Morningside Cafe

eggcellent
a two egg breakfast and two kids meals, delicious, yielded two containers of leftovers which actually became lunch and dinner the next day. the food was worth firing up the oven to reheat, and the portions were very generous.

I’ve been going to this place for years. I love to stop in for breakfast before work. The owners and wait staff are great. I always get the veggie omelette or the skillet. My only complaint is the hash browns are not consistent. Sometimes it seems like they were cooked and left on the grill to long. Felt like I was gnawing on warm potato flavored straws. Then some days they would be great. Hash browns make the skillet. It doesn’t matter what you put on top if the hash browns suck. I’m just saying. Maybe I should start off by asking for a sample before I place my order. Or I could just start getting fruit. But I digress. Great spot just ask about the hash browns first. Or maybe who’s cooking them that day.

Love me some Bfast!
I have eaten here several times when I am in town to visit. The décor reminds me of the 80’s with the brass railing but the food and service is always on point.
I had the Sausage Biscuits and Gravy with scrambled eggs. It was good. Overall a consistent place that I would go back to in a heartbeat for some breakfast.

Overall pretty good. I got the original benny (eggs benedict). It was tasty. However, the hash browns were a bit under done. As you can see from the picture it didn’t have that crispy golden brown crust you expect. The ham was thick, but it seemed to be steamed. There was no caramelization on it at all. It could have been put on the flat top for a minute just to give it some color. The bacon was thick as advertized and not the paper thin stuff you get at other places. The staff was very friendly. I would eat here again. Additionally, the restroom was very clean which is always a plus.

I really like this place. I was in the area for an event and we needed to eat lunch quickly. I am always a fan of breakfast any time of day. I got a basic meal with pancakes, eggs, and breakfast for about $ 6. It was great breakfast and the service was quick. The restaurant was a little older looking so if you want contemporary décor, this is not your taste. You should however stay for the food and the really nice staff.

Since moving to the Chicago area I have been to Morningside Café three times, and every time I have ordered a different skillet off the menu. Skillets are my favorite! They are always fresh, hot and delicious with eggs, hash browns, and an array of other delicious ingredients. The wait staff is quick and courteous and their coffee isn’t top notch, but is great for a relaxed Sunday morning. The portions are huge, and you can get pancakes too! I can never finish them, but they make a great midnight snack. I recommend it if you are in the mood for a relaxed and easy going breakfast that isn’t necessarily high class cuisine but definitely fills you up and makes you happy!

Went here for breakfast today and ordered the veggie skillet. To be honest, it wasn’t great. It wasn’t horrible but not good either. I don’t know if I will return.

Food is definitely on point with other breakfast places. It’s not the best, and not the worst. A solid meal, with decent service.
When we went everything was exactly as anticipated.

The omelette I had was great… the hash browns looked like they took them off another plate and threw it on mine. as soon as this waiter dropped off my plate I stuck my girl inside the hash browns and sure enough my look was right on… it looked cold and old…
The waiter brought out some fresh hot hash browns which I cant understand how a restaurant doesnt serve it like this in the first place…
It makes me wonder if any if any of these people who leaves these positive reviews has any idea what good hot fresh breakfast suppose to taste like… hmmmm
No sense at all.
When I first arrived and opened up the menu, I was shocked to see a price for 1 egg at $ 4.59
I had to grab my glasses just to verify this price… I told the waiter in spanish that this is normally the hint of what kind of management rubs this type of restaurant and its food pricing… is the menu.
For a morning breakfast the restaurant was slow… had about 4 customers. Which is another hint.
The waiter was right on. he was great… very responsive and he took responsibility of the hash browns which wasnt his fault… no manager ever walked up to me to express apologies. .another hint how this restaurant is managed… I hear alot of gossip outside the kitchen area but not to customers who are there (only 4) which means dont they dont give a damn about why I had my hash browns cold…
If it wasnt for that good omelette and Roger being nice. I would of given 2 stars.

Great place. The diner vibe at Morningside is spot on. Our server Roger was attentive and engaged. He made us feel welcome and cared for even as he switched from English to Spanish from table to table.
The menu is easy to follow and they give some generous side additions (french toast for no extra charge?!). Although they don’t include bacon in many dishes I think this may be because they have higher quality bacon (we didn’t get the chance to try it).
Give it a shot.

This is by far my favorite diner in the area. It looks like nothing special from the outside, so I have for years passed it up thinking it was probably like a family-​owned Dennys. Now that I have tried this place a couple of times, it will be my «go-​to» for breakfast and lunch.
First of all, I have to give a shout-​out to the awesome waitress there. I am horrible for not getting her name the couple of times that I have been there, but honestly I might come here just to see her. She is super energetic and friendly and really makes dining there a great experience. She will tell you what is good, tells you when you should choose something else and just overall super attentive.
The food is great. I have had a french dip sandwich, soups, patty melts — everything has been great. My favorite waitress told me once that the restaurant insists on using fresh oil to fry their fried items in each day. You can really tell in the taste of their food. They have amazing onion rings — some of the best I have ever had but even the fries are exceptional. I always end up eating my fries first and then bringing home ½ of my main entrée because I am full.
Overall, a great place for breakfast or lunch. I will be back again and again.

Great service and good food. Yesterday I had the morning side omelet, which comes with sausage, bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese. It was huge and delicious. It comes with hash browns which were basic hash browns, and 2 pancakes which were great! Great quick service and decent prices, I will be going back again.

Food and service was excellent. Had the spicy chicken skillet and would definitely order it again. Our waiter was so nice and friendly. The only reason I wouldn’t give this place all 5 stars is the home made salsa wasn’t all that great. Other than that, we’ll definitely be back to try everything else.

Drove by the Morningside and decided to try it for breakfast. Pancakes were good. A lot of options on the menu which I like. This is a breakfast place to take your family. Server was attentive and asked if everything was ok. Overall a good experience.

I was here for breakfast with a group of former coworkers. Out normal place burned down a few days ago. There has been a restaurant at this location for a long time, longer than I care to remember. This latest iteration as Morningside Café has been around quite a while as well. The restaurant — clean, airy, attractive.
The menu selection for breakfast is quite decent. Among the 6 of us at breakfast, we ordered varied items off the menu and all of us were satisfied. The portions were good, the taste, good as well. The restaurant had no trouble tailoring the menu items with specific requests (i.e., exclude this, include that) and the waitress even asked if we wanted separate checks (we didn’t), which is rare. The coffee was fair. Service was good, as was the price.

I’m just got to say this…
Food was okay, pancakes– take like bisquick and they were burnt. French toast — nothing too exciting. Everything must have been cooked in butter because my over-​easy eggs were yellow –_​–
«warm maple» syrup was not really maple syrup because there should have been a solid layer on top of it was it cooled.
Coffee… was ugh, they said it was Kona coffee, until I called them out on it and the girls at front change their statement and said «oh well, it’s only a mix of Kona about 45%»… oh boy
My server was excellent though, =) so good job to her can’t remember her name… =p sorry (it’s been a week since I was there and Im lacking on my reviews)

Morningside Café is one of those places I’ve driven by countless times, and for whatever reason never felt compelled to stop. One weekend morning not too long ago I was driving down Ogden avenue, and was quite hungry and decided to give this place a try. In stepping in I noticed it looked like many other breakfast places in the area. I was very quickly greeted and then seated and soon was handed a menu.
After looking over my options and noticing many familiar breakfast dishes on the menu such as Hobo and Gypsy skillets which are commonly served in pancake houses throughout the area. I finally narrowed down my choice to a spicy chicken skillet. I placed my order and fairly shortly thereafter my food was at the table. The spicy chicken skillet had spicy chicken on it, mushrooms, pepper, onions and hollandaise sauce. While hollandaise and chicken might sound like a strange pairing it went together quite well. I had the skillet with scrambled eggs which were soft and fluffy. Overall I was very happy with my food.
The service here was excellent, my server was attentive and friendly going so far as to give me a soda «to go» at the end of my meal. Overall I was very pleased with my breakfast at Morningside and would recommend visiting. I’ll give them four stars, good food, good service at a fair price.

Morningside Café is a casualty of the Unilocal review system. I’ll explain– I live in the Lisle area, and breakfast is without a doubt my jam. I was the kid who was always super excited when the school lunch menu read «Breakfast For Lunch!» and since then, coffee, eggs, and all the fixings have become appropriate (and preferred) foods for me to eat regardless of time of day.
I actually didn’t even bother trying Morningside for quite some time, as when I search my area for breakfast, their (current) three star rating puts them super far down the search results list. Truth be told, I didn’t have much reason to investigate why they were rated low, as there was so much other stuff in the area to try. I hit breakfast place after breakfast place, not really amazed by any of them, until I finally decided to try the Morningside Café.
This is without a doubt the absolute best breakfast diner in the area, and potentially even one of the best breakfast diners I’ve been to in my life. It’s got everything from great food, incredible coffee, to those weird paintings on the wall you only ever see at Midwestern diners that are decorated like your Grandma’s house in 1980. Going here every morning has turned into part of my daily routine, and in the process I’ve gotten to know everyone who works here and each and every one of them are just genuinely great people through and through.
I wish I would’ve discovered this place year ago, but I didn’t bother. Why? The result of the average review score from passive aggressive diners, people who left crappy reviews literally YEARS ago, and all the other drastically negative side effects that come from anonymously venting on the internet instead of just saying something to your waitress. *sigh*

I’ve had better and for cheaper, sorry to say. The food was good though, as was the service. We were surprised at how fast the food came out. That was a good surprise.
That’s it. nothing more nothing less to this little diner on Ogden. =]

Was in the area looking for breakfast and saw that the Morningside Café had some really good reviews so I chose it over the always predictable Ihop and I am sure glad I did.
I was seated immediately helped by my waitress, the menu is full of great options at a great price. I selected my order and I guarentee you not, it arrived in less than 5 minutes!
The food was above average and came with great sides, if I am ever in the area again around breakfast time I plan on stopping in again.