Harner’s Bakery Restaurant & Catering

Best breakfast in town. The pancakes have something special in them. Don’t know what it is but man they are tasty. They have huge portions which is good and bad I guess. Prices are not cherap but you get a lot and always good quality. Also the prime rib dinner is EXCELLENT!

Went to Harner’s bakery for the first time today with my family to get donuts. The rating is for the service only. Really poor customer service from a girl in the bakery. I’m providing a description of her in hopes a manager will read this and help her with her lack of customer service skills. High school girl with blond hair in pony tail and bad make up (bright blue eyeliner not applied well), stared at us when we walked in and didn’t smile or say hello. They had a variety of bakery items and we didn’t see donuts. After a few minutes of looking I asked if they had donuts. The girl looked me up and down and said with an attitude «only what you see here and the day old bread behind you,» as she rolled her eyes. Clearly management needs to train their employees on customer service. It doesn’t matter how good your donuts and pastries are, if customer service is bad people will not want to come in and buy them.

The smell of the bakery when you first walk in is very appealing. Your mouth instantly waters. Their bakery is definitely work checking out and I saw a sign that said some bakery items were ½ price after 6pm.
The dining area is reminiscent of an old diner with stools to sit at or tables and booths. I went for dinner and there were many seniors there, so you know the food was good and the prices were excellent.
They bring a complimentary bread basket with some of their various rolls and some nut bread that is just amazing. It’s worth picking up a loaf to take home.
I just had the salad bar this time and the topping selection for the greens is minimal, but your main choices (bacon bits, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, croutons, etc). It also includes a random soup which happened to be a white bean and was delicious.
They also have side choices of cottage cheese, 3-​bean salad, noodle salad, kidney bean salad and my favorite… the broccoli salad!
They have many other items on the menu and daily specials. I’ll definitely explore the menu more on my next visit.

Approaching the restaurant I was concerned about the wait that was inevitably ahead of us as the cars stretched 4 deep just to get into the parking lot. I could see from the street heads lined up by the window reassuring my hungry paranoia there would be no place to sit as I was starving!
Pulled in found a spot in the main lot and walked in the front door to be hit right in the face with the sweet smell of baking dough and a delightful aroma of cinnamon and sugar. It was a wonderful smell which made me fee like I had just stepped into my grandmothers during a family holiday.
To my amazement, I was greeted and seated immediately. I looked around and realize just how large the dining area was. Took my seat and my drink order was taken immediately and I was presented my menu.
I scanned my surroundings and realized they had employed an entire army of service personnel. There were servers coming and going and bussers zipping here and there… It was a dynamic ballet of people coming and going, I was quite impressed to see such an orchestration of service.
I ordered the biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs and a side of corned beef hash and a tall glass of milk to go with it along with a side of cinnamon raisin toast.
Every piece of that order, every single element, blew me completely away. I’m willing to bet every single piece of that breakfast that could be scratch made, was.
The flavor of the sausage in the gravy was unbelievable! I’ve never had such a wonderful sausage gravy… it was like I had to do a double take to believe what I was eating. It was gravy, but it was somehow as light as the biscuits they covered! The biscuits were amazing, light, fluffy and paired against the best gravy I’ve ever eaten was like something from a dream… It was insanely delicious!
The corned beef was made with corned beef which hadn’t lost its texture or flavor amongst the other ingredients and was nowhere near greasy as you will find in many corned beef hash dishes.
The cinnamon raisin toast was the perfect compliment to the meal without having something so overly sweet it left you feeling nauseated. It was light, it was crisp on the edges and slapped with some butter and home made jam… like I said, it was the perfect end to the meal.
I loved every bite of what I ate.
I loved the waitress willingness to work out what sides she could substitute for us in place of what was listed.
I loved that when she was up for a break, that she let us know and I loved that she also let us know who was covering for her in case we needed anything else.
The service here was warm, welcoming, thoughtful and above all spot on in every respect.
Given the amount of people they had packed in the place and how well the service was presented is a testament to the talent they employ at the front of the house and the back of the house!
My hat is off to all of you and I thank you all for providing me with such a great experience!
I will most certainly be back for more and I will bring friends too!

My friend suggested Harner’s because we were looking for a local mom-​n-​pop diner where we could take our time eating and talking. As soon as my friend mentioned the bakery, I was in. It is so hard to find an old-​fashioned neighborhood bakery these days.
The bakery is worthy of 4-​stars. The restaurant is worthy of 3-​stars.
My friend and I met at 3:00pm on a weekday. I arrived before my friend and had the pleasure of chatting with the hostess. She recommended some of the more popular menu items, as well as explaining the daily specials. The restaurant was ¹⁄₃ full of diners, almost all elderly folks, which I was happy to see. It was quiet and peaceful. No loud children. No jerks talking on their cell phones. From overhearing conversations between the staff and customers, this place really seems to have a neighborly feel to it… the type where you run into all your neighbors, everyone knows everyone.
I was undecided between a classic home-​cooked dinner, the daily special, or a cheeseburger. I asked our waitress (a young girl) for her recommendation. I was shocked when she recommended the cheeseburger over the dinner entrees and daily specials. It made me wonder… how bad is the food if she thinks the cheeseburger is the best item on the menu!!! Per her recommendation, I ordered the cheeseburger, which was a disappointment. The burger meat patty itself tasted great. It was topped with the lackluster sliced onion, sliced tomato, and a huge wedge of iceburg lettuce. But it all went south the minute I picked it and the top and bottom bun dissintegrated in my hands. Seriously dissintegrated, to the point where my fingers were holding the burger itself and not the bun. It sadly was not an enjoyable meal.
While we were sitting there conversating, I noticed how dirty the carpet was. The floor was full of food crumbs and such which seemed to be there all day since breakfast-​time. The carpet needed some serious sweeping.
After our meal, I purchased a pound of butter spritz cookies with colorful sprinkles on top, and frosted smiley face cookies. Wow, so yummy, reminded me of my younger days when we would go to Carneys Bakery in downtown Wheaton. Harner’s cookies are so much better than anything you purchase at Jewel, Meijer, Walmart, etc. After that, my friend and I sat outside on the benches and enjoyed the beautiful weather. For two hours, we watched as all the elderly folks went in for dinner, and came out again. Per my friend, weekends are really busy here, with the grandparents, parents, and children dining together.
Recap: This is a plain, simple, no frills, mom-​n-​pop diner. Not great, not bad. Personally, I would eat here again because I enjoy the elderly crowd, and the peace and quiet. And my mouth is salivating at the thought of all those bakery goods — yummy :) Plus, the view of the river is nice.

Harner’s is my go to place for doughnuts. The chocolate yeast and the apple Danish are the best around! I’ve also had lunch and breakfast here. The burgers are good, I wasn’t a fan of the breakfast, but I’m picky about breakfast food. The crowd, especially on weekends, speaks for itself. Definitely a gem in this area and if you happen to pass by, at least stop in for a doughnut.

I did not know of the glory that is Harners Bakery until a few weeks ago. A friend of mine moved recently to the North Aurora area so we went to check it out on a Saturday for breakfast. First of all, if you dont like waiting for fabulous breakfast food and bakery items, then shoo, go to Jewel and pick yourself up some day old donuts or whathaveyou. Though there was a wait, it was well worth it. Imagine when you were 9 years old and your grandparents took you to their favorite breakfast place — this will remind you of it. Décor is what your grandma would love, which means you will love it just for the nostaligia of it. The food was great, the coffee was strong, and the service was with a smile — go check it out, your childhood needs it.
Kate Shields
john greene Realtor

My wife and I love Harner’s. We have been going for years for their country style pork, broasted chicken, chicken with angel hair pasta and pot roast. My only complaint is that I had double aortic heart bypass 11 days ago so drinking cold ice water causes me to cough and the chest pain is VERY PAINFUL. Warm or hot water does not affect me but they charge me $ 0.95. I feel this discriminates people who are inconvenienced. The waiters/​waitresses do not mention this charge for warm or hot water. I did not even see it in the menu. Yet I have been charged for it in the past. If Harner’s wants to keep costs down, ask all the patrons if they want water. I do not want to argue my point every time I come into the restaurant.

I have eaten here plenty of times. My husband has eaten here plenty of times too. My husband and I enjoy both the restaurant and the bakery. We usually order for breakfast and take it home. We also get items at the bakery to go too. This is a excellent place to eat.

There is no love loss between Harner’s Bakery and my interpretation of anything associated with this place. We agree to disagree.
This is a donut shop that just so happens to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. I cannot classify this place as a bakery.
I have mellowed a bit in regards to the breakfast menu. It’s OK at times and it’s understandable that I have to send a flare gun into outer space to get the attention of the wait staff.

I came here with about 20 people (family) just after Christmas. They serve great food, and have AMAZING bakery items (half price some items after 2pm)
Great coffee, really awesome fried chicken. Excellent salad bar. This place was very comfortable and we had a great time, all 20 of us. We were not rushed at all, it was very pleasant.
I recommend coming here.

Amazing!!! Everything is fresh, homemade, and comforting. Everyone at the table had the chicken fried steak and eggs for breakfast with a side of toast and jam. SO GOOD! The chicken fried steak was well seasoned and battered, eggs were nice and fresh, and hashbrowns tasted fresh too. The bread for the toast tasted like homemade bread and the jam was also super yummy. Can’t wait to try their baked goods, the restaurant smelled amazing due to the bakery up front!

This place is A+. The food and prices are great, and the service is amongst the best we’ve ever had. We’ve never had a complaint about this spot. We are returning customers.

I’ve heard people rage about how delicious this place. We recently moved to this area and so this place has been on our list of local places to try. Hands down the best breakfast place I’ve been to. It’s very reasonably priced, if not on the cheaper end of breakfast food (like butterfields-​way over priced). We came in about 9:00am on a Sunday, in which a good breakfast place probably is packed at that time. Plus there was some kind of race going on so maybe more people then normal stopping in. You can sit down and eat here or a lot of people just grab pastries and go. They have 50% anything fried after 2:00pm (pastries to grab and go) which is a super good deal as well. The reason I’m giving 4 stars and not 5 is because we came in a sat at a table for about 10 – 15 minutes before even a server coming by. I know it’s a busy place but we had our two year old with us so it was super hard to keep him occupied when we couldn’t even get a server to get him a donut to keep him sustained. We ordered our food and that took quite a bit of time as well, so my husband actually took our little one outside to keep him busy. Overall the food was delicious, I don’t know if I’ll sit down and eat though. My best bet is to grab the food and take it home, or near the river since the river is right next to this place. I would say if you have time and are super patient aren’t «starving» then definitely come to this place and sit down if not then at least stop in and grab a pastry.

The brownies. My God. The brownies.
I consider myself a pretty damn good baker but I seriously can’t even when it comes to their brownies. They’re so dense and fudgy, moist and chocolate-​y… it’s pretty much the food equivalent of ogling hot dudes with their shirts off.
Be sure to get there early because these do sell out quickly. Or you can be a real boss and order a tray to go, and pretend like you’re not gonna eat them all. Yeah, I know your angle. I won’t tell if you share some with me.
Their non-​bakery food is just okay. I’ve mostly had their catering whenever they give us free lunch at work. It’s decent, but not the best I’ve had. Just stick with the baked goods.

The food here is absolutely disgusting. I came here with my mom and grandma and we all agreed that everything was bland, they don’t use any spice, salt or any fresh ingredients. It’s like the aging customers they mainly serve only want bland gruel on their plates. Drowning everything in Tabasco is the only way to get through this «food». Overall, it’s painfully «old school», emphasis on old, American «food». Oh, and the bakery sucks, their take on eclairs was worse than the eclairs at Walmart.

Not much to say about my meal. I had Fish & Chips. It was Ok, nothing spectacular. Server was fine.
Large bakery section, with many sweets. Even at dinner time it seemed to be a popular place to pick up bakery treats.

Once upon a time, I had a craving for prime rib (which is a rare occasion). [Get it, rare… I didn’t even catch that the first time around.] «Yelp, Unilocal,on the internet, who is the prime ribest of them all?» Harner’s may not be the prime ribest of them all, but Unilocal told me this place had prime rib for $ 20 and I drove right over. I arrived an hour prior to closing and there was only 1 other table of customers. The place was huge and I was a little concerned that it wasn’t more filled up.
The waitress didn’t seem that friendly at first, but seemed to be the happiest after I asked if they still had prime rib (available Fridays and Saturdays). The regular cut is $ 19.50 and queen cut is $ 16.75. After I ordered my prime rib rare, the waitress told me it came with the salad bar and to help myself. Wow, bonus! It doesn’t even say that on the menu. Their salad bar is actually pretty good. I especially enjoyed the beets, soup and pistachio pudding. They also had fresh mix greens, pasta salad, coleslaw, potato salad, broccoli salad, and a couple of soups.
The prime rib was juicy and tasty! It also comes with 2 sides. How am I supposed to eat all this? Guess what, it was also good as left overs.
For dessert, I order their bread pudding. BEST BREAD PUDDING! How is this place not filled up?

I wish I lived closer! The food is outstanding. Those biscuits and gravy — to die for. The pancakes — so fluffy and tasty. Then we hit the bakery and I was in heaven. Every bite was amazing. Great diner atmosphere, wonderful people, and prices that can’t be beat!

Harper’s is a local hotspot. Everything is made in house and is always delicious. I have seriously never had a bad meal at Harner’s. All of the baked goods are definitely worth a try as well. I had the classic one egg omelette and that with some raisin toast and hashbrowns was more than enough for me (though the glutton in me wanted like a 10 egg omelette).
I would have given them 5 stars, but service can be a little slow. Last time we went, I had to ask for refills on my coffee. For a large group of coffee drinkers, a coffee pot should just be left at the table in my opinion. It’s an old family restaurant so the décor isn’t terribly updated.