Café Smilga

We took our mother here for her 90^th birthday today to celebrate her Lithuanian heritage. What a wonderful restaurant. Food is more than excellent. A family favorite for many years. I cannot say enough good things about this charming restaurant. They will feed you and treat you like you are family. Please try this wonderful little treasure. The crowds that come are a sure indication that they are doing a great job. Thank you for being here Smilga!

Last time I went the zeppelins tasted terrible! We aren’t coming here anymore for Lithuanian food. We will have to find someone else! This place truly sucks! I recommend you avoid this place at all costs!

Service was too hot to walk outside to take our order. When we finally walked in side they were out of the food we wanted

Very authentic and delicious. Growing up in a Lithuanian family this food was perfect. Huge portions, you’ll leave happy!

Just like being at my grandmas. Seems very authentic and big portions… leaves you full and happy!

Unfortunately, there’s probably a reason this isn’t the most sought-​out and reviewed place on Unilocal.When I found out there was another Lithuanian restaurant in the area, I got excited. Real excited. Why? I dunno. I like the food at the other two. But my love of trying new places bit me in the ass this time.
We came right when they opened, and the family that runs it seemed to be all gathered around one of the tables. We weren’t even sure the restaurant was open, but after asking, we were told it was.
So we sat down and ordered two cups of mushroom soup, a cepelinai plate and an order of kugelis. If you don’t know what those things are, you probably aren’t reading this review. And if you still don’t know, feel free to google them. But basically, they’re heavy, traditional Lithuanian dishes made from potato, grease, bacon and love.
Unfortunately, aside from the soup, the food wasn’t good. It tasted like it had been made about a week ago and was reheated in the microwave. In fact, I’m kind of thinking that’s exactly what happened. It was steaming hot, but extremely gummy and just… bad.
While the service was quick, and the server was friendly, the food was just lacking to the point that I had to leave half of mine uneaten. And if you know my love for Lithuanian food, that just isn’t how I roll.

Seating is very modest, service very mixed with a fair amount of tude. If you like potato pancakes nice and greasy, you found the right place. Love the carrots and beets. Would go with a 4 – 5 star ratings if food were the only issue, and a one on everything else, so 3 overall seems about right.

Ok, first of all, let me explain something. As a Lithuanian myself, i know my heritage and the food dishes that come with it :)
Lithuanian diet is heavy with potato because, well it just is. Life was tough in Lithuania for many years, before and during the whole soviet era. Potatoes were cheap and people made do and invented quite a few dishes featuring what else… potatoes of course. So, here you go, now you know why.
Anyway, the ambiance of the little café reminds me of a coastal café, somewhere by the sea. Wooden tables, benches and décor is very nautical (fishing net and buoys included :)
The food, even though starch heavy is delicious and hearty. If you are not sure what to order, ask, no really, ask! The waitress will recommend and tell you the ingredients so you can make a wise decision.
The aforementioned Kvas is what we Lithuanians call Gira (Kvas is actually Russian).
Gira is actually pre-​beer, that is how homemade bread beer tastes before it becomes beer, it has no alcohol in it yet, but you can taste the yeasty bubblyness. Personally, my husband doesn’t like it, but i say, it’s an acquired taste. Ask for a sample and i’m sure they will give you some.
P. S. They have the best Lithuanian salads!

For those looking for this restaurant please be weary of the address. The Unilocal map information is incorrect. Please follow the link for the correct address to this restaurant.
It is located just East of Lemont Rd. on 83^rd St. In Darien.

Great Lugan Soul Food… love the bacon buns

I’m not going to get them 5 stars because I never ate there, but I had their fresh pumpernickel bread. It was delicious!

There is something I find fascinating about walking into a restaurant where everyone speaks a language I do not understand at all. I walk into café Smilga and this was the case. Inside the café are wooden benches and tables, simiar to what you would find on someone’s patio. It is a quiet spot in Darien where Lithuanians (and Chinese foodies) congregate for some awesome Lithuanian goodness. It is a small, quaint little café sitting at the end of a strip mall waiting for you to walk in and order their ethnic delights!
The Zeppelins are very warm, soft and sticky. The pork cutlet inside the goodness is even better. Since I ordered one of the combos they offer, which came with a Zeppelin, potato pancakes, meat dumplings, thick cut bacon chunks and sour cream. When I saw the plate land in front of me, my eyes almost popped out of my sockets. It was that epic. I did not even know where to start. It was an amazing meal though, but I would not recommend eating this on a hot day, as the old is very hearty and heavy. The potato pancakes were warm, soft and did not have that starchy texture many potato dishes possess. The dumplings were all very well cooked and scrumptious.
I do not recommend this for those who are counting carbs or watching their figures. For those who are into good food though, this is definitely a place for you to check out.
The server was very nice, and accommodating. I was nervous they did not have English menus walking into this joint, but they did. whew.
I will have to say this is one of the best meals I have had all year. Yay food comas!
They also have a small store next to the café in case you want to buy any Lithuanian groceries.
Seriously, this maybe one of Darien’s bet kept secrets.

True, this food is heavy and not for everyone. (I wouldn’t want to eat it on a hot summer’s day, for instance.)
But c’mon, potato pancakes, blimps, meat filled dumplings, all served with sour cream and bacon… it’s fantastic!
Stop counting carbs and just go here. It’s a good, hearty meal.
I am Lithuanian and these blimps are just as good if not better than the ones my grandmother used to make. That’s saying a lot!
One more thing, the prices here are very reasonable and I have gotten a meal to go before on my way home from work. Convenient.

This place serves traditional Lithuanian food.
There are so many Chinese, Japanese, Italian or Indian cuisines, but very rarely you see restaurants that are Lithuanian, Latvian, Polish, etc. So i give them credit for trying to bring a different cultural meals to the table.
However, the food is not for everybody there. There are many customers that are Lithuanian and probably they are the only returning customers there. I’s because once you try the food, you never come back.
Every meal there consists potatoes. Literally, ever meal. Of course except the drinks and… only drinks. I have tried the traditional Lithuanian «Cepelinai» there. Those are potatoes stuffed with meat and floating in a pond of oil in the plate. There is also some sour cream and bacon on the side… Just try to imagine how it looks like…
Yeah, if you are on a diet do not go there to eat.

Never again will we go to this place. we ate there with the whole family we ordered food and it came in. one of the potatoes was rotten when the waitress came back over we showed her the potato her response was ”Well the other one is ok” and nothing else !!! did not even offer to take away the dish and bring a new one. after we paid the bill and left 2 of the people that night started vomiting. We will be reporting this to the health department for further investigation for an obvious food born illness.

«Do you want to order any meat? You’ve ordered a lot of potatoes.»
Café Smilga is not for anyone counting carbs or on a low fat diet. I met a couple of my foodie friends there recently for lunch; it was very enjoyable, but left me in a food coma. The menu is heavy on all things potatoes, all things pork, and all things fried.
We started out by ordering Red Beet Salad which consisted of beets, beans, pickles, carrots, and POTATOES. (I also detected black olives.) The salad was available made with either oil or mayonaise. The waitress was asked which she prefered and we were told mayo, with a nod that led us to believe, «what else?» My friends decided to have the homemade bread kvass to drink. Kvass is a fermented beverage. I declined and decided to stick with water, but our kind waitress brought me a sample. It wasn’t bad, very interesting. Smelled a bit like beer and I thought it tasted like a cross between beer and hard cider.
Ordering, after that point, got even tougher. I had settled on POTATO Sausage. Some how in my mind I was thinking it was something like Swedish Potato Sausage, but it was a potato mixture studded with bacon (I’ve seen it called potato bacon pudding) stuffed in a casing, served with a side of sour cream and chopped, cooked bacon in lots of bacon grease. (Oh yeah!!!) My friends had a hard time deciding between POTATO pancakes, Kugelis (grated POTATO cake), Zeppelins (dumplings made from POTATO dough), other dumplings and various pork dishes. I suggested we try the «Kugelis, plain potato pancakes, dumplings with meat» combo platter. It was at this point that the waitress made the POTATO comment, so we tacked on a fried «Meat Pocket.» The other items also came with sour cream and more bacon!!!
The beet salad was delicious. Nice texture and great flavor. I was very pleasantly surprised. (Not a big beet person.) The potato sausage was heavenly. Unique texture, not like mashed potatoes, but not just grated potatoes, studded with bacon and held together with bacon grease. The potato pancakes were fair; they appeared to be deep fried; definately not as good as mom’s. The «Kugelis» was similar in texture and flavor to the potato sausage, but sans casing and bacon pieces and it was fried, so the top and bottom were crisp. You definately could taste the bacon fat. The small dumplings were filled with ground pork. Slather on the sour cream and bacon pieces — a tasty treat. Some carmelized onions would have really taken them over the top. The fried meat pocket looked like very large, thin calzones. Not bad, but nothing special.
After we started eating we realized that we hadn’t ordered any Zeppelins, but that will have to keep for another trip. The meal with tax came to about $ 32.00 and we left with a couple boxes of leftovers.
Café Smilga also includes a deli and carries many imported canned and jarred goods as well as bread and sweets. It reminded me of the German deli’s back in Lincoln Square in Chicago.
i sveikata (cheers in Lithuanian)

Café Smilga is a known restaurant to many Lithuanian people in the area but was well hidden for years to us! This little grocery/​deli/​restaurant was right around the corner for years and we never knew it! This restaurant has a little grocery area where you can buy authentic Lithuanian goods. There is also a deli counter where you can buy entrees of potatoes, meats, cheeses prepared fresh daily. The desserts are awesome looking. Reminds me of the baking my Grandma used to do that we rarely see anymore! This was a different place for us to go, a bit rustic. There are about 12 picnic type tables that you seat yourself. There is a seashore theme with fish netting all over the ceiling and walls to reminisces the Baltic Sea. To me, looked tacky. The food was good but I will definitely try one of the potato dishes when we go back. I got breaded pork tenderloin that didn’t have gravy! I guess I am used to the Polish way, Lithuanians don’t use gravy? I am not big on all the ethnic cabbages and stuff. I noticed almost everyone was eating that «pink» beet soup? So that must be a favorite there, I’m not going there! I may improve my score once we’ve tried it again. It’s just not quite my cup of tea but if you like Lithuanian cuisine I guess this place is worth the trip, it has been written up in several newspapers and been on the news several times.