Have you ever walked into a place and thought ‘this is where my grandparents would take me for brunch’? Well, Paul’s Family Restaurant is one of those places. Located right off of McLean and Lawrence, it is just a short 10 minute drive from Elgin Community College. Is the food worth the drive? In some aspects yes, the price is decent and the service is fast. However, the food itself is not special; I would even classify it as okay-at-best.

When you first walk into Paul’s, it looks like a basic diner. They seat you pretty quickly, at least in my personal experience. After I was seated, it just took a quick moment before I was greeted by the waitress who, then took my order as quick as she came over. This was a major peak in my eyes for Paul’s. The service there was fast and the time between ordering to actually getting our food was fairly short, but it was enough time to look around and take in the atmosphere of Paul’s. It was not anything special, nothing out of the ordinary. When you look around, all you see is flowers on the side corners of the building, along with the plain yellow-ish walls. I personally find the establishment to be a little boring and kind of off-putting. It kind of feels like they are catering to an older, elderly audience. However, the customers inside and the staff working there all seemed very nice, so I would give the atmosphere 3.5 stars out of 5.

After staring around for about 10 minutes, my food arrived. At first, I was very excited, which then quickly turned into a little bit of disappointment. I decided to get Paul’s BLT sandwich, which from a distance looked good and the food itself was not that bad. It was the process of keeping the sandwich all together that was a problem, as well as the size and the structure  of it. It was essentially two big BLT’s put into four different sandwiches, which made it a big time mess. I found myself picking up the food with a fork many times during this trip to Paul’s. However, the quality of the food was great for the price. The bacon, in particular, was the star of this meal, and the highlight of my trip to Paul’s. It was perfectly cooked, crispy and crunchy, and most likely one of the best strips of bacon I have had on a BLT. The fries that accompanied the meal were just sub-par, and did not add a lot any extra flare. Overall,  I would give the meal a 3.5 stars out of 5, as well.

Furthermore, Paul’s is a basic, classic diner and thankfully, for some people, it is right down the street from ECC. However, due to the lackluster atmosphere of the restaurant, and the unexciting food that they had going for them, I would not recommend it for a date or anything of that nature. If you are looking to go out with family or friends, like I did, I would definitely recommend this restaurant, especially to people who are on a budget and want to get quick, decent food. Today, I give Paul’s Family Restaurant in Elgin, IL an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.