Happy Chef Restaurant

Was in Mankato and was looking for a restaurant that provides a heavy breakfast. We were not disappointed! The food was delicious and quick to serve. The Hungry man dish was amazing!

Wonderful find of a restaurant. Good Food. Nice people. Great price. I was shocked to find out this is the original and the only one left. A true Gem.

Always a good meal! Huge portions and very tasty food. I’m a big fan of the Southern Skillet with the rye bread, while my boyfriend really likes the corn beef hash with some fluffy pancakes! Even these days when service at restaurants is stretched thin we have never encountered a problem. Always good fast and friendly service! It’s always a treat to stop at the Happy Chef.
I also make it a point to stop outside by the huge statue and see what he has to say!

Cute diner, friendly service, good food, Jill did a great job. They just added new hours open till 6 instead or 7. Was 100% why I chose them over other diners in the area. An early bird traveler, & glad they were open by 6am.

We had an AMAZING experience. We were on our way back home to IA from the Renassiance Festival. The wait staff was efficient, friendly, and customer service was a priority, which is not common anymore it seems. Great food and atmosphere! We will definitely make this stop a tradition during our annual res fest trip!

Love these types of American food places , they are a dying breed! This place has tons of character, I remember having one on Sioux Falls on Russel when I was a kid, but this is the last one left. Make the effort to get here when they are open it's worth the time!

It smells really good when you walk in. Very attentive staff all around.
Very clean
0utside and inside had a great atmosphere.
If you are passing by and see the happy chef please stop.

Excellent food. Great service. I had fried steak and bread pudding the last time.
If I could make a suggestion, I would ask that they should serve their bread with butter instead of margarine. Other than that everything was great

Took my nephews to brunch. The biscuits and gravy platter was a huge treat! They loved it. I enjoyed the eggs, sausage and pancakes! The hashbrowns were crispy and delicious! (And fat free... haha!)

The waitress was awesome too!

Always a stop I must make when I’m home from college! The best breakfast in all of Mankato & the service is wonderful. I do hope the Three Arrows coffee makes a comeback. Keep up the wonderful work.

Love breakfast here! Over easy eggs and breakfast potatoes cooked perfectly with amazing diner style pancakes for dessert.

This is the best breakfast I have ever had.

Loved it. It is the last Happy Chef left. We had one in McPherson Kansas but it closed. The Chef got a new job as a chimney sweep along the interstate. Good food glad we came.

We came here for dinner because we'd passed by it many times and thought it looked like a fun place to eat. (You can't miss the big statue of the Happy Chef outside.) We were not disappointed. We arrived around 6:45, which was good because they close at 8:00pm. Our waitress was super friendly. My husband had the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and buttered corn. I had the pork tenderloins (cooked in panko breading) with mashed potatoes and gravy and broccoli. I also got a cup of chili which was very good (you get three sides), and each dinner entree came with its own little mini loaf of fresh bread. Quite delightful! My kids had the cheeseburger kid's meal, a bacon cheeseburger meal with fries, and the spaghetti dinner (which came with garlic bread and salad). Everything was delicious. We were tempted to have dessert, as we had seen it in the display case on the way in (ie chocolate cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, etc.), but we were anxious to get on the road again so we declined. Next time!

Great food! Took a bit longer to get our food due to them being busy.

Great place to get something to eat breakfast or lunch. I usually order 2 meals, breakfast and lunch (when I'm really hungry), so i can get my burger and eggs, and it's very affordable. Great atmosphere of an old school restaurant and great waitresses and cooks they definitely know what they are doing even when I ask for specific orders and change up what is on the menu for what I'm looking for. Make sure to try their treats they make fresh

Food and service is always good. Best place in town for biscuits and gravy

Great food! Service was great and our food came out hot and fresh relatively quickly despite the busyness. Our waitress was very polite and friendly! Very personable staff! Would highly recommend. Everytime I come here I always get a friendly welcome and a delicious meal.

The cinnamon roll pancakes were absolutely delicious! It was also cool to eat at the 1st Happy Chef; which now happens to be the last one around. At one point there used to be over 60 in the US.

It may be nostalgia, but we love Happy Chef! The service is always amazing and the food is fresh and delicious.