Once Upon A Grill

One of the best corned beef sandwiches in the area. I love it. Excellent breakfast, excellent soups. Try the lentil and the wild rice. I pretty much love everything I’ve ever had here but the corned beef is the king for me. Two sizes and a good value too. Get’s very busy so be prepared to wait during lunch time hours.

Great eats for taco Tuesday! I get steak with onions and cilantro, they use corn tortillas (which I like) and have decent salsa. Only issue is their rice and beans are a little weak but great outside of that.

Delicious food. Large menu and adequate seating. You order first, then seat yourself, a good combo for quick efficient service. The order desk staff are friendly and helpful. The only thing holding this place back from 5 stars is the parking. Located in a strip mall, you have to wait until someone gives up a spot. Otherwise very happy with Once Upon…

I am sad to give this place only 3 stars… and the SOLE reason they get 3 stars is because they are GROSSLY OVER PRICED.
The first time I came I had a turkey club which was really good BUT the sandwich and a pickle cost $ 9.50 !!! They don’t even give you 2 layers of turkey. After getting over the price the sandwich was actually really good. So much so I went back and sucked up the price one more time with the thought that I will have to absolutely crave this sandwich to ever pay that price again.
Well today I said to myself, let me give them a try for a breakfast sandwich. without knowing the price, I ordered a bacon egg and cheese on a toasted wheat bagel with butter over the phone. Much to my dismay, they charge $ 8.43 for it!!! My Gawd! I immediately expressed my shock at the price. I said to cashier they don’t even charge those prices in NY/​NJ. hell even in Chicago they don’t charge that much. you shouldn’t have to pay more Than $ 4.50 for a breakfast sandwich. I was baffled! I mean it’s not like this place is organic/​non gmo…
They get a ton of business so I’m not sure why there is such gouge in the pricing. But then again in business you charge the highest price consumers will tolerate.
well…long story short … this customer no longer can tolerate such ridiculous prices. I mean the food is good but not that good…
I unfortunately will take my business elsewhere…

I’ve only had one dish here so far and keep coming back for it because it’s amazing. Order the Mexican breakfast, it’s an egg/​chorizo/​onion scramble served with corn tortillas, rice and beans. A «make your own breakfast taco» kind of thing. Delicious. Four stars only because they need to start doubling the number of corn tortillas provided with the meal.

Decent diner type place in the burbs for breakfast and lunch. Kid friendly with great options for the entire family (from bagels and cream cheese to waffles and pancakes to hotdogs with french friends). There is a waitstaff walking around, cleaning up and helping, however, you order at the register, pay and then go sit down. The egg white breakfast wrap was good-​healthy option. Kids had pancake and a hotdog with curly fries (yum). Great place to grab a quick lunch with friends and kids together. Something for everyone.

Best kept secret in the northwest suburbs. A tiny storefront with a HUGE menu and an amazing array of choices. My new go-​to place for a hearty, delicious (and inexpensive) meal!

Everything about this place is great. We love coming with our family and enjoying a fun brunch. They had great matzah options during Passover too!
Food is excellent and the staff is really friendly.
Get there early, it fills up fast at rush times

Food is pretty good but God dam 8 bucks for a breakfast sandwich. These guys are worse than the fat cats on wall street. Highway robbery!!! I can go to upper crust bagels across the street and get the same sandwich for 5 bucks. But I guess I don’t get to see the Northbrook senior citizen group then. Geez…

The BEST gluten free bagel I have ever tasted. Definitely going back for more. I would have given 5 stars, but the seating is just awful. There really has to be a better way to set the dining area up. The counter and table staff are very nice. You can see the confusion in delivering food as the dining room is too tight.
Otherwise, delightful experience and can’t wait to go back for the GF bagels!
Update I found out they don’t make the gluten free bagels. They are Udi’s :(

Now that was a delicious Reuben moist and meaty perfect balance of all the traditional components and grilled to crispy perfection, good (but small crispy dill pickle too ! Tomorrow taco tuesday!
It can be a little hard to get in and out off the strip mall parking but at 3:00 no waiting. I really wanted to try the corned beef hash but just Easter for ao-​go order t get a sanwitch.. Next time.

I love the steak tacos. They get really busy but if you call ahead you can get out of there in about 10min. They need to figure out how to keep the line moving better around lunch time. Jumbo pretzels are great too

A family favorite. A town favorite. A city favorite. This place is classic and great! Amazing «deli» atmosphere. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner OUAG is perfect!

You wont get the same price twice there. People at the register that don’t have a clue.
Won’t be going back anytime soon!

Great place. Love the variety of food they have. Bagels, deli sandwiches, they got it all. Great concept with the cafeteria style as well. A Northbrook staple for sure that always serves up good meals!

I’m a big fan of all members of the «once upon a…» family. I wasn’t quite sure how «once upon a grill» differed from Once upon a BAGEL and the friendly guy behind the counter mentioned they had Mexican food. When I pointed out that the Once upon a Bagel* in Winnetka also has (delicious) Mexican food he admitted they aren’t all that different.
During my most recent visit I tried that Mexican food, 2 chicken tacos to be exact. Delicious as always! The guys at once upon sure know how to make a good taco, quesadilla and (of course) a bagel.
More crowded that I expected on a random Tuesday afternoon, which didn’t make it as an ideal spot to get some work done as I would have hoped. And the senior citizen crowd reminded me fondly of my deli experiences back home in Boca Raton, FL.
*

This place is really a 4.5 stars. But that’s splitting hairs. The deals are awesome and the breakfast was great. My wife and I ate here for less than $ 13 and the portions were amazing. The atmosphere is a bit cramped and outdated for a restaurant. But, the place isn’t trying to be an upscale breakfast house. They had one of the best omelets I have eaten in a long time. Don’t miss out on the specials — they are a great deal. Have not had dinner here, but would and I will be coming back.

Solid deli-​taco joint-​breakfast diner! Huge menu, all the basics done quite good! I had corned beef on rye and a potato pancake. Many fellow diners were enjoying soup, and the lady who cut in front of me had her favorite egg dish.
Order at the counter, find a seat, and food starts to appear. Nice service, they always have newspapers around for reading while you eat. Because of the reading, the eating, and the service I’ll for sure be back :-)

I usually always base my ratings on the food… because that is ultimately what you are coming for. Everything else can be forgiven if the food is outstanding. People will wait in line for hours for something if it is good enough or at least if it’s gotten enough hype.
So to make my point, I gave Once Upon a 4 star rating in the past b/​c of the food. It is very good, but not the best in the area in terms of breakfast or even lunch for that matter.
But what is the best are the people and the prices. I come here at least 2 – 3 a week now, and they all know me. They are very friendly and willing to accommodate in any way possible, all the time.
The prices too are amazing. Like I said, I’d rather eat breakfast at Georgie V’s everyday, but my wallet and wife (my wifey wallet) would say no to that in a heartbeat. Let’s face it, I can get an omelette at Gerogie’s for 13 bucks, or from Once Upon during the «Early Bird» hours for less than $ 6.00.
Again, less than 6 bucks for a huge 4 – 6 egg omelette stuffed w/​hashbrowns, bacon and American cheese and served with a bagel of your choice. You CANNOT BEAT IT unless you’re making it at home yourself. Please, someone tell me of a better breakfast deal and I will tell you you’re lying!!! :)

I have to point out that I absolutely love Once Upon a Bagel in Highland Park and when I used to work in that area, that was my go to place at least once a week because I loved all the noshes and their bagels and soup, oh my. I was in the area and decided to stop by here to pick up some food to go and I kinda regret that I did.
The place was packed, a line almost out the door. I didn’t want to sit inside so I just did an order to go. I asked if I can have a whole wheat bagel toasted and sliced and a half a pound of salmon salad to go. The guy looked at me funny like «this is a grill, who orders salmon salad.» Well, I do. I mean I always did at Once upon a bagel and it was beyond fresh and consistently delicious. Anyways, he placed my order and it came to a little more pricey than it is in the Highland park location for some reason.
Then when I came home, I finally tried it. The bagel as good, similar to the ones from Once Upon in HP, but the salmon salad just did not do it for me. First of all, my half a pound was closer to a quarter of a pound because it’s supposed to be filled to the top of the container and mine was like 75% filled, which was a little disappointing. The salad itself just didn’t taste fresh. Like it sat out for a couple of days in case a strange woman out would order it. Well, I know to not get it again. It has that busy deli feel but the quality of what I ordered in particular just didn’t do it for me. Maybe I should have gotten the pastrami sandwich or a matza ball soup to try, but I feel like if it’s owned by the same owners, they should all be equally amazing.
Sorry Once Upon, I’m sticking to your bagel joint and that’s it. Maybe and if you’re lucky I’ll venture out the the once upon a deli for some fresh tuna or salmon since it’s on the same plaza as you guys!