Restaurants near Essex

“great home town atmosphere”

“Best burgers EVER!!! Been going here since I was a kid, it's a tradition to go get "Perk Burgers" after getting a live Christmas tree. Great food, and the owners are always super nice to all!!!”

“For anyone who may have been misinformed. Whistle Stop Cafe in DIAMOND, IL is not closed. It is still thriving and still has great food at even better prices. Yes, there is another restaurant in Canada that closed. Same name, different owners (different family entirely).”

“Cool Place good food cold drinks.”

“The Cove will forever be my go to morning stop before I start my day. I love LOVE the protein coffees, the shakes when I didn’t have time for a lunch, and the boosted teas for an extra kick in the butt without all the sugar!💪🏼 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ all the way around from atmosphere, staff, and drinks/snacks! Thankful for you guys!”

“Cute place to have a drink. Lots of great martini 🍸 flavors to choose from. Staff was super friendly. We will be back”

“The building is due for a paint job, but inside the dining area is clean and bright and very comfortable for dining. Reasonable prices on a page of sandwiches and the same for the chicken dinners. The soup is served hot, thick, and full of substance. The chicken arrive hot with a nice crisp coating and moist tender meat inside. Several dessert pies to choose from. (We had to get pie, it was 3/14 Pi day) and ours was fresh/delicious. Plenty of parking and a great place to eat after a day of antiquing.”

“We had a great night for a work gathering! Highly recommend!!”

“My daughter & I stopped here the other night for dinner. The food and sercice was absolutely amazing!”

“Food was great for bar food and hot. Did take twenty five mins or so for our group put in 5 orders at once with appetizers. We were there the in afternoon. Bloody mary was good also. Was dark in the back dinning room had to use phones to see menu. Lots of menu items fried chicken burgers pizza (bar stuff). Would go back.”

“Personally, I’ve been to this establishment and I have nothing but good things to say. I’ve noticed nothing BUT positive things about this place and ive been very privileged to have been here. It was an awesome experience. Good people, good beer! What’s not to like about it? After a few hours hanging out here, I’ve decided that I need to come back for more great memories. Thank you for allowing me to stop by and have a bit of fun!”

“Food is excellent. Frogs legs are the best. Bartenders are all friendly making for an enjoyable evening. Love the bands and Mama T is the best! 😁”

“great service, quality food. this place is great!!!”

“Had a great breakfast. Nice folks.”

“Food is always good and totally affordable.”

“first time ordering there food and definitely give it a 10/10. hoagie and chicken Parm sandwich cooked perfectly! would definitely go back again and plan to!”

“Chelsea Handler is the best bartender. Very attentive and knows my order before I even order it!”

“Visited the Clubhouse Coal City with former classmates tonight & had an absolutely awesome dinner. Bloody Mary was top notch & one of our friends ordered a caramel Apple Martini that looked scrumptious 🥰 I ordered the much talked about ribs & was not disappointed ❣️❣️❣️They were fall off the bone tender; dripping with deliciousness ❤️❤️The sauce was a fabulous complex of flavors that satisfies every point on your palate - a 10 star delight on a plate🤩🤩 Salad was super fresh with just the right amount of added extras 😉I ordered the mashed potatoes & again the seasoning was right on point. Service was excellent 😍 I guarantee you I will be back, with more people, as this restaurant does not disappoint!!!”

“They give generous potions and their food is always fresh”

“The food was so good I got a chorizo torta dinner my son got 4 steak tacos I also got an Al pastor taco, shrimp tacos and a fish tacos”

“Folks!! I do declare that TROMBLEY’s got the rootinest tootinest pumpkin patch this side of the Pacific! At CHOMNKY’s pub and roadside hole they care about one thing and one thing only: family, beer, and the jolly green giant! Thank you!”

“Excellent staff, lots of laughs, great music inside and outside!!”

“Best bar food ever!! Audrey was our server and she is absolutely amazing!! She ensured we were served promptly, our food was hot and the beers cold!! Hands down, best bar in the area!!”

“Good food at a fair price. Homemade😀”

“My husband and I love Mimi’s! Their coffee is delicious and they have a lot of drink options. We always get their jalapeño bacon egg cheese bagel - it’s amazing ✨

They are always quick with service, friendly, and it’s always clean inside. We love the atmosphere too and have been frequent customers since we moved to Wilmington!”

“The fella behind the counter was very passionate about his pizza making it appeared he was the only one but was in complete control. He was very kind to me and my family! We brought our son of 8 months he was accommodated. The cheese sticks stuck out to man hot damn they were good extra marinara sauce required because the sauce is just a good!! Knock your socks off sauce I called it. The pizza was great not sag or flop on the crust I love it that way. Very reasonable pricing! Great parking”

“I spotted a pub, a nice brick structure attached to a house. Like many neighborhood pubs, the sign showed the Old Style beer logo. I walked in through the doors. I attracted attention. Nobody cared that I had insisted on wearing a mask. I looked unfamiliar.A woman called out, "How are you doing, sweetie?" "Oh, I'm fine. Passing through. I stopped for Tom's Sweet Corn, and need to stretch my legs." A man smiled, "So, you're not a local." I thought, "It would take a lifetime to become a local. All I need to do is sit down and order an Old Style." "I live over in Streator," I offered, hoping to look local enough. A woman squealed, "I'm from Streator!" "How about that. I'm thirty miles east of Streator and I meet a neighbor!" I excused myself. I had downed an extra large soda at Jimmy Johns in downtown Kankakee.The rest rooms shared a sink in the hall between the biffys. The wood door suggested an age of one hundred years old or more. Wood gets drier and lighter as it ages. The door handles reminded me of the late Nineteenth Century, just a touch hand made.I wondered, "Should I buy a bar stool buddy a shot to say thanks for a clean restroom?" I walked over to the bar. I spotted a freezer stocked with six dollar frozen pizzas. Not one vegan pizza I felt sure. Hunger had arrived. A set of coolers showed off all the cans for sale. "Might I buy a Coke?" The woman bartending probably owned the bar. "Sure, that will be a dollar". Thank you I said as I gave her two dollars. "It's only a dollar, hon." "I wish to show my gratitude," I said with a smile."What brings you this way?" said the man who deduced my traveling status. "I was in Kankakee." "Kankakee? What brought you to Kankakee?" "I'm learning how to be a census taker. I count twenty at the pub. Let me write that down." He laughed. I had satisfied his curiosity by making him laugh. "You take care of yourself, hon," said the one woman who greeted me first when I came inside. "Yes, please take care of yourself, too. I'll be back".It seemed like the right thing to say. I stepped out the door into the rays of a sun setting to the west. A John Deere gator, a blend between a tractor and a golf cart, proceeded towards Tom's corn. I spotted a few more as I drove to Tom's to score a dozen sweet ears.Tom's yard looked like a John Deere commercial. One farmer arrived pulling a hay wagon full of people behind his yellow and green John Deere tractor. A man set at the wheel of his gator, closest to the picnic table where awaited the corn. "Hey, I bet you're Tom!" "That's right, I'm Tom." "Are you hosting a corn roast, Tom?" "Nope, it's a community gathering." "Might I pick out a few ears?" "Sure, hello yourself. There's the cash box. Put in what you want. Put in nothing. Take all you want."I started to fill a plastic bag after sliding two dollars in the slot cut in the cash box. I thought that fair for six ears. "What's the event, Tom?" "It's a community picture. We just repainted our town sign, and fixed up the landscaping." I hadn't noticed. People kept arriving in vans, by car and even by ATV. "Is this a Lions Club project?" "Nope. We disbanded our club. The national wanted too much money every year. We just do our own community club. A long time resident left money in a will for the sign".He patted the seat of his gator. "Any body need a ride." The sign stood right across the street. "Thank you, Tom. How long will you be picking sweet corn?" "Straight through Labor Day. You drive through often?" "First time by. Have a good night."I counted twenty people walking over from the pub. It looked as if every two hundred citizens of Reddick planned to pose, smiling at the sunset. Soon, I”

“I didn't try the food yet because I had just ate but the bartender was super friendly and everybody all the patrons were really cool felt like an old friend”

“Great place to have a cold one and enjoy the Atmosphere”

“Their pizza is absolutely amazing. I get it every time I see them”