Reviews of The Breakers Restaurant (Restaurant)

Julie Jacobson

I feel that the servers should wear appropriate clothing. We had to ask the server for refills on our drinks & she never took our dirty dishes away and had to ask the busboy for a container to take our leftovers! Won't go back!

BONNIE Mcconnell

The best food. The best atmosphere. The best drinks. The best waiter. It’s just the best restaurant, period!!!!! I only wish I lived closer. Coming to The Breakers is a special treat for us.

Therese Deuerling

Food and service were very good. Only negative was it was cold. They did finally turn up the heat. Will go back again for sure, however in warmer weather.

Joel McSwain

Great food

Patrick Junior

The appetizers are fantastic and the food is always fresh!

Rene Marzec

Eaten here years ago. Food not as good. Danny my waiter, was splendid.

Erica Holmer

There is a tiki bar in this joint! Super friendly and nice owners. Lots of sugary drinks and Hawaiian beers (bottled).

Sharla Furry

Awesome karaoke night

James Tabisz

Excellent place to dine

Angie Siegers

Great service. New owners are adding some new touches, and style. Still best egg rolls on the planet.

Artisan6 sf

We enjoyed our dinner. Reminded my wife and I of the Chinese place we ate at as kids! Excellent food and service. Thanks Danny! And, Our Famous Mai Tai.... the wife approves! We will certainly be back!

Anne Green

This was hands down the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant ever. If I could give 0 stars I would. We were not greeted...the restaurant was empty 2 hours before they closed on a Friday night. We were eventually seated, grudgingly, by a hostess at a table that wasn't even clean. No menus no water nothing. Waited a long time for a waitress and she expected us to just magically know what we wanted? We got up and left. Fast food gives cleaner tables, better service...don't think we will subject ourselves to this place again. Shame, used to be a great place to go.

John Loete

The food is great but the interior of the restaurant has not changed in 40+years. Very dark, dirty and cheap.

Terri Gaudio

The restaurant smelled awful and must have been full of mold. Old decor and so dark you could not read menu. Silverware was dirty. The food was awful. Beef dish tasted burned so I sent it back. Replaced with sweet and sour chicken and that was swimming in a syrup like mixture with raw vegetables and old tasting chicken. Fried rice was not fried. Waitress was nice. Do not waste your time and money on this place.

John Jacobsen

Tony Amber, Mai this and awesome food!

Ali Azmi

Fantastic food!! They have a hot mustard and sweet and sour sauce. Mix them both and you have a flavor explosion. Food was hot and drinks were awesome. Will absolutely return.

Adella Knight

Great service. Excellent food

Jason Weisenberger

Amazing

Anna Yum

I was disappointed in the food. I was told it was the best around. There are definitely other Chinese places around the area that are better. The atmosphere was pretty cool though

David Potter

This place is interesting, bit of a dive bar feel to it. Good live music. Probably more enjoyable for drinks, but we came here just for food. The food was mediocre, sweet and sour chicken is served soaked in the sauce and more than half of the portion is pineapple, and large slices of tomato. The other dishes at my table also tasted a bit like frozen dinners from a grocery store. I would not come back for the food. Staff is really friendly though.

Swart Erin

I love Love LOVE The Breakers! Best Eggrolls and maitais in a 50 mile radius! Friend staff. Cute decorations-kind of beachy tropical feel. Cocktails were reasonably priced and well made. Live music on the weekends. I make a point to whenever I'm in the area.

Robin Cooper

Best egg rolls and sweet and sour sauce I have ever tasted. The mai Tai was also amazing. My husband and I shared a dish and still brought some home. Service was wonderful too.

Sarah Harris-John

Worse experience ever. If you like waiting for 2+ hours for food that can be compared to panda express on their worse day then this place is for u.

Michael Petty

Great food great people

Melinda Iverson

Absolutely horrible service.

Dave S

The food is great but if there is entertainment the noise level is overpowering.

Max Firth

Best eggrolls on the planet! Seriously. Do yourself a favor and get some. Everything else is on par. Been coming here for over 20 years and have yet to be disappointed. Other personal favorites are the chicken almond ding, fried shrimp, chicken fingers and navy grog to drink. For my family and I coming here has been one of our greatest family traditions. Say hi to Danny for us

Matt Cott

Parking lot with fantastic I bet

Heidi Maschmann

Great food and fun cocktails. You have to try the egg rolls as they are awesome. Entertainment on some weekends.

Margie Bachner

Danny is an awesome waiter, great food, awesome cocktails! Love this place.

laura askey

Best Mai Tai this side of the Pacific. Other Tiki drinks good too! Old school Chinese food an fantastic egg rolls. Service is friendly. Open since the 1940s, this place is a gem!

Colleen Marie

Delicious food and super friendly service! I really don't understand how anyone could have a bad thing to say about this place. Thank you!

K8 Cre8s

Egg Roll heaven! Best egg rolls I've had in 7 different states! Come to CL just for egg rolls!

Adrianne Kaplan

The best Mongolian Beef I've ever tasted! Service was spectacular! My first, but definitely not my last time there!

Bill M'Gonigle

The food are good but then problem is parking lot are too tight and hard to park my car. there are limiting of parking space.

Matt Dalman

Always good place to go eat, great food, drinks, and service. It's a staple in Crystal Lake

Sabrina Golenberke

Child Friendly and the food was delicious

Jim Hamick

I have been eating at Breakers since the 1970s and never had a bad meal there. The employees and owners are friendly and make your experience enjoyable. I would strongly recommend Breakers.

Jim Laird

Good food. Nice atmosphere. Been coming here for more than 35 years.

Ricardo Bastardo

Never been there before bcause Chinese food isn't my favorite. However my wife were wanting to break up the dining monotony. We both liked your dinners very much. She had the Kung Pao Chicken, and I chose the Beef Curry. We also had an appetizer of Crab Rangoon which was excellent. The parking situation at this restaurant is horrible.

Xiola Blue

Epic

Megan Hecht

Food was delicious

Dean Stahl

Best egg rolls ever!!!!!!

Patrick Mooney

Love this place. Have been going here for over 45 years

dannoman79

Great food and fun environment. Service is a little slow so be prepared to wait a little for the food.

Biermann Heating and Air Conditioning

Been going since I was 8yrs. Old Still great food.

Eileen Sussland

Great food Wonderful drinks!

Janice Cunningham

Good food. Friendly people

Kris Merc

Portions sizes were good. Fried rice was the highlight. Wouldn't recommend this place. Overpriced. Don't expect a free refill on your beverage. Overall not going back.

John Koranek

Good Food

Dan HVAC

We got to the restaurant a little before 6. Once we arrived we waited 30 minutes with out anyone acknowledging we were there. We then asked if someone planned on taking our order and told yes and then still no one came. After 30 minutes we placed an order for drinks and food. Our food came about 30 minutes later but it was cold and not good. Our experience there was a two hour experience we would of left but we had 4 children losing there minds that they were hungry and leaving was not an option the kids would have lost it.

Mary Green

Old school Chinese. A family favorite.

melissa pena

Best mai tai around! Fun tiki setting!

Kathy Pletz

Atmosphere was pleasant and the server was professional, food excellent

Brian Franzen

Absolute treasure Amazing food Amazing atmosphere Amazing drinks Should be protected heritage site in crystal lake

Linda Pawloski

They changed everything. The egg rolls and fried rice were my favorite,till yesterday. Tastes like panda express with cocktails. Too bad been going there for 30 years

Ray Flavin

Very kitschy

Kay

Great food, great service and a great atmosphere. Best Polynesian food ever. Chicken brocoli was perfectly done, and the mai tai was delcious.

Dave Hellyer

I recently had The Chef Don Steak with oyster sauce on the side and it was awesome!!!

Jolene Wright-Cott

OMG!! Always good Chinese food

robert parfitt

I go here now and then when I want to eat way too much. The food is great. The service was exceptional. But it's the atmosphere you can't forget. It's fashioned like a Hawaiian tiki bar. Although it hasn't been updated since forever it still gets my vote. They added outdoor patio seating which is really nice in the evening. I had a traditional Bahama Mama with my meal. The drinks are large and surprisingly inexpensive. Only $8.00 for an umbrella drink is unheard of in this area. The meals are huge. I had to take home more than I ate there. And lastly the price for meals and drinks was less than $60.00. You just can't beat it. For really good Chinese food and fun and live music on the weekends you gotta go here.

Kelly Covalt

I’m surprised by all these rave reviews. We had a reservation and were seated right away then waited 45 minutes before we were even served a drink. I would have left but the others decided to stick it out. Water was served five minutes after that- brown and unappetizing. Food was plentiful but very plain, no need to take the leftovers home. Went to the bar to get our second drinks. Maybe they were having an off night. I liked the tacky tiki decor.

Elise Strock

We absolutley love this place! outstanding food and drinks. Get their egg rolls, best around!

Shannon Jackson

Love love love this place! The Mai Tai's are unlike no other. Great food, great people, great place to hang out. The patio addition is just what the beautiful summer nights needed. Awesome live entertainment as well. Another Crystal Lake staple that has withstood the test of time!

Michael Hurst

Really good food. Nice ambience. Friendly service.

Ira Harris

The food was excellent and the ambiance very quaint

Tonya Lee

Have been here once before & wasn't all that impressed, but I thought I'd give it a second chance tonight. I ordered steak & peapods and an egg roll. Sauce was bland, steak was tough and the mushrooms were CANNED. CANNED MUSHROOMS AT A CHINESE RESTAURANT!?!?! The point to Chinese is the FRESH vegetables. Building is extremely old, not kept up, and very dirty. Dust literally hangs off the heat vents. Glasses & silverware was dirty and service was less than subpar. I'd hate to see the inside of their kitchen. I was a chef for 20 years & would NEVER have my establishment or food like this! I'm almost inclined to report them to the health department. Needless to say I will not be back nor will I recommend this dump to anyone.

Pam Skoff

Excellent food, awesome flavor. The iconic restaurant is still the same and the foods is better than ever! Live music on Friday and Saturday, it's the "CHEERS" of Crystal Lake. Fun crowd, fun place to hang out.

Kristopher Kick

Awesome! Will be back again soon. The atmosphere, staff and food is top notch. Far exceeded my expectations!

Matt Schirmacher

This is a fun place with live music, good food and friendly staff. We had a great time and the Mai Tais were really good.

kelly brennan

Fantastic food service & fabulous Tiki bar decor...we had a party of 12. Service was fast, correct & did multiple checks without an issue.. .would eat here every nite if we could. Try the shrimp appetizers

Cassie Marlovits

One of the best sushi places in Anhorage

Susan M

Love this place

Jewlz Zeller

Quiet, peaceful dinner with my daughters. Great food and service.

Tyler Slove

Have been going here for years. Everything I've tried is good. Try the pork egg rolls! And if you imbibe, have a Mai Tai, they go great with the ambiance

Ken Przybylo

Awesome food

Christine Heiserman

Been going here for many years, Love Danny , he is a wonderful person who cares about his guests. The food is the Best. And now they have outside seating too !!!

Raph Kamner

Great food and drinks. A true landmark.

Christina Iski

It has the Tiki flare and so cozy. It is one of my favorite places to go eat with great food and drinks at a reasonable price.

Kelly Stahl

My family and I absolutely love this restaurant!!! We have been coming here for years and just learned tonight that new ownership has taken place. Our waitress let us know that they are working on keeping the menu the same and are open to feedback from their customers. We were very impressed with the amazing service and how great the food tasted!! Keep up the good work, we can't wait to see how the food comes along!!

Dan Wofford

Best tiki drinks and brandy Alexanders. This place is just old school fun and the food is pretty good. Try egg roll with Vietnamese sauce. For dinner highly recommend the shrimp in lobster sauce.

Sanjiv Patel

Horrible food worst Chinese I've ever had

andrew wild

this place is totally disgusting. the food is all the same color and looks (and tastes) like animal food. I can honestly say that i will never darken the doors of this place ever again. please don't waste your money on this schlock joint.

Mindy Secrist

Food so so and service bad. Barely saw waitress

Thomas Burleson

Old school atmosphere. Very friendly staff. Service slow. It was not busy but we were not in a hurry. Food very tasty.

Jay Walter

If your looking for really good Cantonese food,drinks then this place is for you.

Steve Dick

All server's are so nice!

Nina Leo

One of my favorite places to eat when I go back home to visit. My stepdad and I have been coming here for years! Friendly servers, great food, fun atmosphere!

Lee Jenner

Strong fruity drinks, big selection of pretty good food, kind of dive-y atmosphere

Bryan Todd

Heart breaking. I took my father to this historical landmark of suburban McHenry County out of Crystal Lake for dinner one evening as he had not been there in many years. (Since my parents dated in high school) Whereas, I had been there many times, helped the prior owners with odds and ends, and even attended events there. I thought it would be a nice treat for him to experience again. Unfortunately, we learned it had been bought by new owners after nearly 50 years under original ownership. While at first it appeared promising as the interior decor changes were done in the spirit of the old restaurant, it became clear the new ownership did not have a thorough understanding of what made the restaurant so special. The food was similar but lacked the original recipe's distinctions. The basics such as pot stickers and chili sauce were no longer available even as a custom order. The service was just ok, however after asking about the old owners the waitress who seemed to be involved with the new owners began to turn cold on us and the service declined further. We were just loyal patrons trying to catch up on one of of favorite restaurants happenings. But she was having none of it. I will give the place another year and try again to see if they are able to work out the kinks. But as it stands now, quite a disappointment. Hope they get their stuff back together.

Brian Sherwin

the best place to get Chinese

Cathy Cameron

Great dinner. Highly recommend. Enjoyed everything. The people here are exceptionally nice.

Wendy Bialek

Just ok...

MIA HAGGARD

I'm not sure what these 1 star reviews are talking about. Was in this week, everything was the same. The new owners are very accessible and wanted our feedback. The atmosphere, the drinks, the food, and most importantly the egg rolls, were all fantastic. I have been coming here for over 30 years, on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. The food is great. I think some people who review automatically think "new owner, different food" the truth is everyone in the kitchen is the same with the exception of 1 person. Same recipes, almost all the same people. Take it from a regular......same great food, same familiar faces, and a great family carrying on a Crystal Lake tradition!

James Strombach

The chicken was slimey and eggrools were like canned cat food

Andy Saputo

Great food and fun tiki bar

Kyle Phillips

Breakers is the best. Love the drinks and live music.

Marjorie Natividad

We had four different dishes and they were all wonderful. The sauces were tasty, and none of the food was greasy. This is the Chinese restaurant we have been searching for in the Crystal Lake area.

Bob Quinn

Service was ok. Food is marginal, but the place looks like it has never been cleaned. I looked in the kitchen, and what a mess. They have some sort of trap door in the floor behind the bar that goes into a crawl space (very dirty looking) which they use as storage. I don't think the Health Dept. has been in The Breakers Restaurant for a long, long time.

MistyLynn Farmakis

Ate there for the first time after hearing great things. Dining experience was much better than expected. Food is Excellent. You get a lot for what you pay for. Prices are resonable. Portions are very large. Staff is super friendly. Decor was cute and cozy. Made me feel I was in tropic island. This place for food, service and atmosphere definitely deserves 5 stars. I will be back again and again ...... Thank you for a wonderful dining experience.

Jessica Draper

The food was great, we ate family style and every dish was not to be missed. Cocktails were great, lots of options and good flavors. The ambience was great except for a musty smell and a high temperature. It was a heat advisory day, but I believe the building may need some updates. The live music was enjoyable. Service was not better than average. I had a lot of fun and a good meal. Local craft beer selections would round out the experience.

Matthew McArdle

Walked in. Smelled so bad. Walked out. Enough said.

Chirs Abruzzi

best chinese in the CL

Margot Brown

Danny was a fabulous waiter! Loved our dinners!

Larry Turzynski

Best Chinese food in McHenry County!!! Shrimp with lobster sauce is incredible!

Hector Magana

This is Crystal Lake's biggest little secret

BOB NYSTROM

Terrible try at Asian food everything tasted the same all 4 of us had different things the filet beef you could use to make shoes! Would not recommend this to anyone!

Tiffany Sorenson

My favorite Chinese place! Best Mai Tais in the history of the Mai Tai. They sweeten with rock candy sticks!! Eggrolls are amazing, food is fantastic. My husband is not a Chinese fan however he had loved the cheese burger and garlic fries. You have to try the garlic fries!!! The other thing I love is it is a Tiki Bar decor with live music on the weekends!! Karaoke on Thursday!!

Jan

Great food wait staff so nice

mark mccaslin

New ownership!! This place will be great soon as new mgmt puts routines and great food in place!

Chris Sosnowski

Went here after work in December. Staff was very nice, helpful, and friendly. Not a lot of beer to select on tap, but they had plenty of cans to choose from. Reasonable prices. Got my beer served in a can and was given an 8oz juice glass with it. Would love to see them invest in proper glassware for a bar. Didn’t see the restaurant area, but the bar area was cramped, with somewhat dated Polynesian decor. Video gaming was available but no one was on it. Probably would’ve given 2.5 stars if I could.

Melissa Huege

Awesome food and tasty drinks. I had the General Tso Chicken and it was the perfect combo of sweet and spicy. Will go again.

michael looper

A quaint place. Great with friends and Karaoke.

Mike Walden

Good food, friendly staff, good music!

Toni Nawrot

Awesome food. Very nice people. Nice outdoor sitting.

Baby Perez

Absolutely delicious and so prompt. We ordered the Hong Kong for 3. We had so much food left over but it was really good. My two children actually ate mushrooms and peas which is a plus! Great atmosphere and wonderful staff. Loved our waitress.

Chris Kane

Love this place

William Cochran

Great MaiTais! Food is good also. Service is top notch.

cassie speakes

Best egg rolls!! Better than Plum Garden!!

Woody Wolff

This has to be the most random restaurant I've run across. It's a Tiki/Chinese restaurant that just seems to appear out of no where while driving out of the Crystal Lake area. It may not be the impressive place at first but I have yet to have a bad meal here. So far it's the best Chinese/Cantonese food in the area I've had. Quality is very good and you can tell they are making their own sauces in back. The drinks are great as well.... if you enjoy super strong Mai Tai's, which you should! Go here with the mindset of having fun and enjoying the moment and you won't be disappointed.

Mike Bachmann

Great food.

xx yy

Heard about it from quite a few people. Everyone I've talked to spoke very highly about the restuarant. It's on my bucket list for sure.

Nick Lentz

Wonderfully cluttered decor, delicious cocktails, amazing egg rolls

claudia anderson

Enjoyed The Experience And Plenty Of Food

Thomas Krueger

Prices are high for the stuff they gave us! Yuck

Charles Hough

Pretty good Chinese.

Mike Linton

Breakers has been one of my favorites since the early 80's. George's special for 2 is what we always order

Christian Watson

One of my kids favorite places to celebrate a birthday surprisingly good curry and best egg rolls in the area breaded chicken dishes should not be primary choice go with the fried rice curry and egg rolls

Beth Rudat

Mouthwatering delicious!!! We've had a wonderful experience here time after time. Navy Grog's are just as they used to be. The Shrimp Egg Foo Young and Shrimp in Lobster Sauce are Better Than Ever!!! Mmmmm Good. Highly recommend.

Melva DeCraene

The best egg rolls

Michael Campbell

Best Chinese food around the Crystal Lake area. Management there & the Chef is really getting it right. Quality of the food is superior to other Chinese restaurants in the area. Owners respond quickly & in a very positive Manor if you have any type of complaint they respond quickly.

Steve Libby

The water is brown. Appetizers overcooked and cold at the same time. Main course decent, good size portions. Good cocktails.

Kevin Menge

Great Mai-Tai! Love the rock candy stirrers. Food is always got and tasty!

michael geraty

Busy place, food was good, wait staff excellent. Little pricey . Needs a new floor, soft spots.

titanfall man

Great food and funny waiters.

Merrean Kolanowski

Food was very

Renee Smith

Interesting decor. Ordered carryout. Very speedy. Good was just ok. Mongolian beef tasted more like pot roast.

Bonnie Sikora

We had reservations for 6:00 on a Friday evening for 12 people. Half of our table got their food at 8:00 and the other half got their food at 8:30!!! TWO HOURS!! The service was horrible! My egg foo young was very dry and stringy with NO GRAVY. All 12 of us were very displeased with the food and service and the manager did nothing to make it right.

Laurie Anderson

Omg love it!!! Incredible eggroles

Tita Gold-Read

One of the oldest tiki bar restaurant around. Amazing drinks.

James Horcher

Very dark had to watch your step or you could bump into something, coud not read menu, had to use flashlight on phone.

Brian P. Carlson

Excellent as always, new owners trying very hard too make it right. Me and my family went there this evening were seated and then totally ignored . They never even acknowledged our presence and slowly served table's all around us. We ended up leaving and going to Nicks were the service is always top notch.

larry burbridge

Strong tiki drinks. Fun Chinese American food in a place so ironic it's not ironic.

jessica escobar

Very Disappointed!!! We used to come here all the time it was our favorite place for anniversaries, birthdays, etc. What happened?! Cheap new management? First of all we were greeted by a 13 year old that just pointed to us where our table was, it took at least 20 min for our waitress to finally come and take our drinks order, while we were waiting for our food we didn't get those chow mein noodles that we used to get before our meal, we got 3 shrimps and 2 very rough spring rolls for appetizers, finally food was here but it was a TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT, BTW we didn't have silverware on our table so when I asked the waitress if we can get some she made a very sarcastic comment "I guess is too hot to eat it with your hands huh" definitely not a good thing to say to someone who's already uncomfortable with the service they're receiving. Back to the food part - fried rice had green and red peppers which totally messed up with the flavor it was awful, the egg foo youngs were horrible! Dried, hard to eat and it tasted like grass, chicken was ok (we missed the old chef) to closed the night we didn't get the almond cookies we used to get at the end of the meal. We used to loved this place specially my boyfriend who has been coming here since he was a kid. Not sure if we're going back.

Russ Frank

Great food, great service.

Judy Quinn

Excellent food very reasonable prices. Very crowded Saturday nite food took a while coming.

terrence gordon

I've heard of this place, and driven by occasionally for 30+ years. Always heard it was fabulous, best in the area... Finally stopped in for dinner, and found it pretty average. Don't get me wrong. It was good. The service was ok too. Just was not as special as I'd heard for so many years.

Chief Dog

Awesome place. Great character and food.

William Sanchez

Best Chinese food in Crystal lake and amazing drinks.

chuck benish

Best in class food and service a home feeling

Ferretti Farm

This is Crystal Lake's biggest little secret. Our family and friends have been coming here for years. The atmosphere is fun, the "Scorpion for four" drink is great and the egg roles are the best I've ever had. Breakers is a family tradition.

Julie Noel

I make sure to visit whenever I'm in town from the East Coast. The staff is fantastic and the Mai tai's are amazing! Absolutely love it here.

Dennis L. Fox, Sr.

Awesome food!