Estelle’s Kitchens

I think this place is awesome for a quick takeout lunch! The proprietors are the nicest couple and if you expect diner fare than you won’t be disappointed. The burger with grilled onions and fries are a steal under $ 5.
The ambiance is pretty bare bones, but the food is made to order and you leave feeling like you got good bang for your buck!
Don’t get me wrong — this is not life changing haute cuisine, so if you are looking for a thin burger remincient of your dad’s backyard BBQ and a side of crispy food service fries — this is the place to get it on the cheap.

We grabbed breakfast at Estelle’s and really liked it!!! The diner is pretty random, in the middle of the loop, on Lake St. The prices are seriously unbeatable! Everything is around $ 3 – 4 dollars. The owners are extremely friendly and so cute! Hehe. I love supporting Asian-​American small business owners :)
Anyways, they open until 2pm M-​F and closed on the weekends. This really is a no-​nonsense so don’t expect much when you go there. But the food is yummy and made to order!

I went here a couple days ago. As others have stated, the couple that run this place are very nice, but I was unimpressed with my meal. I ordered the chopped steak and it wasn’t very good. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing. I will give them another chance but I’m concerned the results will be the same.

Greasy, fast, cheap – if you’re looking for a bite to eat and aren’t feeling particularly health-​conscious that day, Estelle’s is your go-​to for a quick meal.
The drawback here is that the quality of food is about what you could do on your own, so the restaurant’s more of a time-​saver than anything. However, the couple who owns and runs the restaurant are very friendly, hard-​working and accommodating.

What they say about the the couple is true, the couple behind the counter is fantastic, accommodating, friendly. What they say about the food is highly questionable. Bacon egg and cheese sandwich, lacking at best. Yes they use real eggs and that’s nice… but that’s not enough for it to qualify as a good breakfast sandwich.
The italian beef/​sausage combo was ok. But barely that. If I’m in the mood to do seriously harm to my arteries I’ll hit up Off the Tracks. Much better grease pit.

This place is a little dive-​yer, so I’m basing my review amongst dive-​y restaurants.
What I like about this place is that they serve traditional American breakfasts and one option for an Asian breakfast. I am a big fan of eating soup, so I ordered ramen, while my partner ordered bacon and eggs. This place sufficed both of our cravings.
Another Unilocaler mentioned ramen, and since I’m a ramen fan, I’m going to explain the difference between Korean and Japanese ramen. They serve both.
The Japanese ramen brand they use is Ichiban. I think they were unsure which ramen to serve me, and it was only after the owner (wife’s sharp observation) of me using a spoon (Koreans typically use a combination of spoon and chopsticks whereas Japanese use only chopsticks), that they told me about the spicy option (Shin Ramen — super spicy). She even said that some of their customers request more hot sauce on top of this brand of spicy ramen. She even told me that they have to cook it in the microwave because sometimes the fumes from making that ramen might irritate other customers, lol.
The couple is probably the sweetest couple — Japanese wife (who loves parenting), Korean husband (who likes golf). Food is super cheap and there are free refills on the coffee. The next time I go there I’m going to try the chopped steak, without the bread (½ lb of beef).
The owner mentioned because they don’t have so much space to store food, the stock is pretty fresh. And last, it was really fascinating to sit on the counter and watch the chef prepare 10 – 15 orders simultaneously. He’s done it for so long that he looks like a master at it.
They serve breakfast all day, and most of the time they close at 2pm so that they can dedicate their time to their other hobby, golf.

Went in for lunch today as this place is close to my work. So everyone on Unilocal was right about the super friendly owners. This is a pretty small place with your usual diner like food. I ordered a cheeseburger combo which came with the usual fries and a drink. The meal was just ok. I do like that they serve breakfast all day. Maybe I should try that next time. They close at 2:00 so get there early!

The couple that runs this place are the sweetest people ever. And yes, I certainly have a soft spot in my black heart for the couple. The husband is Korean and the wife is Japanese. I get to talk to them in both their respective tongues, that’s always fun.
The gyro plate was heaping full of meaty goodness. And the chili was like the kinda chili you would put over a hot dog. They give you a newspaper to read if you are eating alone.
SHIT, I forgot to tip them. Oh well, I’ll go back next week.
*PS the Japanese ramen is actually Korean Instant Shin ramen; for all you ramen eaters

One of the more unique places to eat in the Loop. They have all your greasy favorites the menu: hot dogs, beef, pizza puffs– it’s great. They even have breakfast, although I’ve yet to order from that part of the menu. The owners are always there cookin it up and, after you’ve ordered, my man Arnold may throw a Sun-​Times your way so you can see what’s going on in the world.

Estelle’s has the best breakfast sandwiches to cure my hangovers and jumpstart my day. Why go to a nasty fast-​food chain that reheats some frozen food when you can get a grilled-​to-​order bacon and cheese egg sandwich with crispy hash browns? The owners, Arnold and Maru, are the NICEST people and are always a pleasure to chat with.

Aw, how could you not like Estelle’s? The older, Asian couple who run the place are always very friendly. She takes the orders and he’s the cook. You’ll find typical diner fare here, like breakfast sandwiches, gyros, hot dogs, grilled cheese, pizza puffs, etc.
Everyone eats here, lawyers and construction workers alike. There’s nothing fancy about the place, but that’s why I like it. After a while, you get tired of going to all those chain restaurants. Sometimes you just want a greasy, bacon cheese and egg sandwich, made on the grill in front of you. You gotta love a place like this in the Loop.

Estelle’s fast, greasy diner food reminds me of my small-​town hometown in the best way possible. I just love saddling up to the counter, ordering a grilled cheese, chatting with the cute couple who own and run the place or reading a Sun Times, leaving a 100% tip, and coming out of the entire thing $ 6 poorer and 400x happier.
Thank you, Estelle’s, for being an oasis of sincerity in the midst of my soul smushing day today.

This is a great place to go for a quick, greasy, relatively cheap meal. A cheeseburger, fries, and coke will be about $ 6. The gyros are good, as well as the chili. The couple who runs it is very nice, and I’m happy to support the local mom/​pop places over chains.

The couple (owners) are very nice, the food though not so nice. I tried breakfast and my scrambled eggs were runny and hashbrowns tasteless. (Should have gone to McDonalds for an eggmcmuffin) I tried a burger and fry there and it wasn’t anything special (it was edible though minus the odd tasting generic catsup for the fries). The prices are reasonable but not cheap (I think it was around $ 5 for burger and fry no drink). If in the area I would much rather go to Off the Track Grill or Ricobene’s for hot dogs or burgers.