Meet us where pierogies and potato pancakes are at home
Walter Sawa opened Sawa’s Old Warsaw in 1973, bringing Polish cuisine to Broadview.
Sawa was a pork butcher in Poland before WWII, but when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, turning the world upside down, Sawa joined in the defense of his country. He earned medals of honor from both the Polish and British armies and managed to escape from a prisoner of war camp.
After his escape, he lived in Scotland before immigrating to the United States in 1948. In the early 1960s, he found himself in Chicago’s thriving Polish neighborhoods where he opened several restaurants before bringing Sawa’s Old Warsaw to Broadview where it has become an institution in the neighborhood.
Come on in for a buffet of Polish dishes like pierogies, stuffed cabbage, fried pork cutlets, potato pancakes, and sausage.
Sawa’s is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 4pm and for dinner from 4pm to 8pm. Sawa’s Old Warsaw is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
A lunch buffet at Sawa’s is $16 for adults and $8 for children (three to 10). It’s just $1 for children three and under.
A dinner buffet at Sawa’s is $24 for adults, and $12 for children (three to 10). It’s just $1 for children three and under.
Today Sawa’s Old Warsaw is run by Walter Sawa’s son, Stuart, who keeps the restaurant’s tradition alive.
The legends and lore of Warsaw are kept alive at Sawa’s as well. It’s even in the very name of the place and the family who runs it. There are many legends and myths associated with two people - Wars and Sawa - who are associated with the origin of Warsaw (or Warszawa).
In some legends they are twins, in others, they are brothers and sons of a king, and in still other legends, they are a Mermaid and a man. No matter the story, though, there is a common thread of hospitality and kindness for strangers.
That common thread shows at Sawa’s today.
Located at 9200 W. Cermak Road in Broadview, Sawa’s Old Warsaw is an easy 20-minute drive west of downtown Chicago.
