Conveniently located at the corner of E State St & Sundae Dr, we were pleasantly surprised with this find. There's plenty of parking in the lot around the restaurant too! The restaurant is nicely decorated. Appreciated the attention to detail... even the booths and tables were covered in pretty designs. After walking in, we ordered at the counter toward the back of the restaurant. We got our drink cups and chose our table. My husband and I shared a mix grill plate, which came with a Greek side salad that came out first. The mix grill had chicken, beef and lamb kebabs over rice. Super yummy! Super satisfied. Next time we go, we want to try the gelato at the side counter and other register? read more

Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine - Mixed Grill - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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Ordered the Lamb Shank & Jerusalem mix ! Absolutely love it . Fast , tender and tasty

Excellent falafel, tabouli, and chicken shawarma. Everything was tasty and fresh. Will be back.

This is a WONDERFUL little gem of a restaurant. Very clean, great ambiance, friendly service, food was out in a very short time, and the food was absolutely amazing, especially the beef kabobs, very tender and flavored perfectly. I travel a lot for work and have had middle eastern food all over the USA and this place is at the top of my list. Always stop there when I'm in town. read more

I ordered a Greek salad., hot no olives or feta cheese. The dressing was super light. Not very satisfied this time. It will be a while before I go back. read more

They never answer their phones No consistency for service It's too bad, their food is somewhat decent, but their lack of customer service and drive for business is a huge disappointment. Is this a reflection of their culture? read more

Got there when they were scheduled to open (11 am) waited 15 minutes and left. Poorly ran restaurant as far as not opening on time. Call before you show. read more

Ali Baba was a pleasant find...clean Mediterranean flavors and attentive staff. We ordered beef shawarma plate, beef shawarma sandwich, falafel sandwich and vegetarian plate. All was very good. Then we got a piece of Dubai cake and pistachio cake...what a treat...moist and flavorful. read more

Delicious food and prompt! Will order again when in the area! The selection is plenty and both dishes I ordered were delicious!

Solid shawarma shop with good falafel - not too crunchy or dry. Had a chicken wrap ; would maybe have liked a little more seasoning.

Ali Baba is awesome. I'm sad I didn't find this place sooner. Their food is delicious (love their shawarma and kabobs, as well as their sandwiches and hummus) although I would personally suggest asking for extra sauce on the sandwiches. Their staff are super friendly and helpful. I had a problem with a part of my order once so I called and they immediately refunded the entire thing. Now that's customer service! Stuff like that makes me want to keep coming back. read more

We went there last minute for a quick to go order, since we got there about 10 min to closing time. The young lady was very welcoming and patient. She didn't rush us and answered all my questions with a smile. Food was amazing. Especially the Beef Shawarma!!! The best I've had in a long time!!! The restaurant was clean and smelled amazing when we walked in. read more

My favorite Mediterranean cuisine in the area. We have never eaten in but we love it so much that at work we often request for Ali Baba to be the restaurant of choice to cater any parties because it is always so so good, you feel like you're making a reasonably healthy choice, your coworkers who prefer halal have options, and they are consistent. We also love it so much we often order to go. I have never eaten in the restaurant so I cannot attest to that but the food is always on point when we get carry out or delivery which is not achieved by lots of other places. Our favorites include the chicken shawarma, the falafel, and their hummus. No matter what you get I recommend getting extra of their garlic sauce-- I put it on everything!! read more

All in all I love this place from service to cleanliness don't have any word. I was in Rockford for my brother's wedding; we never switched from this place . Just magnificent read more

Amazing! We were traveling across the country and stopped here and it did not disappoint. Wonderful food full of flavor cooked perfectly beautiful interior nice people so flavorful you have to give this a try. read more

The food was fine but the desserts were disappointing. We shared desserts but there was not one that I wanted to have a whole one to myself. read more

Excellent Mediterranean food. Environment feels like it's fast food dining but the food tastes like it's fresh and homemade. We got the Jerusalem Mix Plate that comes with chicken, lamb, and beef. Rice was seasoned sweet and meat was cooked to perfection. Very nice staff! Great place to come for a quick bite, would definitely come again. read more

Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine - Jerusalem Mix - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Rude staff, smaller portions than the rest of town for gyros, expensive I would recommend Sahara for Middle Eastern, Uncle Nicks for gyros. read more

The owner was very kind and recommended certain items. The food was good, especially the falafel. Not mind blowing but an appreciated break from mediocre road trip food read more

Spent a few days in Illinois and we had our best meals at Ali Baba. We enjoyed the gyro and beef/chicken shawarma plates so much we got another big order for them two days later. Casual restaurant with friendly and helpful staff. Really a gem right off of East State St. read more

We ordered delivery to our hotel through Yelp (which appears to go through Grubhub). We were charged a $1.50' delivery fee, a $1.50 service fee, PLUS chose to add a 20% tip. We were missing utensils, napkins. ketchup and drinks. We texted the Grubhub driver and he didn't respond. We contacted the restaurant and they said we can come to the restaurant for the Pepsi. I said we requested delivery. Then, they would mail $2 (they said a Pepsi costs $1.90). I said we weren't worried about the money, we were more interested in the delivery (which we ordered). So, I wonder how companies resolve missing items on delivery . The food was delicious but small portions and the price was expensive. Yet Greek salad barely had any feta cheese. read more

Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine - Greek salad (delicious fresh vegetables but barely can see the feta cheese) - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Great food. Ordered the beef and lamb shawarma sandwiches with fries and they came out quick and tasted authentic.

Dont go here. I'm just gonna keep this short and simple. Half of their bakery is closed, the facilities were not clean (table was sticky, floor was dusty), and the guy making the bread behind the counter would not stop staring at my significant other. I know that last part could be seen as very subjective, but both me and my significant other made very explicit eye contact with him multiple times, and after the third time he went into the kitchen, and brought out the other chef, who proceeded to stare at us for a minute as well. The whole restaurant and staff felt dirty, besides the cashier who took our order. She was sweet and very human. The place was empty too, that should've spoken for itself. Dont go here. Edit: we just ate our food that we got. It wasnt good. read more

Falafel sandwich and fries, take-out. The sandwich was delicious. It was made in a way that didn't leak sauce or ingredients all over the table. The fries were decent. The order was ready when they said it would be. read more

Every time I have gotten food there, it has been amazing. I usually get chicken shwarma. This last time we got more a variety, including Kafka. Per usual, everything was amazing. Fresh made pita is perfect. Hummus is always good. I can't recommend this place enough. Staff has always been patient while I take forever to decide what I want. They are always very kind too. We have sat in the restaurant, and it's nothing fancy but food is so good, ambiance really doesn't concern me. read more

Are you hungry? Sick of the same generic solutions? Burritos and burgers jus ain't cuttin tonight? Tonight your in the mood for something different? Something new, something that makes your tastebuds feel alive again?? Well that's what yelps all about. That's why your here.. but still if your anywhere in Winnebago county and not at Alibaba's your in the wrong place. I can't recommend this place enough. The whole menu is fresh tasty and responsibly sourced. I've been in Rockford for two weeks and my friends and I have eaten there 9 times. The dinner for 4 is the most ridiculous thing thats happened inside my body since puberty your tastebuds will be getting down on it. If you've got some friends and your in the area I highly recommend. Thank you for the good memories and better company Ali baba staff and a super special shout-out to the chefs Warm regards read more

I was extremely hesitant to visit this restaurant since when a friend of mine and I showed up for lunch we were the only patrons and were met with a dirty floor. We looked for the cleanest table and decided to take a chance. We were both hungry and on a time crunch but didn't want to eat fast food so we ordered the yogurt and cucumber salad with a side of pita and the Ful Medames. Both were amazing. The yogurt and cucumber salad was thick with sliced cucumbers and tasted very fresh. The Ful Medames was new to me, but I loved it, especially with the pita bread. My friend, who is part Armenian, raved about the food and how authentic it was. The yogurt and cucumber salad tasted to me like tzatziki, which I love. I ordered the Kafka kabob and she ordered the chicken swawarma. Both dishes were really good. We enjoyed everything we tried and had a great meal here. Everything tasted fresh and homemade. read more

I ordered the large lamb kebab that was Harely little or no food plenty of rice, paid 21 dollars . No bread ,mo sauce , and the salad had about 10 small leave greens, no olives or onions . I do mot recommend this place . read more

Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Food okay. Portions small (for price) - much smaller than when i last visited years ago. I liked how the carry-out side salad came in it's own little container. Wish it was more than two forks full. Restaurant was clean, menu board easy to read and had good selection, and service friendly. read more

Not so sure what to make of this place. The menu is extensive and hits all the marks but the food didn't meet my expectations. Maybe the meats were over cooked or too dry. Maybe the cuts of lamb weren't the best. No interaction from the people there and the girl behind the counter although was very nice seems to have no knowledge of middle eastern food. I even asked her where the owners were from and I got: "ummm...I think they are arabic?" Well it's ok, maybe I'll give it another shot some day. I will say the fatayer with cheese were really good. read more

Excellent food, great flavor and generous portions. Reasonable prices and great service.

First visit to Ali Baba as I just started working in the area. There is a Japanese restaurant next door that I had already ordered dinner from so I came into Ali Baba b/c I love Middle Eastern food and wanted to check it out. I ordered the Baba Ghanoush to go. It was fantastic... very fresh and with a nice smoky flavor. I ordered the small and the portion was large enough for 2-3 people. It came a generous amount of delicious pita bread they make right on site... chewy, warm, fragrant.... just perfect. It was so good I wished I ordered the large. Service was polite and fast and my order was nicely packaged. I think the prices were very reasonable. They also had a selection of boxed pastries I REALLY wanted, but took a pass on this time. I'm looking forward to trying everything on their menu since this is right on my drive home. read more

I can't buy store bought hummus any more! The prepackaged stuff can't compare to Ali Babas. Everything we tried was absolutely delish. We thoroughly enjoyed the mixed grill the rice was delightfully seasoned. We will be adding this restaurant to our regular rotation. read more

Delicious mixed grill over great-tasting rice. Accompanied by garlic dipping sauce which was phenomenal. I highly recommend it to meat lovers who enjoy deep, diverse flavors! read more

Excellent- vegan option - thanks. I had a falafel sandwich! Crispy, veggies, nice sauce, beautifully presented in pita bread. It's a walk up counter - pleasant staff, good spices. Reasonable price. I will be back! read more

I was in Il for the day so I wanted to grab lunch somewhere and this was the place. The place is labeled as Mediterranean/Lebanese so when I first stumbled on them I knew that they would be my lunch spot. The place is in a small group restaurants sushi, them and a pizza place surrounded by a cluster of hotels which seemed a little sketchy. The place was a nice size place with lots of light wood and color on the walls. The booths and tables didn't match in color and the tables and chairs were the cheap kind. It was a good sign as I walked up because a big Lebanese looking family was just leaving but when I walked in the place was completely empty, oh no because this is not a good sign. It was about 2:20 on a Saturday which is not a peek time. I hate there menu because it's full of everything I wanted to try and this would likely be my only visit so I had to choose one. I have been ordering Kafka kabobs all of my adult life and it was my first Mediterranean dish that I tried so that would be my choice. My only complaint with the Kafka kabob dinner is that it didn't come with a warm fresh pita, dinner should come with a bread option. The dinner comes with two skewers of the beef/lamb Kafka, vinegar red onions, yellow rice and a salad. I was asked how did I want my Kafka cooked which threw me because it's always been served well from everywhere else. The Kafka was very tasty with nice grill marks and not dry like they can be. The yellow rice was very good with nice texture and it had a sneak up on you nutty finish. That salad looked pathetic at first glance, see my pictures. Looks can be deceiving because all the good stuff was hiding under the top greens. The fresh salad had greens, feta cheese, red onion, tomatoes, cucumbers and black olives with there house dressing. I have never been in this part of the world but I couldn't stop thinking that this probably was the most authentic Mediterranean food I have had. All the spices and flavors were just wonderful and this was some of the best Mediterranean food I can remember having. Overall this places was pretty dam good and the freshness of the food was definitely noticed. I would defiantly go back in a heartbeat. read more

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I need to preface with a note that I live in a city with some of the best Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food available in the country nearby so I am biased. But I also need to note that Ali Baba closes at 9 pm and I rolled in during the end of their dinner rush at 8 pm. That's a dangerous time to order food when the kitchen is mentally starting to shut down for the day. The hostess was super friendly, and I placed my takeout order with ease. About 15 minutes later, I was out the door with a reasonable about of food for less than $30. Once the bags and styrofoam boxes were opened, I realized that end of day order might have gone against me. In the Ali Baba mixed appetizer, the Falafel was crispy but room temp at best. The babaganoush and hummus were perfect, but the grape leaves were also barely warm and mildly seasoned. As for the fried Kibbe, it was warmer, and likely the reason for the length of the wait but still not hot... at all. Also very dry. The Ful Medame with fava beans and jalapenos was good, but was also room temp and could have used a LOT more olive oil and lemon. The lentil soup would have been great, but we had been provided no eating utensils besides bread. And the bread? It was weirdly hot and in large supply wrapped in foil, but was not good... at all. It was dry and felt store bought with no texture or bite. In the end, the food is pretty good and the service is friendly but the execution was not great. Will I order again, next time I am in Rockford? Absolutely! But now that I know what I'm working with, I'm not sure what I will order next. read more

Outstanding food and nice atmosphere. Staff is friendly and will take the time to discuss the menu if you have any questions. Prices are quite reasonable for the quality of the food. If you like eggplant you must try their spicy babaganoush, it's delicious. Overall a great dining experience. read more

I wish I lived in Rockford so I could eat at this restaurant everyday. Seriously amazing. I ordered the veggie combination platter and loved every single thing. It came with hummus, grape leaves, falafel & tabouleh salad. The falafel had a nice, crispy outside without being greasy, and a deliciously light, fluffy inside. The hummus was so creamy and delicious that I was seriously eating it with a spoon. Service left a bit to be desired but there was only one person working for the lunch shift. The food more than made up for the lack of service. Everyone in my group left happy and full. read more

Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine - Veggie Combo Plate - Mediterranean Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Best Mediterranean restaurant in our area highly recommended. My family loves this place