Anelya

Stopped in for dinner last week. The drinks were fine and the food was good...but the final bill left us in a place that said "for the price, this should have been a lot better."We tried the sunflower seed hummus, the bread, the Korean carrots (yes, Korean carrots at a Ukrainian place), the dolmas, the Poltava Halushki, the borsch, the pampushky and the potato pancakes. The borsch was better than I was expecting, the potato pancakes and the Halushki were tasty, the pampushky was excellent, and the dolmas were a strange miss.Also, our server felt on point for Eastern European customer service: kind, but brusque. The transactions were very business-like: "Hello, what would you like?" was our greeting for the night. In many ways, I loved that because it really felt like I was dining in the Ukraine, especially before the war began. (I have not actually been to Ukraine, FWIW.)The price for the value proposition and serving size is off here. We dropped $253 (meal, tax, tip) for a three-person dinner that featured two drinks per person and a small tasting menu. I was still a little hungry after we wrapped things up. Prices have skyrocketed for meals in Chicago, so some of this is my issue with prices everywhere, not just at Anelya. Still, we didn't feel Anelya nailed it for that price.

We wanted to celebrate St Patricks Day across the street and planned out perfectly to dine at Anelya before the festivities. We were able to enjoy a nice meal and then walk across the street for some more fun.We arrived for our 5pm reservation and were able to get seated right away. We were one of the first arrive, but the dining area was pretty much full by the time we finished our meal. The service was gear. Very friendly, quick and efficient. Although they're a tiny bit pushy by suggesting 3-4 plates per person. We walked out full by just ordering four total plates. They start you off by bringing you a tower of already prepared appetizers. Whatever looks good to you gets put on your table immediately. We were set on their Sunflower Seed Hummus and Bread by PQB. It's honestly my favorite bread in the city. In it went perfectly with the hummus. We also ordered their Pampushky, a Ukrainian garlic bread. The picture made this look bigger than it actually was. It was a tiny little thing but still very flavorful. The bread inside was so soft and had just the right amount of garlic on top. Would definitely order this again. For our entrees, my wife order their Halushki an Easten European dumpling served with braised short ribs and huckleberries. The dumpling were really good and the short ribs were cooked perfectly. I got a lot of Asian flavors out of this dish. It tasted like something I've had before but can't really remember. But a really savory dish. I ordered their Lokshyna. A layered pasta with farmers cheese and served with a black truffle broth at the bottom. The pasta was a little but crispy on top and on the edges but very soft and creamy in the middle and tasted phenomenal with the cheese and truffle. I would definitely order it again. Overall a very delicious meal from beginning to end. It sucks that Beverly Kim closed Parachute, but really glad she stuck around with this Anelya opening. Will definitely be returning.

You come here to support thoughtful chef driven food that tastes good, but doesn't break the bank.We celebrated a birthday and had been to the former incarnation. The space is similar, but they've made a few updates and while we're unfamiliar with Ukrainian food, enjoyed everything we tried.The service was genuine and Chef Beverly came by to thank us for coming. A few items came out paced oddly, but we weren't in a rush so didn't mind. The standouts were the trout roe tarts, borscht, broccoli and chicken/mushroom dumpling. We also really liked the whole mackerel, but it's not for everyone. I selfishly wish they had brought it out whole and deboned it for us instead of us having to (we made a huge mess). The presentation of the small plates kind of dim sum cart style was great!We tried a few wines and enjoyed them all along with being introduced to wines from countries we don't often sample. Desserts were yum and large and I appreciate that finding street parking even on a Saturday is totally doable. We will come again!

Anelya is a Ukrainian restaurant from award winning husband and wife duo Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim. They were responsible for the beloved Parachute, a great restaurant that I really enjoyed. So when I found out that they had a new restaurant focusing on Ukrainian cuisine, I knew I had to give it a shot. Even though Anelya hasn't been open that long, they've already been regarded as one of the best new restaurants in Chicago. This coupled with the fact that I am unfamiliar with Ukrainian cuisine, left me terribly intrigued. I did some research before coming here and was able to determine what some of the favorites of other diners were. The lokshyna in particular looked appetizing and was hailed as one of the best dishes food critic Michael Nagrant (The Hunger, Chicago Sun Times) has had in recent months. Hell, he said the lokshyna was a candidate for dish of the year! The overall ambiance, decor, and general vibe of this place is awesome. They have these really cool psychedelic overhead lamps and much like Parachute, they were cranking out some great music. We ordered the trout roe tart, pashtet, bread, lokshyna, poltava halushski, potato pancakes, holubsti, banosh, pampushky, and the napoleon for dessert. They immediately served us the troe tart, pashtet, and bread. These were fantastic! We immediately knew we were in for an incredible meal.The rest of the dishes came out of relatively quickly. The pampushky (garlic bread) and banosh (carpathian grits) were both fantastic and are a must order. We were then served four thin potato pancakes that came with delicious feta and jam. They were some of the best I have ever had. Then came the lokshyna, a dish I've had my eye on for what seems like forever. Now this is DEFINITELY a must order dish! Wow! A layered pasta made up of egg noodles, black truffles and farmers cheese. It kind of reminded me of lasagna and kugel. This was for sure one of the best things I have eaten all year. The poltava halushki was composed of two large dumplings filled with chicken and came with what was almost like a shredded chicken gravy. The dumplings were kind of like a BBQ beef bun you would get for dim sum. And the holubsti we ordered were four cabbage rolls stuffed with beef that came with a tomato sauce. And both dishes were delicious! We had the napoleon for dessert and it proved to be the perfect way to cap off the meal. I knew this place was going to be good, but it far exceeded expectations. The food is here is outstanding and this is was one of the best meals I have ever had. This is one of the best restaurants in Chicago and I HIGHLY recommend coming here. I know that I will for sure be back relatively soon. A+

We dined at Anelya for Valentine's Day dinner. It was relatively easy to get a reservation for a weeknight (we booked around 2 weeks ahead of time).The interior decor is funky and warm, which I liked a lot. The space is definitely cozy, with darker lighting and close-together tables.We ordered the trout roe tart, borsch, varenyky, lokshyna, holubtsi, and pampushky for dinner, and medovik for dessert.Every dish was warm and comforting-it tasted like something you would eat at your grandma's house. I would describe everything as "small plates sized," which I actually preferred, since that meant that I was able to try everything. My favorite was the varenyky.Servers were very helpful in recommending how many of each dish to order. I would come back to try more dishes!

Not being familiar with Eastern European cuisine I thoroughly enjoyed the meal at Anelya. There's nothing like it in the city and it's definitely worth a visit.We loved the appetizer cart they push around where you can see all the appetizers. The visual element is especially helpful in deciding what to order! Everything was delicious but we really enjoyed the carrot pate which tasted like meat! Sorcery. Other highlights were the lokshyna, a lovely and creamy layered pasta and holubsti, cabbage rolls stuffed with mushrooms.We finished with the honey cake which was a perfect end to the meal.

So excited to see Anelya hit the Chicago restaurant scene. Truly original upscale Ukrainian food in a cool yet cozy space. My husband and I had the sunflower seed hummus, the trout roe tart, the egg mayo, the pampushky bread, the halushki dumplings, the borsch, the broccoli, the kovbasa sausage, and the banosh which was probably a little aggressive but we finished most of it (though no room for dessert).LOVED - trout roe tart, hummus, borsch, halushki, broccoli, and the pampushky bread. The bread tastes like escargot without the snails, so good. The borsch is light yet hearty and so flavorful, def the best I've had. Liked the egg mayo (a little bland but the sardine helped) and the sausage. The banosh was cheesy grits so what's not to love but it was a little heavy and we were super full by then.I also tried Kvass for the first time as I was trying to do a "drink less" January which was a bit much on the first sip but won me over by the end of the glass.Service was friendly and sweet. Easy to recommend overall for a date night or small group.

One of the best Ukrainian 'gourmet experiences' of my life, & I'm from there originally:) Johnny Clark- Chef owner is the sweetest & certainly mastered his approach to elevating traditional Ukrainian dishes in the most creative way!! The smoked ribs with tartar sauce were SO delicious & super unique. Every dish was impressive! The pashtet (pate), sunflower seed hummus & broccoli salad were absolute perfection too! I'm salivating as I write this. Excellent service from Galina & entire staff! Very cool ambiance, retro, high-end yet cozy. Can't wait to return.

Highlights: The appetizers were presented to us on a beautiful platter, and we were able to select what we wanted immediately, rather than ordering them. We loved this way of serving appetizers. We were able to see what we were selecting, and the presentation was impeccable. We started with the Korean carrots, pickled tomatoes, trout roe tart, and the bread. Everything was outstanding. I furiously started taking pictures of the food in preparation for a few Instagram posts. We especially loved the tomatoes and the carrots. The flavors were amazing and vibrant. Low points: The character limit here restricts me from sharing the email I sent to the restaurant, but to recap:Customer service from the server right up to the manager, Rodrigo, was utterly abysmal. Zero explanation of the menu, majorly delayed food, manager tried to blame the server for the issues then changed the story later, and a dismissive server who is clearly uninterested in her role. Such a disappointment - this restaurant has so much potential if the appetizers are anything to go off. But the service ruined my trip to Chicago.

Food is really good and the service matches! Great ambience. Go crazy on the appetizers and sides.