Old Vilnius Cafe

This is your typical Eastern European store. If it wasn't making its own kvass it wouldn't be on BA. Really cramped and disorganized inside. Kvass and beer are located in like 3 different places. The beer selection is dusty Eastern European assortment of Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Estonian bottles and cans. I picked up a few bottles of random stuff I haven't had before. Kvass selection is limited to a couple of brands that you can find elsewhere. They did not have any of their own homemade stuff - they said maybe next week.

After learning some time ago that this place brewed their own Kvass, I made a mental note to visit someday. It is located in a small commercial building next to one other business on the south side of 75th St. Once inside, there's a gift shop with a deli in the back, and around the corner is the dining area of the restaurant. Beer is located towards the back, some cases on the floor, with a display rack and a standing cooler with single bottles in the back next to the deli counter. Lots of great homemade deli foods and pastries here.

About 2 dozen obscure Lithuanian/Russian/German beers here, the complete Svyturys lineup, Utenos Porter, Baltika Zhiguljovskoje (say that 3 times fast), Gubernija Kbac (commercial bottled kvass), Kalnapilis, several Leikeim flip-tops, and more. Their FB page mentioned Syvturys Gira Kvass but I didn't see any this time. The main draw was the homemade Kvass "Gira" that is sold in 1.5L plastic jugs in the cooler. The overall selection was limited, but there are things you'll find here and nowhere else. By that I mean unusual Euro imports, if you're looking for BCS or something, a liquor store is your best bet.

When I asked about the homemade Kvass at the counter, there was a language barrier, but I understood that they make batches daily, and if I waited there would be fresh one available in 20 minutes. In the coolers I spotted 3 bottles, so I didn't bother to wait. (The clerk initially said there wasn't any available…) After trying it, I sort of wish i'd waited… it was pretty funky. Guessing a fresh batch would be the way to go next time.

The menu here sounds great, with many specialty dishes. I've eaten before at their sister restaurant Grand Dukes in Summit, IL which also has a wide variety of Lithuanian beers available. Overall worth a look if you're in the area and looking for something different.

Edit 2014: Stopped here to eat in the restaurant with a couple friends, and the housemade kvass was much better. It's served by the glass in the restaurant only. The food was hearty eastern european fare with a somewhat modern flair from the kitchen presentation.