Newark's Country Kitchen — Restaurant in Big Grove Township

Came in from out of town. We were looking for a little small town diner and found one. I'll say right off the bat, we didn't think twice and returned the very next morning for breakfast. Coming from just outside of Chicago, we don't get this kind of home cooking like we had at Newark's Country Kitchen. The first day lunch: Bacon cheeseburger, tuna sandwich, both with french fries and broccoli cheese soup to start. It was as good as we've had in any diner anywhere around (traveling or at home) the country.

The second day breakfast: Belgium waffle, fresh scrambled eggs, wheat toast, homestyle fries⬅️(if I'm not mistaken), sausage patties, pancakes, and hashbrowns. We left nothing on the plate. Our very picky 2 1/2 year old son enjoyed it. That's saying alot!!!! The eggs tasted like they were brought directly from the farm down the street that morning.

Five stars both times on the food.

Service was outstanding both times as well. The first visit it was just us and a couple of other tables. No problem, no rush either even though they were closing within that hour. The owner, whom I'm guessing was also our waitress really really really knew the menu, and was able to point out items on the menu as well as specials. The second visit was a Sunday late morning, absolutely packed. Still, not one problem. The food came out in a timely manner and like stated before, very fresh. We had a taller younger waitress wait on us ( most of our visit the second time), but still had assistance and were not ignored by any of the staff.

Five stars on the friendliness, courtesy, and overall excellent service.

Five stars on the cleanliness for both visits too. I expected, maybe a bit of a mess, nothing out of the ordinary on a busy Sunday at a restaurant, but not here. These guys are 100% on top of their game.

We will be back to the campground we stayed at in the near future and I assure you that we'll probably try and make ALL of our meals at this wonderful little country...

The food was okay. There were two waiters—one younger and one older. It felt like the older one (who seemed to be the owner) treated us differently. I got my receipt just five minutes after my food arrived, which made it feel like she wanted us to leave. When she handed it over, she didn’t ask if we needed anything, even though our water glasses were empty. I wouldn’t have thought too much of it, but right after that, she checked on other tables and asked if they needed anything.

When I was actually done eating—with half my food still left—she was sitting at the table in front of us and could see I was looking around for help. Instead, we were ignored until my friend finally got up to pay. Only then did she ask if I wanted to take the food to go. I said yes, and she just pointed toward the boxes by the register while I was still at the table. I don’t mind getting my own box, but she had offered and brought boxes to two other tables that left around the same time. Overall, it felt like we were treated differently, ignored and unwelcome. It wasn’t a great experience. They were not busy for two waiters. In total there were 5 tables...

We were staying at the Holiday Inn Fox River Resorts and we stumbled on this restaurant a few minutes down the road and we were pleasantly surprised.. we weren't sure what to expect from a small town diner next to a gas station., but it turned out to be a really good choice for dinner.

Fantastic service provided by the waitress.. she was patient with our boys and my mother-in-law, kept our drinks full and even brought us a nice treat to take home.

Mainly good old fashioned American fare. I really enjoyed the fried Cod and fries, my son's fried chicken sandwich was huge, and my other two picky boys lived the tenders, and we all loved the soups. My wife's pot roast was just ok .

The restaurant was clean with a nice country theme and homey feel.

I really recommend this place for those families visiting Pirates Cay water park or Holiday Inn resort, it's close, convenient,...