Avalon

I came here with a friend with a craving for pancakes. The chocolate chip pancakes were priced fair with a large portion of 4 large pancakes! Coffee was fresh and service was great. The salad that came with my friend’s «soup and salad» combo was poor looking; a handful of iceberg lettuce and some carrot shavings. I was also a little thrown off by the basket of bread and saltine crackers that are brought to the table… each piece of bread was sealed individually. I found that to be a little odd. Either way, it’s your typical diner, but I would say it’s much better than Denny’s.

Sigh…
I learned that this place was much better as a college memory than a place we want to visit on a frequent basis.
We walked in the doors and were quickly greeted. The woman looked our family over, took us over to our table, asked if we needed a highchair (we said yes) and then disappeared.
The food came out very fast but was very cold.
The best things about the experience were our waitress (very nice) and the pancakes (the kids loved them). Outside of that, it’s probably best to visit late at night when your expectations are at their lowest.

You may need a tetanus shot after eating at this place. I ventured back to the bathroom after waiting 15 minutes for the waitress to acknowledge our existence. Word to the wise, if you eat at this cesspool bring your own silverware, cups, and plates. And for god’s sake, don’t dare look over to the kitchen while walking back to the bathroom. The likelihood of you blowing chunks after you see the filth that is the kitchen is astounding. Really — how hard is it to keep the place clean? The health department would have a field day with this place.

I thought it was pretty interesting that they say they are open 24 hours but when I tried to go at 1 a.m. (insomnia) and they were closed.

don’t expect a spectacular dining experience… family owned restaurant that seems to be unaffected by the challenging economy (been in business for decades)…regular customers frequent this place since the menu offers anything and everything for everybody with a great amount of food at bargain prices (but don’t expect a mouth watering and orgasmic flavorful food)…open ²⁴⁄₇ so perfect for that 3am, after bar «munchies» when your taste buds are numb from all that alcohol you consumed anyway…

Overall it just wasn’t very nice, organized, or tasty. It wasn’t the worst place I have been, but not any where I would ever go again! I think every person in my group of 6 had part of their order messed up. Plus, their waitresses were dressed inappropriately for work.

We came here hoping it was going to be good .but it wasn’t the food was bland no flavor and the toast, the butter tasted stale and old the only thing good was the service the waitress was lovely!!! But the food I have to say wasn’t the best, it has an old folks atmosphere which I absolutely don’t mind but I guess that explains the food being bland because senior citizens have to watch there salt and sugar intake…

Way to many things on their menu. Couldn’t even choose something to eat because how ridiculously big that thing is. Just had a cup of coffee and left for another place to eat.

A group of friends meet at Avalon every Saturday. Pete is a good host and Jill will make sure your stay is very comfortable and your food prepared properly. We all enjoy our time at Avalon. Stop in and give it a try!

I’m at Avalon now and this place, even on a busy Sunday morning, still rocks! It’s great to see how a family business can really make it happen! It looks like the business works as a team (the employees stick around for years) and it’s nice to see that the owners can get down and help with the dirty work as well.

I lived in Gurnee for the first 35 years of my life and have been going there since it was Happy Bills. The menu is large just like the portions. The prices are more than fair for what you get. The service is fast and has always been friendly on every visit. I have eaten this food at night after the bar, in the morning with family, and at night with friends for dinner out. I moved away about ten years ago, but make it a point to go there every time we are back in town. (usually multiple times) My favorite is the «Sampler», two eggs, two sausage, two bacon, sliced ham, hash browns, and a plate of biscuits and gravy. It’s around $ 10 and is worth every penny. The cream of chicken and rice is also a great cream soup. The building is a bit out-​dated, but I don’t eat there for the architectural beauty, we eat there because of the good food, great service, and awesome price/​portion ratio. If you want a great breakfast at your table about 5 minutes after you order it… this is your place to go.

Service is good but they food was Meh. Oh if I want an extra topping on an omelette I shouldn’t have to buy the whole bowl of chili. Really. $ 45.00 for 3 for breakfast for a hole in the wall seems pricey to me.

I must be a sucka…
I Unilocal’d this place in April w/​1 star. I am an early riser, it’s 3:45 AM and I’m hungry. Maybe it’s Okay early when it’s not busy. It was myself and 2 other people in the whole joint so this should be at least decent, yes?
Wrong. I ordered 2 eggs OE, link sausage and grits — it’s not like I ordered Wagyu Carpaccio with a demi glacé. 15 minutes later my waitress brings me link sausage and a couple of minutes later scrambled eggs. I point it out to her and she proceeds to throw the cook under the bus — he cooked it wrong. SHE TOOK THE ORDER AND SERVED IT!!! 5 minutes later I get my eggs and then the grits. The grits were in a bowl. I was able to scoop under them, and in one spoonful had all the grits out of the bowl. I could have made a snowball out of it and broke a window. Did not eat anything.
As I walked out, I offered to pay for my drink. The manager and waitress argue with me it’s the cooks fault. I told her SHE TOOK THE ORDER AND SERVED IT!!! Her excuse — she forgot what I ordered.
So now let me forget Avalon for good.

Had the corned beef omelette. It was ok. The demographics seems to be a lot of senior citizens but the do bring out your food fast. Prices are reasonable.

I’ve lived in this area for a number of years, and for a good variety of simple fare at reasonable prices, you don’t get much better than this. Their reubens are very tasty, and I really haven’t come across anything on their menu I wouldn’t recommend. Great for brunch or for late-​night/​munchies attacks!

DISGUSTING! No two ways about it. The WORST! Horrible food, extremely slow service. I should have known… the place was DEAD at 530pm on a Sunday. Only reason we went there was because I had to be on the road by 630, and Olive Garden had a thirty-​five minute wait. We would have had a better meal at the Gurnee Mill’s food-​court!
Wet omelet… WET. Sent it back and told them I wasn’t paying for it. Yes, gelatinous cream-​of-​chicken slop, and my bro’s «French onion» was just onion soup… no French bread, no melted, bubbly cheese. Huh? Dry Reuben sandwich that came with a side of horseradish instead of 1000island (???). And don’t get me started on my sis-​in-​laws Eggs Bendedict… not even fit for a doggy (bag)!

If I never go back to the Avalon, it will be one time too soon.
My BF had some family in town recently, and Avalon used to be «their spot» to hang out. They like the «family style» of the restaurant (do not be confused — this is not family style dining, it is just a ‘family’ restaurant.) I find this ‘family’ restaurant thing questionable.
Our large party (10+) arrived for a later dinner around 8pm (please keep in mind that Avalon is open 24 hours.) We were seated, and given approximately 7 menus, and three minutes to look at them before our ‘server’ started barking at us asking what we wanted. We asked for a few more menus and a few more minutes to look things over.
When we ordered, this ‘server’ was completely unprofessional. When asked a question, he had a rude retort. I’m sorry, did I go to Ed Debevic’s or Dick’s Last Resort? No. The menu was also full of «no substitutions!»
I ordered a cheeseburger, which came with fries and cream of chicken rice soup. Nothing was good. The burger was a hockey puck. The fries were soggy, and the soup was a gelatinous blobby mess.
You could not pay me to go back to Avalon between the awful food and mediocre service.

Not bad; it’s an old-​school brunch/​burger joint, familiar enough for the area (though this kind of place is the norm over in Fox Lake, for some reason). I was there with a friend for brunch recently, and the omelets and skillets were solid enough.
There’s too much pointless milling around by the staff. Too many of the employees don’t seem to have any actual direction, and either bump into you or stand cluelessly around, blocking your path.
While the food isn’t spectacular, it’s a decent alternative to something like IHOP.

Very often when I see this kind of place and I think, «Oh, that’s a Greek [owned] restaurant,» I never associate it with actual Greek food, unless you count American gyros as Greek. Avalon is a standard breakfast, lunch & dinner diner with a million things on the menu. I was in the mood for some Greek food, and although I’ve lived within walking distance of this place for 11 years, it never occurred to me to try it out for Greek specialties. On the fifth or sixth page of the menu, I found a section where they had Greek food. So I tried a greek combination dinner here.
This dinner is enough for three meals! First came the small greek salad which actually came on a regular sized dinner plate. It was exactly what I wanted, including some feta and greek olives mixed in. Two large dinner plates of food were then delivered and included a very tasty pastitsio, greek potatoes, a huge pork chop and vegetables. We took it home and ate for the next two days.
My server was the sweetest, coolest gal. She was so attentive, alternative and friendly, it made the experience that much better. We asked about a recipe and she got one of the owners to come over and explain how they made their pastitsio.
Now I know where to go when I get a hankerin’ for Greek!

Avalon is the go-​to place in Northern Lake County for breakfast. The omelettes are huge and if you wish you can have them served with an equally huge slug of American fries and a side of pancakes.
Seriously– this is enough food to satisfy your average pro football linesman or sumo wrestler.
As someone previously mentioned– if you ask nicely, nearly any reasonable substitution is possible. This makes the number of combinations on the menu staggering and no one should leave feeling they didn’t get a meal served «their way».
I probably have been to Avalon 40 or 50 times since I moved to Lake County (I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to write a review before now) and have never had the slightest problem with service, food preparation, or cleanliness.
I have visited Avalon with large groups of adults and the management always made us feel welcome and were able to put together a table for all of us to sit together very quickly. Separate checks were never an issue and food was served piping hot and fast; coffee cups never ran dry although the coffee is what I feel is so-​so bulk grade.
For what you get, the prices I feel are a bargain; if you are a light eater– consider sharing with another person because I am not even kidding that you will be presented with a mountain of food.
I agree that the best time to go to the Avalon is between midnight and 7 AM. Not sure why– but it just is.