I first tried Ema back in 2022 when I visited Chicago for the first time to attend the Northcoast…read morefestival. For some reason, I overlooked reviewing it then, but I never forgot it, so I was ecstatic when I found out my company's annual offsite team dinner would be hosted at Ema. Our group of 35 was pretty large, so we were split up amongst several tables, but it was nice getting to chat in smaller groups. Our drink orders were taken not long after we were seated, and the food and bevvies started to arrive in short order. I got to try way more during my business trip than I did 4 years ago, but regardless, I noted the quality of food that was served remained consistent over the years. Highlights for me included the salmon, Greek village spread, pita bread, chocolate torte, and honey cake. The salmon was so mild and tender, the Greek village spread taster local and refreshing, and the pita bread was seasoned to perfection and hands down the best I've ever had. The desserts were a surprisingly delicious end to the meal. I didn't think I could stomach more food, but somehow I rallied. I don't even like chocolate that well, but the chocolate torte really hit the spot, and the honey cake was a new-to-me decadent dessert. It reminded me of the flavor of honey grahams but in cake form. I've never had anything quite like it and am really glad I got to try it. Coming back to Ema after 4 years was better than I expected. I love Mediterranean food, and after 5 total trips to Chicago, I must say Ema is so far my favorite restaurant here. I'm not easy to please, but Ema serves up some of the best this city has to offer.

Mixed feelings on this place. Really pretty decor and nice vibe, but portions have greatly…read moredecreased in the last few years. The food is good, but I don't like that the portions have gotten smaller with the price staying the same. I've added pictures to show the difference. Their spicy hummus is probably my favorite hummus I've gotten from a restaurant, but it isn't always on the menu. The Kefta kabob is always good.

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!

Yum yum yum yum--this place is a palace of flavor! Authentic cuisine in a warm atmosphere with…read morefantastically friendly folk; Anthony said the entire menu is based on his mom's recipes--so it makes a lot of sense why everything has that only heart-warming flavors that only a home-cooked meal can have. Everything tastes exceptional from the dolmas to the Arabian coffees

Finally found an authentic Lebanese restaurant in Chicago that serves with love. The spot is cozy…read moreand the simplicity adds to the beauty. The restaurant was also very aware of vegan option needs, and recommended all the tasty vegan items. To summarize - the hummus and falafel reminded me of my childhood in the heart of Middle East. Thank you!

Great spot in Chicago. The food had amazing flavors, the space was beautiful, and the overall…read moreexperience felt special without being too formal. A place I'd gladly visit again.

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!

Start with the friendly and helpful service, oooh the food! Nun bread with some sauce very tasty!…read moreThen We had chicken and beef Shawarma , it was delicious, amazing is understatement!!! Then we ordered lamb skewers plater that came with nice spiced medium chicken! Served with rice or a choice of French fries! Best food I have eaten lately! The freshly blended juice is bomb , I had mixed fruits and hubby had Mint lemonade ! It was 17mins from the airport but it's totally worth it! If I lived in Chicago this would be my to go weekend refresh Nice Music by the way

This restaurant was recommended to me recently and I finally had the chance to visit. The staff…read morewere super friendly and helpful in guiding me while placing my carry out order. The decor transports you, very intentionally decorated. I had the chicken shish tawook dinner, the eggplant, falafel, wings, and hummus. This was legitimately some of the best middle eastern food I've ever had. The wings were extremely flavorful, the chicken shish tawook was juicy and beautifully seasoned, and the eggplant was delightfully tangy. I was really looking forward to coming here again.

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.

This Lebanese restuarant has been on my list for quite a while. Finally gave it a try and it did…read morenot disappoint! For food I tried the Adis Bil Hamod and Masdgouf. The first one was (non-pureed) lentil soup with swiss chard, onnions, potatoes and cilantro. The ingredients made the soup rich in flavor. Meanwhile, the stewed potato slightly thickened the soup to richen the texture. I wish there could be more swiss chard, though. The Masdgouf was a hit: unlike traditional Iraq Masdgouf, they pan seared the cod (well, cod is quite tender so searing is actually a better idea), then topped it with a mixture of finely diced veg, peppers and tamarind paste. Served with Lebanese rice, grilled bell peppers and grilled Roma tomatoes. Compared to the Lebenese rice I had in Atlanta, the rice in this one was longer and drier, while the vermicelli in it was softer and more moist. Overall it tasted savory, sweet, sour, with a hint of spiciness. They did a good job in balancing these flavors. I also got some pita -- not those thin, balloon pita but tasted fresh and good, and not salty at all. Serice was friendly and quick. After the meal the chef asked me about my dining experience and I praised highly of the two dishes. She told me that while Masdgouf was not originally from Lebanon, she tried to add some Lebenese element to it, e.g., the tamarind paste. I really appreciate her effort to do something unique and delicious! The only thing I (seriously) hope they could do better was about handling the smoke from the kitchen. At first I was seated near the kitchen and the smoke made my lung uncomfortable; needless to say how it would affect the restaurant staff. If they could get a better range hood it would do good to both the staff and customers' health! I will try more dishes the next time I visit Chicago.

Very worth coming! Super wonderful flavors and high quality ingredients. The Makanek was seriously…read moretasty, served with pita, garlic sauce, and tahini sauce. I enjoyed the balance of all flavors with flavorful olive oil to finish it all off. Salty, complex, and with all the herbs and spices you'd crave. I was very happy i ordered the labneh, it was very fresh and you could really taste the fresh add-ins and goat milk flavor. This spot is seriously special.

I ordered the Combination Meat Plate - beef kabob, kifta kabob, chicken kabob, chicken shawarma…read more This combo plate was delicious and enough for two people. Meats and rice were well seasoned. Beef kabob and shawarma were notably tender and chicken kabob was white meat and juicy. No issues with service. No frills interior. I will definitely come back next time I'm seeing a show at the Den Theatre.

Good "bang for buck" would be an understatement when describing this place. The quality of the food…read moreat Falafel & Grill is absolutely OUTSTANDING, and comes at a beyond reasonable price. As typical for a counter serve, this facility is no thrills but it's kept very clean and the service is straightforward and great. We've gone back here a few times and have never had an issues with wait time, which is impressive as it can get pretty busy with orders. We've tried both the Chicken Kabob Plate and the Kifta Kabob Plate and both were fantastic. They truly make the meat here the PERFECT tenderness - probably the softest and juiciest chicken I've had in the city!!! The hummus and falafel that the Plate meals come with are also delicious. 10000% recommend for a casual Mediterranean meal or takeout

Our friends took us here as a house welcoming dinner for buying our first home and what a treat!…read more We got the sampler dip and the spicy eggplant was my personal favorite. I can't stop thinking about the potatoes. The mushrooms were incredible. The waiter told us to order more, which i was grateful for because my friends were like THIS IS PLENTY. But no. Gimme the Hawaiian crudo for the rest of my life. The rooftop was dope but it was hot as hell and not all the fans were blowing? Felt bad for staff. There was a longer wait in between the courses, but they brought champagne for the inconvenience. We will be back!

Good food. Good service. Hidden Fees…read more I came to SIFR for a business dinner and it's definitely a place I would return to. We ordered a variety of dips to start (they were all absolutely amazing but the braised rib eye humus was delicious! My main was the lamb kebab with a side of rice, both were very good. If I were to come back I'd probably either do the prix fixe menu or order family style to get more variety of entrees. The service was friendly, accommodating and reasonably quick. One star was lost for me with the hidden fees. They charged a 4% service charge automatically. Our boss from UK almost mistook this for auto-gratuity and then we had to explain the technical accounting involved in Chicago tipping- awkward. Restaurants really need to end these hidden fees, just raise your prices. Overall I would definitely come back and recommend it as a solid option

This place does not play with portion sizes!! I ordered the chicken plate with half and half of the…read moredifferent kinds of rice they offer. It also came with pita bread and hummus. Service was excellent and quick. Food was rich in flavor and very filling. Will definitely come again!

Ordered this for delivery through DoorDash, and I cannot recommend it enough! The food was…read moreinexpensive, the delivery was quick, and the portions were HUGE. We ordered two meals and a side of pita and that was enough for two meals for two people ( could have been more as both meals were very filling). I would highly recommend the lamb shawarma dinner. I will definitely return to their physical location in the future.