My girlfriend and granddaughter and I went there for breakfast about a month ago. It was so overpriced for the food you got. My piece of ham was the size of a deck of cards and about as thin as 2 cards. For 3 of us the cost was $55. Drive to the Blue Line in Worthington or The Ranch in Fairmont or any of the places in Spirit Lake for a good meal. I don't know how this place stays open with the food they serve read more

If you feel like you want to eat out. DO NOT GO TO SANTEE RESTAURANT IN jackson Minnesota. BECAUSE YOU WILL GET SICK THAT IS WHAT HAPPEN TO MY SON. He asked for a cup of coffe, the coffe was cold he told the waitress to warm up the coffe she came back with the coffe,asoon as he drank the coffe, he started tofeel sick with stomach cramps, vomit, and diarrea. That happened on Friday last week and since then he still has the naussa and diarrea. He still is very ill. So be carefull people, who knows how they prepare the food, who knows if they pee in the cofee. Probable they dont even wash their hands read more

Braxton was a great waitress and was smiling from the moment we walked through the door to the moment we left. She left us alone, except to check if we needed anything. She was very attentive. I had chocolate chip pancakes, which had great flavor, the bacon was real bacon and not that thin paper-like junk, and my eggs were also good. My boyfriend had an omelet, which tasted better than a typical diner. He said his waffle tasted as though it was a frozen waffle, but overall we had a great breakfast. Where we are from, our meal would have been at least $20 more, so we thought the prices were great. read more

Took the kids on a road trip adventure so I wanted to eat at a greasy spoon diner versus fast food which they wanted. This is definitely greasy spoon! They loved that on the side of the building it just said "Restaurant," the sign it said "Embers" was somewhere else, so they said "we're eating at a restaurant called restaurant!" The service was really awesome, middle-aged women that were very efficient and attentive and friendly. I believe the walleye was the best, it was certainly the most expensive menu item at something like $14.99. But my daughter wouldn't let me even have a bite so I don't really know! The refried beans tasted off, I guess canned. The shell to my taco salad was off. The coffee was off, but came with a half a pint of cream so I dutifully dumped in plenty. Overall exactly the small town experience I was craving with a slightly higher bill than expected. read more

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Stopped for a breakfast on vacation! It was delicious, friendly and fast. Reasonably priced and generous portions.

Wasted $17, on the Walleye filet. Inedible, texture of jerked fish. Over cooked. Served with a steak knife that could not cut through it. Worst case of fish murder I have ever experienced. read more

My rating is a NEGATIVE 5 stars. Prices reflected on their menu may NOT be accurate. Family members were charged a flat rate of $25 per meal when the menu states $12 per meal. read more

This place has an identify problem. Is it Santee Crossing? Is it Embers?? Anyway, my wife and I recently supped here during a little road trip. We were two of about ten customers in the whole place, with more wait staff than there were busy tables, yet the service took for freakin' ever. Don't get me wrong, the servers were friendly, but man, was it slow. Took forever to get waited on. They left out some of our food. My wife later decided she wanted mozzarella sticks and asked for them, but never got them by the time the bill came. And the food? Ehhh...so-so. Unfortunately, when you're staying at the nearby AmericInn, you don't have much choice. read more

The food is mediocre. The service needs to be better. 1. The first time I went, I got the buffalo chicken sandwich...which was one of the worst Buff Chicken sandwiches I've ever tried in my life. The waitress was not attentive at all, and did not ever come back to refill drinks. (Lunch) 2. The second time, I got a turkey burger, and it is also one of the worst turkey burgers that I've ever had. The burger was clearly not 100% ground turkey but tasted like cardboard. The waitresses were chatting among themselves in the breakfast bar area, looking over newspaper ads. I had to wave them down to get their attention. (Early Lunch) 3. The last time I went, I got the Ruben sandwich, it was okay. I HIGHLY recommend the restaurant to STOP OVER BUTTERING EVERYTHING!!!! The bread of the Ruben was just SATURATED in butter....not good. However, we had a waitress that was attentive, came back to refill drinks, and was very polite. She did her job. I can't say the same for any of the other waitresses - especially the AM staff. (Dinner) The reason I keep coming back to Embers is because in Jackson, there is not much dining choice, and Embers seems to be the best of the worst. read more

Wait staff was excellent and the place was clean. The food was less than acceptable. $12 for smothered chicken and I get one wet chicken breast with a mess of cheese and stuff atop it. Mostly didn't taste of anything, but it was dripping wet. Was served with the choice of one side. I chose potato salad that was also mostly tasteless and also strangely oily. Portion sizes for the price are small. I'd not go back. If I had to choose between eating there and a cooler sandwich from the gas station next door, I'd choose the sandwich. read more

My kids and I would like to come here more often . We love going out for breakfast and this is the closest place to us . Service there is always up in the air . One day the servers have this weird lil attitude the next they're welcoming and on top of that my children and I ALWAYs git these stares and glares from the local town folk who are dining there . We're just tryn eat too . Food over all is priddy good there . I had a med rare T-bone steak and it was priddy decent . Potatoes salad was fire and my daughter always has breakfast there; she likes it . Seating was always available . It's also located right off I90 and next to a BP & Dairy Queen. Hotels and local site seeing (Fort Belmont) is also directly behind the diner . read more

The best food in Jackson, without a doubt. If you're travelling by on Interstate 90 and hungry for a bite to eat, I would recommend taking a few more minutes out of your day to stop and dine in at this friendly diner. The coffee cake is delicious, their ranch dressing is a trade secret, and the staff is wonderful! read more

BEST FOOD IN TOWN!!!! With the best ranch I've ever tasted in my life. Embers has small town hospitality and has excellent service!! Whenever I come back to Jackson I HAVE to make a stop here!! read more

I've never had bad food here. The burgers are good, including the bun (good bun to meat ratio), breakfast all day (golden, crispy hash browns, omelets, marble rye, thick cut toast, etc.) and the cheese balls and ranch are the best I've had. The look like little battered tots (not breaded/crunchy), and the ranch tastes homemade, a hint of sweet to it, and is a great compliment to the cheese balls. My daughter loves the soups, asks for the soups of the day every visit. They have what taste like scratch pies (including sour cream & raisin if you get there early enough). Yes, it's greasy spoon food at an interstate restaurant. It's not high-end fare for food snobs, but it's affordable, quick, filling, and pretty tasty. If you are wanting something healthy (a turkey burger ? They serve them here ? Why ?), eating just off the interstate isn't the best option anywhere, I'd guess. I've only had had 1 waitress that was a bit of a grump, usually they are friendly, and close at hand if needed. It's comparable to a Denny's/Perkins in terms of food, but in a diner/greasy spoon setting. read more

For the most part their breakfast is good coffee sucks lunch is ok hamburger is good but lunch service is horrible could wait on my self better!!! read more

Stayed at a motel (hotels weren't an option) close to Hub's class reunion in a "town" even smaller than Jackson, MN (for the truly curious, Round Lake, pop 375). Within a 5 minute walk were a Dairy Queen & Restaurant, just "Restaurant" with no other name on the side the I happened to look at, hmmm, sketchy. We made the mistake of getting food from DQ, all I'll say is: mistake. The included breakfast at Americinn, the highest-rated motel I could get in on short notice, was bad enough that we yelped for an alternative. What a pleasant surprise!! The service was efficient though less than enthusiastic, the food arrived quickly (it seems we had to wait forever in most small/tiny town restaurants), piping hot & ABSOLUTELY delicious. My Denver omelette was fluffy & light with very good, lightly-salted ham & lots of fresh veggies, the chef even added tiny pieces of chopped green peppers & ham on top of little bits of melted cheese over the omelette for presentation. Good enough that we ordered food from there the following a.m. Don't be deterred by the dingy exterior, the food is solid and the service is attentive. read more

Entering the Embers, I was transported back to my teen years, waitressing in a tenderloin joint in Des Moines. They say that smell is the most evocative sense, and I can believe it. The smell of bleach and fried food was transporting. The waitstaff is friendly, welcoming, and promptly greeted us and seated us. Since this was an "intermittent fast day" for me, I watched patrons (cycle riders in leathers, families in travel clothes) and the staff, all in t-shirts and jeans. He ordered country steak and eggs, and took advantage of the offer of marbled rye toast. He said it was "totally awesome." Hence, the five stars. Toast was thick, well browned, eggs were fluffy, and hash browns were crispy. read more

Hoped for a satisfying breakfast before we jumped on I-90.. Was served a "scone" that wasn't even half-baked - more like greasy, grainy cookie dough. Very disappointing. read more

We had dinner there last week at the end of a long road trip. The food was barely edible. The entree was obviously taken from the freezer and warmed up. The salad was old. After coming off a 6 day rafting trip (no refrigeration, stove, oven) where the food was fabulous, I couldn't figure out why a restaurant with all the modern conveniences couldn't get it right. A fresh salad in August - how hard is that? read more

I took my parents and 2 granddaughters there for a Sunday dinner. The southern fried chicken dinner looked ok. and an omelet that was ordered looked ok. I had the daily special roast beef dinner, which the waitress knew nothing about. She had to go ask and this was at 1:45 when dinner was almost over. It came COLD and I mean cold, not even warm. had to get it reheated. Also isn't a dinner roll usually served with dinners??? My cup of side chili was also barely warm, terrible. I was also to get a sundae after that was included with the dinner,, never got it., waitress left to go home The roast beef gravy tasted like stuff they scraped off the floor,,,,,no flavor!! Taco salad. 98% lettuce. 1/2% beef, 1/2 % cheese and 1/2% tomatoes My parents ordered the exact same thing, southern fried chicken dinner One was 8.99 (correct) and the other 9.99, so I had to spend time explaining trying to get the price corrected, which the cashier seemed like she didn't believe me. read more

The service was pretty good and even though we came in very close to closing time they still served us. Personally I think it one of the best places to eat in Jackson. read more

Best breakfast in the area. Coffee cake and pie are all I could've hoped for. Nice place to sit down and enjoy a good meal.

I love diners so this place was right up my alley. Had the country fried steak skillet with the coffee cake. The coffee cake alone is worth the trip from Chicago. After inhaling that, I devoured my skillet. It was truly a delicious breakfast. read more

Great place for greasy spoon/ dinner food. Their breakfast skillets are really good!

I was surprised when I went to the counter and was told they did not a tray of coffee cake! I had called yesterday and arranged to have a tray of them ready for me when I went there and the cook checked with the owner and the cook "no problem" and quoted me a price. I was not happy so I went to another business and place my order-thinking about saying good bye to Embers! read more

Update - skip breakfast too. Why do you keep going back you're wondering? I am too. As stated before, Jackson doesn't have a whole lot of choices for sit down lunch and for some unknown reason there are people around here actually like this place. We had lunch the other day and took my own advice and stuck to breakfast mostly. I had the Denver Melt Sandwich, which gave me the benefit of breakfast with fries (I will give them this, the fries are good for something that comes pre-made and frozen). My companion had a Veggie Omelet breakfast. The denver part of my sandwich and her omelet and hash browns were all dripping in oil. It was so much that we both ended up having issues afterward. Yes we'll probably go back but I think I'll stick to just fries and maybe a club sandwich - they can't screw up deli meat, can they? read more

The Owner did contact us and we received a check in the mail for a full refund. He was very concerned about us getting sick and assured that it was being looked into and he was also looking into the way his staff handled the entire situation. Still unsure if we would go back again but nice to know that the owner cares enough to follow up on a complaint and not ignore it as so many others would. I sincerly hope he is able to fix the problems. read more

Really! It is a shame that Jackson does not have a good breakfast place. As much as I want to patronize a local establishment... Embers is a highway 90 greasy spoon. Ask for well done hash browns - its like they purposly make them raw. Loud waitress was very nasty and impolite. This place is for people driving by that will never return the locals know better, It is sad and too bad... Not recommended by locals at all!! read more