3 Best Restaurants in Galena, Illinois

The 1855 Victorian-style DeSoto House Hotel provides a fitting backdrop for any meal in history-laden Galena, but the Sunday brunch buffet in the Courtyard's four-story atrium gets most of the attention. For under $10 (less for kids), you get a sumptuous spread, replete with carving station, made-to-order omelets and waffles, biscuits and sausage, pastries, fruit, french toast, and more.

When Galena residents Warren and Kathy Bell began a local beer label in 2009, the beer was actually brewed in Wisconsin. Now made locally, the beer has won several awards including a silver World Beer Cup Award for their Uptown Nut Brown Ale. Pair that with an Italian roast beef or pulled pork sandwich, a few tastes off the tapas menu or some simple bar food goodness like beer cheese nachos. Ask about brewery tours, catch a game on the four 55-inch HD TVS, and hear live bands most weekend nights.

Dan Wentz and John Slimp ditched their corporate jobs to open this cheerful, low-key breakfast and lunch spot. They named it for Otto Sallman who built the building in 1899 and had planned for, but could never open, a restaurant of his own. We're pretty sure Otto would be pleased with the changing menu of home-cooked, locally sourced dishes such as whole wheat pancakes, spinach salad, and biscuits and sausage gravy made with Arnold's Farm organic pork sausage. There are gluten-free and vegetarian options, too, plus made-from-scratch desserts (like pineapple upside down cake, made-to-order), and lovingly crafted dinners every Friday and Saturday night.