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Old Lviv
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
14 reviews for Old Lviv
I was the only diner there for lunch who didn't greet everyone with a hearty "Dobry den" as I walked in - this place is AUTHENTIC Ukrainian, no doubt. The decor is very simple, but it was a spotless restaurant.
The buffet ($10 on weekends/holidays, $9 other times) is well worth the value - and is full of delicious potato, cabbage, and lots of meaty options to sate your palate.
They have Ukrainian beer (and a full bar) to wet your whistle, and the cabbage soup I had was delicious, served with mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, meat and fresh dill sprinkled on top.
The service was friendly - but seriously, just listening to all the Ukrainian being spoken around me made this place truly a gem. I'd go back and bring friends.
Also, good to know: CASH ONLY
Closest El is CHICAGO (Blue Line) and you can reach Ukrainian village by taking the 66 west for a couple minutes if you don't feel like walking 12 blocks.
I had to take a plane, three trains, two buses, and short walk to get to Old Lviv, and I'm glad I did.
The plain, tiny restaurant is comfortable, if not "cozy". I walked by the storefront once before realizing that the unassuming little awning had the name of the restaurant I was looking for. There is nothing fancy about Old Lviv, but you don't go there for the atmosphere. You go there for the food. I found the staff to be less friendly than some of the other reviewers did, but they were not UNfriendly, and they were attentive.
I could only make one trip to the buffet, and I tried almost everything on it. Perhaps I inherited some kind of Cabbage Appreciation Gene from my Ukrainian forefathers, but I never thought I could eat cabbage prepared so many different ways and like all of them. The radishes in sour cream were delicious, and I had heretofore assumed that that radishes were merely a decorative vegetable. I also had the borscht, topped with sour cream and dill and flanked by rye bread and butter. It is so cheap and so worth it; the borscht alone makes me want to move to Chicago. It's better than Mom's. Sorry, Mom.
If you're visiting Old Lviv, you might want to make a trip down the block to Ann's Bakery for entire LOAVES of cheap, delicious rye!
Pink freakin' soup everyone. PINK SOUP.
I didn't do the the buffet and Ol' Lviv, but the did the borscht only. It was good. My borscht experiences are very limited, but I liked this one very much and if I didn't, the half loaf of delicious rye bread that came with the soup would have made the $2.50 that I paid for it, well worthwhile.
So everyone, if you are looking for pink soup, this is your place.
The only thing this small Ukrainian Village buffet restaurant has going for it is its superb Ukrainian beet borsch served with light rye bread.
The buffet itself is more like eating during the Great Depression when food was scarce than feasting at an all you can eat buffet, laden with sumptuous prepared meats, ethnic specialties, endless side dishes and luscious pastries.
The food is good, but nothing to boast about. Very limited selections!
Alcoholic drinks available. A dismal example for a Ukrainian buffet.
Disappointing
This place is awesome for what it is. A crapload of food for not a lot of money, and the food isn't bad, either. Of the probably 15 different trays of food, the only thing that didn't have meat in it was the mashed potatoes. I regret that I was too hung over to eat more than a bowl of borscht and two plates of MEAT before reaching my grease limit and that it was my last day in town, but if I lived any closer, I'm sure I'd weigh a lot more than I do.
A grade-A place to stuff your face, and be sure you're in the mood to EAT A WHOLE TON OF MEAT. Brazilian steak houses got nothing on Old Lviv.
Old L'viv is super authentic.
This place is a place you go to for an experience, unless you really love Ukrainian food. I really enjoyed my meals here, I just can't give more stars because it's not a place I can keep coming back to.
I had to try borscht, it was my first try. I recieved a large bowl of nearly flourescent/deep pink soup. It was packed with flavor and I think I would have loved it except that beets aren't my favorite thing in the world.
The buffet is great and I was glad to have so many options so that I could find what I liked. It's mostly just FUN - go and experience the food that initially the made the neighborhood the Ukrianian Village!
I love mom'n'pop establishments like this. Unfortunately the food was barely edible. I tried the borscht. Now to be honest, I don't really think that I would like any version based on how this tasted, so don't take my opinion too seriously if you're a fan. However, the buffet lacked anything that had any, I don't know, taste? The variety of items was small. The food was lukewarm, prepared in a very basic way not worthy of my money, and the killer was the liver and onions, the smell of which just makes me nauseous. The place wasn't particularly clean (I had to ask for a new glass). We went with friends who had read about it, they weren't impressed either. won't be back.
I'll right so this is my first time having this kind of food and I know I'm no expert but I thought it was pretty good and so did my Belorus friend. Go with the pink soup, also on know Borsch which is made with beets. And try the Dranik which was amazing. Relatively cheap at 9 bucks and a friendly hostess/waitress. I would definitely come back again.
Very authentic food but I mostly just ordered the borscht on the few occasions that I ate here. Comes with some nice rye bread and is pretty cheap.
This place is so small and cozy you will feel like you are in your livingroom :) They cook the food in the back and it's a authentic Ukrainian Cuisine. Polish people started to Americanize and alter their recepies to accommodate yuppies, so I go to this sweet little lady to have some REAL European Food. They have a small bar, the buffet is all you can eat and it's a very intimate experience. If you are craving good home cooking, potatoes with dill, golabkis, meatloaf , goulash, kopytka's, meatballs in dill sauce, red borshch, breaded pork chops, meatloaf cutlets, all sorts of veggie salads, from soup to main corse, to desert and a glass of wine, you will love it!!! I do and so do all my friends whom I have taken there...
The only reason I even went to the place was because my friends liked it.
Thats funny. Every time they would go there they would have stomach problems. Yet some force kept bringing them back.
I won't lie. The soups are eatab. Thats it. I have been there at least 3 times and the rest of the buffet looks like its been laying around for days. I have tasted real Ukrainian food. Never liked it that much. But Old Lviv's food is pretty much tasteless.
Oh yeah, if you are not white, you might want to avoid the place all together. When I came with a friend that wasn't, I hat to actually defend myself for bringing him there!
Read about this place in Time Out as a recommended authentic ukranian food place---and it was a nice treat. Very "authentic" food (but what do I know about European cuisine) in a nice homey atmosphere that makes you think you really could be in another country. Very friendly and accomodating staff with a large buffet. Only points I would knock off is that a lot of the stuff didn't set well with my palate (lot of fried greasy mystery meat) but thats just a personal preference.
One of those fabulous small Chicago diners. I felt like I was in my Grandma's kitchen, and my Grandmother isn't even Ukranian. The buffet was fantastic..I am almost positive it is the first time I have tasted liver since the age of twelve. This time, I actually enjoyed it..(don't tell anyone) And it is the first time I can remember joining in on pleasant conversation with other diners and the owner..truly, it was like hanging out with the cousins and in laws in grandma's kitchen.
What the reviews have not mentioned is that it's an all you can eat buffet for ***** $8.50 *****. Included is a soup (borscht, chicken noodle, and another one were offered the day I went). Unlike Podhalanka, there is no juice included. Soda is $1.50 and they do have a small bar. I believe the young Polish guys next to us were imbibing some vodka with their meal.
I have to take a star off because nothing is labeled as to what it is and I felt awkward having to ask what nearly everything was so I wouldn't accidentally ingest liver or something non-poultry because it is very hard to tell. The stuffed chicken is so good and it's stuffed with mushrooms and cheese. They also have what seems to be a baked chicken/thigh leg that was tasty. The mashed potatoes were a wee bit dry but they had a mushroom gravy that I noticed Ginny put on hers. I was glad they had a lot of dark meat chicken options. Preferring dark meat, I am down with that. The chicken noodle soup was good too. I'd say you shouldn't eat here if you have big plans that night since the food is very heavy. I wanted to take a nap after eating! The sweet cheese filled crepe was great, but I think there was another one of these that was a meat option. To round out the meal, there is watermelon on the buffet. Watermelon. Mmhmm!
