Balkan Bakery

Had a very authentic feeling :) rhe food and desserts are served on actual plates and a baklava is amazing!!! ^-^

What a hidden gem! My parents stumbled on this place a few years ago when visiting my grandpa in western springs and every time they fly in to visit they stop and get some burek to have at grandpas– today, the whole family was together there so we decided to have breakfast at Balkan bakery. I’m a huge fan of Turkish pastries and it’s hard to find authentic ones. The burek at this place is really top notch, reminds me of the burek I’ve had while traveling and is so hard to find here in the states (except probably somewhere in New York, ha!) Tons of layers of chewy buttery dough, filled with ground beef (probably my favorite), feta cheese (close second) or spinach, baked to a satisfying crisp on the outside. NOT like the spanakopita that is usually available from Greek and middle eastern restaurants, which is made with phyllo dough and is too oily and dry and salty for my taste. If you feel the same way I highly recommend making the $ 5 investment in a slice of burek here! Ultimate comfort food!

My first time eating Serbian food. The Burek is my new favorite food ever. Great place, highly recommend!

Everything is fresh. Everything is good. Damn I love Baklava, especially here! Parking is available. Enjoy!

So glad that I found this place! You would never even know it was there unless someone told you about it! It is small and very clean. I’ve tried many items in the bakery but our favorites are the Baklava (the Balkan variety) and the Burek (I LOVE the meat one and we also love the spinach and feta). It’s kind of hard to describe Burek but it is kind of like a buttery pizza made from puff pastry like dough with different fillings (there is a top and a bottom). It is delicious and they sell them by the huge slice. You can eat inside (there are a couple of tables) or take it to go. I would recommend stopping if you are in the area.

This place is like going back to the village in the estern europe! The lady in the counter is really nice. Try their palachincan :€

We visited here today, we didn’t even realize this was a bakery before today. What a pleasant surpise, it was like walking into a european village market.
Wonderful bakery, clean, well organized, fair prices. The selection is awesome.
I had the Baklava, and it melts in your mouth. The Kolackys were divine.
You can even eat here, and they have some groceries too.
We will definitely be back here, to check out the rest of their inventory.

Great Burek and Pita, 5 stars
Great bread .5 stars
But, always when I need some there is only one of kind for sale :-(

All I can comment on is the deliciousness of their bakalva… So gooey and fresh… Nice blend of spices, maybe cinnamin, and walnuts. This is a serbian bakery. They have also assorted breakfast pasteries, which were all gone by the time I got there (1 pm). The person working said they typically sell out by 8 ish every morning… Must be good… Assorted fruits and meats.

I’m not Balkan nor could I name all the countries in the region, but I like this place. Mostly a bakery with some dry goods to the side.
The kid there was helpful with showing me the lay of the land. Baklava was $ 1.95, weren’t small, and was offered in the classic Greek and Balkan variety where the only difference was that the Greek was in multiple layers and the Balkan had less layers. Also got a crêpe for $.98 but don’t remember too much regarding the taste since it was consumed when I got home after a night of heavy drinking. Kinda tasted like a cinnamon pancake come to think of it.
Cash Only and I think the atm inside was broken when I was there.

It’s all about the pastry.
Everything that I have had is delicious, whether it be sweet (on the rare occasion that the special donuts are available, don’t miss them!) or savory (outstanding burek – meat and cheese pies), it is all wonderful.
Run by a lovely woman and her son, these are terrific people running a business that Is more than worthy of your support. Worth searching out.

The selection is a bit limited, but they have a number of smoked meats in the fridge, pretty much the bare minimum of your Balkan basic cooking and confection supplies (Vegeta, pasteta, Podravka spices and soups, Napolitanke wafers) and a small rack stocked with newspapers and magazines.
The bakery part is where they really shine. Their European-​style layer cakes, well, take the cake. I was super impressed with the Baklava and I still have dreams about the rich Jafa Cakes cake.
Also, they serve hot Burek in the mornings. I came in the evening and I don’t know when I’d have reason to be in La Grange in the AM, but you better believe I’m looking for an excuse.

Awesome place– great snacks and good homemade bread you can take with you.

I had a chance to visit this store and found it to be a very nice place for Serbian food items. The cookies and cakes homemade all looked good. We bought several items both bakery and food stuff. The lady owner was very pleasant and answered all of our questions.
My in-​laws are Serbian and they go here as well.
We will definitely return for another visit.

I’m not part of the Eastern/​Central European target audience for this place, so take that into account when I say I didn’t recognize a few items on display.
In addition to being a bakery, they have some European pantry items, so it’s actually a mini-​mart/​bakery.
The RUM BALLS were terrific. Cupcakes were dry, frosting typical supersweet buttercream, but priced less than half what a cupcake place would charge.
Many baked goods from this region are less sweet than I prefer, so I didn’t really seek a good sampling. (Not a lot of chocolate on display other than the above, maybe that’s why not much spoke to me.)
The young man at the counter was very friendly.
If you’re driving north on La Grange Road, you could blink and miss this place on your right. It’s tucked in a strip which does not face the road a couple miles north of the Countryside car dealerships and south of downtown La Grange.
I’d go back for those chocolate balls, the rest I’d be trying out of curiosity.
In short, a cute little place worth checking out – if only for the chocolate balls.