Restaurants in Western Springs

A delicious cross-section of Polish and American cuisines awaits diners on Jolly Inn Banquets Hall & Restaurant’s silver buffet trays, which overflow with more than two dozen entrees, salads, fruits, and sweets. Though accustomed to stealing the spotlight in many a lesser Polish feast, cabbage rolls and pierogi must vie for attention among a smorgasbord of sauerkraut, potato pancakes, house-made soups, and other savory selections. Bartenders pour frothy pints of Okocim beer from the tap and stir cocktails with meaty kielbasas while a crowned white eagle looks on from a nearby wall tapestry, silently wishing it had lips.

Each day, the cooks at Eden’s the Original fire up grills in preparation for the breakfast rush before the sun has risen over the Chicago skyline. Some fold blueberries and strawberries into buttermilk pancakes, and others sizzle up sausage, bacon, and eggs. Come lunchtime, they turn their attention to pure-beef burgers, meaty sandwiches, and subs, and shower plump Vienna dogs in chili, cheese, and onions. The dinner menu’s goods include deep-fried perch, barbecue ribs, and chicken alongside mountains of fries and slices of garlic bread.

The restaurant’s casual setting hosts feasting, but guests can opt for delivery to enjoy meals at home or at that fancy furniture store they sometimes pretend is home.

Pumpkin-hued walls adorned with North African artifacts and silk curtains draped from the ceiling surround diners at Shokran Moroccan Restaurant, where wooden chairs or ornate couches provide seating as eaters dig into savory dishes steeped in Moroccan spices. Vegetarian, beef, and chicken appetizers quiet hunger pangs by giving stomachs a wealth of delectable flavors and a stern talking to, and entrees such as couscous, kebabs, and tagine in the form of lamb marrakech entertain taste buds. In addition to handcrafted Moroccan morsels, live music and belly dancing often entrance customers at the BYOB hotspot.

Chicken Works & Salad Company perches in a brightly decorated North Side storefront, where the aroma of specialty flame-broiled chicken wafts over to a sweeping salad bar overflowing with fresh vegetables and toppings like a garden fertilized with Wheaties. The menu offers a trio of sizes including quarter, half, and whole chickens. Sandwiches, soups, wraps, side dishes, and salad by the pound supplements the eatery’s signature chicken dishes. Accommodating staff members also offer catering and delivery services.

Red Apple's all-you-can-eat buffet brims with traditional and contemporary international fare that emphasizes homemade Polish specialties. The smorgasbord, which won the Chicago Reader's readers' choice for best buffet in 2009, displays 50–60 hot, cold, and 70-degree dishes for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Steaming trays cradle classic polish morsels including cheese blintzes, stuffed cabbage, chicken kiev, and viener schnitzel, while homemade pastries and fresh fruits provide sweet epilogues. Red Apple also lends its cooking prowess to private family-style dinners in the restaurant or elegant catered affairs complete with glimmering Queen Anne chafing dishes.

Maki Sushi & Noodle Shop earned city-worthy praise in both the Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune for the elegant simplicity that characterizes both its menu and décor. Japanese letters run down the floor-to-ceiling murals that color the bright eatery’s mint-green walls, flanking a sushi bar centerpiece where more than 20 seats rest courtside as master chefs churn out dozens of maki rolls and sashimi. The clean lines of the eatery’s exposed brick pillars and polished wood-grain floors spill over into lunchtime bento boxes, which compartmentalize protein such as crabmeat fried rice or chicken katsu, and into the delicate flutes of martini glasses filled with fruit-infused takes on the classic cocktail. Equipped with a glass-enclosed wine cellar, Maki Sushi’s lower level lounge plays host to private get-togethers, corporate happy hours, and very short games of hide-and-seek.