Johnnie's Grill — Restaurant in Proviso Township

I've been here only twice, so review will be based on the 2 visits. This is a hidden gem of a Diner/Grill. Its a small spot fits a good amount of people though. The staff is very friendly. The cooks are definitely customer friendly. I especially like the fact that they are couple feet in front of the bar table style area. You can watch these guys cook your meals. It's a great feature I think that they have, it's amazing how quick and just the style they cook. It's an added entertaining part of being there. First time I went I had their 2 pork chops 3 eggs and hash browns. Think added order of biscuits and gravy. I thought the food was great and fairly reasonable price. This recent visit I ordered a meal of T-bone steak, hash browns, 3 eggs, 2pcs of toast and had ice tea. The bill was under $19, that's a fair price and I thought pretty cheap! I thought everything was excellent. I would definitely recommend this place to try out if you are in the Melrose area. I like it when the cooks interact with you, gives you a welcome vibe. Most places the cooks are hidden behind some wall or in the "kitchen". It was nice that the cook recognized me from my first time visiting, it's nice to know they notice their customers.

Beside the food, it's a spot to go to if you like gambling. They have scratch offs that you can purchase behind the counter. They also have a few slot machines if you are into those.

The price is fair. Meals range from $9-$15 based on meats you get. They are open 24hrs so they serve breakfast,lunch,dinner all day. I'm not sure , but I think it is cash only place and there is an ATM inside, I've always paid with cash so can't tell for certain if credit isn't accepted. I guess bring cash to be on safe side. I definitely will be returning when I'm in the area for something to eat. I gave it 4 stars only because I like to look at the menu, but the server would keep putting the menu back every time I took it out to look at. I'll maybe update review after going...

My wife and i love trying little greasy spoons and found Johnnies Grill. We entered and were not greated the way you think you should be, it was more of a "sit wherever you want" no smile no friendlyness to it and she was eating, then we picked a booth grabbed our own menus and I had to wipe the table down myself with a minature napkin, the server saw me do and never offered to wipe it with a clean towel or anything. We ordered and the menus were expressly taken from us and my wife was like " i guess i didn't need to look at the menu anymore". I asked for black coffee and was given a styrofoam medium cup of coffee with cream and sugar and a metal spoon sticking out of it, the server did apologize and immediately gave me a cup of black coffee. Then both orders of toast already butter which i appreciate were set in the middle of the table before the food came on the same plate and that was odd to me, by the way we were not given a choice of toast is was automatically white. The food came shortly after and looked amazing, big potions for sure. The food could've used a bit more seasoning and the hash browns tasted like card board but everything else was ok. The server checked on us 2 times, asked us if we needed a container and we basically wrapped it up paid in cash because this place is CASH ONLY and tipped of course, all in all not horrible however the place was really HOT so it was a bit rough on me personally. Now the question is will we come back again? Yes, the food was decent and the portions are worth it. I believe they also serve beer and if you like slots and scratch offs they have that as well. I'll give the server the benefit of the doubt considering she was the only one there other than the cook and the place gets a steady trickle of people. We'll see how they...

I think I must have caught them on a bad day. Because with all these great reviews, it leaves me feeling like we could not have possibly been at the same location. I came in and waited to place an order, a woman in front of me was receiving her change as I came in. I waited for the waitress to look up at me to take my order, but she didn't even seem to notice I was there. It looked like she was having issues with the computer for the register so I figured I'd wait a few more minutes. Then slowly, the rest of the waitresses gathered around her, all staring at the screen. They were discussing whatever it was that was wrong with the machine. After another few minutes, a manager came over and fiddled with it. All the while, I am standing directly in front of the register. But I wasn't greeted or thanked for my patience, not by any of the employees. I waited for atleast ten minutes, possibly fifteen. Then the magic happened and the register was fixed. I cleared my throat and prepared to order, to see the waitress instead take the cash tray out of the register and walk into the back. I gave up. I'm willing to give this place another try. I'm not familiar with this area but this kind of customer service shouldn't be tolerated, regardless of...