Windhill Pancake Parlor

The Windhill is our absolute favorite breakfast restaurant. We just love seeing the decorations for each holiday. The service is always friendly & the food terrific.

Food is great! Friendly service and very unique. If you are in the area, I would always recommend this place for breakfast with the family!

This place is so cute! The food is awesome and pretty unique, which I love. They have all the normal breakfast items but also some pretty cool ones like a Rueben omelet. The owner or whoever the guy is upfront really seems to care about your experience and really friendly. I definitely recommend it.

Very well decorated in Halloween theme. Good food. Breakfast items are a little pricey. Service wasn’t great but it is a great atmosphere.

One of our favorite places for breakfast. Atmosphere changes with different holiday theme — feel like grandmas house.

I like the inside but I hate the service. The waitress has some bad attitude while talking to me as a customer. She is old enough that I think she should have known better how to serve. I went there just 3 times and 2 out of 3 were very bad service. Maybe they need to train their servers how to talk to customers?

Love this place. The pancakes are amazing. Service is usually pretty good but the last few times we have been having issues. Overall good food. Good prices. Service is just hit or miss at times.

One of the best restaurants in McHenry and surrounding area. Absolutely must try the eggs italia — one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long time.

Place is solid unique atmosphere and cool menus. Has a lot of potential here. Hash browns tasted not good, and rest of food was sub-​par. Go for the atmosphere– but expect that you will be served mid grade diner food.

Perfect way to start the weekend. I recommend the rueben omelet. Herbs, dressing, cornbeef and sauerkraut. The atmosphere is pretty cute. U ’ ll feel like a kid again

This place is a nightmare. The décor made me wanna end my life. its like a tacky old lady threw up every piece of garbage she collected her whole life all over the walls. The food is overpriced and lacks flavor. I will not be Goin back her

we have gone quite a few times, always enjoyed. We enjoy the breakfast better then dinner, but that is our preference, We have taken our grand daughter to Mr Balloon man on tuesdays, she loves it.

This was not our first time at windhill, but it is definitely our last! Went at lunchtime, ordered a waffle with whipped cream and ice cream — what a joke! I thought I had been pranked — Oh how I wished I had a ruler! The «wafflette» was approximately 7″ inches in diameter and possibly just over an inch thick — give or take a centimeter! The one «scoop» of ice cream
was about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons! And the whipped cream — (must have been the end of the can) — 5 dime sized dots! I explained to the waitress that I had ordered this before and it just wasn’t the same — this couldn’t be a $ 9 waffle. She said it was probably served on a smaller plate before, so it just looked bigger or my plate was larger now and it just looked small! Lesson learned — DO NOT ORDER THE «WAFFLE» — BETTER YET– DON’T ORDER ANYTHING HERE — unless you like being ripped off and leaving hungry. Never again!

Went here for lunch today. Cute inside, has potential. Waitress had an attitude and was rude and the cinnamon roll was stale. Won’t go back again.

Huge breakfast and brunch menu.
Very friendly place.
We come with the grandkiddos every family visit.

I have been going to windhill for over 20 years and it’s still great food. The prices are kinda high but the portions are huge. The staff is always happy and friendly. A great Mchenry establishment

My wife and I usually drive right past this place, but decided to stop in for the first time. We were so glad we did. Not a run of the mill place. Windhill is warm, and inviting, with eclectic touches all around. We experienced friendly staff, with great food, and service as well. I’m a little picky with the way i like things cooked, and they accommodated me very well. I can’t wait to bring the whole family in.

A terrific place for dining from breakfast to dinner. Food and service were great as was the price. The place is very nicely decorated also with some awesome antique pictures and products displays from the past. The ice cream bar has a train that goes around it. All in all, great for kids and family.

Yesterday we took my 4 year-​old nephew and 92 year-​old great aunt to Windhill because we were ravenous, the ol’ lady loves the place, and I thought the kiddo would love the train.
When we arrived there was a party of 4 (also with a 4 or 5 year old) ahead of us. They were told there was about a 15 minute wait, so I was thinking we’d be told the same; however, we were seated right away. (Perhaps the other party requested to sit at the counter where the train delivers the food?).
We had some issues getting the kiddo a booster seat — it took 4 tries of being told we’d get one. then apparently we were forgotten about… we asked again, but still didn’t get a booster… rinse + repeat. The lady was very apologetic when she finally brought it.
Their menus are printed out on white printer paper and literally cut and pasted into the first few pages of old hardcover books. It’s a nice way to repurpose the books AND you have reading material if the chatzkies and décor on the walls around you aren’t mesmerizing enough.
The kiddie menu has a lot of options for breakfast and lunch — they pick from 3 categories (main dish, side, drink). My nephew got a TMNT pancake with 2 strips of bacon and a milk. Yes, you saw that right: a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pancake! Definitely blew the ol’ Mikey Mouse pancake out of the water! Like other restaurants, he got some crayons and could color on his menu.
I ordered the Tuna Salad Melt with seasoned fries ($ 8.45). Mom got the Garden Mess Skillet with a slice of American cheese in place of that «cheese sauce.» Aunt Norma went with the Chichen Salad Melt. I liked that there were a ton of side options for sandwiches — regular fries, seasoned waffle fries, onion blossoms, cottage cheese, salad… the list goes on.
The food was good this time around and the kiddo cleared his plate which, to date, has NOT happened in a restaurant. He watched the train a few times, but it didn’t seem like a huge deal to him.
Service wasn’t particularly friendly and the location we were seated in was cluttered with a stack of wooden high chairs in the aisle that, even when an employee pushed them back towards a stool between our table and the next, blocked my nephew and another patron in by their respective seats. Seems that’d be a fire code violation.
It was definitely a better food experience this time around; I thought it was pricey, though, for what it was. (My unmelted Melt was probably the cheapest sandwich option at $ 8.45.) The train was neat to watch, but unless you’re sitting right at the counter, the novelty might be lost on younger ones with shorter attention spans.

More than ever I seek out restaurants and eateries that have unforced character and charm. Windhill Pancake Parlor fits the bill perfectly.
Windhill does a bang-​up business, especially on weekend mornings, and I know why: their menu is diverse enough to satisfy even the pickiest of breakfast eaters.
On a previous visit, my first, I ordered the Apple Pancake and it was out of this world (and worth the $ 10 price tag). Last Saturday, I brought a friend, in from Chicago, to Windhill for breakfast, and she was as delighted by my choice as I. I ordered the Portabella Eggs Benedict, which was light and flavorful and surprisingly well-​presented. I need sugar with my salt, so two warm and delicious cakes were my side (and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say their syrup was real maple syrup, it was that good). With water as my beverage, and after tip, I got out of there for $ 13.
Prices are higher than average on the basic plates, but the cozy and intimate atmosphere more than makes up for that. Parking is plentiful. Service was great during both my visits. Two thumbs-​up!