The best 5 places to eat brunch near Marion, Illinois

Marion and Carbondale are full of brunch spots that offer home-cooked meals and a great atmosphere for relaxing while you dine. At Ike Honda, we want to share with you our favorite brunch spots that are in town or within easy driving distance in your new Honda. Our staff put together a list of the places they like the best, and the result is our top five places to have brunch in the Marion area.

After you’ve had brunch, make sure to stop and see us at Ike Honda to find your next car or SUV and learn how we can help with financing. Does your Honda need maintenance? Drop it off at our service department for an appointment and then go out for brunch.

The Vault Cafe on the Square

“Marion Illinois” licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr by pasa47

The Vault Cafe on the Square gets its name from the fact it shares part of its floor space with a bank vault. The cafe is located inside an old bank building, and the interior architecture of the space gives the restaurant a certain vintage charm. The Vault Cafe is open Monday through Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sundays. It serves breakfast, brunch, and lunch, and its waitstaff strives to make you feel welcome and provide prompt and polite service.

The brunch menu is full of traditional comfort foods, such as two eggs and toast, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, and eggs benedict, or you can go all out and order two eggs, bacon, sausage, and your choice of French toast, 10-inch hot cake, or waffle. You can also build your own omelet and select from a number of vegetables and proteins to make it your way. Kids have a choice of half-dollar hot cakes and one egg and a biscuit with sausage or bacon.

Andresen’s

Andresen’s Cafe is located a short distance north of Marion in Johnston City. It’s well worth the trip, partly because it’s been in business and in the same location for almost 100 years, but you’ll want to go for the hearty meals that are reminiscent of the meals served to miners when they would come in after a long day or night of pulling ore and coal from the ground. The interior has changed little over the years, and you’ll find the wooden booths a warm, comforting spot from which to have your brunch.

Andresen’s is open Saturday to Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Wednesday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The menu is full of delights, such as Jan’s Special, which is two eggs cooked to order with American potatoes and toast with jelly or biscuits and gravy. Then there’s the Farmer’s Delight with two eggs, American potatoes, a 6 oz. ribeye cooked to order, toast and jelly, or biscuits and gravy.

Mary’s Restaurant & Bed & Breakfast

Mary’s Restaurant is located in Herrin and is a short distance to the northwest of Marion. It offers a formal setting for brunch in a Victorian home that also has a bed-and-breakfast. The restaurant itself is situated within the home, but it also spreads out to an addition known as the Atrium and has tables in the original dining room of the house, the library for meals, and the Tree Room for small groups.

The brunch menu and hours for Mary’s isn’t posted, but you can call ahead to find out when the restaurant is serving brunch and what dishes are available.

Mary Lou’s Grill

Mary Lou’s Grill is a classic American diner and sit-down restaurant with inexpensive meals that simply taste good. The founders, Mary Lou and Jim Trammel, opened the restaurant in 1963 and it became popular with the locals almost overnight. In 1976, the Trammels wanted more room, so they moved to a new location, with the football team from SIU helping with the move. Mary Lou retired in 1990, and her daughter Marylinn runs the place today with her husband Robert. Mary Lou’s Grill is a classic American diner and sit-down restaurant with inexpensive meals that simply taste good.

The grill is open every Tuesday to Friday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is closed from Saturday through Monday. Some of the menu items include Mary Lou’s Delights, which consists of buttermilk biscuits covered in made-from-scratch sausage gravy, hotcakes or French toast with coffee or tea, and the Pretty L’eggs Special that features two eggs, toast, and coffee or tea.

Sunny Street Cafe

Sunny Street Cafe is a regional chain, with Carbondale being its only location in Illinois. It focuses on creating classic breakfast foods using fresh ingredients and cooking from scratch instead of using pre-mixed ingredients. The restaurant is a brunch and lunch spot to help you satisfy your breakfast cravings when it’s supposed to be lunchtime. It’s open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. seven days a week, although holidays may alter the days and times the cafe is open.

The menu is full of traditional brunch dishes as well as new twists on old classics. Enjoy the flavorful Big Breakfast sandwich that consists of two over-hard eggs, bacon, cheddar, and chipotle mayo on a toasted brioche roll. When you’re feeling a little spicy, order the Migas breakfast tacos that are made with eggs, tortilla chips, queso fresco, cilantro, pico de gallo, and avocado. You’ll want to try the French toast crunch that is made with sweet granola as a coating and topped with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream.

That completes the list of our favorite brunch places to hang out at in Marion and the surrounding towns. Did we miss a place that you feel belongs here? Get in touch with us and let us know about your favorite brunch spot, and we’ll be sure to include it the next time we update the post. Meanwhile, if you’re in the market for a new or used Honda, check out our inventory and come in to take your picks out for a test drive.