Golden Apple Grill & Breakfast House

My friend and I love this place, the last time we came here was about a year and a half ago. I can’t believe we waited so long to return. After a long night of hanging out with friends, we decided to revisit this quaint and delicious place. It was about 2 in the morning so we thought breakfast would be most appropriate. We both ordered skillets, she got the country skillet (not too sure on the name) with pancakes, and I ordered the «create your own skillet» with bacon, avocado, spinach and feta. Whole wheat toast on the side. Both skillets with eggs sunny side up. Hands down best skillet I have ever had. The hash browns where so soft and the ratio of all the ingredients were just right. My friend loved hers too. Definitely coming back and taking my sister because I know she’ll appreciate the location, ambiance and of course the food. Our waitress, Bridgett, was very attentive and charming. I’m excited to try new items on the menu.

this is a great place for any sort of food, of course I always love me some good breakfast — I had an omelette. It was pretty good. Honestly, after seeing and meeting John Cleese that night, I have forgotten everything that happened for the rest of the night. I guess I’ll need to go back!

Your standard diner. Upon entering you can clearly tell this place has been around for years. Everyone was 40+ — regulars I’m assuming. Everything about this place is typical diner — the service, the food, the décor. Nothing noteable, but good for those who enjoy the traditional diner feel and food.

It’s hard to review a dive breakfast joint. It’s not chic with hip décor but it’s a classic and really good. They do have more than just breakfast but this is my go to for breakfast. Early, late or hungover…
Parking is not too difficult and location is good. Service is fine. Location is good. Open always. Stop in and try a skillet…

I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed Golden Apple before. It will be hard not to write a long review, because I have had so many meals in this place… way too many to count. From breakfast with friends, dates, family, hubby, hubby with his kids, hubby with our kids together, there’s something to be said about a place that has kept me coming back year after year after year… even when I’ve moved away from the city.
Breakfast for dinner? Dinner for breakfast? Open 24 hours, you can order what you want when you want it, with the exception of the daily specials. My hubby took our boys here recently, for a boys night out during one of their city excursions. I was so jealous I insisted they bring me next time… and they did. My last meal here was with a giant pregnant belly 10 years ago. Being back made me feel like I stepped into a happy part of my past again. Same kooky characters at the front counter, and a few familiar faces.
I forgot what a great value this place is and how much food they serve. Their kids menu is phenomenal! The portions are more than generous. Both my boys ordered the kids chicken fingers with french fries for $ 4.99. The chicken fingers were very large with a huge pile of curly fries and a drink.
Hubby and I ordered the veggie stir fry (diner style) that came with a side salad and garlic bread. Stir fry was loaded with many veggies like pea pods, green peppers, bok choy (I think), and served with a teriyaki-​type sauce over rice. Take note, the house Greek salad dressing is the bomb. Strong vinaigrette with lots of seasonings.
Glad to see this place is still around. It has been updated and felt clean and contemporary with that great diner vibe. To the naysayers out there, it’s a diner, and all diners are quirky. But, they are also a part of the great history of America. So many characters over so many years.

Wow what a funny place for a costumer service my steak today was the size of three small onion rings and Noone came to check on me since my order… my order was literally half the portion of what should be and yet I was still charged full price hm hm hm I would love to give it no star

It’s a diner… with a menu that includes everything you can think of. If you have need of food, the Golden Apple is open and ready to feed you with competent, tasty food.

I don’t think they have locks on the doors. They are open every day of the year. I take some comfort that you can always go to Golden Apple.
A huge plus is that you can get whatever you want whenever you want. Just yesterday I was there around 11:30 am and got my egg breakfast with mozzarella sticks as an appetizer. They serve alcohol too but I’ve never drank here.
Some meals are better than others and some may be a little greasy but there’s a big menu to choose from and all of the staff is really nice. If you’re in a hurry they have counter seats too.

Could have been better, but could have been much worse. A friend of mine and I went and got a late night bite to eat. Soup and salad were very blah (no flavor for the soup) and our sandwich and wrap were very basic. Nothing remarkable. If you’re in the area and starving for a late night bite. you could do worse, but could do better. Wait staff was indifferent, but the people who were there as customers made the place more lively… no doubt.

My girlfriend and I frequent Golden Apple for omelettes and other random breakfast food. I typically like this place and they do have solid omelettes and relatively consistently good service, but I do have a few issues.
1) Do we really need a waitress to tell us that she got the number of the now former UIC basketball coach? Wow. Nobody cares and she emphasized that he’s black, which tells me all I need to know. Who cares about his race? Tell me how you text Jimmy Butler or R. Kelly and I’d be interested. You ain’t Kim K and you are from professional, you effin’ narcissist.
2) The co-​owner can be rude and impatient, especially at the register; however, his brother is pretty friendly and courteous. The rude one can be simply identified by his sausage fingers and slicked back hair. He has also been known to check if a take out order is correct by doing the open the lid and taking a sniff test. Why are you sniffing the food Jack?
Due to these these few bad apples, Golden Apple is bronze.

Great local diner. Open 24 hours so it’s very convenient for late nights. Friendly staff and big menu. Definitely worth the money.

Great classic diner food with really nice servers. I came with my aunt & cousin after a show on Friday night. The place is clean and comfortable, you got solid, really pie and coffee, and you get s super sweet lady waiting on you. Win win.

The best diner in Chicago to get a broccoli, chicken, and cheddar cheese omelette! They season the chicken just right, and plenty of cheese and have big ol’ chunks of broccoli. It was truly an omelette I crave. We discovered this place four weeks ago, and have been back at least 4 times since. We love Golden Apple :-)

Where do I even begin…
We came here for Labor Day brunch and to say everyone left dissatisfied is an understatement. Our waitress took our order, came back maybe 50 minutes later and apologized for forgetting about our table. Her exact words were «sorry you haven’t gotten your food, and here I was looking for things to do.» What was she doing for the past hour??? We only got one coffee/​water refill in the 2 and a half hours we were there.
The next problem with this restaurant is that the food is terrible. I understand waiting for a really good meal, but when the food finally came everyone was let down. The hollandaise sauce on my eggs Benedict tasted like straight up lemons. Way too acidic. No one in my group of 7 people was satisfied with their meal, which is a pretty bad sign.
Maybe this restaurant is better not on a holiday weekend, but I highly doubt it. Would not recommend– go somewhere else.

I went to the place on the last day of a long weekend of eating out and it was just what the doctor ordered. It is a typical greasy spoon. There were no frills, good service and the food is solid. They aren’t winning any James Beard Awards, but they have and fulfill their purpose, admirably. I went in with a group of ten with two seniors citizen, two 9 year old and a new born and our waitress handled the service with great grace and a smile. If you are looking for a simple but delicious breakfast, look no further than Golden Apple.

What was supposed to be a nice late breakfast/​brunch date turned out to be pretty gross.
Came here with boyfriend Sunday afternoon. We sat for about 10 minutes before being acknowledged by a server. Finally, he ordered biscuits and gravy, I ordered a benedict with *extra well done* hash browns.
After we got our food and he was several bites deep into his b&g, the server came around without a single word and took his plate away, ignored my confused «excuse me…» and we were just sitting there, a bit bewildered.
While we were waiting to see what the heck was going on, I tried a bite of my barely-​cooked (almost raw) hash browns, dipped in the hollandaise. I almost choked, because it tasted like congealed lemonade.
When the server came back, she finally mentioned something about giving him a half order instead of the full order. At that point, between the raw potatoes and the unbearable lemon, I asked if I could have something else. Before I could say why, she guessed «Too lemon-​ey?» soooo I guess they’ve heard that a few times before.
I decided to get biscuits and gravy too, which I consider a «safe» bet almost everywhere.
Unfortunately, not the case here. I got burned Pillsbury biscuits with gravy so thin it was basically sausage milk. I couldn’t finish a whole biscuit. Server didn’t bother coming back to check on us.
The whole experience was a shame, because these types of casual diners are usually my favorite.

Tasty corn beef hash. Nice and salty. Portions could be larger, but I guess it’s okay to be left wanting more sometimes. The eggs were served next to the hash, and not on top, so it was a minor inconvenience for me to transfer them to the top.

This is my lunch spot that I can have any type of food that I am craving. I normally come here for the Monte Cristo as they seem to get what that is supposed to be. It is not too soggy and the perfect amount of syrup. I also eat pecan waffles regularly and when they say pecan, they really layer them on your waffles. Its like asking for pecans with a side of waffle (not complaining).
I enjoy the staff as they are usually happy and extremely friendly people. They always take care of my group and remember to do separate checks (greatly appreciated).
P. S. they filmed an episode of Chicago Fire here. OK!!! it was just a shot of the sign and restaurant.

On a wild hair my boyfriend and I stopped into this diner. We were warmly greeted and served promptly. I must say, their hot chocolate really hit the spot after being in the cold!
Looking over the menu, I noticed they had glasses of wine for $ 3.99 each.. Now you can’t beat that with a broomstick!
Our waitress convinced me to get the fettuccine Alfredo ($ 8.99) and it was delicious and a huge portion. It came with chicken and rice soup and garlic toast, both were tasty. My boyfriend ordered the taco salad which came in a huge edible bowl and he was very satisfied.
I found my new pre-​game and grub spot!

Still the best 24 hour diner in Chicago! All the choices. Eggs, pancakes, skillets, Mexican… the list goes on and on. And just recently you can now order delivery from the comfort of your home thru
Give it a try you will be glad you did!