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    Cavalier Inn

    3.5 (33 reviews)
    ModeratePolish
    Open 3:00 pm - 8:00 PM

    Cavalier Inn Photos

    CAVALIER INN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Cavalier Inn

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    Lora B.

    This place was amazing! The food was very authentic. It was like you were at you grandma's house for dinner!!! The owner, Wally, and his mom were the most charming people! HOSPITALITY is their specialty along with the great food. I didn't get to have stuffed cabbage because they were sold out. So now I gotta go back!

    Starters
    Yo L.

    WOW! This mom and pop restaurant has soul, heart and flavor. Visited during National pierogi day and I'm grateful I did. Their coleslaw alone is worthy of a 5 star review. Worth the drive from Chicago

    Giovanni S.

    Visited friends in my old Chicago neighborhood of Roseland and Pullman on Chicago's south side. We discussed how time has changed so many things. Talk centered around the many businesses that have come and gone. Today it seems everything is a franchise. Restaurants and places all seem to follow the same recipes striving for financial success. Seems a cookie cutter approach is used everywhere you go. No individuality can be seen, felt, or tasted as we go from one eating and drinking establishment to the next. It's if you've been at one place you've been to them all. In an attempt of defiance I deliberately took my trip home to Munster Indiana as a means to seek out and find those places that still hold to their roots and old ways of doing business. My first stop was "Old Fashioned Donuts" on Chicago south side at 11248 S. Michigan ave. It's been in business for 47 years as I was told by the daughter of the 80 year old founder and owner of the establishment that served me. Yes Pop's still shows up for work cranking out the donuts everyday but Sunday when they are closed. They to this day, as I recall in my youth, continue to make the most delicious and best apple fritters of anywhere I've ever had. To this day they continue to be bigger then the size of most peoples faces. Are their donuts any good? I can say they are but I'll let the fact that daily they sell out of many and most of their varieties of donut offerings speak to that question. So if you come, come early. Secondly as I partially consumed a fritter, I stopped at the Cavalier Inn. I've passed this joint many times and never stopped in. Inspired today by my friends conversation of the past and fueled by a tasty fritter, I last second veered left into a parking space and entered unfamiliar terrains. What I stumbled to find though was not foreign. True I'm Italian and it's a Polish eating and drinking old school inn but oddly the place reawakened memories of my past. I was taken aback like a time warp to the 1970's. It was triple D. No not the kind of triple D's your immediately thinking.... It was Dark, Dingy, and possibly Dirty and oddly I loved it that way. I approached the then empty bar, that was corralled with a wide assortment of nonmatching bar stools, and confidently ordered a "Old Fashion". It's the drink I routinely order in a new place In order to gauge how well ones bar skills are. Turns out the staff labored intently without success to locate any bitters. I responded with a follow up request that a Makers Mark and ginger ale would suffice. It was my gain in the end as it was prepared and filled in a large beer glass. Seems I initially used a standard with which to judge a bar/eating place in which the Cavalier Inn isn't looking to meet or satisfy. It's not a cosmetically enhanced fancy dining and drinking establishment that seems to pop up so often today. You don't come here to order the craft beer in season, the margarita of the month or seek to feed on the latest offerings from the Food network. What you'll find and get here is a honest to goodness savory meal that satisfying to it's core and that you won't likely find anywhere else. Here you can find meals of your past and yesteryears. Here you'll find Liver and onions and frog legs. They've got traditional Polish faire prepared fresh they way it was done in Poland. From the bar I could hear from the kitchen the pounding of porkchops as they tenderized them into a submission of tastiness. I thoroughly enjoyed my fried lake perch and I was pleasantly surprised to have it arrived after the complimentary relish dish of coleslaw, cottage cheese, and bean salad. Sure it's old school, but it's goodness and I doubly enjoyed it's compliment to the meal and its transporting me back to a wonderful bygone era of dining. Spoke at length with the places owner Wally and it harkened, as I sat at the bar, back to a time when bar talk was not only a right of passage but as well helped develop ones ability in the art of conversation. Places like the Cavalier Inn need to be supported. They hold for us a key to our past thats worth revisiting and should never be forgotten. Let's return to a time and place where we can put down our cell phones, talk topically with friends and strangers over drinks, and enjoy an affordable tasty meal. Sadly the locations not found on my street corner or in my town or I would love to make it my regular watering and dining hole. I shall though no doubt return for more triple D's and Delicious food.

    Cavalier Sign By The Parking Lot.

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    8 years ago

    Awesome polish: Okocziem, pirogi, nalasniki, flatke, and kielbasa. Just like mom used to do. Very generous portions. We'll be back Walt!

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    12 years ago

    Went again last night. Still wonderfull. What laks in service is made up in the great homemade food.Very old school, give it a try.

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    Dans Pierogies - Pierogi picnic at the nearby park

    Dans Pierogies

    (60 reviews)

    $

    The pierogies and blintzes are tasty and affordable. They have several vegetarian pierogi options…read more Pierogis start at $0.90 each (cooked), and blintzes are $1.80. I was going to comment that I wish their pierogis came with sour cream or something, but I just saw on their menu that for $0.55, you can add EXTRAS: TOPPINGS (SAUERKRAUT, COLESLAW, SOUR CREAM, APPLE SAUCE, STRAWBERRY) I wish they had online ordering, which would make the individual ordering of each item simpler.

    Always check hours online - and watch your step when you walk in the front door. There are a ton…read moreof food items on this menu - including a refrigerated section for soup, frozen pierogies, and there are other salads and desserts. You do get a discount if you pay in CASH. I tried some pierogis - potato and sweet cheese. They appear to be fried as they are a bit crunchy, but I like them like that. They are pretty full pierogis. You can order them frozen to go home and cook on your own - or have them cooked to order. I also got the order of polish sausage w/kraut and some fries. The polish sausage is snappy and the kraut is great. The bun I could do without, but I just removed it and ate on it's own. The fries were salty with a mix of crispy and soggy ones. I will definitely be back to try more options and more pierogis! Inside is small, but they added some extra eating in the room next door. You can dine in if you wish, it never seemed too crowded.

    Sawa's Old Warsaw Restaurant - Buffet

    Sawa's Old Warsaw Restaurant

    (315 reviews)

    $$

    I was very on the fence between a 4 and 5 star review. Overall, I do highly recommend this…read moreestablishment!! Excellent buffet. It was absolutely packed for dinner on Saturday. The line was long at times, but the staff did a great job of keeping the food full and hot! They do take reservations and it's great for large groups. The food is incredible and authentic. Best potato pancakes and stuffed cabbage I've ever had! I also loved the sausage and the coleslaw. They only had potato pierogi at the buffet but you are able to order variations from the server. Our server was prompt, but a little standoff-ish. It may have been due to how busy the night was. The kraut was not my favorite but it was still good. They had a carving station at the end of the buffet with different meats! If you do not like traditional polish food, there are still some options. That being said, you'll be missing out! There was a little dessert station with a few options and a soft serve ice cream machine. Our entire group ate until we were stuffed! I heard they do catering and I think in the future we may try that for a family event.

    My family (six adults) and I returned here purely for nostalgic reasons. Growing up Polish, we had…read moremy grandfather's funeral luncheon here over 40 years ago, and shockingly, nothing has changed -- literally nothing. The interior and exterior appear untouched. The chandelier and lighting were coated in dust and grime, and it didn't look like the carpeting had ever been cleaned. The food was basic and bland. The sauerkraut tasted "off," and the cabbage rolls were served in a watery broth instead of the traditional tomato-based sauce. Everything felt generic and uninspired. Not a single pierogi was available, which was especially disappointing. Our server, Agnieszka, provided no real table service. Our water pitcher was never refilled, no extra napkins were offered, and when I asked for sour cream, I was told to get it myself from the buffet. From the moment we sat down, she rushed us repeatedly, asking multiple times if we were ready for drinks. She even cleared plates while my uncle was still eating she took his plate while he still had sausage on it he was eating. The bill came to $225. We paid more than half in cash and the remainder by card. When she came to collect the cash, I politely asked to count it together before she took it. She responded assertively, "No, I am going to count the money with you. This is how we are going to do it." Her count was incorrect, so I said, "Now I am going to count the money with you," and my count was correct. After paying, we remained seated for about 15 minutes. She then came over and told us they needed the table for people with reservations. She said to leave without saying that we had to leave. We were all stunned! While there were a few people waiting, there were also several open tables. We were essentially pushed out so the table could be turned over. Overall, the waitress was rude, authoritative, impersonal, unprofessional, and completely out of line. Everyone working there appeared miserable. We will never return. As a family, we should have left our childhood memories untouched, they were good ones. Tonight's experience was horrible. If you're looking for a pleasant environment, do not go here.

    Staropolska Restaurant - Veal Liver with Sauteed Onions

    Staropolska Restaurant

    (665 reviews)

    $$

    Avondale

    Ahead of a few rounds at Revolution Brewery, we stopped by this amazing Polish restaurant. The…read moreatmosphere was a classic Eastern European vibe - dark wood, a well stocked bar, plenty of seating and a separate room for larger parties. The food here was excellent. I had the cheese and potato pierogis which were delicious and covered with grilled onions and bacon. My wife got the stuffed cabbage and enjoy equally. Service was top notch. We ate at the bar and were served promptly and with lots of courtesy.

    Absolutely five stars! We stopped by here for a quick lunch after getting some groceries from the…read morePolish supermarket. The food was incredibly authentic and comforting from start to finish. We had the cheese and potato pierogis, Żurek, pickle soup, and the goulash with potato pancakes, and every single dish was packed full of rich, homemade flavor. The goulash and potato pancakes were so good that we honestly wished they gave more than two. Our waitress was amazing as well, super friendly, attentive, and genuinely helpful. The portions were generous, everything arrived hot and fresh, and you can tell a lot of care goes into every recipe. It felt like a true home cooked meal in the best way. We left full, happy, and we're already planning our next visit. Also side note - We've also ordered their food through DoorDash, and it was just as delicious. Some places lose quality when delivered, but not this one, everything still tasted fresh, authentic, and full of flavor.

    Tradycja - Polish Fusion Cuisine - Dessert!!!

    Tradycja - Polish Fusion Cuisine

    (236 reviews)

    $$

    We have been here twice and each time the food has been above and beyond what is expected. The…read moreservice is excellent but if you expecting a fast dining experience this is not the restaurant for you. The craftsmanship of the food takes time so you do need to have patience for it. The ambiance and atmosphere is quiet and cozy which adds to an overall great dining experience.

    First of all, Tradycja is nothing like the Polish buffet style restaurants I went to growing up…read more Those were fantastic and I dearly miss them, but they were meant to provide good food in large quantities. Tradycja is a fine, upscale dining experience: really awesome decor with lots of hand crafted touches, a menu filled with great choices. I started with the sauerkraut pierogi as an appetizer: light and simple but amazing with bits of bacon and a small dish of sour cream. My main was called a breaded pork chop but I'd call it more of a schnitzel topped with mushrooms and a sheep's milk cheese. For sides I added sauerkraut and potato pancakes. While the pork and sauerkraut were both great I cannot emphasize enough: these are the best potato pancakes on the planet. No applesauce or sour cream needed. Service is also very friendly and accommodating, our server was charming and helpful. I should add that everything was cooked to order so it's not quick but unlike lots of other restaurants, you can tell that Tradycja doesn't use shortcuts or cheap filler ingredients: everything is like you would make it at home. My wife has a sensitive stomach and ends up feeling like she's had way too much salt and grease when we eat out and she felt great after our dinner there. Please go there often: this place is a treasure.

    Cavalier Inn - polish - Updated May 2026

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