Red Apple Buffet

Excellent food and friendly staff. Went to have dinner with my family and had a great experience. My 7 year old is a picky eater, but loves to go to Red Apple as much as possible. She loves the food options, which are great and delicious as well as the dessert options. Highly recommend it. I think Red Apple is our new favorite place to go.

I love the atmosphere of Red Apple. It is calm with music, and it is never very crowded.
The food is good, but some food is a little dry. The pierogies are one of my favorites, but I wish that there was more varieties of them. I think their buffet menu is good.
The staff are super nice, and they don’t disturb you.
They also have a small dessert buffet with fruit and various desserts.
I do recommend Red Apple.

This is the best autentic Polish food in Chicago. Nice atmosphere and clean inside. My friend refer this place.

We ate here and I must say that I AM APPALLED! Appalled by the fact that this establishment only has a 4-​star review on Unilocal.This inviting little eatery offers some of the freshest, most delicious Polish and Eastern European food around. I was tipped off on this place by a lady who spent most of her life living in Poland. Walking in, we were greeted by a warm, friendly staff. After a prompt introduction from our server, we were given drinks and shown the buffet. It was stocked with a plethora of meats, potatoes, and more potatoes. On first pass through the buffet, we found several pork entrees, fried and baked fish, pasta, a good-​sized salad bar, and some ridiculously good mashed potatoes. I don’t know what they put in those mashed potatoes but they were excellent. The next pass through afforded us with meat pierogies, potato pancakes, and potato dumplings just like my grandmother makes. After discovering that their dumplings were of comparable quality to that of my grandmother’s, that’s when it became apparent that the $ 13.99 price tag is a steal. I know how much work my grandmother puts into making those; so for them to offer them on their all you can eat buffet is a testament to how this restaurant will give nothing but the best to their patrons. The dessert bar was our last stop and it came stocked with a good assortment of cookies, pastries, and cakes. From tiramisu to apple turnover. They had more sweets than you can sample. The only things missing were kolachkes. That and the fact that they are a cash only business were the only two flaws I could find with this establishment. Otherwise, everything was phenomenal. If you find yourself hungry and within driving distance of this restaurant, please go. You will not leave disappointed.

I absolutely love Red Apple Buffet. For me, a large portion of this love is steeped in nostalgia. I remember coming here as I was growing up, and feeling in touch with my heritage as I was surrounded by all the Polish-​speakers and the amazing food.
If I’m not mistaken, this buffet is somewhere in the ballpark of $ 20 or so, and it is worth every penny. On most buffets, there are a few meat items, but the emphasis is on sides or cold items like the salad bar. At Red Apple, that’s not the case. There are tons of meats and main dishes to choose from. It’s hard to decide what to eat; it all looks and smells amazing from the moment that you walk in the door.
My personal favorite thing to get here is the pierogis. To anyone who doesn’t know that, these are a Polish filled dumpling. Whether they’re potato and cheese, or mushroom, they are amazing. It’s my favorite Polish dish, and I appreciate that at Red Apple I can eat my fill of them. They’re perfectly cooked and delicious.
They also have really good desserts, including Kolaczki. These are cookies that are filled with jam or filling and then folded, then usually sprinkled with powdered sugar on top. We make these every year for the holidays, but they can be a pain; it’s nice to be able to eat them without the annoyance of having to make them. Plus, they’re better than mine are anyway, haha. If you’re new to Polish cuisine, just be warned when you look at their desserts– it might look like chocolate, but it could totally be prune.
This is an approachable and friendly Polish place that is sure to have something for anyone, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood.

You know the food is authentic when all of the workers speak Polish as their primary language. Red Apple offers a huge selection, mostly Polish of course, with potato pancakes, pierogi, pickled beets, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, herring, etc. The bar has Okocim on draft along with other Polish, bottled beers such as Warka.
They have other European dishes such as German schnitzel and Hungarian chicken paprikash. I wasn’t expecting flan but it’s surprisingly good and similar to the Spanish version.

Excellent food. A little pricey for mid-​week lunch but no complaints in quality. Especially liked the schnitzel, some of the desserts and the potato pancakes. A lot of fun, good service… and a LOT of food.

Simply best east European buffet ever in the world!!!
lots of fish and meat variety
great price — 20 bucks!!!
very homey authentic taste
lots of fresh fruit for desert, even strawberries and grapes — if you’re not into fatty cake sweets
LOVE IT!!!

The food is really good and tasty. But it was $ 24.08 for a Saturday Weekend Buffet, and that’s where the disconnect happens. This is just a Polish buffet on Milwaukee ave, no big deal. So while I am full and satisfied, I won’t be back anytime soon.

All of the food was excellent. It was fresh, tasty and authentically prepared. No complaints there. BUT BEWARE** CASH ONLY HERE. They done accept credit cards. There are no signs posted to warn you either. They conveniently have an ATM machine right next to the cash register but you will be paying hefty bank fee’s so bring cash! When I go back, I will definitely bring cash with me as I had to walk down the street to Walgreen’s to get cash. Although I didn’t mind the walk after such a large meal! It was still an inconvenience. Would have given 5 stars if they accepted credit cards. Who carries cash anymore?

Life changing! If I could eat here everyday I would.
The staff was very friendly. We were there around closing time and we did not feel rushed at all. The server was quick to take our empty plates or refill our drinks.
The buffet selection was bigger that I expected. Being a buffet I really didn’t expect the food to be anything special. I was wrong! Everything was fantastic. It’s like getting a good home cooked meal but you have unlimited options. Everything was hot and fresh and they were constantly switching the food out with more fresh stuff.
This is our new favorite spot. I hope everyone gets a chance to try the strawberry pierogi.

Great eastern-​European buffet, nothing you can’t find here.
Great choice of drinks/​food/​deserts.

Missing some Polish food, we decided on this place. My partner said he had been here over 20 years ago, and said he really liked it. We came in on Labor Day around 7:30 in the evening, and it was dead… but hey it was the holiday. The buffet was 19.99, and it was worth it! They had great selection to choose from. The service was great, very attentive.
The only thing that I did not care for was the cheesecake, it was very dry, inedible really. That was a disappointment for me, but not a deal killer.
Overall, a great place to get a quick meal, with great Polish variety!

Amazing, real deal authentic Polish comfort food. Something for everyone and a friendly staff that makes you feel like your back home.

Delicious food, plenty of choices. Authentic Polish food at reasonable price. Organic tea is the bomb which is 50% off now. My fave dish is shrimp which they do not have all the time.

The Mrs. and I stopped here this weekend. We’ve been looking for a decent Polish buffet since the closing of the suburban Bobaks restaurants. This place was a good substitute. We are from the southwest suburbs but love coming into the city. so we had to check it out.
The food was very good. A wide variety to choose from. My favorite was the duck, the polish sausage was good but I like Bobaks a little better. The sauerkraut was very good and so were the breaded pork cutlets. I wish I could have tried everything but I ate like a pig as it is. All in all, the food was excellent, we’ll be back to try the rest of the buffet.
The Food I gave a 5, I took off a point because it is cash only but I put a point back on for having parking. In the city, a little parking lot is better than no parking. We actually found a good spot back there.
We will be back on our next trip to the city.

Amazing Polish buffet – pork with sides of pork. They have ample variety and everything I sampled was worthy of seconds, but I eventually got too full.
We rode the train and walked the rest of the way. Plenty of little Polish shops in the vicinity of Red Apple.
The signs in the restaurant said they were celebrating 25 years of service. They got something good going here!
Kid friendly and reasonable prices.

A great and cheap place to introduce people to Polish food! A hudge choice of Polish dishes. We didnt even had a chance to try everything! Choice of Polish beer and all you can eat buffet for only $ 13,99. Very nice service :-)) I recommend to everyone, Polishor not!

Question: if you pick up $ 40 on the ground (unlikely will happen), what are you doing it with this pure luck? May I suggest the Red Apple Buffet. Everything you know about Polish food in an ayce style. You can’t complain about this, so make sure you’re mentally and physically well in order to eat tons of food. The buffet menu changes constantly, but they always have the basics: cabbage rolls, meat and fruit pierogis, gizzards, hunter stews, mashed potatoes with gravy, potato pancakes, fish, herring in vinegar, Polish salad essentials, coffee cakes, an assortment of fruit slices, and many other items that I can’t name them all. The dinner buffet also comes in with the choice of soup. There are usually two (2) kinds to choose from, and the server will tell you what’s available. I know many of you have the stigma about buffet food and consider whatever they put out is unappetizing and low quality. You won’t experience all that with the Red Apple. They serve quality food. The buffet station is clean and has a nice presentation. Nevertheless, the service can be a bit slow. If you’re doing a take-​out order, you may have to patiently wait in the front until someone shows up to assist you. They don’t take credit cards, but there’s an ATM onsite with $ 1 surcharge. There’s an PNC bank on the corner of Belmont and Milwaukee if that’s your bank. The typical bill for two (2) is $ 28 after tax if you order no drinks. My husband ordered a soda so the total bill came up to be $ 32. If you’re not familiar with Polish food and curious to know what’s about, come to Red Apple!

Parking lot is a war zone, I bring this up first as a word of warning, you enter down a narrow one car width driveway and there is only one way in/​out, so either pray someone isn’t leaving from behind the building. Then you need to pray that they weren’t leaving from the only available spot because it’s almost impossible for two cars to pass each other at the entry to the spots. So your left with trying to squeeze in and lose your side mirror, or back out the length of the driveway and out onto Milwaukee backwards. In other words use a spotter or park on the street, this honestly is one of those times that paying LAZ is worth it. There were a few people trying to get in and out and had know idea what they were in for, after I pulled into a spot a couple of girls getting ready to leave where laughing about it, I guess they experience the same, they threw up their hands about it.
It’s only natural after all that after the challenge of getting a space that the food would be outstanding, or at least good. Maybe because it wasn’t busy the food was out for a bit, however it was dry, and overall not tasty. The interior can also use a renovation, the overall look is tired. I will admit it’s been years since we’ve been here. There are two Red Apple’s, and my advice is that it is definitely worth heading directly thirty-​three blocks NW up Milwaukee Ave. to their other location, the parking lot is easier to deal with and there is parking available on the side street. The food is tastier and the décor is fresher.

You will want to make your way here on Wednesday when borscht is soup of the day. The version here served warm uses chicken stock and includes plenty of sliced beets and cabbage, dill and whole pepper. It’s delicious; add boiled potatoes and sour cream from the buffet and it’s more delicious. In summer there is a cold clear «young beet» soup too.
Aside from borscht, this place provides a panorama of Polish cuisine, all waiting to be added to your plate from the buffet. And it doesn’t have to be unhealthy — there are plenty of salads and veggies. Still after a plate of salad, most will gravitate to the main courses, gravies, and side dishes, top it off with an assortment of well-​made potato pancakes, pierogies and blintzes, maybe return for seconds and thirds, and finally sample the endless homemade desserts. The kolaczkies were delicious too. The wait staff is very pleasant and prices are reasonable. There is a bar so a beer, glass of wine or a shot of vodka are not beyond reach.
So let’s say you are working through the seven deadly sins one by one – be sure to hit Red Apple on the day you reach Gluttony.

I’m not a big fan of buffets, but heard this place was special.
It is!. Fresh salads, all kinds of meats, and of course Polish delicacies.
The food was very tasty and a great variety.
The girls that work there are sweet and attentive, even for a buffet.
The food is heavy, food coma to follow.