Pierogi & Polish Food
Handmade pierogi, potato pancakes and Polish comfort food from one of the largest Polish communities outside Poland.
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Kasia's Deli
A small, mostly takeout deli whose handmade pierogi are a Chicago staple. Many locals call them the city's best.
Red Apple Buffet (Czerwone Jabłuszko)
A Northwest Side Polish buffet running since the 1980s, the place to try a bit of everything.
Smakosz Restaurant
A family-run spot near the Copernicus Center since 1985, with an old-school dining room and hearty Polish cooking.
Polish Bistro
A cozy, cabin-like dining room serving generous, affordable Polish home cooking on the Far Northwest Side.
Pierogi Kitchen
A bright, folk-art-filled pierogi shop bringing handmade dumplings back to the old Polish Triangle area.
Spoko
Polish street food from a new generation, from zapiekanka to żurek.
Staropolska Restaurant
The classic sit-down Polish dinner in the old Polish stretch of Milwaukee Avenue, with brick walls, wood beams and big platters.
Polish Chicago
Chicago has one of the largest Polish communities outside Poland, and for more than a century Polish delis, bakeries and restaurants have lined Milwaukee Avenue on the Northwest Side. The Polish food scene today ranges from old-school buffets and family dining rooms to a new generation of pierogi shops and Polish street food.
What to try:
- Pierogi: dumplings stuffed with potato and cheese, sauerkraut and mushroom, meat, or sweet fruit. Order them boiled or pan-fried with onions.
- Placki: crispy potato pancakes, sometimes topped with goulash
- Gołąbki: stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce
- Żurek: a sour rye soup, often with sausage and egg
- Kiełbasa: the Polish sausage that inspired the Maxwell Street Polish
Good to know: on Fat Tuesday, Chicago lines up for pączki, Polish filled donuts. See donuts.