Love this place for lunch! The lunch specials are great and the portions are huge!…read more This is a pretty good deal. You order at the counter and then sit down. Please know that if you pay with card you pay extra fee, which I didn't know. This is a pretty big portion so I did have leftovers. For one of our lunches we upgraded to the dill rice which wasn't as different from regular rice as I wanted. But when you add sumac it's perfect! This place is bright and airy.

I needed this meal so bad. So delicious and great hospitality. This place is located on a busy…read morestreet but I was able to find street parking no problem during rush hour. When you walk in, you are brought to the dining room to your table but are instructed to order at the counter. The space is big with tons of tables. Vegetarian sampler: We got this to share. Comes with hummus, tahini sauce, falafel x2, persian salad, baba ghanoush, and dolma. Something nice to sample for the table. Everything tasted great. The falafel could've been more crispy. The platter also comes with a basket of pita bread! Combo mix grill #1: For my entree I got the mixed grill and chose both beef and lamb koubideh as my proteins. I really couldn't tell which meat was which since the meat is ground but both were super delicious otherwise. Great flavor. Got the half & half rice (basmati/dill) which is a great choice and I highly recommend. The platter also comes with red onion, a whole roasted tomato, and some butter. If you've been here before, you already know the portion sizes here are massive!!! So great for sharing!

Our friend took us here for the lunch special, a huge plate of chicken tenderloin, seasoned ground…read moresirloin, Persian, white rice, falafel, pizza and hummus for only $13.95! It's available Monday through Friday 11 AM to 3 PM. Portions are generous so we were able to a lunch as well as a 32 ounce Persian garden salad, lentil soup with saffron, and babaganoush with Nan bread. I really liked the soup that had a fresh lemony flavor. The salad was fresh and came with picked radish. We got Baklava for dessert which was sweet with honey, slightly chilled, and delicious. Can't believe how big the portions are and how reasonable the lunch prices are! Love trying new foods we can't get at home while traveling !

Food is delicious today. Hadn't eaten here in awhile. Like that there's a cafe side to eat and not…read moreworry abt table service. Weekday was not busy. But it was a rainy evening. It was quiet in the cafe side. Couldn't tell if the restaurant side was busy. We ordered joujeh on the bone. This was Cornish hen which we ordered mixed rice version - dill and white. Also ordered a plate of lamb and beef skewer and mixed rice. Both very good. Will be back again.

Super yummy restaurant. Heard great things and have been wanting to try for a while. Friendly staff…read moreand nice ambiance. Came with four people and we just split a bunch of dishes on the a la carte menu. Loved the tahchin, the berries were a great touch. The kabob torsh was delicious as well. I would totally come back and get the same things or try more of the menu!

I went to Maman Zari for their restaurant week menu! For reference, my partner and I love Middle…read moreEastern food and have never tried Persian food, so we were really excited to check this restaurant out. Also, for your reference, 5/10 is average to me. Service: Upon arriving, they took our coats which I liked! The hostesses were both very amiable, making small talk before seating us. In between courses, they cleaned the table and provided us with new utensils. Also, the server would explain the dish which is always a nice refresher of what unique combinations of ingredients were used to prepare your dish. Overall: 9/10. Ambiance: I liked the decorations & especially liked the dishes the food was presented on. There is only one dining room, so it felt a bit more intimate since you can usually spot your server in the room attending other guests, waiting to serve others, or assumedly in the kitchen. The one bad thing I will say is that the bathroom door lock is tricky- it's a small button that didn't make a sound when it clicked so the whole time I was using the restroom I was paranoid that someone was going to walk in on me. Overall: 5/10. Food: Kashk-e Bademjan (roasted eggplant dip): Out of the two appetizers offered this was the more flavorful choice. The eggplant was roasted to a smoky flavor, which I loved, and was also contrasted by the cool yogurt dressing. The texture was somewhat chunky. 7/10 Zeytoon Parvardeh (olive tapenade): The olive tapenade was great; flavorful and salty. The aesthetics of the dish were also pretty, but I think this stands in the shadow of the Kashk-e Bademjan. 6/10 Salad-E Shirazi (cucumber salad): I loved the presentation of this dish. They drizzle on the dressing in front of you, which I think really highlights how fresh this dish tasted. The aesthetics alongside with the taste was very bright and refreshing. 8/10 Ash-E Anar (split pea soup): This one really floored us. The umami of the dish was amazing; very earthy and savory and cut by the sweetness of the pomegranate. If I could have a whole pot of this, I would. 10/10 Ozonboron (sturgeon): I loved the aesthetics of this dish with the browned butter saffron cream being contrasted by splashes of green. The flavor of the cream was so delicious and subtly fragrant. The potato croissant was delicious but I barely tasted the impact of the caviar on the croissant, so a little bit more caviar could've sufficed. I will say that I thought the fish was missing a little bit of salt to enhance the flavors (which was supported by my partner too). 7/10. Shishlik (lamb chops): This tasted AMAZING! Grilled to a subtle char on the outside and incredibly juicy and tender on the inside. The pistachio herb sauce reminded me a bit of chimichurri enhancing the smoky flavor of the meat. The rice was nicely flavored too but the star of the show was definitely the lamb chops. 10/10. Tiramisu Zafaran Va Pesteh: I love tiramisu, but this one unfortunately missed the mark. Felt intensely sweet due to the syrup the ladyfingers were soaked in. I would've loved to see the sweetness cut with something bitter or rich, but it was overwhelmingly sweet for my taste. I liked the presentation and the flavor was unique. 4/10. Overall: 8.7/10. I really liked the aesthetics of the dishes and the flavors presented. Service was phenomenal. I would definitely come back here.

Service was top-notch as was the food. Three of us got the dinner for two and the waiter through in…read morean extra soup so that we'd all have a complete meal. Everything was excellent, and I wondered why it was so empty!

They've made me a customer for life and I will tell everyone to go to their restaurant for as long…read moreas I talk about Chicago. This restaurant is 50+ years old and has been in the same location for that long too. The inside is a bit darker and there are very few windows but they have ambient lighting and music playing that doesn't make your really realize it. There is a lot of seating for smaller and larger groups. The service is some of the best I've had. The owner, Max, personally comes to take your order depending on the rush and he is so sweet to recommend dishes. The food itself is so flavorful and all of the proteins fall right off the bone. They were also able to accommodate a big group and were so kind to play music and serve cake for my birthday! Truly one of those spots where you will leaving feeling full in your stomach and your heart

Very tasty and authentic Persian food! I ordered the Koobideh Kabob. It came with rice, roasted…read moretomato, salad with tomato and olive, and tahdig. Everything was solid. I wish the kabob was a bit bigger and mine was a tad bit overcooked, but still delicious and happy to find another Persian spot in Chicago. Persian food the BEST food!

Grabbed carry-out the other day and honestly, the food was excellent. I ordered the pan kabob,…read morewhich was basically kabob koubideh (to those who are familiar with Persian food). The portion was small (perfect for me) and the price was reasonable. Happily made two meals out of a single entree. I wanted to order the ghormeh sabzi, but was hesitant since I didn't know how the food would be. Now that I know it's solid, I'll definitely order that next time. And the gheymeh. Hope they last and eventually get a brick and mortar. Best of luck!

Ema is special…read more It's Mediterranean with a California twist. Everything is very flavorful and each bite is memorable The pumpkin hummus was really good. It tasted almost like a pumpkin pie filling The bhel hummus was great too. With a ton of toppings. It has a citrusy flavor which was really pleasant The baba ghanoush was also incredible. Super smoky and flavorful. The pita that comes with the dips are also incredible. They've got zatar sprinkled on top The Greek salad was great. Tomatoes feta and olives with cucumber The halloumi kebab was really good. I was so full at this point I couldn't eat much but it comes with a really spicy sauce that is outstanding and also perfectly cooked basmati rice

The hot honey halloumi was easily the best dish of the night. It reminded me a lot of a nagasaki…read morebut with the added spice of the hot honey. Very complex flavors that's sweet, a little sour, creamy, and with a savory edge from the browning. We sat outside on a pleasant evening and it was a very nice patio. The wait staff were very attentive as well so no issues there. They went the extra mile of checking on food allergy issues for me multiple times. My main issue is that the appetizer - the halloumi - was the best dish. The brussels sprouts that came out were charred crisp on the outside and creamy on the insides - which is ideal - except that the flavor was very one-note. If you eat one, then every other one on the plate is pretty much just that again. The problem is that it lacked that feeling of "moreism" that you need if you're going to go with a very simple flavor profile. They tasted fine, but nothing about these made me want to just keep eating them. We also had the crispy mushrooms which likewise had a very similar issue of being one-note. This was notably better than the sprouts though because they came was a very tasty tzatziki sauce that saved the dish, but the sauce shouldn't be the star of a dish like this.

OMG sexy, gorgeous delicious fun. ENCHANTING is how I would describe this place. This gorgeous…read morerestaurant is a total standout. it is take your breath away beautiful! You should sit on the gorgeous patio if you can. Have your birthday party here if you can and eat everything off the menu if you can! We had it all! The server said the portions "were small", ummmmm... they are not. You can share the delish skewers between two or even three people. The small plates are not that small. I thought the portions were very, very generous and we came home stuffed! TOO MUCH FOOD! We were so inspired by the menu that we ordered way too much! I love the new app in which you used to pay with, especially for a large group. Fancy! This is one of the most romantic restaurants I have been to. It's perfect for a fun group of people or a really romantic date night. We had so much fun. We didn't want to leave to go to our next destination. GO!

Okay this place was a vibe. I went on a random weekday and I could only get seats at the bar…read more The staff are great. They take allergies very seriously which felt great. The chicken thighs paired with potato puree were fantastic. The brussels were good as well. Maybe slightly too much honey but still very good. I'll have to go back.

Experience in Shemroon Kabab house was AMAZING Shishlik…read moreKabab and bakhtyari SUPER DELICIOUS Service was super nice Recommend this place 1000%

food diary entry no. 02…read more Shemroon gives a warm and welcoming atmosphere from the decor to the service. The kababs were so moist, and the dill rice was spot on. Portions are also are the larger end which is nice. I am already planning my next visit since it is a far drive from me.

Breakfast edition…read more Food: yummy and generous. Very authentic according to a Turkish friend. I believe served only on weekends. Service: very friendly waiters, fast Ambience: family, big groups friendly!

I genuinely really liked the food, the ambiance and the service! The restaurant is nicely spaced…read moreout and aesthetic, although it does get a bit loud when it's busy and the chairs were a tad too low but that's more personal preference. The servive was absolutely amazing with a very funny and personable waiter and staff constantly checking on us and refilling the complimentary tea! The tea was delicious and so was all of the food. We got the lamb scramble breakfast for 3 and the backlava crepes and it was all absolutely delicious. Can't think of a single thing that wasn't good and you can tell every ingredient used was high quality and nicely seasoned. I had to take 2 stars off for the price and credit card surcharge that's not highlighted or stated anywhere before you pay. The price because the breakfast set is definitely on the high end, and because it's one of the few places in chicago that does kurdish food well, so it's swallowable. I would definitely come back more often if it was cheaper. But charging a credit card fee on top of the high prices is always annoying and a no go, especially when it's not clearly stated anywhere beforehand. They clearly know no one is carrying around that much cash so it's easy extra money and just frustrating as a customer.