SMAK-TAK! Polish Restaurant

As soon as I walked into Smak-Tak, I felt like I was back in Poland visiting friends at the local restaurant. The food tasted very authentic and the menu has all of the Polish staples. Definitely bringing friends here sometime soon.

Here's the place to get a plate of authentic Polish fare. We had the fried pork cutlet and chicken gizzards. I also ordered Borscht and potato pancakes. The borscht was so good! The main dishes came with two salads, one being a wonderful cucumber salad and the other a mixed vegetable salad. The main dishes also are accompanied by mashed potatoes and fresh bread. Give this place a try. I loved the service and of course I loved the food!

Update: 4.1 stars...potatoes were a bit dry and no gravy. Ground veal was a bit bland. Heavy, filling and tasty Polish food. Reasonably priced. Soups are huge. Great polish rye on table. Cutlets are plate sized. Highly recommend this place for comfort food. Borchst soup is ok, but others better. Bathroom plain but clean. Probably handicapped accessible, entry threshold is about 3"...byob. Dinner for two was $36 w/tip.

Good Polish food. For small place they have quiet variety of dishes. Everything was fresh and tasty. Bit of a surprise prices! Never pay so much for Polish food!

Delicious Polish food and friendly service. I got the Hungarian goulash stuffed pancake. The atmosphere was lovely. It was 20 degrees out and I felt like I was in an Alpine lodge!

My favorite place in Chicagoland. Soups & main dishes are amazing! Cheese-filled Silesian dumplings are out-of-this world when on the menu. One meal is like two and pricing is affordable and realistic. Red Borsch is spectacular! Service is wonderful

Tasty liver and onions and Hungarian style potatoe pancake. Great price and big portions! Quiet, comfy vibe like eating comfort food in grandma's kitchen.

Ok. Wow.. absolutely five star food. This is the food your Polish Grandma will make you if she REALLY loves you. Like.... Clear favorite. And it's decorated like her basement. But it's served to you by your bitter uncle who resents never marrying and instead he takes care of his ailing parents. But lemme tell you. This place is the the shiznit food wise. Will make your entire body feel better. The Silesian dumplings are incredible. Like mochi made from potato. The potato pancakes are addictive. Even the coleslaw is better than it aught to be. I'll be back for sure.

I have been yearning for their Hungarian Potato Pancakes stuffed with pork goulash. I have been searching everywhere for it but couldn't find it anywhere. I suppose we will need to travel to the Chicago area once more in order to have this delicious dish. I wish we have it here in Los Angeles.

Sad that it's gone! I wish I had been more of a 'regular,' maybe they would have survived the pandemic that wrecked so many restaurant businesses...

An excellent small polish restaurant with an old time vibe and excellent food. The chicken livers are very special as are the pierogi and the Polish sausage. Easy street parking and very friendly staff.

Stopped here for a lunch visit on the high remarks from other Yelpers. Unfortunately, things were not quite as advertised during my visit. Service seemed a bit "off" - not super welcoming, even though the place was empty when I arrived. From there, I chose to order the Hunter's Stew. This had some positive components, but the sum of its parts were not very fulfilling. First and foremost, there was not nearly enough meat in the stew which then appeared to simply be a lump of sauerkraut. The meat was good, but as you can see from the photo, its hidden deep within and not plentiful. For a traditional fix of local Polish flavors, they have it... but the quality might not be up to snuff with some others around.

Asset to the neighborhood. I crave Smak-Tak everyday! Family business, small, cozy, comfy atmosphere. Don't miss the beet soup and pork cutlet! I wish I were a local.

Great food and great service. Cozy small place but definetely worth it. First place I found with chicken liver that cuts it close to my late grandma's. Polecam, pyszne jedzonko, male miejce, menu w dwoch jezykach, przyjazna obsluga i ceny tez ok. Mysle, ze Magda Gessler dalaby im 5+

Food caliber is still excellent but more expensive with slightly less quantity. (Thank you inflation). If you're not Polish, they're still friendly. Can't say that for a lot of Polish restaurants. Had my go-to - potato pancake with some kind of delicious filling and sour cream garnish. Looks like a large omelet. Wood clad interior. More cozy setting due to smaller interior.

The quality of the food had gone down this past year, then a month or two ago, the place was shut down for unknown reasons. Doors were locked, no note on the door stating when it would re-open. Very strange. Now comes word around the neighborhood, that yesterday evening, the owner was found deceased inside the restaurant. Very sad ending to what was once a very nice place to eat..

Przepyszna kuchnia Polska. Znakomity Kapuśniak, Wątróbka niesamowita! Schabowy tradycyjnie dobrze wypieczony. Miła i profesjonalna obsługa. Polecam.

Good service in this small, clean, European decorated restaurant. Peter, the owner will likely bring your food out with a good sense of humor and a smile. It is BYOB, which is a nice option. The food is made fresh to order and is a must-stop restaurant when I'm visiting family on the NW side of Chicago.

Been here twice, so far. While the service is slow, the food is hearty, fresh, and very tasty. Go on a cold night when you need a comforting meal.

Great place for Polish food! The place is small, rustic, making it very cozy. The food was great. Mushroom Soup delicious. It was not the typical creamy broth. It was in a liquid broth very well seasoned with nice chunks of mushroom and small pasta. We tried three types of their Pirogies, Cheese, Potato and the meat. All of them were really good. Then we ordered 3 entrees so we can try a variety. 1) Breaded Pork Loin with chunks of mushrooms on top....my favorite dish. It was thin cut, in a crunchy tasty breading which was fried. 2) Sausage dish, very big piece of sausage and it was very good 3)Stuffed Cabbage , you get two pieces. The stuffed cabbage was just as good. It was nice portion and had great flavor The above dishes cane served with Potatoes covered in dill, sauerkraut, and beet salad. Very tasty sides. Finally, it's BYOB!!! Yeah!!! Finally, really this time...their is a Yelp Check in offer- 10% off your order!! Double Yeah! Great place in the neighborhood!

Food is good but a bit pricey. Good selection of ethnic food. We do pick up so haven't eaten there.

Great service and ambiance. Food of course was delicious. Mushroom SoupPolish, Pierogi, Sauerkraut and Mushroom Pierogis.

Outstanding food that is so hard to find anywhere else. Potato pancake was outstanding. Hubby always goes for the cabbage rolls.

I have ordered takeaway from this restaurant a couple times now. Each time I was happy with the food. My favourite is the pierogi and the breaded pork cutlet. Portion of the entree is quite big - and you also get 2 side dishes (cucumber in some kind of sauce, and what seems like pickled cabbage) in addition to mashed potatoes - so I would say that it is more than enough for 1 person. I sent pictures of the food to my Polish friends and they said that it looked authentic too!

Smak-Tak is a super cozy restaurant where the interior feels like you're in the inside of a small cabin. The tables remind me of tables in someone's house and the inside isn't super big. When we went there was one man (I'm assuming the owner) and a Polish lady (in the kitchen) and the ambiance instantly reminded me of being at my friend's house with their family. Their menu has decent selection of Polish foods like cabbage rolls and potato pancakes. They even had a type of Polish soft drink which I found really fun! The drink was super sweet but it definitely added to the meal. I would not recommend if you don't like things sweet. I ordered the cabbage rolls and it was plated with cute potato dollops and some veggies. The cabbage rolls were good but I wish there were more potatoes. I had to steal bf's potatoes because I felt I didn't get enough. The food was filling and the price was decent. Bf ordered the ribs and they were really good. Overall we definitely enjoyed this place and would try it again. There was plenty of free street parking as well!

They were closed! Went Fri May 5 at 6pm and door locked with a closed sign on door. We even called ahead to reserve table, but recd VM so we left a message. There was no mention on phone message or website that they were not open. A man from next door told us they've been closed a few months. What's up? Would love to eat there soon. Please provide update.

Great food and good service highly recommended going there we will be going back next weekend

Biggest pet peeve when a restaurant says they are open and then are not open when they say they are. Drove super out of my way to this place just to find they are not open at lunch on a Thursday despite what their hours say and with no explanation. Luckily, them being closed led us to find Smakosz on Lawrence, so I have no need to frequent Smak Tak now.

Ordered takeout from here and everything came correctly, plus delivery was a tad early. I tried the potato pancakes and pierogi: the cheese and potato, cherry, strawberry, and sweet cheese. Potato pancakes were good, if not a tad too greasy for me. Also they are gigantic. If you're getting them, order with friends. Of the pierogi, the sweet cheese was by far my favorite. The cherry and strawberry I ordered to be more adventurous, they were interesting but not quite my taste.

The food is fresh and delicious. The service is great. The place is small and cozy, the decor is very cute! Always have a great meal here. Their mushroom soup and pork cutlet, pierogis are very good!

If I could give it 10 stars I would. Cozy, hidden gem, very friendly staff, incredibly delicious food and beautiful artwork on walls for purchase. Paintings, pictures all crafted by the owners! Mrs. Ewa, who also is a 5 star chef, will paint a picture for your house to order!!! We will definitely come back and I am measuring walls in my house for some personalized touch! Let's keep them afloat, less and less places as such in our Chicago!!!!

Decent food but don't get the breaded chicken breast meal. Lacked flavor and was too chewy. Also the manager/waiter had a terrible attitude. I asked if he served beer and got nothing but attitude from him. Never going there again.

Wow! My first time trying the breaded pork cutlet with mushrooms. So good and yummy!!

The restaurant was closed when it was supposed to be open. They didn't update their hours and wasted our time

Yeah a milestone my 300th Yelp Review. I know I'm just a mere grasshopper compared to some of you gold & black elites, but hey for less then 2 years it's a start. Small Tak Restaurant @ 5961 W Elston Avenue is just under 2 miles from my house. I have driven by it hundreds of times and even walked past it a few times. I don't know why, but I've had a craving for something new & different so I thought I would check it out. It is a cute Little Polish family owned restaurant with Ma & Pa in the kitchen and the daughter serving. The waitress has only been in the US for 4 years yet her English was great (Ahem alot better then my Polish). There are only 5 tables with 4 seats each and a few bar stools at a higher counter. I loved the decor inside. It has this old world charm with wood plank decor on the walls and ceilings. The walls are adorned with paintings and artwork and has the feel of someone's home basement or den. I ordered the ground veal with mushrooms. The mushrooms added flavor to the veal and was pretty good. It came with 3 sides unfortunately none were very noteworthy. The carrots were minced with pineapple and vinegar (different). The cucumbers had a dill sour cream, it was ok and the 3 little potato balls has some dill sprinkled on it, but were sort of bland. Overall this is somewhere between a 3 1/2 & 4

This place is wonderful! Full dinners complete with mashed potatoes and beautiful salads; the carrot and the beet salads are my favorites! The sauerkraut is AMAZING (and I'm scared of cabbage). The Polish Sausage is outstanding as well as Breaded Pork Cutlet, Hunters Stew and Potato Pancake and Pierogis-all amazing! TRY THIS PLACE! Quaint and intimate- smartly decorated and BYOB!!

What Polish restaurant can't make a decent pierogi?? totally gooey dough. Tasteless filling and sauce. Hated it!!

My wife and I have ordered take out 4 times now from Smak-Tak and we've fully enjoyed each trip there! We've now sampled over half the menu and have been impresses with each item we've tried. My personal favorite is the HUNTER STEW. It's fantastic! I find myself craving it at random times nowadays. The saurkraut base is excellent, but the chunks of meat are just so perfectly tender, flavorful and actually large, unlike many hunter stews that seem to just wave a sausage over the pot as it cooks. This one doesnt mess around and is a true "stew". The pierogies are also impressive. Kraut/mushroom mix is usually my fave and they're really good here, but the meat pierogies steal the showbat Smak-Tak! I usually dont prefer meat pierogies, but these just have the finest texture and taste and are simply irresistable. My wife is in love with the mushroom soup and cabbage rolls. I very much look forward to trying the rest of the menu, but it'll take time. I simply cant help but order/eat a full portion of the hunter stew on each visit, leaving little room in my stomach for sampling!

Yummy! I love their mushroom sauerkraut and meat pierogi~ great great flavor! My colleague recommend this place as her family's favorite. I ordered online and picked up in store. The stuffed cabbage roll and sauerkraut tastes great as well! I would definitely come back for more:)

The mushroom soup was average. I didn't appreciate the dill in it and orzo instead of łazanki or any other homemade noodles was unnecessary. Pierogi were good though. The owner was friendly and the food was served in no time.

Bardzo smaczny! We ordered so much food, we didn't know what to do! Too many good things on the menu. Schabowy, chicken liver, stuffed cabbage, and pierogi were all amazing! Like homemade by babcia! They weRe only doing take out, due to covid, but I imagine the foodie even better when it comes fresh from the kitchen and not drIven 35 mIns before eating it.

Small, charming, truly homemade cooking. Everything is made fresh and to order. The best authentic Polish food you can find on the Northwest side of Chicago! Outstanding all around! Highly recommended! And it's BYOB

I always had great food beautifully presented. Nothing to complain about. Delicious. But as mentioned the owner/waiter was not very pleasant. Crabby.

Dinner with friends We ordered : Soup mushrooms- very good ! $ 3.50 Ground Veal cutlet - very good ! $ 12.99 Silesian dumplings- very good ! 11.99 Pork loin with peach - very good ! $ 13.99

The best hunter stew I ever had.my wife and I also split some great pierogis

Cute place, food was not bad. It had a home-cooked feeling to it, the cook was a nice older polish lady, it was absolutely authentic. The place was very clean. Staff was not wearing a mask the entire time though. And service was very uninviting, which is the main reason for the docking of the stars. I don't think I'd be back; if the food would've been stellar, maybe I'd put up with the service, but not in this case. Also, everything served was overly garnished with dill, I like dill, but it was loads of it on top everything.

Excellent hunter stew, sausage and Cole slaw salad. And byob. Pork schnitzel did not have any flavor and could use some seasoning. Thanks!

I had the chicken livers with onion. It was so good that I rolled on my bed around like a happy monkey while consuming this food from heaven. God bless Poland! Thank you fellow Polish for making such delicious, flavorful, and comforting food that I always love! I know some people mentioned about the service. Can you people just enjoy the food? They are all nice people, and if you don't want to dine in, do take out! I never, ever have any problem with their attitude!

This is a cozy little place with a homey and rustic dining room. It's also quite small with only 5 tables and a little bar table in the center. The Polish food offerings are quite good as well as generous. We tried on this evening: - breaded pork cutlet dinner which came with nice little sides of a potato and cucumber salad, and a sauerkraut-like mix - potato pancakes - plate of a variety of pierogis Service was fine and efficient, though we did have to seat ourselves when we entered as the one server was back in the kitchen for a few minutes. It's well worth a try if you want a quiet and authentic Polish dinner. It appeared we were the only non-Polish there tonight. The breaded pork cutlet also came with mushrooms and a fried egg, and was by far the best dish, and possibly their signature dish. I tried pierogis yet again, and while they are ok for what they are, I'm going to stop trying to make myself like them (I can't help comparing them to dim sum dumplings). We came at an opportune time, but I would recommend making a reservation to avoid a possible wait in this tiny place. It's also BYOB, and there is easy and free street parking on Elston right outside the door.

Found this place on a whim while looking for a dinner spot near-ish to American Science and Surplus. We were so incredibly and happily surprised at how good it was! I was tempted to peek into the kitchen to see if my grandma was back there cooking it was so good. I've been struggling to find a cabbage roll (stuffed cabbage) in the city that tasted like the ones I grew up with and lo -- it lives here and it is good and as I type this a few hours after our visit I am now craving more. The potatoes, cucumber salad and carrot/cabbage combo served with our mains were also delicious. My son had the veal cutlet and my boyfriend had the pork cutlet. But then end of the meal our plates were empty. Both the mushroom soup and the borscht were also super flavorful. And the bread on the table reminded me of family meals with my grandparents. Food is not overpriced. Great beverage selection. Cute decor. And prompt service. Added bonus: we left my infant son's sippy cup on the table and the owner brought it out to us. This is my new favorite spot for Polish food in the city for sure!

Came here for my fathers birthday and the food was amazing. My father really wanted chicken liver and I saw Smak-Tak had it on their menu. He loved the dish. The kluski slaskie were very good as well. Overall great Polish food.

I've recently been on a quest to try more cuisines that I've never had before and so my friends and I chose Smak-Tak (I was told this translates to Taste, Yes!) for a Polish night dinner. This is one of those restaurants that you can drive by a million times and not realize it exists even though it says Polish American Restaurant in bold letters on top. The interior of the small restaurant is super cozy with cute pictures hanging along the walls and for the first time, I watched a little bit of Polish television. We started off with the borscht soup with mushroom dumplings (really good, sweeter than expected, never had a soup like this) and an order of pierogis which comes in a plate of 12 that you can mix and match. We decided on the potato & cheese, sauerkraut & mushroom (my favorite!), and a sweet blueberry. All were spectacular though! Then we had a couple of entrees including the hungarian pancake (huge, like a giant taco with a golden crispy crust reminiscent of a calzone crust), the potato pancakes (3 big slices fried to perfection, comes with applesauce!), and the potato dumplings (a plate with at least 30 small pieces overlying warm melted butter and reminded me of gnocchi). Taste-wise everything was delicious and new to me but it was also very authentic according to my Polish buddy. Although it was mentioned that the potato dumplings would taste better if it came with gravy....but alas, we all loved it and were stuffed by the end of the meal!

Delicious! Loved the mushroom and chicken noodle soups. Great food. Fresh. Nice people.

Cute mom and pop restaurant, my family went here while visiting Chicago and friends. We ordered a mix match of food and enjoyed it all, its a unique dining experience

Looks like a small place that wouldn't be great from the outside. Went in and it was a nice little place with very friendly staff and atmosphere. Then the Bigos......WOW! The Best I have had, sorry babcia.

Food tasted great and looks great too. You could tell this is a nice restaurant even from their take-out. Everything was neatly packed and staff was friendly. I would absolutely come back for a full experience after the pandemic.

Ordered the cheese & potato, and sauerkraut & mushroom pierogies. Delicious pillows of goodness. Also ordered the potato pancakes. Delicious as well but I enjoyed the pierogies more. For my entree, it was the breaded pork cutlet with mushrooms. Cutlet was perfectly breaded and browned to perfection. Taste of the cutlet with the sautéed mushrooms was very good. I will definitely come back to Smak Tak.