Merienda Café — Restaurant in Grayslake

The location of this place was a little difficult to find in the plaza full of other stores. However, once you see it, you'll forever know its location because of the food.

Starting out with the service: Walking in surprised me because it is smaller than I expected. However, the staff was quick to help me understand the food they cooked. It is a restaurant that serves Filipino-style food (I am not unfamiliar with Filipino food), and yet I was still surprised that the explanation along with recommendations were perfect.

Food came out surprisingly quick and was "insta-worthy" for those that care about that sort of thing and delivered by the cook. It made me feel like a chef was bringing me out his prized dish.

Atmosphere: As stated before, smaller than expected, but friendly. Music was not too loud but present so as to not be sitting in silence whilst eating. Art on the wall could be more Filipino styled, but it was still appealing.

Food: Well-prepared, incredible, and delicious. Tasted like Filipino food that was made at home for friends and family. We had a little bit of everything. There was seafood, beef, chicken, and pork, garlic fried rice, chili shrimp, soup, tropical salad (whaaa?) and boba drinks. Cook even prepared Carolina reaper pepper that was hot, but tasty. Didn't burn the senses to the point of not being able to taste the food.

Overall: Great place for a delicious meal that is outside of your normal palate if you do not frequent food west of California. A friendly place to eat where careful preparation makes for tasty foods. You won't be...

I can't recommend this place enough! The food was absolutely amazing, the place was super cozy, the ambiance was immaculate, and the service was fantastic. It's rare to see a Filipino restaurant in the burbs, and to have it be so good is a blessing. I finally don't have to drive to the city or beg some friends to let me stay for dinner to try some good Filipino food.

If you are dining in, you have to order first before you sit since space is limited, but the menu explains each dish well and the workers will help you if you're confused on what to order.

I got the tapsilog meal which is marinated beef, and got it with garlic fried rice and an over easy egg (trust me, for this you want the egg over easy). Every piece was great. The marination on the beef was top notch and the huge thing of garlic fried rice was great, especially with the runny yolk. It also comes with atchara which is like some pickled veggies for the acidity.

My wife got the Tocino loaded fries. Take a typical loaded fries of cheese and meat, but add a lot more flavor to the fork tender pork shoulder, add an amazing aoli sauce, and also add a sunny side up egg because a runny yolk is great on any starch. Btw, the portion size was HUGE on this. Also, the fries were super crispy I wasn't expecting the fries themselves to be that good.

We were too full for dessert but decided to get the Ube/Matcha tiramisu to go and once we tried that we were blown away. Would highly recommend getting their...

Too long, didn't read: this place is great and you need to try it

Full review:

This place is a gem! If you haven't tried Filipino food before then you definitely need to come and try it.

I love Filipino food and coming across a Pinoy restaurant in this specific area of Lake County is hard to find. I was so excited when I found this place!

I spent $31 for my main plate and ube milk tea and added a tip.

They have a solid dish menu - I appreciate that there aren't many dishes simply because that means that the food is fresh; the portions are good! Not too much but not too little and I felt stuffed! They also offer ube pancakes so I'm definitely waiting for next time to try those.

They have so many options for drinks! I love that they incorporated ube in their desserts and drinks as well. Ube is not common to find!

If you have any allergies just let them know :)

The environment is nice - I appreciate that it's non-English music the most. The bathrooms are spotless which is appreciated :)

How to order for dine-in: Go to the front counter and order They assign you a table that already has a number They bring the food and drinks You eat and then someone picks up the plates

For pickup orders: Just call their number. They don't use delivery apps.

The staff are friendly and this is family owned!

Support local family businesses!

Small business with a...