The food is awesome and service is wonderful! We've gone here for years and it's always been a great experience! Prices are a bit high but it's that way everywhere now. read more

What a lovely place to eat and shop! We stopped in for lunch and had the Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam over noodles along with some plain noodles with fruit on the side for the kids. They also split a brownie sundae to end the meal and everything was delicious! We also found a few things in the gift shop and they have things that are very inexpensive as well! read more

We were in a group of 8, and it was like they were waiting for us! We were shown to a table for 8 in a private room. Drink orders were taken immediately, then food. Everyone's food came out at almost the same time, and drinks were kept filled. Food was delicious and the serve was beyond excellent. The majority of our group got the Swedish meatballs, which were yummy. Those who had sandwiches also enjoyed them. Desserts were excellent too. Definitely the place to go in Bishop Hill! read more

Under new management with the continued offering of such dishes as the Swedish meatballs and amazing homemade pies. Food is presented in an eye pleasing manner and in good portion. As a vegetarian, I found my options quite exciting. My friends ordered old favorites and were delightfully pleased. Great atmosphere. excellent service, reasonably priced. read more

We are originally from the area, but no longer live locally. We always love coming in for some authentic Swedish meatballs when we come back to visit family. The staff are always kind and welcoming and eager to please. We love P L Johnson's! read more

Great sandwiches, delicious cabbage rolls, great service, and friendly staff. Very fun place!

Rustic comfort food that was the perfect antidote to a cold cloudy day. I had the cabbage roll served over mashed potatoes, yum! The tomato sauce the roll was cooked in was similar to the best tomato bisque you've ever tasted...I'm going to be craving that meal often! The cabbage roll was only outshined by the pear blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream...this dessert made me a happy girl! It's a must try! read more

P L Johnsons Restaurant - Pear blackberry pie - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Bishop Hill, Illinois

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Heard good things about this Norwegian religious conclave now a historic destination run by IL DNR. Drove 2 hours from Galena to visit. Started at this bright yellow quaint eatery. Our coffee was freshly made for us. The two servers were very attentive and pleasant. Homemade broccoli soup was tasty and not over salted. The two signature entrees came with a fresh side salad. Swedish meatballs flavored with cardamom and nutmeg on butter noodles were tasty too. The stuffed green cabbage was also "right sized" for lunch. Dessert was rhubarb and cherry pie both with an excellent crust. The rhubarb was not overly tart. The check was what you'd expect to pay for a really good homemade meal of this size. I'd go back in a heartbeat just for this eatery. Make a day of Bishop Hill walking and exploring afterwards read more

Lovely ambience, welcoming staff, delicious food! The authentic Swedish meatballs are the highlight for me personally! Wonderful place to eat! read more

One of my favorite places in the bishop hill/Galesburg area. The staff is friendlier than most places around, the history is great, they have a gift shop with some cool stuff. It's a great local place to eat. The Swedish meatballs are the best around. I definitely recommend them. That brownie sundae is pretty awesome as well! read more

P L Johnsons Restaurant - a bowl of pasta and meatballs - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Bishop Hill, Illinois

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I haven't had anything bad here but I can never cheat on the Swedish meatballs with lingonberries!!! Also make sure to ask about desserts when you order and have them save what you want. Otherwise, the best stuff runs out quick! read more

Bishop Hill is a tiny village that preserves its origins as a 19th-century Swedish communal settlement. Some period buildings, a few arts and crafts shops and museums with elderly docents ready to talk your ear off, and, hey, this little dining room - open for lunch only, I believe - in the back of one of the shops. Wander in for an early lunch and find the decor of a Swedish grandmother's parlor, with a couple friendly and courteous women in heimlich farmwife outfits bustling around between serving the customers and tending the pots bubbling away on the stove. So since it's a Swedish colony, I ordered Swedish meatballs, that being more to my taste than sandwiches, and got a little pot with nicely al dente noodles, a creamy sauce, and maybe eight modest-sized meatballs, much richer, thicker-textured, and gamier (in the good sense, not an off-tasting sense) than most of what I've had as Swedish meatballs at Ikea or elsewhere. Probably more authentic this way. Even though it was a quiet, cold and almost rainy-ish day, and the town had seemed nearly deserted in the morning, the restaurant got pretty full and hopping by noon when I finished. But those farmwives served their customers with vigor, dedication, and such good spirits that the apology for being slow with my check, while welcome, was completely unnecessary. I was basking in the friendly, warm atmosphere. read more

For more than 15 years some friends and myself have visited Bishop Hill on Lucia nights. You can usually find us at PL Johnson's towards the end of the evening relaxing over coffee, bread pudding, coffee Or an entrée of Swedish meatballs, if they have any left. Yum read more

Great find in Bishop Hill, a historic Swedish community established in 1846. We decided to have lunch while walking in the village on a perfect fall day and stumbled on PL Johnson's Dining Room. We were pleasantly surprised from our first step inside. PLJ is a cozy friendly family run restaurant featuring Swedish specialties. We split a Swedish meatball dinner and loved every bite. Delicious food with great service. The owner thanked us and invited us back. We will. Highly recommended. read more

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My first time visiting. Very homespun interior in an old-fashioned corner store type way. Nice staff. Offering soups, salads, sandwiches and a few entrees, their specialty being the Swedish meatballs. Was easy to get a table on a Sat lunch in October. I had the meatballs. Very good, seasoned as I expected with a tasty gravy over egg noodles. The portion is definitely lunch-sized - four 1 inch meatballs. If you are a big eater you would need to order an extra soup or something. With a side salad on the plate and rye bread. For an extra dollar you can get a tiny thimble of lingonberries. The stand-out was the rhubarb pie - definitely homemade and stuffed full of fruit with a crispy crust (excellent) and the vanilla ice cream was pretty good as well. read more

All I can say is "WOW!" Our friends and my husband and I had a delicious lunch. Rhubarb pie is my absolute favorite dessert and theirs was perhaps the best I have ever tasted. This is the kind of food that is hard to find nowadays with all the chain, cookie cutter restaurants. It was the perfect start to our field trip in Bishop Hill. The service was very good as well. read more

This restaurant was a great find on our stay in Bishop Hill! The Swedish meatballs were excellent and the bread pudding is heavenly! Seriously, so good my eyes rolled back in my head at first bite. The service is outstanding as well. read more

I love this place. Reminds me when I was s little girl coming with my grandma. Love the meatballs!

Great food, wonderful atmosphere, friendly people, who could ask for more. My wife had a casserole and I had the Swedish Meatballs. Excellent. read more