The food here might be wonderful, and in fact the navy bean soup was as good as any I've ever had. But, when I walked in the door, there was no sign posted saying cash only. Fortunately, I was still using the Yelp app and looking at reviews while I decided what to order, and someone else kindly warned us that it is a cash only business. Checking my pockets I realized I only had enough cash for a bowl of soup, so I tip the waitress 30% with four of the five dollars I had in my hand, and left without ordering anything else. This may be a wonderful place for homestyle and eastern European food, but I find it more than a little offputting when a business would rather make three dollars off of an ATM fee to get your cash then provide a means to use 20th century means of payment. Come on, red chimney, don't treat your patrons this way. Your cash only policy cost you goodwill on the part of this consumer, and also cost you whatever profit you might've made from the entrée I failed to order before exiting the door. read more

Not bad for $3.00, but the grits are lumpy and the last time I was there they were cold. The pancake was like rubber. When I tried to send them back, the owner got smart and told my husband who by the way went to culinary school, he is always complaining. This guy just lost customers. He said he has been in business for over 40 years. Who gets smart with the customers. This man needs training. The food is just ok not great. read more

You would think a restaurant like this in this neighborhood would not do well. Contrary. This place does a great business. A Slavic Village favorite for over 50 years. Historically an ethic Polish restaurant. Today, featuring something for everyone and widely considered an American Continental diner. Sure, they feature stuffed cabbage and pierogi dinners. But they also serve breakfast all day. Their omelettes are great. The Julienne salad is huge, fresh and delicious and their stuffed cabbage is wonderful. I like the fish dinner that comes with fries or cole slaw. Menu is extensive. Lunches are about 10 bucks with coffee or beverage. Cozy interior and clean. Booths need some tlc. So what? Give it a try. Service is always very good. Park on the side of the building. You will really like this place as it has grown on me too! read more

Modern European? This place is a diner that serves burgers and sandwiches and breakfast food, among other things. I'm from out of town and I ate here today. Very unimpressive. Prices are low but so is food quality. They don't take anything except cash. Why not take debit cards? Because they have an ATM machine that they can charge you a fee to use! read more

Stopped in for lunch based on all the great reviews! Food was excellent, huge portions served blazing Hot, very reasonable prices and friendly attentive wait staff. We will definitely stop in again next time we happen to be in the neighborhood. read more

So my hubby has been raving about this place he works in the area. He hits this place at least once a week. So I had to try it out. I see why he likes it. It's a neighborhood stable. It seems like the wait staff has a 1st name basis with lots of regulars. We had the all day breakfast and it was great. It was lunch time and I saw lots of lunch meals coming out. So of course I have to go back and try some of the comfort food. The chicken soup looks delicious. The staff makes you feel so welcome the food was good. read more

For all you new CLE Millenials who just moved here fron NYC because you woke up and realized that the $1200 bucks you were spending on rent for a 150 sq ft "studio" in BKLYN could buy you a hip 2-3 bedroom in Tremont and you want a time machine to old-timey Cleveland, hoof over to Slavic Village and go to Red Chimney. From the waitresses slinging the water glasses and "hons" to the old-school chicken noodle soup and Club sandwich, this place serves up 1970's realness. I was thrown back to the old Diner on 117th and Lorain that's been long gone, but for which I have fond childhood memories, from the moment I walked in the door. This place isn't gourmet, fussy or remotely hip, but it's part of the neighborhood. The food isn't worth a special drive, but the experience might be. Oh yeah, no credit cards accepted. How old school can you get? read more

A Cleveland tradition for decades. My first trip here was as a boy back in the 1980's, several owners ago. It was a great breakfast spot with my parents then. In the 90's it was a great place to eat after high school hockey or football games. In the late 90's it was a great place after shift at the firehouse around the corner. And to sober up after a night of MR's Pub, The Borderline Cafe, or Carb's Bar. In the 2000's I introduced my suburban wife to it. We used to go there once in while when we still lived closer. I miss it. One thing amazes me. Through different owners, the place never went south! Awesome, odd, but awesome. read more

The Good: This place is awesome! Real food for the masses at real prices. Everything comes out fast and tastes great. The Bad: They only take cash and it's not the most pristine place in the city or even the area but it that bothers you stay out of the Slavic village. My Take: Looks can be deceiving and the best food comes from places that spend more time perfecting their product than getting the joint all fancy for the schmucks out there :) Cheers!! read more

My kids and I enjoyed our lunch at the Red Chimney. We were greeted as if we were family when we arrived. The man who greeted us found us seats to make us comfortable while our table was being set. And that defined the service for the rest of our meal -- warm, genuine and attentive. We ordered wraps, burgers and grilled cheese. I was intrigued to try the more Slavic dishes, and will when I return. I like the burgers a lot. Not gargantuan but nice sized and juicy. This place is a neighborhood gem. Worth driving from Shaker for the experience. read more

One of my favorite restaurants in the whole city! I always take out-of-town visitors here because Red Chimney serves up raw unfiltered old school Cleveland. The stuffed cabbage transports me right back to my grandmother's kitchen. read more

The Red Chimney - Cleveland 101: Perogies & Stuffed Cabbage! The Red Chimney is a beloved Slavik Village institution. So good!!! - American Near Me - Parma, Ohio

This place is a 3.5 out of 5 for me most of the food is great for the price the waiters and staff are nice and they open pretty early so if your in the area stop by and give it a go read more

Looks can be deceiving. Initially the area and modest dining atmosphere might distract the pampered individual, but for the one who seeks comfort from a good home cooked meal they will neither leave discouraged nor disappointed. The food was comforting, delicious and of large portion. The people were warm and kind. The customers hung out and talked with each other. And who can resist a banana split pie? I really enjoyed my visit here and recommend it as a perfect place to simply take a moment to eat well, connect with company and meet good people. When you get the check you almost feel guilty because it is so affordable. For the first time I felt guilty for leaving a 20% tip, thinking it was not enough. With what they charge you will too. read more

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This place is a diamond in the roughest of neighborhoods. A throwback to the neighborhood eatery, The Red Chimney has been there as long as I can remember. Some of the best comfort foods including pierogies, burgers, and stuffed cabbages along side of great soups and sandwiches are all delicious and some of the best in the city. If you're looking for fine dining this isn't the place. However, if your looking for a great meal, stop here. read more

I've been back twice for dinner in the past month since my Grandpa loves this place. I really enjoy the stuffed cabbage here [only $8ish for 2 of them, sauerkraut, and a soup or salad). They are wrapped really tight so that they don't fall apart when you cut into them and the cabbage isn't chewy, it's soft and melts in your mouth. The small portion of the sauerkraut is sweet. I had the weinerschnitzel here (2nd time this week I've had it, other time at the Schnitzel Haus) and it was a bit bland [although I'm not sure if it's supposed to taste like that], the coating reminded me of the shake n' bake seasoning and came with a side of canned green beans [although that's to be expected for the prices and from my past experiences). The clam chowder [white] was good. read more

I called they set the phone down, OVER ten minutes later I am still listening to them greet people and serve them food. No one came back to the phone. There is simply no level of customer service with these people. I've had such bad experiences I don't want to even go there anymore it's filthy. This was my last ditch effort to order pickup and they never even bothered to pick the phone back up. I'll save my money this time and eat out of Slavic Village next time. read more

This place is a local classic. It has had several different owners in my life time, but the current owners are diner rockstars. They are there to greet when you walk in the door and to get you coffee if it is real busy. The food is always good. The Chimney breakfast is $2.50 and it gets you 2 egs any style; sausage, bacon, or ham; hashbrowns or grits; and choice of toast. If you enjoy fish, their walleye dinner on Fridays is amazing. It is lake erie walleye and it is friend to perfection. Crispy on the outside, and flaky on the inside. Served with lemon wedges for an extra zing, a salad or soup, your choice of potatoes or home-made macaroni and cheese. if you're in the Slavic Village Area, and are hungry, you will not leave this place hungry...and you'll still have cash in your wallet. And Btw,it is cash only. There is an ATM (Mazz's ATM's) if you need the cash. read more

This place used to be the spot for a cheap breakfast. Good service, good food, place was one of Cleveland's best kept secrets. Moving back into the area I was so excited to be able to start having breakfast here again. So you're probably wondering why the one star. It breaks my heart this place has went so far down hill. This place it worse than a dive. I mean, food wise it's still amazing and the staff is still amazing and pleasant. However, I can't knowingly bring my kids into a restaurant that is falling apart. While my kids were playing on snap chat a friend of mine messaged me and inquired why my kitchen had caught fire. As I looked at the ceiling while eating I immediately felt disgusted. Alarms started going off in my head, my sons asthma and my daughters allergies. I had this great urge to grab my babies and run screaming from the building. I kept my composure took some pictures and we paid the bill and got up to leave. Going out the back entrance my 6 year old needed to use the restroom, going into the ladies room I let her do her business when she screamed she was falling. Going into the stall thinking she's being dramatic, the floor around the toilet was caving in. Even her sitting on the toilet caused it to push into the floor which scared her. If you can handle the pictures that I'm providing then this place has amazing food, But I won't be returning until renovations are made to this place. I get Cleveland has historic buildings but I think this is a little far fetched to accept. read more

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The Red Chimney is one of the mainstays of Slavic Village Cleveland's authentic classics. It's like your typical Americana comfort food diner with a hint of Hungarian influence. My favorite is the breakfast wrap with sausage links, add swiss cheese. Check out the daily specials menu. Their soups are usually pretty great too. read more

The Red Chimney - I like their breakfast burrito... Add plenty of hot sauce. - American Near Me - Parma, Ohio

Once upon a time this place was great.... The past three times I've ordered here my order was wrong. Usually something simple like they will forget to put sausage gravy on a bowl or peppers and onions on home fries small things like that, but the taste has went down as well. The staff is friendly but the quality of food has depreciate. read more

The Red Chimney is an important piece in the Slavic Village neighborhood. You can walk in on any given day and see a table of old folks, a gang banger at the counter, cops at one table and a local politician at another. The neighborhood is rough, but this place is a little tacky island in the middle. You walk in and feel like a local. The food is cheap, but great. I love the pierogies and always go for the chicken noodle soup to go with it. I have never had a bad thing to eat here. But like other posters noted there are NO CREDIT CARDS. Sorry, but I had to yell that. Someone always forgets. They do however cater, so you can pick up amazing sandwich trays and salads (tell them easy on the onions), but you need to pay cash. read more

Not 4 stars because of today. I'm a regular customer at Red Chimney and I love the energy the food and one of the brothers. But today I would definitely give one star just because of the timing I guess. I would suggest going before 10/11am because the morning cooks are not good, the waiters are ehh and the "Head Huncho" was on the phone the entire time even when I was ready to pay I waited as he just stared at me. The morning shifters 1-star! Second shifters you guys/gals ROCK no complaints at all!!! read more

Red chimney restaurant was the worst restaurant I've ever been in and I used to drive a truck and I've drove all over the United States and I have never had service like I did at Red chimney restaurant. Me and my two friends decided to stop there for some breakfast they give us dirty silverware then they get real rude about asking for more and they was just totally rude. I remember years ago we used to stop there and it was a good place even the police ate there but now even the police don't even stop there anymore cuz it's nasty read more

I wanted to like this place. Fleet Street and Slavic Village need all the help they can get. My mushroom omelette was fine, but the 'hash browns' were the worst I've ever had. Thick oily hard brown tough overcooked slices of potato. Shouldn't have been served to anyone. Generally, the food and service are passable, and most items are reasonably priced. It's hard to beat the $3 breakfast special before 11 a.m. and you can bet it's packed for that. I saw other people being served what looked like decent hash browns and scrambled eggs. So, it's really 'hit-and-miss'. read more

Been coming here for almost 30 years now: really authentic Cleveland place. Great cheap breakfasts, yummy pierogie, stuffed cabbage, kraut, etc as well as the standard diner options like burgers. Clean, friendly, old-school. On weekdays, you get two eggs; ham, sausage or bacon; potatoes and toast for $3. Are you kidding me? Most places the TIP is more than that. Park behind building or across the street. read more

First off you don't expect much going to this place? Right? OMG I'm compelled to write a review because they have best perogies, cabbage roll, & cabbage noodles, I ever had hands down! The chicken noodle soup is beyond mind blowing good! & the prices are cheap & the meals are satisfying! I would come back again! My mother in law said this meal reminds of her mothers cooking! She almost cried! Try it for yourself! I'm so glad I came here & it was by accident! read more

Stuffed cabbage with a delicious tomato sauce and zesty kraut, served along side fried cabbage and dumpling. Yeah. This is comfort food in an old school environment . Do make the trip. It's worth it read more

Place is great. Could use a lil tlc but the food is good and honest. Girls working are sweet as honey. Not a hipster or foodie for miles and I find myself gravitating more to places like this to remind me of the REAL Cleveland, not the CLE hip, 30 dollar tshirt crowd. read more

This is one of those diners straight out of a Flo's Diner Dash game... It may look a little run down on the outside but it's very nice on the inside. It's a classic type of diner where all the waitresses are cute and call you 'honey' and the majority of the customers are elderly. Mainly booth seating with counter option seating which is great because who prefers a table over a booth anyway. They serve breakfast all day which is awesome when you're open past dinner hours. I'm a huge breakfast person whether it's 8 am or 8 pm I need my first meal of the day to be breakfast and this place fills that craving! Their breakfast menu is huge, and it's really good! The prices are great. I've been here a handful of times already and plan to go back even though I moved out of the area, it's worth it! I've never seen so many smiling faces at breakfast before! read more

I love corned beef sandwiches and pierogis. Can you guess what I had for lunch? Both were great!!!!

The Chimney Breakfast is $2.75 before 11 am. That's two pieces of toast, jam, two eggs, two pieces bacon or sausage, grits or home fries for under three bucks. What a deal! read more

I only give this place 1 star because a star rating was necessary to review, I'd rather give them 0 stars. I had the most HORRIBLE experience here. I ordered a steak dinner well done to go. I get home & to my horror they served me a big old flat bloody piece of meat, old veggies and a baked potato that was half green & just barely soft. I will NEVER ever patronize this hole in a wall again. This place is lterally falling apart, it's extremely old and crusty looking in there. Do not bother because most importantly they cannot cook. read more

Drove here specifically for Pierogis and all they had was potato and cheddar, they don't even have a pierogi that's potato only.... What a let down read more

One of my favorite places to eat. Good comfort food, ethnic dishes, great chicken noodle soup (we never visit without getting the soup) and very affordable prices. I've been coming here since I was a kid and now travel from the burbs fairly regularly to enjoy a meal here with my wife or friends. It's not fine dining, it's just a relaxed comfortable place. read more

There are two owners. One manages before 2pm & the other after that time. It's like two different restaurants. First in the past six months the food quality has gone down hill. The meat dishes have become fatty & greasy. The mash potatoes are fake-in-a-box type, vegetables are frozen. Foods are prepared early in the day & when ordered in evening they are microwaved to serve the customer. Please be careful of evening owner. If you are a woman & have a complaint or concern he will tell at you that it's your fault. read more

Neighborhood restaurant in the Slavic area of Cleveland. Decent menu, lots of good home cooking. I had the cabbage rolls, which were a bit on the mild side but perfectly acceptable. My dining partners had the pirogi and the smoked kielbasa, both of which were well done and quite tasty. Atmosphere - it's a neighborhood joint. Decor is old-style diner. Friendly owners and staff. Decent traffic but not crowded. If you're in the neighborhood, it's a good place for an inexpensive home-cooked meal. read more

I wouldnt recommend this place, first the red chimney has mold and black dust on the ceiling and and the hvac vents. second when I was eating there christmas eve for breakfast and this was my second time there which I should of used my own judgment after the first time looking at how dirty the place looks, there was a cockroach running on our table. I paid my bill and walked out. What it has going for its self is cheap food read more

This place is a little dive but its great. They're fast and the food is cheap and tasty. I've been a couple of times because I have a client in the area. Its a good little place. read more

I passed this place while in the area for the first time and after reading a few good reviews, decided to give it a try. As I walked in I was promptly greeted and the waitress was quick to serve. I decided to try one of their specials, the stuffed cabbage. While waiting for my food, I took a look around the restaurant. It is extremely dated in the interior and quite a bit run down. I kept my hopes up though believing it to be a good dive restaurant. My salad came out promptly and shortly after I finished, my food arrived. Visually, it was not appealing, but I decided to dig in anyways. The mashed potatoes and stuffed cabbage were both drenched in a tomato based gravy. The gravy was unfortunately unappetizing and had a taste consistent with canned tomato soup and spaghetti-o's. The mashed potatoes were a decent texture but overall bland. Stuffed cabbage, being one of my grandmothers favorite dishes to cook while I was growing up, already had high expectations. The overall consistency and flavor was good but a bit too subtle. The filling was decent but the cabbage was extremely bland and I struggled to find that great cabbage flavor that one would expect. Dessert was offered but I was already full so o cashed out and left. Host: 4/5 Server: 4/5 Speed of service: 5/5 Cashier: 3/5 (not very friendly) Overall service: 4/5 Food: 3/5 Atmosphere: 1.5/5 Overall experience: 3/5 read more

Great food! Really love their chicken paprikash when it's on special. The chicken noodle soup and cabbage rolls are the best! Definitely a local favorite - been coming here for years! Their rolls are awesome too. :) read more