Restaurant

Anelya

Name: Anelya
Address: 3472 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL, 60618, US
Telephone: (773) 692-2192
Price range: value

Contemporary•Ukrainian Village•value

Anelya is one of the best contemporary restaurants in Chicago for dinner, especially if you want a strong option in Ukrainian Village.

Editorial review updated•Jul 28, 2026

Anelya is doing something almost no one else in Chicago is bothering to do: treating Ukrainian cooking like the serious, layered cuisine it actually is — not a novelty pivot, not an ethnic curiosity, but a full argument that beet and cured fish and rendered fat and fermented grain belong in the same conversation as any other refined tradition. That argument lands harder because the restaurant sits in Ukrainian Village, a neighborhood that carries that name more as historical memory than living daily practice. Anelya functions as both reclamation and counterpoint to the idea that Eastern European food needs to be softened for American comfort levels. It does not manage your expectations in that direction. Diners who come open-minded reportedly leave converted; the incurious tend to miss the point entirely. The menu is built around dishes where restraint is the technique. The Forshmak — a chopped herring preparation that reads humble on paper — is consistently cited for its precise balance of acid, fat, and brine, the kind of calibration that signals a kitchen with actual conviction. The Trout Roe Tart is reportedly simple in construction and direct in impact, rooted in pantry-and-preservation logic rather than embellishment. The Chicken Kyiv here has nothing to do with the frozen-dinner version that haunts American memory; by all accounts it is the structural real thing, built around a butter-flooded interior and a crust that behaves the way a crust should. The Crayfish Holubtsi and Pashtet are the consensus opening moves — order them before you work through the rest of the menu. The room is small and the place fills fast, particularly on weekends. A walk-in on a Friday is an optimistic gamble at best; a reservation is the practical call. At this price level, you are getting away with something.

Carlos Mendez, Food & Drink Editor

Methodology•Chicago guides•Editorial team•Report outdated information

Cheap EatsUkrainian Village dinnerlocalcool

Visit Website View Menu Get Directions

Taste ID

Rate this restaurant

Start with one score. Add details or a review when you want to help other diners.

Taste Score 7.6/10

Rating (Google) 9.0

326 reviews

Chicago

At a glance

The fastest read on whether this place fits tonight.

7.6/10

Taste Score

Google 9.0 from 326 reviews

Best for

dinner and Cheap Eats

Price and pace

Good value

Neighborhood

Ukrainian Village | 3472 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, USA

Price

Good value

Taste Score

7.6/10

Phone

(773) 692-2192

Menu and ordering

Anelya menu: what to order

Start with the dishes below, drawn from the restaurant details and TastyPals notes available on this page. Anelya is listed in the Good value price range. Menus, availability, and prices can change, so confirm current details before visiting.

Pashtet

organic chicken livers, seasonal jam, spices

Crayfish Holubtsi

Forshmak

marinated herring spread, borodinskiy bread crackers

Trout Roe Tart

chive cream cheese, fresh wasabi

Chicken Kyiv

herb butter, green beans, roasted cauliflower puree

Check the current menu

Why go

What makes Anelya worth the move

Anelya is a clean first click in Ukrainian Village in Chicago when you want a contemporary option you can trust. Trout Roe Tart and Pashtet also give you a decent sense of the menu. It also holds a 9.0 rating across 326 Google reviews.

What to know fast

Public rating

9.0 from 326 Google reviews

Best for

dinner and Cheap Eats

Style

Contemporary in Ukrainian Village

Spend

Good value

Best for

Cheap Eats Ukrainian Village dinner local cool

Know before you go

Google rating: 9.0 from 326 reviews

Price point: value

Popular dishes: Trout Roe Tart, Pashtet, Forshmak

Website linked on this page

TastyPals Reviews

What diners are saying

0 diner reviews · reviewed by Carlos Mendez for Anelya

Be the first TastyPals diner to reviewFirst-hand reviews are moderated before appearing publicly.

Google snapshot

9.0 from 326 reviews

TastyPals notes

Editorial review by Carlos Mendez

No diner notes for Anelya yet.

Dhanteraz Indian Fusion occupies the former Savannah Supper Club space on West Roscoe Street, and the transformation matters: what was once a supper club is now one of Roscoe Village's most talked-about Indian kitchens, a BYOB spot where…

More TastyPals-reviewed restaurants in Chicago

Continue exploring restaurants that passed the same editorial quality gate.

Plan the visit

Quick details

Visit Website Menu Directions

Address: 3472 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, USA
Phone: (773) 692-2192
Price: value
TastyPals score: 7.6/10
Google rating: 9.0 (326 reviews)
Cuisine: Contemporary
Neighborhood: Ukrainian Village

Read guide

Restaurants in Ukrainian Village

Frequently asked questions

What cuisine does Anelya serve?

Anelya is a Contemporary restaurant located in Ukrainian Village, Chicago. Anelya is doing something almost no one else in Chicago is bothering to do: treating Ukrainian cooking like the serious, layered cuisine it actually is — not a novelty pivot, not an ethnic curiosity, but a full argument that beet and cured fish and rendered fat and fermented grain belong in the same conversation as any other refined tradition.

What is Anelya best for?

Anelya is best for cheap eats, ukrainian village, dinner, local, cool. Anelya is a clean first click in Ukrainian Village in Chicago when you want a contemporary option you can trust. Trout Roe Tart and Pashtet also give you a decent sense of the menu. It also holds a 9.0 rating across 326 Google reviews.

How much does it cost to eat at Anelya?

Anelya is in the Good value price range (value). Google rating: 9.0 from 326 reviews

What should I order at Anelya?

Start with Pashtet, Crayfish Holubtsi, Forshmak and Trout Roe Tart. These dishes are shown from TastyPals notes or restaurant data on this page.

Is Anelya worth visiting?

Anelya holds a 9.0 Google rating from 326 reviews. Anelya is a clean first click in Ukrainian Village in Chicago when you want a contemporary option you can trust. Trout Roe Tart and Pashtet also give you a decent sense of the menu. It also holds a 9.0 rating across 326 Google reviews.