Bakers Square

The food and the pies are all prefabricated
He might as well go to the store just buy a frozen pie
The servers all reciting script over and over again
I feel more like I’m being treated as a tip machine then a customer
And if that’s not bad enough they remind you to leave a tip when you pay your bill
That is so grating

I go there often and am happy to see quiche on the menu. Love QUICHE! Went there recently for cherry pie and chocolate milk and was not disappointed. I’ve enjoyed most everything on the menu. But who decorated that place? Looks like 60’s mod!

We arrived on free pie Wedneday. Very busy but service was excellent. Our Waitress gave us excellent recommendations. I had the Club. It was delicious and huge. My husband had the beef pot roast. Meat was tender, gravy was best he has had in a restaurant in years. The green beans were fresh. They use a combo of sweet and russet cubed. Not my favorite but good. The wait service was friendly and helpful even though we arrived at noon time rush. I would recommend this to everyone. I had the peach pie. Good but not the best.

Although Baker’s Square isn’t the first place I would think to eat, when I do eat here, I am usually pleased.
This particular restaurant has speedy yet friendly service, which is always a plus.
The soups are quite frankly good. The Wisconsin cheese soup is my personal favorite, but the others are good also.
As for the entrees, they are good. The pie shop special is a good deal, and almost all the sandwiches are good. The pot pies are my personal favorite. However, I was greatly disappointed with the adult mac and cheese. The «mac» part was really penne pasta, and the «cheese» part was a flavorless cream sauce of some sort. There was bacon on top, which did give the dish a somewhat satisfying crunch.
The pie, well, is pie. French silk is always good, but some seasonal pies like peppermint or Hawaiian pies are tasty. No complaints on the pies.

Okay, let me proclaim the decree: Thou shalt avoid Baker’s Square on Free Pie Wednesday! It is a mad house! Yes, you will wait 10 minutes plus during lunchtime. When they take your order, start that stop watch again…15 plus minutes. Your pie order will follow… And yes, more waiting. The tea refills are few and far between. Maybe water is the drink of the day? The turkey pot pie was tasty in a «frozen Swanson Dinner» kinda way. I enjoyed the minimalist salad. It was «just enough». That is just enough for some one who is confused about the difference between garnish and salad!
There are very few things that would draw me back. I know, I hear people say, «I come here mainly for the pie!» Well, let me introduce you to a good restaurant and a neighborhood bakery. I enjoyed this restaurant in the early 1990’s; but today is a new age of sloppiness at Baker’s Square. Oh, and if you enjoyed the sugar-​free banana cream pie, better put it in your memoirs. It has been discontinued. You will pick from apple of cherry today. So thanks for the memories BS. I can live without you!
;

Baker’s Square isn’t usually the first place on my list when I think of local sit-​down places to eat. I’m not sure why, but even having lived in this area my whole life I never really think of going here. Bakers Square and White Castle were one of the only places open on Christmas 2012, so my dad, brother and I ended up here. We had a great time sitting around, dishing how dysfunctional our family is meanwhile enjoying some sandwiches and peppermint pie.
Overall, the food is decent for a chain, but I wouldn’t call it great by any means. Their soups are usually tasty. I pretty much always order the pie shop special. Soup, ½ sandwich and a ½ piece of pie. Prices are okay, but I always figure for what it costs after tax and tip, I can go to a better place.
The best thing that Baker’s Square has going for it are the wait staff – always friendly and quick – and the pies. Other than that, everything else isn’t buzzworthy or memorable.
Pro tip: free pie Wednesday! You can get a free slice on Wednesdays.

I travel for work, so whenever I land in a new spot, I hit up the apps which tell me where’s good to eat. Whenever possible I try to avoid chains (with exception of a few… I’m talking to you, Chipotle!) and I try to hit up unique stuff that I can’t get back home in New England.
Today I’m visiting Baker’s Square, which advertises a restaurant and «Famous Pies». A quick Googling lead me to find that this is a chain, with 46 or so locations that is held by the same company which manages the Max & Erma’s franchise. Whatever, it’s new to me, and I like Max and Erma’s well enough.
I didn’t find many glowing reviews about this place, but I figured I’d give it a shot and decide for myself.
Walking in, I saw just about what I expected. It’s like a bigger Bob Evans or Denny’s. Like Bobs, there’s a glass display case full of confections, and a hostess stand. I was greeted by the girl behind the counter who asked if I’d like to pickup a pie, or eat in. I told her I was looking to get breakfast, and she led me to a booth and left me with a menu.
Within moments, a waitress came over, greeted me and returned with some coffee. The breakfast menu offered up the likes of omelettes, French toast, waffles and pancakes; but there was also a «four square» menu which allowed you to choose from an extensive menu of options to build your own breakfast. You can choose four for around $ 7 bucks, add additional items for $ 1.29 each. On top of that there’s a list of additional premium items for a little bit extra.
So, what’d I get? Well, I’m not a big fan of eggs, so I got a few other things that I thought wouldn’t leave me feeling overstuffed:
Potato pancakes, Cornbread, low fat vanilla yogurt and granola (to put on the yogurt!)
So how was it?
Potato pancakes: Impressive! Much bigger than the menu picture, well seasoned, and flecked with chopped green onion. It came with apple sauce and sour cream. I happily noshing through one of them before coming across an overwhelming bite that had one big cluster of onion. Easy enough to do, but a little careless– the whole bulb-​end of one of the onions made it in… Root and all. Granted, green onions are small, but yikes! Time out! Let’s move on.
Cornbread: well, I have to admit I was curious. Being a Yankee from the Northeast, I can certainly tell you that cornbread varies as you cross state lines! Above the Mason-​Dixon, cornbread is more savory, and «gritty», tasting more like cornmeal. (This is my personal preference.) In the south it’s cakey and sweet. (I have to be in the mood for it.) So what happens when you go west? Apparently it just dries out. I had high hopes ordering cornbread from a bakery, and well… This just fell flat.
So about the Yogurt and Granola combo: acceptable. Nothing to write home about.
Now, I happened to notice on the way in that Wednesday (which today was) is free pie day. I don’t know what that means. It wasn’t offered, and well, I didn’t ask. I was pretty full, and didn’t need to push myself… But in retrospect, I sorta wish someone offered… Just for the experience points.
Upon cashing out– which just like Evans’ you do at the front counter– I was asked if I had considered taking a pie to go. A quick glance in the case didn’t reveal anything that I couldn’t pick up at the grocery store… The pies might be famous, but only because I’ve seen ‘em already in oh-​so-​many places. Meh.
So this visit– I give Baker’s Square a middle-​of-​the-​road rating; good enough to eat.

WHY has this place been pushed under the radar by the locals? Yes, it did go through a rough patch but now it’s the bomb! lol
The artisan sandwiches are delicious, their pies are always yummy. I do love the celebration pie the best though. (can you blame me!?) & their soups are really good. I always come here to eat and it doesn’t cost much to get a good filling meal. Service is really quick and friendly. Their menu is quite different from a few years ago. It’s definitely one of my favorite gems in town.
If you don’t believe me then good, more pie & soup for me :)
TIP: Free Pie Wednesday is a perfect excuse to come here.

There are not many restaurants in little Bourbonnais, but we chose Baker’s Square because we love pie, and most of the Baker’s Squares in our area are closed down. This one was fine– service was good, food was okay, and the pie was delicious. The restaurant was fairly crowded due to Bear’s training camp, and the staff handled it really well. If we lived in the area, we’d try it again I’m sure.

Love their Wednesday pie shop special-​free slice with a meal! The restaurant was recently redone to create a more open feel. Menu selections have been updated too. Coffee is good. Wait staff are friendly and service has been good. They have a 10% senior discount.

I am sure we all remember a time when Bakers Square used to be an acceptable place to eat. The food was «greazzzy», service was terrible and the facility was filthy. I have NO good things to say about this place, and that is very unusual for me.

Awful. Completely awful. Every visit has been an unpleasant one. Usually I don’t even get what I order and if I do get what I order it tastes awful. Undercooked, cold vegetables… disgusting grilled cheese… turkey and mashed potatoes my dog probably wouldn’t eat. The servers are usually friendly and the management is very accomodating… but I generally frequent restaurants to eat… not just to socialize with the staff.