It doesn't get any better than this place! Many restaurants try to emulate but they can never be as good as AlBawadi! Food, atmosphere, people, It's perfect! read more

Al Bawadi Grill - Knaffeh - Mediterranean Near Me - Bridgeview, Illinois

Best Middle Eastern food in the Chicago suburbs. Huge portions great customer service and authentic dining.

Loved everything they served. The best grape leaves I have ever had, we ordered Al Bawadi vegetarian combination - mamamiaaa, hands down! We ended our dinner with baklava and kenafa, what do I say? No words! Best ones I have had so far for sure!! Looking forward to visit again very soon with family and friends to show off one of my amazing middle eastern food finds in the food capital of USA!! Ramadan Kareem read more

Love the Chicken Tawook Sandwich. Everything is pretty good here. Definitely good Middle Eastern food and better than most others.

I really don't know how to start but they serve me moldy bread and that tells me One thing the chef doesn't give a F*** about the food, and the worst part Comes up I asked to talk to the manager or talk to the chef nobody showed except the check showed up . I hope somebody from the restaurant read this or see the photo and fix it read more

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Oh my F!!!!!! Hell..... delicious. Beware of the hostess with a gun!!! this is the spot you must stop if you are in Chicago; I know it's about 1 hr drive; but, worth it every mile!!!! read more

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My favorite middle eastern restaurant EVER!! The food is always delicious even when they are busy which is almost all the time. Try the chicken shawarma and the shish tawook plate with red rice and a side of yummy garlic sauce! It won't disappoint. read more

Catered my daughter's after-party wedding food from here and it was a hit! The food and service were exceptional! Highly recommended!

To me middle eastern food is all about that killer combination of pita bread, smeared on the inside with either, hummus or even better garlic sauce and filled with a combination of meat and tabbouleh salad. This place has some amazing garlic sauce and grilled meats that makes this into a unforgettable mixture. The price is right here and if you don't share your meal among two people your guaranteed to take a box home. Appetizers: The hummus here is great but the true standout for me was the Baba Ghannouj which is similar to hummus in look but is much softer and not at all grainy by it's addition of eggplant. Entrees: The tabbouleh is the solid traditional salad that you expect here, very sour. We had array of grilled meats served, chicken, lamb, steak and even Quail. I've had Quail before at nice restaurants for $30-$60, here it's a bargain at $12.99 without sacrificing quality. Everything they grill has a nice mesquite flavor because they have a wood fire oven. I'm usually a beef guy but here i like the chicken the best as it comes out crispy and coated with a curry like sauce. Ambiance: From the outside Al Bawadi looks like whatever but the inside is one of the better presentations of a traditional middle eastern ambiance. Parts of the inside look like tents with goat skins hanging off and they play up the authenticity with a hostess dressed in traditional attire w/out the headdress. The smell of grilled meats hits hard in a good way as you walk in. How it compares: I haven't been to many middle eastern in the area but i used to go to school in Dearborn, MI which has the largest middle eastern population in the US and this place stacks up well to the ones there in terms of taste. read more

Al Bawadi Grill - Chicken Schwarma w/ a+ garlic sauce - Mediterranean Near Me - Bridgeview, Illinois

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My dining experience in this Middle Eastern resto is surreal. The falafel is so soft and tasty; it's the best in the Midwest. Do not miss their grilled mixed seafood/fish. The baza fish just melts in my mouth, so soft, spiced right .. and brace yourself for the knafe... so heavenly delicious. The resto's ambience is perfect for family dining or dating with the love of your life... and the Attendant's middle eastern garb ... Just how authentic it could get, I'll say Fabulous! read more

Al Bawadi Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Bridgeview, Illinois

Excellent service, delicious food that is served fresh and hot! One if the placed that looks as nice as the ads pictures! Only draw back is the location away from downtown. It would not hurt if they had one Al Bawadi in every neighborhood loool Do not think twice definetly worth going if you are looking for middle eastern food. read more

This place is fantastic. Everything was wonderful and tasty. My tastebuds were in love with the food. I'm looking forward to the next visit. read more

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What can I say about this place that hasn't been said. Customer service is amazing! The food is amazing! Atmosphere makes me feel like I'm not in Chicago and an escape from reality. Highly recommended read more

fairly authentic arab restaurant with emphasis on palestanian/jordanian fare. Went their with my palestinian husband, his grandma, and brother-in-law. we order Hummus, falafel, kefte and kebab. the food was delicious, especially the kebab amd hummus. the ambience looked authentic, but my husband thought they were trying too hard (whatever that means) with the decor and music. definitly recommended for authentic taste of the middle easy. read more

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If you want authentic Palestinian food, this is the place to go. Minus one star because you're forced to order a side with the shwarma even tho online it's optional and even on the menu it days you can get it by itself. But the shwarma is pretty cheap but very satisfying. I also recommend the kibbeh, lamb kebabs, and the chicken. read more

If you are looking for an authentic experience with cuisine and atmosphere come here! Really loved the atmosphere here and the service was really good. The decor is really nice and welcoming. The hosts wear traditional Arabian garb while asking if you want some Arabic coffee. Though I'm not a caffeine drinker i greatly appreciated the hospitality. We ordered the Kufta platter and Quail platter. The food was rich and flavorful just the way I like it with aromatic spices. Look forward to coming back here. read more

A great place for authentic food, atmosphere, and service. Every plate I tried has been bon appetite delicious. Been going here for years. read more

This place is amazing... THE DECOR is fascinating. This is a Palestinian restaurant. They wear traditional clothing to give us a taste of their foood but as well as their culture. Their food was so yummy. We were a large party of 8people. We ordered a large plate that had mixed meats and chicken with rice. It included appetizers for 99$. I loved the food! It was enough for 8 of us. We had leftovers which we took home. The drinks and dessert were separate. I wasn't a fan of their dessert. If you want to have authentic Palestinian food and have a mini experience of their culture you must come here. read more

Must have: hummus, mixed grill platter Oh, I dream of Al Bawadi's mixed grill. The mixed grill (which also had a fish option) is a multi-course meal that the menu says could feed five, but would really feed at least eight people for $74. The mixed platter come with a huge side salad, and sides of hummus, baba ganoujh (a puréed eggplant dip), and this glorious whipped garlicky glory dip (maybe thoom? Didn't remember the name). The mixed grill itself is a huge platter with two types of rice, lamb chops, quail, chicken, kebabs, and roasted tomatoes. The meat is all halal and it perfectly spiced and cooked, with a great smokiness to it. There is no need to order supplementary dishes if you go with a group because it is plentiful and is worlds above what Americans think of kebabs and hummus. Al Bawadi is worth the trek to Bridgeview, and it great for a group dinner. It is always packed, so I recommend getting a reservation, especial for groups. Service is great, parking plentiful. read more

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This is a family favorite of ours! We order the family meat platter for pick up for all almost all our family get-togethers and it's always a hit. The presentation is packaging is always on point. Kind and caring staff. Really great quality food. Keep up the great work!!! read more

Staff need to have some more respect for family's and older people and respect what they got going on

Walked in and walked out no social distancing and some workers aren't wearing mask or costumers!! Also very over crowded.

The food was good. The falafel was good and unique cause there was sesame seeds. The rice was also good. It's overall a good restaurant!

This place is either a hit or miss when it comes to to-go food. Sometimes the food is bland with no taste whatsoever and sometimes it's good. If you are lucky you get good food on a given day! read more

1 tahini for two meals when I paid for 4. Falafel burnt. 2 hours for a mid day delivery. Paid extra to ADD a side salad, called and said that's why they remove rice.... so pay extra for a container with a few pieces of chicken for a side salad . Makes no sense, food can be good but has gone down over the years. Way overpriced for what it is. Lost me as a loyal customer. read more

Update: I went here again tonight. They were out of Kanafah n wings but that's okay. Our server, Ahmad was literally the sweetest person I've ever met. Honestly, so nice and soft spoken. He made sure everything was okay with us and got us seated in 10 minutes on a busy Saturday night. The food took some time but it was delicious. Im so glad I gave this place another chance and didn't let that one server ruin this entire place for us. So if you see this Ahmad, these 5 stars are more for your service than they are for the food. read more

Very good service!! A wonderful experience. The ambiance is great. All of the people were welcoming and helpful. Especially Anas. Ask for him! He helped us with the menu and suggested items to try. We had kenefeh. See the picture. It was delicious. And not too sweeWe will definitely be back again!! We came back!!! So busy!! Sunday evening. Many families. Anas came to help us again. All of the wait staff are friendly and attentive. Miriam was also helping. Try the quail!!!! It is great! All of the waiters and servers are very friendly and helpful. We love it. The welcome you with some special coffee. It's a great experience! read more

Sorry but I have this place 2 chances and both times they failed me. The first time I just remembering when I walked out I wound never going there again. One of my family members wanted to go there for Mediterranean food so I reluctantly agreed because that's where she picked. In the meantime I scoured the yelp reviews hoping that I would read stellar reviews since this place is rated four out of five stars and read the reviews and it seemed the more recent ones were not impressed but all the ones from a year ago and earlier raved about the place so I thought we'll give it a try again maybe it was just off for a bad day. First off the service is good I have no complaint there we started off with a Siri and fried cheese which was OK. I like more the Greek cheese saginaki and this is close but not quite I would maybe give it three out of five stars. Next to where the four got the lamb chops which they said we're good just very very thin and could've used more and my cousin and I both got the meat Shawarma platter. After reading definitions of what Shawarma is and other reviews that said their meats including the Shawarma was very juicy and excellently flavored. Our meat was flavorless dried and tough. Just awful I was looking forward to getting it because the way they described how it's made with fat I was hoping that it would be juicy as the fat would be melting as it is roasting on the spit. Very disappointing and not so whatsoever. In my opinion I would tell people to stay clear away from the meat Shawarma at this place. My husband and I also split a shish kebab and that was better not excellent than the shawarma. Not a fan of their rice. We split the Kenef for dessert which was the ONLY thing we really liked. Then after paying the bill which I asked for separate checks and they would not deal I didn't double check the addition and I asked if there was a fee or a charge for using credit card which they said there was so we made sure we both parties paid with cash. I didn't have my calculator to check out the final total until after I got home and the bill was paid already in cash and what we had should've only come to $151 with tax would've only been 166 maybe and we were charged 173 or 175??? We had no way to dispute the charge and I knew they probably would not be able to even find the receipt and at that point what's the difference we are ready paid it but I would've liked to of known where that extra money came from that they charged us unless the prices were higher than what their online prices stated on their website. So I urge you to beware first of all if you're going there and you pay with a credit card expect a 3.99% of charge for using a credit card and obviously even if you don't there's another probably 4% charge on top of the tax. I'm forewarning you do yourself a favor take out your calculator and actually add everything up and double check it while you are there because something they're adding to their billing. Keep an eye out protect yourself. Would I ever go here again? Absolutely not!!? as the saying goes fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me two times of unsatisfactory experiences is enough for me. We will definitely stay clear from this point forward. read more

I've been here a few times for large family dinners and graduation parties since it's a great place to celebrate with large groups since they have these large mixed meat platters (we normally get both the seafood and mixed meat trays). The meat is always grilled perfectly over charcoal which you can smell from the parking lot. A few of us were craving chargilled meat and decided to drive down from the northside yesterday since the food is so good. As we were walking in the first door, the host was for some reason leaning on the second door with his arm over the door handle blocking us from entering the restaurant and staring us up and down. After the 30 second staredown concluded, he asked us how many were in our party - we said 3. He then opens the door for himself and allows us to follow him into the restaurant. We must've gotten his approval for entry. Very strange man. He then brings us to an empty table and turns to us and says: "you can't sit here...go wait over there." We all look at each other confused. OK, we'll go wait over there even though there are multiple open tables. After waiting for 15 minutes, we get one of said open tables. Weird. We always order the appetizer sampler since it has everything in it but they were out of falafel and we were just given more hummus. We order the mixed seafood grill and the meat tray and it was all good except for the shawerma, it's always dry. This is a great place if you're craving chargrilled meats, but the service is hit or miss. A definite miss on this night. read more

Lovely food loved the rice and chicken amazing Arab and Middle Eastern dishes! Get everything I loved the mixed grill and order time for chicken tikka sandwich is about 20 mins read more

I have been going to Al Bawadi since they first opened 10 years ago or so. The food is always good, especially when it comes to grilled meat. But recently we had dinner there and it was OUTSTANDING! I had the lamb chops, which are automatically served well done. You have to specifically request "medium" if you do not want well done. Mine were perfect! Each order has 4 chops and a lot of rice. It's probably enough to share, but I ate the whole thing. We had the Toshka appetizer, which was excellent. It's meat and cheese inside of pita bread and grilled. So tasty. Finally, for dessert, we ordered kinafa. They make it in the open on a portable cart. It was only $13.99 and it was enough for 5 people to share. Great value for dessert. And it was very well done. In terms of service, they are generally good. Although maybe they need to hire a few more people so everyone is not running around looking so exhausted. But otherwise, everyone is very nice. read more

This place is absolutely amazing! From the decor/atmosphere to the food...simply love it! They can get extremely busy so reservation is the safest way to go. I had no problem as I had a 7 pm reservation and was seated within minutes of arrival. The food tastes fresh and well marinated. The fresh juice choices are awesome! If you are trying this place for the first time, definitely go with the mix grill platter so that you can get a taste of their chicken, beef, and lamb. I would highly recommend this place! Try it out for yourself! read more

The food is so yummy. I have been there a few times and have ordered a few different things. Each time the food was delicious.

Very fast workers and really tasty foods. The chefs are gifted with good cooking skills. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

The service and food is always exceptional when I dinner here. I ordered the mixed schwarma grill which had chicken and beef with two types of rice, onions, tomatoes, peppers and two sauces. The meat was flavorful, the rice was fluffy. I also loved the mint lemonade. Our table also shared a pot of hot tea which was brought out in a silver pot and served with lemon honey and mint leaves. I'm looking forward to my next visit. read more

Zabiha halal! :) We drove alllll the way down from Skokie.... and wow, blew us away. The food, ambiance... everything was perfect. The decor is meant to make it look like a desert oasis... my fav part was the dresses. One of the men was serving coffee with a sash holding fake bullets lol awesome. We went in Friday night @ 8PM. The place was JAM-PACKED...we didn't have reservations but the hostess told us a 15 min wait and we'd have our table. Once seated, we had a complimentary dish of these crisoy pita strips with an eggplant dip and olives/pickles. The eggplant dip was delish! It was tangy and the pita crisps were sooo yummy. We ordered 3 appetizers - muthawama, 6 pcs falafel, and fries... entrees were 2 mixed grill plates. Muthawama - garlicky, sour, potatoey dip... omggggg.. it was something i'd never tried before and it was to die for! I wish i'd brought some home :( Falafel - I was put off falafel after trying some at my loval Pita Inn... those were gross. These, however, have made me a believer once again. Crispy, perfectly seasoned... and the steam that rises out of them when u crack one in half, beauty i tell u! We were regretting not getting the 12 pc.... i'm still regretting it. The mixed grill - Juicy, succulent, perfectly marinated... the 2 types of rice are wonderfully done. Also the portions are huge... love it! I also had the non-alcoholic 'beer'... it was apple flavored lol. So delicious. We drove here from quite a way... it was defo worth it, can't wait for next time. read more

Al Bawadi Grill - Mixed platter (top to bottom) - beef, chicken, lamb... 2 types of rice. Delicious! - Mediterranean Near Me - Bridgeview, Illinois

One of the best Arabic restaurants in Chicago suburbs. Friendly staff & great food. But charging 18% mandatory tips is ''Ridiculous'' read more

Al Bawadi Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Bridgeview, Illinois

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Went there with a couple of guys for a supposed light evening snack and ended up eating till we couldnt move! Service was amazing, food was awesome, ambience relaxing.. Overall a 5star experience! I can vouch for everything on the menu, you wont be dissapointed especially if you already have lived in the middle east or are conversant with middle eastern food. And dont forget to drink the Kehwah (arab tea) after ur meal, great for digestion! read more

Al Bawadi Grill - The best thing on the menu, its a combo of all the meats with rice and breads, perfect for 4-5 people. Costs $80. - Mediterranean Near Me - Bridgeview, Illinois

I love coming here on my every visit to Chicago. My husband says the food is average- he's into eating mostly meat and has high standards. I love Arabic foods for the side items. All the delicious dips, the salads and bread- very tasty at Bawadi. But Bawadi doesn't get my four stars for dips. I love it from the minute I walk in. An older gentleman in a tradition Arabic dress greets me. The waitresses are very attentive and fast, and also wearing beautiful Palestinian embroidered tunics. The decor is reminiscent of a Bedouin tent and the seating even adds to the entire experience. It's as if you walk thru the door and you've been transported. There's so much to try on the menu. Before I go I must mention my favorite item- the toshta- it's crunchy flatbread stuffed with spiced ground beef. So delicious! read more

Awesome food and service is great. I like eating there but I don't always have time so I normally get my food to go.