My husband and I made this one of our three breakfast stops while relaxing at Lake Arrowhead. Â This is one of the many small local restaurants that has a cozy, family feel to it. Â It's good home style cooking of large portions.
The prices are reasonable and the service is very friendly and attentive. It was obvious that several local regulars were in the place, along with visitors like us.
I had one of the specials: artichoke, mushroom, Swiss cheese omelet...which also came with spinach and grilled onions. Â I passed on the hash browns because I didn't need the extra carbs (because I was going to eat the pancakes) and I knew I wouldn't be able to eat the whole portion. Â The pancakes were thin buttermilk style. The omelet was very tasty. I don't care for onions but the grilled onions enhanced the flavor. They were very generous with the large chunks of artichokes.
Hubby had the chicken fried steak, eggs and toast. Â The gravy was very good - not too salty and nice sausage flavor. Unfortunately the breading on the steak was overpoweringly salty. The toast was a perfect wheat...thick, soft and flavorful on the inside and toasted just right on the outside.
The decaf was a bit on the weak side, but overall we had a very good meal to start the day for a reasonable price.
This place is fanatastic! From food to service, to even management, this place is above the rest in the Lake Arrowhead area. Awhile back, I went here with my fiance and we enjoyed an excellent salad and dinner, with great service. With that in my mind, when my fiance and I were preparing our wedding in the area, we needed a place for a rehearsal dinner. I contacted Linda the manager and she was amazing. She took care of all the details and the dinner with an awesome staff to help.
We had a party of 30... they handled it. We wanted a select menu for our party... they took care of that too. We gave them our time schedule, and they were on top of it.
With great food and great service, at decent prices, this place is hard to pass up.
Thank you Bill's Villager Coffee Shop and Linda for making our rehearsal dinner and the start of our big weekend a truly memorable and enjoyable experience!
Bottom Line; This is a great local greasy spoon for breakfast. Â Nothing flashy, just good honest food!
 The wife and I popped in here for breakfast during out anniversary weekend and we split one of their breakfast specials and it was more than enough for both of us for breakfast.
  We sat and drank tea, enjoyed the morning crowd and marveled in the real estate magazine they had at the door about people spending $15M for houses up in Arrowhead!
   Good breakfast - good times
Based on reviews, I thought I'd give this place a try. Â First clue: Â a line outside. Â Second clue: Â most appeared to be locals. Â Despite quite a waiting list, we were seated within 15 minutes. Â I had spied "Chile Verde Omelet" on the specials board and ordered that. Â I expected green sauce and cheese. Â What I did not expect was perfectly braised and seasoned hunks of tender pork as well, all melded into an omelet so good -- and huge -- that I couldn't leave it behind. Â Microwaved leftover omelet? Â Still delicious. Â Also, best hash browns I've had in years. Â Finally, my son, who's at Le Cordon Bleu, ordered the Kicker breakfast. Â He didn't say too much, but his plate was scoured clean. Â Front of the house is friendly and attentive, and the kitchen truly gives a damn. Â This is American cooking at its very best. Â If you pass this place by, you've missed something extraordinary.
Review Source:I was up late drinking and smoking cigars at a wedding and needed a solid breakfast before our 3+ hour drive. We stopped in and my wife and I split the eggs and ham scramble and ordered a waffle as a side along with sourdough bread. The eggs were decent, HUGE chunks of ham, and the waffle was crispy and perfectly cooked. The orange juice was fresh-squeezed and the toast was awesome. Will definitely be back!
Review Source:Stopped in for breakfast on our way back down the hill. Â The food was great: huge portions and freshly made! Â I had the Denver omelet with pepper jack Cheese (have to add for additional $.75). Â Hash browns were perfectly crispy and delicious, pancakes were pretty standard. Â I do have to say, that when going to a "coffee-shop" you would expect top notch coffee. Â Not the case here. Â It was just coffee, not strong, not anything special. Â Only disappointment here, otherwise everything was great. Â Service was really good too!
Review Source:Another fantastic diner-find in Lake Arrowhead. Â Manpanion and I enjoyed a hearty, flavorful breakfast amidst old school 1960's vinyl booths, kitschy holiday decor and olden-days photos. Â I got an Eggwich on what appeared to be a hand-crafted croissant, generously plump with avocado, cheese and bacon. Â Totally delicious. Â Manpanion had the Chopped Ham-Egg scramble with pancakes and we both enjoyed outstanding hash-browns, crispy on the outside and flavorfully tender on the inside! Â The chopped ham-egg scramble is heavy on the ham, which is good news for Ham-Enthusiasts. Â Pancakes were non-heavy, but delicately fluffy. Â Good value makes a happy Heeb: Â Eggwich was $6.99, HamEggChop was $8.99. Â Good Time Vacation Breakfast! Â Free wifi.
Review Source:We came here because of the high yelp rating. We put our name on the waiting list and waited for over 20 minutes. After awhile we went to see who was next on the list and our name was crossed out. When I pointed this out the server said "oh I thought I sat you already." This person had never seen us before as we signed ourselves up and then waited outside because there was no one around at the time. The food was just ok, but the service was bad. We won't be coming back anytime soon.
Review Source:Probably the best breakfast place in Lake Arrowhead. Having eaten at the other two breakfast places (belgian waffle ...) in Lake Arrowhead, I can safely say that this place has the best breakfast.
Service was amazing, super-friendly and always checking in.
My corned beef hash was crisped to perfection, and my coffee cup was always full.
Did I mention they were super friendly ?
Kudo's Bill, I will be back!
Ian - We stopped by Bill's on our way out of town. Â Nothing fancy, but when you go to a small town diner, that's exactly what you expect. Â Food came out quickly, the waitress was attentive without being overbearing, and it tasted like it came from a diner. Â Leaps and bounds above a Denny's type of place. Â When we head back up the mountain we will definitely return.
Natalie - I agree with Ian. Â The end.
Drop in once or twice a month for Lunch or Breakfast.
Nice clean atmosphere with well trained staff.
Always courteous and friendly.
Good breakfast and lunch specials.
Enjoy the salad bar at lunch time.
Need to watch for it as you enter Blue Jay as it is hidden somewhat.
Locals and Flatlanders intermingle here.
Well worth your time to eat here.
Bills, is a great place to relax have a good conversation and enjoy some true mountain food. The restaurant is clean well kept and has a fifties diner feel when you enter. The staff is friendly and there to make sure you are comfortable.
Bills menu is large enough to satisfy most every pallet. I have never had a meal there that I did not like. My wife is a breakfast fan so we try to get there before two at least once a week so she can have breakfast. I enjoy everything and Bills has all the bases covered. The biscuits and gravy are good and the liver and onions is off the hook. The portions are perfect and the prices are great.
When you are in Blue Jay, CA you have to stop in and enjoy a step back in time and some great food.
Eat here now and again, can count on consistancy. Â Wide vairety of breakfasts and they have daily specials. Â
Think the very best thing here is the Spicy Chicken Salad....just imagine hotwings, actually a breaded chicken breast fried to perfection and chopped then placed on a bed of various greens with chopped red onion and ranch dressing. Â Truly outstanding. Â
Very pleasant staff just a  nice hometown type place.  Drop by.
Always glad to find quality where there is so little choice; like driving around hungry in the mountains.
You'd be amazed how kitchens can f*^% up an easy meal like pancakes and eggs and turkey sausage. Also, how do they get turkey sausage to still taste greasy? On second thought, I don't want to know.
I swear the floor towards the back of the restaurant was tilted, in the opposite direction of the street tilt. My friend who can't swim said I was tripping.
Servers were all business and the decor says "Every day is the Fourth of July at Bill's!"
In French, villager means peasant.
Stopped by for breakfast before leaving the mountain. My wife ordered the pancakes and I had steak and eggs. The pancakes were large and very good. The steak and eggs were also very good even though the steak was overcooked versus the medium rare I ordered. The coffee is very Foldgers like. This is a good choice for breakfast.
Review Source:This is a quaint little place to enjoy a meal with good service in Blue Jay. Â My husband and I enjoy breakfast here a couple times each month, and the food has always been good. Â Portions and prices are good and so is the coffee (which really matters on cold mountain mornings). Â We'll definitely be back for lunch and dinner.
Review Source:If you go up in the San Bernardino forest, and are staying near the cool town of Blue Jay, then this is all you need to know:
Bill's Villager for breakfast.
Lake Arrowhead Sports Grille (across the street) for lunch and drinks.
The Royal Oak (2 doors up from Bill's) for dinner.
If you do that, you'll be doing great. Â
I had the country fried steak (Can you ever go wrong with that dish?) and it was good. Â Portions of hash browns were too large for me to finish, and although I'm not the biggest coffee drinker in the world, theirs was great.
Go in there and get greeted by the warm, friendly waitresses as soon as you can!
An unexpected surprise on my way to Arrowhead... my husband & me  wanted to take a scenic back-route and decided to go through Blue Jay.  It's quaint little area that you will miss if you bleak.  If you drive by Blue Jay, you must stop by this coffee shop for delicious home-cooked breakfast and small town ambiance.  Can't wait for our next trip up.
Review Source:This is everything a good coffee shop should be. Delicious hearty homemade food, generous portions and unpretentious decor. We had great biscuits and gravy and a Dutch egg breakfast dish. All delicious. The waitstaff was all rather unfriendly but that didn't really detract from the quality of the food. I can see why this has been a locals favorite for decades.
Review Source:I have been eating at The Villager since 1989 when it was called Emil's Villager.
This is a great place filled with locals every morning. If you come on a Sunday after church, expect to wait a bit.
I have always had the omelets because they are the biggest and best I have ever had in my life! The plate is about a foot in diameter. One half is filled with hash browns, the other half is filled with your omelet! Next time I go I will take a picture for all to see.
The service is always decent, although if you're not a local some of the waitresses treat you like less of a customer.
The restaurant itself is a little old and kinda rundown. -1 star for this place because sometimes the front door is left open and there are flies buzzing around your food.
Come on in for the biggest and tastiest omelet you will ever have!
This place is not greasy spoon---it really isn't. People think that it may be because they serve breakfast all day, perhaps? I had a killer grilled chicken salad here for lunch, and later in the week a turkey burger. The service is good and the food is really great. The prices are reasonable too.
Review Source:Great weekday breakfast specials!
Best place to grab a breakfast when in Arrowhead.
They sat and fed a party of 14 in less than 35 minutes - now that's service!
I had the corn beef hash and eggs - and it would make any Filipino proud ;)
They also dealt with a bunch of last minute add-ons, ie. extra drinks after our food had already been ordered, AND extra bacon within 3 minutes after our food came.
Sweet staff, great food, and great prices.
Bill's Coffee Shop is one of the better options for eating in the Arrowhead area, and as it backs up onto the parking area for Rite Aid and the Blue Jay post office and is opposite the larger parking area for Jensen's and the surrounding stores, it's very easy and convenient to get to even on a busy day.
The food is decent - some a little bit better than you'd expect from a regular coffee shop, some maybe a little worse, but overall it's got the edge over most. Â Their salad bar and soups are consistently good, and while their lunches and dinners are a little more average, their burgers are a guilty pleasure that is a welcome alternative to the mass-produced McDonald's fare just down the street.
No matter what  you order, though, it's all good enough to sit down and enjoy, and the friendly service in this place adds a welcome feel that makes you feel happy to come back.
I keep coming back.
While it would be a bit of a lie to say this is the only reason I make my way up to Lake Arrowhead at least once a year, it's not much of a lie. This hidden gem of a diner serves up eggs and hash browns and bacon and toast and all the other things they serve up at diners. Except tremendously delicious.
Have you ever had a slice of buttered wheat toast and thought "oh mannnnnnn that is the best thing i've ever tasted"?
Well, before I ordered that at Bills Villager Coffee Shop, this would have seemed to me like an unwarranted reaction for a slice of wheat toast. But Bill Villager's Coffee Shop wheat toast warrants such a reaction and warrants it gooooooood.
I let my dad have a slice of my wheat toast while he was waiting for his food, and I soon regretted it, once I realized he'd be asking for a second slice.
This is an entirely necessary stop after driving up the mountain.
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