The Red Chimney

good food for a really great price its a good olé family restaurant that has been in that neighborhood for years

One of my favorite places to eat. Good comfort food, ethnic dishes, great chicken noodle soup (we never visit without getting the soup) and very affordable prices. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and now travel from the burbs fairly regularly to enjoy a meal here with my wife or friends. It’s not fine dining, it’s just a relaxed comfortable place.

I wouldnt recommend this place, first the red chimney has mold and black dust on the ceiling and and the hvac vents. second when I was eating there christmas eve for breakfast and this was my second time there which I should of used my own judgment after the first time looking at how dirty the place looks, there was a cockroach running on our table. I paid my bill and walked out. What it has going for its self is cheap food

The Red Chimney is one of the mainstays of Slavic Village Cleveland’s authentic classics. It’s like your typical Americana comfort food diner with a hint of Hungarian influence. My favorite is the breakfast wrap with sausage links, add swiss cheese. Check out the daily specials menu. Their soups are usually pretty great too.

A Cleveland tradition for decades. My first trip here was as a boy back in the 1980’s, several owners ago. It was a great breakfast spot with my parents then. In the 90’s it was a great place to eat after high school hockey or football games. In the late 90’s it was a great place after shift at the firehouse around the corner. And to sober up after a night of MR’s Pub, The Borderline Café, or Carb’s Bar. In the 2000’s I introduced my suburban wife to it. We used to go there once in while when we still lived closer. I miss it. One thing amazes me. Through different owners, the place never went south! Awesome, odd, but awesome.

Neighborhood restaurant in the Slavic area of Cleveland. Decent menu, lots of good home cooking. I had the cabbage rolls, which were a bit on the mild side but perfectly acceptable. My dining partners had the pirogi and the smoked kielbasa, both of which were well done and quite tasty.
Atmosphere — it’s a neighborhood joint. Décor is old-​style diner. Friendly owners and staff. Decent traffic but not crowded.
If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s a good place for an inexpensive home-​cooked meal.

I passed this place while in the area for the first time and after reading a few good reviews, decided to give it a try. As I walked in I was promptly greeted and the waitress was quick to serve. I decided to try one of their specials, the stuffed cabbage. While waiting for my food, I took a look around the restaurant. It is extremely dated in the interior and quite a bit run down. I kept my hopes up though believing it to be a good dive restaurant. My salad came out promptly and shortly after I finished, my food arrived. Visually, it was not appealing, but I decided to dig in anyways. The mashed potatoes and stuffed cabbage were both drenched in a tomato based gravy. The gravy was unfortunately unappetizing and had a taste consistent with canned tomato soup and spaghetti-o’s. The mashed potatoes were a decent texture but overall bland. Stuffed cabbage, being one of my grandmothers favorite dishes to cook while I was growing up, already had high expectations. The overall consistency and flavor was good but a bit too subtle. The filling was decent but the cabbage was extremely bland and I struggled to find that great cabbage flavor that one would expect. Dessert was offered but I was already full so o cashed out and left.
Host: ⁴⁄₅
Server: ⁴⁄₅
Speed of service: ⁵⁄₅
Cashier: ³⁄₅ (not very friendly)
Overall service: ⁴⁄₅
Food: ³⁄₅
Atmosphere: 1.5÷5
Overall experience: ³⁄₅

Looks can be deceiving. Initially the area and modest dining atmosphere might distract the pampered individual, but for the one who seeks comfort from a good home cooked meal they will neither leave discouraged nor disappointed. The food was comforting, delicious and of large portion. The people were warm and kind. The customers hung out and talked with each other. And who can resist a banana split pie? I really enjoyed my visit here and recommend it as a perfect place to simply take a moment to eat well, connect with company and meet good people. When you get the check you almost feel guilty because it is so affordable. For the first time I felt guilty for leaving a 20% tip, thinking it was not enough. With what they charge you will too.

Great food! Really love their chicken paprikash when it’s on special. The chicken noodle soup and cabbage rolls are the best! Definitely a local favorite — been coming here for years! Their rolls are awesome too. :)

Place is great. Could use a lil tlc but the food is good and honest. Girls working are sweet as honey. Not a hipster or foodie for miles and I find myself gravitating more to places like this to remind me of the REAL Cleveland, not the CLE hip, 30 dollar tshirt crowd.

A Cleveland landmark! Great food at reasonable prices including tasty Polish favorites like pierogies and stuffed cabbage! Breakfast served all day. Nice selection of sandwiches, salads and burgers too.

This place is a little dive but its great. They’re fast and the food is cheap and tasty. I’ve been a couple of times because I have a client in the area. Its a good little place.

This place still continues to meet my standards. So kid friendly and the food is FAST! I love this place!

One of my favorite restaurants in the whole city! I always take out-​of-​town visitors here because Red Chimney serves up raw unfiltered old school Cleveland. The stuffed cabbage transports me right back to my grandmother’s kitchen.

The Chimney Breakfast is $ 2.75 before 11 am. That’s two pieces of toast, jam, two eggs, two pieces bacon or sausage, grits or home fries for under three bucks. What a deal!

We eat here 7 days a week. Awesome home cooking at great prices. Their city chicken is amazing. ($ 5.99 and enough food for 2 meals) Best of all you get soup with all dinners… go here and you will love it…

The Good:
This place is awesome! Real food for the masses at real prices. Everything comes out fast and tastes great.
The Bad:
They only take cash and it’s not the most pristine place in the city or even the area but it that bothers you stay out of the Slavic village.
My Take:
Looks can be deceiving and the best food comes from places that spend more time perfecting their product than getting the joint all fancy for the schmucks out there :)
Cheers!

For all you new CLE Millenials who just moved here fron NYC because you woke up and realized that the $ 1200 bucks you were spending on rent for a 150 sq ft «studio» in BKLYN could buy you a hip 2 – 3 bedroom in Tremont and you want a time machine to old-​timey Cleveland, hoof over to Slavic Village and go to Red Chimney.
From the waitresses slinging the water glasses and «hons» to the old-​school chicken noodle soup and Club sandwich, this place serves up 1970’s realness. I was thrown back to the old Diner on 117^th and Lorain that’s been long gone, but for which I have fond childhood memories, from the moment I walked in the door.
This place isn’t gourmet, fussy or remotely hip, but it’s part of the neighborhood. The food isn’t worth a special drive, but the experience might be.
Oh yeah, no credit cards accepted. How old school can you get?

This place is a local classic. It has had several different owners in my life time, but the current owners are diner rockstars. They are there to greet when you walk in the door and to get you coffee if it is real busy.
The food is always good. The Chimney breakfast is $ 2.50 and it gets you 2 egs any style; sausage, bacon, or ham; hashbrowns or grits; and choice of toast.
If you enjoy fish, their walleye dinner on Fridays is amazing. It is lake erie walleye and it is friend to perfection. Crispy on the outside, and flaky on the inside. Served with lemon wedges for an extra zing, a salad or soup, your choice of potatoes or home-​made macaroni and cheese.
if you’re in the Slavic Village Area, and are hungry, you will not leave this place hungry… and you’ll still have cash in your wallet.
And Btw, it is cash only. There is an ATM (Mazz’s ATM’s) if you need the cash.

I’d be lying if i didn’t say this place is a complete dump. But the staff is awesome, the food is incredibly cheap and the everything i have had has been fantastic. I usually go for breakfast with my boys on the weekend and breakfast for 3 is $ 12. I have heard the stuffed cabbage and chicken paprikash are phenomenal but i havent actually had them.
I dropped a star for cleanliness and the condition of the restrooms. I am a stickler about bathrooms in restaurants.
Parking is abundant and regardless of what the details say, they do NOT take credit cards. This is a cash only establishment. They do have an ATM inside.. The clientele is very diverse. on any given morning you could be seated between nuns and policemen with a mean old man at the table behind them complaining that his soup is too hot. They have regular tables or a food counter. I highly recommend the Chimney Breakfast, served before 11 for $ 2.50.