Stefari West Avenue — Restaurant in Kankakee

It is so upsetting that Stefari used to be one of my favorite small businesses and my last handful of visits over the past few months have been so frustrating. This is now the fourth time that we order our food and are told that something is out (after we’ve been waiting for 20-40 minutes), they claim the food ran out even though we were one of the only customers in for dinner service right when they start. On a separate occasion, we came with a group of friends and everyone got their food except one person. They didn’t notify us that they were unable to make their order until after everyone was almost done eating. The new menu is not impressive, they have taken away some classics that have always been staples to this establishment. We’ve been supporting Stefari since year one at their previous location, but for the cost of the meal, you would expect to have good service or at least good communication on what is happening behind the scenes and what is actually available to order. We’ve let it pass several times, but enough is enough. I hope new owners and the new chef take notes from the previous owners and chefs. My fear was the quality of food and experience to decline, unfortunately, this seems to be the case. Also, the cleanliness has declined, which is tragic to such a gorgeous establishment. So...

We tried to get breakfast here. There were people, but it wasn’t overly busy. After a half hour of waiting for our food, the waitress came and apologized and said our food would be coming right up, they had a problem with their ticketing system. This was after a table had received food that had arrived and ordered after we had received our drinks which took some time. We then waited an additional half hour and 2 tables received their food that had come in significantly after us. These tables received some of the same items we had ordered. We ordered items that only needed to be prepped and not cooked, the croissant and toasts, as well as egg tacos which we watched other tables receive. We then asked the waitress for our bill for our coffees as we had waited over an hour for food and she acted as if we were being unreasonable and stated our food was coming right up, which we reminded her that she had said over 30 minutes before. At minimum they should have comped us our drinks. We were a champion for Stefari and went here for many of our date nights and recommended them to friends. We wanted to bring our kids here to enjoy breakfast, but unfortunately we won’t be back. We understand mistakes happen, but the lack of energy to correct the issue and then the attitude when we expressed displeasure was...

Stefari West, in my humble opinion, is the best place to be and eat in all of Iroquois and Kankakee County. Here are the reasons why this place is wonderful and if you haven't tried it out you should.

1. The food - The food quality is of another level. If you want healthy and delicious, this is the place to go. The combination of proportions, affordability, fresh ingredients, and fun combinations is unparalleled in the area. The menu is simple, and for good reason; they do very well with what they make. There are few places you can go out to eat where you can eat plenty and walk away feeling good about yourself.

2. The drinks—Stefari is also the best place to get coffee. I like the regular drip coffee (black), but if you're into creative drinks, they blow Starbucks or any other chain out of the water!

3. Atmosphere - The environment is warm and aesthetically pleasing.

4. Service—The service staff is friendly and attentive. It's my understanding that both owners are intimately involved in all facets of the restaurant, bar, and cafe. Their personal investment shows in the quality of service!

I hope they have many years of fruitful service to...