I stopped here on a road trip for a quick lunch. It was nothing amazing, but in a town without much, the food was good. I kept it simple with a grilled cheese and fries. I will mention that their drinks tasted really weird. The water had a strange flavor (well water?) and even the Diet Pepsi tasted weird. But overall, it was a good stop! read more

Gardner Restaurant - Grilled cheese and fries - Seafood Near Me - Gardner, Illinois

Just popped in over the summer and had a grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was delicious and the price was unbelievably low. I think the tip was more than the meal because the waitress was so nice! read more

We stopped for a quick bite to eat on our road trip. Greeted by the lovely Mila who was our waitress. She offered suggestions for dinner that were FABULOUS! Everything came out in a timely fashion and was hot off the grill. Mila was a great source of information from food choices to gas prices locally, which we appreciated! We have added this to our map for the next time we are in the area. I'd encourage you to try this restaurant even if it looks like there aren't many people there. It's a gem! read more

The food is delicious & prices are reasonable. The menu has a wide variety of food to choose from

A total GEM in plain sight! I have been randomly coming here for years every time I passed by and their food has been continuously good. The soup is made fresh daily and doesn't let you down! Very tasty! Family owned and operated! Newly remodeled and just a nice place to eat! read more

Just off the highway food nothing special or flavorful . It just not a place I would recommend the food is basic

Stopped in here with my husband on our way to a wedding outside of Decatur. It's a small, family restaurant, but it's nothing special.The service was great, but the food was merely meh. Our waitress (the only one on shift at the moment) was perfectly attentive and polite. Once seated, my husband and I did notice a couple fruit flies zigging and zagging around our booth. After ordering, our Reuben and cheeseburger with the soup of the day - beef vegetable, my husband checked out the bathroom facilities. The bathroom was not clean, and it had a weird set-up. The main bathroom door locked, but inside there was a urinal, two toilets, a sink, and no dividing doors. The soup arrived right away. It was obviously homemade and well-flavored. There were large chunks of vegetables. Unfortunately, though the beef chunks were pretty small. When our meals came, both the sandwich and the burger were piping hot. I liked my Reuben, but they forgot the Thousand Island dressing. It did have two slices of American cheese though (traditional Reubens are made with Swiss cheese). The burger was greasy. While the lettuce and tomato were fresh, the fries appeared to be from a frozen package. Despite the food being nothing special, the price was right. The two of us had lunch for $16 total. I didn't think that was possible anymore! The service, the soup, and the price inch this place above the one-star. Even still, we wouldn't plan to stop here again. read more

Gardner Restaurant - a burger and fries on a plate - Seafood Near Me - Gardner, Illinois

See all

Love this place Good prices And always really friendly service Great family environment read more

Amazing!!! My wife and I stopped in for dinner. I was really hungry, we both were. I ordered the Western burger with Fries. The burger came with Soup of the day, which was Cream of potato. I added salt and Crackers to the soup (it was hot, and yummy) the food took a minute, but when it came out OMG! I took one bite and I was hooked. It was sooooo good. Cooked perfectly. The fries were hot too. The burger was loaded with cheese, onion rings, and BBQ sauce. Easily one of the best burger I've even had. The restaurant was clean and tidy, the staff was professional, and our meal for 2 was around $ 20.00. I highly recommend trying it atleast once in a life time. read more

Excellent food at great pricing and good service. What more would you want in a restaurant?

Unassuming and just says "Restaurant", but really enjoyed it! Family friendly, good food, reasonable prices, cute, and very clean! Also it's just off the highway so easy on/off. read more

Unpretentious mom&pop place just off the interstate with a homestyle menu. I had the liver and onions and it was so tender I could (and did) cut it with my fork. Generously portioned meal included mashed potatoes, a veg (broccoli), soup or salad and a slice of pie. The homemade bleu cheese salad dressing was great, the salad unfortunately was soaking wet. The rest of the meal was so good I'm willing to assume whoever was plating the salads was just having an off night. It is so easy to over-cook beef liver but the cooks at Gardners definitely have the right touch. read more

While the building is plain and the bathrooms 'less than desirable', the food, tables, utensils and kitchen area are immaculate. It's a great stop on the way by. Clean kitchen, friendly service, easy in, easy out. We had simple salads before our chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, chicken Philly special with fries. It was all very good. Crispy hot fries, the chicken Philly had great flavor and great bread. Don't miss the homemade rice pudding for dessert! Lunch for two $18! read more

Food was pretty good. But waitress (some relative to owner) was horrible. Acted like she was to good to serve people only wanted to wait on certain tables. Had to ask for coffee refill 5 times and said we had enough, after we finally got her to give us one refill. She was to busy sitting down on her phone to get us refills apparently. When food came up in window she huffed and yelled at cook, because she had to get up and stop updating Facebook or match.com,felt bad for cook. Heard her tell another table as she delivered their food, "What else you going to want?" The lady said more napkins please. She did the huff thing and rolled her eyes, she was so annoyed to have to do her job! Then gave them the napkins and told the elderly lady "that's it, your good now!" And walked away. I tried giving her my salad plate when she brought our food so we had room, but she walked away, I tried 2 more times and finally put it on her clean table next to me. Watched her drop off tickets to other tables (5 separate tables while we were in there) but came to us and said "your total is $ will that be cash or card?" As she held our bill in her hand. I asked to see it and she said she told us the amount cash or charge. WTF!! No wonder restaurant was empty, the people walking out with us said "NEVER AGAIN!!" People go out to eat for good food and great service, food was good that waitress will make them close!!! read more

All I can say is HOLY COW!! While driving up to Chicago on I-55N my family were looking for a nice sit down place that had good reviews and I was a little sketchy from all the reviews I read because it was such an unknown place. BUT oh my lord was the food amazing!!! It was well done, and was gorgeous!!! I had a salad and while it was a little wet the lettuce was bright green and tasted so good and the blue cheese dressing was out of this world! I'd guess it was handmade! The place is a little run down and in bad need of repairs but it's a wonderful little place and good to stop and grab a bite. We will definitely be making it one of our primary stops in future travels! read more

We were in the mood for a Sunday drive. Took a pilgrimage from Naperville to Gardner. Their skillets are good. I found it strange that the biscuits are formed in a muffin tin. Sausage gravy was average. Friendly service. Overall a 4.5 star. read more

Incredible place! Little hole in the wall that serves great homemade food. And the variety of food is unlimited. The server was beyond nice and was so professional. Truly a must stop place to eat. read more

See all

Amazing!! Our food was incredible (I highly recommended the turkey melt), the service was great, the restaurant was clean and family friendly, and the bathrooms were nice with a baby changing station. read more

I found The Gardner Restaurant to have friendly service with good portions of good food. Two of us stopped on a Thursday morning. Mexican Omlette and Sausage and Eggs were the dishes we had. We were both satisfied with the meal. This was our first time here but I wouldn't hesitate to come back again if the timing were right. read more

Where do I begin. We started off with coffee, which was very diluted and tasted more like water. Our table a chefs salad, ribs, burger, stir fry chicken. Chef salad was just yellow lettuce, few tomatoes and green peppers with generic cheese. My husband are just few bites of ribs. It smelled and was not appetizing at all! Stir fried chicken was rubbery. We ended up going to Subway across the street after our "meal" . read more

We drive from MI to STL often to visit my daughter, grandson and her husband. Finally, we discovered a lovely, delicious, and welcoming family restaurant, right off the highway. So tired of fast food. We enjoyed our meal so much on our trip to STL, we decided to stop again on our return trip to MI. The Gardner will become a regular stop for us. read more

I don't understand the great reviews, the food here is ordinary at best. We walked in to find three older men drinking ice tea and talking loudly. I overheard the words 'liberal snowflake'. If that doesn't scare you off you will have company here. We were the only people eating on a Friday afternoon. My washroom had 2 toilets right next to each other without a dividing wall. Perfect for peeing with your best buddy. read more

See all

Surprisingly good. Reminded me of an old road trip through Europe.

This place was exactly what we needed on our roadtrip stop! We had noodles with butter for the kids and a ham and cheese melt and gyro. Both were yummy! The soup that came with it was so good! I liked the service too! It was quick and to the point! And our kids got to play with the owners son in a empty part of the restaurant! Don't hesitate to stop here! read more

The scarf-n-barf is the highlight of the town. This is literally the reason that I live here. Word of advice, never order anything that is not eggs. Seriously, if you value the integrity of your plumbing, don't do it. You've been warned. Also, to those of you who come here and eat the donuts you buy across the street at Casey's, wtf... read more

This is a down home, family style restaurant run by a Eastern European family, I presume. When we walked in there were a couple of tables seated with elderly couples with their eyes plastered to Dancing With the Stars. All of them. In awe. Anyway... The service consisted of the (stereo)typical "what do you want?" "here" and very soft responses of "you're welcome". We had a side salad and cup of chili to begin with. Both were nothing special. In fact, we laughed at the salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce and a slice of tomato. Our meals were much better, however. My partner got the 1/2 fried chicken with mashed potatoes (and dessert) for around $7 or $8. Pretty good stuff! I got the Reuben sandwich with fries for around $7. I love fries, but these were those bland thick cut kind with no seasoning so I wasn't impressed. However, the sandwich was very good! Perfectly toasted rye bread with a good amount of corned beef and delicious cheese. I added some thousand island to it to too it off. Great choice! My partner was offered his choice of dessert - rice pudding or 4 varieties of ice cream - to accompany his entree. They were out of Jello. He chose the rice pudding. It was 'eh'. Our tab in the end was around $18. Not bad. read more

Gardner Restaurant - Reuben with fries. - Seafood Near Me - Gardner, Illinois

See all

Wow!! Excellent fish and chicken! And so reasonably priced! We travel 55 south a lot and this little jewel is gonna be our new stop! Not a lot to look at but good service and great food!! Worth the try read more

They have an absolutely delicious Reuben sandwich. Also, you can get breakfast all day which always makes me happy. Other than that, the place is small yet big enough for the town it caters. read more

Cute diner just off I-55. Service was great and food seemed fresh and homemade. Vegetable soup was the soup of the day, and it was sooooo good! Restaurant was clean and we were happy that we found it. read more

very good fried chicken and the price is nice. a little worn down but who cares when the food is good.

Great menu!!! Breakfast all day.. The gypsy skillet is a favorite. Lemon Chicken, Country Fried Steak, and Chicken Parmesan are all great options for dinner. Super quick service... You'll be pleased with anything you order from here! read more

My husband and I were driving down to Springfield and stopped at Gardner, just off of I-55, exit 227, IL 53 toward Gardner. 68 miles south of Chicago. It's a great mom and pop, old school restaurant. The food is delicious, everything comes to the table fresh and hot. Good coffee! We liked it so much, we stopped there for dinner on our way home to Chicago! read more

We were desperate for a place to eat right off the highway. FOR ALL MOTHERS OF BABIES: There is no changing station in this restaurant...Do not stop if that is something you might need. The food ALL tasted frozen. I had a cheeseburger. You could tell the hamburger patty was obviously frozen...it was a perfect round shape. The bun was something you can get at any grocery store. The fries seemed rubbery as well. Sorry, guys, but you need to get it together on the food front! read more

This place is wonderful for the small town it resides in. Good food, good service, nice people: what more could you ask for? I think this is a wonderful place to take your family on Sunday morning or to just sit around and have coffee. I give this place a lot of credit. read more

Perfect place to stop on the way to or from ISU. Had lunch. Chopped steak very good. Mushroom Swiss burger w added grilled onions very good also. Service was prompt and courteous also. Salad and soups of the day good too. read more

NO WAY will I go here again! Dirty, old and food isn't good. The waitress was more interested in going outside and smoking right next to the door and the only table she paid any attention to was a table in the middle that a bunch of older men came in one at a time to get coffee sat at. She was all over them for their 50 cent tip. Food was not homemade and you didn't get much. read more

So the restaurant is a mom and pop shop with Greek owners. The water was awful and you couldn't drink it. Everything smelled like sulfur and the water was just wrong. That really worried us, even the lemonade was bad. The bathrooms were in desperate need of renovations. Both mens and women's contained two stools both with one out of order. Two stools in one room, no divider, no curtain, you could hold hands with your seat mate. The sink was child height and the mirror was hung by a 7 foot tall person. The food, however was delicious, cook correctly and hot. The portions are large and pricing is typical. $7.95 for a double cheese burger and fries. We upgraded to onion rings and had the beef barley soup. My daughter ordered chicken strips and they were large and moist. All our meals were delicious. Despite the initial appearances, we had a really good meal. My biggest recommendation is that they offer bottled water or invest in a purifier of some sort. read more