The only very good thing there was the waitress. Such a sweetheart. Houda. The Décor is very nice. People do get up and danse. Good ambiance. The food is mediocre. The "Egyptian" belly dancer is anything but Arabic. Same comment about the "brazilian" dancer. The overall vibe is like a mob-run club. So it's tacky cheesy but fun. Just don't go there to eat. read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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If you're looking for unfriendly staff and bottom of the barrel food, look no further. We only stopped by here because it showed up on my corporate benefits which they didn't end up honoring, easily the worst dining experience I've had in the last 5 years and left literally robbed. Dated decor and loads of fake reviews to try and scam people into visiting. Would've been a 1 star rating but the server salvaged half a star. Walked in and asked hostess for a table for 4. Hostess rudely told us to sit anywhere so we walked toward the front and it looked like an emptied out entertainment hall for some event. Still confused, the hostess finally walked and told us to sit in some side hall. We were the only people there in the entire building, seemed very odd, but sticked around which proved to be a massive mistake. I will say our server Amine was fantastic. He was very prompt and polite. We ordered the grilled lamb chops (medium), grilled ribeye (medium rare), and chicken nuggets/fries for the kids. The grilled lamb chops were fine, but the asparagus/carrots it came with had no flavor at all and were very soggy. It also came with some bland mashed potatoes and gravy that tasted like generic mccormick brand powdered gravy that you'd get at KFC. Absolutely NOT worth $44, for this quality I'd pay at MOST $12. The grilled ribeye? This was the cheapest and thinnest steak I have eaten this past decade. Literally less than half an inch thick, burned to a crisp on both sides, and cooked beyond well done when we asked for Medium. As soon as my wife cut into it she knew it was way overcooked but being hungry and seeing the poor quality of the rest of the food didn't want to wait another 20 minutes for a replacement that would likely be just as bad. Came with the same bland vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy. This is a legitimate scam for $43 when the entire plate was significantly worse than a $15 steak at Outback or the cheapest stake at Applebees. The chicken nuggets and fries for $8 was also disappointing. It was passable for the kids but also tasted very cheap and looked like it was just the cheap frozen nuggets and fries you'd get from Walmart, specifically the cheapest walmart brand ones. We go to pay for our meal and I present my corporate passport benefit card, a program that this restaurant specifically signed up for to drive more traffic to their business. The offer that advertised was "Enjoy a complimentary entrée when purchasing another entrée of equal or greater value 10% off banquet dining". Waiter stated that he's never seen this discount before and would check with his manager. 15 minutes later he comes back with his manager on speakerphone who is one of rudest people I've had the pleasure to talk to. Manager/owner aggressively says he's not familiar with this and said that it "must be one of those online scams and they never signed up". He asked where I got it from and I told him it's through my Microsoft corporate benefits, and said that it had to be a scam, that this is a "fine dining establishment" and to go to "McDonalds if you want buy one get one free". Ironically Mcdonald is significant better. He offered 2 cocktails on the house and said they're normally $20 each. Turned it down because based on the food I had no faith in the cocktails being worth more than $2 with generic store brand mixers and no name well liquors. I would be absolutely embarrassed to serve this kind of food at this price. Just by the manager immediately calling it a scam shows that he immediately has to jump to make baselsss accusations to cover up his own scam operation. Manager hangs up and the waiter is in an always position and apologies and asks me what I would like to do. I clarified that the steak was terrible and to take that off on the basis of that if you can't honor the advertised promotion, but he said he was locked out. Walked me through the total initially with already had full gratuity in there. It wasn't until I confirmed why it was so high that he removed it and had me pick from the standard options. I'm convinced that this place has to be some sort of front because it legitimately could survive as a restaurant. Either that or they make their living by scamming people who decide to host their wedding or event here (likely just for the middle eastern vibes) and get robbed by poor quality and way overpriced food. You would be making a mistake eating a normal meal here, you will be straight up robbed if you make the grave mistake of ruining a special event by hosting it here and having it catered and embarrassing your guests with the experience. read more

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Quality food and atmosphere and for sure worth a return. Nice mix of international crowd read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Alhambra Palace Chicago - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is a great Tourist spot, or Group of Fun friends or relatives spot. Food was good, a little overpriced for size, drinks expensive and they tacked on $5 each for the show. Came at 7pm and show was 9-10, then turned center into a dance party which was fun to watch. The show contained belly dancers, a juggler, an acrobat and another dancer. The MC had a drag-Queen vibe and involved the audience alot. Great place if you like interaction, Altho it's not forced. A restaurant with almost a Club atmosphere. Having said that, the table next to us was 2 parents with 3 Little kids- 2 slept thru most of the noise then woke up and danced with their parents. Til 11. Ordered the chicken tagine, would get the kabob if I went back. read more

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Came from out of town and had a really good experience on Thursday night. The dance class is VERY beginner friendly (slightly too much if you're more intermediate- I would skip the class and just come to dance if you know basic steps). The service was prompt and attentive, food was good, but what you're really going here for is the ambiance. Truly BEAUTIFUL, special location. This is a date night, birthday, anniversary, let's dance the night away type of place. I can also say I could see coming here solo to the class if you're new in town in order to meet people. Would also like to say the server was very clear that gratuity was already included, which is also standard if you have a larger party anyway (which we did). The waiter earned it and we were happy to throw in a little extra. read more

This place was so cool! It always has been. I love that they have dancing lessons before the show starts, and that they have dancing strongly encouraged between the 2 halves of the show. The food was good. The service was good. The entertainment was good except I would have liked a little more variety than the same three acts on rotation. That said, they were very talented acts and fun to watch. Honestly, I went on a Friday, and as a performer in general, Friday crowds are just different than Saturday crowds. That poor emcee was energetic and positive and fun but the audience was just DEAD! That said, he did not lose his attitude, and I at least had a great time, I don't know about everybody else. Anyway, go here. And PLAN TO HAVE FUN for Pete's sake! These performers are breaking their backs to entertain you my fellow patrons. Could you at least TRY to get into it a little and appreciate the talent?! Geeze! read more

Entertainment was fun! The dinner pricing is questionable. I've paid more at places with higher minimum coverages than here. How does that add up? read more

Love the food and unique entertainment and decor; transports you to a new world! No visit is the same! Thank you for the royalty treatment Alhambra! read more

This was a great place for dining and entertainment. My friends and I had so much fun watching all the different acts. The food was great as well. However, the service was horrible. It took forever to be waited on, and we were there for almost an hour too long bc our waiter was so slow read more

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Horrible service. Rude manager. We ordered 1 platter, the server couldn't hear and understood somehow we ordered 2. When it arrived we corrected and let her know we only ordered 1. She argued, then the manager argued with us. The server said she couldn't hear we said "JUST 1 FOR THE TABLE" and when she heard us repeat it she added another. Turn your music down or don't blame your customers when your servers can't hear. So the manager instead of correcting it like a normal place would, he argued, said he we were lying (why would lie? What would we get out of this?) and then when we thought it was over they boxed up the platter we declined anyway and dropped it at our table anyway. So petty. We talked to the manager again and he made a scene and said we ordered it and we are paying for it. Literally spent over 30 min arguing with this guy because he kept interrupting our table every 15 min all because his server couldn't hear and he was just rude to us the whole time like we were criminals when we all traveled from other states just to celebrate my friends birthday that night. Then told us that he'll call the server over to out table and fire her right there then if this was her mistake. Makes sense why the place was empty on a Friday night. UPDATE: After I posted this the manager came yelling again after we had paid our bill telling us we were stealing and posting bad reviews.... Our bill was paid, what? I asked him why he was "yelling like he was my boss or husband" and he said "no one would want to be your husband" and then proceeded to insult me saying "and I wear a headscarf and act like this". What? What did we do? We didn't order a second platter, were we suppose to say we did? We paid our tab that was left at our table in full, yet he comes yelling at us that we are stealing!?!? What the heck!?!? THIS PLACE SOOOO RACIST and RUDE!!!! DOOO NOT GO HERE. Wow. At the end a different manager said he had video proof we ordered the platter, I told him I have time if he wants to show it to us and we will pay. He stumbled on his phone, couldn't find said video and then had security escort us out. So he lied? Then got upset when I offered to pay if he could show me the video? Ok. Their staff deserves better. read more

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This was the second times I have visited this establishment. The food and entertainment was enjoyable both times. The first part was of the evening is enjoying the delicious Mediterranean menu with savory appetizers and a meal. The second part was of the evening is entertaining with fun and exciting belly dancing and entertainment. The DJ was the best ever. He made everyone feel like a superstar. Then all of the audience had a chance to come out to the dance floor. It does not matter whether you know how to dance or not, everyone is welcome to express themselves I was celebrating my birthday and was called to the stage to dance with all of the people celebrating their birthday. read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Birthday Backlava! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great entertainment and yummy food. Loved the interior decor and ambiance. Kids were having a great time with belly dancing

I didn't realize it was dinner theater. So the food was incredibly lackluster and expensive. The acts were quite good but the host was generally annoying and longwinded. I wouldn't recommend coming here for dining but maybe just drinks and the show read more

My new favorite restaurant in Chicago. My family and I had so much fun. Amine was the best.

We came here to celebrate a birthday, and it was just two of us. We called and placed a reservation for 7:30, but when we arrived they said they couldn't find it anywhere. We also spoke to someone a few hours prior to coming in to make sure we were in the main dining room to see the show. They were still able to seat us rather quickly even though they couldn't find our reservation. This was my first time here and I really enjoyed how beautiful it was. Such a great view to have some dinner, drinks and enjoy the show. The staff was friendly, and very accommodating. They were extremely busy so it took some time to get our server back quickly. Our appetizer came out with stale pita bread, which we had to wait some time to ask for fresh pita. The cheesecake was very simple and something I feel like I could just buy at the grocery store. But our main course was absolutely delicious. We couldn't stop until we were full. I was able to have some left overs to take home and enjoy the next day. The show was beautiful! So many talented performers! I loved the host and being able to see the different acts. Also, they have another room, with music like salsa, bachata, and so much more. We went over to that room on the way out and enjoyed some dancing as well. Overall a great experience! read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - The main dish we had, it came with a side of rice too. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very well organized which lead to to a good time. Would attend again. Food was good music was good and very spacious

This place is okay. Service here it amazing. The waiter was so friendly and brought us stuff to try for no extra charge. The food itself not so good. It's overpriced. You have a better bet to go to Fatoush. The one good thing here is the show. The rice we got felt like it was old and cold. The meat was hard to break. Probably wouldn't come again only because it is so overpriced. read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Alhambra Platter - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

FATTOUSH (salad) 5 out of 5 Only highlight of the night. I got it without bell peppers. Could easily be shared between 2 people if need be. I ate it by myself though. Hummus & Pita(?) -5 out of 5 Did not have any flavor. The bread just tasted plain leaving a dough aftertaste. Store bought hummus is infinitely better than what was served to us. ROASTED SALMON -10 out of 5 The salmon was drier than sandpaper with no flavor. Trying to eat it with the "carrot sauce" didn't do anything. The asparagus was tough to bite through let alone bite through. The risotto nothing special. Barely ate half of it. PALACE SUNRISE 0 out of 5 Only alcoholic drink ordered. Basically the restaurant spin on a sunrise. The drink was lukewarm and not layered properly. My guest tried a sip and instantly spit it out asking " what I did to the drink". To me the drink tasted like warm tequila. My guest swears the drink tasted like tomatoes. Performances From what I was able to see were great. I wished I stayed to enjoy the rest of the performers but not possible with what was happening behind the scenes with my guest. The host of the night was great and engaged the crowd effortlessly. Atmosphere All the other patrons seemed to be having a great time. That's a plus. During intermission there was a dance break , which everyone started dancing with each other. All in all I will not come back to give this place another chance. I hope all who comes here have a better time than what my guest and I experienced. read more

Very good food and amazing staff! Adnane the manager was extremely nice and made sure we had a great time all along. Will come back for sure on my next visit to Chicago! read more

We came early for our reservation and we were seated right away. We came before the 8:30 show. We ordered our food which was delicious! I did miss something moist so we ordered hummus...three times before we got it. We finished our food and the show had still not started. It was 9pm are there was no sign of the show. I asked for the bill and I think the waitress figured it out..she brought us a free slice of cheesecake and told us to stay a little longer. We did and were not too impressed by the show so we left after the bellydancer finished her set. Another thing I saw that bothered me was that they kept refilling the water jugs from large plastic boxes of water. read more

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The food was amazing. We had a chicken tan and lamb tan and they were both perfect and taste wonderful the service was 10 out of 10. We came in on a Wednesday night. There's not many people the place was amazing. The atmosphere is very interesting and very cultured I would definitely come back. read more

Service was horrible . Waited for service many times, called other waiters to call my server. Food was ok. Drinks beyond expensive. Entertainment was the best, but without the food and bad service I wouldn't return. My tip was also automatically added, $70 tip I would not have given my server. I complained to manager, he gave me a card said he would take care of me next time. I'm not returning. Que fb he would have refunded my tip. She came but 2xto get my order, and give us the bill. read more

I am giving the food and live Flamenco show 4 stars, the restaurant 3 stars. This place is waaaay over the top in terms of decor and I love it! Very much has a feel of an Arabian Nights story. Definitely saw a couple of pieces of furniture I could have easily walked off with had a moving van been available. The place itself is ginormous! It is two floors and there are huge rooms everywhere! I imagine this place could seat close to 400-500 people. We didn't get off to a good start for the night. We had a 7:00 pm. reservation and were told that we would be seated by 7:30 pm. Nope, didn't happen until almost 8 pm. Second, we knew there was going to be a live show, but there was no mention that it was a cash deal to get into the show, so we were scrapping together the cash to pay to get in...I mean who carries cash on them these days??? I am all about that card and Samsung/Google Pay. The price of the show included a glass of Sangria. I am not a big fan of Sangria (too sweet) for me, but this was good. Getting into the dining area was a bit of a mess. You have to pay a woman at a podium your $12 (with a reservation, $15 without). She proceeded to mark our hand with a green marker to show we paid and gave us a drink ticket. Multiple this by 50-75 people and you have a zoo. Once we paid, along with everyone else, we were all standing in the main entrance waiting to get inside. That said, the staff was really nice. I have been a frequent visitor of places like this and it has been my experience that they do not have enough wait staff to deal with the crowd and this was no exception. But mad props to our waitress...she took care of us and a very large party at the same time. She was amazing...didn't get her name as she was on the hustle, but I remember the face and would ask to sit in her section again. The food I ordered was good. I got the rolled eggplant with goat cheese and the combination kabob plate (lamb and kefta). Both were solid...needed more salt, but I cleaned my plate. The kefta had a really nice charbroiled flavor and both meats were tender and juicy. Rice was good as well. I like the fact that they have bubbles, so you know this is a win win for me. FYI, dinner was served during the show. We placed our order and the food came out immediately and was hot. But be warned, this place is pricey for the type of food they are serving. But best part of the evening was the floor show. Noche Flamenca en El Palacio were amazing! There were three female dancers and one guy, a singer, two guitarist, a percussionist, and a pianist. They were all on point and amazing. I could see myself coming back here just for the show. I agree with Abū Bakr A.'s review, this place really needs to advertise shows like this more. While it seemed like there were a million of us trying to get into the dining area, in reality the place was not even close to be half full. Too bad because that show was amazing...even if you didn't eat here, the show alone is worth the visit. read more

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love the ambience and food! the performances are really good too! I would highly highly recommend it! We had a fun evening/night! read more

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Came for bday celebration, it was Flamigo dancing for entertainment Very unorganized we were told to arrive at 7pm but sit till almost 8pm and still had to wait Cash only also , Sangria was bomb tho very unique place nice for picture taking read more

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Use to be a good place even though food was never good but now is worst at least they has a better belly dance show Music is really loud and bad quality Food was cold, shows are ridiculous lame Hostess try to do her best but she was really loud and BOLD in every way Fire show is a joke No DJ as they promised when we made reservations Embarrassed of bringing family coming from overseas I do not recommend at all Very expensive They add all this fees because they can keep up the place open because now people realize is not worth it Don't recommend at all read more

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I had a blast last night at this place! Besides the show which made our night interesting, the food was really good. Although it is overpriced, I have to admit it is good. Also, be aware that the gratuity fee is included in the bill. All in all, interesting place to visit and see some new things. Recommend! read more

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food was not what we expected base on there advertising . service! don't even have waiter or server. seating . we booked the balcony we ended by the speaker . that be said .Never again read more

Great food and entertainment!!!! Always having fun at Alhambra! The staff truly cares about their guests. Made us feel like VIPs:) read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Magnifique sévices, et très beau cadre, l'animateur est à la hauteur, ma fille a grave aimé read more

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Thanks to My Yelp Elite Buddies Chante, Liang, Dencye & Latrice for bringing me here and surprising me for My Birthday. This place has some amazing décor and furniture pieces that are chic, sophisticated and fashionable. The reservation was set up on a Thursday Night for a dinner and show (which featured) Noche Flamenca en El Palacio. This show was incredible. The dancers, singers, guitarist were impeccable. Alhambra Palace is a unique place where you are entertain with an amazing live show of dancers, music and food. The price of the show included a glass of Sangria. I'm not really a sangria drinker type of gal but too my surprise this glass was tasty. The staff was nice. But it could of been a little more organized that night upon when we arrived. From my understanding it wasn't explain to my party that it was Cash Only. You would think that a nice and fancy place would of explain this when the reservation were being made. I'm not a Big Fan of Mediterranean Food. But, the food wasn't so bad. I ordered the chicken kabob platter which came with rice and some veggies. Our hostess was super attentive. Sorry don't remember her mentioning her name. But great personality and made sure that our party was welcomed. She even offered to take my birthday cake and store it in the fridge to keep cool until we were ready for it. Super Sweet and Kind. I'm willing to come back to see a belly dancing & salsa show. read more

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Came on a Tuesday night for a salsa lesson with my boyfriend and to hang out with a friend who wanted to celebrate her birthday here. Hour-long lessons start at 7:45pm, and cost $7 in cash if you RSVPed before 3pm on the day, otherwise $12 at door. This fee includes cover and enables you to come and go on the dance floor into close. It's a good price and value for great instruction. I arrived at 7:10pm, thinking I could grab a quick bite appetizer and drink there, but service was so achingly slow at both the restaurant and bar that after 25 minutes of hanging around I finally had to go to the nearby McDonald's for food. Disappointing. Also disappointing is that they force you to pay $4 for a bottle of water. No liquid is allowed inside (I was forced to dump out my own water, which is fine, but I had to go all the way outside to do it since the waitress / bartender wouldn't do it at the bar sink), and instead of free tap water, the thirsty dancers are made to pay for water bottles. Another huge disappointment - which made me decide *not* to buy a drink afterall and leave relatively early. Overall: Awesome atmosphere and decor. Great dancing lessons and music. Somewhat crappy service and expensive food / drinks. Overall value ok. I recommend eating and drinking elsewhere (maybe next door at City Winery?) and come here only for the dancing. read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I'll save you from reading the long review and get to the TLDR part: the food is terrible. The service is equally as bad. If you're looking for Mediterranean style food, go to shawarma Cafe style joint for much better eats. If you want to see the entertainment, eat before and have drinks instead of the food. read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Everything was under seasoned, very bland. Tried basically 1 of everything on the menu, out of 20 or more items, maybe 3 were decent. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We went to this restaurant with high expectations. We were disappointed. Seated in the upstairs room, having no idea all that happens there. There is a main floor that seemed warmer and more exciting. The upstairs room is cold and has obstructed views. The food was meh, the service was poor. The entertainment was only okay. The price was ridiculous for what we got, we won't go back. read more

Food was good, service is good as well and the atmosphere is nice especially with the live performance. read more

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We had a very disappointing experience at Alhambra Palace last night. We were one of the first tables sat for the night, and waited over 90 minutes for our food, watching all of the tables say much after we had ordered receive their food. The food was horrible. Our server would disappear, we were not once checked on when not dropping things off at the table. It was our friend's birthday and they brought out her tiramisu with CUMIN sprinkled over it and on the plate instead of cinnamon. Not a pleasant experience at all. read more

If you're like me and you used to go to Alhambra years ago here is the update: There's no hookah which is not their fault but also sucks. The food was OK but I'm not really there for the food either. So as far as the vibe and music it was GREAT! Dancing was awesome. The reason I wouldn't be eager to go back would be service and I'm not talking about "slow" service. I'm talking the impropriety of waitress constantly reminding us of the minimum and actually pressuring us to meet it right away. It was unnecessary. We were a big group, some of us wanted to order drinks and enjoy the night and others grabbed food but the waitress was really worried and just kept bringing up the minimum. Really soured it for me. read more

I usually give 5 stars to places with no competition but this one is really worthy. The Saturday belly dancing show is a surreal experience. I won't elaborate on that because I don't want to spoil it for you except to say to keep an open mind. And there's no cover! Once you walk inside you are transported to Morocco. I can't begin to describe what this place looks like. Check out my pics. The food is amazing we had the Mezza Platter appetizers highly recommended. Then we had the Alhambra Platter for 2 (really feeds 3) Amazing!! Beef cooked to perfection - pink. Chicken juicy teriyaki like and the curry chicken was just right taste of curry without over powering the chicken even the yellow rice was excellent! Today Thursday 12/27/18 it's Flamenco night and there is a cover of $15. Katrina our host was kind enough to tip us to make reservations otherwise it's $18 at the door. That comes with Sangria and I can testify it's not watered down. read more

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The best place to be, food, drinks and entertainment all in one place. It was definitely the best read more

Alhambra Palace Chicago - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Visited early this summer, food was mediocre but the entertainment was amazing. We ordered the platter, and for $60, I expected the quality of food and taste to be a lot better than what was served. I would've rated this place a 1 star had it not been for the amazing performers and entertainment. read more