The Best Brunch Menus in Chicagoland

Whether you're likely to live at Springs at Orchard Road in North Aurora or Springs at Weber Road in Romeoville, you’ll have more than a beautiful apartment to look forward to. You be near four great brunch venues — all within easy driving distance.

These are places you don't just “fall into” — though that would be a pleasant surprise — but that you make a point to visit and enjoy because their reputation for premier food and service precedes them.

Allgauer's Restaurant 
3003 Corporate West Drive, Lisle

“Chef Nick” has created a name for himself in Chicago's western suburbs by offering a Sunday champagne brunch that features an abundance of breakfast offerings and extravagant lunch and dinner entrees.

You'll find waffles, French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, and bread puddings competing with slow-roasted prime rib, smoked salmon, shellfish, pasta salads and a tantalizing domestic and imported cheese display. Chef Nick knows what kids like, offering them their own chicken strip, mini corn dog and macaroni and cheese buffet. But just try keeping them — and the adults — away from the chocolate fountain with various dipping items. The restaurant's comfortable yet sophisticated atmosphere is accented with colorful hand-painted murals and artwork and soaring wood-beamed ceilings. To ensure the best view of the rustling waters on the outdoor lake, make reservations at 630-245-7650.

Blueberry Hill Breakfast Cafe
405 North Eola, Aurora; 15521 S. Route 59, Plainfield; and 14355 S. Bell Road, Homer Glen

Don't let the multiple locations of this Chicago area institution lead you to draw any unfair conclusions. Blueberry Hill has simply responded to customer urgings to “spread the wealth,” starting with its pancakes of virtually every variety. You’ll be certain to find its namesake blueberry pancakes on the menu.

Fruit lovers will revel in the cafe's apple, cherry, pumpkin and strawberry pancakes. Chocolate lovers will find the double chocolate chip, Oreo s'more and red velvet pancakes hard to resist. And those who prefer that their pancakes pack a salty zing might gravitate to the potato or German pancakes. Blintzes, waffles, French toast and omelets vie for equal time, as do an impressive variety of skillets.

Meson Sabika
1025 Aurora Avenue, Naperville

Guests find that each menu item at Meson Sabika offers a taste of Spain in the form of tapas, which is a type of dining style defined by a variety of finger foods and appetizers placed in the middle of the table and shared among everyone gathered around it.

The restaurant's Sunday brunch buffet offers hot and cold tapas, as well as a carving station, hot soup, fresh fruit, paella and an assortment of breakfast items. Only the setting rivals the charm of the food display: Meson Sabika is located in the Willoway Mansion, which was built in 1847 and sits on four pristine acres near downtown Naperville. Meticulously restored since opening in 1990, Meson Sabika offers guests the choice of dining indoors and basking in the glory of a European villa or savoring the ultimate alfresco experience underneath the 150-year-old oak trees, which cover the estate.

Tasty Waffle
642 South Weber Road, Romeoville
Located just a half mile from Springs at Weber Road, Tasty Waffle isn’t the classic “brunch” spot, but their waffles are so good, we just had to include it in our list. They're open just for breakfast and lunch, so stop in any time between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. and call it brunch!

So scan the menus and work up an appetite for a meal that's deliciously part breakfast, part lunch. Then make a point to visit each of these three Chicagoland brunch landmarks.