Mrs D’s Diner

Very Sad to see this amazing place go… We Will miss you Mrs. D’s!!!

This diner is a downtown Wilmete gem. When you walk in to the diner you are welcomed by a friendly face and offered to feel free to sit at the counter or at a booth. I chose to sit at the counter and my girlfriend and I we ordered our coffee and some OJ.
After viewing a Sunday menu filled with pancakes and omelettes. I ordered an American cheese and bacon omelette with a side order of corn beef hash. We waited about five to seven minutes for our food to be plopped in front of us. As we were beyond hungry we scoffed down the food. I thought the cheese omelette was reasonable enough with the bacon bits in it. However, the corn beef hash was the winner. It was mouth watering goodness boiled into it. However, the portion was small.
Overall, I would give this place four stars. I think that this place has made a big impact on the community for years now. I know that they have sponsored baseball and hockey teams and helped high school students work for years now and for that I salute the diner. I would have given it a full five stars however it just seemed too chaotic and we were given two checks. So, I would totally change my mind if they were little more organized. But, keep up the good work guys!

What a disappointment. After all the great reviews I was so excited to try this place. I know it is supposed to be an institution, but I think the servers should be institutionalized. The only reason it does not get 1* is because the food was actually pretty good.
No one came to greet us at the door so I just sat myself. Fine, maybe that’s the thing. Someone came over to take our order. Then 4 other people came to try and do the same thing… literally. A place that small probably only needs one or two servers, but if you are completely disorganized that might explain the need for 5 servers (who apparently don’t communicate). They are the only diner that didn’t have the common sense to bring the toddler’s drink (or even any waters) out. The food took about 20 minutes to arrive, but was missing parts of the order. Took me many attempts to flag down the servers (despite there being 5) since they refuse to make eye contact and run off. I had to ask numerous times for water and numerous flags to finally get my order right. Indeed the only time they were prompt was when they brought the check — which I hadn’t asked for yet — not that I’m complaining since I just wanted to get out of there asap by then.
Recommendation to management. Cut back to 2 servers and actually train them to talk and take care of the customers.

I’m glad I found this little spot located across the street from the Linden Purple Line stop, it’s now my go-​to for a breakfast out of the house.
The walls covered in nostalgia, college banners and multiple rubber duckies offer a unique feel. It actually helped me pick Mrs. D’s out as the setting for a local car commercial on tv the other morning, but I haven’t confirmed that.
Prices are more than fair, generous portions (especially omelettes) and IMO the best pancakes I’ve had in my life. Syrup comes in small prepackaged cups, but syrup can easily be wasted by customers and hopefully such a measure is to maintain the reasonable prices.
Management has always been great in my experience, as friendly as any I’ve seen. Wait staff can be a little inconsistent, but it’s hard to find good help, and wasn’t that big of an issue. If you need something my best advice would be to just speak up and someone should come take care of you.
My girlfriend and I try to make it here at least once a month on the weekend, and always leave stuffed for less than $ 20 on our total bill.
Seeing the lines at some of the more well known local pancake spots on weekend mornings, you owe it to yourself to give this place a shot.
Just a heads up… If you drive here just be careful not to park in the cab standing spot directly across the street from Mrs. D’s, there’s a good chance you’ll get a ticket, I’ve seen it happen.

Have been to Mrs. D’s three times and won’t be back. First time was good enough to warrant another trip back — good food, decent service. Second time, again, good food and decent service. But the third time did them in. The french toast was ruined because they didn’t clean the griddle properly and it tasted like bacon. Bacon has its time and place but bacon flavored french toast was just unacceptable. If you can’t clean the griddle properly between orders then what else is not being cleaned properly? I’d give no stars based on the last experience if possible but the first two experiences saved it from being among the worst.

I’ve been here several times and it gets progressively less appealing. Service is totally inconsistent. Food is worse than the service. Only things this place has going for it is the enthusiastic owner and cool atmosphere.

Simple diner fare — eggs were great, bacon was a little over cooked. Requested hash browns crispy to no avail. Atmosphere makes this place.
Little thicker bacon an hash browns cooked to order and I could see myself bringing people here regularly.

My wife and I visited the diner today for the first time. We picked Mrs D’s due to the great reviews on Unilocal.But unfortunately, our experience was disappointing. It started the minute we walked in the door. We stood around wondering if we should seat ourselves or wait to be seated. Finally, after not being acknowledged, we sat ourselves. We gathered our own menus and silverware. After about 10 minutes in this small and uncrowded room, I had to flag down one of the two servers. Once I did, the service was laughable. I thought, ok, maybe this is the teenager’s first day, let’s cut him some slack. So I asked if it was so. Turns out it was not. Terrible service aside, the food was very good. We both had one of the numbered Mrs D’s favorites. If the service was better, I would have given 4 stars. The dive-​y atmosphere was great, but was ruined by the ridiculously bad service.

GREAT breakfast joint. I wish there were more of these places and less of the chain restaurants. Fantastic food. I had the Mr. D’s hash and it was better than expected. My son haas an egg, two pieces of bacon, and two pancakes for $ 4.95. I will continue to come back to this wilmette breakfast gem.

Nice little neighborhood diner. A good place for breakfast or lunch if you’re nearby, but not worth a special trip.

Pretty darn good diner fare, conveniently located near the Purple end of the line in East Wilmette. I would definitely urge you to consider it an alternative if there is a crazy line at Walker Bros. Great omlettes and sammiches. Takes all plastic except AMEX. This is a three and half star place. I would return to Mrs. D’s.

Great breakfast spot in wilmette right across from the Linden stop. Cool diner with great memorabilia hangin everywhere. I had Mr D’s Hash which was a mix of crisp hash browns, bell peppers, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, bacon, and topped with 2 eggs– OMG Delicious!
I tried my partners eggs with corned beef hash— another winner! Oh did I mention the pancakes on the side were 2D4! Why bother lining up an hour at Walker Bros??? Go here man!

LOCAL. FRIENDLY. YUMMY. CASH ONLY.
Those words, in that order describe the experience at Mrs. D’s.
This is the kind of place where most of the people having breakfast when you walk in are regulars. And if you’re not a regular, don’t worry, you’ll be treated like one.
Mrs. D herself works in the restaurant and serves up the excellent breakfast, along with a host of friendly, efficient employees. They recognize you when you come in and even though it’s often busy, you never feel rushed over your meal.
Pancakes are great. Eggs of all sorts, including healthy options. Specials on the wall are always interesting and delicious.
Kids menu, PLUS toys and books near the front to keep kids occupied while waiting. Mrs. D’s is extremely kid-​friendly and many families make it a tradition– even so, it doesn’t suffer from «screaming kid» restaurant syndrome. Probably because the little ones are well occupied with crayons, colorful bendy straws, and friendly chats with Mrs. D, who the kids practically view as a celebrity.
For those without kids in tow, the staff is scrupulous about wiping everything down when a family leaves a booth– an important detail if you’re sitting down in the same booth Syrupy Sammy and Ketchupy Katie have just vacated.
Good music plays not too loudly. Kind of an oldies rock vibe, but to be honest, I’ve never noticed the music other than it seems just right for breakfast.
If you’re coming on Sunday, keep in mind what time church gets out. Cash machine across the street at the El station if you forgot to hit the ATM before you order.

I LOVE Mrs. D’s! The owners Mr and Mrs D are wonderful and welcoming and their food is a reflection of the excellent service. All the employees are on top of it.
Definitely my favorite breakfast/​lunch diner!
Try the Turkey Burger, best I’ve had!

This was a really fun place to meet a friend for lunch — cute and old fashioned, with all kind of random décor on the walls, like thank you notes from little kids who had a meal here — adorbs. The waitresses will literally call you hon. Retro!
Most of the menu items were pretty standard, sandwiches and regular breakfast items, but they did have a few unique things, mainly on the specials board — like I think they had a chorizo hash or chorizo omelette as a special which sounded really good. I went with their breakfast hash which was a large enough portion that I only managed half of it. It was pretty good, better and fresher than I expected and made very well.
I just remember feeling really surprised, that the experience was better in terms of service and food than what I expected. Great place for the locals to go! It’s very small, not too many tables, but you can always sit at the counter in true diner-​style!

It just doesn’t get better than this. Awesome service, even when you have three screaming young children with you they don’t blink an eye, and fabulous diner food. It has a warm friendly vibe and even if its your first time in you are treated as though you are a regular. I need to eat here more often.
As others have mentioned its a tight space, so probably not great for larger parties, and awful for strollers so plan to leave those outside.

My wife and I are now frequent diners of Mrs. D’s and if we could, we’d probably eat here every weekend… Actually, there’s nothing really keeping us from eating here every weekend, so I’m not really sure why we don’t.
We’ve only been here for breakfast so I can’t comment on anything outside of that, but all of the breakfast food is delicious. Everything from corned beef hash, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, toast… whatever, you name it, it’s delicious. The staff is friendly and prompt, and Mrs. D herself can be found behind the bar on most days as well.
There are only 2 very, very small complaints that I have, and one of them is absolutely ridiculous, I feel like an idiot even mentioning it… but here goes (please don’t hurt me Mrs. D)… The larger plates spin too much, ha! Whenever I order pancakes and eggs, it comes on a larger plate, but every time you go to cut into the food, the plates spins around. Like I said, it’s a trivial complaint and has absolutely no bearing on whether or not I (or you) would eat here, I just thought I’d mention it and take away any credibility I may have gained on Unilocal,ha! My other complaint is slightly bigger and, based on other reviews, I’m not the only one who doesn’t like this… the syrup comes in disposable packages. It’s single serve, packaged syrup… Why would you do this to such amazing pancakes?
So other than those 2 minor complaints, all of the food is great here, the staff is awesome and it’s so close to our home that we could theoretically come here every weekend if we wanted… I just have to convince the wife that the eggs in the fridge have gone bad and we have no choice…

I’ve been to Mrs. D’s Diner in Wilmette a handful of times and figured that I owed it to them to write a positive review in return for my great experiences dining there.
Mrs. D’s Diner is the type of place you flock to whenever you are home sick (wherever home may be for you). The atmosphere is clean and the service is exceptional. From the minute you step into the diner, Mrs. D or her husband makes you feel as if you are a distant member of their family who is visiting from out of town. These two owners might be the most endearing restaraunters that I have met in my entire life. Both work extremely hard when the place is busy to ensure that the customer service is at its best. They manage to do this while still conversing with patrons and providing guidance to their stellar staff. There are certain types of people who have the ability to make everyone around them feel better no matter what mood they are in and Mrs. D and her husband certainly fall into this category. That being said, let’s get into the food.
The hash browns are a big ticket item here. They are perfectly cooked and crispy on the outside every single time I order them. The pancakes are also exceptional. I’d gamble to say that they are just as good as Walker Bros pancakes but at a fraction of the cost. I usually only get breakfast items when I’m at Mrs. D’s. If I didn’t love their fresh omelettes so much, I would venture out to order one of the burgers or sandwiches which all look fantastic whenever I see them being made. They also do hand spun shakes which look amazing.
Exceptional customer service is hard to find. You might even redefine your perception about what good customer service is after coming here. If you live in the Wilmette or North Shore area, you probably already know about Mrs. D’s Diner. If you haven’t been here yet, you kind of owe it to yourself to experience it. Not just for the food but for the opportunity to meet and appreciate Mrs. D, her husband, and the staff. They are what makes this place so special.

I’m a big fan of Mrs. D’s and the small-​town diner she and her husband put together here. My wife and I were introduced to this place maybe 3 or 4 years ago and have returned with friends and family ever since. It’s a small space so plan accordingly if you have a group larger than 2 or 4. Breakfasts are generous and taste truly handcrafted and homemade. My wife once had the tortilla soup here and still asks about it every time we’re there, just in case.
Just a great friendly spot where I can’t imagine that you’d ever have a negative experience.
Congrats on 5 years in Wilmette, Mrs. D! See you soon!

Ever since I discovered Mrs. D’s I have found it impossible to go anywhere else for breakfast on the north shore.
It’s Mrs. D herself, her wacky outfits, and her adorable husband that keep me coming back for more. Oh yeah, and the food! The breakfast hash is great, the secret recipe pancakes are golden and just the right amount of crispy on the outside, and the hash browns are to die for. If you want to be healthy, you can get sliced tomatoes on the side instead of hash browns.
I’ve been there for lunch too, and the hamburgers are good, but only if you like the kind that have onion soup mix mixed in.
The décor is groovy — pop culture memorabilia dating back 50 years and menus decorated by Mrs D’s son, the service is quick and super friendly — Mrs D makes you feel like a regular (which I am) and gives little rubber ducks to all the kids.
It’s cash only, but there is an ATM at the bank right across the street.
The only drawback for me is having to look at Mrs D’s perfectly sculpted biceps (she’s a triathlete) while gorging myself on bacon!