Richard Walker's Pancake House

What can I say???? But, this is the best breakfast place in McHenry county. The food is correctly portioned. Well priced, and the service is excellent.... We took my mother there for her birthday a few weeks ago. Everyone was extremely happy with our choice. I had the corned beef hash and eggs. Corned beef was not from a can as you find at most places and you could tell it was that GOOD! For a party of four all enjoying a wide mix from the selections on the menu it only turned out to be about 35.00 plus tax an tip. We got a lot of food. Highly recommended!

If it's possible, I like this Richard Walkers more than I like the Schaumburg location.  I mean, the Schaumburg one has served its purpose and everything, but the service as this location is SO much better!

My friend called ahead for seating at 9 am for a Sunday morning for a group of seven of us.  We were seated in a back room with other large parties.  That made me happy because they were loud, and we were loud.  It all worked out :)

I ordered the apple pancake ahead of time so that it would come out at the same time as the food--I highly reccommend doing that.  NEVER skimp on the apple pancake, you will be sorry.  Even if you can't finish it in one sitting, it makes for amazing leftovers.  Just heat that baby back up and you're good to go!

I also got a skillet that was on their specials menu.  It was quite delicious, however, I had ordered it w/ over easy eggs and they came scrambled.  Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but it would have changed the taste for me.  I also upgraded my regular pancakes to the chocolate chip pancakes.  You might want to do that as well.  Just saying ;)  Sugar rushes are awesome!!

Our server was great--he was patient and quick with the refills!  He was on top of things without being on top of us (to leave) like we feel pressured to do at other restaurants!

So basically, don't come here if you're on a diet.  Either you'll be crying at everyone else's amazing food, or you will crash and burn on the diet-front!

I've been dying to try this place out (and I'm not sure why), but from the Yelp reviews, I've been sort of hesitant because so many people complain about how expensive this eatery is.  My hungrier half & I went early on a Sunday morning (7am), and when we pulled up, we joked that maybe they weren't open, since there were only 3 cars in the parking lot.  Apparently they open at 6:30, so people around here must be late risers on Sunday or something (who knows).

We were promptly greeted and seated in a charming booth lined with stained glass.  The dining area seems a little stuffy, especially with the classical music being piped through the speakers, and I couldn't help but wonder if the ambiance is what made people think that Richard Walkers is so expensive.  Much to my delight, the prices are not really any pricier than our favorite breakfast restaurant (Wildberry's in Schaumburg), fears unfounded, I guess.  

Their orange juice is a little pricey, until you realize that it's fresh squeezed, and for someone who juices at home a fair amount, I can tell you that it takes a lot of oranges to make a glass of orange juice, so I didn't mind shelling out for someone else to make it for me.  Even though I'm more of an egg eater in the morning, I was lured by the luscious combination of whipped cream and strawberries on the crepes (plus I wanted to know what the heck "tropical sauce" is), so I opted for the fresh strawberry crepes.  My dining companion, a sucker for anything with Choirzo, opted for a Mexican skillet.  Our food came out promptly and was nice and hot.  The crepes were just ok, standard crepes and the tropical sauce is actually orange juice based and quite watery instead of being thick and saucy.  Interesting but not my favorite sauce I've ever had.  My husband seemed to enjoy his skillet, although he lamented that it was lacking in the chorizo department.  

Our server was quite attentive, making sure to check on us often enough to feel taken care of but not so often that we felt pushed.  She was also great about refilling the coffee until my husband declined a refill.  

Overall, Richard Walkers was good, not great.  I think we'll probably stick with some of our favorites the next time we are deciding on breakfast though and forgo this place.