I was intrigued, I had read that Bina's makes the best Bureks. But what is a Burek?, you may ask. This is More like 3.5 review by the way. A Burek is a pastry from the Balkans and it has a croissant like outer texture but looks like a super sized bialy. This Burek was stuffed with beef and it tasted fine but I felt like it was missing something like a dipping sauce or accompanying yogurt sauce. We got a spinach filled one as well. We also tried the Cevapi beef sausages and those were pretty good. It was served with onions and coleslaw and that helped cut down on the dryness of the Burek. It's a cute restaurant and it was my first step in being introduced to food from the Balkans. read more

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Overall Thoughts: Bina's Place is a small family-owned restaurant serving up delicious Balkan food-- truly some great quality grilled meats. The interior is decorated very simply with tables against the walls seating ~4 people each. When we came in at 6:30pm on Sunday, it was pretty empty and they were unfortunately out of most desserts (they stop serving them by 7pm). The server/owner was super sweet, and the food came out pretty quickly. The prices felt very reasonable for the quality. When I'm back in Rogers Park, I'd love to come back to try more of their menu! Food I tried: - Balkan Barbeque Plate (4.7/5): The meats were SO juicy, aromatic, flavorful, and beautifully grilled. The toasted pita was fluffy and chewy too. The chicken was a little drier than I would've liked but otherwise everything was so juicy, tender, and wonderful. - Spinach & Feta Burek (4.6/5): The burek's texture was perfect-- it's light, buttery, and flaky, and slightly chewy when you bite into it. The flavors of the spinach / feta were mild (mostly just salty) but I liked it that way, as it really let the textures of the pastry shine through. -- Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5 Food: 4.6/5 Ambience: 4.4/5 Service: 5/5 Overall Value: 4.6/5 read more

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Bina's Place is the most authentic Balkan restaurant in the city. Their byrek is the closest thing you can get this far away. We try to go anytime we are in the area. Do not skip out on their amazing desserts as well. Great back patio in the summer. read more

Bina’s Place - Beef Byrek - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So delicious can't wait to order again!! Opens @ 8am very clean friendly place!! Salads are amazing!! So fresh .. read more

Bina’s Place - Wow!! Amazing, delicious.., just ordered & I'm so happy:) Opens @ 8am - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My father, brother and I went there today. Service was great and the food was top notch. Highly recommended read more

I am always here to support my people from Balkan, especially if they are working good and hard like staff from Bina's place! Extremely kind owner with impeccable service! They have a patio where you basically feel like at home. Food was delicious! They also have fanta (and we were craving it)! Highly recommend! read more

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Food was ok the bare minimum no thrills or anything special I got two Italian beefs no options for anything other than peppers no cheese extra meat nothing No fries read more

In addition to typical American breakfast items, burgers, sandwiches and pizza/pasta, Bina's offers traditional Balkan dishes such as burek ("pie" made with phyllo filled with ground beef, potato, or spinach/cheese) and cepavi (beef sausage). I picked up an order of ground beef burek and it was simply delicious. It had a lot of flavor and the phyllo was still crispy when I got home. Linda was so kind to offer me a glass of water while I waited. She suggested that I call ahead next time in case they get busy (there were 3 pick up orders while I was waiting). I will definitely keep that in mind in the future. The restaurant is simply decorated and very clean. There are plenty of free street parking in front of the restaurant. Currently, they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. BTW, tax are included in all items! read more

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Decent spot for Serbian fare. Small place that probably seats about 20 people. Friendly service. Won't break the bank.

Just had lunch here to support a local restaurant and it was delicious! I started with an espresso which was phenomenal. Bit of a wait for the food but definitely worth it. Spinach feta bourek was fresh and perfect. Flakey pastry which wasn't overpowered by the filling. The sudjuk sausage sandwich was insanely tasty and so well priced for both. Highly recommend this place!! read more

Bina’s Place - Spinach feta bourek - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Place is amazing. They're the type to take your order and disappear to go make it. Classic joint. Highly recommend

Picked up a spinach/feta burek this time and asked to have it wrapped just in foil to spare the styrofoam and they were happy to do it. Trade off might be that it gets a little steamed in there, but one could unwrap the foil a little to prevent that. Folks are dining in now, but there is seating that stretches down the hall to give you some space away from folks dining/waiting in the front. They say garden seating is coming in the back which will be even better. read more

A whole in the wall with somewhat ample seating. The service is so friendly and the food is terrific. I highly recommend the sausages.

Very cozy restaurant in the back you can enjoy beautiful weather and have some sweets . One thing I am not fan of is cevapi they're not served as they are in other countries of Balkan no lepina you have to ask for it and it's dry not moist , but beside cevapi plenty to choose on menu that's why I gave 4 stars . read more

The best burek in Chicago! It is so fluffy and delicious, perfectly filled, and amount of oil is not too much - it is actually perfect not too oily, nor dry. Any filling you choose it would be a winner. They also have delicious Bina's cake, and amazing chicken salad. Its a family business, with focus on preparing and serving amazing food, it's not a fine dining restaurant therefore you can not expect fine dine service, instead you will feel honestly welcomed and modest (in a good way) hospitality. I love going there with my family, my 1 year old loves it there, its very chilled and laid back atmosphere. read more

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Was back in Chicago for the weekend for the holiday when I happened upon some awesome new and old restaurants in the neighborhood that I was excited to try! Between turkey and pie, was able to find some room to try feta burek and beef/onion burek from Bina's. Called ahead before closing and was able to drop in for fresh layers of dough and awesome flavors. Came out piping hot with tons of cheese. Would definitely try more from the menu if I was in town longer. Nice area inside for dine-in as well. read more

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Albanians are known for their amazing pita but I have to say, I was disappointed by the pita here. People recommended Bina's to me so many times and said that it was the best of the best but I was kinda disappointed. Perhaps I went on a bad day but my pita was so greasy that I could hardly eat it. The dough tasted like it wasn't cooked properly- like it needed at least 10-15 minutes more in the oven. The dough is supposed to be thicker to the point where you could slightly make out that it's spinach pita but with mine, the dough was so thin, you could see exactly how many servings of spinach and cheese went into it!! I didn't like it at all. However, I really liked the cevape. They were well cooked, the lepinja (pita style bread) in which the cevape were served in was made fresh and it was warm. No cevape is complete without onions- binas doesn't serve cevape with kajmak (the traditional sour cream) but they do serve it with sour cream. The saltiness of the cevape is a perfect compliment with the onions, bread and sour cream. Definitely 5 stars! I highly recommend trying the cevape! The customer service could use some work- there was a young girl working there who was very shy and timid. There was an older gentleman who took the orders and brought them to the table. There was music playing in the background but not so loud where you couldn't hear yourself think or speak to someone across the way. Parking is a little difficult to find but not impossible. I highly recommend you check this place out for yourself! read more

Great little place with excellent Balkan food! The real deal. The cevapi and kajmak were delicious. read more

Bina’s Place - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Soup was fabulous! We also had the cevapi and potato burek. Large portions and huge homemade pita with the cevapi. Delicious!!

Love Bina's. It was delicious and when it was was on western and now in a better/bigger space! We get the pizzas, the potato Burek, and my kids love love the Cevapi plate (sausages and pita). read more

Bina’s Place - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The best I've had so farcheck it out you will know how good the food is & the nicest owners

we absolutely loved the food at Bina's. My favourite is the cevapi plate and tarator salad. The staff is so nice and the restaurant is cozy! read more

Bina’s Place - burek - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Delicious burek and authentic cevapi. The Balkan BBQ plate is also good for trying a variety of Balkan foods. But I cannot emphasize this enough: the burek is delicious! read more

Excellent food and service! Friendly place. I'll be going back sometime soon - good neighborhood place

The goulash and mashed potatoes were tasty, it reminded me of my grandmas. I would've liked some chopped up veggies in it like I'm use to (especially since it says it on the menu that it does). My friends Cesar salad was pretty sad, just a very basic iceberg lettuce salad. If I'm in the area I will try something else from there, maybe some of their Serbian items (cevapi, Burek). The patio in the back was pleasant. read more

Bina’s Place - Goulash with mashed potatoes and Cesar salad - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great authentic food and great service! We had a large group and the food came out fast and hot.

The berek is delicious and their baklava is great too. I find the prices to be reasonable also.

Excellent service .Food made to orders so order ahead or wait 25 minutes .The best burek in Chicago!!

Bina's has a secret place to enjoy your meal during the shiny sun! A place of comfort for all of our families..... Yeh! Bina's read more

Great socially distant outdoor patio. This will be my go to place all spring and summer. read more

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definitely THE BEST cheese Burek in the city!!! The stuffed cabbage is also really good. Prices are fair. Looking forward to tasting the cevabcici next time. read more

Came here with a friend who is moving to Albania for work - we both wanted to try Albanian food and had no idea what is was. If all food in Tirana is this good, I may move there, too! Delicious, fresh, and satisfying. Great staff. We ordered cheese burek, Balkan salad, and the Balkan BBQ plate for three people and it was more than enough food. read more

Excellent ethnic dishes and plenty of food. Great people & great service! Will definitely return for the outdoor patio in the summertime.

Tasty home-style food, realistic portions, reasonable prices. We had cabbage rolls and goulash, real good comfort food!

A small little cafe with simple tables and diner chairs. Bina's claims to have the best bureks in Chicago, and they're probably right. Granted, I haven't found bureks in many Chicago restaurants, but Binas' are delicious. We tried the beef and the spinach and feta bureks. Each one was huge, filling a plate, and cut into 4 pieces for sharing. Lots of filling, fluffy phyllo, and not greasy at all. Yum!! read more

Bina’s Place - Beef burek (left), spinach and feta burek (right) - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I recently dined at Bina's Cafe in West Rogers Park. It is located in a somewhat obscure location on Lunt just west of Western Avenue. The interior is small and quaint but comfortable, decorated with a few artworks and plants. The level of service is prompt and pleasant without being too clingy. Bina's Cafe serves terrific Balkan and Mediterranean foods, and I hear the coffee and desserts are good here too. We ordered some foods to share, and everything we tried was excellent. We started with a plate of onion rings, thin and crispy and not too greasy. We ordered one of the bureks, apparently the star of this menu. The spinach and feta burek is akin to the Greek-style spinach pie, and was absolutely delicious. The flakiness of the burek was amazing, and since they say it takes 20 minutes to bake you know you are getting something freshly made. We also ordered the cevapi plate with cabbage (tastes like a lighter version of cole slaw) and chopped onions, and a basket of bread (called lepinja bread?) that is similar to pita bread. The beefy and juicy cevapi sausage links are scrumptious, and tasted great when stuffed into the bread and topped with cabbage and onion. I am a fan of this kind of food after sampling some of it during some of my world travels over the years. I must say that this is the best burek and cevapi that I have eaten in the Chicago area, and they compare very favorably with similar foods that I have tried internationally. Please give Bina's Cafe a try! read more

Best burek ever! Binas cake is to die for!! The ladies taking orders over the phone are very friendly.

It has been a long wait for a new establishment to go into the old Ed and Ervs market location. Super excited cannot wait to try it out. read more

Bina’s Place - Exciting new establishment in the neighborhood - Mediterranean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

One of our favorite places in West Rogers Park. Probably the best Balkan food in the area and people are absolutely amazing. MUST TRY!!!

One of the biggest regrets of my life is not coming to Bina's earlier. Seriously. We live around the corner, and when our dishwasher broke, we decided to order dinner. Their menu looked so good and unique. I was late to pickup our order, but it was still kept warm under heaters. The folks that greeted us were welcoming and kind. What we received was beyond. Incredible is an understatement. Our food tasted like love. The burek (we got spinach/feta and beef) was one of those meals you could eat over and over for the rest of your life. Balkan salad was so fresh, all veggies crunchy and perfectly seasoned. Bina's cake was like a taste of heaven. For less than $35, our family of 4 was able to get very full off of the best food we have had in a long time. Bina's Place tastes like family. Like love. There was something about this place that really struck me, and I'll be back time and time again. Can't believe I slept on this. read more