Holy effin' Mai-tai's Batman!
I've thought this over for awhile lately, pondered it really. I'm ready to admit it.
Breaker's has the best fruity drink I HAVE EVER HAD. Â Not that I should be heading to AA soon, but I say this with great confidence as I've had my share of cocktails. Or two. Or six. Â No one's counting unless there's embarrassment involved.
Truth be told. Â I went on a first date with my now hubby here. Said the whole, "oh, I don't drink very much speech" and then proceeded to get Mai-tai tipsy. Â Long story short, proceeded to behave very unladylike, and fast forward a few years later and I'm married. Â I must give due thanks to the Mai-tai gods for that one.
The recipe is a secret, it's a dark rose color, and you get a sugar candy swizzle stick. Â It's wonderfully tart, and just one will not do. Â I drive over an hour here every few months just to get my fix.
As for the restaurant itself...it's old, it's kitchy, it's tiki. Â No, it's not fancy, but it's chill and fun. Don't expect too much, and you'll be happy. Â
My favorites here? Egg rolls to die for. Apricot sweet and sour sauce is amazing. Â Shrimp appetizer is yummy. I always get the chicken in lobster sauce and the pork fried rice, and it's consistently great.
Yes, service is hit or miss. Â But, if you have crap service than just get another Mai-tai, and all is right in the world.
We finally went to The Breakers the other night. I really enjoyed it. I was a bit unsure what to expect after reading the mixed reviews here on Yelp, however everything about our visit chalked up to a great experience.
We went on a Saturday night about 7pm. It was definitely packed but we didn't have to wait for a table at all. Â For Appetizers, we ordered an eggroll which was really great. One of the better ones I've had. Also ordered Crab Ragoon which was AWESOME! I'd say the best Crab Ragoon I've had in the west burbs so far.
For entrees - I ordered Gai Ding Chow Mein. It was REALLY good. Chicken, Chinese vegetables, pan fried noodles (very thin) ...yum! The portion was a large size and I had enough for leftovers which I ate the next day...and I rarely eat leftovers!
My husband had Beef & Broccoli and Shrimp Fried Rice. He liked his quite well. I tried the fried rice and that was very good too.
Of course we ordered Mai Tai's. They were delicious! Came with a swizzle stick/rock candy, which was a fun little addition to the drink.
We will definitely go back to The Breakers and hope to bring some friends with us next time. It was a fun experience, great food, with great service and drinks. It is the old lounge type of atmosphere/tiki bar, like the other reviews describe. To me, that was part of the fun and it was neat going to a place that is different with some character.
I wish I could give them 10 stars! The best Chinese food ever. The egg rolls are unique and delicious. I have been a loyal customer for 20 years. I do more take out than eating there but both are equally excellent. The service is friendly and prompt. I would recommend The Breakers to anyone and everyone!!!
Review Source:The Breakers in Crystal Lake has the WORST Chinese food (if you can even call it food) I have EVER eaten! The beef was grey and the veggies looked like they came out of a can of LaChoy! Disgusting!!!!! Â I threw the to go containers in the dumpster behind the restaurant on the way out. Â The restaurant smelled like mold the moment we walked in the door, this place must have been under water several times. Â I had to rate it 1 star because this site makes you give it some sort of rating but it deserves a -5 stars!
Review Source:Service was good, but the food, well...I've had better. I always see this parking lot jam-packed and finally decided to give it a go.
The egg rolls and crab rangoon seemed almost seemed like they were sitting under a hot lamp to stay warm. The portions of the fried rice and sweet & sour chicken were large. More than enough for 2 people.
The place needs some design show to come in and revamp the place. It is quite dark inside and dated.
I agree that the egg rolls are good, but tonight was my last visit to this place. The staff spends more time talking at the bar than their tables. If you want a refill on your 8 ounce coke, you'll have to buy it for another 1.50. The entrees aren't what they used to be and the place needs a front to back scrubbing.
Review Source:We ate at The Breakers last night with friends. Â The atmosphere was throwback tiki bar, dated but fun. Â We ordered the dinner for six, plus one extra that I can't remember the name of......fried shrimp, veggies. Â The food brought me back to the Cantonese style that I grew up eating in Chicago Chinese restaurants. Â Love the bean sprouts. Â There was more than enough food for six; lots of take home boxes. Â The egg rolls were great, again, like the ones I grew up with. Â The mai tais were tasty too. Â Everyone in our party enjoyed the food. Â Our server was friendly and prompt and didn't rush us through the meal.
Review Source:We go to Illinois every other year. My husbands grandparents live really close to Breakers. We had the food a bunch, but had never gone in until our recent trip. The food was just as good, if not better then I had remembered (yeah they have amazing egg rolls and mai tais). The inside was fun, we will def go again when we are back in town.
Review Source:We used to go all the way to Red Dragon in Elmhurst. We refused to eat at China Town or Plum Garden in McHenry. Â No more travel for us for we have found Breakers in Crystal Lake!!
This place is great! The food is very fresh and cooked perfectly.
The customer service was amazing. The hostess and our waitress went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed but they weren't annoyingly in our face all night either. Both were very friendly.
I will admit when we first walked into the hallway area there was a musty smell like an old, wet carpet but once we entered the actual restaurant, I only smelled delicious food.
I also didn't visit the restrooms so I can't say if they were clean or not.
The restaurant is definitely old and doesn't seem to have an updated decor in a while.
We did each order a Mai Thai which is supposedly what they are known for (you can also order it to take out by the gallon or by the half gallon or just one). I didn't like it at all (I am a loyal Bob Chin's Mai Thai drinker). It was not so much "fruity and light" as it was COMPLETELY FILLED WITH STRONG ALCOHOL!!! Â
We'll definitely be making this our local Chinese place. We really liked it.
We've driven past this place a hundred times and I always wanted to try it because of the Tiki-bar look. Yesterday after an all day sustainability event at MCC we were hungry and tired. We stopped at the Breakers and, man, I'm I glad we did!
Dude! I have a weakness for Tiki bars: spent too much time in Hala Kahiki in my twenties, so the Breakers had me right from the get-go with it's groovy Tiki ambiance. Our awesome waitress Kelley greeted us with a playful smile. She was upbeat, bright and attentive and genuine. In fact, I watched all the waitresses and they were all warm and attentive to their guests!
We had the dinner for two and it was a really good choice. Now--let me tell you, I am so tired of Chinese places that give you a crappy frozen egg roll as an appetizer--so often has it happened that I've stopped ordering eggrolls all together. It's so easy to do egg rolls right and so many places do them wrong. But I saw people oohing and ahhing over the egg rolls at The Breakers and now I'm gonna definitely try them when I go back. As for us--our dinner came with fried shrimp as an appetizer and they were a wonderful way to start our meal. Tasty and tender and they weren't stingy with the shrimp! And the tea--don't let me forget the tea--it was Oolong, my fave!!! I'm so tired of Chinese places throwing some bitter black tea at you that's been sitting around all day. Not the Breakers--freshly brewed Oolong--awesomesauce!!!
The Kung Bao is some of the best I've ever had. The egg fu young was tender and NOT GREASY--i'm so sick of greasy egg fu young. The fried rice was delicate and richly flavored, AS IT SHOULD BE; you don't need to smother fried rice in soy sauce and salt.
Almond cookies are a must for me--I love to finish a meal with tea and and almond cookie and my dining companion had the ice cream that came with our meal (I was too stuffed and we brought most of the fried rice home.)
This is now my favorite Chinese joint and I look forward to many groovy meals under the watchful eyes of the Tiki Gods. Awesome experience!
You gotta know, though--they're closed on Monday and Tuesday and they're only open for dinner the other days. Â But still, most of the tables were reserved for Saturday night dining. Â This place is popular with the locals so keep that in mind.
I am really confused why Breakers is getting such bad reviews???? I drive over an hour from Chicago to eat there! I discovered Breakers only 5 years ago and I wish I knew about it a lot longer. Best egg rolls around with that killr sweet n sour sauce to dip it in, the Kung Pao is to die for with a good kick to it and amazing egg foo young. Wash it all down with one of 2 really good cocktails either the Navy Grog or the Mai Tai. Finish it all off with a nice cup of peppermint ice cream!
Review Source:I too really wanted to love this place, its close to home it has a cool tiki bar feel and it has history, what it doesn't have is very good food.
We visited on a Thursday night and were pleasantly surprised when it wasn't as busy as it is usually, and after eating here I'm not still not sure why it gets so busy aside from the cheap meals, I guess thats all it takes.
We started with the Crab Rangoons that are advertised on the walls on pink placards: "New Appetizer Crab Rangoons 5 pc for $5.00" who could pass that up. Wish we would have. They were fried to death, and the contents was strange. I could make out the Krab but the only other thing i could identify was rice, which is just filler and I didn't see any cream cheese. Regardless they were sent back. Our waitress asked if we wanted another order and I said if they weren't burnt i would. SHe said they all came out that way. Guess someone should tell them that if they take them out earlier they wouldn't get that way, but i'm no cook, but apparently their cooks aren't either.
Next up was Fried Shrimp for my wife and Shrimp fried rice for me. The Fried Shrimp was very nice, a light breading and fried just right, and the best part, the shrimp didn't have that metallic aftertaste that so many shrimp have these days. My shrimp fried rice was not bad but wasn't good either. It was just plain without a lot of flavor.
We won't be going back. In hindsight I wish i would have tried the Mai Tai as it may have improved the food.
the breakers opened in 1949... inside the old bright red building you will find an authentic tiki bar, complete with rail padded with glitter vinyl, puffer fish, tiki carvings, totems, bamboo, etc. they serve what i would call the BEST mai tai in the midwest, if not anywhere... it is a secret recipe, for a good reason, it is AWESOME. for a few extra dollars you can take home the tiki mug it is served in. they usually have several to choose from. i now own an impressive collection of tiki mugs i proudly display in my home. they serve chinese food. not marginal chinese food, but excellent chinese food. their kung pao shrimp is to die for and their egg rolls are famous... it is honestly my birthday meal. if you are ever in the area, check it out, you won't regret it!
Review Source:Aloha oukou! Man, this is some Old School Chinese. The decor is awesome. Fresh from the 1950's and 1960's when America had a fascination with our newly acquired state (Hawaii became a state in 1959). Their food comes from that same era when Americans were wary of foreign Chinese food and smart Chinese restaurateurs adapted their dishes to suit American tastes -- bland, sweet and unsophisticated. This is the real Old School deal here people. From the emphasis on their tiki cocktails to dishes served in stainless steel chargers. Tip: Try to get a seat in the back by the garden.
You don't go here for good Chinese food. Go to Chen Wok for that. Go here to step back in time, have a fruity cocktail and some Old School Chinese. Sometimes that just hits the spot. Surf's up, dude.
I really want to love this place! Â My family ate here a lot when I was a kid 20-25 years ago...so many fond memories! Â It got two stars because I know what it used to be and what it could be again. the interior hasn't been updated...ever. Â I like the theme of the place, but old dirty carpets, dirty bathrooms...it would just be better if everything at least appeared cleaner.
Their food does not taste the same as it has in the past...no where near as good as it used to be.
The "plate charge" is absolutely ridiculous. Â If I order an appetizer in any restaurant, a plate to eat it off of comes along with it...
Someone needs to buy the place and overhaul it ...bring back the quality customer service, great food, and fun ambiance!
Yikes! I really wanted to like this place...unfortunately...
Bored staff sitting in the corner talking or hanging out at the bar.
Remember 20 years ago when your mom used to make you La Choy chop suey out of a jar? Well they still serve it at the Breakers...just ask for the Kung Pao chicken entree if you don't believe me. Something like $12 for a few slices off a chicken breast and some vegetable pieces in that nasty ol gloppy sauce. We also ordered a sweet'n'sour chicken entree....it was nearly identical. Few pieces of chicken, onion slices, couple pineapple chunks, totally drowning in this odd vinegar sauce.
The prices were seriously jacked up too. Kids wanted a "cheese sandwich"... $4.50 each for a slice of kraft cheese between two slices of wonderbread and a side of disgusting sweet mayonnaise.
Sadly, The Breakers lost a 40 year customer tonight. Â
We have been going to The Breakers twice a month, and sometimes more often, for many, many years. Â The food and cocktails have always been very good. Â
Recently, they began charging customers a $2.50 "service plate" charge. Â I have never agreed with the concept of "service plate" when a table of 5 orders appetizers, several entrees, cocktails, etc. Â
The last time we dined at The Breakers, I questioned the "service plate" charge. Â The server was a little bit annoyed at my questioning, but she did the right thing and removed the service plate charge.
Tonight, our table of 5 ordered appetizers, entrees and cocktails totalling $100. Â I reviewed the bill (as I always do) and saw that Danny, our long-time server charged us a $2.50 "service plate" charge. Â We debated whether we would discuss the issue with Danny or not. Â I felt very strongly that if the right message isn't delivered, they will continue with this policy that I strongly disagree with. Â
When our change came, I called it to Danny's attention. Â Instead of doing the right thing, he argued about it with me. Â
Arguing with a customer in a restaurant is a HUGE NO NO in my book. Â Tonight, it cost Danny a $30 tip and The Breakers a very good customer. Â
To the owners of The Breakers -- Your food has always been good. Â The cocktails have always been excellent too. Â We have many fond memories dining at The Breakers. Â But to charge your long time, loyal customers $2.50 to eat off one of your plates when you are in the restaurant business and expected to provide your customers with plates to eat off of is inexcusable -- and for that reason, tonight you lost a loyal customer who has been doing business with your establishment for the last 40 years. Â In this day and age, competition in the restaurant business is fierce. Â You need to do everything in your power to retain your loyal customers. Â Tonight, your "service plate" policy cost you a valuable group of customers and your server Danny forefeited his tip for being argumentative. Â
Indeed I will miss the excellent egg rolls and the cocktails, but sadly, that will never overshadow the sour taste left in my mouth after this evenings dining experience.
The Yelp dilemma again: it deserves a zero star rating. Â Outside the neon sign and 50's tiki bar meets the once unknown and exotic China beckons you to swing three feet off the highway and see what they have to offer or what they think Chinese food is. Â
So it took me three months of trying every other restaurant on US14 but the time to visit came. Â Walking inside I was not disappointed with the dark interior only an aged venue can provide with one good strong dose of kitsch. Â The cute host directed me to a window spot overlooking a little 'pond' with cement painted light blue just like at Putt Putt. Â
The wait staff was slow and not helpful. Â I ordered shrimp I got a soggy mess of the worst chicken I have ever eaten with soggy clearly from a can peas and mushrooms. Â It was so revolting I couldn't bring myself to complain. Â I ate a few pieces and got the hell out. Â The hostess was sitting at the bar bored... I thought about consoling her but then I was overwhelmed by the extreme need to leave this institution not fit for prison food. Â
+Five Stars for vintage Style... minus a million stars for the food.
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