Fork & Spoon Cafe
This week we hit up Fork & Spoon Cafe in Lemont. Remember that each week, the person selecting the restaurant prepares a conversation-starter question. Sunny’s question: what’s your favorite holiday decorating theme (stars, trees, Santas, etc.) I answered that my favorite is trees, as I love the resilience of the evergreen; I love seeing something vibrant and green when it’s dull and dreary (not to mention dark by 5pm). These breakfast visits are going to be real medicine for me in the coming weeks: I think we need these respites from the daily grind; we need cheery spots like Fork & Spoon; and mostly, we need each other.
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QUICK STATS
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
Price Range: $$
Best For: coffee lovers seeking a comfortable, relaxing breakfast
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BEHIND OUR RATINGS
Food Quality: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
The food at Fork & Spoon helped offset some misses on the specialty drink side. Coffee, however, was excellent: rich, bold, good “breakfast” coffee, not so much diner-y but more like something you’d get at a hotel cafe. Sit and linger coffee. The croque madame and chicken fingers were both standouts. The strawberry harvest smoothie tasted bad and wrong. To my horror I re-read the menu to discover they don’t use any sweetener. That’s my fault for not reading the menu closely. (But also theirs for making such a monstrosity.) Were this the only miss, I’d let it slide but the chai latte was extremely off. We all tasted it and agreed it was undrinkable. I don’t even know where it went wrong. It just…seriously lost its way.
Service: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
We were seated immediately with no wait, which was great. Our server gave us plenty of time to decide and didn't rush us. That said, service felt a bit slow - they may have been short-handed.
Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
The vibe is simultaneously cozy and chic, which is kinda hard to pull off, so hats off to them. It's the kind of place where you can comfortably sit and visit. Stylish without being stuffy or trying too hard.
Noise Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [4/5]
It started quiet but got louder as peak time hit. Still manageable for conversation - we had no trouble connecting with each other in our booth.
Value for Money: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [4/5]
Prices felt appropriate for what you get. Generous portions (Court and Kay both took half their meals home).
Wait Time: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
Seated immediately with no wait, even as the place started filling up.
Kid-Friendly: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
We had to ask for a kid’s menu, but they have it. Not to mention they have the best chicken nuggets Sunny's had on our journey thus far.
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WHAT WE ORDERED
Court chose the croque madame which was truly a standout - sourdough, open-faced, Havarti, ham, and sunny-side-up eggs which he described as a “must try.” The seasoned potatoes were a 10 out of 10: crispy but not overdone, with seasoning perfect in both flavor and amount.
Kay got the breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs and ham on a bagel. It was huge and very good, though not the best she's had. Ham (ample) and scrambled eggs were good, though the bagel was a bit soft on the bottom.
Sunny got the kids' chicken nuggets and fries, and they were really good - especially the nuggets, which he says are the best so far.
I selected the scrambled eggs and a fruit bowl. The eggs were scrambled pretty hard (which I like although I didn’t request it). The fruit bowl was quite good - everything was fresh, no errant mushy grapes (pet peeve!), nor was it leftover frozen waffle topping masquerading as a fruit bowl. I was happy with it.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
Our Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
What Made Us Smile:
Lots, actually. The cozy-chic atmosphere, excellent coffee, the croque madame, and the chicken nuggets.
What Could Be Better:
The drinks, as you know. They also had a special on the website (green holiday pancakes) which influenced our decision to visit but we were told they’re not on the menu yet. We weren’t crazy about that.
Will the SSBC Be Back?
Tough to say. Overall, it fell short of expectations based on what we'd read. That’s the problem with lofty expectations, you can suffer under the weight of them. We’d say it’s worth a visit if you're in the area, especially if you know your menu favorite and skip the specialty drinks.
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Well, that's a wrap from your SSBC! Don't forget to follow our breakfast adventures on the socials. And get some SSBC merch (holidays are just around the corner ya know). If you'd like to recommend a place for us to visit, drop us a line on our contact page.
Thanks for reading and please endeavor to be as gracious a guest as you expect of your establishment. Mind your manners, tip well, and if you linger during peak times (as we sometimes do), order lots and tip even better.