Food was OK. The wheat toast was hard as a rock. Salmon Pattie's were fair. One thing annoyed me with this restaurant was when we finished eating they never took the plates off the tables. Yesterday was my aunt 90 th birthday and we had a surprise party for her. My uncle drove in from DC so I treated everyone to breakfast. The waitress was very nice. I have eaten this place before but this visit was not good as the-last time. Prices was reasonable and the coffee was excellent. read more

Wow the food here is beyond delicious! We had a large order that I called ahead to pickup. We had a small group of couples getting together and we wanted to support black owned businesses. Everyone enjoyed every piece of their food. The only reason I did not give 5 starts was because of the wait. I called ahead because it was a large order and we needed carryout. The order wasn't ready at the designated pickup time. I think something was missing but it was correct when we got it home. Our guests ended up being late so it worked out but if they had been on time we would have had them waiting for an hour :( I'm so mad I forgot to tKe a photo. We were so hungry and the food was sooo good lol. Definitely gonna be back for more! read more

True Hidden Gem tucked in Old Matteson the service is outstanding from the minute you walk in the door. It's so nice they didn't take away from the history of the building da read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - Seafood omelet filled to top OMG - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

Hidden Manna is Matteson's hidden gem. Service is impeccable with a southern hospitality flare. The food is the right amount of Cajun spices and flavor read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - Catfish & Eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

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Shrimp and grits.....da bomb! Nice size shrimp. Flavorful & creamy as well as nice size portion. I had to do a leftover container. Highly recommend. read more

I am disappointed as this was my first time coming to this restaurant but will say the fish I order was delicious and the rice was cooked to perfection. I am disappointed from the green that presented with more stems than greens. I'm not sure if these green were the bagged glory greens form the store of if someone actually cut them this way but this is not something I would present to any customer. Additional one of the services states " states sorry for the hot sauce without the top we lost the top a day or two ago and have no idea where it went" which should have been a sign not to bring the hot sauce to the table. Is iths sanitary to have had an item sitting for a time with out coverage?The severs very nice and did ask if there were any other sides I wanted but the sides they had was not what I wanted. I asked if we could have Mac n cheese but they only offer this as a meal. As some one who is involved with customer satisfaction, if your customer is disappointed give them a discount or offer a free desert or something if you are unable to replaced an item. This is the first review I have every wrote and I hate having to write this but I believe customer satisfaction should be a priority to keep customers coming in I believe they should work on more robust customers service practices. read more

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I had my 2nd experience with the cream of chicken soup. You can taste the richness and freshness of the real cream. It was a beautiful song on my tongue. My mom and I split a fish sample plate. There was a large fillet of catfish: seasoned and cooked to perfection; 2 very thin and fairly small fillets of perch: tasty but not sufficient; and 2 filets of bluegill: I did not like the taste, but the texture was that of a white fish. The Tatar sauce was thick and delicious with a nice mixture of seasoning. The sautéed spinach was also good. The sweet tea was okay. Our table service was nice. There was a lot of busyness that was going on that produced nothing much, with some of the other service staff. We will be back! read more

Me and my girlfriends have been wanting to come here for brunch. on Saturday We finally got our schedules together. We ordered mimosas and appetizers to start. The appetizers were okay. Two of us order shrimp and grits , one had jambalaya and the other étouffée. We chose spicy and we got bland and hot, not spicy. None of our meals were seasoned properly. Salt and pepper could not help it and I am not big on salt. Shrimps were few and small. The dishes lacked any seasoning whatsoever. The taste was as though they just used cayenne only. We were disappointed and will not be back. read more

My mom has dined at Hidden Manna twice and she enjoyed both meals. She wanted Mother's Day dinner from Hidden Manna. I placed an order on Saturday evening for a Sunday pickup at 3pm. I was waiting for a text at 3pm for curbside pickup of my meal. I called at 3:15pm because I had not received a text. The voicemail was full and no one answered the phone. I arrive at the restaurant at 3:30pm and SURPRISE! My food wasn't ready. In fact, I was told it would be another 45 minutes to an hour. What was the point of ordering in advance? No one offered any explanation or apology for the delay. I didn't get a call until 5:50pm that my order was ready. They ran out of potato salad and only had one peach cobbler left for my order. I was given a slice of pound cake instead. I was very annoyed by this unprofessionalism and terrible customer service. Why were they not prepared to fill these orders? My annoyance only increased when I made it home. The food was terrible. My mom said her catfish wasn't seasoned well. My chicken was undercooked and the french fries were soggy. The poundcake was hard. This was my first & last time patronizing Hidden Manna. Thanks for ruining my Mother's Day dinner. read more

Normally when people knock this place I defend them. Not TODAY and on Mother's Day. You ask that we not use third party delivery to help out local business well local business gets an F. There were preorders made yesterday for today then more orders made today. You all know that all places are not open and today is Mother's Day. Very bad poor planning and greed. My order was supposed to be ready at 12:02 well its 1:40 still no order. I asked for a refund. Horrible to have a lot full of people waiting and you have nothing ready ans keep adding longer wait times when asked. Smh .... read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - Catfish and grits - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

I have been trying to go here for a while, I always see them. So my co-worker was leaving for good it was going to be a goodbye lunch and I suggested for us to go here. The first waitress nice and said 15 min so we were like ok we can wait. But then we had another waitress with an attitude saying it's gonna be 1hr and ROLLED her eyes was so rude. We were a party of 7 would of been nice to try this place. But no interested on going back. Rude workers! read more

Waitress was very nice. Person delivering food was rude. My son omelette was made wrong. They forgot to put the meat inside. My pork chops were breaded and when the plate was delivered all the crust was off the porch chops. They remade them and brought them out the same. Who brings food to a table of paying customers with all the breading falling off the pork chops. Seemed like they used fish batter on the porch chops. Just poor service in making our food. We spent $108 for lousy food. Very disappointed read more

I have been exploring places in the suburbs because I'm tired of going into the city for food all the time. This place did not disappoint. I got the seafood omelette and it was stuffed full of shrimp and crab meat. The eggs were not over cooked and the sauce that covers the omelette is very good. The prices are not bad, typical for sit down breakfast fare. The dining room is a little "intimate" but not loud and not crowded feeling. I must return for the nights when they have live music. It's about a year later, this place remains consistent with the food quality. Excellent! Recently had the Catfish and Grits. Delicious!! read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - Seafood omelette! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

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(Disclaimer: I'm going to enjoy this). This is my second time coming out from Lansing Illinois to try the food and I can report that progress has been made. I was seated at the absolute back table in the absolute back room and.....THEN ignored. I would like to tell you about the food but hell, I couldn't tell you about the water in the place because they didn't even give me a glass. I believed that I would be treated a little better , myself being a semi-retired black veteran . I believed this was the spot I thought about for so long. NOPE! If you consider trying this place, might I suggest you bring a liter of water and a little (OK big) snack because it's going to take awhile to get service. FYG from the bottom of my heart read more

The food is delicious . I had the fried green tomatoes as an appetizer and main course catfish and grits flavored to perfection! This is a can't miss restaurant and I will be back soon! read more

The nicest staff you'll ever meet. The service is on the slower side. I had the seafood omelette and it was underwhelming. It was crab and shrimp. Barely had any crab in there and the omelette isn't made from freshly cracked eggs which was disappointing. read more

The name speaks for itself. Obscure off the way hidden gem. The food was cooked to perfection and it was like eating manna from heaven. Me and my girlfriend were there for breakfast. Everything was delicious including the coffee. Get this, what was interesting was the way they presented the coffee. We both had different flavors of coffee hazelnut and vanilla so they brought the flavored shots to our table for us to pour into the coffee based on our taste palate. That was impressive and delightful. The menu was not overwhelming but what was off the chain was the chicken and waffles I ordered it to go which I had later in the evening for dinner. Flavorful!!! Small, quaint, charming place for you to hang out with a friend for breakfast or lunch. Three dishes ordered and coffee all under 50.00 bucks. It was delicious and we had great service. Can you say winner!!! read more

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I love this place! Everything I've tried on the menu (and off my friends plates) has been delicious. They have definitely made me a repeat customer. Try the Fried Green Tomatoes. Kinda spicy but worth it. read more

When I went he waitress dropped the food all over me. The food was just okay. They didn't even offer me a free meal. read more

The food and service is amazing! We couldn't wait to always come back. We've been going there since they've opened

Good food. Cozy atmosphere. Understaffed, but if they had a full group working I would certainly come in more often. I enjoyed time there and the serving staff that was there was welcoming even though they were working double duty. read more

Hidden Manna is a Hidden Gem. I love their spicy shrimp and grits entree. Always a pleasure to dine in at Hidden Manna

The food is amazing! Feels like you are eating in your grandmother's kitchen waiting for something delicious to come out of her pots and wanting more. I wish they had later hours but I guess grandmother needs her rest sometime too. read more

Amazing food! And service is top notch as well. It's a bit pricey but the quality of food is definitely worth it

Fabulous food and wonderful service. So glad to have them in the neighborhood. Glad the pandemic didn't close you down. We need more restaurants like this. read more

My sister and I had dinner last night and I ordered the "Hidden Manna Gumbo and Rice." Well, I was a bit disappointed. There was so much missing from this dish. Considering the fact, they are known for their Cajun style of cooking, I expected more. When I received my dish, it was cool, not hot. In most gumbo dishes I've seen prepared with have corn, okra, stewed tomatoes and a thicker roux. I'm not sure what gumbo base they were going for, but it wasn't New Orleans Cajun style. Now don't get me wrong, the food at H.M.C is awesome, and the customer service is outstanding. I would defiantly recommend H.M.C., which I have to several friends and they were pleased with the food and service. Unfortunately, the gumbo was not the greatest especially for the price. Would I go back? Absolutely! But my recommendation on the gumbo dish, if you are going serve gumbo at that price, make sure ALL the ingredients are added to this dish and better prepared. read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - HIDDEN MANNA CAFE GUMBO AND RICE - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

I heard amazing things about this place. I was excited to go. Waited 2hours for food and the restaurant was not crowded. Asked to speak with the manager and they sent a young girl out because they didn't want to face angry customers. There was no apology or any amount of customer service given. The food was good but it doesn't make up for bad service. read more

Hubby and I dined 9/1 for breakfast. I've eaten at hidden manna in the past, and didn't care for the food and service. Mind you, this was 2 years ago. I went on yelp to read reviews of the restaurant, in hopes, hidden manna's service and food/seasoning improved. The reviews suggested the food is impeccable and service spotty. I figured let's give it 1 more try. I wanted to try the shrimp and crab omlette. I asked our lady server, have she tried this entree. She replied, "yes." I asked what were her thoughts about the dish. She said and I quote, "oh I don't eat that. I've never tried it." So now, I am puzzled and am wondering why would she tell me she tasted the food?! I stuck with their signature entree, shrimp and grits. In addition, I ordered hashbrowns and a short stack of pancakes. My husband ordered shrimp and grits along with a short stack. Our food came out 20 minutes later. My grits were average, the sauce lacked flavor, the pancakes tasted like cardboard paper (seriously, I am not joking) and the hashbrowns was gross/tasteless. Husband couldn't eat the remainder of his grits because it was soupy?! My husband was displeased with his pancakes. Overall, our meal was a waste of money! We paid $48.54 + a tip for a lackluster and disappointing meal. We could've eaten at cracker barrel!!! The manager came by our table and asked how's the food. I couldn't look her in the eye because I was frustrated. Plus, we didn't bother letting her know because another table had complained of their food (omelette) snd and had ended up leaving the restaurant once their replacement meal had to be remade. We didn't want to trouble the manager with our issues. To pay this much for breakfast in the south suburbs and to be served tasteless entrees/sides is frustrating. The chef/cook didn't taste these meals. I really want my money back! read more

Where do I start...?!?! Previous experience- excellent food and good service, but today...as one of the owners said they "dropped the ball". 1) we were NOT SEATED, several other parties that arrived after, were seated before us. I practiced patience, but after a lengthy wait...I had to say something. 2) we were not waited on, no water...NOTHING. I had to go up to the hostess stand to ask for water to be brought to our table and for a waiter. 3) our order NEVER came out... spoke with owner, shared our frustrating experience, that several parties were seated before us, were attended to before us, and received their meals. How did this experience end? -we LEFT after a hour of waiting, never receiving our meal. While walking to our vehicle, we talked to a couple that arrived at the same time we had, only difference was they were leaving having completed their meal. This was an unfortunate and unusual experience and I'll think twice about visiting this establishment on the weekend, for brunch, but more importantly sitting in the back. Tip of the day: If you are offered the booth in the back, Table # 10, graciously DECLINE. You will be OVERLOOKED and not served. read more

It was soo good. Everything was perfect! The atmosphere was nice and comfortable. I went with 3 of my family members and I tried all of their food. I did not dislike any of them! read more

Food, drinks and ambiance is great!!! I've Excellent all the time!! This is one of my favorite places to go! This place is a hidden gem!!!

Went there for lunch, had the catfish with greens and roasted potatoes , at best it was average, small portions of catfish , service was good place was clean , not worth the drive , better off at Cracker Barrel ! read more

This appears to be a popular establishment so I was excited about checking it out.The restaurant is located in the south suburbs in a quiet little neighborhood in a old house with a small parking lot . It's a tiny place. It was unventilated and very stuffy. I wasn't impressed. Unfortunately, the service here is extremely slow. It took forever to be waited on. The food came quickly, but It took forever to get the check. The waitress was nice , but I actually became extremely bored and frustrated from waiting . The food was average at best, but it was presented nicely . The highlight of this place is the live music on Friday nights . read more

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The food is amazing and the service was OUTSTANDING! Tina is awesome and an expert in her field. She knows the menu extremely well and is able to make suggestions when needed. It's obvious that she is very genuine and takes pride in her work. She set the bar is very high!! Hidden Manna is now my #1 spot!! read more

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Poor location and food quality was poor. The charge for its services definitely wasn't.

Matteson isn't necessarily known for restaurant options, so it was nice to find out about Hidden Manna. I appreciated the good customer service and homely feel. The wing dinner gives a lot for just $10. It includes 6 crunchy whole wings, and 2 sides. The batter lacked a bit of seasoning, but nothing a little Louisana hot sauce couldn't remedy. The shrimp & grits wasn't the best I've ever had but still pretty good. You can choose the spice level of this dish too. I'll try them again soon. read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - Shrimp & Grits (has Anduille sausage too) 6 wing dinner w 2 sides - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

Mhmmmmmmmmm deliciousness and great atmosphere. I'll definitely be back. I was celebrating my moms birthday and they made her special and I'll even come back to celebrate another major event. Ask for KJ read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - Mimosa and seafood omelette w pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

Hidden Manna Cafe is definitely a hidden gem, quality food excellent service.... If you like southern, creole style cuisine then this is definitely the place to go..... Not a really big establishment and not really great for big parties due to being a small establishment.... However the quality of food and the ambience makes up for it.... On certain nights there is a live jazz band playing. I tried the fried perch over creamy grits, smothered in a spicy, hot red pepper cream sauce with a side of fried green tomatoes..... read more

Hidden Manna Cafe - This is my second experience at the Hidden Manna Cafe and I absolutely love this establishment. Great food!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Matteson, Illinois

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Well I've heard a lot about this Cafe' and I was definitely not disappointed! Tried the Banna foster French toast and fried green tomatoes, all came to the table hot and well seasoned. My waitress Courtney was very attentive as well. read more

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We spent part of the day visiting the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park at the Governors State University Campus and we were looking for a unique place to eat after being in the Sculpture Park. The food was excellent at Hidden Mann and the restaurant has a nice setting and atmosphere. The restaurant is set in downtown or old Matteson. Not hard to find and no issues with parking. We had the vegetarian jambalaya and did see other entrees on the menu that we will try next time we are out in the area. We were at the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon and it was packed. Glad to see others love this place as well. read more