Bessie's Diner — Restaurant in Janesville

Born and raised in Beloit, we visit our hometown once in a while. We were looking for a cool place to eat, and Bessie’s is just that. The atmosphere is modern and comfortable. The tables and seating are roomy and appropriate. The staff is very friendly. Management is nearby and quick to help with any issues. The menu is not big, but it has plenty of items to satisfy most customers. All of this said, I can only give 3 stars due to the small portion size omelette I had. I’m an omelette lover, and it’s my go to breakfast item. I’m very familiar with how big a 4 egg omelette should be, and though Bessie’s advertises theirs to have 4 eggs, I can tell you it’s half that. My omelette was the size of a frozen burrito. To make it worse, I wanted an everything omelette, but they didn’t have one to offer. Instead, you are allowed three ingredients in your $10 2 egg omelette ($9.95). After that, each item is $1 extra. I opted for the sweet potatoes also and that was another $1. They were frozen and heated, not homemade. In the end I paid $17.95 for my omelette plate (before coffee). My food tasted fair. It was served hot. But they lost me due to price. It’s worth going for a neat atmosphere, but I felt the experience of value was missing. Since moving away from Beloit 18 years ago, we’ve been privileged to eat at many wonderful places with lots of great food and prices. Although Bessie’s is interesting and unique for the story behind its name, I would suggest they work on their menu in terms of the eggs and what is included. Eggs are cheap and so are omelette ingredients. Ala cart is fine for the picky customers, but breakfast should be the least expensive meal on the menu. We didn’t see any customers leave with leftovers in their hands, which is another sign that the portions are smaller. One last thing, I wish this restaurant and its staff the very best in success. Beloit needs places like Bessie’s to satisfy the locals and to draw in others from surrounding areas. Work on the portion sizes and value, and I think...

I'm not sure if I will return, due to the way we were treated.

Today, Bessie's was a lunch destination for a small group of pilots, who flew in from other airports. When I walked into the restaurant, I was asked how many were in my party. Not knowing exactly how many of the pilots would show up, I said probably two to four. I was directed to the stools at the counter. I asked the host if the three empty tables were reserved...he said no; however, they wanted to keep those tables (that seat four) open for larger parties. Well, our group of five ended up at the counter. This was very puzzling, as the tables had ended up with parties of two, three and four. Why were we forced to sit at the counter?

Then, when ordering, I had a lengthy discussion with the waitress. She claimed that chicken was an up-charge to the chopped salad. The menu clearly stated the chopped salad included grilled chicken. At first, she said the menu was wrong. I suggested that she find out what was correct: included or up-charge for chicken. She went to check and it turns out the menu was correct. Sad that the server doesn't know what the menu items include. Even sadder for those who don't question and are charged extra.

Then it appears that the waitresses cannot help each other. If your waitress is busy, you are forced to wait. The last person in our group to arrive waited over 10 minutes for our waitress...who was nowhere to be seen. We asked another waitress and a manager if we could have a waitress take our order; they were no help.

I must admit, the food was very good; however, I'm not sure that I can stomach the way you are treated...

First of all they're advertising professional images of their food that is not up to date. I was very disappointed that what I ordered didn't match what they portrayed online, and advertised at their front door on a big poster. The manager claims the big waffle platter picture is 2 years old, not recent, and not what they will serve anymore for waffles. However on Yelp the business owner uploaded that very image 10 months ago. Regardless I began eating my meal which was COLD. The only warm thing on my plate was the syrup. Even the sausage was cold and tough. I told the manager my food was cold and she said "that's fine". No ma'am, that's not fine. "That's fine I'll make you aNother one" she says. "No, i want a menu and a different dish". I guess that was just the cherry on top. When someone says "My Food is COLD" it's not okay to respond that's fine. Let me back up for a minute. From the beginning our waitress had a difficult time filling our coffee and cream. We sat with empty water glasses, empty coffee mugs, empty cream and I had to say "Ma'am please.. please can you get us some coffee, please." So she did, and never came back again to refill anything. My parents' waters were still empty from the very beginning! We had to approach another waiter to get our drinks. Overall my family thought the food was fine but portion size was not good for the price and too many extra high charges for things like a dollop of whip that doesn't even cost a nickel. First impression- not impressed. Bad service, and mediocre food. What I did like was the atmosphere, the view of the airport, and the bathrooms. But...