Sun Rey Cafe — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

UPDATED Review as of 5/15: This use to be our go to neighborhood breakfast spot but not anymore. We stopped in this past weekend, the place was busy but not crazy. Our meals took a while, we were waiting for like 35 mins after we ordered, which wasn't a problem for us. But then a lady (who seems to be the owner? she was not our server, who took our order) came by and asked what we had ordered, I told her I had the veggie hash and my husband said he had the Santa Fe Hash. She comes back and says they are working on it. 10 mins later she brings 1 meal she said this is the Veggie Hash and put it down, the Santa Fe isn't ready yet. I'm looking at it and it doesn't look like the usual veggie hash but she insisted it was so I started to eat while my husband waits for his meal. I take a few bits and tell my husband this tastes completely different than usual, its spicy with way less veggies IDK what's going on. She then comes back with the actual veggie hash like 5 mins later and puts it down and says oh I'm sorry this is actually the veggie hash and that's his, the Santa Fe. Normally this wouldn't be an issue but I don't eat meat and apparently this had crumbles of chorizo (hence the spicy.) I stopped eating meat about 10 years ago bc my stomach cannot handle it, it causes pain and bathroom issues for me. I started feeling uncomfortable told my Husband we need to leave ASAP bc I felt sick. The Lady's reaction was just well I'm sorry, and she shrugged and walked away even after I told her I don't eat meat as it usually makes me feel sick. I was not only so uncomfortable physically bc I haven't had meat in so long & my body was reacting to it but also just the way this was handled. Nothing was taken off the bill, in fact when we asked for the Check & box for my husbands meal since he didn't even get to eat it bc it took so long & then I felt sick from eating his, they ignored us, my husband had to get up and walk up to the staff to get the check. So a very very awful experience which was handled terribly by the staff / if not the owner. I was home sick the rest of the day into the evening time all bc of their careless mistake. I expected more from a neighborhood / family business. To sum it up, if you have any allergies/food intolerances this is not the place for you, if you are up to eat anything then go and enjoy without a worry.

Previous Review: Love this cozy breakfast spot! It's family owned & you definitely feel the family vibe which is so nice. The service both times in was great, the staff are so friendly & welcoming. The food was just as great too. Both times I've gotten the veggie hash, it is so flavorful and includes so many different veggies, the cheese is melted perfectly. Prices are very reasonable too, can't wait to visit again. Thanks for joining the neighborhood...

Hear me out. This is a bit of a tome, so skip ahead if you want the “too long; didn’t read” version of this. Also I rarely give 1 star ratings but I definitely got sick after eating here.

I don’t really eat out that often, and when I get the chance, I want to make the most of it. Get the most value out of it. We had been wanting to try this place for quite some time now, and since the dog was going to be at the vet for a few hours, we figured, let’s give this place a shot while we wait. And wait we did. For a table (there were a couple of them waiting when we first showed up but the very nice and soft spoken guy gave us a 5 minute wait time that became 10 minutes). Then we waited for a server. I went and grabbed a menu. 7 to 10 minutes go by and another very nice man came to our table and took our order. We asked for water. He brought us two little cups, empty. Another 15 minutes go by. It’s 10:00 am on a Saturday, I’m thinking, these are peak hours for a breakfast place, it’ll be a while. Then I notice that people are arriving after us, getting tables, getting water, getting their orders, ultimately getting their food before us. That’s okay, I am a (mostly) patient boy, I’m just confused. 20 or 25 minutes after we sat down we get our water and some coffee. At least another 30 minutes go by and finally, our two little orders of tacos and poqui poqui arrive. 4.9/5 stars on Google, let’s gooooooo The food was ‘ok’. Just fine. Slightly above average diner food. I mean I love the idea of Philippino-Soul fusion, that sounds amazing, right? But the taco portions were kinda cold, potatoes were burnt, most of what we ate was UN. SEASONED. we scarfed it down, got the check in minutes, and left.

Tl;dr: Look. Everything costs more; and time is precious and fleeting. I want to make the most of my money and my time. Sun Rey was a big disappointment. Been wanting to try this place for a while but the service (again, very nice guys!) was glacial. I wish I had fed myself with stuff from the grocery store instead of their offerings, which, half an hour or so after, don’t leave me feeling nourished. Again, 4.9/5 on google, maybe it’s me, maybe I’m the problem. Well, I won’t be coming back.

update: bout an hour after I finished eating here and oof. My guts. I’ll spare you the details but I Guess sun Rey has the last...

Wouldn’t have heard of this place if it weren’t for Google. While a smaller number of total views, (sounds like they opened in the last 6 months) it does have a full 5 stars. That said, it was worth a mile walk due west on a sunny day for me to try a new local spot.

Tasty chorizo quesadilla, scrambled eggs, cheese, and homemade salsa. Better than average cup of coffee. If you appreciate just good food and a friendly waitstaff that isn’t a “blog spot” (place you go to take a picture to say you went to the place) like every other new restaurant, then this place is worth checking out if you’re local to the area.

The quesadillas, coffee, and side toast (standard white bread) was $21.XX after tip and tax.

Spoke to the owner or co-owner. She was the wife of the cook who is also owner/co-owner? Very kind woman and her sons also work at Sun Rey Cafe. Hope this...