Michael’s Grill & Salad Bar

The BEST create your own salads. They have soo many toppings and dressing options and chop it fine for you if you like. They range from $15-25 depending on what you get but it’s so worth it. They also have good hot dogs and grill items as well.

The food was ok, it wasn't hot and we dined in. There was a bit of a wait, but it was four of us. It's a cool, quiet place to grab a quick bite to eat and connect with family and friends.

We started with their Vanilla Malt with Sprinkles, it was solid and standard. Next I also wanted to try something from the salad bar, so I had a Caesar salad Wrap with Chicken in a Spinach Tortilla. The wrap was great and all of the proper ratios in my opinion as well as the size of it being generous as well. Next a couple of the sides we had were the loaded fries and the mike’s bites which both have their own premium melting cheese. The melting cheese was sharp, and I was more partial to the Mike’s Bites because of the crispy potatoes being a better base for the cheese, but loaded fries were decent as well. The jumbo chili cheese dog was charred perfectly, and genuinely I think they do their hotdogs better than their burgers. The Diner Burger I tried was chargrilled which is not my preference, I’d prefer if it had some more uniqueness in flavor profile, but essentially it is exactly what it is, a simple diner burger. Overall, I’d come back for the hotdog and the caesar wrap

Great food, but I’m not sure what’s up with missing items out of my order the last two visit. The orders come out so quickly which we appreciate, but come on. Accuracy beats speed any time.

This place was on the news. For what?Probably one of the driest, unflavored, plain chicken sandwiches I have ever tried in my life, cheese wasn’t even melted. The prices are ridiculous for the food they serve. Nice staff, clean place. Food was mediocre.

Best impossible burger! Everyone else at my table had salads. They were all custom made with their selection of ingredients and looked amazing.

The wraps are REALLY good. The fries i loved them. perfectly crispy. been here twice.. fresh stuff is awesome. Idk why this place only has 4.1 stars.

Good food. I liked the general feel of the place. Very good system. Good location. It needs more parking other than parking on the street.

We started with their Vanilla Malt with Sprinkles, it was solid and standard. Next I also wanted to try something from the salad bar, so I had a Caesar salad Wrap with Chicken in a Spinach Tortilla. The wrap was great and all of the proper ratios in my opinion as well as the size of it being generous as well. Next a couple of the sides we had were the loaded fries and the mike's bites which both have their own premium melting cheese. The melting cheese was sharp, and I was more partial to the Mike's Bites because of the crispy potatoes being a better base for the cheese, but loaded fries were decent as well. The jumbo chili cheese dog was charred perfectly, and genuinely I think they do their hotdogs better than their burgers. The Diner Burger I tried was chargrilled which is not my preference, I'd prefer if it had some more uniqueness in flavor profile, but essentially it is exactly what it is, a simple diner burger. Overall, I'd come back for the hotdog and the caesar wrap

What's the point of having chopped be an option if you're not going to chop the salads? I even wrote to chop the salad jn the bites because they didn't the previous time and yet again didn't.

Love Michael's! I find that the foot is really consistent. It's super kid friendly and also a great place for just a casual dinner with friends. The take out operation is great and their online ordering system is efficient. Love that they have different options for chopped salad types. One of my go to places!

I hadn't been to Michael's in years, but decided to give it a try with some friends. Turns out, it is still a great casual dining option. They have anything from hot dogs and wraps to salads. The salad bar has a ton of options and they really load it up. I went with a crispy chicken caesar wrap and it was one of the best ones I've had in a long time! The ingredients were fresh and it was filled to the brim. I was very satisfied after finishing my lunch.

HP must go - there is a reason it's been around forever. Best salad and cheese fries in all of IL. Service is great place is clean and food is incredible

So frustrating to drive 25 minutes to order food and get home and realize that my order wasn't even right. I could tell as I was ordering my salad that the kid taking my order wasn't even listening and lo and behold, I was right. I was missing 5 different items I asked for in my salad. Not only that, but the fries I ordered were way overcooked. Really disappointing considering how good the salads and service used to be here. I'm done spending my money here anymore when they can't be bothered to get it right.

Great place to stop for lunch. If you're looking for the best chicken Cesar wrap in Illinois this is the place. My go to order is a chicken Cesar wrap, side of fries and merkts cheese. Definitely a HP staple!

We used to eat here as kids and I remember getting the cheese fries. I ordered them and it was just ok. I got the cheese on side. It was about $1.50 for a small thing of cheese that was kinda like paste. It took 18 minutes to get my food. It was just me and I got a hot dog, cheese fries and a shake. They brought my food but forgot shake. The food was ok but the bun a bit hard. Maybe a bit stale? Not steamed. Most of the seating doesn't have any natural light. One of the workers was in the restroom when I used it. It was around $16 bucks for the meal.

Yes I know Michael's is a great place for a hotdog or a burger but consider a salad. Ye Olde Days of the Salad Bar are behind us and we may never see salad bars again. Consider a BYO salad that goes it one better. There are 13 choices for protein, 7 choices for salad, 22 dressings and, get this, 48 salad toppings. Of course you're not going to have 48 toppings, but you have choices! And chances are, these are toppings that you want on a salad. And what's better, you can choose if you want it chopped, not chopped, extra chopped, etc. I had my order delivered and it came fairly quickly. Quicker than I could make a monster salad that is chock full o veggies and toppings myself. Quicker than it would take me to chop all these veggies. Since I'm so virtuous I also added 1/2 fries 1/2 sweet potato fries and these held up pretty well.

I'm done with Michael's. Multiple times we have received the wrong food. No one enforces the curbside pickup spots out front, so you have to drive around the block hoping someone comes back to their car (tonight an unoccupied Range Rover was parked in one of the spots for the 30+ minutes I spent trying to get the correct food). Salads and wraps are still fine, but grill items have not been good lately (maybe that's because we usually do carry-out/delivery and they don't travel well). It's just not worth the hassle anymore and staff seem checked out and unconcerned about complaints. Maybe they should have kept their Covid-era limited hours, because it is no longer a place to pick up a reliably quick, tasty weeknight dinner for the family.

My husband and I stopped in when we were looking for a place for dinner in Highland Park and I mentioned it had been years since I had eaten at Michael's. The restaurant has been reconfigured and updated since I last visited. The decor is modern and comfortable. It was a nice evening so we took advantage of their outdoor seating. The service is efficient and friendly. One worker was running non-stop to bring cars their orders. My husband had the double turkey burger with regular fries and I had the grilled chicken sandwich with cheese fries. I found the food to be good but not what I remembered it being. That being said there were no shortage of cars coming to pick up orders so it's no surprise Michael's will soon celebrate 50 years in business.

Food truck was terrible and I assume it similar quality food in-store. Charbroiled burger and unremarkable fries. Cheddar sauce with too much rue.

Michaels used to be an outstanding place to eat, high quality food, reasonably priced. I could give you examples of where their prices have doubled but that's not what prompted me to write today. I used to live their Asain Salad, chopped. The snap pass, for a long time now, are not edible, stringy... no snap, not at all sweet. If you add chicken to the salad... it's $20. Twenty? I'm tired of greed-flation, being taken advantage of. I know a $12 Asian Salad with sweet peas that snap, aren't stringy like an old carpet. The chicken breast sandwich used to be $8.95, now it's TWICE. I'm sorry, I'm done with Michael's.

Had major sticker shock at Michaels- prices are very high with food being nothing special. Person at the register was not the friendliest.. i know its Northshore but prices are absurd

Waste of $ and disappointed given high reviews. Ordered 2 chicken wraps (Caesar and California) and both came without chicken.

My out-of-towner go-to on North Shore - a charred jumbo dog, Chgo style (everything but ketchup) and a mountain of crispy fries. Whenever possible, outdoors. Bliss.

Michael's has really changed in the past few years. I have been going there since I was a child, but it has gone downhill. The layout doesn't make any sense. I loved when I used to be able to see the salad bar in front of me while I ordered so I could ingredients as they went down the line. The last time I went here, i ordered carry out and the order was so wrong it was laughable. They got the gist of 2 burgers, a hot dog and 3 orders of fries.. but the toppings on each were no where near what I ordered. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until I got home and had to go back to have it all remade. The manager didn't seem at all concerned except for the fact that I received 2 hot dogs instead of the 1 that I had ordered. The redeeming quality of Michael's is that their burgers, fries, and salad ingredients are still good. The service is not.

Here's what you need to know : food is just OK. Always has been just serviceable. Ambiance is improved since they re-did the interior a couple years ago, but ultimately unmemorable. The service was decent and friendly (we went at 3PM on a weekday when the restaurant was empty). What got me was that a single kids soft serve ice cream scoop (think McDonald sized) with sprinkles was over $5. WHAT?? There is no value or justification for the pricing for a commoditized product like vanilla soft serve. No added skill or value add from the restaurant. I'm more than happy to generously compensate a restaurant for their IP of service or anything that they do by themselves. But $5 for a kids soft serve with sprinkles in Highland Park at a casual grill?? Unjustified. The only reason I'm not giving 2 stars is they are a family owned business

Quick, tasty, salads are very fresh. My daughter says their burgers are fabulous. Delivery takes things down a notch, fries are inedible and sometimes condiments are forgotten.

As a Highland Park staple, I was excited to come back after moving to Minnesota! Objectively, Michael's is nothing too special - a suburban version of a classic Chicago hot dog/fast casual joint with the addition of a good salad selection. But what keeps people coming is the HP spirit and nostalgia. I had the Asian salad, chopped & dressed. It tasted the same as it did when I grew up! It's nothing crazy/special, but was a wonderful light dinner. We sat outside on a beautiful summer night. It was great that they bring your food straight outside - except I feel a bit of the ambiance is ruined by curbside orders being next to the tables and having employees running food out every minute. Overall, fine food & good for the nostalgia - but nothing I would recommend to an out-of-towner.

What happened to this place? Cashier was begging for a tip. Michael's needs to go back to the way it was! During the week this place closes at 7 & on a Saturday night they were closing at 7:30 pm. I'm so disappointed in this place . Highland Park is clueless. Stores moving out & the old staples have changed owners. Beyond disappointed in Michael's!

Generally really good food. Old diner vibes. The cheese they use is really an acquired taste. My parents love it but it makes my friends sick. Great salads, get to pick tons of toppings and they're massive. Fast service generally.

Haven't been to Michael's for years, but my husband and I were in Highland Park today for the Port Clinton Art Fest, so we decided to go remembering great meals having good meals there in the past. Many reviews here say that the food is bad. That was not our experience...my husband ordered a jumbo char dog with a half order of fries and I ordered the char turkey burger with Merkt's cheese and an order of onion rings. Both meals were tasty...and the fries and onion rings were crisp. The prices are indeed high...for example, my burger with the cheese was $10 and the onion rings added another $5. Those are sit-down restaurant prices! But food prices have been going up lately, so it was not as shocking to see higher prices as some have mentioned. We ate outside, but I came back into the dining several times for water refills and to use the washroom. My biggest complaint is that they had a half dozen television sets in the dining room and half of them were tuned to Fox News! I think that it's in bad taste to show any politically-motivated news programming (Fox, CNN, etc.) in a family restaurant. Why does this restaurant need to wear its political affiliation on its sleeve and turn off half of its customers? Seems like a bad business move to me. Michael's is worth a try if you're in the area, but I would not go out of my way for it. And if your political affiliation leans toward the left, avoid the televisions in the dining room!

Not the same as it used to be AT all. One cashier now, towards the back of the shop, taking orders. Slow very slow. Doordash etc pick up in the front ( again only one person checking orders) ( makes zero sense) Prices are outrageous- small salad and drink: 19.00. WTF. They probably Instituted these changes due to Covid, but they need to go back to the way it used to be or at least add more cash registers. Oh, and revisit their pricing.

The mighty have fallen. Soggy lettuce in the $9 salad. Ants crawling on the floor in the dining area. Get it together. 30 year customer who for the first time was turned off. The well oiled machine needs help. UPDATE 6 years later than above post. It's worse. It's more expensive. It's greasier. It's just not good anymore. If you want a better, more authentic hot dog experience, head over to Deerfield "franks" It's a shame that top quality Michael's of our childhood is gone.

I've been going to Michael's my entire life (I'm 24 now) and it's one of the most consistent restaurants in the area. Not only that, but on the rare occasion when my order is wrong, they always are extremely apologetic and fix the issue happily. I specifically am writing this review because the young lady with pinkish hair showed great customer service today. I placed an online order. After I placed the order I realized I forgot to add extra salad dressing on the side. So I placed another order of just salad dressing. When I got to the store, I apologized for the multiple orders but the employee was super understanding. She made sure the dressing was in the bag. Even though this interaction seems normal and not a big deal, I want to say that her attitude was super appreciated. All other interactions I've had with the employees are great too. We love Michael's!

Solid BYO salad with a ton of ingredients throughout. Every bite was delightful. Next time I won't include peppercinis. I preferred the ranch dressing to blue cheese. The hot dog was tasty, but not my favorite in the area. Maybe better fresh and not as a take out. Same with the fries. Definitely will order the salad next time I am in the area!

I used to really like this place from my childhood. I then brought my kids, but we haven't been in 3 years because we moved. WOW, have prices gone up, ridiculously increased. We paid $61 for 2 orders of chicken strips, bison burger, fries and hamburger. The quality doesn't reflect the pricing, and the pricing is in line for a sit down restaurant, which it isn't. It's just ok. Portillos a few miles away is much better with prices in line with the type of place it is, which is a burger/hot dog joint. We sadly won't be returning.

I've lived in HP since 1989 and have been to Michael's dozens of times, albeit more often when my kids were in school in the 90s & 00s. They were always a bit pricey for me, but always top notch quality. Last week my husband & I ended up there for dinner about 7pm. The place looked very different - the place where we used to order was roped off and ordering was done in the main dining room. Hubby got a bison burger, which he enjoyed, and I got Debbie's Favorite Salad, which I had ordered several times before. It turned out we knew one of the employees and we talked to her (she was clocked out already) for about 15 minutes. I tried eating my salad, but the pears were as hard as any apple I've ever had. The pears are the featured item in this expensive salad. I was extremely disappointed to be served pears that were 1 week underripe. If a restaurant finds an ingredient unavailable, I think they should minimally inform the customer or make a reasonable substitution. Our friend informed us that the restaurant had been sold to venture capitalists several years ago, which made my experience there at least make sense. Michael's, I'll miss you - at least what you were. Sad...

I ordered a skirt steak sandwich, fries and a drink. The fries were excellent however my steak was basically raw, tough and a mortgage payment coming in at $25.60. Try Nortons in Highland Park for a super skirt steak sandwich.

Alright, now I grew up in the area and used to LOVE going to Michaels. Whether it'd be a chardog, some yummy cheese fries and their salad, at that time, whatever you got always always hit the spot. I mean granted their decor was a little dated but you come there for the food, PERIOD. But! It's been a long time and lots has changed. From what I remember, a great feature of getting salads here was although they are pricy, you had unlimited ingredients and whatever you wanted was always fresh. I mean, you could actually SEE the workers fill up your bowl. Unfortunately, this was not my experience when I stopped by. Recently, I came in to get some large salads for my family. It was $20/large salad, I knew the price would go up because of inflation but as the price increased, I didn't know the quality of the food would decrease. The remodeling of the restaurant makes you place your order with the hostess when you enter, the one who took care of me, her name was Julia, was very kind. So, A+ for customer service. I put in my order and I ordered three large salads, im not going to describe what each salad entailed bc that's just too much, haha! Anyways, these orders were placed to go. So, when we received our salads and got ready home, ready to eat, one of the salad we ordered didn't have grilled chicken in it despite being ordered and the romaine lettuce and leafy greens we had requested to be chopped were wilted and brown. First off, EW. The portion of a large salad was significantly smaller and just overall, the taste of the salads were not good. It was evident that fresh ingredients were not being used and I was disappointed because for $60, you would expect better. A lot better. Based on the other reviews, it seems like the quality of the food here has gone down significantly which is a shame. To be honest, you have much better restaurants on this block with much better food than here. So, if you're looking to try this out, I'd say skip and save your money. BYG is right next door and has much better quality food for a fraction of the price. Michaels used to be good but not anymore.

Not sure why I stopped in for a quick lunch with my young granddaughter (because I decided a couple years ago this place is nothing like it used to be)...After waiting 15 minutes in line at 11:30am with one cashier who also has to take personal salad bar orders which is ridiculous because it takes forever. I ordered the kids chicken nuggets that cost $9.95, overcooked with fries and no drink included. I had a hotdog which I would have sent back if there was a wait staff to do it. The hotdog is a fraction the size of what it was, no meat quality at all, and the bun was hard (not even steamed). This place is expensive, bad quality food, and PLEASE change your ordering system!

Every once in a while we will try it again and then we remember why we stopped coming here. Overpriced, bad service, stupid mistakes, they never get it right the first time and oh this time it was Uber eats fault because they didn't receive the order until 15 minutes after I arrived. I'm sure I'll get it home and something will be wrong....AGAIN! I have no ideas how they stay in business. What a joke.

Standing outside freezing in Highland Park in middle of December waiting on two $4.00 hotdogs. Ever hear of a drive-through window?

A friend just introduced me to Michael's for their chopped salads to-go. It was life changing. Unlimited toppings for a medium sized salad, all chopped together to perfection-- perfect bite of salad with every bite. All ordered ahead by my friend and ready for pickup! It is not easy eating healthy during quarantine times, and sure I put bacon on my salad, but I felt super healthy eating a big chopped salad for my lunch!

Disgusting!!! Quality control. Wow. A once classic place has gone to crap. The chicken is tough and old. The burgers are clearly frozen for years in the freezer burn freezer and disgusting. You want food poisoning, then give this one a try. The fries are so soggy and gross. The salads are with moldy lettuce. The cheap cheap process of not buying fresh. The cheap way it was thrown together. The rude rude rude person taking the order. It all amounts to this.... Go anywhere but here. Sad. Of all the restaurants this reviewer has been to in his Yelp life this one is the worst. Avoid. ***Eat here at your own risk***

After hearing Michael's being compared to Josh's of Northbrook and Teddyfabz (or Cookers) of Deerfield, I was excited to try this restaurant that is popular with my friends in Highland park. Some of the good things: The restaurant is quite large, has a good variety of menu items, and is located conveniently in downtown Highland Park. However, the food is where it fell short for me. First in price, being much too expensive for what I was getting (averaged around $12 a person) with mediocre portion sizes. Value aside, there was nothing special about the food that really made me really crave more a few days later. The burger was fairly plain, lacking juiciness and char that I'd find in a Portillos burger. The fries were very plain, crispy but bland. The skirt steak sandwich was juicy, but this may have been more due to the sauce than to the actual meat. For this price, I could've gotten a full steak elsewhere. The Italian Beef was piled on with tons of beef, but the flavor and texture was once again lacking. The hot dog was probably the best item I tried, a more neat, presentable, and refined version of the classic Chicago favorite. The flavor combination wasn't perfect but it was still a satisfying hot dog. Overall, not a bad place to get a meal if you're in the Highland Park area (you can't expect any restaurant here to be that cheap), but there's nothing particularly special about the food.

Came in here very hungry ordered a bison burger fried chicken sandwich, onion rings and a shake. Everything was bad, bison burger looked undercooked with some type of cheese sauce on top rather then a slice of cheese. The chicken sandwich was 2 chicken tenders on bread with condiments. Shake and onion rings mediocre at best. Would never ever ever come back here again. Can't believe this place has been in business since 1977 serving food that's this bad.

The char dogs are SO good. Been coming here forever. Even had my daughters 4th birthday here. Their salad bar is incredible. Their Romanian dogs are perfect. Cheddar cheese fries are amazing. Nothin here is bad.

What a disappointment. Not like the old days. Ordered four sandwiches. Only got three. They were almost warm. One sandwich was missing. Asked for an extra pickle on a Kid's ketchup only hot dog and was charged $.99. The loaded fries came with very few fries and a small container of sour cream. Not were half the price. My total bill was close to $50. My advice go somewhere else.

I stopped in for my lunch break I asked for a burger well done 20 minutes later it was not well done I handed the young lady the tray with the undercooked sandwich and the receipt she said that she would refund it, has yet to be refunded

I was craving a burger and I've been meaning to try restaurants in my area to support. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries with cheese on the side. I wasn't impressed. Cheese from my fries was weird looking and didn't taste right I don't know why fast food places out here can't get cheese right. Burger was okay a little too charred for my liking. Overall probably wouldn't return. I still have yet to find a GOOD fast food place like in Chicago a Chicago native can only dream only downside of the burbs. For now I think I'll just stick to portillos still looking for a non chain fast food place in the area.

Kudos to Adam and the crew! The online order system screwed up and told me my order wasn't accepted even though it was. The crew made my food but because I thought it was canceled, I never came to pick it up. I reached out to the team to reverse the credit card transaction and Adam was incredible in offering to remake my order or send me a gift card. Amazing customer service!

Just picked up two jumbo char dogs and order of onion rings ($18.50) Evidently times are tough for Michaels. The hot dog was in a bun. No more Chicago style for them -- NO mustards, pickle relish, pickle slice,tomato, ec. Really don't waste your time at this phony hot dog stand.

Father's Day at your restaurant totally blew today :-( It was really quiet when we got there...just a couple of tables. The employees were ready and waiting to take our order. That was great and we were able to order right away, but of all people, my husband's grilled chicken sandwich got totally botched, and he had to send it back twice. When it finally got back to him, it still wasn't right, and at this point the rest of us were almost done with our food (I promise we waited as long as we could), and we just wanted to be done at that point. My kids were super satisfied with their cheeseburgers. The fries were consistent. My BBQ grilled chicken sandwich was sauced up just right and truly delicious! My husband's grilled chicken sandwich was cold when it arrived in his substituted wrap (instead of a bun), and he was told it was reheated. For $8 he decided he wanted it totally remade. When his food arrived (supposedly remade), he's pretty sure he simply got chicken strips instead that were stuffed into the wrap. One other thing to note: The floors were sticky, the women's bathroom was dirty, and I still can't figure out why the employees (the several employees that were hanging around), couldn't get in there and clean it. Come on guys...totally not cool. Not sure we'll come back...at least not for a really long time. Kind of a bummer, because your chicken sandwich rocks.

Great family friendly place to eat!! You order at the counter and then the food is brought to you. The dining room is huge with tv screens all over. There is a tiny game room, but hey! at least they have a game room! The food offered is everything from hotdogs, burgers, veggie burgers, chicken, soups, and salads. Oh and FRIES!! With or without cheese. Honestly, this place was packed with families and is a great please to sit and eat and have your kids be kids.

We were extremely disappointed. We had no clue that the dinning room was not open. That was not a problem. Here is what was a problem. We both ordered Chinese Salad Wrap. They brought it out in a paper bag. No silverware no napkins. We had to ask for our table to be cleaned. HORRIBLE! My friend paid with cash, they short changed her! Seriously! She asked for water and they would not give you water!! The wrap was horrible. No taste, made extremely sloppy. Then my friend asked to use the restroom and they would not allow that. We spoke to the manager on duty and all he said was "I'm sorry" We will definitely not run to highland park for Michael's not recommend this to anyone. Overpriced, rude, and definitely not the same that it use to be.

Still being new to the Highland Park area, I finally learned of and tried Michael's this past spring. Our first trip for takeout was chaotic at best, though the fault of impatient drivers, and not that of the restaurant. They do close early (7pm), but we thought we'd found a great quick bites spot. Unfortunately, I don't know whether the first positive experience was an exception, or the norm, as each visit since has been disappointing. Perhaps it's an issue with the Italian Beef? Last visit, both sandwiches, which were ordered with au jus on the side, came dry without the accompanying jus, requiring another visit in the nick of time prior to closing. Tonight, I again ordered the beef with jus on the side. Since I picked up myself (sorry hubby), I knew to check the bag, and upon seeing the jus, headed home. Much to my dismay, I opened the (well packed) container to a greasy orange liquid with what seemed like several tablespoons of oregano creating a layer of spices on top. I'm not sure what this was from, as it was incredibly spicy and inedible. Unfortunately, I did not have time to return to the restaurant (again) prior to closing, so into to the trash it went. My spouse's burger is consistently good, so I'd advise going that route and avoiding plain, dry beef.

Our family used to come here at least twice a month. The kids were young and it was a great place for lunch or a casual dinner before or after a movie. We used to joke that no matter what we got, it was always $20 for the 4 of us. (It was a long time ago...) So I was treating my grownup daughter by bringing her a "Micheal's" salad to work, just the way she likes it. So I got us each a huge salad with all the toppings we wanted and we each got a nice chewy bialy. You know what? It was $20! Not bad for 2 salads with as much healthy veggies we got all chopped up in a large container! We both had enough left for another meal as well. I may not have little kids anymore, but when I want a salad just the way I like it, this is the place to go!