Sawa's Old Warsaw Restaurant — Restaurant in Proviso Township

Old Warsaw is one of those places you often drive by, think it’s out of business, never consider to visiting it, but somehow end up doing it. We visited the restaurant due to a family event with 30 other or so family members for a Sunday lunch and I was thoroughly confused what the place was. It took me a while to figure it out.

It is so terribly outdated that you really want to just turn around, but it has this strange 1980s charm that may tap your interest. Think squarish gold-colored lamp shades with a patina hanging over cheesy pictures on the wall. Over the time of our stay, I somewhat came to the conclusion that Old Warsaw is a restaurant that is kept on life support by a generation of people who want to keep the memories of their childhood alive and once this generation is gone, Old Warsaw’s reason for existence will be gone as well and it may simply fade and make room for a Mattress Firm shop.

Service is generally slow due to the fact that the overall pace in the restaurant is slow and the audience of 65 and older doesn’t really mind. Upon arrival, we were someone surprised that the manager informed us that we couldn’t go up to the buffet and get food. We were told we would have to wait 15 minutes due to the arrival of another party. It turned out that the buffet was really a buffet suited for maybe 50 people max, but there were well over 100 people in the place. The food options were ok, but not something that you’d brag about. They were frequently gone and people ended up fighting over the potato pancakes. If I go again, I'll bring a small stick to slap people who seem to be on the verge of starvation on their fingers when they cut in the line and reach for pancakes. The quality of the food was good and right in line with what you’d expect from a Polish home cooked meal. Older people like it, younger people not so much.

Right now, Old Warsaw fills a very specific purpose. The outdated environment as well as decorations that could use a little TLC, but they do not really matter and the place definitely has customer traffic. But as time goes by, the owners may have to think about the future of the business as the charming, deteriorating nature of Sawa's being a time machine for a mortal customer...

I’ve been there several times before and it was great, but this time I got sick and the people were rude. I had finished and we were talking and I suddenly had to go to the bathroom urgently! I had just had a biscuit for lunch so it wasn’t that. And I barely made it home. And that wasn’t the end!! I usually avoid buffets because I am afraid of how fresh the food is. It has always been safe but not today. We apparently had come right before they were changing to dinner. I got some corned beef and cabbage and I finished the cabbage and wanted more for the rest of my corned beef. It was replaced by ribs on the hot table. I asked the woman bringing out the food for more cabbage. She said ‘now dinner’. I said it just changed because I still have corned beef on my plate and I just wanted a bit more cabbage. So I asked the hostess. She said ‘now dinner’. I said it just changed and I had corned beef on my plate and wanted just a little cabbage’. I waited and waited. So I asked the server, who said - guess- ‘ now dinner’. I again explained it had just changed. I just wanted a little cabbage to go with the corned beef I still had in my plate. She after a few minutes brought me cabbage and corned beef. I didn’t want more corned beef and I didn’t expect to get yelled at for not eating it. Then after 15 minutes, the hostess comes with a whole plate of corned beef, carrots and cabbage. She started screaming that I got some. I told her that I figured she was ignoring me since I watched her and she didn’t go to the kitchen. I said I only wanted a little more cabbage. My friend quickly said she would eat the meat. I then got a snotty comment from the server about asking twice. Again I said I thought the hostess was ignoring me. I gave her a full 20 percent tip ( as if she had really worked for it like in a restaurant while this was...

My family has celebrated a number of Easters at this restaurant, but this past Easter was a disappointment. We had a party of 16 adults and 5 children. Our reservation was later in the afternoon to avoid the busy time. First of all, I dont recall seeing anything posted about a 2 hour time limit, and that may be because I'm not looking for it. Also, it has never been mentioned either. Our waitress, Kasia, was wonderful. She handled our group with ease. The problem was to treat a party as large as ours the same as a party of 5. With children, it just takes a little longer. They have to be escorted to the buffet which is understandable. However, it delays the parent's time to get their food. Our reservation was at 3pm and by the time everyone was there, a headcount was taken, and drink orders, nobody got to the buffet until approximately 3:20. The food wasn't the quality we've been accustomed to. At one point, they ran out of plates, pierogies, shrimp, and roast beef. The cabbage rolls were sub-par and only one type of pierogi. For $29 an adult and $14 children (a definite increase from last year) quality and quantity should not be an issue. The child price is for children older than 2. We had kids in ages 2 thru 8 and there is no way the 6 year olds ate as much as the 8 year old. Around 4:55, a waitress came by our table asked if we enjoyed ourselves and said thank you for coming. She said they needed the table for another party. By the way, we were in the back banquet room where there were more than enough tables for another party. We were just finishing up our drinks, had a half carafe of wine, but being asked to leave. Unacceptable. Our party brought in revenue close to $1,000 and to have this type of experience is disappointing. My family has decided to no longer patronize...