Heard that Chicagoland had the largest Serbian population in the US, so on a whim a friend and I…read morepicked a place to experience our first Balkan food. Went to Balkan Taste and we got their beef special and their pork tenderloin special. The spicy kajmak sauce on the tenderloin went so well with the way they grilled it, and the beef was hearty and delicious. Plenty of lepinja was served and it went so well with everything! Enough food for the next meal as well. Would definitely go again and try the standard fare.

What a hidden gem!!! I loved everything about Balkan Taste-the service, ambiance and food. All…read moreexcellent. The server I had was very nice, and made a great suggestion for one of the daily specials-pork tenderloin with Kaymac. I've never heard of that before (which was the reason to visit Balkan Taste-a new adventure in food!) kaymac was described as the top of the milk, and it reminded me of butter. But better! He also brought me a side of kaymac to have with my bread, and I knew I'd love the pork dish. It was indeed a home run, the sauce was super tasty. Also had beet salad , and a cream puff for dessert. I inhaled the cream puff too!!! I enjoyed the authentic/family atmosphere, and will surely be back. I'm picky about my food (I LOVE the "good stuff") everything I had tonight was outstanding. Thanks for an excellent meal and making me feel like a welcomed guest!!

Fantastic place. One of the best restaurants in the area and Glenview is very lucky to have it…read more It's very neat and classy inside. We ordered pierogi's on a Friday night and they were incredible. We ordered a plate of half potato and cheese and half spinach and mozzarella. They were simply just amazing. If I have to be super super picky, though, the potato and cheese pierogis tasted only a slightly bit doughy, but it was still great and I'm planning on paying Smetana multiple visits in the future.

Service - 3/5. Can you not see that I'm dying on this date?! Why is service so slow when we're the…read moreonly ones here? Guy said chicken in stuff cabbage which was wrong (date doesn't eat other meats). Missed when we ordered chicken schwarma warp. Mistook 'hot coffee' and somehow brought out raspberry coulis alcoholic drink?! Give that kid a coffee or multivitamins! Food - 5/5 Pierogi plate - selection of different fillings, boiled or pan-fried Polish platter - sausage, perogis, stuffed cabbage roll, potato pancakes with sour cream and mustard, served with creamy tomato-based sauce or the other sauce. Chicken shwarma wrap - delicious. mostly filled with mozzerella cheese and crunchy vegetables, seared in panini press. I would not describe this as schwarma wrap whatsoever. Coffee came out with 3 sugar cubes on the side of the tea cup. The hygienic part of me is screaming. Doesn't it make more sense to use a sugar bowl?

Looks really nice inside. Not too loud. Everyone seemed very nice. Our waitress was nice but wasn't…read morevery attentive. When we sat down she came to take our drink orders quickly. When it was time for food orders she took forever! And too long to give us the check. Bartender was cool and came out every now and again to explain drinks. The staff that brings out food, take plates and refill waters were great! Food was ok. I had short rib pasta it lacked flavor. I also had ceasar salad which was delicious. My husband had fried calamari it was tasty. His chicken dish was delicious and had a ton of flavor. Drinks were good and strong. Not sure I'll be back though.

To be fair, this is a 4/5 because of their reputation and the expectations they've apparently made…read morebecause it's highly recommended on here and in the community. It was good, even very good, but the level and price made me believe this must be the best restaurant in the region. Love the unique dishes, meat you can't get everywhere but the seasoning was lacking in all dishes. Good not great.

Came here for lunch with my parents and family. Wonderful menu and service. Great outdoor seating…read moreeven with North Avenue rushing by. We ordered bruschetta, calamari, bolegnese, lamb chops. Great servings sizes. Perfect amount. The inside decor is terrific. Would love to come back for dinner.

I came here last night with my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. I was super excited because we often…read morepass by this place. Unfortunately, we were kind of let down by the service. They were definitely not prepared for the crowd of couples. A few minutes after we sat down, a waitress who was not ours came by and asked if we had ordered already. We said no, thinking that she would help get us started. Instead, she took my boyfriend's menu to hand to her table. This left a bad impression on us. Food wise, it was delicious and all food came out in a timely manner. They were being pretty strict about only being seated for 1.5 hours max due to the rush. Our waitress was fine, checked in on us in a timely manner. I love the interior design of this place, and it looks really nice in their patio. I don't think I'll be coming back though, at least not during any nights I know it'll be crowded.

I enjoyed my meal here very much! Couldn't decide between the roast 1/4 of duck or breaded pork…read moretenderloin so I had the combo meal! The pork was crispy, thin and delicious! Not sure what happened with other experiences because for us, the gravy was great! It was tasty and thick enough but definitely not gloppy. I was told the dumplings are homemade and you can tell! So light and fluffy! I didn't have the sauerkraut but instead had the cucumber salad. This was not a creamy salad as I'm used to but a light, sweet with just enough sour vinaigrette type sauce it was delightful! My friend had a similar meal but with no duck. She loved it. We started out with superb liver-dumpling soup and finished with a perfect and homemade kolacky! Washed it all down with a tasty Czech beer. It was a wonderful meal. I cannot forget out knowledgeable and doting server, Agnes. The busboy was around every few minutes to clear spent plates and drinks. In other words, service was top-notch. The ambiance is a perfect mix of old-world kitsch and 70's supper club. It was clean and inviting. The bar is an old, 70's winding island of a bar that welcomes customers with comfy, cushioned stools. I even walked out with my very own, "Last of The Bohemians" t-shirts! Perfect night.

McCook has great Eastern European food and a wide variety of libations. I started coming here with…read moremy husband and his softball crew that make it here on Monday nights. We have had many of the menu items that have all been outstanding, very traditional and very well done. Lynn is a great bartender and hostess to everyone who walks in - there's a bar in the front and a restaurant area in the back, nice cozy feel and off the beaten path.

This is a bit far from the usual places we go for Polish food. It's located in Justice, IL. It's…read morekind of a quiet, small town. The good news is that they have late hours, they don't close at 8 pm like most places. The staff was friendly and attentive. Food portions were very generous, you will have leftovers for sure. Prices are very typical of this cuisine. You'll have to walk up the steps to go inside. We ordered Highlander soup with smoked rib, tripe soup, Polish plate number 2, and Bavarian style pork shank. -Highlander soup with smoked rib 5 - the broth is sour due to it being sauerkraut, but you have to eat it with the smoked rib and potatoes. I ordered the cup so it looks like a bowl size. -tripe soup 5 - this is a good soup. We got the cup size, it's good for a cold night. -Polish plate number 2 5 - it comes with two stuffed cabbage rolls, Polish sausage, 6 meat pierogis, and dumplings. You can choose your side. I chose dumplings. Everything was delicious. Polish sausage was tender and juicy. Cabbage rolls and pierogis were fully cooked. -Bavarian style pork shank 5 - you get two humongous pieces of pork shank and the meat falls easily off the bone. It was very tender.

Very disappointed, We went here after my Gram's funeral, it is most certainly not ADA compliant…read more They sat us downstairs, and sat 5 others upstairs because they have no elevator or way of getting downstairs. It was very unfortunate that on one of the saddest days we couldn't celebrate grams life together as a family. I will say the say the serving staff was friendly and efficient. The food was good. I wouldn't say it was worth the prices that were paid per person. But it wasn't terrible.

A Chicago staple that never misses. Some of the best vegetable and pasta dishes around. You can…read morenever go wrong with the straciatella, any vegetable dish, the cacio e Pepe or pork sticky ribs to name a few. Drinks are also phenomenal- esp. the spritzes! Joe flamm is also frequently in the kitchen and running around the restraunt! Pictures include: straciatella, roasted carrots, rotolo, rigatoni, budino & mushroom risotto

Rose Mary is a consistent recommendation from friends, so my wife and I decided that it would be a…read morenice spot for a birthday celebration. The design and decor of Rose Mary is stunning, with tan wood tones and minimalist style creating an airy and warm atmosphere. Service is warm and casual. All good things to start. The drink options are a huge highlight here, with some really fun and balanced cocktails like the Saffron spritz and the Rum Coconut #2. After that, we opted for the Grgich Zinfandel, which paired well with most of our meaty pastas. It wasn't as oaky and vanilla forward as some other Napa options are, but I don't think you would really want that for most of the food here. It was cool to see how dedicated they were to fusing Croation and Italian influence into the wine list, even down to our Grgich wine, which despite the Napa location was a Croation family vineyard. Okay, drink digression over. The fusion of Italian and Croatian styles is a really fun twist. As an Italian, I can occasionally fall into the trap of traditionalism, but I am happy to report that the flavors work very well together. A huge shout out to the pasta station, as the tortellini, gnocchi, and rigatoni were all excellent! Between those pastas, the tuna crudo, and the zucchini fritters, the start of the meal was truly excellent. Unfortunately, the middle and end of our experience was lacking and somewhat spoiled. It started with us finding a shard of long plastic in our gnocchi. The server apologized and stated that sometimes the deli containers break and it's hard to notice. I didn't love that response, but I get that it can happen. The more annoying thing that came from this is the miscommunication: she offered for us to select another dish and we told her we would think about which one. What was not stated is that she would also bring out another pasta to make it up to us. While the pasta was excellent, we ordered another dish without knowing we had a pasta on the way. However, that miscommunication was followed by overly salted branzino and an equally salty kjufte skewer. The thinner portion of the branzino, which my wife ate a bit of before stopping, was so salty that she was uncomfortable and drink two full glasses of water. She said that she couldn't get the salinity out of her mouth. I was hoping that the skewer would be better, but it was similarly salty and I couldn't finish it. Our server stated that sometimes they were heavy handed on the salt, and I think that's an understatement based on our experience. It was a rough ending to a meal that cost over $300 and sadly all of our conversation shifted away from celebration and toward how uncomfortable my wife was after trying to eat those two final dishes. We also couldn't finish our wine, as our palates were blown out from all that salt which made drinking experience pretty poor. It was a disappointment given that we dropped $90+ on that wine. I'd like to come back and give them another shot, but I'm somewhat apprehensive since it's an hour to 1.5 hour long drive for us to get there and it would be an expansive gamble considering the cost of a garage parking spot. If you live closer, I hope you do give them a try and I hope that the meat station shows some restraint. I would still encourage people to try the pastas and appetizers, and I hope that this feedback gets back to the crew so that they are aware. I would hate for others who are celebrating to have a similar experience to us, especially since the rest of the team clearly has their dishes dialed in.

Enjoyed all the food! I was excited to try some of the Lithuanian dishes. I ordered the make your…read moreown combo with stuffed cabbage, Siberian dumplings, and pork schnitzel and ordered a side of Kugelis which was like a cheesy soft potato cake with bacon bits and sour cream. It was like nice home style comfort food!! I also had the Paris coffee which was delicious it has grand mariner, kaulua whipped cream and coffee!! My friends ordered salmon, vareniki and the beet salad. I liked the pelmeni better than the vareniki also the salad was really nice with berries and blue cheese

We had a group of 25 for a live performance. Amazing. Beautiful. Service was flawless (thank you,…read moreDavid), food was amazing, Andres the busser was on top of it and all of our drinks were just spot on. I can't wait to come back! Again, thank you David, for handling our large and annoying party. Everything was so great.