Honeybella Pancakes & Cafe — Restaurant in Wauconda

Updated review 01/29/23 ~ had breakfast here yesterday (late Sat morning) with my husband. It took awhile to get waited on, but NOT the server's fault. She was super busy and hustling and doing the best she could. She at least acknowledged us and told us she would be with us in a few min. We finally got our water and coffee and placed our orders. It took 35 min to get our food, but probably because it was so busy. Unfortunately, my food was not good. I had the Denver omelette and the onions and peppers inside were raw and crunchy. The hashbrowns were barely even cooked. One tiny brown spot on the outside and the rest totally mushy, flavorless shredded potatoes. I had noticed the all-white hashbrowns on a plate at the table next to us and saw the woman pushing them around on her plate and not eating them. Also, my food was barely warm. I'm assuming it was because my plate was sitting under a heat lamp (which doesn't keep food as warm as when it's served fresh) because the server was so busy. There was no way I was going to send my food back when it was so busy and took 35 min - my husband would've been done with his meal by the time I would've received a do-over! My husband ordered lunch - turkey club sandwich and sweet potato fries with a side of creamy potato-leek soup. He said his sandwich was good, though the fries not hot enough and the soup was just "ok". As for the coffee - typical cheap tasting diner coffee, but at least that was hot. And the server was good about offering refills. Sooo...5 stars for service but thumbs down for my food today. I will either try this place one more time for breakfast but on a weekday morning when it's not so busy, or just rely on lunch. Lastly, a big negative: we went to pay with our debit card when checking out and found there was a 3% service charge! There is no sign announcing this charge, nor is it written on the bill.

Came here for lunch with my mom on a busy Saturday. Seated right away, had a very nice and efficient server. Bus boy was very polite and asked if he could remove our plates (even asked, "May I") that we left at the side of the table instead of just grabbing them. We both had the chicken noodle soup, patty melt, and fries. We weren't crazy about the soup - it was overly salty and a little boring. The patty melts were delicious but my mom asked for hers well done and it was still a little pink in the middle. My mom doesn't like to make a fuss, so she didn't say anything and ate most of it anyway. The fries were the best we've ever had! They were piping hot and fresh, crunchy and crisp on the outside, tender and fluffy in the middle. Not one speck of grease. Almost like they were made in an air fryer. Beautifully remodeled interior and clean, though we were cold. It wasn't just us...looked around and everyone was wearing hoodies or jackets even while eating. Can't wait to go back and try breakfast - just hope they turn...

I really wanted to like this place, and I'm hoping they will make some changes along the way to make it a better value for what they are serving.

The service and atmosphere was great, no issues at all. But the when food arrived I was a bit shocked. I ordered the chicken and waffle and I wish I had taken a picture of it but I didn't want to be rude, it was almost laughable. For $12+ it was one single waffle, maybe 1/4" thick, with the smallest breaded chicken breast on top. That's all. It says it came with some jalapeno syrup but all I got was plain syrup with it. For what i was served, that was a $7 breakfast at most. I left hungry and that should never be the case. As a comparison there's a great place in Algonquin that serves Chicken and waffles for just 2$ more, and you get 4x's the food, with bacon jam, huge chicken breast, and 2 waffles at least 1" thick each. I mean I'm not a fat person who needs to eat like a horse, but cost vs value is a big thing. The waffle here hardly cost anything to make, and the chicken breast was maybe 1.50 in size? People take notice for what they are paying and what they are getting, it needs to align. My partner ordered some breakfast combo and again the plate was half empty, the ham on the bone although good, was 2 of the smallest portion sizes I've seen, probably 2 bites of ham.

Yes this place is new, but I know not new to the restaurant industry and I feel the owners should know better of what they are serving and what they are charging customers. They definitely can redeem themselves and make some early changes, but we shall see. There are a TON of breakfast options in surrounding towns that double the portion size with similar or less costs, i mean, how much do eggs and toast...

Our long history with this location is over. We will not be returning. Their pricing and policies are egregious.

They charged us $3.49 FOR AN EXTRA PLATE. I want to be clear that this was not a split-plate. That's to say, we did not get extra food and/or ask the kitchen to split the meal. We got charged to use a plate so my wife could have some of my skillet. The hostess/cashier tried to tell me that's normal at a lot of restaurants and she used Cheesecake Factory as an example. I explained that is typically for a split-plate where you get a full portion of the side and the kitchen has to do the extra work that can be the case but never just for an empty plate. She was adamant about that but that has never been the case anywhere I've dined (which is A LOT of places as you can tell by my review history and my Google Guide level). For my own sanity, I called Cheesecake Factory and the manager confirmed they would never charge for someone to use a plate. My wife spoke to the manager (owner) at Honeybella and he said it's because they have to wash the plate and wouldn't budge on the situation. My wife said we are not coming back and he couldn't have cared less.

What other reviewers have said about charging 3% on credit cards and not advertising or informing people is true. Charging for using credit cards is pretty common place now (unlike charging to use a plate) but respectable establishments advertise and/or notify people first.

Given today's experience combined with the high prices for the size of portions and mediocre food, we will be choosing the other places in and next to town for breakfast and will not be...