Fred's Diner image

Fred's Diner

Restaurant Breakfast restaurant American restaurant Diner

One of the Best Places To Visits in Grayslake


Address

225 Center St, Grayslake, IL 60030, United States

Website

m.facebook.com

Price rating

$ $$$

Rating on Google Maps

4.80 (733 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Friday: 5 am to 1 pm
  • Saturday: 5 am to 1 pm
  • Sunday: Closed
  • Monday: 5 am to 2 pm
  • Tuesday: 5 am to 1 pm
  • Wednesday: 5 am to 1 pm
  • Thursday: 5 am to 1 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: breakfast (14) great (12) good (12) diner (11) time (7) experience (7) Fred' (7) service (7) pancakes (7) staff (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Larry Ray R. 10 months ago on Google
    Flavor: A Service: A Tea: A Solo dining: A Hands-down the best meal we had in Grayslake! This is quite the tiny diner serving up all the classics in top-notch form. Regulars abound but it wasn’t long before even us out-of-towners felt right at home. Our server was delightful - in the most harsh way. Everything we had was great and I’m not sure you could go wrong with a selection. If I lived here, I’d be eating at Fred’s all the time.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 MJC 1 year ago on Google
    This place is awesome!! It's definitely a HIDDEN GEM that everyone needs to experience. Their food is really good and to top it off, all the employees are great! We will definitely keep coming back. 😊
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Denise W. 1 year ago on Google
    Hometown favorite. Excellent food for a great price. Small place & very popular with the regulars. So you may have to wait for a seat. Nothing starts your day like an excellent breakfast & a side of insults. Keep it up Joyce!♥️
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Sean m. 9 months ago on Google
    If you like your waitress to swear at you and say she'll rip you a new one and then ask you to not come back, with ok food. Well than this is your kind of place. Personally I have never been so insulted. The only reason I didn't get up and walk out was because I didn't want to insult my friend. I will definitely not be back
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 C M. 1 year ago on Google
    Updated review to add pictures: A COMMUNITY STAPLE! We've been to Fred's many times years ago but then we moved away. Now that we've moved back, we were hoping COVID-19 didn't close them down. We are so grateful that it's still there! Same great service from the same staff, same classic American menu, same feel-good/feels-like-home vibes. There's cool art pieces and pictures to commemorate local servicemen and women. Things we've ordered and enjoyed: Eggs Benedict, Spanish Omelette, Corned Beef Hash, Steak & Eggs, pancakes, waffles, and all the classics. Great family-owned business to support!

  • 5/5 Ann D. 5 months ago on Google
    This is not just a diner, breakfast at Fred's diner is an experience to remember and return to. The diner was busy as it should be on a Saturday with patrons coming in and going out. A small space and everyone knows each other. Greeted by a friendly server who helped me find a perfect booth to enjoy my breakfast. My breakfast was served exactly like I ordered it ; especially the best crispy bacon ever. I highly recommend checking out Fred's Diner whenever you are in Grayslake, IL!

  • 5/5 Evan B. 7 months ago on Google
    Great food, great staff, great experience! Looking for a small brunch place and find this gem! They only accept cash but their food and service hit it outta the park! Highly recommended!

  • 5/5 Olivia 7 months ago on Google
    Family went here to pick up food for the rest of us while they were visiting from out of town. The food was perfect, best hash browns I’ve ever had. And the eggs were cooked perfectly and consistent each time. Wait staff was so incredibly friendly and funny. 100% recommend for amazing breakfast.

  • 5/5 Sandra M. 8 months ago on Google
    Highly recommend!!! Good old-fashioned diner food, fantastic service, you will have to wait for a table and its well worth it. You have to try it at least once.

  • 5/5 Jeremy R. 9 months ago on Google
    Great food, great staff, cheap food, and quick service. I have been going here since I was a kid, and every time I go it’s always as great as the first time. Would recommend anyone who come to town gets some cash (cash only restaurant) and have a great breakfast and/or lunch.

  • 5/5 Daniel L. 11 months ago on Google
    The best of the best. Just wait til you get sassed..... You'll never wanna go anywhere else. Btw if I could give this place 7 stars I would. It's that's good and the owners are that fun!!!!

  • 5/5 Travis B. 1 year ago on Google
    The place has character and great food. Servers are sweet to the wives and give the men a hard time, especially when they don’t listen (too easy, right). It’s definitely cozy and busy, but the food is definitely worth it and the ambience is second to none. Great to see a hometown dinner proudly displaying their local heroes on the wall. Great job team!

  • 1/5 Francesca De R. 11 months ago on Google
    Food subpar. Rude, Rude and more rude. I asked for more coffee after about 20 minutes wait and the waitress told my friend that he should get rid of me because I was causing trouble. Fried potatoes were raw and I didn’t complain. The waitress still had it in for me! She thought my male friend was going to pay! Little did she know it was my turn to treat so She didn’t get a tip! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • 5/5 Sean C. 11 months ago on Google
    This is the full diner experience. Duct tape on every seat? Check. Waitress who knows every customer and yells at them (and the customers dish it out, too!)? Check. Typical diner food elevated by the atmosphere? Check. Inexpensive? Check. What did I order? Who cares. Establishments like this are getting hard to find. If I lived in the area, I'd bring my daughters every week. Fred's is a slice of Americana that reminds you of those days when everyone put in a hard day's work for honest pay. Tip your server well; she's earned it!

  • 4/5 Marie-Sharrane DeCarlo A. 1 year ago on Google
    Fred's Diner is a nice establishment to grab a bite at 225 Center St, Grayslake, IL 60030. Be aware that it's first come, first serve. There are a few booths in the front with a bar countertop as well as two seater booths along the wall. We ordered the vegetable omelette and the ham & cheese omelette. To add cheese is 50 cents more and to add meat is a $1.00 more. You can have either three pancakes or two pieces of toast with your omelettes. Feel free to have cottage cheese or hash browns too. The pancakes were soooo fluffy. Note, they don't have ice cream to enjoy with your pancakes.

  • 5/5 David H. 1 year ago on Google
    Great little place with a home town feel the staff is a bit crazy but fun the military wall is a great addition the food was really good and fast from order to table. Be aware it is cash only. Will be back again

  • 5/5 Brac D. 1 year ago on Google
    I have never laughed so hard that I was in tears at a restaurant before. The two waitresses were absolute pleasures to be around, cracking jokes with the patrons from the moment we walked in the door. The food was very good as well, and the prices were well below average, but that absolutely took a backseat to the atmosphere. If you're looking for food and a show, this is the place! I believe the name of the waitress who took care of us was Jeana or something like that, but after all that laughing I did, I honestly can't remember.

  • 5/5 Wanda C. 1 year ago on Google
    The restaurant was very nice. Went down there on a Wednesday night and they were having the farmers market in town. Ordered a steak and it came with a dinner salad. The dinner salad tasted fine it just looks like it was old and a bit wilted. The steak I ordered was very good and the broccoli and potatoes sides were also very good. Maybe they could improve upon the salads just a bit. I would suggest you go ahead and go there because the food is really good. The atmosphere is good and the service was very excellent.

  • 5/5 Mr. B. 1 year ago on Google
    I go to Freds Diner whenever I can. The food is delicious! The service is outstanding! The atmosphere is well..... You have to go and experience this place for yourself. If you don't like your coffee and food served with a little fun and sas then you probably should go elsewhere. The owners are wonderful and you are guaranteed to smile and laugh when you are there. JOYCE AND GINA YOUR THE BEST!!!!!!!!!

  • 5/5 Frank F. 1 year ago on Google
    Loved the experience. Typical old school diner in every way. Put on your thick skin and have fun with it. If you get flipped off or smacked wear it like a badge of honor. It's diner food so don't expect fine french. Loved it.

  • 5/5 Andrea B. 1 year ago on Google
    This was such a fun little place for breakfast. The service is fast considering it's a small little place and the servers are working really hard along with the cooks. We sat at the bar because there were no tables available and I am glad we did. It was fun talking to the staff as they were getting orders prepared. The breakfast was a breakfast. Simple and easy. Nothing fancy. But we'll definitely come back. The prices are extremely fair in today's economy!

  • 5/5 Eileen R. 1 year ago on Google
    It's so difficult to choose what I am going to eat because it's all so good! Today I had the breakfast sliders and they were delicious! The people are the best and when I come here I feel like I've come home.

  • 5/5 Timothy B. 1 year ago on Google
    Update: still spectacular! Loved it. The pancakes are the absolute best. I'm looking forward to me next visit to try some more. Update: just visited again and still amazing. Love the food and a special extra shout out to the pancakes. Amazing. Really enjoy talking with everyone here and recommending this to anyone that loves a diner.

  • 5/5 Jon H. 1 year ago on Google
    Fred's was rock solid. Its a bit dated in décor and they only accept cash but that being said I had the steak and eggs for $10.50 and it was so solid it was like they kept the price from when it was first opened. I can't image there is anywhere doing this breakfast for anywhere near this price.

  • 5/5 Nancy K. 1 year ago on Google
    Stopped in for breakfast. My husband and I LOVE the atmosphere. A truly down to earth family diner. Food is excellent. We both cleaned our plates.🤗

  • 5/5 Kathrine F. 1 year ago on Google
    Not necessarily from the area but I was happy that unfortunate circumstances led me to find this gem of a place. As soon as I walked in, I was mesmerised by the ambiance and the inviting atmosphere. It took only a matter of seconds to appreciate the charisma, humour, and the absolute bundle of joy Gina was. It was nothing short of contagious because her attitude not only allowed every person to share a laugh but lit up the entire room. Despite it being busy, she took the time to sympathise with the bad day I was having and after taking my order, it took only a few minutes for my big American breakfast to make its way onto my table. Everything was great, starting from the scrambled easy eggs to the crispy bacon and finishing with the fluffy pancakes smothered in butter and drizzled in maple syrup. A word of advice?Mix some sour cream with a little bit of salsa and housemade Diablo sauce; your hashbrowns will thank you for it. Just as I was thinking that my dining experience couldn't get any better, I ask for my bill to which Gina responded that she took care of my breakfast and how she wishes for my day to have at least one positive note. A part of me wanted to tear up (thankfully I kept it together), but I can't express how much it meant to me at that moment. Gina not knowing me treated me with thoughtfulness and went out of her way to do such a kind-hearted gesture. In conclusion, I am very grateful for finding Fred's Diner. At the very first chance given, I made my way back to here and it confirmed everything I had felt the first time. Thank you for everything, and a special thank you to Gina!

  • 5/5 Nancy B. 1 year ago on Google
    Very good place. Really good coffee too. Food was so good and piping hot.


Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Parking
    • ✓️ Free of charge street parking
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Cash only
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Quick bite
    • ✓️ Comfort food
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Breakfast
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible toilet
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Brunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
    • ✓️ Breakfast
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✓️ Takeaway

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