Walker Bros Original Pancake House

Walker Bros is the most reliable breakfast place around. No matter when I’ve gone it’s always been the same amazing menu and great staff service. I’ve been coming here my whole life and I don’t plan to ever stop!

Two things: No soy milk and no turkey bacon. In Highland Park, there should be turkey bacon.

If your from the Northshore of Chicago. There is not much to explain about eating breakfast at this iconic northshore institution For those of you who are new to the area just remember the following menu items.
There are
1. German pancake or dutch baby
2. Apple pancake
3. Bacon
4. Waffle with bacon bits inside
5. Krispy french toast
6. Hash browns with Jalepenos and cheese
7. Coffee (Kona) and orange juice (fresh squeezed)

Large location and consistently good food. Service is efficient. Line moves relatively quick even when it is super crowded in the restaurant.

Wow! There is really something for everyone on this menu! From pancakes, to omelettes, to even bagels and lox… they have it all! To start, my family and I split the famous Apple pancake. Apparently it is 25% all through May FYI. The pancake looked like a medium sized monkey bread. Thank goodness the 5 of us shared it. We each were able to get a good size and be satisfied. It was warm and absolutely delicious. Now I get why it is famous! For my meal, I made my n omelette. My only complaint is that I have to get it scrambled because apparently making it into an actual omelette takes 20 minutes? Odd. But my omelette was still very tasty nonetheless.
When I arrived with my party of 9, I was shocked how fast us and the parties around us were able to be seated! For 20 minutes, only 5 of my party of 9 were there and they eventually sat us. Very nice of them and we really appreciated it.
Another menu highlight was the blue crab eggs Benedict. So tasty and a great combination!

Although I spent most of my Chicago life going to Walker Brothers in Wilmette, this one has the same quality food. Dependable ambiance, food, service, that is what Walker Brothers is all about. It is not cheap but you know you will never be disappointed.
As a New Trier adviser (this is the correct New Trier spelling) for over thirty years, Walker Brothers was and is still an institution as a place for the adviser room to meet every so often. Instead of having advisery in school, it would take place at the restaurant and then students and educator would head to school afterwards for first period. I did that almost every year I was an adviser at New Trier and that was more than twenty years. We always enjoyed our time here.
The stained glass, service, and food are fresh and memorable. If you haven’t been here and live on the North Shore, something is wrong.

Great breakfast spot! Service was very good and quick. Santa Fe omelette and Venetian eggs Benedict were both really good. Both came with a side of buttermilk pancakes– for a buck extra we added blueberries to the pancakes.

First review but a long time patron of Walker Brothers. The BEST is always a treat and WB’s has a lot of bests. In Chicagoland, WB’s is my favorite breakfast spot. Buttery scrambled eggs, massive omelettes, fluffy pancakes and perfect waffles. Not the place for skillets (’cause the don’t do them) and French toast doesn’t live up to the previously mentioned offerings but virtually every other breakfast item is special. And if you like unique: Dutch Baby, German Pancake and Apple Cinnamon Pancakes are morning indulgences. Unless you eat them for lunch or dinner too. The Apple Cinnamon is available for take home to be cooked from frozen for the next time 3 feet of snow keeps you from such luxury. Good eating!

All 3 Stars are for the food, which is always Great.
I found the service, off today. Let me sit without coffee for 15 minutes. Unusual for them, in my experience. Saturday morning, and not real busy yet. I remember a maniacal commitment to service. in the past. Maybe next time?

It’s a fine restaurant, it’s just not all that special. I had a Walker Brother’s Chopped Salad, and it was pretty uninspired. Standard breakfast fare, just not exceptional.

I honestly wouldn’t bother with writing such a bad review but this is a story that must be told. I was in here on a Sunday morning with my family and asked the waitress if we could split 2 hot chocolates between adults and kids in order to avoid spoiling the kids appetite. She agreed. The hot chocolates came out in 4 cups, one per kid and one per adult. They were significantly hotter than normal and my son burned his tongue and immediately starts crying hysterically. When I complained to the manager Hank, he said oh I wonder why she agreed to split them and then brought a cup of ice at my request. Low and behold I get the check and there is a charge for 4 hot chocolates!!! I was so aggravated that I didn’t even want to see this guy again and made my wife get a credit. Instead of offering to credit our drinks, this @$$hole tried to overcharge me which I wouldn’t have known to be intentional except for the way the bill listed them 2 and 2. I will not return ever and vehemently oppose any patronage to this establishment.

Walker brothers is always consistently good. Omelettes are a decent size. I’ve tried a few and the Santa fe is still the best. Pancakes are perfection. Something I discovered today: they don’t have avocado. They also don’t have fries, but whatever, it’s mostly known for being a breakfast place. More importantly, they need avocados, stat.

Overrated. clap, clap, clap
I feel like I am at a Yankees game and Derek Jeter is coming to bat. For a place that is supposed to be legendary, I found it mediocre based upon quality of food and price.
I mean a pancake is a pancake. I didn’t find anything special. And I generally thought it was too expensive.
Ambiance was nice though. I like the stained glass patio. Not really sure where to go for a better value. But avoid if you are broke. You will be disappointed.

Two words. German pancakes! Fluffy and moist. It comes to the table on a large plate, plain and simple. But squeeze lemon juice over it and top it with powdered sugar. Heavenly. Must get!
Omelettes and hashbrowns made well. Ordered the cheddar hashbrowns thought it was going to be enveloped in however it was just topped on. Still good but missed the crispness.
Attentive and pleasant staff. Overall good spot for breakfast for two or with a group.

Well, it was bound to happen, and some place got my Lucky Chinese Number 888 review. That place is Walker Brothers Pancake House in Highland Park. I really should retire from Unilocaling now, since my next Chinese aspiration must be review # 8888, and I either won’t live that long or I would really have to pick up the pace.
Anyway, back to WB, we found the omelettes here to be just as good as at the other WB’s. However there were a couple of issues that make this place fall short of the most excellent others. One issue is that the coffee, while hot, seemed like it was microwave hot and not quite as fresh as the other places. The other issue is that the busy servers here (unlike other WB’s) also have bus duty as well, and so water and coffee service was on the relatively negligent side. We had a relatively shortish 10 minute wait at 12:45pm on a Sunday. For brunch, we had a spinach and Swiss cheese omelette and their November special (25% off) of pumpkin French toast. I would not order the pumpkin French toast again as it and the accompanying pumpkin sauce were a bit over sugary. The layout here is also a bit different — on one side (personally preferred) is a sunny, windowed, airy section and on the other side of a wall is a bit more closed-​off section with several adjoining and small but admittedly cozy wood paneled rooms. Anyway it was good to see this location as well as the quaint business district of downtown Highland Park, but we likely won’t be back.

I’ve been wanting to come to Walker Bros Pancake House ever since I realized it was real place, as referenced in Mean Girls! Yes, I’m easily excitable… You could even call me basic.
Anyways, the bf surprised me with a visit here after a very hangry morning that started much later than anticipated. I was so excited when I walked in!
The interior is very «old school» looking and reminds me of the Perkins restaurants. Between the two of us, we tried the potato pancakes, blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon, and the hash browns.
The bf loved the potato pancakes but in my opinion they were a bit gummy. They come with sour cream and applesauce. Neither of us were brave enough to try applesauce on our savory pancakes but it sounds interesting. I am not the biggest fan of powdered sugar on my pancakes. I still enjoyed the blueberry pancakes despite this addition. I especially liked the fresh, hot blueberry sauce and the maple syrup. Let’s talk about these THICK CUT bacon strips, and four of them no less! Oh my. They aren’t crispy like the thin ones, but it’s a different kind of appreciation. The hashbrowns were crispy on the outside and very tasty. Not sputtering with grease like a common southern chain I know…
The WB Pancake House gets a gold star for this visit. Even with all that we ordered, the bill came to $ 20. I would make a return visit if ever given the opportunity, but probably wouldn’t go out of my way again.

Most over rated restaurant. This is the 3^rd and last time i visit Walker Bros. I went on a Friday around 10:30am. I was sat immediately. The waitress came by in decent time. I didn’t get any coffee for 10 minutes. The food then took 20 minutes. Keep in mind they’re not that busy. My omelette was a dry flat brown pillow with hard cheese in the middle. I went with my friend whose corned beef hash was barely cooked. My waitress was no where to be found. I had to walk to the server station and grabbed my own sauces and napkins. Some other customers asked me to take their order! I had to tell them I didnt work there and I was just grabbing my own condiments.
Im usually not too upset about these things but if youre charging me that much for breakfast my expectations are a bit higher. My bill came to $ 23.57 without tip. Thats for a sausage omelette, hash browns and coffee with a side of pancakes.
I think Walker Bros have gotten too complacent. They expect people to keep coming no matter what. I think wealthy people like the fact that the high prices drive away families who are on a budget. So if you don’t want to sit with the IHOP or Dennys crowd and want mediocre/​bad breakfast food and pay almost double for your food this is the place for you.

Our family tradition to come to Walker Bros on our birthdays. For some locals it’s an everyday spot but we have decided to make our visit a special one by bringing our kids here for a memorable time with family. Our boys will always order waffle with strawberries on the side (doesn’t soak up the waffle); and our daughter will have something with hash brown & bacon. For us adults; my wife will almost always get the Vegetarian Omelette with broccoli & swiss/​cheddar cheese. Can’t forget their never ending coffee (Tip — before you leave; ask for a to-​go cup /​server will give a fresh coffee on a to-​go styrofoam cup). I usually will ordered either the Bacon & Basted Eggs or Venetian Benedict. Never toast; Always Pancakes. Also need to order extra bacon & corn beef hash.
Recommendation — Join the E-​club (
) /​You will get special offers each month about their special discounts & a $ 5-​off coupon for your birthday.
Your bill will add up at the end so it’s nice to have a $ 5 off coupon at hand. You can’t go wrong with any of the Walker Bros. I have been to the Evanston, Glenview, Hyde Park & Lincolnshire. All of their restaurants should be proud of their consistency — very hard to find a chain of restaurants that can provide the same great food and great service on every visit. Great job to management, serving staff & kitchen crew — should be proud!!!

Sometimes it seems silly to review a restaurant that’s already super established and greatly loved by all. But, then I guess that just means here’s one more review to validate the reason this place has been around forever.
Walker Bros is a breakfast institution. It’s a favorite stop for families and families of families. It’s a very respectable place for pancakes, with prices that are a little above average but worth every single penny.
For a family of 4 we spent around $ 35 all in. We ordered up three $ 5 kids chocolate pancake meals, a side of three very thick bacon strips for $ 4.50, and an oatmeal trio that included a fantastic bowl of thick steel cut oatmeal with a side of yogurt and fruit — somewhere around $ 8.
Final notes: The coffee is sinfully good, and you’ll leave feeling well taken care of. The customer service is great!

The apple cinnamon pancake is a delicious monstrosity which I’m glad I got the chance to try. Because of the molten sugar on top it’s pretty much guaranteed to burn your mouth but because it’s so delicious it’s hard to stop eating it. Once it cools it gets even better as the sugar gets a sticky caramel consistency. It’s defiantly large enough to serve 2. The corned beef hash had a good flavor and was cooked well but they dice everything so small that the texture was off-​putting. My friends got the french toast which I didn’t care for, it seemed like they quickly dipped the bread in batter instead of soaking it. 3 stars for sure if it wasn’t for the pancake which is my new breakfast obsession.