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Bessie's Diner

4.2 (164 reviews)
Closed • 7:00 am - 2:00 pm
Updated 1 month ago

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Bessie's Diner Photos

Business Info

BESSIE'S DINER ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Touristy
Trendy
Upscale

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Recommended Reviews - Bessie's Diner

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Reviews With Photos

Cameron J.

Limited menu but great food! Wife enjoyed club and said "I would eat this club again". I enjoyed a breakfast scrambler that was filling and diverse in flavor profile. Menu is pretty basic. Seating is kind of weird with big counter and very few tables. Service was mid .

Ham steak, biscuits and gravy, potato's, eggs and avocado toast. This also includes the coffee flight. Delicious
Breanne T.

Food, service and inviting. Didn't wait as long as anticipated. It was a fun family Easter brunch.

Flight mimosas

Banana foster French toast was amazing and love the flights that they offer, for drinking that is.

Eggs Benedict

Literally thought this was inside the airport but overall it was a cool restaurant to visit! The food was made to perfection and getting to watch the planes take off was soo cool! 10/10 recommend!

Side of Hashbrowns
Kari B.

Really cute place and great restaurant for kids! I took my little guy for breakfast to change up from our normal places we go to and was pleasantly surprised. We sat down to a fun kids menu with kids activities including Wiki Sticks. My son had the kids pancakes and I had the traditional eggs Benny which my little guy proceeded to eat half of. The eggs Benny does not come with any sides, so I do order a side of hashbrowns and those were nicely seasoned. It was out of the way for us but definitely will come back!

Chicken and Waffles
Gary A.

Great service in a well maintained restaurant. The waffles were well done and were served with syrup or hot honey. The bacon was crisp and thick. The chicken was crispy and moist on the inside. The presentation was amazing. The staff was friendly and attentive. Great experience

Hot Coco pancakes are delicious but seasonal, so hurry in to get some.

Delicious food, fast and great service. Fun place to take kids that love planes when the weather is clear.

Bloody Mary Flight
Christina P.

Stopped by for brunch around 1pm the day after a nearby wedding. The restaurant was lively but we didn't have to wait to be seated. I ordered a bloody mary flight off a small speciality drink menu that didn't list any prices. It turned out to be $25, FYI. It had their classic, bold, and sweet & spicy mix along with a beer chaser. Each had different garnish to match the flavors. The sweet & spicy was my favorite. The beer chaser was a nice way to refresh after finishing the others. I ordered the buffalo chicken wrap with fries and my friend ordered the chorizo scramble. Her scramble was delicious and had lots of variation within it. My buffalo chicken wrap was just average. The chicken was as expected and had plenty of blue cheese. The fries weren't great. They were a mix of overly crispy and soggy. I only ended up eating half of them. I would go with the buffalo chicken salad if I came back. Service was inconsistent. It started well and she came by quickly for our drink and food orders but then we didn't see her at all. The view is great here though. Love the aviation theme and that an entire wall is windows so you can watch the planes on the tarmac.

Reuben
Todd P.

While we were having lunch, 3 planes taxied to the restaurant for lunch. Pretty cool. Our group had a mix of breakfast and lunch items. We had pancakes and bacon, eggs benedict, an omelette, a Reuben and a patty melt. All were very good to excellent. We had a couple minor issues. There are no large tables so 5 of us sat at a 4 top which made things cramped. The benedict wasn't hot but was still tasty. And the patty melt was soggy. But overall, it was a good time. And definitely worth a return visit.

Two helicopters in flight heading to a restaurant for lunch.....

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Reviews are largely positive. People praise the food quality, friendly service, and unique airport setting. The atmosphere is fun and family-friendly.

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1 month ago

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6 months ago

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7 months ago

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14 days ago

Food was great. Service was great and the ring side seat and view of airplanes was out of this world

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3 months ago

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3 months ago

Very cool place with good quality food. Enjoy watching planes come and go from the large windows.

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6 months ago

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7 months ago

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5 months ago

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2 months ago

Awesome food..great views of planes flying in and out. Family friendly. Busy on weekends so plan ahead

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5 months ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

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7 months ago

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2 years ago

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4 months ago

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Andie B.

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1 year ago

What a great place to enjoy unique atmosphere and tasty foods. We also enjoy a flight of different coffees, great service!

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10 months ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

Airport themed restaurant on an airport. Like watching small planes take off and land while having breakfast? This is the place for you.

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2 years ago

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Andie B.

Amazing to hear! Thank you, Carol.

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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6 months ago

Absolutely love the place and food ! Never had a bad meal here. Enjoy being able to watch the planes land while eating

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

Good food, good service, and great view of airplanes. Bring the kids! Kids love airplanes!

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1 year ago

Great fun place to eat. Portions were not huge which was nice. A great place to fly in or drive in for breakfast!

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8 months ago

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7 months ago

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2 years ago

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Andie B.

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1 year ago

Food is awful and mostly packaged but prices are for chef prepared (high). I've been there about three times (once on Easter)-always bad.

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Andie B.

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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Andie B.

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1 year ago

Food was amazing, great view of the airport. Would be a great place for kids. You can watch airplanes take off and land is really cool.

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

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6 years ago

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2 years ago

They have the best biscuits and gravy! The view is awesome when you eat your breakfast because you can see the planes come and go!

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Page 1 of 5

Ask the Community - Bessie's Diner

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The Looking Glass

The Looking Glass

3.9(70 reviews)
4.8 mi
•$$

Visiting with out of town guests who were told to meet at corner Gastro pub and chose this instead…read more Would I return? Unlikely. Our wait staff was on her feet and covering the entire patio and indoors. She did a good job checking on us. #6, #7 and #13 were all ordered again so clearly enjoyed. the fried food looked dark (likely oil overuse!) but no rancidity detected thus would definitely recommend the beer dip combo, onion rings or sweet potato fries. Crowd got a bit rowdy after 10. Cars revving engines in lot next door etc. (no fights). Someone had their wallet and phone stolen so keep your wits! Rustic design of bathroom makes it feel like a peep show for same gender. Weird.

Food was good. Sat at a table for 5 outside. It's in the city, yet the outside was wonderful and…read morethe evening was warm, a bit windy but that keeps the flies away so it was comfortable. Chairs and tables were nice, plenty of room yet cozy. Bar outside for quick drinks. Had ok NA options. Nice place inside too. Tables are big for a tavern, real big and even the booths were huge, seat six with room to grow as you eat. All natural wood. Seating was open, pick your own, no hostess. Shrimp salad excellent. Burgers and onions rings perfect. Quesadillas great, cheese curds were crunchy and melted runny inside, as they should be. Pulled pork was good (that's really hard to screw up) Nothing was too salty, we were all raised low sodium so we can taste the actual food. So then, why only three stars? If you don't serve the food at the same time, you lose a star. Nothing irritates me more. Get it together. If you serve the appetizer late, you lost another. Shrimp salad and burger arrived first. TEN minutes passed until we saw the other three orders. Five minutes later the cheese curds appetizer arrived. Really should be 2 stars now because I had the Cubano. These sandwiches have strict rules. It was fine, but the ham is supposed to be real ham, not thinly sliced cheap Carl Budding sandwich ham. Since the atmosphere was so nice and people were friendly and very attentive, three stars seemed appropriate. The chef served the first two dishes and a few others, maybe that's why he's not cooking. There were plenty of servers, we had three. Get your ass back in the kitchen.

Photos
The Looking Glass - A look towards the front.  The front has a nice window with three booths where you can watch the city

A look towards the front. The front has a nice window with three booths where you can watch the city

The Looking Glass - Shrimp salad, so good.

Shrimp salad, so good.

The Looking Glass - A look down the back hallway - Belching Beaver is a neat sign, but I didn't see it on their expansive beer list.

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A look down the back hallway - Belching Beaver is a neat sign, but I didn't see it on their expansive beer list.

Bucky’s Lucky Bell - Kids cheeseburger

Bucky’s Lucky Bell

2.8(10 reviews)
2.6 mi

My husband and I stopped in for a few drinks and a bite to eat. Sat down and waited 10 minutes and…read moreno one came. My husband went up to the bar to try and get us some drinks. He stood there for another 5 minutes while the bartender was too busy chatting with the regulars so we up and left. This is the 3rd time this has happened to us. The only time we get service is when Wendy is working. The other bartenders are awful

Lucky Bell is one of the few options for a sit down restaurant on the South side of Janesville, and…read moreit happens to be a bar & grill. We came here the weekend of our grandfather's memorial service while all the family was still in town. We were split into two COMPLETELY separate tables. Five of us in a booth and the others at a long high top. I get this set up for space, BUT they had us with two different servers AND two different order times. The large high top all got their meals first, while two adults with the 3 young children were left to the wolves waiting for the food at the booth. Food was all subpar except the fish. The family members in the booth (the kids) had two completely burnt cheeseburgers. I wouldn't even eat that... let alone try and get a young CHILD to eat it. I waited and WAITED to see the server and let them know. We also needed drinks and napkins, etc. I had to go to the bar in order to flag her down. For the cheeseburger, they didn't offer to do anything. Because at that point, everyone was done eating. But they didn't even offer a dessert as a gesture or off the bill, nothing. It was just a mountain of issues, that was one huge disaster. Maybe try to come with only 2-3 people, may have better luck?

Photos
Bucky’s Lucky Bell - Chicken strips

Chicken strips

Bucky’s Lucky Bell - Burned to a crisp cheeseburger

Burned to a crisp cheeseburger

Bucky’s Lucky Bell - Kids fish

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Whiskey Ranch Bar and Grill - Brisket burger and side of Mac n cheese

Whiskey Ranch Bar and Grill

4.1(188 reviews)
4.8 mi
•$$

The night we visited, streets were blocked, and event was going on downtown, food trucks and a…read moreband. We parked three blocks away....meaning we had to walk three blocks to get there. An ominous start....before arriving we wondered if it was even worth it ...It was!! After finally arriving we were quickly greeted and seated. Our server Angelica brought menus and took our drink orders promptly. The menu was quite impressive, many different choices and priced quite reasonably. My lovely bride ordered the Whiskey Ranch Chicken Sandwich w/waffle fries and for myself the Slow Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket that came with two sides and a salad. I chose waffle fries and mac and cheese. My bride called dibs on my salad with thousand island dressing. The side salad was a more than generous size with fresh greens and a very tasty salad dressing. After an appropriate amount of time the entrees arrived hot, fresh and more than generous proportions. Seeing that, we asked Angelica for carry out containers ahead of time in attempt to portion control. It was a good thing we did. My wife loved her Whisky Ranch Sandwich that came with Jack Daniel's glaze, bacon, lettuce, tomato onion, onion straws along with waffle fries as a side. The smoked beef brisket had the right amount of being smoked, not overpowering, a drizzle of bbq sauce, garlic bread and amazing waffle fries. I have to mention the brisket was so tender and was able to be cut with a fork. Angelica was an amazing server, excellent food at a more than reasonable price. I normally post a receipt, but the serving size and food quality and value was simply amazing. It was a good thing we had to park several blocks away, we definitely need the walk back to the car to burn off some calories. Kudos to Whiskey Ranch Bar and Grill for such an unexpected great meal.....also to Angelica for amazing service too.

I don't know what it is with this place and them advertising my specials but not honoring them!…read moreFirst time was at the Delavan location where they advertised a daily special on their facebook page, and drove an hour to go, but when we got there we're told they were not honoring it that day due to the holiday - OK fine, but maybe don't post things the day of if you're not planning on honoring them. Management did address this mixup! Nearly 10 months later we decided to give them another try, but this time at the Janesville location, again, drove an hour to get there. There was a sign out front that states "lunch specials" with the time, can't recall the exact time but it was something like 11-2 or something like that, when we sat down I asked our server about the lunch specials and she said they don't do that on weekends, so I asked then why is there a sign out front advertising it and i went back outside to confirm it said nothing about weekdays only, which it did not, so I shared that with her and she just said sorry they can't honor it. I just don't understand why they think it's ok to advertise things and not honor them..... it just baffles me, and I'm shocked if no one else has complained about this. It really is a shame because we truly enjoy the food, but unfortunately after this second time visiting and having a similar experience as our first we probably will not return!

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Whiskey Ranch Bar and Grill
Whiskey Ranch Bar and Grill - Loaded Philly Cheese Steak

Loaded Philly Cheese Steak

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Bessie's Diner - newamerican - Updated October 2026

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