Alexanders Restaurant & Pancake House — Restaurant in Stickney Township

In the area getting my car serviced so I dropped to this mom and pop diner to waste time and grab some breakfast. To my surprise my experience was like non other or the comparable warm feelings u get eating in diners like these. The waitress was nice but I didnt prefer the French toast so I asked if I could sub the French toast for pancakes. Mind you, They had a similar breakfast combo with same Sides with "pancakes". I even offered to keep the two sides as to not waste any more food. The waitress is confused by my request I'm guessing so she brings in higher authority (yes for a simple substitution) The hostess, before aggressively suggesting I add syrup if I don't like the taste, then argued back and forth trying to demand I keep the French toast that I didnt like, before snatching my plate up (the one I've started season and eat off) she storms to the back, and brings me back two pancakes. The hostess was so combative that I dont think she even understood exactly what my request was. She kept telling me shes going to charge me extra and alot of unnecessary going back and forth with a paying customer. At this point , when she brings the plate back, the food is cold and I'm totally uncomfortable eating it to be honest. When people act like that, I immediately think they will be malicious and do something to my food!!! If u will cause a scene in the establishment that u manage over something so minute???? I didnt feel welcomed at this point . And being that I was the only African American face in the entire place, there may be some sort of issue with being able to deal with people that dont look like u. I deserve the same compassion or just respect as the next customer . U really never know WHO people are that shop or dine in your establishments. I wouldn't be a regular anyway (like I said I was getting my car serviced) However!!!! I am a dining connoisseur, if the food is good and great service I'll go out if my way to support small business. So to say the least I wont ever come back and i will also make sure i spread the word as well. Oh to make matters worse, as I was leaving I spoke nicely to that hostess who wouldn't give me her name or the owners name or even a business card because "she didnt care where I worked, I didn't need to know". Ha. Sometimes u just cant judge a book by its cover. Sometimes we assume a person is ignorant or SHOULDN'T know how they should be treated in an establishment because OF the color of their skin. That hostess made me feel very uneasy over something really...

I've been meaning to do a write up of this place for a long time. Alexander's while not unique itself as these diners used to be all over the place years ago, but it is special as it is steeped in tradition and old values. The people are warm, the prices are cheap, and most important of all the portions are HUGE. Plates are Alexander's typically are almost "family style dining" meaning they are huge portions that can be shared amongst two or three people.

Inside is your usual wooden furniture laden diner, with a rather close and open kitchen in the back. It kinda feels weird with the staff just standing back there watching you as you eat, but it comes with the territory I guess. The place feels kinda cozy, even when it's almost empty. It feels like it got remodeled recently and the owner decided to take on a more "downtown modern" restaurant style which contrasts heavily with the food and customer base (i.e. a bunch of farmers and construction workers eating at a high-end restaurant while still dressed as farmers and construction workers)

The waitress promptly came over and got our orders going. It took maybe 20 minutes to get my Hawaii Five-O Omelette and Blackberry Blintzes. Now I've never had ricotta cheese let alone Blintzes before, but these were AMAZING! You couldn't even tell it was Ricotta, me and a co-worker tasted it and she thought it was some kinda pudding or cream cheese. I was so full from the omelette (which was great as well) that I could hardly dig into the blintzes.

Presentation overall was fantastic as well. Everything looked like it was made for a photoshoot, you hardly see places like this put so much effort into making the food look good which is great.

Overall I'd visit this place again in a heartbeat to see what else they have to...

Today 7/23/25 we were at Alexander’s for a birthday breakfast and while waiting for our food an extremely loud bang shook us and the the restaurant was suddenly filled with dust. Apparently a vehicle struck the side of the building right next to where we were seated. Fortunately no one was physically hurt, but our smallest child left the place in shock and in tears. Management asked patrons to pay their bill and exit the premises. While we had not been served yet, others were midway their meal before the plates and everything got covered in dust. In my opinion the restaurant management should have not charged the patrons that had their meals contaminated. I understand it was not the restaurants fault for the incident, the correct thing to do was to just ask people to leave their food and leave without paying. The restaurant will ultimately recover any losses through insurance claims. I did try to convey this to the lady that asked us to leave but she was defensive and quite rude to say that we had to pay. Again, we had not been served so there was nothing to pay. I believe management could have handled the situation differently and thought of their patrons first...