Lumes Pancake House

Went to Lumes this morning for breakfast with my extended family. I think it’s safe to say we were all a bit disappointed.
I ordered the biscuits and sausage gravy with an egg over easy. What I received was a gigantic plate with four pieces of dry, tasteless bread with a thick, congealed gravy that had no flavor what so ever and a few sprinkling bits of sausage here and there. It wasn’t gross… it wasn’t good… it didn’t taste like anything at all. In addition to my huge quantity of biscuits, it came with an egg. What I received was ANOTHER huge plate containing four eggs. I truly don’t need that much food, I didn’t order that much food. The bigger problem ended up being that I was part of a group of seven and we were all crammed around one small circular table. There was no space on the table for our food, especially since several of us apparently had multiple plate dishes. Our food would easily have fit on one plate if the serving sizes were within reason.
My poor sister ordered the potato pancakes. What she received was remarkably like a McDonald’s hashbrown. Not even close to any sort of potato pancake any of the rest of us have ever seen. Poor girl spent the meal eating off everyone else’s plates instead. It came with half of a canned peach… I have no idea why. She ordered the side of fresh fruit with it and was given (again on a separate large plate) a bunch of melon. There’s a big difference between a fruit plate and a melon plate…
My parents biggest complaint were their eggs. You would think a fried egg would be an easy task for a breakfast joint. They wanted over medium — requested it not runny. Those eggs were so runny the whites were still like snot. Not at all what they asked for. I also remember my dad commenting that he was disappointed that his sausage links looked like the Brown And Serve from the freezer section of the Jewel.
The tables in the restaurant are so closely placed together that my chair was being bashed into me by the guy sitting behind me –through no fault of his. The seat behind my daughter was right up on her too and she had to sit so pressed up against our table she couldn’t take a deep breath. They need to get rid of a good 20−25% of the tables there to make it comfortable.

This pancake house is alright I guess. Just like a diner to me. The food here is just plain. I ordered Nutella Crepes. It was filled with nutella and some type of cream filling. Usually it’s just nutella and bananas. The crème gave it a weird feel to it. The crème wasn’t really meant to be there? It kind of felt like marshmallow fluff. I also had an orange juice, large. Which came out to look like a small. I’d say the drinks here are overly priced and not worth it.

Plain and simple: Lumes is good at what they do. It’s one of those places that you start a tradition at; like you go every Saturday morning with Dad. The French Toast at Lumes never disappoints. It is always delicious, and I usually get it when I go.
One random request with this Lumes is that I wish it had a light-​up sign. I went at about 6:30am in late October, it was still dark out, and I almost missed it because I couldn’t see the sign.

I grew up having breakfast at Lume’s and have been to a number of their locations.
Today we went back for breakfast and did not have a top notch experience. We both ordered skillets and they came out fast. Food was hot and tasty.
But the coffee was a little bland. I remember it being better and they used to offer flavored creams. The bills comes and its $ 27 for two breakfasts and two coffees.
The price is just too steep for a breakfast. We also sat at a smaller booth and everything on the table was crammed in a small space.
Overall, we used to love Lume’s but with the skyrocketing prices, it just isn’t the best deal in the area. I like good food but at a decent price!

Good food! Good service! Love going there for breakfast! If there was a complaint it would be that when it’s crowded they do bring you the food very fast. But on the other hand if you are waiting for a table this benefits you. Can’t say anything bad about this place!

Yummmmm! Fast, delicious, courteous service! Love their buttermilk pancakes and Cali Bene, my favorites.

I’ve eaten here dozens of times. One of the best breakfast places in the southwest bubs. They have big portions. Kids love the pancakes. I love their Eggs Benedict and Benedict Florentine. Omelets are really good as well. Big portions. Biggest negative is the lack of parking. Be prepare to wait on the weekends — always crowded.

Love coming here, it’s a good breakfast with big portions and tastes great. Bring the whole family! It gets crowded but still like to go

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND ALL THE PRAISE THIS PLACE GETS !! You hear the whispers, the cheers and raves— PLEASE DO NOT BELIEVE ANY OF IT !!! (Unless you enjoy low quality ingredients pulled straight from the freezer and slapped on the griddle. And if you do, your taste buds must have been removed).
THE REVIEW: My first (and last) time going and I went simply out of curiosity. I wanted to see what all the chatter was about. I always order the same thing my first time at a breakfast place so that I have a baseline from which to rank. A spinach & feta omelete, hashbrowns and greek (or rye) toast. The spinach had a funky texture to it as did the omelet. Toast was fine. Hashbrowns… NASTY, NASTY, NASTY !!! They were dry– not burned– but peculiarly dry and tasted of chemicals !!! Of course they were frozen, bagged potatoes– clearly. But, they tasted like some kind of synthetic who-knows-what…GAG !!! The service– typical greasy diner service. No personality, no sense of urgency, no welcoming feeling. Kind of like…“What can I getcha?”…flop it on the table… slap down the bill… out ya go. Reeeeeal special. I am not a foodie, nor a snob. Just a lifelong southsider who appreciates businesses who appreciate their customers patronage and who care to feed their guests something better than low-​grade dog food. Lumes does neither yet charges a pretty penny for it.

This is based on two separate experiences. After not having been here for several years, I stopped in with a friend back in November, I think. The food was «just ok.» The service was good. The other patrons were atrocious. We were seated at a table about halfway across the restaurant from four middle-​aged women. I don’t know if they were coming off a weekend bender or what, but they were literally cackling like a coven of old witches. It was 9 AM and it felt more like I was at a Denny’s at 3 AM after the bars let out in a college town. Aside from their hooting, hollering, cackling, glass tinkling, and uproarious laughter, the experience was «just ok.»
Next… I came for breakfast on Friday, April 10, 2015 with my wife, kids, and mother. The only thing I can say is that it’s gone downhill over the last 5 – 6 months. it all seemed very «institutional.» The food reminded me very much of college cafeteria fare. I’ll be nice and even say «upscale cafeteria.» The best way to describe it is that they use low quality ingredients and then dress it up a little better. The potato pancakes are obviously frozen patties. The pancakes are some inexpensive and unseasoned brand that kind of tastes like warm Wonder Bread. The syrup was thin, watery, and tasted more like Sweet-​N-​Low than maple syrup (and no, I didn’t ask for sugar-​free syrup).
I’ll give them another shot one of these days, but I was not impressed with my most recent visits. On a positive note, our server was very good and everything was prepared properly; unfortunately, the quality of the base ingredients was just very very low.

I had the worst experience over here.
I’ve been here a couple years ago. I said to myself why not? So we came for breakfast on a Tuesday morning. I had the veggie omelette my husband had the steak skillet and my daughter had scrambled eggs hash-​browns and pancakes. we do not eat pork, it is part of our strict diet.
The food arrived a little bit late, as we were finally beginning to enjoy our food, I grab some of my daughters untouched hash-​browns because she does not like them, I find a cube of ham in her food. A waiter passed by and I asked her to please get my daughter another plate. She kindly took it and apologized. My daughter patiently waited for her plate to be re-​prepared and finally it arrived. As she started to eat again I once again reach for her hashbrowns I find a short black disgusting curly piece of hair.
I just stopped eating my food and I was outraged. I was looking around for the waiter my husband grabs the hair and throws it on the ground. I had no evidence now to prove there was hair in the food I asked to him why did you do that, they need to see what they have done first HAM now HAIR! I will ever come back here again! My husband kindly said «lets just leave, we don’t need to make a big deal out of this.» Even tho it was!!!
You’re lucky my husband was with me if he wasn’t it would’ve turned out completely different.

The best place for breakfast, we are going there for a long time and never once disappointed. Great people, great food, great service.

Lumes is a regular breakfast spot for us! They have great breakfasts, giant omelets (5 eggs!), and fast service. Lumes French toast, cinnamon spiral bread, egg dipped, cooked, and served w fresh blueberries, strawberries, and ripe banana slices. Yum! Other faves from their menu include biscuits and gravy and hash and eggs. It’s notable that eggs are double yolked. :) Coffee is hot, fresh and good. You can count on a great breakfast here!

Hands down best breakfast place in palos. I am obsessed with their Spartan omelet it is delicious!!! Only downfall, its always packed so be prepared to wait! It’s worth the wait though!!!

Met an old HS friend here for breakfast. Large menu; had a one egg breakfast; came with hash browns, toast and bacon. Our server kept our coffee filled and food came out quickly. Nice meal for under $ 10.

Simply the greatest breakfast… Ordered the corned beef hash skillet and enjoyed every bite!

This place was referred to me by 3 people I know so I decided to go and try it. When I first walked in it took a minute for the hostess to realize we were even there. Then she bluntly says, «how many for you?» Without any welcoming tone in it. We got seated in the back in a booth and waited 15 minutes– LITERALLY! Before someone came to ask us what we wanted to drink. At the point I was ready to order my food! When our waiter did come though, he seemed very annoyed by our presence and seemed to put little to no effort in hiding it. Eventually my food came (I ordered the Veggie Skillet) and it was very bland but also came with two buttermilk pancakes on the side. It took our waiter 5 minutes to realize we don’t have our syrup and 3 more minutes to bring it. So in the end service was bad, food was bland and the setting is very gloomy, dark, and dirty. Definitely will not be returning here.

I have been coming here for years with my family! They have the best crepes, hands down. I’ve had everything from omelets, skillets, crepes, pancakes, French toast and lunch sandwiches and have never left hungry or disappointed. If you go on a weekend morning, be prepared for it to be crowded and wait! The parking lot is so small, and minimal street parking is the only reason I am not giving it 5 stars.

Gf took me here for breakfast. She has fond memories of the place so we went.
Menu read beautifully, and I was excited to eat there. Food didnt match the expectation.
Quality was very low. Angus steak was tough and overportioned, hash browns were not good, and pancakes were awful. Not impressed at all with any aspect of the food but the place was full so what do I know?

I’ve been to Lumes about 5 times over the past 10 years. I know many people have big-​love for this breakfast/​lunch place, but it is just o-​kay/​average.
Parking kind of sucks and the place does get packed. I would probably not go on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I had the grecian omlet and it was good, but nothing special. The hash-​browns were kind of undercooked.
My waiter was nice. Every time I took a sip of my coffee, he was filling it up. Dude — let me finish ½ the cup before you keep topping me off.
Average prices, average food, nothing special.