Delish, reasonable, good service, neat atmosphere, unique menu... what's not to like? Definitely recommend the octopus.

I'm always reluctant to give a restaurant 5 stars, but this place is very very good. The food and choices are excellent, the service was very good and the atmosphere is inviting. If you like we'll seasoned food, high quality meat, this is a carnivores dream spot. I'll be back for sure. It's also a.great place to bring friends! read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

I came here for some of the only Bulgarian food in the country, and you know what? This is definitely Bulgarian food. I got a giant clay pot full of ingredients. One of these things easily feeds a family of four. I am not even exaggerating, I of iron stomach and food challenges. I could barely eat half of this dish. There is well over a pound of meat in here, at least that much in veggies. Flavoring is subtle - this is not drowning in sauce, but everything is well coated and the sauce is cooked down/into the food. I found that I had to quit from sheer food volume, not from the taste being too cloying. Wash it all down with an authentic Bulgarian beer! Verdict: 4.5 stars. Service was good enough, and some people got blankets as it started to get colder outside. I... I just overate. I can't. This is one of the only restaurants to defeat me, and they get praise for that. Go here. Come hungry, with friends. Do not attempt alone. read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Clay pot sach and chicken/vegetables - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

Didn't know what to expect with Bulgarian food before I looked at the menu. I'm glad I looked them up before I went and read the menu first. Once you look at the menu, which has good descriptions, it is not so "scary". I loved what I ordered (Kasapski Sach), and I plan to go back on a nicer day or night and eat al fresco in their nice outside area. Try it. It won't be as scary to eat Bulgarian food as you might imagine. It is kind of like Mediterranean with a sort of east European slant. Try it. read more

This place is a gem. I love anything that comes off their grill. Kabobs are fantastic. Good soups, good fries. Small draft beer selection, but it is always fresh and delicious. Best cake Ive ever eaten. Mehanata special cake. ( Figs i believe. ) They also have a good espresso machine which i take advantage of regularly. read more

Great meat. Seasoned well. Good service . We went with a group of 6 and all chose different entrees as the menu is huge! We all enjoyed our plates. Portions are big. read more

Be really careful, every picture on the menu is just mouthwatering, but you won't finish more than one! Besides the food is yet amazing, the portions are insanely large. Speaking of kitchen, I would also mention the way they serve. Besides from the great decor of every single dish, whoever designed the menu and interior, also had some great attention to details, as lets say serving plates and boards match general colors of the theme. As an eastern european (not bulgarian) fan of Meditteranean cuisine, I found their kitchen as a perfect combination of those Greek notes with post-soviet traditional recipies. Something like someone added the dishes I love, to my own national cuisine and made it even better, if you know what I mean:) Mehanata is also great for parties, I love their outside patio. Although its right next to a busy road, you do feel separated from it by small decorative bushes and the fence, so at the end its not that loud as you may think. Servers are really great people here. My friends and I are coming to Mehanata few years straight, most of the personnel stays the same and they are super friendly and extremely fast. I feel like I will keep adding my thoughts further on, because I'll keep coming here every other week for sure. Thus, to be continued... read more

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We totally enjoyed our meal. The food was of excellent quality and quantity! Wait staff and manager were great . We traveled to Bulgaria several years ago and this meal brought back wonderful memories. It was excellent all around! read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Restaurant Mehanata! - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

The food and service were excellent at this restaurant. Admittedly, my group was unfamiliar with Bulgarian food, so we went with the meat platter and it did not disappoint! read more

Let's say you're friends with a grizzly bear who just woke up from hibernation and you want to take him out for a good meal to celebrate. You go to this place and order the SMALL Kasapsky Sach and split it with him. Let's say he's got some bros who also just woke up and want to join. Still order the small. Then you look at the side dish menu and you see some hot peppers for $4 and you're like "Four dollars for some peppers?" Yes. Get them. They're so deliciously worth it. This meal is chicken, pork, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, pickles, peppers, onions and tomatoes. Yes, pickles are part of the stir fry. You get so many textures and flavors. Every bite is different. The sausage is salty and spicy. The bacon is chewy. The chicken is tender. The tomatoes add acid. Then you put some of that cold pickled hot pepper on your fork and top it with some meat and veg and it's like WOW. I barely made a dent in it. I have enough left for like 5 more meals. read more

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A wonderful taste of Bulgaria. All the items reminded me of Dubnitsa. The shop ska is particularly good

I'm Bulgarian so I'm partial to the food. I loved the cleanliness and service. Food quality is great and definitely improved since couple of years ago. I've gone a few times since my last review in Oct 2017. Better service each time, good is plentiful and delicious. read more

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I am absolutely, utterly in love with Mehanata. This restaurant boasts a variety of grilled meats, fish, appetizers, and salads. This is my first and only Bulgarian dining experience and I will continue to come back. They have an extensive menu, charming decor, and a full bar, too. My favorite items off the menu are their combo shishlik (two enormous sword-like skewers of grilled meat/veggies like a kabob, with onions and tomatoes), their pork wrap (super juicy meat, veggies, pickles, yogurt sauce, and fries [I like them on the side]), and their Cake Mehanata (biscuit cake layered with figs and mascarpone). I'm sure I could talk days about Mehanata and their delicious food. It is a must try. Service is great, they have great music (very Euro, dance, techno), and such affordable prices for their portion sizes. If you were thinking of trying it, stop thinking and just go now!!! read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Chicken Combo Grill $15 - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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I'm so glad I tried this place! My server is delightful and has not steered me wrong on items to order. I live about 50 miles away and I will be making the drive back up north to bring my family of dedicated carnivores here. I got the grilled pork combo, and crepes. Just wonderful. read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Crepes with strawberries. Just amazing! I am so happy I found this place. - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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I was excited to try this place, it's my first time trying out some Bulgarian food. First things first: Parking - the situation here is a nightmare because this restaurant shares parking space with a liquor store and an auto repair shop. There are no clear signs other than "warnings" about being towed if you park in a spot the liquor store owns or the repair shop. There is one sign that highlights which spaces are for the restaurant (in red) but no clear indication if it's north/south east/west of the lot. Half of the space for the restaurant is actually within the auto repair place junkyard/middle of nowhere broken pieces of concrete etc space. I guess it does add to the atmosphere/experience? Restaurant - we went during lunchtime on a weekday which wasn't crowded but there were several patrons including day drinkers. The decor was pretty cool, makes you feel like you're in Europe. Place was very clean but a little dim. It would've been relaxing if it were not for the club music/ top 40 blaring in the restaurant. For once I actually longed for something more subtle, maybe Instrumental music? Club/top 40 just doesn't go wirbt he decor. Service - nice young lady who was very nice and soft spoken. My group had a ton of questions about the menu and she answered them all very well. Beverage - I'm just going to put this out there.... they don't serve coffee... what? Yes, again they don't serve coffee. They have expresso and cappuccino but not good ol coffee. I asked for tea and I was given a Lipton tea bag with a lemon wedge, some honey and a cup of hot water. After I had finished my cup and without asking, the server brought me back another cup of hot water (sans new teabag), I'm guessing they were expecting me to re-steep with my used tea bag which I thought was a bit awkward. Food - the menu was jammed packed with lots of things ranging from octopus to meats to soup dishes. I didnt sample the grilled pita bread my group ordered for Appetizer but from the looks of it they liked it a lot. I ordered the chicken combo which already looked humongous in the photo and was that much more gigantic served. It contained two huge grilled chicken breasts, a chicken skewer and a long block of chicken (not sure what to call it). The chicken was a bit salty and a bit dry but in all honesty I think these were meant to be eaten with a nice cold mug of beer. I liked that it came with freshly diced tomatoes, cucumbers and fries. I asked to substitute the fries with steamed veggies. I did not like the steamed veggies at all as they tasted like the frozen ones you microwave. There was so much food that I had left overs to go which usually doesn't happen with me. Overall, I think this place is great to take your drinking buddies to be merry and binge on food while listening to club music while day drinking. The staff are nice, the place is clean and the price is right. read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

From the rustic ambiance, the food and our waiter, everything was 5 star rating!! Can't wait to go back!

Incredible food. Just incredible. I'm still dreaming about the fried cheese with blueberry sauce. My friend and I went there and went crazy with all that we ordered. I can't wait to go back. read more

We come here every time we're in Chicago! Friendly servers, an authentic atmosphere, and quality meals make this place a winner! The parlenka and the Mehanata specialty are what we recommend. Enjoy! read more

Server was so rude. we were only 3 people she charging 20% of tip as large party gratuity? What the hack? Even she didn't give us water and free bread. And her face was not welcome that restaurant. I don't understand why she work there if she doesn't want to serve to customer. It is service job. I feel so sorry owner hired this rude and unprofessional server. And they charge 3% fee when customers pay in credit card, I have never seen this one on any restaurant too. Food is okay, not that tasty. Drink was almost water with pepsi flavor, that is not coke. That put a lot of water I think. If you don't want mess your lunch or dinner, don't go here. Highly not recommend. read more

I guess you can eat here only if you have a Bulgarian stomach, otherwise you are screwed, like I was. I was there with my family and friends and after having dinner there, 2 adults and one child got extremely sick right away: vomiting for one night straight and other food poisoning symptoms. I had chicken soup, that I liked and then we ordered pork and chicken in the clay pot. I blame that dish for what caused me. Anyway, we've been going to restaurants for years now, but I was never so sick afterwards. I won't risk myself or my family for giving them a second chance! read more

Amazing restaurant! One of the best meals I have ever had. Unique and delicious Bulgarian food at surprisingly low prices. The spicy baked goat cheese was outstanding along with the mehanata cake. read more

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The food was super authentic and very delicious. The decor really made it feel like we had stepped into Bulgaria. Very welcoming staff as well. read more

Delicious food, never tried Bulgarian cuisine before and it was tasty. The waitress helped us choose what to get. We ate outside and it was lovely. read more

The food was very good. The menu is extensive with a large variety of options. We didn't get desert, so we need to go back to try the cakes. read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Link sausage - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

The best food in Des Plaines area, highly recommended to try their pork shashlyk and fried potatoes. Outside patio can feel like a lot of smoke, but inside are always quiet and cozy read more

It might be a different experience if you are Bulgarian, but we felt uncomfortable and not wanted during our visit. At first they didn't even want to seat us (and there was hardly anyone there at the time). Our mistake for staying. read more

Phenomenal food. Great fresh vegetables and awesome meat and the best desserts! Also vassil gives great service!

If I could put zero stars I would. First off this food isn't bussing it's disgusting. Secondly I'm a chef, and my boyfriend ordered Togo, literally exactly 12 hours later he is having chills and is extremely nauseous, which makes me believe someone in the kitchen doesn't understand basic food knowledge. Tell your staff to fucking redo their food handlers card. You know your food can suck but to get people sick is beyond me. I will be contacting the health inspector. read more

First time here and first time eating Bulgarian food. A good experience. We are on the patio. I was a little surprised about folks smoking on the patio but it was windy enough to not make it noticeable. The chicken and vegetables were very good and I could have eaten a second serving. The portions were plentiful, it was just that good and I wanted more. Server staff was friendly. Felt like an outsider but that isn't a bad thing. I'd go back if in the neighborhood. read more

Our new favorite restaurant! Excellent food and service. I'm so glad my husband and I tried this restaurant. We have since brought back 4 friends and have told several other Des Plaines residents what a fantastic restaurant this is. Keep up the excellent quality! This has hands down, become our new favorite place to eat. read more

It's worth the 40 minute drive from the city. Do it. Place was almost full house when we went, and aside from one other person, boyfriend told me I was the only non-Bulgarian. This place is so legit when he made the reservation, he said they answered the phone in Bulgarian. I just wanted to say that for those lactose intolerant people out there, their heavy preference for use of goat cheese makes it good for us. I mean, cheese already contains a lot less lactose than say milk, but goat milk products have more easily digestible molecules. Cheese from cows still upset me a little, but I ate so much cheese last night and didn't feel a thing. So satisfying. I recommend the fish dishes. Their trout is smoked to perfection, just the right amount of crisp. He says it's custom to eat it with your hands, so I obliged. The tripe soup I was not a fan of. We eat a lot of tripe in our culture, but just something about the milky soup - couldn't get accustomed to it. I'm gonna bring my Russian friend next time, watch them try to talk BG to him. Ha! read more

I came here on a quiet Tuesday night with 10 other Yelpers as part of our NW Suburban Dinner group. This little Bulgarian restaurant is really something to check out. It has a nice outdoor dining patio with a fence and potted shrubs all around. The interior takes you back with the feel of a place in some faraway village in the distant homeland. The brick and cracked plaster details on the walls are painted on but looks so realistic. Plates, embroidery, and figurines of people in folk costume are on display throughout. The inside is big, with lots of open space like for a dance floor. I did not imagine it being so huge when I saw it from the outside. The seating area with the booths has an overhead trellis with a pseudo-grape vine overhead. There's a video screen in the back playing Bulgarian pop music. After watching the videos for 2-1/2 hours, I reached two conclusions: 1. Bulgarian women wear lots of bikinis, tight jeans and revealing dresses, rival only to the Telemundo ladies. 2. And yes, the Bulgarian women are hot, except for this cross-dressing gypsy guy with piercings and makeup who appeared in a few of the videos. Now that I got that out of the way, I'll get to the food. They brought out baskets with rolls like the kind that would be suitable for Italian beef or sub sandwiches, but the bread was warm and soft. Mehanata has an extensive menu with multiple pages. Just the wine, beer and alcohol spans 2 pages. The items are in both English and Bulgarian. Meat dishes are subcategorized into Chicken, Lamb and Pork. The appetizers didn't seem very appetizing to me: every conceivable variety of ways to prepare chicken liver, and then there was octopus in some kind of sauce. Yikes! I decided to avoid them altogether. The menu had some bad misspellings that got us laughing too. "Mush potatoes," "spyces," "mashrooms" to think of a few. Other items were difficult to translate I presume, and came out sounding funny: "chicken pancakes" and "chicken Trakea" for example. But the one that really got us puzzled was "Chicken Rockford." Then after thinking about it, we concluded they meant to say "Roquefort," like the type of cheese - not the gritty town in northwest Illinois. Be warned, not all the menu items are available either. I asked about the "chicken pancakes" and found out it's not available. But what we did end up ordering was superb. I got "Chorbadjiyski Sach" - the small version. So did two other people. The waitress told us it was her favorite dish on the menu. It is a round platter loaded with chunks of roasted chicken, covered with mushrooms, onions, thin slices of pickle, bacon pieces and fries! And then there's cheese melted all over it. It's like Bulgarian-style cheese fries. As another Yelper across from me put it, "I can feel my arteries harden as I eat this." It didn't deter me from downing the entire meal. I can only imagine the larger serving of this would probably be enough to feed 3 people. The food came out 1 or 2 platters at a time, each serving crafted elegantly, on beautiful brown ceramic plates with folk-art style waves and circles of green, blue, orange and white. Todor K let me try a breaded red pepper, filled with feta cheese. Now I despise peppers in general, but this one was sweet, salty and cheesy all at the same time. It also came with a white dill yogurt sauce that would probably be a great complement to a gyros platter too! In the end, I was too full for dessert, but I did try a piece or Ericka's crepes with cream and honey inside. It was yet another fine choice. Overall, the food offerings are impressive and servings are huge. I think the outdoor dining area is great for the summer months and I can see myself returning here for dinner again sometime... and another look at the Bulgarian videos read more

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The food has always been delicious and served hot. The ambiance very welcoming and comfortable and the service very helpful. Highly recommend this restaurant read more

Being the opinionated sorts we are, David R. and I often have spirited disagreements. See, he's classy and I'm pretty classless (well, I guess I have good manners, so that's something - i.e. thanks to Mike O. for organizing the NW Suburban Dinner). But there was one thing at Mehnata that united our thoughts: if there was any eggplant in his meal, the place was getting three stars! Not that he hates eggplant (that I know of) but I sort of like it, wanted to order it, and this restaurant claimed to be out of it (and David R.'s dish supposedly contained it). They claimed to be out of a lot of things. From soups to beers, the menu was more guesswork than a detective novel. I do have to give the server credit for remembering all the things that were on the menu but not in the kitchen. But not the restaurant - that's for sure. No eggplant mysteriously appeared, but the place still gets three stars. The reason? What else? The food. Bulgarian is, um, how do I put this, interesting. It bears a slight resemblance to Greek or Turkish. But the resemblance ends when considering that both of those sets of dishes are relatively healthy. Fatten those cuisines up, drown them in cheese or gravy or just bake them into a solid hunk of meat and you've got Bulgarian. I have nothing against decadence, mind. Pane (Bulgarian or Romanian fried cheese - similar to saganaki) is one of my favorite things on Earth. The problem is, if you're going to be decadent with the calories, don't skimp on the flavor. The pane I got here here barely had any taste. I did have a tasty cold yogurt soup with dill to start the meal (they were out of *all* of their vegetarian hot soups). And they did have orange Fanta (very authentic to the former Eastern Bloc) to wash the food down. They also have a huge brandy menu (brandy is pretty much the national alcohol of Bulgaria) - heck, they have a two page alcohol menu in general. But none of this made up for the lack of choices due to the mysteriously absent listed items. The menu's spelling errors, the cheesy Euro videos with their accompanying dance music, and the decorations (very twee and kitschy in a Bulgaria of old sort of way) make this an interesting restaurant. And I'd be willing to try it again on a better stocked night. And, hey, maybe the eggplant salad would even earn it a fourth star - but the world may never know because it may never be there. read more

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This traditional Bulgarian restaurant will offer you long menu of delicious dishes. Anything you choose will surprise you with the quality, freshness and flavor. Pair your meal with Bulgarian wine and enjoy your stay. I was told that they have live entertainment on weekends, but I didn't have a chance to witness it myself. My favorite dish is yogurt-cucumber or yogurt-pepper salad, chicken shish kebab and salmon platter. The sautéed mushrooms were flavorful and great for appetizer. The restaurant is quite busy, but the service is never disappointing. Make sure you park on the back, there is a lot behind the gates. Otherwise the neighboring business will tow your car while you are enjoying your third order of panoramic kaskaval. read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Sautéed in butter mushrooms and yogurt-cucumber salad. - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

I'm up for trying anything new, and love exploring different flavors. When my boss suggested we try Bulgarian food, I said, "Why not?" And I'm so glad we did. Despite very slow service during a Sunday lunch, we had excellent food. My two dishes were wonderful: Shopska salad: kind of a variant on a Jerusalem salad, with huge hunks of tomato and cucumber, topped with feta cheese. Chicken in clay pot: Wow! Enormous portion of an incredible dish. Moist, juicy, flavorful chicken, plenty of veggies and just 100% tasty! My boss got a mixed grill platter, which looked excellent and we shared some of the fried feta cheese sticks. This is a place everyone should try! read more

Restaurant Mehanata - Chicken in clay pot - Modern European Near Me - Des Plaines, Illinois

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Amazing food! Also probably the best server I have ever had. Full of information about Bulgaria and suggestions for ordering. Everything was fresh. The atmosphere was fun as well! Everyone is happy! Definitely going back and sent some of our friends. read more

Nutty location to get to, park and drive around, but that's not their fault. A friend and I attempted to eat the mixed grill (pork) and vreteno (pork - do you detect a theme?) and even though it was good, we couldn't finish. In endeavoring to be good (avoiding carbs) we also just had shepherd's salad and avoided fries. The waitress was very disappointed in the food we were leaving behind and tried to guilt us into taking it to go As bad as we felt, we had no way to take care of the food as we're from out of town. I did try a dessert, I can't pretend to spell what she said, but it was very similar to tiramisu. I'd say it was worth the calories. read more

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Went with a friend and definitely recommend it. Had been wanting to try Bulgarian cuisine for a while and not disappointed. It was also a real European experience, between most customers not speaking English and the overall look and feel, could easily have been in Central Europe. First, the menu is about 8 or so pages, making decision making difficult. It is in English and Bulgarian with pictures of everything, but that makes it harder as there are so many great options. My friend started with a salad, I started with fried Feta sticks. The salad was huge, covered with cheese and my friend said quite good. The feta sticks were a little disappointing. Not hot and not a ton of flavor, though a large portion. I had the combo pork and chicken grill platter. I have eaten in many Chicago steak houses and other restaurants where portions are large, but this was overwhelming. Again, I am not shy about eating and this platter will probably be three meals for me. It included a grilled chicken breast, chicken kabob, pork cutlet (looks like a hamburger but not ground meat), pork sausage and another meat/sausage product. All were solid, really liked the sausage and meat/sausage product, but it was grilled food so not incredibly tasteful. Also included some soggy fries but nice tomato and cucumber. My fried had a chicken dish in a clay pot and while I don't usually have entree envy I did this time. The chicken was incredible, really tasty. The portion was also huge. He ordered the "small" pot and when it came out we were sure it was going to someone else given how large it was. Easily two meals, possibly three. The service is pretty slow, though it may have been because of a large party. The waitress meant well and typical European service, they not only let you meander you do not really have a choice. We sat outside, and there were people smoking there (something I have not experienced in a while). If you have kids or don't like smoke, ask to sit inside. read more

Don't know how else to say it, here it is. Mediocre food, horrible service! They had the nerve to automatically add an 18% tip to the bill. read more