash and I liked it. They have good fresh coffee. Coffee was not too light or too strong. It was very good. Price was not bad at all. Definitely recommend. read more

Al's Grill - Chicken waffle - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

I moved to Oak Park almost a year ago from NY/Manhattan and this has been my go-to for breakfast/brunch -- it's helpful that they're only across the street! The menu runs tasty diner delights with many regular patrons. At this point, they even know my name. We have had a quite a bit of snow lately and my car was buried and plowed in -- and guess what I don't own a shovel. I noticed Tony -- the owner/son of the owner, yes the owner/son of owner, using the snow blower so I asked if I could use their shovel. They said yes with no hesitation. After Tony was done snow blowing he assisted me with clearing out the spot I was in, even teaching me the rock and roll trick placing the car in reverse then drive and repeating the motion. It is highly impressive that the owner and their entire staff embody a sense of community. Tony's actions today instill the values of humanity! read more

My son and I just had a great breakfast here. The food was really good and the staff were really really nice. I have had my neighbors suggest this place to me for early meals several times and this was my first time checking it out. A real cool nice hometown diner that has been around forever. I would highly recommend their Greek slash gyro skillet. I am going to take a nap after eating it but every bite was delicious read more

I went for breakfast not happy at all. I had a steak blood was still running also had huevos Rancho unbelievable it was only eggs w/chorizo not mixed with hot sauce and cilantro that is it. Just not happy it must have good food it was crowded but I won't be back read more

Hello yelpers! I was really sad to write this review because I loved this staple in the neighborhood for years and I live literally across the street as well. I ordered an omelette like I have a million times prior (ham & cheese)...as I began to eat I began to crunch down continuously on something and then I noticed it was egg shells... not to worry I said to myself maybe they were rushing and it was an honest mistake...I contacted the restaurant and spoke with a manager who was very polite and apologetic as well so I was satisfied and he advised he would compensate me the next time...fast forward to a week later I was working from home so decided to give it another try and contacted the restaurant...a older gentleman answered the phone and as I explained my prior experience he was dismissive and said "that never happened" and when I mentioned being compensated he said "do you want the omelette or not, you will not be compensated"... No one still has yet to contact me after emailing them about my experience 3 times.WOW I was almost bought to tears over this experience read more

The food they offer here is delicious and affordable. The servers are very welcoming and nice. The service is typical like any good restaurant. Overall this business provides an exceptional food service. My only complaint would be that nearby parking is a bit tough to find sometimes. read more

Good food. Good service. Seated immediately! Been passing by this place for years and finally stopped. Glad I did. Gluten free, lean plate is delish! Will definitely be back! read more

Al's Grill - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

It's been s while since I last visited this place, and I must say the food is still as good as it was some 10 years ago. The wait for a table was much shorter than l thought it would be on a Sunday morning, and I really appreciated that, as I had just finished a morning workout and was in need for some coffee and a tasty breakfast. Didn't get anything fancy, just a skillet with chicken, hash browns, bell peppers, onions, and scrambled eggs, with a nice size pancake. The waitress was quick, and came by the table several times to refill our coffee and to ask if we needed anything. I promise, to not let another 10 years go by before my next visit. read more

Al's Grill - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

See all

Love Al's. Been coming here for years. Visiting Oak Park for the first time in a few years and it's amazing how much businesses change. Not Al's. It's consistently good diner food and I just love the people. Several of the people that were working there yesterday have been there for as long as I can remember and when you interact with them you can see why. They are always a pleasure and always smiling. read more

Good food, wonderful service and lots of compliments. We were a group of 33 for breakfast on the patio and we were a very happy bunch. Will do it again. Thanks to Bill, Pete and the awesome wait staff. read more

This is my family's favorite place for breakfast! My 3yr old loves their bacon and French fries & the lollipops he gets at the end. LoL A great place to share your Sunday morning breakfast. And if it's your birthday, You will love the birthday song! LoL read more

Ode to Al's Grill: (with apologies to The Corrs) My tummy's feeling rumbly Want something yummy on my plate Waffles so warm and crumbly And nice hot coffee would be great Omelets are fine their bacon is divine I'm in the mood to try Some hotcakes stacked high So go on, go on, come on feed me breakfast Fill me, please me 'Cause I need to lose this Hungry feeling Make me sausage and grits Come on come on Yeah... It's time to break a new egg I won't pay an arm or a leg Al's Grill has breakfast all day In that Greek diner kind of way Not much to see But that's just fine with me. I want a tasty treat. Can't wait till I eat it. So go on, go on, come on feed me breakfast Fill me, please me 'Cause I need to lose this Hungry feeling... read more

Al's is a genuine diner with a genuinely warm, bustling, and friendly atmosphere. As newbies, we didn't know the drill, but if there are no seats available, you're supposed to wait in line in front of the counter. We didn't have to wait very long. The service was quick and came with a smile. My husband judges breakfast menus by their skillets, and he loved their Al's Skillet, probably because it was huge and loaded with 3 different types of meat. My omelette was ok, but I was surprised by how good their pancakes were (and I don't even LIKE pancakes). They tasted like vanilla flavored angel food cake, heavenly. If you're looking for solid, reasonably priced food and want to be treated like family, this is the place to eat. read more

Best Diner / Grill in Chicago! None better! The food is great, the owners are wonderful and the wait staff is the best. Don't miss it

Al's is a great place to have breakfast. There is a HUGE selection of things on the menu. Everything from a breakfast skillet with gyro meat and feta cheese to a Julienne salad. I haven't been here for lunch, but if the food's as good as it is at breakfast, I'm sure it's delectable. The best thing about Al's is the service. Very friendly, fast, and accurate. It's also decorated very nicely, especially for a diner. The prices were just a little high, but the service really made it worth the trip. read more

Al's Grill - Outside - American Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

This is the SPOT!!!! We recently moved here from Texas and we're looking for a good comfort breakfast spot. The food is SO good, large portions we usually take half for leftovers. The staff is super friendly and fun to talk too, and there are always regulars in. I always get ALs skillet with a pancake. Thanks for being a great place to eat. read more

I like Al's Grill. There is quite a variety of people that come here; old people reading newspapers, young people with large groups of friends, working people here with co-workers at lunch, etc. They even have newspapers if you want to grab one and read it while you eat or wait. They have an ATM too. I have never been here for breakfast, but my friends have and they love it. I've only been here for lunch and the sandwiches are good. The price isn't bad, the portions are good size, and everything tastes good. I don't think it's super-great like a lot of people do, and i cannot even say that anything here differentiates it from any other good diner that you'd want to eat at (maybe that's because I haven't had breakfast here), but it's still good and reliable. The drawback is that they are only open until 4:30 Monday-Saturday and 3 on Sundays, despite having a small dinner menu. So it is definitely a breakfast/lunch place. I've also seen people getting breakfast after about 1pm, so if you like breakfast food later in the day, you can get it here. read more

I love Al's. Now, I may be slightly biased, because I do live less then a 2 minute walk away (we share an alley) but... Hear me out. The Al's skill and the Denver skillet never cease to amaze me. I love breakfast and if I could eat it at every meal of the day I would. The hash browns and ham are the best. I consider myself a breakfast connoisseur, but they're skillets are also the perfect cure to any hangover. Their pancakes are great as well. Always perfect. The coffee is delicious. What more can a breakfast lover ask for? read more

The food was very good, the prices a little high but fair however the bossy waitress turned us off completely. It was past the morning rush and not busy and "bossy waitress" insisted our party of two sit in a small booth for two. We were so squashed we didn't enjoy our breakfast. On our second visit we had the same experience being shown to a tiny booth when we wanted a table. We left and drove all the way to North Ave to have breakfast. read more

As a Sunday morning breakfast diner there's only a few things I find to be really important. I don't want to wait long, service (especially coffee) should be prompt and, of course, good food. Not necessarily in that order. Even if Al's has a long line, you never wait more than 10 minutes and that would be a long wait for this place. Coffee is fresh and brought out quickly. I go for the veggie omelette with hash browns crispy. Most places just put some sort of press on the hash browns but somehow Al's gets them crispy all around and they're fabulous. The omelette is perfectly not too flat, not too fluffy and the veggies are fresh tasting. I appreciate when servers don't just offer coffee refills to their own tables. At Al's, there is always someone going around with fresh coffee. Haven't had lunch there too often but recently had a pork tenderloin sandwich and it was really tasty. Prices are very reasonable. Highly recommended. read more

I come here so much with my mom, sister and daughter. I introduced them to this place and they just can't get enough. I love their skillets here, they have a gyro skillet that is just heaven. I've been on healthy mode so I've been getting the Lean skillet. It has grilled chicken, broccoli, mushrooms i think, peppers, and probably something else oh and some cheese. They have great soups, I really like the potato soup and cream of broccoli. My mother sis and daughter love the chicken noodle. I've eaten the patty melt, biscuits and gravy, meatloaf and mashed and I'm sure a lot more but you get the point. I keep going back for more. read more

Why, oh why, can't I find a classic diner like this in the city!? Al's is truly the all-american diner - complete with proper small-town diner decor, bustling crowd, and top-notch service. That's not even mentioning the scrumptious food.... I visited Al's one hungover Sunday recently and had the best burger imaginable. We also had an amazing server and bus boy who kept our group quite happy refilling our drinks and keeping the food coming. The corned beef hash was also quite good. I tasted nibbles of everyone's entree and they were equally amazing - the omelettes, the skillets...mmm mmm. Come to think of it that coffee was excellent as well - piping hot. TOP NOTCH DINER EXPERIENCE - thanks to Kat M for bringing us here! read more

Great Resturant for breakfast. If you are tired of potatoes, they have good grits. A hard thing to find in Illinois. Staff friendly and accommodating, prices reasonable, atmosphere pleasant. Parking can be tricky at times but where isn't that a consternation in the congestion of a popular suburb. read more