Clarke’s

Oh man. After searching for the chicken in my buffalo chicken wrap, I found rotten lettuce and then ate undercooked french fries to fill an empty stomach. Disgusting. Save yourself.
The best part of my husband’s vegetarian chili was the piece of white toast it came with.

Good solid breakfast food! Service was good and coffee refills were frequent. I ordered a create your own skillet (mushrooms, chorizo, and olives). When I see olives on the menu, I instantly think they’re going to be black olives. I got the purple kalamata olives. Not bad, but a bit different than I would have expected. I’d come back!
They might want to consider doing some ceiling work in the washrooms. The plywood nailed over ceiling holes looks pretty bad.

Completely unremarkable, at least for lunch. We both had a grilled cheese and fries. Pretty much totally average – not good, not bad. Just sorta something to eat. Service was quick enough, but didn’t pay us much mind and was rather gruff.

This place has fallen off, it used to be an Evanston classic. Today I ordered an Italian skillet with sun dried tomatoes, they came with regular tomatoes and the potatoes were barely seasoned and cooked. Also they didn’t have any milkshakes which is a staple here and the homemade lemonade was also not available. Basically all homemade fresh options are gone. Lastly the pancakes (easiest thing to make) one side was totally rubber. Not like the good old days.

Worst service ever!!! Super slow and rude hostess (if that’s what you want to call her.) A «20 min» wait turns into an unapologetic 45 min wait. Oh and look at that as soon as you complain, POOF a tiny ass table opens up. Sorry there’s a million places in the area, I’m taking my business there.

Really good food! And very friendly staff! They gave my friend his chili very late into the meal, but they didn’t charge us. Which is very kind of them. Has a great atmosphere and is really close to Northwestern, which is nice.
Funny menus and a great atmosphere, but the Unilocal menu for the place and the actual menu Do not Line up.
The ham and swiss sandwiches are really good, and the pancakes are okay. But what is really good is the north shore potatoes.

Terrible service. It’s diner food. Need I say more?

My husband and I went there for lunch today. Now I know why it has been so long since our first visit. Horrible service!!! We can’t comment on the food because after a 40 minute wait we never received it. The waitress forgot to put in our order. Her response to our complaint was «oh well».

Great brunch place, and it’s really nice how it’s open late! I felt really rushed to leave at the end, because the waiter kept coming by to passively check up on us but it was very clear we had to leave. That’s understandable. They’re food tastes fine and isn’t too expensive either. I wouldn’t come finding this place though!

I very much agree with Emily T’s review that Clark’s is WAY better that Le Peep — on any day! It’s not Walker Bros. or Original House of Pancakes but, Clark’s is decent and good enough to come back to or perhaps it’s because we always use a Groupon?
There were several (one too many) occasions when we’ve had to track down a waiter/​tress to remind them it’s overdue for us to place our order but, it’s because they are busy. Once we tell them they are pretty good at responding and polite.
We’ve been to Clark’s a handful of times and never had a bad experience or said, «never again.» We plan on coming back for sure — with Groupon in hand.

So myself and some co-​workers decided to stop in there for lunch, for which we only had an hour, including walk time. We were sat promptly, without menus, and that’s it. What appeared to be the lone server walked past our table several times. She once even walked by with a coffee pot, asking her other tables if they wanted a refill. Meanwhile we hadn’t even gotten menus. After about 15 minutes of this nonsense we decided to leave. As we walked out we saw the server hanging out by the front door. I told her we were leaving because no one ever came to our table. She looked at us, appeared a little taken aback that she was called out, and gave the most haphazard «ok, sorry» she could muster. I don’t know how the food is, and I don’t ever plan on finding out after this experience.

Came here today for lunch. The place was only about ¹⁄₃ full. We waited 25 minutes for water, 30 minutes for our drinks and 40 for our entrees. We were a group of four and got appetizers. No plates were brought to the table for eating the apps. The «chicken» quesadilla only had chicken in ½ of the quesadilla. Once we were finished it took 20 minutes for the server to bring our bill. Can’t imagine coming back.

It’s an ok option for breakfast food in Evanston. Food is just ok. They do offer fresh squeezed orange juice. The South of the Boarder skillet is pretty good. The Steak skillet not so much. It seems the quality of the food varies. There are days that the food is better and they have things together in the kitchen.
Clarkes is a great option if you don’t want to cook at home yourself. The staff can be abrupt, short, and slow to take your order. There might be a long wait to get a table.

I’ll always love and appreciate Clarke’s. I’ve been coming to this restaurant since the 6^th grade – the mom and pop, all-​American feel is welcoming as it is homey. The omelettes are a must, and you get huge portions. The chocolate chip pancakes are baked to perfection. The skillets are full of flavor, too. It’s definitely a go-​to brunch spot, and I know I’ve had a positive experience every single time I’ve went!

I do not understand the negative reviews for Clarke’s. Definitely the best diner option I have found in Evanston (wayyy better than Le Peep or Olympic!) Sure, its not an upscale brunch, but as far as diner food goes it is pretty good. Clarke’s is the only place I have found where you can sub out toast for PANCAKES when you order an omelette. This is my brunching dream — savory omelettes with a side of delicious sweet pancakes. Come in around noon and make it your meal for the day for the low low price of $ 9.99.
I would highly recommend the steak’n’cheese omelette (with side of pancakes of course!) I would also recommend trying to get a seat on the upper level of the restaurant. The lower level is fine but it is pretty dark down there due to lack of windows.

Favorite brunch place! Perfect for late night breakfasts. Or breakfasts any time of the day. Relatively cheap, like $ 7 Eggs Benedict, which is awesome for any college student. Eggs Florentine and Eggs Benedict are my go-to’s. One time, they gave us free pancakes. I’m not sure why. But I got free pancakes, so this place gets 5 stars: D

After driving by the place countless times, we decided to buy a Groupon they were offering and give them a try. The first time we went for dinner… THEY WERE CLOSED! It was only 5pm. There was nothing online saying they would be closing at 3pm. We eventually tried calling ahead before driving out and it wasn’t until 2 weeks later that they would finally be open for dinner.
When we get there, we are alone. Nobody else is there… probably because nobody thinks they are open. Service was very slow. I’m pretty sure there were only two people working there, the hostess and the cook. When the food finally arrived, it was mediocre at best. We will not be returning. The only thing that was good, were their prices.

Worst service ever. It’s so slow, and after they seat you it’s hard to find a waiter to place your order. They also recently changed their hours to close at 3pm, which sucks because I usually like to eat Clarke’s late at night.
The food is also going downhill. I used to love this place, but recently the food has just been meh. The waffles are okay, but for only one waffle it’s about $ 7, which is way too much for what you get. However, their classic French toast is such a great find. It’s thick and fluffy, and some of the best that I’ve had. The apple pancake is also pretty good, but it takes over 40 minutes to make, and I don’t think it’s worth the wait. I’ve had good experiences with all of this food in the past, but recently they haven’t been tasting as good.
Also, their credit card system has been down for the past few weeks, so they’re only accepting cash, which is a slight inconvenience.

Ordered a hamburger and fries, potato skins and chicken wrap. Waited 10 minutes to find a seat, even though half the place was empty! Waited another FORTY MINUTES, Still no food or waitress!
Another waitress said, «oh didn’t they tell you they forgot your order?» Demanded I talked to manager, food came out in another 10 minutes minus the potato skins!
Finally got the potato skins, and I attached a picture, they were so overcooked the outside were like rocks!
Do yourself a favor and go to Burger King 2 doors away, much faster and better tasting and better service! Never again even with Groupon!

I really like Clarke’s, I think it adds a bit of college-​town feel to Northwestern. The place is basically a diner and they serve everything on the menu at all hours they are open. Pretty big space and good for groups and they open late! Portions are huge and I like the customization options for burgers and the omelets.
I usually get the burgers and they are bomb-​diggity and so filling. You can get a fried egg with it no extra charge. You can choose what bread you want on it, although I always opt for the pretzel bun and a choice between sweet potato fries, normal fries, and waffle fries!
On this occasion, I ordered an omelet since I came here for breakfast. I was getting work done because they had free wifi and it’s not a bad place to work. Not too crowded in the late mornings. The portions are big, I should really reiterate that. I got an egg white chicken fajita omelet with fresh fruit and pancakes. The egg white option is 1 extra dollar and so is the fresh fruit. I was surprised about the extra cost for fruit, but there was a good selection on the fruit.
Great place if you’re really hungry!