Magic Jug

Amazingly delicious food, like your babushka used to make in a cozy cabin vibe. Super reasonable prices and great lunch specials. Friendly service. I can't say there's anything I'd change about this place; it's perfect. Maybe BYOB, that's it. Enthusiastically giving this 5 stars and if you're reading this and not sure about Ukrainian cuisine - just go, you won't regret it!

What an absolute gem of a place. Found completely by accident, I wandered in hoping to get a taste of the homemade food I grew up with. And I wasn't disappointed. Slightly different interpretations than I'm used to but just as reminiscent and delicious. The mushroom soup...yum, the cabbage salad...delicious, the pork and chicken cutlets...amazing, even the simple mashed potatoes were great. Also, get the olivye. Trust me. Go here soon. Nice waitstaff, a little slow, but there was one person, so I can appreciate the effort. Interesting ambiance. All wood interior with traditional Ukrainian decor.

My bud and I enjoyed a hearty lunch at Magic Jug on a frigid weekday a few weeks ago. This Ukrainian restaurant is on Irving Park just a tad east of Narragansett. The folksy wooden interior gets you in the mood for a nice home-cooked meal.We each ordered a lunch special combo with soup and entree, and that is where you can get a good value meal here. My combo included an amazing bowl of borscht (probably the best borscht I've ever tasted) and a yummy roll, pork cutlet, mashed potatoes and cole slaw-esque side salad. My bud's combo included chicken noodle soup, and a pair of ground meat crepes. So you can get away with a lunch combo for under $12. Alas we decided to order other food items as well! While everything was tasty, the cash register then started to ring. We each added on a glass of compote, a fruity juicy drink. I tacked on a beef cheburek. While I was envisioning a large pinwheel of meaty madness tucked inside phyllo dough, the item that came out was more like a giant empanada with a thin layer of ground beef as filling. It was good, but not life-changing. My bud ordered the Dnister salad (shredded cabbage, peas, sausage, mayo), which looked like a fancy bowl of cole slaw to me. He also polished off the sweet cheese crepes topped with jam and powdered sugar for dessert - he gave me a bite and that was delicious. Everything was good to great (borscht was my pick to click). Service was pleasant, and we were sort of amused by the Euro music mix that played during our meal. Magic Jug has a free parking lot behind the restaurant - you can reach it via Narragansett.

The food is authentic and really really good. Not fatty and not salty and great quality food. The beef goulash was better than the ones I had in Hungary with shredded well done beef with no fat and the sauce was perfect and thick. The campote is a juice made of orange, berries, and apple. It was very good. The ambience is quiet and quaint and there is free parking across the street from Burger King and Jewel Osco right behind the restaurant. I would definitely come back.

We came from CA and rode 1.5 hrs in metro and bus to try this place. Amazing flavors.

I wanted to try something different on my last visit to Chicago and the place looked cute and clean. I'd never had Ukrainian food before. The waitress explained the options and I ordered the #3 lunch special. I don't remember the names but the food was delicious. The soup was tomato based and tasty. The meat dumplings were filled with pork, I think and were tender with wonderful seasoning. I had plenty to eat but couldn't resist the cherry and cheese crepes. There's even free parking in back.

So good! The best stuffed cabbage and borscht I've ever had. The place is super cute and very clean. This is a new staple for comfort food.

Excellent food! The borscht, summer salad, potato pancakes, stuffed cabbage and yummy little perogi-like dumplings were excellent

We have now been here several times. We have never had a bad meal. We are not Ukrainian and sometimes we have had to work a little to be understood but it works out. We always get the potato pancakes. We have tried the Borsch and mushroom soups. All were good but my personal favorite is the mushroom soup. There was a Mom with two young children and they all had the compote which they told me was very good and not too sweet. So I tried it and it was refreshing. We have tried both the vareneki and the pelmeni. We would probably order the pelmeni again just as personal favorite. The summer salad was simple but oh so good. The cabbage salad was a delightful surprise it was so clean and refreshing. Mom always has a Sweet Kind which is basically a cheese blintz/crepe. It is her favorite.We have not been disappointed in any of our meals! It is worth trying and overcoming any language barriers.

Great home cooked meal for reasonable price!We had the vareneki, pelmeni and chicken cutlet. All of them were cooked and seasoned well. Service was great although we came an hour before closing. Will def come back again.