Hackney’s Restaurant

Came here for a special occasion with 15 family members and everyone was looking forward to it – but everyone, to a person, was disappointed. Burgers were blah, undercooked or overcooked and service was only the basics. The restaurant itself is very dark and chairs very uncomfortable. Even the famous fried onions were mostly greasy. I would recommend a field to trip to Red Robin for staff to learn how great burgers are made.

I don’t know how anyone could rate this place more then one star. I would go to hackneys as a kid and that was probably the last time the place was cleaned. Food was awful no taste, everything needed salt. I would not recommend. Had the burger and it looked like a prison sandwich. A hunk of meet on 2 pieces of bread. Very disappointed from what I remember as a kid.

Hackney’s never disappoints. Nearly 4 decades ago we left the Glenview area for other parts of the nation. We happened to be in the neighborhood recently and decided to stop in at the original Hackney’s on Harms. It is much the same as we remember it. Homey, comfortable, and friendly with great food.
One thing on the menu that reminds me of hackney’s is the Hackney’s Onion Ring. Many people have copied this and call it other things, but this is the real deal. And it it didn’t disappoint. Of course, the hamburger is the best, I had the 4oz (thank you for giving me a choice of size) and it was plenty to fill me.
This original Hackney’s is in an area surrounded by homes and huge trees. You might miss it if you aren’t looking for it.

Went here for lunch last month and ordered the 8 oz. Hackney burger. It was good, the service was good. But I thought it cost just a little bit too much. I will go back again but not too soon maybe next year, not a place where I would go on a regular basis but will definitely go back if friends suggest to go.

Oops

This place is so peaceful and quiet, patio outside is brilliant in summer and warm days, menu is simple but food came with amazing quality and is tasty whatever you order ! I recommend this place anyone !! Thank you Hackn’y

I love their burgers. Put a little blue cheese and grilled onions on it and there are few better. The bucket of onions rings is great as well.

About a 2 – 2.5: Some friends and I came to check out Hackney’s for lunch, as we had heard that they were rated as one of the top burger places in the US. This restaurant has been around since 1939, the Harms location being their original. I tried the Famous Hackneyburger, which was served on a Dark Rye (or, you can opt for a bun) — you can choose between an 8 oz or a 4oz, which I chose the 8 oz-​er. I found the meat to be on the bland side, and I wasn’t a fan of the rye that they used (even though I am a huge fan of rye breads), as it was very chewy and ‘goopy.’ I did ask for extra ketchup, but the condiment didn’t really help much. The burger automatically comes with cheese, so if you’re lactose intolerant, you can substitute or opt out of that. The side of shoestring french fries were forgettable, and the service was a little MIA. You can tell how the restaurant itself is pretty old-​school and filled with history. While my experience was more on the underwhelming side, the place seems to be a local favorite.
+tasteless burgers
+chewy rye breads
+MIA service
+the original Hackney location (on Harms)

Always liked Hackney’s. Been going here since I was a child. It is a real piece of North Shore nostalgia. The food has always been decent, but not great. But I have to say the burgers have gotten expensive ($ 12.50 for a fried burger with cheese). As of late, the food is also suffering from middle age, or maybe it is old age?
We visited here on July 3^rd and sat at the lovely outside garden for a meal for lunch. We both left disappointed.
My burger was ordered medium. It came well done and had little taste. The serving of fries was skimpy. The burger came on Hackney’s classic dark rye, which in this case, was falling apart. Hackney’s makes a big deal of its rye but it is best avoided. I am beginning to wonder whether it might be good idea to just avoid Hackney’s altogether.
My spouse ordered a spinach salad with grilled chicken and a lemonade ice tea. What came was not a spinach salad, but a salad with old, tasteless iceberg lettuce. The salad ($ 12.95) contained the bitter core yellow leaves that should be discarded. The tomatoes were mushy and the chicken rubbery and tasteless.
My spouse had to remind the waiter to bring her two pieces of Hackney dark rye bread. (The salad comes with a gross looking muffin. The waiter forgot to make the substitution. He also forgot to bring my wife’s lemonade-​ice tea.)
When the bill came, we saw we had been charged $ 1.25 for two pieces of bread. I must note that the bread here is really more like carmel colored rye bread, soft and not much fiber. It has always been a weak spot and is long overdue for an upgrade.
Instead, the restaurant is now charging for two slices of whimpy bread when you order a $ 13 salad? Geez times must be tough. I complained, but the waiter was unsympathetic.
It’s true I am a sucker for the place. I have a nostalgic tie to Hackney’s.
But the food is pricey and the service can be spotty. There are definitely better places to get a hamburger, but Hackney’s doesn’t seem to have woken up to this fact. Total check for two people — one order with no beverage and the other order with one draft beer: $ 40. I have to say this was a rather expensive lunch.
When I told the waiter that we didn’t think we’d be back to the Harms location, he replied, «ok good to hear it.» I am not sure he was listening. Or maybe he was just tired of fielding complaints.

Good food. Adults and kids enjoyed the food and environment. Burgers were great. Brick of onion was amazing. Nice selection of beers. Very laid back friendly place to grab dinner. Staff was friendly and accommodating.

Solid CORNED BEEF on dark rye bread with fries. Overall solid sandwich with good bread. Corned beef was moist and not too salty. The kicker was the HORSERADISH. It’s the real deal and will clear your sinuses! Fries are good as usual. Went on Saint Patrick’s Day around 6 so the place was a very festive sea of Kelly green.
We were able find a seat at the bar after pounding a few pints and listening to bag pipes and the nice piano lady with perfect posture. She gingerly sang Kool and the Gang’s «Celebration» with extra staccato. I’m secretly in love with the piano lady!
Service was friendly and the place is clean in spite of being packed.

The only good hackneys left. Lake Zurich uses meat they’ve left out, lake street is just plain dirty and downtown is hit or miss on service. This place has held the test of time and the outdoor seating in the summer is classic Glenview thoroughfare!

I go to this place whenever I want a real honest to goodness hamburger. I usually go around lunch time or early dinner. Wait staff is always friendly and helpful. This is the place to come for a beer and a great tasting burger at a fair price. I love meat and always get the Hackney burger on a pretzel roll cooked rare. The other breads just don’t hold up to the juiciness of these burgers. I sometimes get just raw onion and tomato or grilled onions. Either way is great. I have had the onion loaf too and it’s yummy. I was surprised that when I joined their email club I got 10 dollars off on my order. So with the extra money I splurged and got myself dessert too. Of course I had to get it to go cause I was full after a burger, salad fries and a beer. If I could have changed anything I would have gotten a better grade of lettuce like spring mix or spinach but the salad was yummy too and I ordered it with blue cheese crumbles. But hey I came for the burger. And am always satisfied when I leave.

When me and the guy go to hackneys, we always sit at the bar. The service has always been good and we enjoy the conversation. I’ve had the shrimp appetizer which is great. But my favorite part is hands down the veggie burger. It’s so tasty, even without the bun that even my overly carnivorous man has no problem sneaking bites when I’m not looking. He always goes with the regular burger and has never had any complaints.

My gal pal whisked me away to this Hackney’s on a relatively warm autumn Saturday afternoon. At first I was wondering where the heck she was driving me, as we were seemingly heading deep into the woods as we turned off a busy street. We wound up on quiet Harms Road in Glenview, and the spacious outdoor seating area of this location has the feel of someone’s cozy woodsy backyard.
We sat next to a tree with chirping birds, and a chipmunk popped in and out of some bushes, adding to the pleasant casualness of the setting. Everyone must order the onion loaf, basically a heap of French fried onion strings (definitely go with someone who likes onion rings, lest you miss out on the experience). Their Oktoberfest menu was featured, so I went with the bratwurst plate with two plump bratwurst, plus tasty red cabbage and German-​style scalloped potatoes. I washed it down with a Hofbrauhaus Oktoberfest beer. My dining mate ordered the reuben and had enough for leftovers. Neither of us had room for the apple streudel though. There is also an outdoor kids’ play area so they can work off the calories. While the food at Hackney’s was pretty good, the aspect of «sitting in the backyard» definitely enhanced the overall experience.

Glad to see some gluten and dairy free options but not happy that when I tell our waitress I need to avoid gluten, eggs, and dairy that she acts like it’s inconveniencing her to look at what’s in their black bean burger and other options. Guess when I called their Lake location I failed to realize that each location of this family owned restaurant has different menus… Why have a gluten free menu at your Lake location just 5 miles away? My mother-​in-​law ordered a burger on a pretzel bun and questioned the waitress when it came out on a regular bun, they ran out, but she didn’t care to let her know ahead of time. Seems inconsistent and I used to love Hackneys, wish I went to The Bad Apple instead. I won’t ever recommend this place again

Still a solid, but not what it used to be. The saddest part is they no longer have the original cheesecake. We still go often and enjoy. The outdoor seating is also nice.

Eh, is it weird that I find this Hackney’s to be not as good as their others? The service is pretty nonexistent. One evening my friend and I went for a late dinner and we weren’t sure where to go to be seated outside. There was no one at the host station inside and when we dined al fresco service was a bit strange also. They were there but really seemed like they had better things to do.
The food similarly also seemed blander here too. The inside out burger had almost no bacon or cheese in it. The onion roll was also just super bland and greasy with just no onion flavor to it. I’d go to another Hackney’s since there’s another one right around the corner.

Great, old school funky vibe… tasty food… but I gotta say, not as over the top amazing as Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive Ins and Dives) always makes it seem. Don’t get me wrong, if I lived locally this would probably be a regular stop, but after almost a week of eating in a different restaurant for both lunch and dinner every day, I was ready to have my fat kid socks knocked off and it just didn’t happen.
I did like the old school dark, neighborhood vibe this place had. The staff seemed to know many of the regulars, and the bar looked like a nice place to have sat as well. The menu has a German flare, and the house specialty onion loaf looked amazing, although we did not order it. I had the signature «Inside Out Burger» on the house dark rye. The pleasant dark brown sliced bread was a nice change from a regular old bun… but it was not a wise choice for a juicy stuffed burger and it quickly became soggy and no help at all in holding on to the great sandwich. We also had the homemade apple pie with cinnamon ice cream, very good… and the bread pudding with the toffee sauce… both fantastic and leaving us on near food coma on our drive back to the hotel.

Ever think of starting a business and daydream of how it will take off in the future…20, 50, 70, 100 years later?! One Glenview, Illinois couple did back in the 1920s.
Check out Hackney’s if you love history, good burgers and beer.
The backyard experience is a must.
Imagine burger recipes almost a hundred years old.
Great dedication for the same family that still runs this establishment.
Crowded with families and kids just running around. So, probably not a first date unless you are both a fan of history and simply tasty food.