Staropolska Restaurant

Charming and authentic. My Polish husband and I enjoyed a late lunch with May of the foods from his childhood (as well as authentic Polish vodka). The farmers cheese with fruit and honey for dessert was incredible.

Awesome polish food. We had sour soup, stuffed Cabbage, pierogis and blintzs. Sooo good. Had some polish beer and a macallan 12 yr for dessert.(8.50 for macallan, awesome!) love this place.

We were visiting Chicago for the weekend, and wanted traditional Polish food like we had growing up. This did not disappoint! The Polish plate was a great option for a little bit of everything.

Excellent food. Reasonable prices. Staff was very friendly

I absolutely love this restaurant. There is always street parking in the neighborhood and they have delicious food. I bring my polish grandmother here and she likes it, which says a lot! I love their szledzie — definitely not out of a jar or can.

Very good food, however I run into awkward situation with them not accepting my coupon I found on Groupon. The waitress said that she has not seen anyone using coupon before (!!!) The manager said, that Groupon posted the deal against his will and that he won’t accept the coupon. He concluded that it is not his problem, that’s it. Quite bad treatment considering that this is not the only restaurant one can go to.

Warm, cozy atmosphere. Full bar. Even a fireplace. But most importantly, really good traditional Polish food at very reasonable prices for a sit down, order off the menu place. We stumbled upon this place in November and, though it is not near our home, we have gone back. bringing friends.3 more times.
Every time we have visited the service has also been very good. We love this place.

I did not expect to like Polish food as much as I did here at Staropolska! Solid menu and great atmosphere inside the restaurant itself. Our server was very helpful with my group, since many of us did not know what most of the things on the menu were, and she helped us pick good drinks and dishes. I got the Polish Plate, which is a great sampler and was very delicious!
I am knocking a star off because it took an hour for our food to arrive and we didn’t get much of an explanation. However, our server did allow us to get two free desserts (after checking in on Unilocal!). We got two orders of blintzes served with strawberries which was alright, though the strawberry syrup was very artificially sweet. I will say you MUST try the potato pancakes– SO GOOD!

Simply delicious! Try their sample platter– you will hate yourself after, but will want to do it again, and again! Nice selection of polish beer too.

The atmosphere is great. The service is impeccable! Took my friends to try soon authentic Polish food, they were not disappointed. Being a Polak myself I tend to be very critical when it comes to Polish food. If you want as close to home made as possible, go here!

Was thoroughly impressed with this place. The atmosphere is great, service is great, and the food is phenomenal.

Gonna throw another fiver on this pile after finally stopping by Staroplska for dinner. With a Polish population the size of Chicago’s I expected some pretty big things and I got em. Both literally and figuratively.
My date and I ordered the special dinner for two and this thing was massive. It had two potato pancakes with staropolski stew, veal scalopino, chicken breast with cranberry sauce, dumplings, stuffed mushrooms and 4 pierogis of our choice. This is the perfect thing to order if you’ve never done Polish food before, and if you want to stuff yourself till the point of waddling out of the joint.
The interior has perfect ambiance as well. Between the rustic décor, the oh so perfectly dim lighting, and the extremely friendly service everything besides the food is on point at this place as well.
After all the awesome reviews, there’s really not much else to say so I won’t. I’ll just go eat my leftover pierogi instead.

We always come here and do the family style meal and with 2 bottles of wine it was still under $ 50 a person. Great food, Great atmosphere, Great fun.
Soups salad apps dumplings potato pancakes krout stroganoff chicken sausage desserts coffee tea soft drinks included. BEST DEAL in the city!

This is probably the best Polish restaurant I’ve ever been to. Everything was delicious and fresh. I had the zucchini pancake with chicken and goat cheese. Not the most Polish sounding dish, but probably one of the most tasty meals I’ve had in a while. I will definitely be back. Like tomorrow.

Family gatherings are an excuse to pig out and try different cuisines.
Tis our family’s belated mother’s day celebration and we pinpointed this sweet Polish location. For such inexpensive prices, portions were insanely generous. Our party of us went all out with appetizers, entrees, and dessert!
For the hot appetizers, we had the breaded camembert cheese with pineapple and cranberry sauce and the stuffed mushrooms with prosciutto. The cheese was melted and very soft, but it had an odd aroma to it. The stuffed mushrooms were pleasant but I wouldn’t know there’s prosciutto in them if they weren’t stated on the menu.
As for entrees, we tried a wide variety: vegetarian platter, beef stragonoff, veal cutlet, white fish, Vienna cutlet, and Swiss cutlet. It was a lot of meat and carbs. I had the Swiss cutlet with a side of potato dumplings. The cutlet was well fried but not as crisp as I would have liked it. The potato dumplings were quite new to me. It came in little white balls and the texture was very sticky on the outside. The inside was very compressed mashed potato. A few of these and you would be too stuffed to proceed with the meal. I gave the veal cutlet a try as well and I would probably order that on my second visit. It isn’t as heavy as the cutlet and I liked the mushrooms they served with the entrée.
In hindsight, I realized I should have taken dessert elsewhere. We tried the cheesecake and blintzes with cheese. We’re obviously dairy fans and lactose-​tolerant. The cheesecake was very crumbly and each fork would send chunks tumbling onto the plate. It came with a slice of pineapple and I thought the flavors were misfitting. The blintzes were served warm but it was heavily filled with cold cheese. I’m not certain if that’s how it is supposed to be served.
All in all, it was a heavy meal and perhaps more suitable for a cold, wintery day. Service was a bit unattentive as they had a big party in their other dining hall. But the overall dinner was pleasant and interesting.

This restaurant has a very zakopane feel to it with the wood interior and the taxidermy deer heads on the wall. I ordered the tatar po polsku, and it was very good. Although I wasn’t a fan of the bread that came with it. In addition, I ordered the polski talerz. It came with kapusta, kiełbasa, and gołabki. I also got a free naleśniki for dessert, which I didn’t care for. I didn’t think it was very good. Overall I think it was very good, and I would return.

I grew up on Polish food. Pierogi every holiday. Kielbasa and sauerkraut at family get-​togethers. That’s why tonight– on what would have been my mom’s 79^th birthday– I decided to get a cultural comfort food treat. Boy was I disappointed. I ordered the Polish plate. Where I come from potato pancakes always come with sour cream and apple sauce. As well as other sides like fresh polish bread. None of that here. That would have been ok if the food were even edible. The galumpke was soggy and fell apart– the cabbage disintegrated and fell off the «meat» when I put a fork to it. The potato pancake had been sitting around all day and was drenched in grease. The pierogi was the biggest disappointment– gummy dough and bland filling.
This food is about the worst I’ve had in a year– and that includes a trip to McDonalds.

As someone who’s grown up on Polish food since I could walk, you won’t find any better in the city. It’s usually never that crowded inside but lately I feel like the secret is out. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Now if you’ve never had Polish food before let me tell you what my wife and I tend to get whenever we go. Start with a beer. Zywiec or Tyskie preferably. Start with a bowl of Zurek soup. It’s this amazing sour soup with sausage and egg. It’s definitely unique and worth a try. If you like potato pancakes you’re in luck, I really love the Hungarian pancakes here. They’re just like regular potato pancakes except covered in this meaty stew with peppers and onions. My wife goes with a classic pork cutlet or a breaded tenderloin basically. Covered with a mushroom sauce you can’t go wrong. Also notable here are the Pierogi of course. I get the ruskie with potato and cheese while my wife likes the strawberry the best. No matter what way you go you’ll be happy and full though. A great way to sample is the special for 2. You get to try a polish feast and I bet you’ll still be taking food home.
Staropolska is a great way to try a cuisine many people might not be familiar with. I didn’t even mention that the décor is kinda neat as everything as a nice rustic look to it. Can’t recommend this place enough.

I feel as though I should confess that part of the reason why I enjoy eating at Polish restaurants is the masochistic delight I take in experiencing the myriad ways in which old Polish women can show disdain and indifference toward my presence in their restaurants. The last time I ate Polish food in Chicago, I ordered one item and was told to order another; I declined a starter salad and was given a salad nonetheless. I was deprived of this particular entertainment at Staropolska Restaurant because our server was a young Polish woman who brought us the food we ordered and was nice about it to boot! She even affirmed my (Polish) friend’s decision to sprinkle sugar on her potato pancake dressed with sour cream and apple sauce.
The food was good at Staropolska — the potato pancakes tasted as though they had been made with secret meat (I cannot confirm nor deny the addition of meat), and the veal liver had a nice sear on it. The liver was covered in crisp, greasy onion strands and accompanied by buttery, garlic mashed potatoes. I do have to say the pierogi was disappointing — the skins were somewhat uneven, the sweet cheese filling was grainy, and the fruit filling insufficient. The kitchen seems more adept at the griddle and the fryer than the boiling pot. Nonetheless, an unusually pleasant Polish eating experience!

The best potato pancakes I have ever had!!!’ Very friendly staff and amazing décor. Byo horseradish to add a little more kick to your dish. Beet soup was more of a broth but good also. Get some perogies.

Giving 5 stars because it meets my requirement of making me want to come back and bring friends.
Good polish beer, good polish food. Very traditional, lots of people speaking polish. We had the lunch for two special which was a nice mix of things from the menu. I loved everything. The atmosphere is really nice here too. A real gem in the neighborhood.

One of my dinner groups came here for my January 2015 pick. I had the place bookmarked since 2008, so I was very excited to finally cross it off my list. Who doesn’t love hearty Polish food in the winter?
*cough* Angela P. *cough*
Just kidding! We converted Angela with Eastern European hospitality. And beer!
I had 2 helpings of Żywiec. It’s a light, pale lager that pairs well with heavy foods. I also got a small cup of the grzaniec (mulled wine), which is also a great option in colder weather.
The interior of the restaurant is very inviting, regardless of the season. It has an Old World feel. Lots of brick and wooden accents with large, dark wooden tables and chairs. They also have an additional fancy banquet area, but we didn’t eat in that part, and I’m glad we didn’t. You can find that anywhere.
What you can’t find everywhere is perfect pierogi. They have it. At least the meat ones were done just right in my eyes. I was particularly fond of the added bacon bits and side of sour cream.
Service was great. They were on top of everything and we didn’t wait long for the food to come out. That’s pretty impressive anytime you have a table seating more than 4 people.

As far as Polish food goes, I am a fan of the homemade goodies from Babcia, but other than that I have not been to many Polish restaurants. To be honest, the Polish cuisine is not my favorite, but I do love me some pierogis.
We arrived a little earlier than our reservation time. There was only one girl working and the restaurant was not busy. She had totally forgotten about our reservation, but was very nice about it. She seated us in the VIP section and got everything ready right away. The whole place has a lodge feel with a nice fireplace, which we happened to be sitting next to.
After taking a look at the menu I tried a Polish beer called Zywiec. For my first Polish beer ever, I enjoyed it. It is very light, like a Coors or Bud. I ordered the potato pierogis and tried some of the sweet cheese pierogis as well. To be honest, I have had pierogis that were wayyyy better. Again, they were homemade and nothing can really beat that. But these were plain and pretty tasteless. They were filling though. But overall I thought the food was disappointing. It is cheap, however.
For only having one person working, our server was pretty good. There were times that it would have been nice if she could have come around more often to clear plates and ask if we needed anything else. But she did a good job overall.
Another side note is that there is parking on the street that is easy to find. That’s always a nice perk in the city.

Overall: One of the best unique dining experiences in awhile. Truly authentic and delicious food, fantastic flair, and great service. Polish at it’s best!
The good: Great tasting food that is authentic. Prices are very reasonable. Service was fantastic, considering we had 20 people. The food and drinks were constantly being refreshed. The atmosphere is awesome, with props abound, fireplaces, and art. Portion sizes are great.
The bad: The bathroom was freezing? Seriously, that’s the only complaint.
Atmosphere: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Service: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Food: ¹⁰⁄₁₀