Big Bill's Sandwich Shop and Coffee Bar — Restaurant in Galena

My husband and I were visiting Galena and we always like to find and local shops to have meals at. Our favorite in Galena is otis's. However, we decided that we would give big Bill sandwich shop a try because it we happened to walk by it when we were walking downtown Old Galena.

When we first walked in, nobody said hello to us until after we were waiting there for quite a few minutes when a lady ended up coming over. She basically talked to us from across the room and said okay. You can come sit at this table and she took off walking and we weren't sure exactly if she was talking to us or she was talking to somebody.

We got sat down. She brought us ice water and then she came back and took our. We both ordered a hot coffee and it took more than 15 minutes for us to get our coffee by the time we got it. The coffee was lukewarm at best.

I ordered an omelette and my husband ordered an order of pancakes. My omelette was okay. The peppers were barely cooked and very crunchy which is not something I like when I'm eating and omelette. My husband's pancakes didn't look very appetizing and they did taste halfway okay.

When we were getting ready to leave there was a waitress that was waiting on another table and said what can I get for you to drink and then she also stated that all tables were to get donut holes while they were waiting for their meal and waiting to order. We never got offered donut holes by our waitress and she only came back to our table two times. Once was to bring the food and the next time was to bring the bill.

We might go back there again at some point but we would definitely try something different. The shop itself is very cute and they have a lot of cute little decorations and they also have a lot of local artist photos in there that are for sale if you are...

If there’s one thing this place fears more than prompt service or professionalism, it’s seasoning. We ordered the breakfast burrito, the breakfast hash, and pancakes—three dishes that should’ve been hearty and satisfying. Instead, we were served a beige parade of bland. The burrito was a tortilla-wrapped sigh, the hash tasted like boiled regret, and the pancakes somehow managed to be both dry and flavorless. It was like the chef's only spice is self-doubt.

We tried to salvage the experience with iced lattes—mistake. What we got were sugar-laced disasters so sweet they made our teeth ache. Less "coffee" and more "liquid dessert from a gas station slushie machine."

Service? Glacial. It took over an hour from the moment we walked in to when food finally hit the table. Were they growing the potatoes and hand-churning the butter out back? Who knows. All I know is, breakfast turned into a mid-afternoon cry for help.

And just when we thought things couldn’t get more uncomfortable, the owner (or maybe manager—it’s hard to tell when he’s too busy playing pundit) decided to treat the table behind us to his political commentary. Whether I agree or not isn’t the point—no one comes to a coffee shop to hear your hot takes on current events between bites of underwhelming pancakes. Read the room, sir.

Bottom line: this place serves up no flavor, no urgency, and no sense of professional boundaries. If you're looking for an overpriced, awkward, and flavorless way to ruin your morning,...

I am still reeling from an experience I can’t even believe just happened.

I and 2 others joined my family for lunch and we borrowed chairs from a table who didn’t need them because they had small parties. We were just about to order a spread when the manager approached us and - without any other words - said “the three people who just sat down must leave. You cannot eat here - we need the chairs from other tables.” She had ZERO interest in understanding that the chairs came from tables that had smaller parties and was so terrible to us when we sought her out to ask her why she would be so blatantly rude to people patronizing the business.

This woman was an absolutely horrid person with zero business acumen. It’s too bad because her other staff seemed to be very good people and hard workers. I can’t believe - after the struggles during COVID - that you would be this awful to people coming into your business to spend money.

I honestly cannot believe customers would be treated this way - to try and sit and eat - at a restaurant - and be treated so poorly is mind blowing. I will never give my business to this establishment again and would encourage you to find another place that values patrons much more.

To that manager - shame on you - you are a horrible and...