There are times when you want to walk into a space that has been carefully put together by someone with all the right training, so the colors are just so. The furniture blends seemlessly into the theme of the menu or some such. There are other times when you are content to walk into a clean, simple space where the decor has been put together over the years by many different people, with different quirks and fancies. The furniture is functional, might not even all match...all good. Route 138 Cafe is that second kind of place. The name alone, is so plain sense Midwest, practical. It not some whimsical thought excercise like Nutmeg Hutch or some such. There are no fancy uniforms, the staff might have on T-shirts from the restaurant. We have had no issues with any of the staff, they have been nothing but pleasant, effective and welcoming. We have been here a few times now since moving to the area, this was the first time for lunch. I had a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich with seasoned fries, my wife got a BLT with same. Do splurge for the "special" fries vs. the standard crinkle cut. Somehow crinkle cut fries take me back to elementary school, and no matter how hot and great they may be in this present time, they take me back to luke warm unsalted punishment on a plastic tray. There is nothing fancy about anything I have eaten here. It's not perfect, what is- it is also obviously put together with care. That goes a long way. I have had beautiful, expensive meals and left hungry and full of regret. We left Saturday afternoon feeling full, comfortable and starting to fit in to our "fly-over" retirement. read more

Route 138 Cafe - BLT and seasoned fries - Cafes Near Me - Mount Olive, Illinois

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This is a decent, good not great, locally popular cafe. Eclectic ambiance and plain but decent food. I prefer nearby Tillies Tavern , which is iconic, but this is a comfortable reasonably priced place. Service is iffy, sometimes great sometimes not. It could be run much better. read more

Have driven by this place going to Litchfield and decided to give it a try. It was alright the food came out pretty quick and tasted good. Just wish that the staff were more attentive to customer needs. The pancakes are the batter kind and are my favorite! I loved how they served powered sugar in a shaker for you to control. The hot chocolate was good but could to was just Swiss mix with whipped cream. The cafe seems to definitely be a hidden gem of the locals with them being the main support. Definitely cannot wait to consider coming back here and exploring more of the menu! read more

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Went for dinner with my grandfather. The waitresses were nice, but completely clueless. When a nearby table asked for a manager, they were informed there was no manager. We waited 50 minutes for a chicken wrap and roast beef. They didn't have silverware clean, so we had to wait another 5 or 10 minutes for that after the food came out. There was one cook in the kitchen audibly yelling in the kitchen in time. Though the staff seemed overwhelmed were overwhelmed, although there were less than 10 tables. As someone with experience managing bars and restaurants all over St. Louis, the fault here lies with the owners or management. The staff were not set up for success. There should absolutely be a manager on duty. In fact, it's the law - in illinois you must have certified food protection manager on sight at all times. Not having a second cook on duty sounds like ownership trying to cheap out on overhead. The food was ok. Not bad, and not good. I'm not sure how this place passed a health inspection. read more

The service was nice and quick, the food was amazing, and the water and unsweetened tea were really good!!! The place was also nice and quiet :D read more

Route 138 Cafe - Ham and bean soup - Cafes Near Me - Mount Olive, Illinois

Really good food! I have the vegetable omelette with rye, toast, crispy, hashbrowns, with onions, and a small order of biscuits and gravy. Very good! Service was quick and the server is very very friendly. The atmosphere is Country and simple. Lots of farmers and good people having breakfast this morning. read more

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This could be a Michelin star. Food is awesome. I used to go here once a week. Strongly suggest their sausage.

Food is good. Service has been good. They always put napkins and utensils in the tag bag.

Really not a great place to eat. Sorry.. wanted to like it. I've been twice. Won't be back. Friendly enough servers,but food was less than desirable. Had a hamburger before, absolutely nothing special. The crinkle fries were great but that takes little to no effort. The corned beef ( Rueben) was tough, just not good at all. The fried chicken also looked a bit gnarly, I ate one piece and couldn't chew about 1/4 of it because of gristle. Truly sorry I can't give this good reviews. They're in an ideal location for a stop off the interstate. read more

Very tasty home-style food. Excellent value and their staff are friendly and courteous. They made me feel welcome and for a traveler, that's important. read more

Small Cafe mostly a local spot. Right off the freeway looking for business from travelers but refuse to let you use the rest room unless you eat there even though the gas station is still a mile away. We would have maybe eaten there if the waitress wasn't so rude and basically happy to turn us away. Will be happy to tell friends and family to stay away read more

Don't waste your time and money. Waitress was rude and openly talked about a customer who came in who was just traveling through the area. Drive the extra 8 miles and stop in Litchfield. read more

Terrible service, cold food, dirty bathrooms, unfriendly to travelers. IAs a food critic on vacation, this was quite a shock. My wife is not happy. read more

They don't have a website so you can't look at a menu that's up to date and the ones I have found are photo's of a blackboard that are so faint as to be unreadable as far as any specials they are listed but don't say what day or hours they are unless you go inside and look at the blackboard which defeats the purpose of looking it up online !! So until they do some updating and create a proper website I'll give this place a PASS !! I would have liked to try them I patronize small family owned restaurants whenever possible but to drive there to find out about them is not worth the chance. read more

My first visit. Great food and friendly, attentive service! Sorry I didn't take any pictures before I dug in! Had 2 eggs over medium with rye toast and a biscuit and gravy. My fellow diner had the 3x3 omelet and a pancake. Really solid cafe/diner food. read more

Wife had liver and onions. She said it was good. I had the fried chicken and was disappointed. If it were not for the salt I added the chicken would not have had any flavor. Service was good chicken was not. read more

As other reviewers have noted, I wasn't expecting to come here, but I did because Crossroads is shut down. We came on a Friday night and had the fish special, which was very good. The staff was very friendly and we had a fun time. Good food all around: onion rings done to perfection, delicious mushroom and swiss burger, and a fantastic buffalo chicken wrap. All in all, I'd come here again. read more

We stopped in for lunch but decided on breakfast instead. I had scrambled egg and bacon. The egg was semi cold and bacon was so tough you had to pull it out of your mouth to get a piece off. My husband ordered an omelet with the works. He said he would never order that again. Not a good choice to stop and eat there again. There rest rooms needed huge updates so people don`t fall with an incline in floor. The sign they had is hard to see. Maybe they should paint an orange or yellow strip across the floor? This place is not for old people. Betty read more

I like the food & the service.I did have a problem Dec 2nd pulling into the parking lot on rt.66 coming from Litchfield at 530 pm.I could not see the drive. as I turned I saw I was heading to the ditch on the north side.i was able to correct & get into the drive.It would be great if there was a light so you could see where the drive is.If I come in from the south I don't have any problem.They were too busy or I would have said something. read more

This place has great food and pie..I ordered the Hamburger pony shoe and chocolate PB pie and it was amazing....worth the extra ride

Well I wanted to go to the Crossroads, which is across the road. And simply because they have the best thick burger, I've ever had. But unfortunately they have closed down. So I hesitantly came here, only to find the fat slob owner at a table, talking with other customers about how bad Crossroads was, and how bad their management was. All while he was telling one of his loud mouth waitresses "Megan" that he wanted to see her tattoo, which she proceeded to show him, and the elderly couple customers the tattoo on her shoulder. And then said, "I'm the kinda girl that shows my tit's, when I get drunk". Not the kind of family restaurant I would take my kids to. And not to mention the food was not all that great. I told the waitress that was in training to not take lessons from Megan, as I walked out the door. This place is owned, and operated by a shithole. I highly recommend going somewhere else, if it's a good burger you desire, with kind staff. Wally's burger in Breese,Il would be your best bet, until Crossroads opens back up, if they do. Total disappointment here. But it was cheap. read more