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    The Little Chef

    4.2 (87 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 2:00 pm, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    The Little Chef Photos

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    THE LITTLE CHEF ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Divey
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    The note I left on the table/bill
    Cliff W.

    Bland bland bland! If you're afraid of flavor in your food, this is the spot for you. I do not say that as disparagement. If you're looking for a place that keeps almost everything as close to neutral tasting as possible you may want to consider going here. The disparagement comes with discussing the service: I asked basic questions like "do you know whether the biscuits have lard or shortening" and "do you know whether the omelette is made with adulterants like cornstarch, milk, flour, etc?" And rather than tell me that she didn't know she broke away from the conversation to go to the kitchen. I was asking whether SHE knew not whether she could find the answer. This made the interaction ridiculously long and frustrating. When I finally finished placing my order, I was relieved. When the order came it was missing one of the two biscuits so when she asked if we needed anything I said "yes, can I get some butter, mayonnaise, and my other biscuit please?" The server pulled two lukewarm buttter packets out of her pocket and slapped them onto the table and walked away. When I opened the packet (the little tubs with a foil covering) the butter was runny, not completely melted but runny. Not very appealing. I spread the melty "pocket cream" on my biscuits and mustered up the courage to take a bit and it was like someone had taken a hockey puck and dressed it up to look like bread. Oh and when the second biscuit was brought out it was separated on a plate with the top half face down allowing all of the steam from the bottom half to escape. This one was undercooked and the top half was basically glued to the plate it was served on. Not the worst dining experience ever but certainly any place I'd ever be inclined to patronize in the future. The final straw was when the bill was brought to the table. Rather than place it in the middle it was put on the half of the table closer to my date. I don't want to assume any malicious intent, but the optics of a black male sitting down to eat with a presumably white female , and then the bill being placed in front of her instead of me Seems insensitive at best. This is to say nothing of the fact that we weren't asked if we wanted anything else. They just dropped the bill off as if to suggest that we hurry up and leave because we're not welcome. I left the following as a note on, the credit card receipt: Service was abysmal Biscuits were rock hard I asked for two got one and When I asked for the other, the attitude was palpable. Never returning. Be well. - Cliff

    mug of black coffee
    Justin S.

    10/10 black coffee. authentic black coffee the best not even starbucks can beat this.

    Took the pic after we started digging in.
    Liane R.

    Had the breakfast platter for 2 and it was great! Came with plenty of everything to share. Even let you split the eggs, 3 over easy for him, 1 scrambled for me. The biscuit wasn't great but the sausage gravy made up for it. The service was friendly. They don't serve alcohol but we were able to fetch a Bloody Mary from the bar next door. Will be back!

    Nothing better than breakfast with Texas toast and great friends!

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    3 years ago

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    13 days ago

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    4 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    10 months ago

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    11 months ago

    Food is great service is good friendly you can get good food at a reasonable prices can't beat the friendly atmosphere

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Food is always excellent. Old fashioned diner. Have always had great service. Everyone loves the specials.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

    THE FRENCH TOAST WAS GREAT I can't stress this enough it was awesome and I love diner feel to it:)

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    3 years ago

    Potato pancakes were delicious! Quality food and quickly delivered which is nice with a toddler!

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    4 years ago

    One of the most slept on restaurants in the area, perfect breakfast spot. Staff are prompt and friendly.

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    5 years ago

    Great place for breakfast and awesome service. Love that you can get breakfast anytime!

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Love this restaurant. Always good food and good service. This was my dad's favorite place to go in the morning before he went to work.

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

    I stop in for hamburger but I have to gave my. Order to both server. And I still have hour to get my order and it. Wasn't busy

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Really love this little spot. Classic breakfast that's always very good! My favorite breakfast spot in mchenry

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    Whiskey Diablo - Chilaquiles with birria

    Whiskey Diablo

    (74 reviews)

    Bring salt! Good atmosphere, good drinks(Mango Tango!), good service. Sadly, the food was…read moredisappointing: I ordered tacos and my husband ordered a Chile relleno burger; both were pretty tasteless. The proteins (beef and chicken) were not seasoned. Even the 'spicy' sauce for the tacos was bland. We had to request salt just to be able to eat what we ordered. However, the tableside guacamole and chips were good.

    Date of visit: December 13, 2025…read more I love a good Mexican place, and as much as I enjoy Carlos's, it is good to have other options for when I go to visit my friend in the McHenry/Spring Grove area. The restaurant is very large with a variety of seating options including some interesting swings. I say interesting because it's really more of a novelty than anything; honestly, do you really want to have a seat that moves while you're eating chips with salsa? The menu is interesting, with a heavy focus on birria (think brisket, if you're unfamiliar) including in a dipped/fried taco as well as a grilled cheese sandwich, which is what I went with. While the meat in the sandwich was good, there was very little cheese to speak of, and that should be an important component of a grilled...cheese. However the chips and salsa were excellent, with some of the best chips I've had in quite some time, they really taste like more. In terms of the salsa, they are not lying with the "Diablo" in their name. If you are not a fan of spicy, stay away from the salsas as even the mild is fairly potent after a few chips. Also note that sour cream is available but doesn't tend to come WITH things by default, so be prepared to ask for that if it's a key part of your Mexican meals. Also disappointing, the tacos come with raw onions on top. This isn't mentioned on the menu, and was a very unwelcome addition to the dish. Service was a bit of a mixed bag; Jasmine was nice and attentive but struggled on some aspects, including telling us what the three salsas were when she brought them to the table, and saying that birria was a "biscuit," which thoroughly confused us. She asked if we wanted more chips and we declined, but then she brought more anyways.

    Cullom Knoll - Salad sans the croutons and shredded cheese. (no thanks). Fresh, basic and tasty.

    Cullom Knoll

    (81 reviews)

    $$

    We went here for dinner and Emma was our great and attentive waitress where we struck a short…read moreconversation about how our names are similar in each of our families! The spaghetti dinner I chose came with a side salad and 1000 Island dressing was the thickest I've ever seen in a long time! The portion was so large I went home with half of it. Should I be concerned that we keep getting bothered by a fly on our table? My wife ordered the taco salad and accidentally ordered extra lettuce and boy did they add lettuce! Lol. The one thing I noticed was it was missing music in the background, a jukebox or something playing would've been better! We realized we were running late for an appointment and had to run out of there otherwise we would've enjoyed the restaurant more! To no fault of their own. I look forward to seeing us there again! Trying a burger or something else!

    Honestly nothing bad to say about the food and most of the experience. It is price well and has a…read morevery tasty menu. The reason for this is our last two visits, Judging my mother for what she ordered and gossiping with drunks at the bar loudly enough that we can hear is absurdly rude. Sorry its a slow night but maybe don't judge a vegetarian for not loving bacon and mocking them to other customers. Its just a bad showing. We come here often, so to be treated like that is heartbreaking. Now, my mom can't be certain they haven't been gossiping about her pretty simple order, a wrap with no meat, the entire time. Also just turn off the depressing news on the tv's its obnoxious when we are sitting down and just trying to have a good time. Put on a fun tv show, the game, something else.

    Epic Deli - Deep Fried BBQ'd pulled Pork - Cheese stick.

    Epic Deli

    (351 reviews)

    $$

    Super fun place. Great menu- lots of options. Delicious food. Service prompt and friendly.read more

    I don't know what I was expecting from Epic Deli, but it was not a compact remix of Dave-n-Busters…read more I might order from there again, but I will never eat there again. Epic relies heavily on the video game machines to hold the weight of a decor, while the table tops you sit at are one giant billboard ad filled with QR codes. The walls seem to have band type memorabilia hung from years ago when they all were in their prime, along with ads for local festivals that you would never see because there is so much going on with the walls, the table tops, and the signage that is wrapping the standing video games to show what game it is. Overall, the food is solid. Out of everything I ordered I would say the cheese curds were really done well.. I'm not into cheese cards per se, but I've noticed that in this particular area being so close to Wisconsin that the quality of cheese curd is important to customers that seek out this appetizer specifically. Because I ordered cheese curds I did not want french fries with my sandwich. I found the alternatives offered for sides were overall not appealing, and I couldn't substitute cheese curds for an extra fee.. I got the Italian pasta as a side and it was disappointing.. I got the Soul man as my sandwich. I don't know if I'm just used to Jimmy John's., or if I just don't like the bread that epic uses to make their sandwiches. I felt like I was biting into my pillow and not an actual fresh chunk of bread. One impressive thing I noticed about their sandwiches.... They travel well and stand up to being a solid left over.. I was only able to eat half of my sandwich. On the next day by sandwich tasted exactly the same, which is something I cannot say of any other sandwich shop that makes sub sandwiches.. There's a lot to sift through when it comes to the menu. I would eat here again, but I don't have this excitement towards eating here like most of the locals were excited when epic deli finally had a location out in this area.. My advice would be to order to go unless you appreciate retro video games. I can only imagine what that place is like after 5 PM.

    The Little Chef - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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