There's something special about coming back to Happy Chef Restaurant. This place always brings back wonderful memories of my childhood, and every visit feels like taking a step back in time. The familiar atmosphere, comforting food, and friendly service remind me why it has remained such a special place for so many years. Whether you're stopping in for breakfast or just looking for a taste of nostalgia, Happy Chef is more than just a restaurant--it's a place filled with memories. I'll always enjoy coming back. read more

See all

The Last Happy Chef In MN! Had a 15 min wait to be seated and a 20 minute wait for the best breakfast I have had in a long time well worth the wait! All female Cooks! That Explains It! read more

See all

This is a diner and a staple to visit. The food is great for a hearty breakfast at good prices. When we were there it was a mix of regulars and people stopping for more of the tourist visit. It's unassuming and close to two busy highways. The service was unassuming but good. The portions were great. The hash browns were perfectly crispy and soft on the inside. They have amazing looking pies. read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - Denver omelet with pancakes - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

Ordered the chicken Cordon bleu omelette. Service was excellent Ambiance is the coffee shop environment Highly recommend... super delicious read more

See all

Excellent service an delicious gluten free pancakes. Bacon was cooked crispy just how i like it! Hands down best breakfast in mankato. GF a bonus since no other restaurant has pancakes i can eat. Will go again soon! read more

It's hard to find good biscuits and gravy, I've been here once before and theirs was pretty decent. Tried again today and it was disappointing. It looks like it was sitting for a while before it was brought out and the biscuits were definitely over done with some burnt parts. The hash browns and eggs were ok but were starting to get a bit cold by the time I got them. The server was pleasant and everything, the food just wasn't that great. read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - Biscuits and gravy - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

We were traveling through Mankato and stop at Happy Chef. Not many around anymore, and this one did not disappoint us. Every order was larger and delightful. The price and the atmosphere was what we expected. We will be back! read more

They seated us promptly. Our waiter was friendly and welcoming. The ambiance is of a medium sized diner. I ordered the French toast sampler and it was delicious. They have a great selection of different types of pancakes and specials. read more

See all

This was a nostalgic visit for me--it was common for my family to visit Happy Chef when traveling. Fast forward to 2018 and it's painfully obvious as to why this is the only remaining location. The $12 chicken strips I ordered were advertised as "buffalo style", but there's nothing remotely spicy about them. The ranch dressing served with them is obviously food service quality straight from the bottle. One of the fries was green and I had fewer than you get in a happy meal. And here's the clincher--I received a strip that was cut in half. It would have been better for appearance sake to not even include it. WiFi isn't available either; which is as outdated as the decor. Skip this place and venture into town, as better options surely exist. read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - The $12 chicken tender platter. - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

My family loves this place. My husband and I both love a good breakfast spot, and the food is great. The pancakes and omelets are really good, but we usually get the Country Breakfast- eggs, toast, meat, and hash browns. Our teenaged daughters like the cinnamon swirl pancakes or the country fried steak and eggs. And they LOVE the muffins. The staff stick around a long time so we get to know the servers a bit and they remember how we like our coffee. I believe this was the first Happy Chef and that it's the last one remaining. The big Happy Chef statue has corny jokes to tell you so come try out this nostalgic place. read more

Service is always good, but I come here for the cinnamon roll pancakes. 10/10 recommend. So good. I just wish they had fresh fruit. Overall nice spot for breakfast or brunch! read more

Stopped here on 02/23 on the drive back to Sioux City after going to see a school play up in the Twin Cities. Our waitress Cheri was amazing! Food came out faster than what I was expecting. And nice paint job on the exterior trims and signage. The ambience is always warm and relaxing. read more

See all

Happy Chef fulfilled two criteria during my Minnesota vacation: 1.) It offered food at reasonable prices when we weren't looking for anything fancy and 2.) there is a big statue out front of a chef holding up a spoon. The decor is a bit outdated and I don't know if I would necessarily use the word "sad"....but there's also a cozy vibe and the friendly staff make you feel more at ease. We were hungry after a day of exploring and driving around and I had a feeling we would satisfy our hunger here. Our waitress was very excited when we ordered the fried pickles. We also ordered the cheese curds while we decided on our main course. The menu offered your typical diner/family restaurant fare with a few daily specials. We both went with the special burger. I can't remember exactly what it was called but in between those buns was a burger surrounded by hash browns, cheese and an egg. Any time you put a runny egg on any other food item it immediately makes it better. And that was the case here. We ended our meals with apple pie for dessert. I was very excited to add cinnamon ice cream as well. I wouldn't necessarily call this meal outstanding. Maybe just a notch above average. But I definitely left with a happy stomach. read more

See all

The Happy Chef Restaurant is located on US 169 on the North side of Mankato. It's next to a Super 8 Motel and is open 24/7. It's closest relative is probably Denny's as it was several years ago. I grew up in NW Iowa and our family went to the "Big City" a few times a year. This Happy Chef is where we sometimes stopped (usually on our way home). There's also this big statue of a Happy Chef out front and you used to be able to press a button and hear the big guy speak. Gayle, my son, and I had Lunch here today on our way to visit family and friends in the Twin Cities. Service was small town friendly, the food came out slow, and the soup was lukewarm. Yet, everything we ordered was tasty and well received for what we felt like eating. This is not fine dining by any means, but roadside restaurants like this do have their place and I'll continue to patronize them as a particular road trip warrents. read more

Pleasantly surprised at how good the food was at Happy Chef. It's definitely a diner and the restaurant itself is run down. But people flock here for breakfast, lunch and dinner probably because the food is good. I ordered the patty melt with tater tots and it was so good. The tots were hot and crispy and the marble rye bread on the patty melt was toasty and wide cut. In my opinion it's good to stick to the comfort favorites, though they also have a steak or two; they could be good, I really don't know. We were so full from our entrees that we didn't order dessert though they have bread pudding, which is one of my favorite desserts. Maybe next time. read more

i went once and was recommended the new turkey omelette. The omelette was a hit absolutely loved. Went back 1 day later the omelette was very different than the first was very disappointed but still went back for a third time. Third time took an order to go omelette melted through the styrofoam completely and my bacon was completely burnt and half cooked at the same time. This time I tipped to have it made the same way as the first and even waved my hand to thank the cook. Would hate to think that it was due to the color of my skin but I won't ever be returning. Should've waited for the chef that created the turkey omelette :-(. read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

Happy Chef is your typical greasy spoon family diner. The interior decor was 1980s earth tones and I'm certain our waitress's name was Flo. Breakfast was ordered: We each had omelettes w/ hash browns, toast and pancakes. My friend raved about the blueberry syrup (I think her order came with 4 pitchers of different syrup flavors.) My omelette was okay - ingredients weren't the freshest, but it ate. Like I said, we left stuffed. Happy Chef served up some generous portions at a reasonable price. It's a good place to stop if you're passing through this small town. read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

See all

Fresh food! Good stop to make! They are very kind and attentive! And coffee is really good not watered down, they give you a pitcher so you don't always have to call someone over:) read more

2 minutes ago It's got the retro thing going for it, but I can't think of much else. The dining area show SERIOUS hard use, the food is pretty costly for what you get, and our waitress didn't seem to give a care about customers. My mom's order was prepared wrong and the waitress fixed it, but was indifferent about the whole thing. She never checked in after delivering the food, other than to bring the missing part of my mom's order. Never offered to refill drinks, nothing. My knife and fork hot turkey sandwich was a scoop of instant potatoes, about 4 ounces of pre-sliced turkey breast, 2 slices of white bread, and some gravy that was clearly straight from the can - for something like $14. My mom's breakfast was a couple of small pieces of bacon, a couple of eggs, and my dad's chopped steak was a frozen patty that had been cooked on the flat top and a couple of sides. No way the meal was a $50 value and the crummy service was the icing on the cake. Not at all impressed. read more

A great local restaurant with a senior menu sure to please a traveling appetite! Our waitress Jessica stands out for her friendliness, apologies for running out of several things we asked for then went above and beyond adding Carmel sauce to the vanilla ice cream with the Dutch apple pie. Yummy! read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - Bread Pudding for dessert! - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

See all

Haven't eaten at a Happy Chef in 35 years and was rather disappointed in the food. We were down in Mankato for the Kiwanis Holiday Lights and stopped after. Had the supreme omelet ($13.99), came with hash browns and 2 pancakes. I'm not much of a pancake band but they were good pancakes. If you like pancakes you'll definitely like these. Hash browns tasted okay, plenty of crispiness but rather small portion. The omelet was the disappointment. Decent size but the veggies had way too much moisture, either that or it was loaded with oil. Btw, you should serve pancakes with butter, not oil spread. I think I would have been happy with the Farmers or Lumberjack breakfast. The burgers I hear are great and the dinners but a Yelp review said try the breakfast. Personally, I prefer The Flameburger in Little Canada, MN. Huge portion of hash browns fried in butter, similarly priced with twice the food. read more

Happy Chef Restaurant - The statue. - American Near Me - Mankato, Minnesota

See all

This is not a restaurant as much as it's a time machine. You step in, you are greeted by a sincere welcome, you get your seat and it's about comfort. Good food and great prices and for good measure great service. They've tried to kill it by making it hard to get into at times but it survives. Make sure to get the email specials, they are the right blend of helpful and fun. read more

This is the definition of a small-town Midwest cafe. I like it. It reminds me of the small town cafe where I grew up. Simple food well executed with great service. Our server, Cheri, was good at her job and seemed sincerely happy. Pretty big menu, but all very standard choices which is fine by me. read more

I wanted to say they use to have a chef burger on the menu... They will still make it if you ask, its super good.. But late night the omelets are as good as they get... Old fashioned service. I really like the vibe and you can relax and enjoy the food. read more

I was so excited to check this place out since we've driven by it a dozen times. Let's just say the chef may be happy but that did not translate to their food. The giant statue upfront was so inviting and we were expecting it to be more fun inside. The room was dark, the service was so-so and the food was nothing special. If you are hungry and looking for a diner, there might be a Perkins close by. read more

Stopped in with my daughters expecting perkins like food and prices. I was right about the food, way off on price. Ordered a BLT and fries, plain hamburger and fries, and I got hashbrowns and an English muffin. We all had pop, the total bill of $40 was shocking!!!!! Never again. I saw the sampler appitizer which include d chips as one of the samples was listed for $11.99!! Are they crazy?! The service was good and fast but the price you pay for the food you get is ridiculous. At least we got pics with the big Happy Chef outside. Going back to Mankato today and will be looking for somewhere else to get dinner this time. read more

Surprisingly good! What a shock! I was expecting crappy diner food, but it was quite tasty and well done. I got the philly cheese steak and it was delish. Very cheesy and greasy- in a good way! Desserts were good too. The best thing was the price- cheap! $37 for 4 of us with dessert! A+ service too. read more

I cannot say enough nice words about this wait staff! Cherri remembers you even if you've only been in once or twice! The staff really make this restaurant, so attentive, kind and hard working! The food is pretty delicious too, I've only ever ate breakfast food while there (the hash browns are delicious). I had pancakes and they were large and fluffy, like I expected! I also don't normally eat eggs at restaurants but these were well cooked and trustworthy. read more

Food is ok. Taste good. I eat every bite. Service is pretty good. The big problem is the big prices. They're pretty proud of they're food. Only ate there, because I was at the truck stop next door. If I lived here, I'd never eat here just because of the high prices. read more

The food is drab, the decor is drab, the friendly servers were really the only high point of either of the meals we ate here. I know there aren't many choices for breakfast around 'Kato, but there's plenty better than Happy Chef. read more

I thought that the food was fairly priced for the quality. For two people, it's like 30$. Our waitress, Desi was really helpful and nice. She was attentive, but not overly so. The food is a little greasy though, that is my one complaint. If I were you, I'd get the Hungryman's breakfast. It's three eggs any style, 3 bacon strips, 3 sausage links, hash browns, and a choice of toast or pancakes. And, you can get 10% off by texting HCHEF to 51660! The best, unbeatable! read more

Good, solid comfort food. Pretty similar to Denny's, Perkin's, etc but with a slightly smaller town feel. I was actually hoping it would be a little more "family diner" than it was. Service was good. Food fit the bill. Don't expect to be wow'd but you will get a satisfactory meal. read more

We were just passing through and decided to stop for a late dinner and were pleasantly surprised. The chicken fried stake was crispy yet tender and the pancakes were delicious too. The waitress was very attentive and friendly. Would stop here again if ever back in the area. read more

Went to eat here for the first time today. The atmosphere and décor were a little dated and in need of renovation, but the service and food were really good. Would definitely go back. read more

The food was great and the service very efficient! Thanks for a nice lunch on our way back to SD!

I enjoyed the expected experience. It's far better than going to perkins, and less coorprate. Small town Feeling and good food. Less B.S.

Yes this is Dee and I was told I wasn't welcome there anymore, over something so stupid that I was in shock for some days. I was very upset, tense and uptight over the incident and how I was treated there that My Doctor told me that the eye that the hemorrhage I developed while I was there was most likely from the stress. I have had to go to the Surgeons office every day since plus the ER since it developed a blood clot over my retina the night it happened. I am not a bad person, I am a young widow with handicaps and just not a fighter. I did NOT use the name they said I called her. Seriously it wasn't that big of an issue, but was treated so bad that is why I got so upset. I would like to come back I miss Bess a waitress and some customers that befriended me. read more

This was our 2nd choice, as the Perkins we tried to get into was lined up outside the door. I had been to a Happy Chef years ago and really liked it so we have this one a go. The experience got off to a rough start. We stood at the front for 10 minutes and no one even acknowledged our presence. I should have known by the sullen faces sitting around the place that service was slow. Finally, we complained and they sat us right away. Our waitress was older and on the crabby side. We weren't asked if we wanted any drinks until we ordered and even then we had to ask another server for our coffee. However when the food came out, it was fantastic. We all had breakfast and everything was cooked to perfection. I had the biscuits and gravy. The gravy had a nice little kick to it and the biscuits were crunchy on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside. Would I go here again, maybe. The food is what gave my review the 3 stars overall, saving it from a 1. read more

Happy Chef has pretty good food, but their breakfast options are far more expensive than you would expect- especially compared to competitors like Wagon Wheel and Weggy's read more

I think I got ripped off at this resturant. I ordered a crunchy chicken salad that was light on crunch and the chicken. They love onions though. for $12.99 you would think they make their dressings in the house. WRONG!! The hostess also seemed to have a stick up her neck. this was money down the drain. read more