Anelya

We had high expectations, being from that corner of the world and traveling to Ukraine on many occasions. I am quite familiar with Ukrainian food and dishes, and this "modern Ukrainian" is, unfortunately, hit ot miss. I give it 3.5 out of 5, but closer to 3 than 4. Quite cozy and pleasant place, warm and inviting decor. Ukrainian touches are tasteful, and authentic. Service is quite friendly and cheerful. Everyone is smiling and glad to be there, as far as I could see. Now back to the food, and it is definitely overhyped and overpriced, big time. Some of the "zakuski" (appetizers) on the cart are not authentically Ukrainian, and some prices were just raising eyebrows. Perhaps, we know too much about the origins of these dishes, hence, it was difficult to enjoy it. We did like sunflower seed hummus, I enjoyed trout roe tart (for $12). Bread was delicious, BTW. We passed on principle $20 borsht, as we eat very good home made borsht at home. Never seen $20 borsht in my life, for standard portion, and had it at least 100+ times in different restaurants around the world. Draniki (potato pancakes) were disappointing, as they were overfried and very salty. Serving it with feta cheese is a weird touch. I like draniki and feta cheese, but not together. I didn't particularly like sturgeon balls with mashed potatoes, less than inspiring. My wife thought that her chicken shashlik was too fatty and not flavorful. Wine list is purely Eastern European, eclectic and overpriced. We found decent bottle of Georgian wine from Imereti, Qvevri red, if you know what it is. If you don't, please find Qvevri Georgian wine, and try it! Nastoika called Pyanaya Vishnya (Drunk Cherry) wasn't very good, $9 shot. I had very good one in Riga, Latvia last year, and no comparison, alas. I doubt that we will be back, but you gotta make your own impression. I would recommend other Ukrainian restaurants in Chicago area, more authentic, and more approachable, and whole lot less expensive. By all means, support Ukraine and Ukrainians now, it is needed!

Overall, Anelya was a decent experience for a one-off visit. We got the carrot pate, bread, mushroom soup, garlic bread, short rib dumplings, smoked chicken, and the Kyiv cake. All of this was $160. The carrot pate was pretty good, though it did not come with anything other than the pate. We order the bread out of necessity because we would have had to eat the pate with the knife given. The mushroom soup was great, though the portion was small. The waitress suggested we get the garlic bread, which was fine. There was really no garlic flavor. The short rib dumplings were the top dish, though for $18, the portion was really small. The chicken was on skewers. Most of the pieces were good and the sauce was delicious. A few pieces were entirely fat and another pieces had a sliver of bone in it. The Kyiv cake was the one dish that actually felt worth it. It was the highlight of the night, which is really saying something.

Great food and service - highly recommend to someone who is curious what Ukrainian cuisine is like. It’s grandmas cooking but elevated to 2024. Love a physical menu that is also partially in Ukrainian.

За такі гроші дуже все погано. Маленькі порції ( 4 вареника за 20 доларів ) 4 шматочки оселедця на порцію ) не зручні стільці, їжа не відповідає запитуваної вартості. Кажуть що з-за столу треба вставати трішки голодним, це саме той випадок, але не за такі гроші.Розчарований. Дякую

Really an amazing place. The Parachute restaurant did a great thing here. Love the Ukrainian staff and love supporting them. They are truly wonderful and are certainly blending into Chicago very well. We loved our waitress and what seemed to be the manager which was all over the experience. We asked her about the Music which was so enjoyable. It was a Ukrainian playlist which she gave us. So wonderful. The food was unique and delicious. We started with trout roe tart , pickled herring and pickled mushrooms . All were amazing and very refreshing. The mushrooms soup was loaded with flavor and the best I’ve had. The brisket and gnocchi was weird but delicious and would recommend because you have to try it and love it. The smoky chicken kabobs were very Persian and wonderful. The sturgeon meatballs were amazing. Can sturgeon really ever be bad. Maybe but their meatballs were the pinnacle of the evening. The dessert was worth setting aside the rest of dinner and having. Wow! The berry rose cream with a crisp on top was really over the top! Love you guys and everything you do!

This place is very far from authentic Ukrainian cuisine, lots of dishes are tasteless and super super small , and prices are super high , if you are looking for real tasty ukr food definitely not this place , 14$ for 4 pieces of hearing come on !!! Very very unhappy with this place definitely wont be back or recommending it to anyone .

Wonderful place to enjoy contemporary ukrainian food and vibes! We have been here only once but definitely coming back, hope soon :) As a ukrainian who lives in Chicago for the last 8 years I can tell for sure that we needed this restaurant so much. And huge thanks to chefs for the grits! When I tried that it threw me back to my childhood and reminded me almost the same dish that my grandmothers and my mom used to cook, we call it “nachynka”, perfect taste and balance! Recommend!

Awesome dining experience. Very unique and delicious food in a cool atmosphere. Will be back