Mabenka

I have been going here for years. This place has awesome, authentic Polish/​Lithuanian food – I really mean it !!! The potato pancakes are just about as good as my granmother and great-​grandmother made and they were off the boat from Lithuania !!! Beat soup— either hot or cold (Borscht) is my mom and daughter’s favorite. Be sure to try the pierogi as well… delish! We always bring at least a dozen frozen pierogi home as well. They will even sell you some of the bread they serve if they have some to spare – yum!
You really can’t go wrong at Mabenka’s, Even the chocolate ice cream is superb. Not sure what to order? Try a Polish or Lithuanian Combo plate– it gives you a little taste of the old country. Try it, you’ll see !!!

VERY disappointed. Food served family style. Cream of potato soup was good but that’s where it ended. Chicken and fried pork loin was dry. Gravy was served late. Mixed vegetables (corn beans carrots) were bland as was potato dumplings and mashed potatoes. Salad of cucumbers iceberg red pepper and tomatoes was uninteresting. Dessert was squares of some kinds of cake and mostly unidentifiable. No plates served with dessert. Pass this place up!

Like Polish food? don’t know what it is or how it should taste this is the place to go. Soup five star, roast pork, dumplings and gravy, five star, pierogi, five star, need to know any more, try it yourself and post a review. One of our favorite ethnic restaurants. Good as it gets for home cooked meals. No fast food here.

Stopped here for a quick family breakfast and was pleasantly surprised. The service was delightful, although the waitresses don’t speak the best english. I had the polish breakfast, and honestly, the polish sausage was my least favorite thing about the meal. It was bland and only lukewarm. The eggs were perfectly cooked, but the true stars of the meal were the potato pancakes. I am obsessed with potato pancakes and these are some of the absolute best I’ve had. I will be back for the potato pancakes. The décor is pretty typical family diner, so don’t expect much more than good food and good service.

Very good mom and pop Polish/​Lithuanian restaurant tucked away in the suburbs of Chicago.
Was craving pierogis and they were perfectly Polish, meaning potato-​y and cheesy. Free coffee, tea, and a basket of bread. What more could you ask for?
If you’re ever in the Chicago area and you’re craving hearty Polish food, this is the place.

Overall the food wasn’t bad… what we were given… just not what we wanted when we made the reservations for after a funeral. where it was supposed to be family style… and each person had 1… yes 1 piece of chicken… that was it and they wouldn’t make any more. The bread was all you can eat and it was very good… but for the meat… forget it. And they argued… after a funeral.
Not accommodating nor was the amount of food what we were told when we made the reservations for 30 people…

Seriously has the best chicken noodle and chicken dumpling soup ever ! Décor is just a little out dated.

nice breakfast place
great deals
they don’t speak the greatest english but they are very helpful
its a great deal for the neighborhood

Had the Hungarian Goulash and it was awesome! Friendly staff and the hot beet soup was great! Definitely will go again.

Book yourself a hotel nearby, because you will be so stuffed and become incapacitated.
Mabenka, technically, is located in Burbank, a Chicagoland suburb southwest of the Midway Airport on S. Cicero Ave. Hubby and I wound up there because the Plan A restaurant we wanted to go was closed in observance of Labor Day. I bookmarked «Mabenka» awhile ago because there were many yummy photos taken by Unilocal users that appeared to be worth a trip down this way.
After walking into the door, I saw the familiar faces: the fellow senior citizens. Please let this 30-​year-​old Rosa J. become a honorary one because she’s technically 68 years old, mentally (She’s known to be extremely «old-​souled)!
Ok, I quickly located «cepelinai» on the menu. «Cepelinai» is a Lithuanian dumpling made out of ground meat, covered by grated potatoes, and topped off with bacon bits. In my layman food language, it resembles a silicon bra (nude bra), except everything is edible and delicious. Every entrée came with three (3) dumplings, with sour cream on the side. After finishing one (1) of them, I was full.
On the hand, hubby finished his «kugelis,» a baked potato pudding. That «kugelis» was monstrous! How he finished this shall remain mystery.
Many entrees come with soup or salad, coffee or dessert. I had the cream of sausage soup. I could have called it quits after this bowl of soup. That was awesomely hearty, with a plenty of boiled eggs and sausages inside.
Hubby’s hot beet soup was equivalently great! We didn’t ask for the coffee because our stomachs couldn’t house anymore food or liquid.
Almost every patron had a «to-​go» box in his/​her hand, so you could probably tell that you would be served with a generous portion.
Our check was $ 20 and some change, before tip. Oh man, there was no single compliant because my full stomach prevented me from spitting out any negative comment about this place.

It’s like having a bunch of grandma’s in the kitchen preparing your food. Awesome authentic Lithuanian dishes

it’s my first time here. my server was kind enough to guide me around the menu. so… i made my own combo: cutlet, polish sausage, roasted pork, with sauerkraut and the dumplings. it’s damn good. great service, excellent food, and a very comfy environment. bmore people should come here!

I’ve eaten at this establishment twice now. The service is impeccable, so please tip your waiters/​waitresses accordingly because they bust their butts! The food is also very fresh and on point. My favorite: the sweet cheese pierogis! I could stop in every and order these pierogis. not just because they’re delicious but because they are so cheap!!! Give this place a try, the outside may look a bit sketch but the quality of food and service you get on the inside, makes the trip worth your while!

Authentic Lithuanian & Polish food. This food can pretty heavy on the starch and carbs, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
The corned beef was tough. The soups and Pierogis were generous. Sauerkraut is fresh and good. Service was very pleasant.

Loved my meal! I had the roast pork loin with sauerkraut, applesauce and fingerling dumplings. The meal came with soup or salad. I chose the hot beet soup and it came with a boiled potato. It was a delicious combination. The pork loin was moist and fabulous! The waitress was really friendly and took great care of us noticing when we ran low on something and offered to bring it before we asked. I didn’t care for the fingerling dumplings as they were just starch but my brother had the pierogi dumpling and it was delicious! Definitely going back the next time I visit Chicago.

This is the closest I have ever come to a place that has dumplings that taste like my grandma’s !!! Why have I not been to this place sooner?! It’s a small little place that packs it in the flavor department! I had the sampler plate and I got a dozen of pierogis as well. Their sweet cheese pierogis are amazing! Everything I had (sausage, sourkraut, potato pancakes) were great! Just like how I remember!
I can’t wait to come back here again!

If anyone has had a Busia or Babcia that cooked, this may be your place.
After many years abroad I was excited to see Borscht on a restaurant menu. A lovely big bowl of pink beets, boiled potato, and some lovely rye bread. Many memories of childhood came flooding back. All the old world favourites are prepared perfectly. Friendly waitresses, heaps of good food, and a huge menu.

My husband and I have eaten here many times. The wait staff are very attentive. The food is Great! They have food specials every day, or else you can choose from the extensive menu.
We go any time we are looking for our Polish /​Lithuanian crave.

Home cooking just like grandma use to make! Great flavors, good portions, decent value for the price. Will come again!

We came here for lunch. The specials are very cheap and pretty good. Soup was amazing. We had borch and their cabbage. By far one of the best soups I had in my life.
Entrée. We ordered the Lithuanian platter which had stuffed cabbage, sausage sauerkraut, kugelis. Ehh, not so good! Very disappointing since I am Lithuanian.
O and cepelinai-​zepelin were awful. Baked potatoes instead of real grated Lithuanian cepelinai.
My opinion, if you can’t make real lithuanian dishes just stick to Polish