Loved the shawarma bowl! The shawarma wrap was pretty good too. The fries were super hot and crispy. Will definitely be ordering more from here, absolute comfort food! read more

BenjYehuda - Shawarma bowl - Falafel Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I didn't love it. I tried the chicken shawarma in a pita and the chicken was awfully dry. The flavors weren't as delicious as I've come to expect from Middle Eastern cuisine either. And service, while polite, was slow. read more

Manager is very Rhude and disrespectful and gave me the wrong sauce on my food and I had a allergic reaction

Awesome fast casual. Love this spot. Cool vibes. Clean. Good prices. Great quality. Fresh ingredients. Great service. Great portions and filling. Will be back. read more

Even inside a train station this place just kills it. You get to order like subway only it looks delicious and you get to say Baba Ghanoush outloud which is always fun. read more

Chicken shawarma box is maybe my favorite food in Chicago. Extra sauce, extra pickle. I make a point of visiting benjyehuda every time I am in the city. The fries and cheddar are excellent too. I only rate 4 stars because they no longer accept cash and that was very inconvenient for me at the time. Food wise, hard to beat. read more

BenjYehuda, if you've never been, is worth trying. It's delicious! There is a distinct Chipotle feel to the interior and food prep but that is not a bad thing. It is strictly "business" without a lot of frills but everything was very inviting. There was no line to speak of and there were plenty of seats to be had... I'm guessing not many people know about this fantastic spot. Which makes sense, given that it's nestled in Ogilvie Transportation Center's food court. The food makers were very fast and efficient and the owner/manager (or who I assume was the owner/manager) was also the last stop in the line before handing it off to the cashier. I like that, he is there making sure everything is going smoothly. He also sincerely thanked me for my business, which you don't get too much these days. Great staff! I had the combo bowl with all the fixings, and Tehini and hot sauce. Everything was DELICIOUS and the portion size was nice a big! Great portion size here! Given the level of service, and the portion sizes, this place is EXCELLENT bang for your buck! I am so very glad to have found this place because it is such a wonderful lunch in all respects. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed! read more

I really don't like to leave negative reviews but my experience here was absolutely horrendous. The employees are extremely rude and unprofessional. With nobody else in the store, they said they would NOT prepare my pickup order until the exact time I requested. I was literally 10 minutes early and they had NO other orders. They flat out REFUSED to begin the order until the "exact time" and made sure to be very unkind about it. I work in the building and have MANY options in the atrium marketplace as well as in the surrounding area. I will NEVER return to this location for any reason. The food is decent but the service is not worth it. read more

I would say this is a 3.5 place for lunch. This loaction is not as good as the other locations. I had the steak/gyro salad bowl with everything except hummus. The pieces of steak I had a bunch of cartilage. The gyro meat was tasty. The bowl came with too much raw onion. I wish their pita was a bit thicker. The service was fast and efficient. It's nice they have Jones soda as their fountain drink option. read more

BenjYehuda - Falafel Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The only mistake I made was not eating here when my office was a short walk away. Ordered delivery from here and it was BOMB. I personally believe they're at the top of the list when it comes to pick-your-own Mediterranean bowls. The toppings are all fresh. I added chicken shawerma which is lean, flavorful, and cooked perfectly into bite sized pieces. My toppings were red cabbage, basmati rice (super fluffy), pickles, hummus, and Jerusalem salad. All toppings are super fresh. Their sauces are also super tasty. My favorite combo is tahini x hot sauce. I think the best part is that their hot sauce isn't red and scorching hot- it's tolerable and pairs perfectly with all of the other flavors instead of being too overpowering. Can't wait to try this in person when everything is normal again. read more

This is a great find for lunch. The food is very fresh and the portions are large. They have fresh sides, veggies, etc.. I had a salad and one day I had a wrap. Superb! I will try the gyro next. read more

I don't know how to pronounce this place but if I could I would tell all of my friends to go here! The chicken and vegetables are pretty solid and and fries are well above average (need to try to cheese next time). I'll be back! read more

BenjYehuda - Bowl - Falafel Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

fast and furiously good! my pledge dad is israeli and i think he would approve. got the falafel bowl. staffer #1 hooked it up and gave me EIGHT pieces, half spicy half non. the spicy isn't that hot so if you're wondering you prob can handle the heat. love the street meets literati vibe of the place w all the quotes from famous ppl about food and rice. shout out to the mitch hedberg quote #GOAT great spot for quick, relatively inexpensive lunch. i was solo but going w a coworker or friends also works. since it's summer, i relocated outside the boeing terrace along the river to eat and take in the boat tours passing by. shalom! read more

See all

Excellent. Haven't enjoyed food this good since I was in Israel. Open in Arizona please.

I went to BenjYehuda for dinner in their lincoln park location 5+ years ago, and I remember it being pretty decent, but nothing memorable or all that special. It's another chipotle-style naf-naf-like concept, but it tastes good. I haven't been to a Naf Naf in years either, but I remember the food there to be more heavy-feeling, more in the comfort/junk food category. BenjYehuda's version is a lot lighter. I do wish they had other base options than just brown or white rice, but they more than make up for it in vegetable topping options for a light and filling lunch. The ingredients were fresh, seasoned appropriately (ie not too salty and overly msg-laden), and the portion was filling for the price. Pretty ideal lunch food - light, yet filling - done pretty well. Definitely would order again. read more

Ordered for takeout; the chicken shawarma bowl with everything along with the fries. The food was so good!! The fries were crispy and the tahini sauce was on point. I have had great Mediterranean food in the past and I most say this is in the top 5. Presentation was on point, colorful, and nothing was missing from my order (besides utensils which is why I docked off a star). Definitely a go to if you're in the area and need to grab lunch. read more

BenjYehuda - Chicken shawarma with Fries - Falafel Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

One of my favorite lunch places! It's always packed here during lunch time so I suggest ordering through the Ritual app and just picking up your food. The ingredients are so fresh. I always get a box (~$10)- you can choose between rice, romaine, or half and half. I've always gotten the chicken, it's so flavorful and tender. The sauces are also very good. The baba ganoush (eggplant) is smoky and really good! Hummus is very fresh and delicious. The tahini sauce is amazing! You can customize your box and choose whatever toppings you'd like. I'm always so happy and full after finishing my box. I've also tried the fries with the cheese sauce and I'm not a fan. I think it's merkts cheddar. I was not a fan of the texture - I like my cheese sauce smooth. This is the type of cheese that would go with pretzels, I don't think it pairs well with fries. Also my fries were cooked way too long so they were too crispy/hard. Maybe I just got a bad batch. read more

BenjYehuda - Falafel Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is usually my go-to when I'm in the office working. I prefer BenjYehuda ("Benji") over say, Naf Naf grill. Yes, they are similar in concept but I think you definitely get more food (Roti is the best, IMHO due to more protein choices; chicken kabob vs just chicken schawarma). Anyways, Benji has a fast-casual setup. Select your type (in a box, or in a pita), select your protein, and then your toppings. Proteins include falafel, lamb, or chicken. You can do half-and-half lettuce and rice, or strictly one of the two. Benji does take boxed lunch literally, as they throw all these ingredients in a giant cardboard box where they mingle together as one big happy family (no partitioning of the ingredients). I usually go with a box, white rice, chicken schawarma, lettuce, tomato, red onions, and red cabbage. And I'm a complete savage and mix that all up before I eat it. They have a tahini sauce as well as IMHO spicy AF hot sauce. Throw in a pita and you got a decent fulfilling meal for just under $10. Works for me. read more

Stopped there during lunch rush - oh wow. It was the longest line but we decided it should be worth it. I got chicken shawarma and cheesy fries. Cheese sauce was awful. Really-really bad. Like you got it from the can and did not even warm up and it froze and became one big chunk. So here goes extra money spent on cheese. Shawarma was good. One thing I was really impressed with - how fast this place moves the line. Super-efficient and they try to predict your need but asking if you would like extra soup or fries. read more

There are a lot of Mediterranean lunch spots around Chicago but none of them are as good as BenjYehuda. BenjYehuda's options are chicken, steak, falafel, and they recently added gryos! But my favorite is the chicken, it's excellently seasoned and always cut straight from the spit. BenjYehuda provides more topping/vegetable options than any of the other mediterranean lunch spots and provides greater volumes of each of these. They're also just better seasoned. I'm especially a fan of the carrots and will ask for extra carrots. Their hot sauce is also fantastic. It's quite spicy but I still ask for either the hot sauce over the whole box (normally they only put it on the protein) or I'll ask for some extra on the side. BenjYehuda's one of my favorite regular lunch spots. read more

This place looks nice at firts sight but the short guy that you see runing around bossing people around is a 2 face and plays favorite with his staff memebers but they all fake to each other also they all look mad fqces like they hate their job and the service was horrible i seen and had better food from other places. If i could given negative starts to this place i would trust me, i seems places like this lost their way after covid. I bought a falafel pita from here straight garbage and yeah I throw it in the garbage after the firts disgusting bite i took from it. The owner should pay attention to his business instead of watching his pockets getting full. read more

After a week of nonstop eating in Chicago, we wanted to eat something a little healthier, and the bf suggested this BenjYehuda. It's pretty much a Middle Eastern version of Chipotle, where you pick your style (pita or box), pick a protein, and pick all the toppings you want. The two of us shared: +Steak Box (~$8.99?): ordered this with a bed of half lettuce and half rice. Super filling, and I love how there were so many toppings to choose from that added a different flavor or texture. If I would change something, I would probably get all rice next time, because the toppings were already all different veggies. It made it a little too salad-like, and I would've liked more of the warmth from the cooked rice. +1/2 Bag of Fries ($1.49?): generous portion of hot and really crispy french fries. Skip the cheese sauce, because I'm pretty sure it was just cheese whiz, which is pretty gross. Overall, this is a great option if you need something quick, filling, and affordable. The two of us were filled and even had some french fries to spare. Also, this particular location is located inside a food court area, so a great spot if you're coming with a group of people who don't want to eat the same things. You can just grab whatever you want, and meet in the designated eating area. read more

BenjYehuda - Steak Box w/ choice of toppings. Colorful, healthy(?), and yummy! - Falafel Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It was okay. We ordered their $8.99 combo. It came with two meats falafel and hummus and rice. I guess they don't include any pita bread with the combo which was disappointing since we get hummus and babaganoush. I felt the flavors were not pronounced and it fell flat for me. I love Middle Eastern food and I always love the cumin, coriander and parsley flavor. I didn't truly taste any of that in their falafel. But. Did like the crispiness of the falafel how they included two pieces in the combo. Rice wan Jerusalem salad was tasty. read more

Have you been to any of the other BenjYehuda locations in the city? If so, you'll find more of the same here. It's in a bit of an unexpected place...it shares the Ogilvie food court with such chains as McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Subway. Non-major chains seem to have trouble surviving there, but hopefully Benjy sticks around, even though the long lines at Panda Express usually end up crashing into their line. I'm just glad an original place is in this food court and I don't have to walk down to the French Market for it. If you're unfamiliar, here they do Chipotle-ordering style Mediterranean. Your proteins: falafel, chicken or steak. Then you can get it in a pita or box with rice or salad. This location doesn't offer the laffa wrap - not sure if that's just this spot or they nixed it at all their spots. Then you have a large variety of veggies to top it and sauces. My go to is a falafel pita, which is super bright and colorful and makes you feel good eating vegetarian. Their sides are not to be ignored either. The lentil soup is a bit pricy, but it's nice and creamy. And of course, their fries are legendary, especially paired with Merkt's cheddar, the gift of the gods. It's the perfect spot for a workday lunch and you don't even have to feel guilty about it. Especially compared to a large orange chicken order. read more

This place is hidden in 500 W Madison, you cannot enter from Canal street despite the sign being there. They offer Mediterranean food in a simple, Chipotle-style assembly line. I got the combo which included steak, chicken and falafel. I was informed it would take a couple minutes, as they freshly fry their falafel. In my box I got rice, cucumber salad, hummus, red cabbage, onions, carrots and a little of the sauces. Everything came together pretty well. It wasn't amazing and not as flavorful as some authentic middle eastern places, but the meat seemed to be of better than average quality, the falafel was tasty (though only two smaller than average pieces), and the portion size was large. It did come at a $10 cost, which is probably about average if not a dollar or so high for what I would call a substantial Loop lunch without a drink. Not a bad option for a larger lunch. read more

This was the longest line in this mini food court so I figured it would be good. It was okay. The ordering system was your standard base, protein, veggies, sauce. Everything goes in one open box, which I did like seemed to made from some sort of biodegradable material. Ordering seemed straightforward, except there was some sort of queue interruption and my box (which was almost but not quite the same as the person ahead of me) got out of order and the servers ended up putting my requests onto someone else's protein. Then I was given some serious faces as if this issue was my fault, and in addition, I had to go back a few steps and redo the order. Again, while being made to feel it was my fault. Price was fine, but for protein lacking a good flavor and not so great service, combined with a longer wait, I recommend one of the bigger chains like Roti for a better Mediterranean-ish lunch. read more

This is the best place in Ogilvie to eat. They have falafel, steak, and chicken and they're very fast so you can eat in the run. I will be eating here often! read more

See all

Price vs. Quantity: 4/5 Food Taste: 3/5 I was recommended this place by my coworkers and I also noticed the glowing reviews for it. I've eaten here twice now and I have to say, it's just average to me. There's nothing wrong with the food here; it doesn't taste bad by any means, but it does lack flavor or at least a cohesion of flavors. The price is nice at least, and I was given enough food to be satiated. I ordered the chicken box with half rice and half lettuce as the base, then I had them put all of the toppings on it including the tahini sauce and the hot sauce. The toppings were the corn salad, tomatoes, Jerusalem salad, carrot salad, red cabbage, pickles, hummus, and baba ganoush (I neglected to add the red onion because the corn salad already had some in it). Overall the only things that stood out were the baba ganoush and the chicken. Both were very tasty. The chicken wasn't fatty, and the sauces on top made the flavor delicious! It had a nice amount of heat as well from the hot sauce. The baba ganoush had a tantalizing smoky flavor which went well with the chicken. The pickles were decent. The acidic flavor did mix well with the chicken and baba ganoush. But that's about where the positives end. All of the various salads lacked flavor. The corn salad just tasted like corn, the carrot salad tasted like carrots, and the Jerusalem salad tasted like cucumbers. Nothing stood out in them and they honestly didn't blend well together flavor-wise. I would have thought there'd be some sort of pickled flavor in the carrots at least. The red cabbage I really didn't notice. The hummus, usually a powerhouse of flavor, tasted like barely anything. Finally, no pita? Usually places like this give you a pita at least. read more

Great healthy options for a filling lunch that doesn't break the bank ... yes please! Also given how fast they got the food to me in minutes ... this is a solid option for me. The service speeds through its customers ... though there was 5 people in front of me, I didn't have to wait for more than a few minutes before someone asking me "what would you like today?". They have their assembly down to a T with clear hand offs to the next to quickly get your order to the cash. My order of the falafel box and fries was done so quickly... the counter itself only had 3 small but clean tables. It does open to a big spacious food court area. The falafels weren't as large or heavily spiced as Roti but I did enjoy how it had a crisp exterior. It would have been best f they were still hot. Mine were just a bit warmer than room temp. The box contained tons of vegetables and they definitely didn't skimp out. If anything I am happily munching away on vegetables and I can barely find the value or variety anywhere else. The fries I had were super crisp and hot. For only $1 something ... 1/2 lb fries of hot big crispy fries is worth the indulgence. I would recommend this place for lunch ... great selections, friendly and fast service, and great value. Can't get better for the loop area. read more

See all

One of my fave healthy, good portion salad spots! They do it right! A must try. Food is priced well read more

Why I have not reviewed this after almost 7 years is a shame. Was first introduced to BenjYehuda in 2010 when I first started working at the CBOT and my boss had me take out food from there. At the time, I believe the one near the CBOT was the only location. I'm hardly surprised at their recent expansion in the city and now out in the suburbs. This what you would get if Middle Eastern/Israel food + Chipotle (minus the outbreaks) had a wonderful, glorious child. It is fantastic for lunch, always flavorful, and always filling. The choices are great and you just can't go wrong here. But I haven't even gotten my favorite part. THOSE FRIES. Yea I'm the dude that goes 1LB all day. Steph Curry 3, no hesitation. Yea its that good... dare I say in my top 5 for best place to get fries in Chicago. read more

Meh, why would you take really great Israeli god and mess it up wIth things that no one eats in Israel...where is the zhug!?!? Why can't you make.a bowl with hummus in the bottom. read more

This is an experience I might want back. The food is okay I assumed it might have more spice and seasoning, but its a modern take on Mediterranean food. What I mean by that is the are trying to cater to the masses instead of featuring authentic flavors I expected. Now again this is just my opinion so if you enjoy NAF NAF or Roti this is a place you might want to try. Chicken and Steak were again bland and not fit for my expectations. I would say better than NAF NAF not close to Roti. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE!! Great shawarma chicken, good salads and bowls, but the real winner of this place is the French fries. I have had many a French fry in my day and this place has the best French fries I have ever tasted in my entire life. They take the #1 spot in my heart and in my stomach. Please don't ever stop making your French fries and do NOT change the recipe!! Love you guys endlessly!! read more

Amazing food. Great price. Super fast. Exactly what I was in the mood for. Exceeded my expectations

Honestly this review is 3.5 out of 5, not 3 out of 5. Blame yelp for picking either 3 or 4. The reason for the three stars is the change in price structure recently. The food itself is quite good, and the bowls are worth it. A bowl is a base such as salad or rice, and you can top it with many veggies to hummus and/or ghanoush. Honestly the food itself is easily 4 to 5 stars depending on what you get. For me the gyro is the best meat, and the falafel is good. The chicken isn't bad, but I prefer Naf Naf's chicken shawarma over theirs. The food itself is good overall, and the bowls are reasonably priced and competitive compared to Naf Naf or Roti nearby. The big issue which has knocked off a 1.5 star for me are the price changes with the pitas and fries. A pita sandwich by itself is $9 now, and fries are $3. It used to be about $7, and fries were about $2.00. The price point is based on protein, so $8 for falafel, $9 for any meat. It's really flawed since a bowl easily gives you 2 times, or even 3 times more food than a pita sandwich. It makes no sense to price it this way, and it used to be priced slightly different based on your base. Why would anyone pay $12.50 for a gyro and fries without drink, and that's before tax? With tax will push it to $14. Time to come back to the real world since this is Chicago, and pita sandwiches with fries are common and at a much cheaper price point. There are places nearby such as Gold Coast Dogs, while not as good, but can get a gyro and fries for under $10. That's a better value and bang for your buck. The price point for a pita sandwich is unacceptable. It's gone up by 30-40% while the bowl price is slightly more than the old box they used to offer. It sounds shallow, but I rate places by the food and value. The value and food matches the bowl price well in the Loop area, but it's lost the plot in regards to a pita sandwich. Come for the bowl, but expect sticker shock for a simple pita sandwich. read more

Excellent middle eastern food in ogilvie. Highly recommend the plate with chicken, steak and falafel. Slight gripe would be that the meat portions are kinda small but they make it up by providing plenty of veggies. My favorite was the steak. I would skip the spicy sauce or spicy falafel, it tastes like lava. All in all an excellent addition to the area read more

The most flavorless hummus I've ever eaten. No tahini, lemon or salt at all, it seemed. The spicy lentil soup was a little weird. I was expecting them to have a soup that had simmered with the spices fully incorporated into it vs. pouring hot sauce on top of the soup and having me mix it in... The chicken was semi flavorless, dried out and not pleasant to chew. read more

Let me go ahead and say, Frozen Falafel. Frozen- take the fresh food title off the boxes. It tastes like the sawdust that fell of my grandpa's table saw. Do a favor, go to Naf naf a block away where the pita is free, the falafel are made fresh, and you aren't badgered for fries more intently than a border patrol agent harassing you for papers. read more

I really like this place but damn, that lunch line is long as Methuselah's beard. Granted, the other vendors at 500 West Madison don't come close but I don't have 30 minutes just to wait in line for falafel. I try to go there on off-times to avoid that line. read more