Eggshell Cafe

Zero Stars
Simply put, THE WORST PLACE EVER!
The man who greets you at the podium, and I use the word «GREET» very loosely; AND who claims to be the owner, is hands down the rudest, most obnoxious malcontent we have ever had the displeasure of meeting.
The chip on his shoulder can be seen by the International Space Station!
This man, who gave us the name John, treated us with such arrogance and disrespect that it’s astounding that anyone would consider dining at this restaurant EVER!
What was our crime? We asked for the air conditioning to be turned on. He told us it’s 68 degrees outside and he would not turn on the air. We politely said that it was true about the temperature OUTSIDE but that the humidity was 88%, which made the inside very hot and very humid. He said no again, and that we should go outside.
We did, and we left, FOREVER!

BEST breakfast /​lunch spot in the suburbs hands down. My family & I drive from downtown Chicago several times per month just to eat at this restaurant. The owner always greets us with a smile & he is always so kind to our boys! The service is always super quick & friendly. Where better can you take your children than here?! Not too many places where you’re in/​out within the hour with your kids PLUS the food has never disappointed. Those looking to take your family to a place with excellent food/​service & accommodating then this is your spot. Get there early! This place is always slammed every time we head over there, but somehow we mange to always get seated quickly. Perfect 10 all around.

Food always good. Just wish the wait staff would get a better attitude towards their customers.

When I am brainstorming places I want to go for breakfast, I hardly ever say Eggshell. Why? I have never been a fan. I think the food is honestly just decent. Despite being pretty crowded, we were seated quite quickly at a very nice booth. I have to admit, their booths are awesome. The whole décor in general is very relaxing. Our server seemed very rush and asked us very quickly if we were ready to order. Uh, hello… we just got seated 3 minutes ago. Anyways, after browsing the menu, I decided to share the spinach and mushroom omelet. We also added mozzarella to add a tint of flavor. Overall, it was pretty delicious and tasted very fresh. Definitely one of the more healthy options on the menu. My other guest ordered the potato pancakes and said they were probably some of the most disappointing ones she ever tried. In my personal opinion, Walker Brothers makes the BEST potato pancakes… Next time, were heading over to Walker Bros. I’m positive there will be no complaints. Will I return to Eggshell? Maybe if I run out of options…

We haven’t gone in a couple years we’d thought we would give it another try. Still bad won’t be back. Took close to a hour to get the food. Turkey was dried out and that was the special, pancakes very small and poached eggs came out hard boiled ., etc. Still confused why people still come here .,

Awesome place for breakfast. The décor is bright and comfortable. The spartan omelette was amazing.

First of all, I would give the food and the wait staff 4 stars. The owner/​host deserves a negative one star. He was rude, rude, rude. Took another party behind us firse since he knew them– with no apology or smile. Then cut me off so that I could not explain that we were meeting a couple with a baby. When they arrived with a stroller, he growled that the baby must be moved and was so nasty we almost left. With other customers, he was smiling and pleasant. We were out of town visitors and will not return EVER!
When we mentioned this to our relatives who live 2 miles away, they said, ” We do not go there because the owner/​host is a jerk!“
Ummmm. yes. Stay away.

Terrible food, even worse service, when I very kindly spoke to owner he was incredibly rude, defensive, and could care less that we would not be returning as customers. Will not return to this restaurant because the owner was so unappreciative and ungrateful for our patronage.

The food here is mediocre and doesn’t seem fresh. This is our second time here and we both ordered tuna salad platters. The soup that came with our meals was bland. However, the price is good for how much food you get and the service was fast at first. Later on no one came to check on us and we have had to wait a long time both visits to get the check.

We ordered the corn beef hash skillet and the Mediterranean omelette with coffee for Sat breakfast. I really liked that there is an option for either toast or pancakes with the food orders as some places only give toast. The food was delicious. The only criticism was that coffee was a bit weak and even after 3 cups, we did not feel the caffeine kick. There was a good crowd and no wait for breakfast. Definitely a good breakfast rotation place.

The quintessential it’s all right diner. Everything was tasty, but a little too greasy. Service was prompt and attentive, but not particularly friendly. The décor is a little bit run-​down, but that’s OK for a diner. Good place, but there are much better in the area.

Great breakfast & lunch spot up North! Very busy at lunch time but got seated right away. Large menu to pick from. Tried the turkey melt with tomato soup and it was delicious!

Been eating here for the past couple of weeks. Great place, good food and fast service.

Just an egg joint, food is good, however the owner is arrogant and rude. The waitress lost my credit card after charging the meal. She looked a little then said just too busy, not sure where your card went. The owner says, he will put my card at the front desk if it shows up. He does not want my name nor my phone number as it is my responsibility to call and check with him. He says, «What do you want me to do, I didn’t lose it.» Will never return again, too many egg joints in the area to put up with this type of customer service.

This place does a great job with breakfast. Easily accessible, great service and excellent food. I was shocked with how attentive they are to the customers (I sat next to a customer with a VERY specific order, he seemed happy when the staff brought it over) and the food is some of the best breakfast fare around the area.
This place will be a goto for me moving forward.

The food wasn’t bad, that said, the customer service sucks. Don’t ask for a container to, take soup, home, they don’t have them, don’t ask for anything but styrofoam, because it’s the only kitchen on the planet that doesn’t have aluminum foil. If you care at all about the environment, don’t go, there.
If you want to have a conversation with a manager or the owner, don’t go there. He refused to come to a customers table! Like I said customer service, SUCKS,

First review just so I can tell people about the horrible customer service it ran into.
Arrived here to a ¹⁄₂₅ filled house and informed the host I would need a table for 3 when my party would arrive.
He waived his hand and told me to sit and wait on the dust covered benches. I told him I just flew in and was hoping to get a drink while waiting. Nope — go sit and wait.
So now I will be waiting at the nearest Starbucks and eating at the Jimmy Johns across the street.

I really, really try not to give negative reviews unless the place is truly awful.
This place is truly awful.
I work nearby, so I’ve found myself at Eggshell probably four or five times in the last year. Every time, I wonder why I come back.
First thing — the food. It’s aggressively mediocre. Soup is clearly not fresh, pancakes are tasteless, hash browns are soft and not crispy, salad toppings/​omelet fillings are canned. Two stars for food, because even though it doesn’t knock it out of the park, it’s pretty much what you’d expect.
THE SERVICE IS AWFUL. Every time I’ve been there, the group I’m with has been given a very nasty attitude by the guy that I presume is the owner and the other male server. The ladies have all been pretty nice and accommodating.
A great example: because I’ve had the misfortune of dining here several times, I know there’s a policy that you can’t split checks and you can only use up to three credit cards per check. Annoying, but whatever, it happens. My group (of 6) ordered, ate (the server only came by to take the order and then drop off the food, never checked on us or anything) and waited around for a LONG time to get our check. It was dropped off and my table worked it out so that we gave some cash and three cards, everything was written down neatly so the server would know which card to charge with what amount. The server, very rudely, told us that we couldn’t pay that way and that we could do two cards and cash, or three cards.
Just to clarify, at the beginning of the meal we ASKED HIM if we could split the check and he told us no, we could put it on three cards and cash.
Listen, I get the plight of the server. I waited tables for three years and I totally understand that sometimes the restaurant has systems set up in an illogical way. But there’s a way to politely explain the situation without being abrasive, rude and, frankly, just obnoxious.
Because we’re not monsters, we left him a decent tip, but you’d be better off going across the hall to the Greek restaurant. The servers there are super chill and the food doesn’t taste like it’s been sitting under heat lamps for three hours.

A good neighborhood joint. Good menu for a diner. Great service. It’s the reason I come back. The food is good and fresh.
I mainly come for the breakfast. Omelets, eggs etc are always done right. Your coffee will never be empty for more than a gulp.
Good for business breakfasts too (nice and quiet).

I WILL NOT RETURN TO THIS ESTABLISHMENT.
So why would I say that about a restaurant that I have given four stars to and live about 10 miles away from? Here’s why…
I went there on a Thursday morning and walked up to the door — I have included two photos of what I observed at the doorway when I arrived — please check them out. I was seated as I walked up to the host stand, given a nice booth by a window overlooking Lake-​Cook Rd. I decide to order my «standard» breakfast — a Lox & Onion Omelette with a tomato juice. Spiros is my server and takes my order. Shortly afterwards, my meal arrives.
The omelette is a fluffy style as advertised — a nice size and not «over-​fluffed». Fair amount of lox — that’s good too. Hashbrowns look and end up tasting pretty good — nice mix of browned and non-​browned taters, not greasy either. English muffin is lightly toasted as requested. Tomato juice (I was given a large one though I did not specify nor was I asked) was fine and OK for the price. I finish up and I’m thinking, «all in all, this was a pretty good place; good food, decent service, fair prices… I can see coming here more often.» Spiros sets down my tab — $ 14.67 with tax. I review it and set down my AMEX — which I use for virtually all my personal transactions.
Spiros comes up to take the bill… «I’m sorry sir, we don’t take American Express.» My jaw drops — «Yes you do — it’s posted at your entrance» (pointing toward the front). «I’m sorry sir, we don’t take American Express» repeated Spiros. I’m livid about this but am not going to argue the point because if this is the case, no amount of arguing will change the cards they accept — whether they advertise that they accept them or not. I give him a bankcard that I use for other things as I have no cash with me. He returns the bill — but no manager approaches me about the card acceptance issue. I did tip him for the service provided as he doesn’t make the decisions about credit cards.
But for me, here’s the bottomline — I will not visit or support a business that uses DECEPTIVE business practices. I went back later to take the photos I shared here — if this was simply an oversight, those AMEX decals would be GONE. But they weren’t. So… while I did have a good meal here — that’s what my four star rating is based on — I will NOT go back and spend my money at a place that falsely advertises and deceives its customers. There are plenty of other four star restaurants that I can get breakfast at that don’t mislead their guests.