Swedish Cafe the

I have driven past this place for YEARS and finally came in today, on Mother’s Day. It was about 11:30. No wait and plenty of tables. The service was a little slow, but, I am OK with that because I would rather wait sitting at a table with my coffee than in the line at Walker Brothers. The portions seemed a little small compared to other breakfast places, but we had enough to eat. The pancakes and eggs were very good but the bacon was overcooked for my taste… I will try the sausage next time. Its nice to have a place like this around here.

A gem of a café! Delicious every time. Start with the coffee, it is a must, and definitely the best in the area. We love the potato pancakes, but also switch it up with the Swedish pancakes with lingonberries. The rye bread is mouthwatering. This is a place to go to savor your breakfast when your not rushed. Go & enjoy!

We took Mom here for lunch today (She is from Sweden). Lindenhurst is a long drive from Chicago, but it was worth it for a pleasant lunch.
The décor is very Swedish. They even play Swedish music, including Evert Taube, the grand old Swedish troubadour. On the other hand, it is rather stark. I.E., typical Swedish.
The food was quite good. The soup (beef barley) was a tad salty, but I just dropped in an ice cube and it was perfect. Christopher and I had the meatballs. They were good, but not great, but the mashed taters were the real deal and the green peas were fresh cooked. Mom had the «pan bif». which was served with taters and peas as well, along with the best pickled beets I have ever had. Yum!
Christopher and I had the rice pudding with lingon berry sauce for dessert. It was quite good. They sell some Swedish food products, so we brought home a cardamom coffee cake for Mom, which made her extremely happy to say the least. She also said the coffee was very good.
We will be back in February when we make our annual pilgrimage to Waukegan for Jack Benny’s birthday. We want to try the Swedish pancakes and other breakfast items.
The Swedish Café is owned and run by the family who first opened Svea down in Andersonville, so they have a long history of cooking Swedish food. If you venture up to Lindenhurst, stop in, you will get a good meal.

Since my husband is half Swedish & half Norwegian we are particular about our Scandinavian food. So here goes: Swedish pancakes almost as good as my mother-in-law’s, stellar limpa, outstanding shrimp and havarti omelet, delicious Swedish sausage (even a German such as I would be proud to call it his own) and good strong coffee that would delight even great-​Grandpa Johnson.
Don’t miss this extra bonus — you can purchase a coffeecake from Chicago’s Swedish Bakery at Swedish Café.
Swedish Café is welcoming, beautifully decorated and spotless. Visit anytime you need a mini vacation. Ask for the Danish waitress. She is outstanding!
Our only negative experience was on a day when the kitchen was short-​handed. A less experienced waitress was a little too familiar with customers, whined a lot about having too much to do and bad-​mouthed the management instead of stepping up and taking responsibility.

Tasty solid little breakfast place in the area!

Have been going to the Swedish Café for years — definately a favorite. Swedish relatives from Wisconsin and Chicago have made special trips just for the pancakes, soup and meatballs. The staff is always friendly and the food made to order — recommend it to all our friends!

This is a hard one, as when we went here for a late breakfast on a Sunday, there was apparently only one cook. They were making the orders only one table at a time — first come first serve — it took over an hour to get our food after we ordered. It wasn’t until we asked our waitress what was taking so long, that we were told this is the situation. I am thinking that there had to be a better way to flow food orders. People were getting very upset with the wait and to not being forthcoming with this from the beginning was frustrating. You normally don’t bank on it taking 2 hours to eat breakfast.
The food was good. It is not your typical breakfast place — be forewarned. It is truly all Scandinavian. No token American options. I am personally not a huge fan, but my husband did enjoy the Swedish pancakes.
We will try again and hopefully not have the same wait issue as before.

Do you like your balls hard?
Nope, I like mine soft and delicate; not dense and rigid. But if you like harder Swedish meatballs, you have met your match here.
I personally did not enjoy these here, though the flavor was decent. The accompanying mashed potatoes were clearly from a box and the peas, while calorie conscious, left much to be desired. This would be a perfect meal in an assisted living facility, but I have a while to go before I’ll be checking in… I hope.
Fortunately, there were several other items that fared better, such as the Farkulav (Swedish sausage, very similar to Polish in flavor), the Swedish rye bread and Swedish pancakes (light and spongy) with lingonberries. But the star of our meal was by far, the delicious peach cobbler. This baby was yummy! It came with what was described as «vanilla sauce», but what I’d describe as unnecessary (boxed?) vanilla pudding. The cobbler did not need it. It was phenomenal on its own with its warm, soft and crunchy textures. Rec-​Ohh-​Mmmend!
It’s a bright little diner with typical offerings and a few Scandinavian twists. Our server was efficient, friendly and helpful. When we arrived at lunch, it was packed but no wait, and empty when we left. My ego did not mind us being the youngest couple in there; only the staff was younger. The staff ranged from teens to mid-​twenties, we are 40, and everyone else appeared to be a decade past retirement. Just an observation… not that there’s anything wrong with it. ;)
There are also some Scandinavian items for sale like chocolates, jams, books and décor by the cashier station. Very cute, but a little pricey; even the menu items seemed a little high to me for diner food, meals averaging out to around $ 9 or $ 10 each. Won’t break your bank or anything, just overpriced. So even though the balls were underwhelming (it happens), and I won’t be rushing back, I will return for more cobbler.
P. S. Do I get Cool votes for restraint on ball jokes??? Cuz I definitely held back! ;)

I have been here many times & love it. Really feels like my what ever I order is made special for me from scratch! My favorite is the homemade quiches. So very good. Staff is always very personable & friendly. The environment is bright & cheery, clean.

We’ve been thinking of eating here for ages and I finally stopped in today. Incredibly friendly service and good food. I had the quiche, soup and fruit — all were very good. If I had one critique it would be the furnishings. I would call it Spare but the staff make up for it. I’ll be back.

Wonderful authentic Swedish food. Cheery décor and super-​friendly service. Loved the Swedish pancakes. Will be back here for lunch!

I stopped here for the first time the morning of the 4^th of July about an hour before close (noon due to holiday). The service was wonderful and friendly and the food excellent. I had a Shrimp and Havarti omelette and one of the Swedish pancakes — both excellent. Definitely will be back to try many of the other menu items. Oh, and the décor is very cheery and homey with a little Swedish thrown in. Very clean place too.

Went here for the first time today. The place is very bright and cheerful and impeccably clean. Loved the Swedish décor. I had lunch and opted for the roast pork with prunes. It was delicious! The pork was fork tender and the mashed potatoes it came with were out of this world. The mixed vegetables were fresh not frozen. It also came with a very fresh salad and fresh Limpa (Swedish rye bread). For dessert we had a Peach Cobbler with Vanilla Sauce.
I cannot wait to go back for breakfast to try the Shrimp & Havarti omelet!
Our waitress, Ursula, was excellent. Great service.
I would definitely recommend this place! Loved it.

The Swedish pancakes with lingonberries are delicious. This cheerful place has bright Scandinavian décor, a friendly and welcoming staff and the best coffee. You can buy Limpa rye bread, cardamom coffeecake and some other Swedish foods to take home. It’s easy to miss as it is located in a little shopping mall. Look for the blue and yellow sign.