Russ' Restaurant — Restaurant in Walker

I'm only even posting a 3-star review because I've been here several different times during lunch and the service and food is usually really good. However, the last time I was here, was a complete opposite experience. My mom and I stopped in for dinner after doing some shopping in the area and it was around 7 pm. Our server didn't have many tables and was beyond slow. We ordered iced teas, and had to call another waitress over to get them, as our waitress wasn't planning on bringing them apparently. We ordered soups to start, and we finally got our soups, they were lukewarm at best. We apologized and sent them back. Instead of bringing us new, hot soup, she took our bowls (already with crackers in them) and warmed them up in the microwave. Thinking what the h*ll?, we accepted them because we were hungry and had already waited so long. The guy behind us could be heard angrily questioning where on earth the salad he ordered was. We finally placed our order, never was asked about a refill on our tea, and the burger I ordered, (a western burger) came out raw even though I'd asked for medium well, our onion rings were chewy like they'd been sitting, and the onion tanglers on our burgers were hard, dark brown, and bitter like they were old. This experience was particularly disgusting. Not a single item of our food was cooked properly or fresh. We decided we definitely won't be back any time soon. And to pay 30-something dollars and tip for a meal that left us grossed out. just sad. It's like Russ' keeps hiring people that don't care about their customers, servers and cooks alike, at all. Very...

Depending on your server it can be a great experience. Almost always good food but their new BBQ bacon hotdog needs a little less BBQ sauce. Had one seriously bad experience there in years because of a server. Almost always comfort food.

Update: my 5 star review went down to a one star review. My son, grandson and I have been in there a few times in the last 2 month's and it has gotten really bad. Last night was the last time for us as it's steadily gotten worse. Last night we ordered a kid's chicken strip meal, a BLT with fries and a potato skins appetizer. Nothing was good. The chicken strips had a real funky taste and my grandson wouldn't eat even a half of one. His dad and I both tasted it and let him slide. It was really bad. The BLT wasn't any better, my son didn't even eat a half of one. The potato skins were just as bad as were the fries. And I really hate paying over 2 dollars for only 1 cup of coffee. Our service was very limited and our server was oblivious. A $30 dollar meal that we wasted only to come home and fix food here.

This has always been the (black sheep) Russ' as Plainfield and 28th st the service and food have always been exceptional. But never the less this Russ' has always been comfort food until a couple of months ago and now it's just totally gone down hill. And since when haven't they always had their vegetable beef soup? It's now a certain month thing?

Simply put... Will not go back to this location. Bad food here and there we've come to expect this day and age but this is just steadily...

First visit to a Russ's. And "I'll be back!" Nice entryway/lobby. Clean store. Smelled fresh and clean as well. Friendly greeting from the hostess. Monica was my waitress. She has a nice way about her. "Welcoming" would be a good descriptive. Very pleasant. She answered all my questions and I settled on the Meatloaf, mashed potatoes w/Russ' gravy, and whole kernel corn. Dish arrived hot and as ordered. Meatloaf is not served with ketchup on top or baked on but rather, a kind of bbq (but more sweet than tangy) sauce on the side. It was a very good compliment to the meatloaf. The mashed potatoes were absolutely wonderful. If you wanted, you could call them more of a dessert..... That beef gravy was So Good! Monica explained that both the gravy and sauce for the Meatloaf are in-house recipes. This was a surprisingly filling meal. I took quite a few pics and added pics of the entire menu for you folks benefit. Monica was continually diligent, keeping my coffee cup full and the good friendly atmosphere present. In fact, she has a Magic Wand that is guaranteed to remove all calories from the desserts....so I opted for the Blueberry Pie because she said you actually can Lose any weight you gained from the meal, by enjoying the pie! All considered, this was a very nice stop. Tom DeGraff (hope I got the spelling right) is the General Manager here and the pride he must have in his work shows out strongly here. Thank you Monica for representing so well, and to the cooks...my belly appreciates...