Yia Yia’s Pancake House & Restaurant

This review is based on two visits. First visit I brought my eldery father. The waitress was awesome with him. He wanted to order the Hawaii 5 – 0 omlet which comes with ham, bacon, pineapple and jack cheese, plus hash browns and two large pancakes. It sounded like a huge amount of food and it was. Plenty for two. Pancakes were light and fluffy, eggs very good, hash browns were cooked very well. Coffee and OJ were both good.
Second visit was to-​go. Lemon-​egg and rice soup was fine (nothing super outstanding, but solid), but possibly one of the best basic cheeseburgers I’ve had in years. Fries were great too.
Used to eat here when it was Grant Square Rest. Some similarities, but love the restaurant makeover. Much nicer inside now, and food is great.

After my second visit, I’m glad I held off posting a review from my initial visit, which was enjoyable. I was in a month ago, after I got a message on Unilocal about my review at Page’s Restaurant. It turned out to be the manager from here, Spyros. He used his personal page to coax me in. I put 2 + 2 together after asking the manager for his name. He didn’t meantion it was he, after I shared the reason I stopped in originally.
I would have thought on a Sunday morning, they would have been busier. I was promptly seated but the waitresses were just walking by. I finally asked if I was sitting in anyones station? Lori apologized and took my order. My biscuits and gravy were served up with cold gravy. It really turn me off when Lori got all touchy feely and felt the need to rub my back. I’ve never met her before and don’t know her, isn’t that sexual harassment? lol
The biscuits and gravy were nothing special. I’m guessing they just nuked my order. Today’s Triple A and Pear smoothie seemed a little bit off from what I remembered with my first visit too. Lori comped my coffee, but it really didn’t make up for the fact they don’t monitor the food temperatures.
They’re definitely pricey, biscuits and gravy with a smoothie was over 15 bucks. The manager and staff were standing around at the door and no one said a word on my way out. I don’t really feel the urge to return.

Okay Yia Yia. You got me. Since my first review I have stopped in for breakfast on several occasions as well as lunch and have found that your service and level of attention has gotten quite good.
In fact– I have a friend who will only eat at your place cuz he loves the dressing you make, in house, for your mediterranean salad! (now that’s saying a lot!)
My omelette was quite tasty and perfectly made on a recent breakfast visit and I am still a lover of your Cobb and Mediterranean salad. And the fact that lunch for two only costs about $ 30, it’s a deal all the way around!
If you find your way to Hinsdale, stop in at Grand Square and check out Yia Yias. If I didn’t know better I’d say Grandma had returned to the kitchen!

Our first visit was such a surprise, customer service of Cait and management truly went above the expected. I just mentioned to Cait that the Reuben was a bit oily, she gave us 10% off the top, free to-​go coffee and extra soup. We never asked for these but was truly appreciated. I will be coming back. Thank you

Took my mom to breakfast here today and had a really great experience. Our server was Amanda and she was very personable and friendly. Our breakfast came out quickly and was very delicious. It’s clean and the décor is pleasant. I definitely will be coming here for breakfast again!

Went on Sunday after church. Seated pretty quickly and the staff was nice. Service was slow– not the server, but the time from order to food arriving. I wasn’t in a hurry, but 25 minutes is a long time for French toast.
When my skillet arrived, the potatoes were not cooked all the way, definitely none of the brown crispy bits you want to have, the dish a a whole was only meh. The toast was barely toasted at all?! Kids meals looked fine, but the French toast lacked any presentation at all. For the price I expected more than meh.

We have been here 4 times the past 2 months and Yiayia’s has delivered each and every time! People greet you and smile at you, the owner and most of the employees stop by and say hello and know us by name and always are very friendly with our little toddlers which means a lot to us! Breakfast and lunch is always great so maybe we can get them to stay open for dinner !

I work in Grant Square so this restaurant is very convenient for me. The staff is fabulous. Food is wonderful.
I’ve gotten breakfast a few times here and am a huge fan of their vegetarian egg benedicts: both the Vegetarian Benedict [tomato, red onion, spinach, and portobello mushrooms] and Florentine Benedict [spinach, tomato, cheddar cheese].
I get soup here a couple times a week for lunch at work. Lemon Egg is available everyday, which is what I’ll get if I don’t see one of my favorites for the day. Let me tell you… the CREAM OF MUSHROOM soup is where it’s at!!! It is extremely rich and flavorful; you can taste the wine in it! It is spectacular! If I could base this soup on a scale of 1 to 10, it’d easily be a TWENTY.
The staff here truly fits into the whole neighborhood vibe of Grant Square. They know their regulars by name/​or at least by face. It is fabulous. The sense of community that Grant Square projects is the #1 reason I love working and shopping in the area.

Excellent food! I had the short rib french dip that was amazing, melt in your mouth tender. And the soup, can we just say heaven! Carrot ginger soup, I was adventurous, I tried it, and now I will go back whenever they have it because it is phenomenal!

We’ve only been here for breakfast but we love this little neighborhood place. Yeah, maybe the décor is a little old school but the food is always good. We’ve had a myriad of egg dishes as well as pancake dishes and we’ve been happy with all of them. Everything is cooked as we asked, served quickly and always with a smile. This has become our regular weekend treat — especially since we rarely wait longer than 5 minutes for a table!

Came for breakfast and had very standard fare. The restaurant was nearly empty on a weekday morning. Pancakes were good but nothing special. Bonus points for shredded hash browns. Omelettes looked very typical. Overall this is solid breakfast food but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back.

I have been here on a number of occasions in the past 6 months for breakfast or lunch with my in-​laws and 10 month old baby. Never too crowded and we are well taken care of. We’ll continue to make this our spot to get together.

Everyone looks kind of «shell shocked» in this place. Owner, hostess and waitstaff along with food runner look confused.
First time there and the server asked three times if we were ready… nope, menu still open not ready. No refills on coffee, water and they certainly don’t know what to do with your used dishes… they leave them on the table for you. Server was trying to take the plate I was still eating from.
I motioned to the owner for more coffee, he ignored me.
Pass on this one, it will be closed soon I’m sure.

Came in by myself. Was a small wait for tables because going on a sunday they are quite crowded…
As soon as i got seated the lady gave me these dough balls sprinkled with powdered sugar… they were free! Those were awesome. Ordered omelet with apple cinnamon pancakes and wouldn’t you know something… the apples were HOT! (Unlike Connies, but thats neither here nor there.) Waitress was nice always came back to check on me. Worth the 6 minute wait because the food was delicious. :)

Good coffee and pancakes!
The potato are FROZEN! Skillets thus are not so good!

Expectations were met. An easy in-​easy out diner-​style restaurant with decent parking in-​town Hinsdale. The food was good. The service was fine. It seemed very clean. Perfect for families with little kids.
No mind-​blowing superlatives here, but this place just works.

Hinsdale is now the home to Yia Yia’s Pancake House second location. Located in a comfy shopping plaza with plenty of parking. As soon as you walk in you will notice a beautiful posh style décor. Not to worry I encountered no snobs during my visit. I sat at the counter top on an awesome retro bar stool with a killer cushion of comfort.
I ordered a Top Notch Skillet with skirt steak, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, American & Swiss cheese. Service was quick around 1PM. I actually like the fact with an order of coffee you get the pot along with it (not that kind of pot silly). The skillet was delicious and the steak juicy and diced potatoes were spot on as well.
One thing I sort of felt uncomfortable about was when my server drop the check off in front of me only having eaten a quarter of my skillet. I did feel rushed even though she mentioned no hurry. I wanted to order a fresh squeezed orange juice plus soup to go. Since the check was there I did not want to make an issue and go back and forth. This will not discourage me from a return visit. But I hope they would delay the check a bit until the end of my meal cause Yia Yia’s lost out on more possible business from my visit.
I plan on trying their lunch sandwiches next. Til next time :)

Listen up Unilocalers there is not a Yia Yia in the kitchen making your food! Nope, Grandmas and moms for that matter do NOT belong in the kitchen in Hinsdale. Nevermind that every house has a Viking stove with pretty red knobs and granite countertops have been replaced with cultured concrete (thank God), this is Hinsdale and I repeat Yia Yia is not in the kitchen. Who cares though! This place (like its sister restaurant in North Riverside) is a solid place for breakfast and lunch fare.
I had a feta cheese, mushroom and spinach omelette. It was very yummy. I liked their coffee a lot. Other with us had pancakes, a skillet, biscuit and gravy and a cheeseburger (yep, the one that always has to be different). The biscuits and gravy were awesome. Fluffy biscuits and the gravy was thick, full of sausage pieces and peppery. I now this because I snagged a few bites from my husband’s plate.
I was probably one of the few people that was sad when Grant Square Restaurant closed. It was an institution no matter what others say. Yia Yia’s though is a welcome replacement.
Welcome to Hinsdale Grandma and don’t let a speeding Range Rover run over you as you leave the place. Hinsdale ladies need to get to yoga asap so get of their way now darnit!

As a fan of the Yia Yia’s in nearby North Riverside, I was pleased to see one open near my office. Just as I have grown to love at the original, the new location did not disappoint. The upgrade to Bridgeport coffee and the fresh jams were very refreshing. I had the corned beef hash skillet and you could tell it was freshly made and not from a can. The corned beef had a subtle smokey flavor which paired well with the eggs and potatoes. The portions were the same generous size I had come to expect.
Our server was attentive and always nearby. Overall, Yia Yia’s lived up to their reputation and I have a new lunch spot near the office.

Enjoyed a nice breakfast with my family this morning. Service was a tad slow, but that’s to be expected for a new restaurant opening. Kinks are still being worked out, but everyone we encountered was very friendly. Yia Yia’s provides the standard breakfast/​brunch/​lunch/​diner fare.
I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu. Everyone at the table had something different from the various breakfast combos, french toast, to the omelettes, and of course pancakes!