The Grove

If you like going to a mediocre Denny’s then this is your place. I debated giving this 3 stars, but relative to other places I’ve given 3 stars that wouldn’t make sense.
This is not a place I would ever choose to go to but I was with a running group on Sunday and this place is near the path and going in sweaty isn’t a big deal. I got the Durango Platter and it was fine. In fact, everyone’s breakfast meal looked good, but it’s nothing to write home about and I wouldn’t suggest coming here for non-​breakfast items.
Obviously the Grove isn’t a true café but the hot tea was crap. It’s basically what you would get flying on Southwest. Had I known I was going to have no option other than the cheapest Lipton offering I would have saved myself $ 1.75.
Service was pretty fast though…

I think they changed owners and/​or management and may have new cooks. They’re not as good as they used to be.
Last time I was there, last month, I got a grilled chicken pita sandwich that was supposed to have greek dressing and feta cheese. It had a little bit of dressing, not a speck of feta, and hot lettuce. I think hot lettuce is gross. I also missed the feta. The chicken and the pita themselves were OK. It came with really good fries, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, a small cup of tasty creamy coleslaw and a thick, nicely seasoned bean soup. My mother got a hot turkey sandwich, usually a good choice at a diner. Not here. It was very processed, or as I call it, floating turkey, because it often floats in some kind of fluid while waiting to be served to unsuspecting customers. The mashed potatoes were also not real mashed potatoes.
The Greek omelets used to be great here. They’re fluffy and huge and the waitresses let me substitute green peppers for the spinach. Last time I had one it wasn’t as good, it was thrown together too fast or something.
The waitresses are very nice and are still good about substituting.

Surprisingly good. I didn’t know what to expect when we walked, no, ran in from the cold. We got seated right away and had coffee within moments of removing our coats.
I ordered the veggie burger sans bun and extra lettuce created to be my very own veggie bun. Also, since I’m trying out the vegetarian route for a while, the server offered me a salad instead of the meaty soups. Salad was fresh. The sweet potato fries were so yummy. Fried perfectly and a little soft. The cole slaw was tasty even though it was a little runny.
My sister got the ½ lb burger and she devoured it along with the yummy fries (had to sneak a couple). She also finished the entire bowl of soup so that was pretty good by her standards.
I’d come back when in the area. Beats getting just a coffee at Starbucks.

Good basic breakfast. They don’t have the foofy breakfasts like 2 Sparrows or Orange but for a basic breakfast they can’t be beat. They have low prices in general but they have three combos that included coffee for around $ 8!
This is one of those places that I always think «Why don’t I go here more?».
Service is also friendly and fast and they have good coffee. We left my GF’s kids in bed Xmas morning and sneaked out to eat at one of the few places open that day. They are also open late (24 hours?) On Friday and Saturday for the bar crowd.

Huge delicious omelettes and fantastic hash browns! Reasnably priced mimosas! The good food and reasonable prices paired with quick and attentive service make The Grove my go to breakfast spot in Lincoln Park :)
The only disappointment I’ve had there recently is the Milano Crusted French Toast — not a fan of any breakfast dish covered in fake strawberry goop. But I’ve really enjoyed other simpler sweet dishes like the pumpkin pancakes. mmm

My doctor is down the street and after fasting for all those tests? I needed grub!
The Grove was there. It was open. They had the TV on The Ellen Show. They had beer. It was cool.
It was like having lunch at my auntie’s house: Pleasant enough, but you wouldn’t want to do it all the time.
I kept it simple with a burger, fries and a Heineken. I was asked how I wanted my burger. I replied, as I always do, «medium.» Either the server or the cook clearly heard «done, well done, and done some more…» because that’s what I got.
Not the best I’ve ever had, but not the worst. And for the price, you can’t beat it. If I go there again, I think I’ll stick to breakfast food — I’m imagining that might be their specialty? *shrugs*

Oh, the Grove. You helped me through so many hangovers when I lived in Lakeview.
This is a nice little Greek-​diner type of place. I’ve gone here in the morning, around noon, and in the evening and I’ve always been pleased with the service and the food. What can I recommend the most? The pancakes, the eggs florentine, and the chorizo sausage.
This place actually has a pretty decent bar too if you want some hooch.

Went there for dinner, around 7:30 on a saturday night.
The place was basically empty, only three elderly couples seated throughout the joint. Most of the staff was sitting at the bar area eating, and attending to guests in-​between bites. Kind of unprofessional…
Our waitress was attentive, but didn’t seem happy. Probably because business was so slow.
Got the nightly special which was: A spicy burger (fried egg, bacon, jalapeño peppers, cheese) for $ 5.95. The burger included a large bowl of soup and a good helping of fries.
My sis got the pancakes with strawberries on top ($ 5.95), as well as a side of sausage ($ 2.00).
Our food came out quickly. Almost too quickly, and it was easy to tell that most of it had probably been prepped/​cooked earlier.
My soup was good, standard baked potato soup. My burger was good too, the peppers added a nice kick to the burger. The fries were the best part, as they were all crispy and yummy, and absolutely horrible for me :)
My sister didn’t fair as well. Her pancakes were okay (nothing special) and the strawberries were the canned pie filling kind. Nothing worth paying so much for. The sausage was the only part that she really enjoyed.
My meal was pretty sweet for the cost, but I doubt either one of us will be getting pancakes there again.

I used to come here all the time with my friends. We were so young and naïve… Ok that is a little mean, but this place really isn’t great.
It has the staples and does them a-​ok. But there are literally 20 places within 200 yards that have better food for your $ 10. And if you get walking shoes or a bike, there are literally 200 places within a mile.
I really don’t even know what else to say about this place. It is the culinary equivalent of a nightstand. Sure it is close and holds ketchup well, but you sure as heck don’t want to eat it.

Having survived the ‘Grannies’* period, I came back for more. Yes, I knew the stories. Grannies was a place that only the ironest of iron stomachs should ever trod. Well, check this: not only did I eat at Grannies — at night time — but I ordered a crab benedict. I was totally asking to be made 20 pounds skinner by some rocking dysentery. It didn’t happen. I was fine. Coincidentally, a horseshoe fell our of my a$$. In any event, I survived the first go-​round and I was back for more.
The Grove is a kinder, gentler successor to the throne. If Michael J Fox replaced Charlie Sheen on Spin City (instead of the other way around), it would be similar. The hours are a little wonky. You never know if they’re going to give the whole 24-​hours-​during-​the-​weekend thing a go or say «Forget it. We don’t want to be bothered with annoying drunks at 3 am.» It’s a game. When I went, they were open late. It was cold. I’d just finished up an event. I was hungry and in need of a little quiet time.
Mission accomplished. Yes, you’ll see characters (but not like at The Melrose). Yes, you’ll hear drunks (but not like at that portal-​to-​the-​netherworld at Ashland and North). But, for the most part, you’ll get your food and eat it in silence. I ordered a scramble and coffee. The coffee came out fast and was refilled as soon as I thought it should be. My waiter was one of the more sincere, nicest guys I’d met in a while. Truly. He seemed so appreciative of his job and so intent on making the best of his opportunities (we got to talking about his studies), that I was inspired to believe that cynicism is a waste of time and that a please, thank you and a smile should never go undone. I mean it. Ray of sunshine, this guy is. The scramble was fine. It’s diner food, late at night. It did the job. Potatoes, onions, eggs, animal proteins, and cheese served hot are a combo that can very rarely fail. Would I come here for breakfast? Maybe not. Would I come here for lunch/​dinner? Probably not. Would I come here late at night for some caffeine, scrambles, chance for earnest conversation, and a little me-​time in the dead of night? Signs point to yes.
*I think that was the name before it was The Grove.

Yay, The Grove is now open later! Til 8pm on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends… get excited Lincoln Parkers, get excited.
One day I am going to go for lunch or dinner and not have my corned beef hash skillet. I told the b/​f I’d be having a burger for once on our last trip there, then the waitress asked me what I’d like and I’ll be darned, I blurted out «Corned beef hash skillet with no onion please.» I like what I like, can’t help it.
I do, however, know that their soup is tasty because I have broken away from the usual one time and ordered some soup to go and it was delish.

To steal a line from the Olive Garden — When you’re here, you’re family.
Getting up early on a Saturday to run is hard. Getting up early to run on a Saturday when it’s 20 degrees, windy and snowy is damn near impossible. What gives me the kick in the pants I need to get moving is knowing that we’ll grab brunch afterward. Of all of the places in the vicinity, we hit The Grove most.
From an aesthetic standpoint, The Grove is your typical Greek diner; booths, tables, brown tones, etc. What’s not typical is how friendly the staff is. We’re always warmly greeted and have gotten to know some staff quite well. They never grimace about offering our group separate checks (even if there are 12 of us dining) and are always spot on with water, coffee and hot water refills.
In theory I love The Grove’s menu; it’s not your typical Greek diner menu. They offer huge skillets, large omelets (the Mexican is quite popular with my fellow runners), combinations, etc. but they also offer an interesting selection of sweet pancake, waffle and french toast options. These options include granola pancakes, Nilla Wafer pancakes and Milano Cookie crusted french toast. In terms of creativity, I give them 5 stars. In terms of execution, they get 3 stars.
Why the 3 stars? First, the use of compote instead of fresh fruit. I loathe that thick, gelatinous, pie-​filling-​esque stuff and it really eliminates a lot of otherwise mouth watering dishes. Second, I feel like they need to step up the ingredients; most stuff seems like it comes straight from a box, jar or can. On my last visit I got the granola pancakes; the pancakes tasted like Bisquick and the granola that was supposed to be part of the batter was sparsely sprinkled on top. Also, said granola consisted of a halfheartedly crumbled Nature’s Valley granola bar.
If I liked egg dishes, I’d probably rate this place higher, they seem to be their strong suit. Until they start stepping up the ingredients on their other offerings, I just can’t give them more than 3 stars no matter how darned friendly they are.
TIP: They serve booze, mimosas are only $ 3.50!
Note: Free wifi

The Grove was extremely disappointing in both their late-​night service and quality of food. I came here one Saturday night around 11pm after spending the day at lollapalooza. I was with my boyfriend and we were in search of some decent late night fare, and since this was conveniently located in the bottom of the apt building we were staying in, we gave it a try.
I always have a horrible time deciding what to order. This time I was debating between French toast or nachos on the app menu. I ended up going with the nachos based on their description: multiple types of melted cheese, chicken, black beans, olives, salsa, etc. Seemed like a safe choice at the time.
So I go to the bathroom and when I come back to the table, my «nachos» are awaiting my arrival. Basically what this meal consisted of was a bowl of stale chips, covered in cheese which I’m pretty sure came from a can, was generously poured on top and microwaved for about 20 seconds. It had a rubbery texture and was lukewarm in some spots, cold in others. Then to my dismay, there was no chicken, no beans, no olives and no salsa. Instead, there was a pile of shredded lettuce, topped with a pile of tomatoes AND a pile of onions… which if had been listed on the menu I would have taken off because I hate onions.
As I am contemplating what to do about this disaster, I look over to see the only waitress in the place leaving for the night. She also looked like she hated her life when she took our order, so I didn’t really want to mess with her. There was really no one else to discuss the matter with, besides our extremely nice bus boy, who came to refill our water glasses about eight times during our meal (the one star is for him), so I didn’t want to complain to him. Quite frankly, I didn’t want to deal with the kitchen because I didn’t have high hopes for what they would have given me in compensation. So I ate about three bites and called it a night.
My boyfriend had bacon and eggs, which he described as «your run of the mill breakfast meal, which you can’t really screw up, but the hashbrowns were still fairly cold and probably could have used another 15 seconds on high power in the microwave. It’s similar to those times when you’re really drunk and excited about eating, so you think your food is done in the microwave, but when you take it out and start eating, you realize only the outer layer is warm. But at that point you stop caring and just eat it anyway.»
To top off the evening, as we were about to leave, this really wasted guy comes in, sits down at this table with a girl who was on her laptop studying, signs onto her Facebook account, friends himself, tells his friend «J-​money» about the experience, and then… orders the nachos.

Had bfast there during a bike ride.
Good omlettes.
Large glass of OJ was small.

Two things you need to know about The Grove:
1. Open ²⁴⁄₇ on the weekends, and conveniently located near a lot of bars.
2. Melted cheese on the fiesta wrap. Seriously the best thing I’ve ever eaten while drunk.
The staff is really nice and just laughs off my drunken antics, and the bathrooms are very clean.

Hmm… I am shocked this place has such good reviews. We wandered in here totally randomly since we were just walking around in the area. Looked like a normal diner and we were hungry for a late lunch.
I ordered a chicken wrap. It was just chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing. Came with french fries and soup. Chicken soup was just standard, nothing special. The fries were pretty good, and the wrap was pretty good… at the time.
My boyfriend ordered the turkey. it was on special that day, so I’m not sure they always have it. Turkey, potatoes, etc. Well, his mashed potatoes were actually cold. I mean, COLD. Not just «not warm enough» they were actually cold, like right out of the fridge cold. So he asked the waitress if he could get some warm potatoes… And literally, she took the plate and brought it back (the whole thing, turkey, everything) and just microwaved it. I mean come on… At least make it look like you tried.
Anyway, bf barely touched his food. He said it was so gross, and he is seriously the least picky eater I’ve ever met. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him complain about a meal, especially out. He barely touched it. WHen they came by to ask how it was, he told them he did not like it, and it was pretty much untouched. Now, most places would, at this point, try to go out of their way to make you happy. Either remake it, offer him something else, or at least take it off the bill. I think that’s the appropriate thing to do. This place says, no joke «Well do you want some jello?» and brought him a cup of jello? Haha. Very very random.
And, back to my chicken wrap. We both left feeling like the food was just SITTING in our stomach. I mean I just did not feel right. I dealt with that for about 2 hours and eventually I got completely sick. Nothing I ate stayed down, and I do not have a sensitive stomach.
So, something was wrong here. And I was honestly expecting to go on here and read poor reviews, so I’m shocked. Maybe we ordered two bad things, I’m not sure, but either way, this place did not treat us well.

Okay, first things first: Kudos to The Grove for getting us seated right away, even though they were clearly very busy due to the pride parade today. Our bus boy was very quick to bring us (much appreciated) glasses of ice water. And our waitress (can’t remember her name, unfortunately) was a sweetheart.
We felt a little rushed in getting our order taken but our waitress had 7 tables so no big deal. Our food arrived (no kidding), like, 5 minutes after we ordered — bonus points! Once we received our food — I ordered the tuna melt and my friend, on the recommendation of the waitress, ordered the turkey panini. Let me tell you something, Unilocalers; these people do not mess around with portions! For $ 7.65, I received a HUGE tuna melt, fries, soup (it’s included), and a dab of coleslaw. You really can’t beat a price like that for a ton of food. And it wasn’t bad tasting either!
Our server, as funny as she was, wasn’t exactly on her game today. We asked for water refills and, 15 minutes later, she still hadn’t brought them. Also, when she took our order, we weren’t really given any soup options. It wasn’t a huge deal and we were in a silly mood so we thought it was kind of «haha» funny but here’s how it went:
Waitress: «Okay, so you want the chicken noodle soup, right?»
Friend and me: «uhm… «
Waitress: «you do.»
Friend and me: «uhm… sure?»
And less than a minute later we had soup. End of soup story.
The reason I’m giving The Grove 3 stars is because it’s definitely «A-​OK» but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a «fan.» Will I stop in there again when I’m nearby? Sure! Will I tell me friends, «you have GOT to go to this place» in the future? Mmmm… no. Not unless they want to go to, like others have said, a Mom & Pop senior citizen lounge kind of place on the cheap. Or breakfast. Places like this always tend to have really good breakfasts. Hmm…

Bongo Room lovers beware! This place may not have ALL the nifty breakfast pancakes, but they do have enough to satifsy my morning craving. Beats being in a longggggggggg line
The crème anglise is… wow. Great. Have it with everything
Service is speedy and polite. you know that the place is great when you have people form all generations and races flocking for breakfast here. Love seeing the married couple in corner booth swooning over their bacon and eggs :)

I should mention that I’m a big fan of diners for breakfast. So I may be a little biased since this is exactly the type of breakfast place I’d like to spend a relaxed morning enjoying some coffee and eggs.
The corned beef hash and poached eggs wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was good. Lots of sweet french toasts and waffles on the menu, not usually my kinda food but I’ll have to try one next time around. The french toast with white baileys sauce and bananas was really yummy.
The waitress was nice but could’ve paid more attention to us.
The Nilla cookie pancakes and Milano cookie french toast both sounded delicious.

Here’s the thing. I don’t live in Chicago so I can’t say the service ALWAYS sucks, the crowd in the entry way is ALWAYS annoying and the worn out, dingy dining room is ALWAYS that uninviting.
But when you’re a tad hungover (Happy St. Patrick’s, y’all) and looking for something to save your life, this place is what you want. I had the Greek omelet (3 eggs, spinach, tomato, feta) with crispy-​amazing hashbrowns and toast. It was such a savior that I could almost look over the fact that 3 out of 4 people at our table got their food at least 10 minutes earlier than the 4^th (one of my most humongo pet-​peeves in a restaurant).
So yeah. Don’t go looking for gourmet. But dammit… it’s pretty tasty.