What a letdown. Mediocre and  unacceptable. The food was terrible. Had the whole wheat pancakes and eggs. Dry and clinging to the plate.  My husband's omelette looked good but tasted like unsalted, unflavored raw egg. His toast came out at the end of his meal and was hardly toasted and old. My daughter's eggs were good as eggs go-- but we asked for them first and that was a no go.
It took someone ten minutes to come by with coffee and water. Instead of attending to the few customers they had, the waitstaff just lazily hung out in the kitchen. When the waitress finally came by, she was less than pleased. She clearly didn't want to be there on a Sunday morning.
The coffee is God-awful. It tastes like tar water laced with arsenic. Four creams in the cup won't lighten that baby up.
Not going back here again. I remember it being much much better years ago. Now it's gone down the drain-- like what they should do with their coffee.
Quaint little diner. Only open from 7a-3p daily. Great breakfast spot. Always super nice and accommodating staff. Great breakfast ( have not had lunch here yet) with large portions. Always freshly squeezed juices. I love to go for brunch as it tends to quiet down around 11 am ish on the weekends.
Review Source:I've lived in Ravenswood a pretty good portion of my life, and somehow always managed to avoid Pauline's. So when a couple of Yelpers recommended I check out their corn beef hash, I took my friend here and  got my hash on.
The verdict? A-okay, indeed, probably a little more than A-okay, but Yelp won't let me grade that way. Portions are huge, service is good, and the prices are reasonable. I also got some pancakes which were gigantic and delicious--served with fresh strawberries, yum!
They also have a bowl full of SAF-T POPS by the cash register! My childhood!
We were there for lunch a few years ago...found the food greasy and tired.
And not worth the money.
Retried it last week for breakfast, same old tired food, although they offered to reheat some "fresh" potatoes for my flat greasy omelette.
I highly suggest Nookies on Halsted north of Belmont, for breakfast and any place
on Clark if you are in Andersonville.
Kitschy decor can't be an excuse for bad food,
I went to Paulines just to patronize an independant business. The sign outside said "comfort food at comfort prices" The decor was very nice, it reminds you of yesteryear. The food I ordered reminded me of yesterday. I ordered the country biscuits and gravy for breakfast and immediately I was put off. The gravy and sausage were great but the biscuits were lacking integrity. I was unable to cut them with a fork. I had to use a knife to cut them. It was as if they were stale or they were microwaved before serving. If they were microwaved it dries them out and thus makes them the way they were presented. Customer service was great. The waiter was very nice he comped me for the issue with the biscuits.
I also question the statement about comfort food. I saw no mac and cheese, meatloaf, or even country fried steak for breakfast. I'm not positive if I will try this place again.
I want to love Pauline's, but it's getting harder. Â The last few times have been average at best. Â The quality of the food has gone down a bit, and I think most people are returning because they remember how good it used to be. Â I'm glad to have a little diner in the 'hood within walking distance, but that motivation alone won't last forever.
Review Source:Pauline's has quickly became my favorite part of living t in Andersonville. This place defines cozy. Saying that Pauline's has a "small town diner" vibe does not do it's atmosphere justice. When you walk in, one of the servers walking by will let you know that you can have a seat wherever you would like. You are immediately asked what you would like to drink. Then, comes the food.
All the food is seasonal, fresh, and delicious. September and October have meant pumpkin pancakes and caramel apple pancakes. Standbys include the biscuits and gravy, and omelettes loaded with ham, chorizo, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, sun dried tomatoes. . . You name it.
The best part? It's cheap, cheap cheap.
There is nothing pretentious, snooty or uppity about Pauline's. I have only been for breakfast - and it is awesome. You get a home-cooked feeling from the food that takes me back to Sunday mornings with my Mom.
The service is fast and consistent. The decor at Pauline's is charming, down-home-on-the-farm chic. Do not expect fine dining - that is not what this place is about. Instead, come for the warm memories that come from simple, well-prepared food.
Love this place. Try to make it here twice a month if my schedule allows or whenever I'm too lazy or hungover to make breakfast myself. Allie is a sweetheart. I once sent my daughters father here on his weekend w her, & he was impressed that the servers knew my daughter by name. They started accepting credit cards here now! YAY!!
Review Source:With so many great brunch options elsewhere, I was shocked to see so many people eating here. Mediocre at best; overall just not good. Their special ham and bean soup was bland, hardly any ham in it served room temperature (health code violation!), the tables, floors, booths, and menus are filthy; Â food for 4 people was brought out in 3 waves. Broken crayons for kids. Server was very sweet; but nothing she could do could save the poor food and dirty tables. The busser handed me an extremely hot mug of coffee and the only way I could hold it was to grab the (very hot) sides. And it was the worst coffee I've had in a long time. The place looks cute and funky, but if you want to support local with much better food and experience, go to Acre, Kopi, or Andies. How this place stays in business is a mystery to me.
Review Source:A good, old-fashioned American diner. Â I never even knew this place was here. Â This sort of place should be the standard for basic, low priced breakfast joints. Â It's Americana in sort of a southern hospitality way.
Amazing french toast with strawberries and whipped cream optional. Â Potatoes (w/ onions and green peppers) that are hearty and will fulfill even the strongest of carb cravings (I almost ordered a second plate of them). Â Standard breakfast sausages, bacon, and steaks. Â All good stuff. Â Endless coffee.
Three eggs is the standard here instead of two like most places. Â I like that. Â I love my eggs.
It fills up around 9:30-10:00 outside, in the summer, on a weekend, so if you go early you'll have no problem. Â But, if you go after 10, it's inside if you don't want to wait.
Pancake Pancake Pancake. Wow I have never been a fan of pancakes but ever since I have been here I am now a fan. There pancakes are so fluffy and light with a little chew to them. It's amazing. They are huge and their topping are so fresh that you just can't go wrong. Â We had the banana and the banana are mixed into the batter.
Review Source:Solid breakfast restaurant. I had a very tasty south american omelette and my friend had eggs benedict. One of their tastier offerings are their potatoes. Very good, with onions and peppers. They have outdoor seating, good service, and reasonable prices.
I did take one star off because they allow dogs in the outside seating area. I can do drinks and lattes with dogs, not breakfast.
This place is a no in my books. Â The staff is hard to understand, the food is overly greasy and messy (I guess that's a diner for you), they only accept cash, their biscuits are Pillsbury (gross!), and my table was sticky. Â It's okay prices, but compared to other places that sell the same quality food, it's overpriced. Â
I guess I went in there hoping it was a "everything homemade from scratch" kind of place, and I was just kind of disappointed.
I visited Pauline's for a late brunch with my wife. Â It has a great neighborhood location and feel to it, which I love. Â I ended up ordering a coffee, 3 eggs over easy, Pauline's potatoes, and side of ham. Â It was a pretty simple order, which may be the reason why I was not all that impressed. Â The table we sat at was right next to the entrance and was certainly uncomfortable at best. Â The coffee was mediocre...I was hoping for Julius Meinl, Metropolitan, or Intelligentsia. Â My food was cooked just fine, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. Â
Pauline's is not bad, but it is not nearly as good as Over Easy Cafe.
While I thoroughly enjoyed my cranberry bread pudding pancakes, my mom's biscuits and gravy was made with Pillsbury grands.
My mom insisted they were, she has this whole theory about how she can detect a pillsbury flavor from thin air.
anyway....if you put BISCUITS and GRAVY on your menu, you MAKE the freaking biscuits, right? It's like, the whole point...the homemade biscuit. duuuhhhh.
I like the homey atmosphere here. Reminds me of an off-the-highway michigan diner. And the location by the train out in the middle of a residential area is unique. You don't feel like you're in the city. But the service is slow and apathetic.
While the restaurant is clean, homey, very country kitchen feeling, the food is mediocre. Just lame, actually.
i should have known that the salmon benedict was a bad choice in a small restaurant like this. I was very stupid to think it would be fresh...not frozen. Though, am I naive to think that if you put it on your menu, it should be superb?
Also, the hollandaise sauce was more like watery cream sauce. No tang, no buttery salty-ness. almost an afterthought. And can we send out a memo that says, "Please toast the english muffins under the benedict?" come on........soggy muffin is gross under fishy smelling salmon.
The man got the Lumberjack breakfast plate. Lots of eggs, their signature potatoes, and a strip steak. The potatoes are good, but not really much to write home about, and the steak was ridiculously over-seasoned and cheap quality.
The orange juice was freshly squeezed and delicious, but thats about the only positive in this breakfast.
Oh, and btw, only cash???? What is this 1977?
I really want to like Pauline's because it's right around the corner from my house. Â However, the two experiences I've had just turned me off.
The service is AWFUL. Â The wait staff is rude and basically ignore you unless you flag them down. Â The food come out as it's ready, which meant waiting 20 minutes between my friend's dish and mine. Â I gazed longingly at his plate while I sat there with a grumbling stomach and nothing to put in it. Â For 20 minutes. Â The food is typical breakfast fare (their potatoes are yummy), but I just can't suffer through bad service for average food.
The outdoor patio is really nice, and it opens really early which is great when I have out of town visitors who need to get to the airport. Â There are just so many better choices in the neighborhood, though, (Ann Sather, M. Henry, Big Jones, etc.) that I can't suffer through Pauline's.
It's over, Pauline's. We're THROUGH.
I don't know why I keep going back. For real. Is it the bad food? Is it the awful service? Either way, today was my last day. I took a big handful of giant Lifesavers out of the candy basket for the LAST TIME.
Our friend Damon N. is bad news. Every time we take him to a former favorite breakfast place, we have an AWFUL experience. Note to everyone: don't eat breakfast with Damon N.
I deviated from my norm and went with the biscuits and gravy. It was, by far, the WORST biscuits and gravy I have ever, ever had. EVER. It should have been on the menu as "biscuits and gravy soup". It was all watery and god awful. AWFUL.
The service was laughable. Literally. We had to beg for coffee refills. We had to beg for more water. Damon N. asked for his eggs on the side and they came sprinkled on top of the biscuits and gravy. Â He also ordered raisin toast that never appeared with his breakfast. After 5 minutes of waiting, he reminded the waiter who went to go get it, only to return saying "we're out of raisin toast... my bad". My Dude was cracking up saying this was like a sitcom.
Hilarious.
Sorry, Pauline's. You've gone down the shitter and I don't want to waste any more money, even if you do have giant pineapple Lifesavers waiting for me for dessert.
Cool, windy morning.
Breakfast with friends. One of them all up and preppy, the one badly hangover.
Patio seating.
It's noisy. Very much so. They are doing some sort of construction/renovation next door and it's deafening. Not exactly the cozt ambiance I was expecting but oh well....the wind knocks off the vase on the next table.
The menu is big, and I decide to go half and half. Scrambled eggs and pancakes with strawberries. Coffee too, of course.
I was also in the mood for bacon, but after checking the price and almost choking on it ($4.95!!) I went meatless.
Le sad.
Food arrives, and it's quite disappointing. Dry, boring, 5 pieces of strawberry on the plate.....it is depressing-looking. The pancakes were some of the worst I had, like, ever. I almost want to cry.
This Friday doesn't start well; but I am chit-chatting with friends, spying on the biggest dog of the neighborhood and making fun of the waiter in my head.
Not so bad after all.
But I could totally do that AND eat good food somewhere else.
A no-return.
There are only two words for this place: Â BUSH. Â LEAGUE. Â Actually I could make it three words, but my mother might be reading.
The entire experience was a train wreck. Â All I can do is make a list.
1. Â We were not greeted, even after I moved directly into the sight line of the "hostess" and made eye contact. Â I had to arch my eyebrows and hold up two fingers.
2. Â With half of the tables open, we were not given a choice of indoor/outdoor or booth/table but instead guided directly to the nightmare table:
a. Â Wet
b. Â Cramped (chair backs touching those of the diners behind us)
c. Â Slanted alarmingly sideways (one of my plates actually slid)
3. Â One of the sets of silverware was undone from the napkin wrapper--not dirty and used, just undone and lying askew on the table.
4. Â The waitress was incompetent. Â She didn't wipe off the table, if she even noticed that it was wet; she mumbled and spoke in half-sentences; she attempted to excuse her numerous gaffes with, "Sorry, I'm [eyeroll and fluttery head-level hand gesture]"; and worst of all, she didn't bring me any syrup with my french toast. Â
5. Â My girlfriend ordered tea, which came with a giant mug and a tiny pitcher of hot water less than half the size. Â That is just plain stupid.
6. Â The food came out like this: Â my english muffin...[five minutes]...my half-order of french toast...[three minutes]...my omelette...[two minutes]...my girlfriend's pancakes. Â The english muffin was soggy and cold, the french toast piping hot, the omelette moderately hot, and the pancakes warm. Â So, not only is the waitress incompetent, so is the kitchen staff.
7. Â The food sucked. Â The blueberry pancakes were decent, the french toast barely average, the potatoes less than boring, and the omelette bland and greasy. Â And that english muffin was the worst I've ever eaten--not only was it cold and soggy, but it had a very strange, unpleasant taste as well. Â Rancid butter? Â Bleach? Â Iguana sweat? Â Something like that.
8. Â To top it all off, the "hostess" who failed to greet us after I made eye contact, failed to farewell us in the same situation. Â No "Thanks, please come again" or "Have a good afternoon"? Â Well, if you're happy to see my back, Pauline's, I'm even happier to show it to you.
Sometimes when a restaurant screws up a lot, depending on the type of place, I might be inclined to think, "Man, that was terrible, but at least their heart is in the right place." Â Not this time. Â At no point during the entire ordeal did I ever get the faintest impression that anyone at Pauline's gives a flying fuck about their customers.
A plate of hot, nearly-perfect blueberry pancakes can go a long way towards canceling out an otherwise mediocre experience. But not quite all the way.
I'd been driving past Pauline's for months and finally the planets aligned and I went in for breakfast. Upon entering, the planets realigned to form an evil clown face, or at least a frowny emoticon.
We entered; the hostess(?) seated our party of two in the second room. Outdoor seating was also available but maybe she judged that we were too pale for the June sun; at any rate, she didn't give us the option. She pointed to a two-top along the wall with roughly .4" clearance between the tables in front and back of it. Mmm, cozy!
The table itself had been lovingly anointed with water in a haphazard pattern, but not dried. If I had been carrying my protractor, I could have measured the exact tilt of the table, but instead we simply know that it's at the angle where plates slide. The silverware on my side had been unwrapped, presumably for the napkin because they were unused.
Our waitress approached and introduced herself, but turned abruptly as if to grab something for wiping down the table. She returned but did nothing to the table, if she even noticed. We requested a couple napkins to take care of it ourselves.
She asked if we wanted coffee; I requested hot tea. I usually do this as a knee-jerk reaction to the coffee question, without looking at the menu. Usually it doesn't come back to bite me in the wallet, but this time it was $2.95 for two tea bags (one reg, one decaf) and some hot water. The water was presented in a 10oz. creamer for a mug that was about double the size. Even worse, the menu only lists tea to go, which is $1.50.
The food itself was actually decent: aforementioned blueberry pancakes (which were pretty great), good french toast & side of strawberries, and the omelet that was supposed to be easy on the cheese was. Our waitress had, thankfully, asked whether I wanted all the toppings on my pancakes, which I did not. However, she assumed this was the case for the French toast, but you know what happens when you assume....In this case, it means someone doesn't get any syrup.
We paid our bill in cash, in keeping with the retro vibe. Although I wasn't even sure whether we paid our server or the hostess, we ended up leaving it on the table because our server simply didn't come back. This made me nervous but at that point I wasn't going to lose sleep over it.
I think Pauline's assumes that people have no other options for breakfast. There's really no other explanation for the general sloppiness of our experience.
A-ok breakfast grub in a cute as a button space. The omelet was a bit cold for my liking, but filled with plentiful, if haphazardly chopped , veggies. (Like some others, I'm a bit skeptical there are actually 5 eggs in the omelet.) The accompanying potato/pepper hash was tasty, and my dining companion enjoyed his pancake and coffee. (I'd like to see real maple syrup added as an option.)
We went on New Year's day and there was only a 5 minute wait, during which we were given complimentary bloody mary's by the owner, a sharp old cad who wore red and green plaid pants, toted a portable minature oxygen tank, and seemed enthusiastic about serving his customers and life in general. With the sunlight streaming in the window at our front booth, I was also smiling and could see myself plopping down again.
I wanted to give Pauline's another chance before I made a quick decision so I tried it again for breakfast yesterday.
I really like the place, when you walk in it looks like you're going on a picnic. The tables have plastic table cloths covered with glass for cleanliness and brightly painted walls with lots of vintage art and pictures. I really like the feel inside when you first walk in.
But then you sit down.
We got to our table, the waitress (an older woman) came over before we were even sitting down. I was struggling with my coat and couldn't even move my chair back to sit down cuz it's jammed in between the table and the wooden post behind it. So I tried to squeeze in as she's asking me about coffee. I don't drink coffee so she offered fresh-squeezed orange juice. So I ordered a glass. Just after I ordered it I remembered they had fresh papaya juice. She was already on her way back with the pulpy mess so I didn't order it. But I wondered why she wouldn't offer the Papaya juice to me too since that's a little more rare? EVERY breakfast place has orange juice. Come on.
Anyhow, she impatiently asks if we're ready to order. We JUST sat down so we said no. She came back about 1 minute later and said, "Ok what do you want to eat?" So we both order quickly as she grabs the menus and walks off without even really acknowledging that we ordered anything.
She came back with the food, slammed it down in front of us, and threw napkins on the table half on top of our plates of food. Then we had to switch cuz she put the wrong food in front of the wrong person. No sooner do we take our first bite but she's back with the check. GEEZ! In a hurry to get rid of us or what?!
Rude. Rude. Rude.
As we're eating and almost ready to get the hell out of there, the owner comes walking down yelling at the bus boy to clean a table. I would've quit right there if I were him. My dad has never even yelled at me that way.
Ick.
We have lived near here for 10 years and now live even closer. Â Unfortunately it just doesn't mix with either of us because of certain things that happened during the few times we went there.
I will give them this though, they are crowded on the weekends which is deterrent #1. Â I would consider it even with the crowds if the food was any good but it is nothing special that you couldn't get any where else.
We have had bad service, medium service and down right no service.
One of the many thing things that happened that turned us off...my partner orders a hamburger, it comes out with cheese, he identifies this and with a big huff they take it back. Â The return with the cheese scraped off...well he could have done that himself. Â All of this with the attitude that it was our fault.
One of many reasons we don't go which is a shame because it is close.
Shhh, I cheated on my diet at Pauline's. Having heard such good things about this place I decided to check it out since it is pretty close to my house, and I was quite hungry. It was a Saturday so it was pretty packed to capacity and service really wasn't great, but it was not terrible either. We were seated pretty quickly. Â Breakfast is served all day so I went with the South American Omelette. It was so good. Salsa,jalapenos,cheddar cheese, and chorizo(I seriously cheated here considering I don't normally eat pork/beef etc) mixed in with five eggs. Five eggs! I justify the meal by knowing it had veggies in the salsa and the delicious potatoes on the side.
My bf ordered the Mexican omelette and was rather pleased also.
This should be 4 and a half. Â Paulines is awesome, it can get busy and then service occasionally is less than stellar, but hey when a restaurant is slammed (which it often is on the weekends) you cannot expect miracles. Â
Any one who doesn't like this place should go eat at some fast food hell hole, and keep out of our beloved Pauline's.
Whats up with the crap reviews of this place? If you want to eat at McDonalds, eat there! Â This is a Mom & Pop style place.
Yes, they have gotten my order wrong before, and forgot toast once. Â But they kept giving me coffee while I was waiting for the fix. Â And they are nice to regulars - sorry to the drop in's who thought they were going to get Charlie Trotter style service for $5.50 a head.
The food is big, and yummy. Â The serve everything on mix and match fiesta ware - which is just charming. Â None of the chairs, or table clothes match. Â They aren't supposed to.
I have had to wait for breakfast on a Saturday morning and on a Sunday morning. Â Its odd though. I can hardly believe that other people actually thought of eating breakfast then too.....
Its worth the wait. Â You can read the paper, or people watch. Â Both are fun, only one doesn't get printers ink on your hands.
I like the omelette's. And toast (which is actually warm when the serve it), and potatoes. Â I'm sure they have other things there, but I haven't ordered them. Â I did see someone order oatmeal there.
Why the hell would you go to a restaurant to eat oatmeal? Â Somethings I'll never understand. Â Like is Bea Arthur really a man?
The staff is friendly, they do pack in a crowd.
OH! And the bathroom is totally behind the counter to the left. Â There is only one toilet - so sometimes, you have to wait to use the bathroom. Â Which can be gross. Â A few cups of coffee can do funny things to peoples colons first thing in the morning.
Check out Paulines. Â AND its next to the Andersonville Garden Walk, that runs several blocks up Ravenswood. Â Totally worth walking up if you have time to kill.
Pauline is a Jekyll and Hyde kinda girl. During the week, this is a nice neighborhood joint, all candy colored and checkered curtains. The walls are covered with old-time adverts, the tables are covered with photos of regulars. The food is good and the service is friendly. Locals relax with their morning papers, old friends catch up, moms bring their kids. You wouldn't be surprised to see Floyd and Goober at the next table.
On the weekends, though, Pauline turns into one mean bitch. The sweet ethnic servers are gone, replaced by the pros who are there for their tips. Customers are jammed in like commuters on the train to Bergen-Belsen. And treated just as well. You eat what you get, and you will like it! It's all about long lines and table turns. The kitchen churns out orders, and who cares if it's ready?
If you have a chance to visit Pauline's during the week, do so. On the weekend, unless you are more patient than I am and willing to put up with some bullshit, skip it. Go to Svea -- it's a smaller menu, but the people are nicer.
4 stars for weekdays, 1 star for weekends.
Very down home place in Chicago - I don't think they've updated the decor in at least 30 years if not more, but somehow it adds to it's cheesy charm.
It gets VERY busy on the weekends, so expect a wait out the door and when you finally do get seated, it will be crowded. They don't seem to rush you once you are seated though.
The food is typical brunch food - eggs, pancakes, etc. The orange juice is freshly squeezed and out of this world! I do have to complain about the tea - they just give you a random assortment in one of those old strawberry containers that are usually hit or miss. I know, tea isn't the reason why people go here, but if you're going to charge me $2 a cup, please make it worth my while (and I don't like coffee).
Such a shame, such a shame!! Food, great. Atmosphere, delightful.......service.............sucks so bad it's not even funny.
They need to take everyone that works here (including the owner) and take them to etiquette school on how to run a business. I was in there with a group of four people, we were ignored almost the entire time, they didn't bring everything we ordered to the table and yet it was still on the bill. Oh yeah, and it took a half hour just to get the bill at the end, one of the worst mistakes you can make as a server. Trust me, I was a server for almost 3 years.
I NEVER complain and am always sympathetic towards servers b/c I was one, but our experience was so bad to the point I thought we were all on MTV's "Boiling Points" (Did I win my $100 yet). When we confronted the owner about it, all he said was "That's the way it is". Well sir, I would rather cut my wang off and throw it in the lake than come back to your establishment. I mean, that's just the way it is.
This place makes me feel like I've grown up here (I haven't). Â
I live in the neighborhood and drop in solo or with friends and family.. sometimes its during the week, and other times on the busier weekends. Â Regardless of when I go and who I go with, I've always had a good experience here. Â
Sure, you'll wait a little on weekends, but they'll give you a Dixie cup full of OJ. Â
Their food is nothing fancy, but it is good.. and there's a lot of it. Â And the staff is friendly and efficient. Â
Too bad its after 3:00PM (when they close) because otherwise I'd head down the street for a feta omelet and some undercooked-because-I-asked-for-'em-that-way hash browns. Â Yum.
My mom, husband, and I went here for our breakfast on Christmas and it was PERFECT. Â We had never been here before, but we WILL be back again. Â It was cute, the owner was very nice, the staff was upbeat and friendly, and it seemed the perfect place to be. Â The wait was nonexistent (probably because other "real" families were at home) and the food came quickly.
I thought the food was quite yummy (I had the feta omelette, my mother the same, and my husband the HUGE blueberry pancakes) and it was reasonably priced. Â The food may not have been as fancy as, say, M. Henry's, but it was much better than average (better than Augie's) and it was well priced compared to many of the other places in the area. Â
Loved it, loved it, loved it.