I eat here when i stay at the excellent Holiday Inn next door and eat dinner several times and breakfast every day of the one week a month I am in Chicago. Â Â The dinner cooks here need to learn how to cook chicken until it is thoroughly done. Even after specifically requesting well-done chicken, it was raw by the bone with an overpowering amount of oregano. Go with the pork chops instead. The breakfast cooks are much better and Donna or Bubbles will take excellent care of you! Go for the homemade rice pudding (which is as good as my grandma used to make) rather than the desserts that are brought in and served WELL PAST when they are dried out and stale.
Review Source:After being a regular for some time, it seems the last several months it is going downhill. Â Busboys not refilling beverages regularly, waitresses seem bothered to do so. Rolls wrapped in plastic, a good thing, but many have tasted day old lately, probably because not as busy as of late and remain an extra day.
Seemingly new crew of waitresses over the past several months, service is ok, but waitresses there now act as if doing you a  favor--nothing is gracious to you anymore . Need to fix some things, or regulars will find elsewhere to go.  Serving soup not filled to where bowl should be filled, so waitress won't spill carrying it? C'mon we are paying for a bowl not a 3/4 bowl, scared to say anything to waitresses, they may do something to rest of your food.... eh can do better, just may have to drive a little, but seemingly feeling worth it as of late.
Came here at random after a shopping spree at Ross. My friend said she passed there a million times and had wanted to go in but never had the chance. I'm glad we did.
The hostess was super friendly and danced my son all the way to the both. They had a mini dance party and then we sat. Our waitress came by right away and offered us coffee. She was great the whole time. No complaints here.
Prices here are great! I had a coffee and 2 eggs with hash browns and pancakes and my friend had a mexican skillet minus the chorizo. We maxed both. Food was good!!!! Not to mention it flew out of the kitchen.
I think the bill was like $16 for both of us. That's pretty decent if you ask me.
Sanders Restaurant is a nice north-side breakfast option. Â If you are looking for a place free of senior citizens, void of no nonsense wait staff, and ample parking, perhaps this is not the place for you. Â However, if you were looking for a place that has great coffee, numerous menu options and reasonable prices, I would highly recommend Sanders. Â On a side note, do not get discouraged by the parking lot full of cars. Â The Marriot Hotel allows Sanders to park in their lot, so feel free to park there if the Sander's lot is full...which normally is the case.
Review Source:another dine in restaurant with mostly older generation people there.. i ordered a steak skillet and i think it was horrible.. a lot of the steak was chewy.. it was oily and even their egg whites taste bad.. should of never substitute the egg with their egg whites.. anyways.. there was some guy next to us that ordered a apple filling pancake that was huge.. and i mean HUGE! our waitress told us that it takes around 45 min to make if we ever want it.. might give that a try next time.. maybe...
Review Source:This is a great, no-frills, breakfast-all-day diner and I love the crap out of it.
For the first four trips I got the same thing every time: Greek skillet with pancakes. Their hashbrowns are the thin-sliced kind, not shreds, which is sad because I can get down with some shreds. But they're good and taste more like real potatoes. The pancakes are a miracle.
Today I changed it up and got a spinach and feta omelet and, yes, it was pretty great.
Good service, always hopping at lunchtime, obviously a regular clientele. It's a very homey joint.
Delicious lox and bagels! That's what I get whenever I go there. I love Sander's. It's mine and my sister-in-law's go-to restaurant when we wanna go out, not spend a ton, and have delicious food. The servers there are all nice. This place is like any of your typical greek-owned diners, minus the shitsy service and the bad teeth. (actually, I take that back, I saw one lady with some rotters...) The server we had last time was awesome. My 10 month old niece was with us, and the server kept interacting with her, which impressed me. I think it's rude when a server ignores a child. Anyway, if you're looking for a full menu, daily specials, delicious soup, good service, and a comfortable place to sit, eat here, you'll love it. Oh, and there are half booth/half tables for fatties like me. Woo!
Review Source:I was really disappointed with Sanders. My family and I came for breakfast. It looks like your typical diner, with the same atmosphere you see at most of these breakfast/lunch places. There are two reasons I wasn't impressed with Sanders. First, our waitress was slow and forgetful. She brought out different parts of our meal at different times. I ordered eggs but didn't get my toast. My mother ordered eggs as well but didn't get her bacon until we asked at least 3 times for it. The food wasn't up to par either. Small portions of hashbrowns and soggy bacon. Gross. I really think there are much better breakfast places in the area.
Review Source:Good for late night. Your typical diner.
Lots of food for OK prices. It was the place to go after a full day of shopping for baby stuff.
I had the lox, it was so good and they even found an alternative bread for me since I didn't want the white bagel.
I've had their breakfast items, the daily specials, burgers, a variety of meals since I've been here a million time. Never had a bad meal or bad service.
Parking can be a pain and trying to get back out onto Touhy heading east can be a nightmare. Oh well, I haven't had an accident or a ticket yet, so it'll be OK to deal with once in a while especially when hunger strikes and it's late night.
This review is for breakfast only, as I have not been there after 11AM. Their omelets are baked, which means PUFFY and Delicious and they rock. The hash browns are not greasy and the pancakes are hot and fresh.
I actually prefer it to almost any other breakfast spot now. I have discerning breakfast critics and they loved it. It is extremely family friendly, and they are conscious of welcoming even 2 year olds.
Best yet, I have never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table.
Had it's day. Â Just an average diner with 1,000 things on the menu. Â I'm not sure anyone my age ever walks in this restaurant. Â I've never gotten sick there, that much I can say. Â The chicken noodle soup is pretty good. Â I will say that this place definitely packs them in on nights and weekends.
I prefer Jack's to Sanders any day. Â Good Edens access. Â Overall just average.
Super busy intersection on Touhy. Â Parking lot is a pain in the rear. Â The worst is having to circle around looking for a spot during busy hour. Â
Typical diner food that can be a little bland but this is really a good breakfast spot. Â What you see is what you get here. Â I used to hit this spot on Sundays while reading the paper. Â
It's alright, but nothing really outstanding or bad either...
I came here with a large group on a Wednesday evening for dinner at 6pm on a Wednesday. Luckily, we had made reservations because when we got there, all but a few tables were full. Out large, twelve person table wasn't ready when we got there, but it was available shortly thereafter.
The staff are beyond helpful. They got our orders 100% correct, and we always asking if there was anything they could do for us. Our server was wonderful and very sweet.
The issue was more with the food. It was pretty average, nothing special. From the looks of the place, i thought the food wood be delicious, but I was not blown away. Most of our group ordered burgers, but I had a grilled cheese with sweet potato fries. The fries were good and the grilled cheese was fine, but again, nothing special.
The prices were very reasonable though.
I didn't try it, but they offer breakfast all day. They get extra points for that.
Quick couple tips:
1. The parking lot is rather small, but the hostess told me they rent parking space from the hotel next door, so you can park there.
2. You can only enter the restaurant parking lot if you are headed west on Touhy or north on Niles Center Road.
This place struck me as odd. Every time we drive by here this place is packed! I don;t ever recall an exception. We were thinking that this place had to be pretty good to have a crowd like this at all times. We decided to stop in one evening for dinner and I deemed myself lucky to be able to get the last open table in the restaurant. I was thinking score one for us!
I reviewed the menu and I was impressed with the selection and prices. The prices were low for a reason, which I am about to get into. My wife and I decided to get creative. One of us would order a breaded cod dinner and the other would order a macaroni and cheese dinner and we would have a little buffet all to ourselves.
The soup was decent. It was the best part of the meal. The dinner rolls were all individually wrapped and were quite a pain in the you know what to unwrap to try and eat. Our entrees arrived and it was SO disappointing. Everything was rather bland and very unimpressive. I could have easily made this type of meal at home (probably better). The prices were cheap but we did get what we paid for.
I must give credit where credit is due. Our server Mandy was awesome. She was friendly, helpful, sincere and on top of her game. Her waiting on us was probably the highlight of the meal. I am thinking that we might give this place another shot for breakfast. It looks like that is more of their specialty!
Your basic diner / deli kind of place. The food was ok, but nothing special. I had a Michigan omelet, which was filled with apple and cheddar cheese. It sounded so good and tasted bland. I don't get it.
Christopher had a Denver omelet which was pretty good. The portions were large. I ended up bringing much of my food home. This place seems reasonably popular and has been around forever. I don't have much more to say about it. I didn't hate it, but it will not be high on my revisit list.
Famous last words: "How can anybody screw up a pancake?" Â How, indeed. Â
By definition, what is a blueberry pancake to YOU? Â One would assume it is a pancake, studded with, presumably, real blueberries. Â Even at the lowliest truck-stop one can find such a specimen... But not at Sanders. Â
Are blueberry pancakes supposed to:
a) be doused with an entire CAN of high-fructose corn syrup-stewed blueberries?
b) be about 2 inches thick, have a hard outer-crust impenetrable by a fork and knife, and then literally break apart in layers while trying to do so?
c) stick to the roof of your mouth like wall paper paste?
d) leave a synthetic taste in your mouth even two subsequent cups of bad coffee cannot mask?
e) be served with even more synthetic "maple-flavored" syrup?
Final question: Â Is bacon supposed to be shades of green and black?
And this, from an establishment that coins itself a "pancake house." Â They should be shot.
I LOVE this restaurant.
Girlfriend and I are regulars here - when we lived two minutes away we tended to go at least once a week. Â Unfortunately we now live about 40mins away but still can't stop ourselves from visiting at least a few times a month.
Their portions are huge, the selection is large, the food is always hot and delicious. I usually stick with the breakfast foods but their salads, soups and wraps are pretty good too.
Staff is generally friendly, helpful and able to add/subtract/modify dishes without issue (yes, I am that one annoying customer who can't possibly eat mushrooms or hashbrowns but can you please sub cottage cheese and add asparagus??)
They're also very inexpensive, and pretty quick too. If the place is crowded (as it tends to be on Sunday mornings with the after-church crowd) there is pretty much always seating at the counter available.
Really I don't have any issues with this place. It is pure good. Must try!
food here is great, classic. Â Service with Bubbles (yes that's her name) is fast and a delight
had the zucchini, mushroom and tomato omlet! Â Yummmmmy. Â Tasty, fluffy and great serving.
Bf had the pecan belgian waffle. Â Had pecans throughout as well as on top of waffle. Â Sooo good
not a disappointment. Â Would go back
You want a killer huge German pancake?! (Like really guys, Â this is a whopper of a german pancake... enough for at least 3 meals for myself). Â
How about some kick-butt skillets?
Oh... I know what you are craving! Â You want some pie.
Well folks, at this old-school family-style restaurant, you can have it all. Â This has long been an institution of the northside/suburb Chicago. Â Good food. Â Great service. Â Prices could be lower... but hey, sometimes its just nice to be in a family joint. Â :-)
If pancake houses had heights, Sanders would be average with IHOP a little above and Walker Brothers towering over the other 2.
PROS
-gigantic, BAKED omelets that are delish and cost about $6 that comes with pancakes or toast and hash browns
-cheaper than IHOP
-my 1st visit here our waitress was AMAZING, like the super-attentive kind that didn't believe in glasses half empty (literally, she re-filled our coffee cups up like nobody's business)
-great choice of skillets...(whether you're an omnivore or veggie queen) and 3 different eggs benedict
CONS
-stingy with ingredients in omelets...they also charge you $0.50 more for every other ingredient you'd like on it
-as my own grandma put it, it smells like "old people"
-my 2nd visit here the waitress was horrible...she didn't even notice there was bright pink lipstick left on one of the coffee cups she served us
-they use canned strawberries in their crepes...WHACK
Really is a toss up. Just pray that you get the awesome waitress
I want a skillet! I want a skillet! I want a skillet!
Whenever I go to a new diner that I have never ever been to before, I must have the skillet. In my view, the skillet demonstrates a chef's ability to fry, saute, melt, poach, and texturize. In essence, the skillet shows the chef's overall cooking ability more so than any other breakfast food!
It was around 7:00pm on a Wednesday night and I hiked out to Skokie with a buddy to a meeting and had about an hour to kill. Despite being jam packed, we got a table with no wait. Families were eating, brothers and sisters, husbands, wives, cops, coworkers and all the like were gathered at Sanders to grab a bite to eat. You'd think you were eating at Denny's or something it was so crowded.
I popped open the menu and wondered if Sanders was a Greek joint. With the amount of food on the menu it really must have been. From borscht to steak sandwiches to corn beef hash to steaks and pastas it seemed like page after page of quality food. It was hard to resist ordering anything else, but being a skillet lover I dug into a meat lover's skillet without much more hesitation. PS If you can't poach eggs, why make the skillet?
The food came in quick order and I got plenty of meats on my skillet and was satisfied with the degree of crispiness as well as my poacherrific eggs on big toast. While Sanders is too far of a hike for me, it is still the cat's meow in terms of skilled skillets. Chalk it up on the list, it's legit!
I just found out today that I'm invisible. Â No seriously, I found this out because the hostess looked straight through me (and my friends) both on the way in and on the way out. Â Actually for a moment when we were leaving, I thought she was smiling at us, acknowledging us because y'know, we were leaving the money on the front desk, but it turned out that she was smiling at people in line, people she knew. Â And as for us? Â Well... invisible. Â She did manage to find our money, though, so that was good. Â Apart from being invisible to the hostess, I have to say that the rest of the staff was really quite nice. Â We had a lovely, friendly waitress, and the bus staff was fantastic! Â
The food... not so much. Â Corned beef hash, billed as the best in the city, looked and tasted like canned. Â Sausages had an odd flavor, and blueberry pancakes weren't pancakes with blueberries in the batter, they were plain old buttermilk pancakes with a lot of blueberry compote poured over the top. Â The eggs benny were pretty average and the hollandaise was so-so. Â The freshly squeezed OJ was really the best thing I had.
The place seemed clean and it was busy. I had the impression that there were a lot of regulars. Â But honestly, I doubt I'll ever have much of a pressing desire to go back.
ETA: Let me be completely clear about something. Â This would have been a solid three-star review but for the utter indifference of the hostess, who had oodles of charm and lots of smiles for people she knew, but who couldn't be arsed to even acknowledge us beyond leading us to a table and putting our money in the cash register.
It's called the American. Â Corned beef hash skillet with American cheese and basted eggs. Â I don't really need to say anything else about this place... but I guess I should.
I have only been here for breakfast and only on weekends. Â Sanders is always crowded but I have never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a seat. Â Service is typical of a diner; sometimes excellent and sometimes just good enough. Â Regardless of the speed of service the staff is incredibly friendly and polite. Â They make you feel like they're serving you food in their own home made in their own kitchen.
Unlike other diners, Sanders individually wraps the bread they bring out to your table whenever you order something other than breakfast. Â This is a bonus since you never know what snot-nosed kid was playing Booger Man with that roll before you sat down.
They have a rotating glass case of pies and cakes of which I have never tried. Â They look absolutely fantastic and delicious... but cake just doens't seem like a good way to finish off breakfast.
Coffee hot and drinkable. Â Food hot and DELICIOUS!! Â Served quickly and friendly and accurately.
Sanders is a fantastic place to get your breakfast on! Â Mmmmmm... bacon.
Jack's (across the street) used to be my favorite breakfast place in the area.
Then I realized they kinda suck. Â Sander's is definitely better.
I love their skillets. Â Other things I have had there were not as great but their skillets are always hot and fresh. Â
The reason I didn't give it my usual "I go here often and like it a lot" 4 star review is because the service here is REALLY inconsistant. Â A few times we've been here and ask for easy things... like eggs over medium... and ended up with them scrambled. Â Another time we asked specifically for a cheese substiution that wasn't granted and the waitress just shrugged. Â
She's great. Â
I've always spied their glorious looking cakes and pies in that revolving glass case but never sampled them. Â Wonder if they're delicious...
I have a longtime love affair with All-American, usually Greek owned, coffee-shop diners.
They usually have the best homemade soups.
The biggest bread baskets.
The yummiest omelettes.
The largest fresh salads.
The hottest fresh coffee.
The biggest bang for your buck dinner specials.
The most experienced, nicest waitresses.
The most decadent desserts rotating around in a glass cabinet.
And the most loyal bunch of senior citizen diners ever.
Well Sanders is exactly one of "those kind" of diners.
Decent diner food, better than Golden Nugget. Â My last visit, dining within a group of four people, they'd forgotten my meal completely. Â Then when I asked about it, it became this whole situation of pointing the finger on whether I did or didn't order. Â Still that was just a matter of a crappy waitress. Â Of the two diners in this shopping area, they are the best. Â
Blah.
This place is definitely for the Buick and Cadillac set. I guess everyone else that's a little younger is either at Corner Bakery or Chili's down the street.
I love this place when I'm in the neighborhood and would like having crepes. Their breakfasts are superior to Jack's. They are tied in the soup and rolls category. I tend to like dinner specials at Jack's instead. Â Sanders' meals are very good and they have a huge menu. I'm just a little weirded out but somehow comforted by the individually saran wrapped rolls. Their waitresses are older and not always very friendly.
Edit to add more info, because Sander's has become my regular place to meet up with my dad and stepmom for breakfast since I wrote this review.
In the Diner competition between Sander's and Jack's (kitty-corner and down the street a little bit), Sander's wins hands down. Â One of the things that impresses me the most about this place is that despite the fact that they've been around forever and could easily rest on their laurels, they're constantly updating their menu to include contemporary touches. Â Thus, Sander's will never turn into an "old man" diner, the way What's Cookin' and Whistler's so definitely have. Â In fact, the last time I was there, I had portobello mushroom eggs benedict with sun-dried tomatoes and pesto hollandaise sauce. Â Totally yummy.
The omlettes are super fluffy and light, probably baked in the oven. Â My husband and I are also huge fans of the cherry kijafa crepes, with black cherries and sweet, dark cherry sauce. Â Pancakes are good, but like other reviewers said, not in the league of Walker Brothers. Â This is just a good, dependable diner with an extremely varied menu.
Really like this place. While it doesn't have Frui-shi like Orange or other cutting edge items (which are definitely cool & good), it does have very good quality "American Diner / Restaurant" food. I can appreciate both, which is why I like this place.
Pros: Quality breakfasts, meats, sausages, eggs, omlettes. Good sandwiches. Everything tastes very good, but you don't feel like you just ate at the greasy spoon. Eggs, sausage, bacon all taste "fresh" and - get this - you can actually taste the flavors instead of just grease. My service has been very good, although due to the usual line-out-the-door at this place, I think that other Yelper's comments make sense.
Verdict: Old school & definitely recommended.
Confession, when I'm not at Dixie Kitchen (Evanston) for breakfast, this is where I hang out.
The Denver Omelette is fabulous.
My husband and I have rarely had to wait, not even on weekends, and we have always found the service very efficient (and effective) and the wait staff very nice.
Update 5/27/08: We had two rather miserable experiences here about a year ago. Â Unfortunately, they occurred two Saturday's in a row, and we have not been back since. Â Both experiences involved extremely dirty booths (the garbage on the floor was obviously filth that had built up for some time) and wait staff that seemed to be fighting with bus boys to the extent that we felt extremely uncomfortable. Â I don't think we'll ever be back.
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