After hearing good things, I was disappointed here. The food is just okay and doesn't have much flavor. And, in my opinion, pierogies should NEVER be boiled. Blech! I have a couple of other concerns, too. First, they do not take credit or debit cards of any kind. I'm not sure why, but that seems counterproductive in 2019. They have an ATM on-site, but it charges $1 even if your bank doesn't usually charge ATM fees. Secondly, if you stay longer than two hours, eating or not, they charge you double the buffet price. It's already overpriced for what you get ($25 on weekends + $3 for soda!) so that's just excessive. I won't be back and you should pass. read more

Excelent and real Polish food. The servís was friendly and the food amazing, thank you.

Great place for authentic Polish food. The buffet maybe doesn't have the largest selection in town but it's not about quantity. I'd rather have less to choose from, but know that everything is freshly prepared and hot. Everyone will find a favorite at this place. Yes, even the kids... Great place for a Saturday lunch/dinner or Sunday brunch. When picking a place to go, there are few places that everyone agrees to. This is certainly one of them! Try the tripe soup ("flaki") if you want to taste something new. Can't go wrong with it! read more

This is most likely my husband's favorite place in the entire universe, we can't wait to come back and bring our toddler for the reopening on 8/14! read more

Great service and good quality Polish food. I enjoyed my meal. With that being said, no accepting credit cards in 2019 is unacceptable. Square will send you a credit card reader for free these days to use on your phone. No reason you should have a cash only business unless you have something to hide. I question management for that decision. Even if the ATM was free (it's not), you need to have a credit card reader. This is not early 1990s Chicago. This is 2019. Time to wake up. read more

Delicious food, fabulous selection and excellent service.

Ok...I've come to this buffet for years now and I will say that the food is probably the best of the polish buffets in Chicago, and I'm Polish and tried most of them, but thats where it ends... Not only is this place Cash ONLY, but it's roughly $25 per person for a BUFFET? this isn't Vegas, there is no steak, lobster, or anything special. This is Polish food, it's meat and potatoes. This Buffet should not be anymore than 10-12$ per person tops!!! And it used to be years ago, and every year it goes up and up. NOT WORTH THE VALUE AT ALL! The food is good, not $25 good. read more

This is a very nice buffet. They have a good variety of food from entrees, salads, side dishes and desserts. Not really they healthiest, even their salads are covered in sauces and they don't have too many fresh veggies but there are a few, but despite this every thing is delicious. The wait staff is friendly too. I come here often with my family and we always enjoy ourselves. They never rush you to get out and are very prompt in cleaning up your dishes between courses. read more

Hands down the best buffet in the city of Chicago. They have a wide variety of Polish food that appeals to both meat eaters and vegetarians and they frequently rotate their dishes to prevent them from going stale. The combination of table service and diy-buffet service was interesting and the staff were all friendly and polite. The place is cash only, but they have an atm inside that only charges a $1 transaction fee. They also have a small parking lot behind the restaurant. Overall, this is my favorite buffet and I i highly recommend it! read more

Great authentic Polish home style food. It's an all you can eat buffet. A true feast for any Central/Eastern European food lovers.

The best buffet we every had in this area. Food was delicious! Dessert bar was a big hit with kids!

I have to say. This was a place that had some good food. I typically only like 2 kinds of buffets. Breakfast and Indian. Sometimes a Chinese one, but they just aren't that great. Red Apple was much better than I expected. Also they had things I really didn't expect. Gizzard stew was one of them. I love chicken gizzard. The pureed beets were a tasty surprise also. Liver and onions were yummy. I never see that anywhere. Glad it was here. Pretty much this place hit a lot of my happy tummy places. Employees were nice and Polish. Just be prepared to pay in cash. No plastic accepted. There is an Tyme Machine there with a $1 charge - not too shabby. We will be back. For sure. read more

The buffet food is authentic and tasty but the prices are outrageous, more so on weekends (they charge approx $10 more per person on Saturday & Sunday). No refills on soft drinks; also not included ($3 for a soda). Plan on spending $30 per person or more if you want soda and go on a weekend. The food is good but it is not worth the price unless you're desperate and unable to travel a few miles to other Polish restaurants. Also, the staff seems to be unfriendly to guests who are not, or do not speak, Polish. To add insult to injury, they have a cash only policy and conveniently placed an ATM across from the cashier where you can be charged a fee just to pay the exorbitant bill at the end of your meal. read more

Delicious Polish food! Polish soup, beer, perogies, stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, etc. It's buffet, so suffers the typical buffet problems of food sitting around too long. Place closes at 9, so I'd recommend going earlier than we did (8)... As they stopped refreshing the spread. Still what was there was satisfying, and the service was great too. read more

Careful authentic Polish home-style cooking, pleasant unrushed environment, reasonable prices. read more

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Leave the diets (unless it's Atkins) at home and wear your stretchy pants!! Best pierogies, beet salad, and breaded pork without the drive to Belmont Ave!! If you want to get some good, heavy, Polish comfort food on these winter days, this is the place. We've been going there for years but discovered a new find last night... SAUERKRAUT SOUP!! Awesome!!! it was like a Potato-Pork-Sauerkraut Stew. Mmmm-mmmm good! A lot of bang for your buck, but like I said, leave the "healthy eating-losing weight" resolution at home!! read more

Pricing keeps me out of the I'm a fan four star rating, the last time I was here the prices were less, maybe it's been some time since my last visit, and now it will be in the who knows when we'll be back. They're at 15.99 during the week and 19.99 for the weekend. For a Polish buffet that is getting on the high side, considering I'm not one to load up on tons of food looking to get my monies worth, I may like eating stuffed cabbage, but I don't like feeling like one. Or worst yet being called a pig in a blanket, the other name for this entree. Pricing aside, the food is very good and the service efficient and friendly. The servers do bring you soup (it's included) since it's not on the buffet. They also did a good job keeping up on our coffee, ice tea and water. At the end of your meal they will also bring you ice cream if you like, this is in addition to bussing your plates. The buffet is clean and the offerings kept on the small side so food is kept fresh and replaced often. So in other words the standard this is a buffet I don't need to tip doesn't apply. I was stunned to see the couple across from us leave a dollar (very well dressed, maybe something going on in their life or ?) I just have a soft spot for servers having been one, and this couple seemed to be having an enjoyable dinner. Plus the guy caught the look on my face when he dropped the buck down, he knew it just was all wrong. Despite the pricing, the servers aren't making the profit, so if you do go here, do tip if you get good service. So yes, it does come down to pricing, many places for Polish in Chicago that are just a little more reasonable. read more

When Theresa C. moved to Avondale, she began to discover all the wonders this little Polish neighborhood has to offer. Located in one of the only remaining actual Polish neighborhoods in Chicago, Red Apple definitely offers authentic, homemade Polish food at friendly prices. We came on a Friday night and I'm pretty sure the buffet was $15ish, but that was very reasonable and included a ton of food. There's only a buffet, so you don't have to worry about reading a menu and deciding what you want. Soup automatically comes with the buffet and there's a pretty good selection to choose from. They bring the soup to you at the table and I'm not sure there's refills, so make sure you ask. The buffet has a bit of everything, so if you're in to sampling, you're in luck. I'm not sure what most of the dishes were since I'm not Polish or really familiar with Polish food, but I can tell you that almost everything was super delicious. There's chicken, pork, beef, sausage... tons to choose from. Lots of side dishes as well, including my favorite sweet and sour cabbage. Pierogis everywhere, so eat your fill! The potato pancakes with a bit of applesauce were also de-lish. Salad bar is huge and there's tons of desserts for every taste. The service was pretty spotty and it was a bit difficult to get a drink refill, so go easy on the Diet Coke. read more

You know how you feel after you eat at an Indian buffet? Yeah, this is like that but to an extreme. The cabbage, fried everything and pork really sit in your stomach. It hurts to breathe. You feel a little diaphoretic. There's a 50% chance you just might pass out on your 3rd plate from your stomach exploding. Despite living in the area for decades, our family only recently discovered this place. This is the best Polish buffet in town. They have so many different items, they refresh things often, and everything is from good to great. It's way better than the White Eagle down the street -- for your next funeral or kid's birthday celebration, come to the Red Apple instead! Don't miss: - Glombki (cabbage rolls), theirs are exceptionally good - Strawberry pierogi (this sounds like an abomination, you might think about resisting, but don't. Give in. These are oddly delicious) - Potato dumplings with gravy - Latkes (wish they put out applesauce instead of compote though) - Kapusta (saurkraut), the dill cucumbers or the shredded beets (salad bar) Skip: - The desserts (other than the strawberry pierogi) -- they look better than they taste. They take OpenTable reservations (why? Not sure, probably for bigger groups). But they are only cash only. Why have Open Table, but not take credit cards? Ugh, I wish they posted that somewhere in a clearer place. Also, they have the world's most confusing pricing (buffet can range from $9.99 to $14.99, depending on the lunar phase, zodiac of the last pig that was slaughtered, and the time the last batch of pierogi were made). read more

We went on a Sunday morning because we had heard that this was one of the best buffets in the city. Now, I have not eaten at a single buffet since moving to Chicago. I have nothing against buffets other than the fact that they usually have little to no ambiance - unless you are in Vegas. There were five of us, four meat eaters and one vegan. The best thing that I can say about this place is that everything was fine. There was nothing exceptional. The meats were all okay and mostly fried. The potatoes (mashed, pancake and pierogi variety) were pretty good - flavorful and not too dry. Pretty much everything else was meh. The vegan in our group really hated this place. I guess one can only eat so many potato products. Okay dude, so why the poor rating? The service was terrible. Very unfriendly. There is no mention of price before ordering. $14.99 seems a little steep, especially since they add a %15 gratuity for a buffet. I don't know what is customary for a buffet, but I've never had a restaurant add gratuity for me. Why? Other than bring me drinks, what exactly did you do? Don't get me wrong I would have tipped myself, but not 15%. Also, when the bill came we asked person at the register to split the check. She grumbled and called over our waitress and preceded to same something in her native tongue. The waitress rolled her eyes and then straight out of a mobster movie barked with thick accent, "What is problem?" I guess we should have known better. Maybe I am just not in the buffet demographic anymore. read more

I'm not knowledgeable on Polish cuisine, but I was pleasantly surprised I like a lot of it, and we keep coming back! The buffet is kept really clean, and the food was all very fresh. There wasn't a single item that looked dried out from sitting under a heat lamp for too long. One side of the buffet is side items and American food (i.e., fried rice, fried chicken, pizza, salmon, pierogis, potato pancakes), and the other side is hearty Polish food (stuffed cabbage, sauteed spinach, pork loin, fried pork cutlet or sometimes veal (schnitzel), rotisserie chicken, sausage & sauerkraut). I think the potato pancakes here are outstanding - perfectly crunchy and flavorful. I have to admit that I usually skip the salad bar because why eat salad when you can eat a ton of meat? And the desserts here are totally under sweetened - European style. They look good, but they're not. This is probably the way it should be, though, as our American taste buds expect loads of sugar. The prices are reasonable ($10-12 for buffet - comes with free small soup & scoop of ice cream!), and parking is easy (street & lot in back). And unlike other buffets, each table is assigned a waitress who brings you drinks, soup, and ice cream. They wear a uniform of a traditional puffy white blouse and embroidered skirt. read more

It's good not great and the price pretty much ruined it for me ever going back and I'm far from cheap but not worth it 3 people with 3 cokes $73 bucks That's Insane!! read more

Excellent food and service First time dining there We'll be back Great variety Home cooked flavor read more

First time at this location. Same solid food as the other location. As have been mentioned the strawberry perogies are really good. I had a sampling stuffed cabbage, herring, polish sausage, perogies, All the food was top notch. So I came I saw and I ate. I fought the good fight and really did enjoy getting my Polish on. Since I am not Polish it takes some time. read more

Oh My Gosh! If you think your gonna come here to just get a little grub, think again. This restaurant has an incredible buffet of delicious polish food, and it is impossible to just eat one plate. I love the soups, including sauerkraut and chicken noodle. The sauerkraut soup is my favorite of the two (it depends what you like)so I recommend that! I'm a carb fan (who isn't) so of course I get many helpings of their yummy peirogis and dumplings. They also have a big meat and veggie selection that is also very yummy. There is a small and tasty cold food bar along with a desert area, but I usually don't eat desert because I'm so full from the buffet so I cant comment on that too much! For the most part, service is good and polite. I do enjoy this place a lot and can assure you that you can come here and be happy and full when you leave! read more

Ten years ago when I first visited Chicago I was still broke foreign student and this place provided sweet elation to my home cooked meal. Yes, this is Asian gilr talking about eastern european food, though more accurately Poland is more of a Central Europe. I was born and raised on Russian food and this place is closest as it can get to my taste buds. Love their cabbage rolls "golubtsi", cutlets and salad bar. Tasty soup that is included in the deal. Very inexpensive way to satisfy your inner "Eastern" European cravings. read more

Ate here on New Year's Day for only $35. First visit and it was lovely. The staff were pleasant and inside was cute and clean and very comfy as I would imagine. Lots of wood paneling and a full bar. The buffet was amazing! Tons of meats, carbs galore, just what you expect from a buffet and it's not an obscene amount of food that makes you embarrassed to be a first world diner. I'm not a buffet person at all but the food here was fresh, well presented, and exactly what I hoped to find at a Polish buffet. I was surprised it wasn't packed with urban hipsters and suburban folks all partaking in the joys of ethnic Midwest supper club vibes. If this place was in Wisconsin it would be packed all the time. Can't beat the quantity and quality of this food for the price. It's not a $150 Loop hotel buffet, thank goodness! read more

For when you are entertaining the elderly. This is a buffet featuring Polish cuisine, from predictable pierogis to the more adventurous beef tongues in gravy and chicken gizzards. It is a decent bargain, $7.99 on weekdays, $8.99 on weekends. For the true devotees, weekly passes are available. Seriously. Do be careful though because while the price includes soup, drinks are extra! The desserts, while varied, were all on the dry side. Not impressed. But for cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, and mushroom gravy, it can't be beat. This location is just a block north of Superdawg. read more

It's not that I am soo into Polish food as it is I'm into good food at good prices.All the food isn't exclusively Polish, things like roast beef, pork chops, ham, potatoes, green beans, non-spicy rice, fish etc. I consider classic American. Of course they have the more ethic stuff as well, that I happen to like such as: cheese blintzes and potato pancakes. I agree that that the desserts weren't very appetizing:dry,crumbly,dusty. The place is clean, if you come during busy times it can get a bit cramped (unless you are in the "back room", which is usually for larger groups) You get a bunch of choices like these in the buffet. The price for such good "home cooked" comfort food is very cheap. read more

Huh? Europeans think Americans are fat? Ooh..okay, now I know why! Everytime I go to this place I wear joggers. Yes, that's how much I love this place. Once you walk in, you are greeted by a sweet Polish server that asks you if you would like soup or something to drink. Then comes the good part! You lay your eyes upon some of the best Polish home cooking in town that'll cost you around $15. I used to live near Belmont and Central, so I know what's up. They have pierogies of all types...sauerkraut, mushroom, meat. Then mashed potatoes, not with one, but two gravies! Ham on the bone, stuffed cabbage, and sausage...the list goes on. Everything is deeelicious. Don't worry, mama bear won't steer you wrong! This is a great place if you are trying Polish food for the first time since you can get a little bit of everything. The only thing I would pass on is the dessert, but who cares about that when you have strawberry pierogies and cheese blintzes! I loved the fact that it is a VERY clean establishment. I tell ya, I never knew Polish food was so heavy and decadent! You could never tell with those nice European figures of their's. God Bless their little Polish hearts. read more

TERRIBLE and RUDE!!! The "waitress" never refilled our beverages! The cashier couldn't grasp the concept of punching in the Credit card number and kept swiping the card over and over, putting a bag on the card, asking for another card, really? You run a buisness? The food was clearly not marked right, I've never seen BBQ Ribs in the shape of Meatballs... The Menu on their site states "variety" of perogies = 2? really? Bland food.. Rude service.. small, not friendly at all... I guess you get what you pay for.. read more

Great polish food buffet. Watch out - cash only. Great service. They charge groups of 8 or more a 15% gratuity for buffet service. My large party was sat in a large party dining room - it was a nice touch. Crowd favorites were strawberry pierogi and potato pancakes. read more

Cash only! Great little place. Excellent food and good service. Food is fresh and good variety especially deserts and salad bar. Try a shot of expresso with a scoop of ice cream to finish off a big meal. Parking in the rear. read more

I have dined at the "original" Red Apple (near Belmont) several times, but I wanted to try the other location (also on Milwaukee Avenue but near Devon) on Thanksgiving Day with grandma. They actually had abbreviated holiday hours, but they were doing brisk lunch business (both dine in and take out) on this T-Day. The Thanksgiving buffet price is actually higher than their standard buffet rates, but still it was worth it to pile on the Polish and non-Polish cuisine. In a nod to Thanksgiving, they had turkey, stuffing, yams, and pumpkin pie among the selections, though Polish faves like pierogi, cheese blintzes, polish sausage and potato pancakes were hard to beat. The waitress offered soup and ice cream (both included in the buffet price) though some diners skip them and go full blast for the buffet choices. The food is all in one centralized area, unlike the linear conga line of food at the other location. read more

Red Apple Buffet - Red Apple - Buffets Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This stands out in my mind of one of the best places to go if you want to stuff yourself with meat and potatoes and have money left over for your stomach pump. No matter how much you try, you will walk out with tight pants and wondering when your gallbladder will recover from all that sausage gravy. It's definitely authentic, right down to the pirogies and and strange jell-o molds with fruit for dessert. I'm not Polish, but reminds me of a lot of the stuff my German grandma would make. Two different slaws, three different kinds of potatoes and roasted meats galore covered in various juices and gravies. I can't even tell you if they serve salad. Ha! read more

I have three words -and I wish I could say them in Polish -Deee-lish-cious!! Oh, that is one word, three syllables! Despite my grammatical faux pas, this is the restaurant my friend chose for her after baptism bash. It was a huge Polish buffet and yes, it was delicious! There were several choices for meat eaters as well as vegetarians. I had the potato pancakes, mashed potatoes, cheese pierogis and the cheese blintzes. Yes, it was a carb fest, but you have to do that once in a while. I thought the food was fresh and really well cooked. Loved every bit of it. It's a hidden gem, as I never knew it was so close to my house. I will be back to meet up with friends. It's some great food for the money! read more

My family (15 of us) and I visited this place over the weekend to celebrate my grandma's 85th birthday. Happy Birthday Baba!! :) We wanted a place that was A: buffet style and B: had food close to Ukrainian food. I had heard of Re Apple before and I saw it on Chicago's Best so I thought this will be great. I looked them up ahead of time to make sure there were items I could actually eat. Still on the low /no carb Atkins's diet. :) Walking in I thought wow they need a makeover on the decor. we sat in a back room which was nice so we could all talk and be somewhat loud. We did have a nice waitress so that was good. She checked on our drinks and plate clearing throughout our stay. Most places you have to pull teeth to get refills but she was on it. They start out by asking if you want soup. I passed and headed up to the buffet. Good a salad bar! Loaded up there on that and some cottage cheese. When I went back I TRIED to have some turkey and ham. I said tried because you had to cut it yourself and the knives where super dull so everyone ahead of me pretty much butchered the meat. Turkey was good but the beef was super dry. Good chicken, veggies etc. Typical Polish food. Cabbage rolls, pierogies, potato pancakes, meats, tongue, mashed potatoes, veggies, chicken kiev etc. Asked family what they thought and some loved it some said so so. Desserts were meh BUT we still had a FUN time and it is always good to see the family. This was a day for my grandma anyways. :) read more

The BEST BUFFET that I have EVER eaten at! ONLY $10!!!!!!!!!!! If you don't like Polish food, you're in luck! Fried chicken, fruit, salad, chicken cutlets, jello, fish, soups, etc. The soups were amazing. The fried chicken was pretty good, too. The staff was very friendly and the buffet was well stocked and replenished often. I ate more here this one night than the whole vacation. Argh :( So full, yet SO HAPPY! May I add that I usually dismiss buffets? Thanks Paul for bringing us here. read more

Fairly good food. The price, however, is also fairly steep. The atmosphere and service is also a little meh. It is fun to take out-of-town visitors though. I know this is not a very elaborate review which should give you some clue as to the restaurant. read more

I live less than a mile from here, but this is the first time I tried the "Red Apple Restaurant". I thought the food was good. It was a nice buffet of fresh food. I think I will go back and try some of the other food offerings. I had the beef, which was juicy and tender after putting a little of the gravy on. The polish sausage good. I still prefer going to my local deli (Andy's Deli) and cooking it at home myself. read more