Love these types of American food places , they are a dying breed! This place has tons of character, I remember having one on Sioux Falls on Russel when I was a kid, but this is the last one left. Make the effort to get here when they are open it's worth the time!

Always a good meal! Huge portions and very tasty food. I’m a big fan of the Southern Skillet with the rye bread, while my boyfriend really likes the corn beef hash with some fluffy pancakes! Even these days when service at restaurants is stretched thin we have never encountered a problem. Always good fast and friendly service! It’s always a treat to stop at the Happy Chef. I also make it a point to stop outside by the huge statue and see what he has to say!

Excellent food. Great service. I had fried steak and bread pudding the last time. If I could make a suggestion, I would ask that they should serve their bread with butter instead of margarine. Other than that everything was great

Cute diner, friendly service, good food, Jill did a great job. They just added new hours open till 6 instead or 7. Was 100% why I chose them over other diners in the area. An early bird traveler, & glad they were open by 6am.

Always a great stop. We always do family gatherings here they have lots of room and are willing to seat us all. I believe it's also the last Happy Chef still open. Not my photos but want to post a few anyways.

Food is amazing and love coming here. Just for egg lovers, get fried eggs. The scrambled is from a box, with different texture and taste. I forgot to ask for fried and couldn't eat the eggs. But a great place other wise.

Great food and really great service. It's just a little overpriced for me. But if you like classic American comfort food, this is your place.

Took my nephews to brunch. The biscuits and gravy platter was a huge treat! They loved it. I enjoyed the eggs, sausage and pancakes! The hashbrowns were crispy and delicious! (And fat free... haha!) The waitress was awesome too!

We had an AMAZING experience. We were on our way back home to IA from the Renassiance Festival. The wait staff was efficient, friendly, and customer service was a priority, which is not common anymore it seems. Great food and atmosphere! We will definitely make this stop a tradition during our annual res fest trip!

Group of 8, food was brought out all together and our server was very nice. My breakfast meal was good but a bit dry and was just warm, would have liked it served to me fresh and hot but with our large group I understand they wanted to serve all the meals together.

Ate there Sunday morning Good Food as always but service was extremely slow it was busy when we got there but most people had their food Waitress had to be asked to bring silverware and condiments after we did get food We get together there for lunch with other people I retired with and had great service

I had a visitor that used to live in Mankato. We were seated in the dining area. My friend went up to the register after 10 minutes, and we got glasses of water. We waited and waited, being assured by various staff that our waitress would be with us "soon". We waited another 20 minutes. We left. Please do not assign a table to a waitress already swamped. There were a group of wait staff grouped, by the register, enjoying a beautiful Saturday morning. We did enjoy a great breakfast, prompt service at another establishment.

Great food! Service was great and our food came out hot and fresh relatively quickly despite the busyness. Our waitress was very polite and friendly! Very personable staff! Would highly recommend. Everytime I come here I always get a friendly welcome and a delicious meal.

Great place to get something to eat breakfast or lunch. I usually order 2 meals, breakfast and lunch (when I'm really hungry), so i can get my burger and eggs, and it's very affordable. Great atmosphere of an old school restaurant and great waitresses and cooks they definitely know what they are doing even when I ask for specific orders and change up what is on the menu for what I'm looking for. Make sure to try their treats they make fresh

Perfect breakfast stop while we were on the road. I watched our food sit in the window for a minute while the cooks called our server - who was goofing around, but whatever. The french toast was awesome! Worth the wait.

Last Happy Chef seems depressed, on his last leg. Three of us ate lunch there and we're all disappointed and didn't finish our meals. Good service, bad food.

Went for breakfast... service was fast despite how busy they were..Food came out in a timely matter food was great as well

Food was great. However had to wait 25 minutes for my check. Made eye contact with staff many times over. Finally had to ask. Our table had been cleared. Not sure why we had to wait so long or wasn't asked 🤷‍♀️

Great diner food with very kind staff. The food came out quickly and they allowed us to stay a little longer to finish our chat. Proportions are great and prices are fair. I think the menu is on a rotation but I don't know exactly.

We came here for dinner because we'd passed by it many times and thought it looked like a fun place to eat. (You can't miss the big statue of the Happy Chef outside.) We were not disappointed. We arrived around 6:45, which was good because they close at 8:00pm. Our waitress was super friendly. My husband had the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and buttered corn. I had the pork tenderloins (cooked in panko breading) with mashed potatoes and gravy and broccoli. I also got a cup of chili which was very good (you get three sides), and each dinner entree came with its own little mini loaf of fresh bread. Quite delightful! My kids had the cheeseburger kid's meal, a bacon cheeseburger meal with fries, and the spaghetti dinner (which came with garlic bread and salad). Everything was delicious. We were tempted to have dessert, as we had seen it in the display case on the way in (ie chocolate cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, etc.), but we were anxious to get on the road again so we declined. Next time!

It smells really good when you walk in. Very attentive staff all around. Very clean 0utside and inside had a great atmosphere. If you are passing by and see the happy chef please stop.