glenn's diner

don't let the word "diner" fool you. thisplaceis an excellent seafood house! blackboard fish specials change daily and are all outstanding. all you can eat alaskan king crab legs on tuesdays. all you can eat shrimp on thursdays. super helpful, friendly staff. patio. good wine choices and the option to byob for a measly $5. i say this one is a winner, folks!

noted for being on diners, drive-ins and dives, glen's is one of the classiest diners in the area:)  reservations can be made by calling them in advance because they can get pretty crowded on popular weekend nights or tuesdays when they have their all-you-can-eat crab special!

ordering a bowl of cereal and having a full breakfast menu all day is no surprise when thisplacehas diner in the title.  however, their freshly prepared blackboard fish specials is a whole other thing!  an amazing thing at that:)  you can choose from many freshly prepared seafood specials that are listed on their famous blackboards... some of the ones i have loved are pretzel encrusted walleye and applejack encrusted white fish!

bad news. thisplacehas gone downhill. terrible waiter. terrible manager.

i am a longtime customer of glenn's, but that is now going to change. it used to be a great neighborhood joint and one that we visited many times over the years. however, the menu has changed numerous times (different rules for when certain dishes are available) and the staff has changed to a bunch of arrogant and rude jerks to be frank. everytime we visit glenn's, the food is different yet no one will admit this. when you ask if something changed with the recipe they look at you like you have 3 heads and seem completely bothered.

horrible service. absolutely horrendous service and extremely overpriced! menu offers a "full slab of ribs," priced at $23.99. we got 8 ribs, garlic bread, one piece of corn on the cob and mushy cole slaw. i dont know anyone who thinks that 8 ribs is a full slab....except the useless waiter who insisted it was a full slab. thisplaceshould be ashamed of themselves. do yourselves a favor and go somewhere else.

not worth the trip. thisplacewas on my list for months and finally ate there this afternoon. when maryann asked if i had any questions, i asked if i could get my tilapia blackened rather than with creole sauce. she gave me a speach about how good the creole sauce is. i don't like creole sauce. finally she brought my blackened tilapia. it was good, but the broccoli and rice were horrible. when good ole maryann came to take my half eaten plate she asked if everything was ok. i said that the fish was good but the rice and broccoli were not and she said i should have had the creole sauce. no way to treat a customer. will not go back. $26 too much for not good food and very poor service.

the menu has enough seafood selections to eat three squares and not repeat. enough cereal choices to do the same (check out the cereal wall!). clam chowder to die for, a lobster roll that's the real deal and dessert that will have you wanting someone to roll you to your car. go to thisplaceand go again. the cousins only had a quick lunch but will be returning for dinner and brunch.

glenn's... *drool* yum!. ok...yeah so i heard of thisplaceon diners, drive ins, and dives. guy's picks are usually right on...so i dragged my friend there on a friday night. although there was a tiny wait to sit outside (since it was a beautiful evening) there were two seats open at the counter. it's a diner...why not! our waiter was great. i am sorry to say i don't remember his name. but, he recommended a great wine since they didn't have pinot grigio. i loved the look of the place, too. our seat at the counter gave us a great view of allll the shelves full of different cereals.
now for the food! although there is a menu, it is more fun to look up and read all the fish descriptions from the huge chalkboards. i was about to order the baramundi after seeing it on the show...but, at the last second i asked the waiter what his favorite fish was and he said-"no doubt, the sturgeon." so, i had to go with it! he was sooooo right! it is topped with a bacon cream sauce...*drool*. thank goodness i ordered when i did. a minute later a "sold out" sign was put on the chalkboard next to the sturgeon. my friend ordered a shrimp po boy and said it was fantastic...said he should have ordered one to go as a late night snack! :)
i can't wait to get back there! if you like fish...glenn's is theplaceto go!

rude host. food was really good. waitress was charming, helpful, accommodating and top-notch. idiot in charge of seating customers was beyond rude.

we made reservations for 5:30. my son and i arrived at 5:28. in front of me, another lady was greeted saying she also had a 5:30 reservation. she was meeting a friend. the host informed her that she would be sitting at a lovely table about six inches from her left hip, but it was their policy not to seat incomplete parties. then i told him i had a reservation for three and my husband was on the way. he said we'd be sitting at the lovely table six inches to my right as soon as he arrived. now, because theplaceis about as big as your average suburban master bedroom, there is no waiting area. so she and i and my son stood in the doorway, waiting for the missing people.

had i been seated, i could have ordered drinks -- for myself and for my husband (who was driving in from schaumburg). after ten minutes, the host informed me that if my husband didn't arrive soon, they would have to give my table away because (as he pointed to his clip board) "as you can see, i've got a lot of people who want to get in here."

even though my husband arrived shortly thereafter and we had wonderful food (i had the pan fried catfish, hubby had the scallops) served by a friendly waitress who went the extra mile to charm our 13-year-old son with samples of various breakfast cereals, i still can't get over the unnecessary rudeness. the policy of not seating partial parties is short-sighted at best and should be stated in advance when reservations are made. and it costs nothing to be polite. rudeness, on the other hand, just got you this mediocre review.

awful and weird. the food is expensive and it isn't that good. bland is the flavor i get from most of their dishes. thisplaceis trying to be something that it isn't, is it trying to be high end? i don't know. it smells in there and the waitstaff is weird, i've walked out of there twice, immediately after being seated. i've had one waiter that seemed to be in a daze and seemed out of it, another waiter that came walking toward me from the counter, staring at my chest for 15ft, while chewing on food until he finally said hello. i'm not a woman, so i don't have a busty chest or a muscular chest. very strange there! also you'll be spending time in the bathroom immediately after eating.

best seafood in chicago. i'm originally from boston and love good seafood. glenn's has the best seafood in the city. i have been going there for years (since glenn left davis st. fish market) and have never been disappointed. the sturgeon, mussels and crab cakes are tremendous. theplaceis small and they serve liquor, but only charge a $5 corkage fee if you bring your own. you will need reservations now that they have been on tv. being on tv is good for business, but bad for long time customers as it's not unknown anymore. most items on the menu are under $22

if i lived closer i'd eat here often. call ahead for a seat or you will not get one(being on tv will do that). even if you don't eat fish try it her. the catfish is awsome. it is a bit tight inside but there is sidewalk seating in good weather. we like the crowd b/c tables interact with eachother. prices range all over, so if you're careful you can make it out rather light. for the price the portions are good though. in all i have taken to or recommended thisplaceto all my friends. it's fun and has good food.