We've been told we HAVE to give Cracker Barrel a try esp since we've never been. So we decided to give it a go. Upon arrival we were rather confused because we walked right into a store and had no idea where the restaurant was until we followed the big crowd that came in after us. Once seated the tables were still rather dirty but after we asked for it to be cleaned they were quick about it. We ordered our food, and it did take a while to come out but it looked like everyone around us was waiting too but once one table's food came out we all had our food come out. My husband had French toast while I had one of their special plates with biscuits and gravy, eggs and their hash browns. My food came out a bit cold, and I think my favorite part of my plate was just the biscuit. We ordered a side of the garlic steak tips and the cinnamon apples to try and both of those were delish! For our little guy we ordered cinnamon pancakes but we're brought cereal "funfetti" they said they could remake it but it may take 15-20 minutes. We decide to just keep the plate for our little guy. After eating we decided to shop around the store a bit and man oh man was everything pricey. I ended up grabbing a little onesie for our kiddo but everything else was certainly more trinkety. Overall an okay experience, we're glad we tried it. read more

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This particular location was next to the hotel we stayed at when we went to Great Lakes. I'd been to a Cracker Barrel in Florida so I thought this wasn't a bad choice for lunch. Wrong... First, I don't know how many times we circled around to find the entrance until we realized we have to go through the gift shop to get in. Second, the menu was very limited. There wasn't really anything appetizing but since we're already there, we just ordered whatever from the menu. We got two steak entrees, a fish and fries, another item I can't remember. Yeah that's how bad the experience was. As expected, nobody enjoyed it. No one finished any of the entrees. There's no condiments available in the tables. I wanted catsup for my friends but we didn't know where the server was. There was only one other customer in the restaurant so it wasn't busy at all. We spent over $100 here for a meal we didn't enjoy. Never again..... read more

We came here to celebrate my wife's birthday. She chose it because it brings her warm memories. We were thankful because CB didn't change anything like was planned last year. The food is still delicious! I always get breakfast and this time I ordered the Grandma plate, which was awesome. You can see my pictures below. The only reason I didn't give a full 5 stars is because our server was unusually sassy and we could tell she was using a passive aggressive tone to share her displeasure of us asking questions. We still tipped, but not our usual. The kids all bought toys from the store and we left with great memories! The vibe is comfortable and we will be back. It's the closest one to our house... 45 min away. read more

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The cliff notes: 20 min wait on a Sunday at 2:30, which I was not expecting! All your usual country offerings here: grits, fried chicken, dumplings, fried okra, etc. Food was A-OK, but nothing to write home about. Cracker Barrel is always a favorite stop on a road trip though. The gift shop/country store at the front is nice for window shopping or practicing how to tell your kids no 2848x for all the candy and trinkets they'll want to buy. Our waitress seemed a little tired. She didn't bother walk to walk around the table to serve the food or drinks and rather, would hand each item to the adult sitting closest to her to pass out... read more

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We had a good meal and the service per Amanda was excellent! Absolutely delightful server.

My mom ordered the grandma's breakfast and I had the Momma's breakfast. Both were great and my wife ordered the southern fried, boneless chicken with a side of green beans and potatoes. We all had a blast and it was in part to Summer's super service! The dining room was busy , but orderly! I don't recall any music being played in the dining room, but I think there was some in the general store. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - The boneless Southern fried chicken - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

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Absolute garbage and unprofessional. We waited 40 minutes for our food and ended up leaving since our food never came. Nothing against the waitress but the manager (had a cane and is Caucasian) walked right passed us and checked on those who were of African descent. An African couple behind us were also served immediately with their food and they arrived a few minutes after us. Funny since it's "Juneteenth". We will never come back. Planned on giving big business that day but they lost because of unprofessionalism and discrimination. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Gurnee, IL - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

Visited this Cracker Barrel 6-21-26. Waited 10 minutes after being seated to be asked if we wanted anything to drink. Then ordered and waited 50 minutes for our food. Food was awful. Avoid this Cracker Barrel at all costs. read more

Breakfast choice this morning, great service, two eggs over medium, hashbrowns, hashbrown casserole, one slice bacon, one ham, one sausage, the grandma breakfast. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Two eggs over medium, one sausage, one bacon, one ham, hashbrowns, hash brown casserole, two pancakes - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

Ordered delivery... biscuit sandwich with an egg. Where is the biscuit? Don't know. Didn't show up with the rest. Also so poorly packaged that the egg is cold and ran all over. Quality check on receipt. What a joke. 2nd time this has happened ordering this item. First time I called the store and spoke to the manager who defensively told me her staff is very seasoned and she doesn't know how that could happen. 2nd time now... same issue. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - "Quality check" means nothing. - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

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This review is for the online store. Apparently it's Code Orange time. I placed an order for some of the spooky Halloween items (reasonably priced) and I was impressed with the communication both after the sale, prior to delivery, and even after delivery. The merchandise was high quality (I had seen the same "Trunk with pumpkin glitter globe" for twice the price last year at another store) and I already assembled the Invisible Witch (biding the time 'til October) which should be good for a jump scare. Later, witches. read more

Why are so many family restaurant chains struggling? Our experience at this Cracker Barrel certainly provided a clue. The staff here seems outwardly warm and friendly, but I sensed indifference beneath that façade. At 6 PM the restaurant had already run out of two menu items - dumplings and meatloaf. Geez, those are two of Cracker Barrel's signature dishes! And, unless you were seated near the fireplace, the dining rooms were cold and drafty. Our inexperienced server was much better at serving platitudes than platters. The restaurant was not at all busy but inexplicably it took her 15 minutes to bring our beverages, which were mostly water. And, she was short one water. "I'm sorry, I'll bring it right away!" Of course, she forgot, and we had to flag down another server. When the soup finally arrived, it was lukewarm. All of the entrées arrived at the same time. And not surprisingly, some were by then cold from sitting on the counter too long. Apart from the abominable service and food temperature issues, our meals were tasty and reasonably priced, and the portions were ample. read more

Horrible service and manager care. We waited an hour and 20 minutes for our food. Asked to talk to the manager Shannon, and all Shannon the manager said was "im aware" and sorry. That take out orders and large groups were delaying things. Many tables around us that came in got their food before us. We ordered 2 burgers and one breakfast meal and one chicken tenders. Now there is barely anyone in the restaurant eating. The servers were more apologetic than Shannon, who did not offer anything to compensate besides her "I am aware". read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Horrible chicken tenders too. - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

We went there for breakfast this morning. My idea. Bad idea. Rude-VERY rude hostess. Cold eggs, cold hash brown casserole and ham that was literally inedible. My bf thought I was kidding-I gave a bite he chewed on for 5 minutes and quit. I sent the whole thing back and we were still charged. I will NEVER go back. Ever. read more

Very disappointed in my service here. Not only did we wait 35+ minutes for our food, our food was cold when it did come out. We ordered food for our son immediately to get the order in so he could eat right away, since he's 18 months. But the food for him didn't come out until ours did, so having an irritable child wasn't fun. Furthermore, my steak and eggs came with a side and the server asked me why the sides were; I said hash browns, and there is a surcharge for that because hash browns are considered a "premium" option, although that wasn't mentioned when I was ordering. Then, I ordered over-easy eggs and got scrambled eggs. No point in trying to get it fixed, since the service was already extremely slow, I wasn't going to wait 20+ minutes for some corrected eggs. I've had a few bad experiences here since I gave it 5 stars two years ago, and I don't think I'll go back. read more

Well the food that we got was great. We both got the beef campfire dinners. And that's the end of the good. Waters?? Nope. We never got water which usually isn't a big deal except for when you ask for drink refills and don't receive them until after you've eaten is a problem. We didn't have any napkins despite asking for them multiple times. I went to the hostess station to get them. We ordered an appetizer,,,,,,which Gracie forgot to put in, and then fought about taking it off of the bill after I said that I don't want it now. We asked for jelly for the biscuits, which used to be on the table,,,,,,,yeah we got it after we were done eating. The bathrooms were BOTH disgusting!!! We come to this location often. We're here at least twice a month. I'm going to Kenosha from now on. It's only 10 more minutes away,,,,, read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

While I was in town for my dad's birthday, we decided to celebrate at Cracker Barrel since it's one of his favorite breakfast places to eat. Our party included about 10 people and they quickly accommodated us as soon as we arrived. At first glance at the menu, I noticed this location had mimosas which came as a pleasant surprise since I didn't recall this restaurant offering mimosas before but both my nephew and I ordered one with our breakfast. As we were all deciding what we wanted to eat, our waitress was very sweet and patient with us and even helped us pick out some of our meals which I thought was very nice. The mimosas came out fairly quickly and were actually pretty good. I had taste for a skillet type meal so I ordered the Bacon N' Egg Hashbrown Casserole with no tomatoes and it was very tasty. I thoroughly enjoyed the fried onions on top. My family also ordered some extra biscuits and fried apples and they were both delicious! The sweetness of the fried apples paired with my skillet was very good. As we finished our breakfast, we sang happy birthday to my dad and the whole restaurant joined in which I thought was really sweet. I don't eat at Cracker Barrel often but I may start to dine in every now and then because the food was better than I remember. Overall, I had a great breakfast experience with my family at this location and if I'm ever in town again, I'll definitely return. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Bacon and Egg Hashbrown Casserole - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

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Food was terrible on Easter Sunday. The Ladies bathroom was so dirty. If I had gone in there before the meal we would have left the restaurant. read more

Emily our server was the SWEETEST! She was very busy but made to take great care of us! Thanks Emily! And she even wrote a nice message on my nieces cup! Great service read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

Once again we came for the fish fry and the server stated they failed to take it out and it's not available. It's Friday and not to be ready is not good. This is happening more often. read more

Cracker Barrel is a fun place to visit and eat weather it's breakfast lunch or dinner! The French toast, pancakes, a entrees are all delicious ! I like the chicken dumplings also! The shop is adorable from clothes to jewelry to candy! The staff were very friendly and hospitable ! It's my go to place for comfort food! read more

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Our server Kwintin was very kind and great at his. He worked very hard to make sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed. The food was really good. Fried chicken was fresh and tasty and the blueberry pancakes were great. read more

Horrible food the waitress and the managers are rude as hell mean didn't care about our food mess up. They keep laughing at us. They laughed about how we told her. We're celebrating life for our friend that passed away. Very disrespectful and unkind. Do not go here. read more

I purchased Thanksgiving dinner for my friend (and her family) - she is gravely ill. Thinking they would be able to enjoy a nice meal - it was terrible! Turkey was tiny didn't even feed 4 people. Cranberry sauce was about 2 ounces. NOTHING was good about the meal - more rolls than anything else. We ended up going to a church who gave a donation of food to their family. I was extremely disappointed and will NEVER or from there again! read more

Sunday: Out of most food Out of pot roast Out of chicken & dumplings Out of meat loaf Over hour wait read more

You usually go to a restaurant and expect hot food. I used to love going to Cracker Barrel. Breakfast was great not so anymore past two or three visits cold food cold coffee. The waitress we had today was really good but again food was cold. I don't expect to visit Cracker Barrel anytime soon. This is going on two or three times already. It just seems like the service has gone downhill. read more

Decided to take a ride to Cracker Barrel for the Sunday special southern fried chicken. OMG there was so much food on my plate. I had hash brown casserole and turnip greens for sides. My friend had green beans and mashed potatoes. Way too much food for one meal, but really really delicious. The place was pretty crowded. But our server did a wonderful job. It definitely was a treat to go to Cracker Barrel for Sunday dinner. read more

Had a very nice meal today. I've been coming here a while, and it's usually a hit and miss experience. Today everything was really fresh and tasty. I had the new buttermilk buffalo chicken mac and cheese. It was very good with just a bit of tang and heat. Service was spot on, quick and friendly. The place retained its southern charm, and the peg game is back at the tables, which I've been entertaining myself with for about 30 years. This is comfort food and when I need some comfort I like coming here. The store has old time-y candy, lots of unique home goods and unique gift options. If you've never been it's worth a try. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Buttermilk buffalo Mac and cheese. A very tasty combo. - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

As loyal customers of Cracker Barrel we are extremely disappointed with the drastic change in the iconic company logo, and also the Cracker Barrel LGBTQ+ Alliance. Both are unnecessary. The company seems to be reaching for a new "woke" vision that ignores the majority of its customer base. There are many other good restaurant options, so we won't be visiting Cracker Barrel again. read more

Today my breakfast was tasty, and to be treated for breakfast free breakfast was a surprise. Thank you my friends. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Grandma sample breakfast Smoked Sausage Patties Buttermilk Pancakes Fried Apples - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

I like Cracker Barrel but to cut it straight this one needs help. Very slow in the kitchen to the table. Waited over 30 minutes to get the food, no joke, in a restaurant that was only 20% full. Then we did not get the whole order. They said the bacon was coming for the pancakes and then 20 minutes later said we're sorry but they're not making anymore and they did not tell me. That's what the server told us after 20 minutes of waiting for the bacon to come. The server was nice, but she forgot to put silverware out and then she forgot to include napkins and forgot to bring catchup and, and, etc. She needs more training. The food came to the table without the silverware already being on the table and then when we asked for silverware, it literally took 3 to 4 minutes to get it. In the meantime, the food was cooling off, and then we noticed she did not bring napkins, which took another 2 to 3 minutes at least. It was just really slow. read more

Maybe best to stick to breakfast foods here? Had meatloaf for the first time at a Cracker Barrel. Too dense, not that flavorful and was served lukewarm. Boyfriend's cheeseburger was way over cooked. At least the biscuits were good. Service was ok, although the kitchen was very slow. read more

My friend and I stayed in the area for a couple of nights and decided we had to stop for breakfast, even though we had free breakfast at our hotel. Cracker Barrell, to me, is very nostalgic. I grew up in Fargo, ND and they don't have one there. The only time I got to go was when we went to visit my aunt in Bismarck. It was always a special treat to be dine at CB. Anyway, to this location. The food was fantastic. I got Grandpa's something breakfast with country fried chicken. The chicken was so juicy and tender and crispy outside. My friend got the same thing but with the steak. Both were great but chicken edged out the steak. My favorite thing is their cheesy hashbrown casserole and it did not disappoint! Coffee was also really good. Service was a little slow, but when we got there, it was packed. It started to clear out a little but then ramped right back up again, so I understand. Our server, Christian, was so very nice. I love shopping through the store. When you are waiting for a table, it is a perfect distraction. The holiday items were really lovely. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Country Fried chicken in front and the country fried steak with hashbrown tator tots in the back - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

We chose to eat lunch at this particular restaurant. The "shepherds pie" that has been widely advertised is non-existent. The food was mediocre, and the service was terrible. I asked for a glass of ice to put in my "iced" tea. I got a large glass with three small cubes of ice...really? They were out of cole slaw. No, we weren't there at an "off" time. It was the lunch hour. In addition, we were given one small jelly container for biscuits. We will not be going back. read more

Elizabeth was an amazing server it was my friends 21st birthday the manager ended up coming his name was Kyle and he gave us a bunch of recommendations for drinks around the area Elizabeth gave us in depth info on all the food we got and even tho we ended up staying a little long they were all smiles and were some of the most hospitable people working in a restaurant I've ever met read more

Always a favorite, we just need one closer to McHenry County. It's a 45min drive to the 3 in our area. But the food is good and the store is great! read more

Visiting from back West. Haven't been to the Cracker Barrel since literally last century. Had a light bite and a Peach Cobbler a la mode of course. Great memories from long ago. Thank you to the host, and Tara, Bonnie, Katy, and especially the Manager Sam. They ran out of souvenir shirts I could buy my size and I couldn't take the Cracker Barrel container on the plane, so I was made an honorary Cracker Barrel employee! Made my year, truly! No one else would do this im sure! Thank you all for the great friendly service and a memoriable experience that will last a lifetime. Xoxoxo God Bless read more

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I've never had a bad thing to say about any Cracker Barrel so far... AND NOTHING IS DIFFERENT HERE. I love this place. This location is no exception. Awesome atmosphere and great food. read more

Came on a busy Saturday breakfast hour and I am grateful you are able to get on the waitlist online. We had to wait only a few minutes for our table with perfect timing getting there. The store has all the gadgets and gears for just about everything and for any occasion. In their restaurant, the server did well taking our order promptly and getting our food out right away. We had the Country boy breakfast with Sirlon Steak and the Country fried steak breakfast platter. The portion size of the food are huge and our meals came our hot and ready. My sirlon steak was cooked perfectly for me and the flavor was on point. We always love the apples and the biscuits with gravy on the side. The total bill was $25 plus tip! read more

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READ BEFORE CRACKING INTO THIS BARREL: FIRST STAR: Nostalgia Definitely not my first ride on this rodeo. Have loved the rocking chairs and little house on the prairie vibe since I was a kid. To see that not a thing has changed in a time where nothing stays the same warms my heart. SECOND STAR: Parking Love that this location is wide open full of parking and accommodating in that way. THIRD STAR: Main Course Both myself and my boyfriend loved our main dishes he got the chicken and I gotten the fried catfish and wow were they good! Lack of star one: Service/Management Issues Not very organized on wait lines and checkout lines. Our server was told to go on break in the middle of our shift and (as a server I know for the length of time he was gone) but they never sent a follow up server to check in with us. We waited on the check for 25 minutes after finishing our food. I know they are busy but a manger should be walking around looking for "ready to go" faces especially when they are on an hour and a half wait. Lack of star two: Side dishes. I am not one to waste food, and was able to scarf down my okra by slathering on cholula sauce. But baby, that mac and cheese is disgusting. I took a big spoonful and spit it right back out in a napkin. Runny, white, and bland. It was truly pathetic on all levels. Really need to give that mac and cheese some good country or black love. Overall still great for breakfast and family vibes. Server was super nice by the way and kind just got taken from us at one point. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Blah - American Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

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