I used to go to this place about 20 years ago when I was dating someone from Berwyn. What I remembered was they had these goldfish ponds in the restaurant, and these Koi would kind of float there and stare at you while you ate your food. Twenty years later, guess what?! Those damn Koi are still there, along with some cheap goldfish. They've also included a bitter looking old turtle with the look of hate in it's eyes. Probably pissed off that it's stuck in some pond with some cheap goldfish. It's Monday night and my buddy and I want Chinese food. Not Thai, not Vietnamese not Japanese but good solid Cantonese food. Seems that Monday is the official sabbath of Chinese restaurants so there weren't many open ones out there. But some feeble, pickled nerve cells started firing and I recalled this place. I guess I wasn't very "aware" back in the days of my youth, but what I found was a Tiki Bar that serves good Cantonese food. All the sweet fruity tropical drinks are there, mai-tai's, rum runners, planters punch, and the infamous Dr. Fong which was on special this day, $8 for a big Jethro Bodine sized glass of the stuff. Tried a couple of Dr. Fongs and these drinks are potent. My brain cells were suffering a bit of inflammation the next morning thanks to this evil potion. Food itself was great. Had the beef fried rice which had real, lean, easily identifiable pieces of beef and orange chicken which were large chunks of chicken, breaded, fried and covered in a sweet citrusy sauce. Chicken was moist and tender, not the dry chunks of chicken jerky you see in some places. But again, the neatest thing was I discovered a real live Tiki bar right by my house. You can bet they'll get some repeat business. read more

We had a party of 30 people on Thursday evening to celebrate a 60th birthday. I felt kind of bad because a lot of guests requested separate checks. To my surprise, all I heard from the hostesses was "No problem." Food was awesome and huge portions and the service out of this world. We all had a terrific time, and everyone had more than enough, so some shared their portions with others. Would give them a five star rating, but there were a couple of orders that were incorrect. Was no big deal, understandable with the large group we had. Hostesses were gracious in correcting the orders. read more

I live nearby, so I've been here a handful of times throughout my life thus far. Within the past year, I've been there twice. The first time I ordered a lunch special and it was definitely nothing to write home about. The price was amazing and a lot of food was provided. I don't even remember the name of the dish I chose, but the vegetables were covered with a sauce that was salty. I was afraid to ask if it had msg in it because I didn't actually want to know the answer. Fast forward to my most recent visit here, which was much more pleasant. The waitstaff were extremely friendly. It was more or less empty at ~3:15 on Christmas Eve. As we were seated in a little Tiki hit, I mentioned to the waitress that it was the perfect spot for to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday. She smiled, gave us our menus, and we ordered. For a VERY affordable price (I don't remember the final bill now), I got a gigantic serving of egg foo young. Seriously, it was massive. My leftovers were able to feed two other people for lunch. It tasted really good and I didn't have the same concerns about the sauce being overly salty or MSG-y. We also shared a large Dr. Fong because I've read about those drinks for years and never tried one. The drink wasn't as massive as I was expecting, it wasn't as strong as I was expecting, there was a lot of ice, and it didn't come in the funny, mildly racist "Dr. Fong" Tiki mug as advertised in the drink menu. That was a bit of a disappointment for us. The best surprise was that our waitress brought out an ice cream dessert, complete with a lit candle, and sang "Happy Birthday"! It was a really great surprise and it was really thoughtful. Usually, I've only gotten such birthday desserts by making a note of it ahead of time. As usual, we received fortune cookies and almond cookies, too. I will definitely be back! The proximity to home, the fun kitschy decor, the prices, and the food are winners. It seems like their Elvis night and hula dancing are pretty popular, so I should check that out, too! Edit: The owner was kind enough to contact me to let me know that they don't use MSG at all. Additionally, the Dr. Fong mug I wanted is available only when purchased for $20 ahead of time (as indicated on the menu). I'm even more impressed with the customer service after this thoughtful message. read more

Was here over 20 years ago and don't remember much from that time. The atmosphere takes you to the island of Hawaii! Tiki's, hula dancers and singers which was a great entertainment. I only gave it a 3 because of the service and quality of food. I was excited to see Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and even Peruvian food on the menu. Ordered the Mongolian beef and I felt that it was lacking seasoning, the sampler platter was not bad. Also ordered the Vietnamese Pho but, it tasted and looked nothing like pho. Probably better if they cut down on the food choices and concentrate on flavor read more

See all

I guess most people are atracted to the exotic ambiance? Because the food is terrible. Horrible. Ive been there twice and had given up. How does this place have 4 starts? First time my date and I ordered the mediocre crab rangoon and shrimp. The shrimp came out so undercooked I had to spit it out. We came in kind of late and did not want to be rude so we packed it up to go while still hot, drove home five minutes away and finished cooking the shrimp ourselves. Second time we went there I ordered the same thing just for $hits and giggles. Ya know, to see if this undercooked thing is a typial thing. And it is. For a not so cheap entree I was peeved. My date ordered the mongolian beef which is supposed to be at least a tad spicy but was bland and weirdly chewy. Their hostess and servers are also probably the most monotone, grumpy faced people to ever be a host in a place that tries for a cheerful ambiance. The only reason I'm giving them two starts is because of the bar: which I wish was its own entity. The bartenders are always super nice and the drinks are always delicious although super pricey. read more

Had the takeout General Tsao's Beef. On Saturday November 30th at 6:59 P.M. The portions were good for two people. But the food was disappointing. It looked like the beef was prepared in advanced and either reheated, overcooked, or microwaved as it was hard and like beef jerky. There were very few vegetables like green peppers and onions. Which was disappointing. The sauce was flavorful and rice was good. But overall you'd expect freshly prepared bespoke food from this type of restaurant and it sadly didn't seem to live up to this standard. Also the fortunate cookies (both) were crushed. What a misfortune-sad for a local little place and a first experience. read more

So there's tiki-themed Chinese restaurants and then there's full-on tiki joints. Chef Shangri-La fits into the latter category. The interior decor is spot-on. Every wall is adorned with shell lamps and tiki lamps, many of them quite beautiful and, according to the owner Betty, completely 100% vintage. Betty gave me a tour and a full history of Chef Shangri-La, from it's humble beginnings 36 years ago up to the present. Her presentation and personality revealed her passion for what she's doing with the joint, and it shows. There's a large fountain (not quite Witco but in many ways more impressive) in the back, and a slots room is coming soon for those high-rollers among us. The food is really good. But let's get straight to the issue: the drinks are AMAZING. I had a mai tai that was certainly packed a punch! We also sampled the ever-standby Zombie and several others. All the drink recipes were created by Betty's father back in the 1970s and they've never changed them. So be prepared for some fruity rum drinks that will knock you on your ass. The music inside is also spot-on. They're very aware of their audience and, as such, are generally playing old-school exotica music in there. I heard some Martin Denny, I heard some Les Baxter. This is always a deal-breaker for me, because many of the most beautifully-decorated tiki joints are usually playing top 40 radio music in order to appeal to a broader audience. Not here. This is a joint for tiki-heads. They play tiki-music, and I loved it so much for that. Chicago has some great tiki joints. But for the tops, it really is a toss-up between Hala Kahiki in River Grove and Chef Shangri-La in North Riverside. read more

Came here today after a day at Brookfield zoo after seeing great yelp reviews. From the outside it looks like a bar/pub but the inside is not what you would expect. Definitely takes you away to a different place. I did think it was a bit weird to have a gaming room (slots and arcade). Our group of 4 adults and 2 children under 2 ordered the chicken chow fun, salt and spicy pork, mangolian deluxe, Fuji moa, and teriyaki beef. My friends said their Fuji moa and teriyaki beef were good. My friend is allergic to gluten and they don't have many gluten free options so it took awhile to figure out what to order. My mangolian deluxe was good. Nothing too special but it was flavorful and 'alright'. The salt and spicy pork is not the type you would get at a authentic Chinese restaurant. It had very thick breading (think of sweet and sour pork breading) and wasn't too spicy. Still good but not what I expected. After splitting the chicken chow fun and eating half of the dish, I chomped on a chicken and immediately knew I just ate raw chicken. I examined the chicken and yep, chicken was raw inside. Told the waitress and she asked if we wanted a new one (we were already practically done with the meal). I asked for them to just take it off the meal which they did do. I would have expected at least someone to come and apologize for serving raw chicken but nobody did. Maybe I'm expecting much but I don't feel so. Oh and on top of that, we were charged tip for our group of '6'. When did they start counting babies as table count for gratuity? I would have tipped just as well but having it already charged on my bill rubbed me the wrong way. read more

Currently dining at the restaurant now, have been waiting for over 20 minutes for the waitress to take our check. This is one of the several long spans of time we've sat here waiting and waiting and waiting. I had high expectations of this place as a few people in our group have come here for many years and love it. But it's rare to find a place with SUCH bad service. The food is decent, but OMG why does it take over 30 minutes to have our drinks brought to the table or to be checked on?? We wanted to order several more drinks but couldn't due to the (lack of) service. And the girl that sits by the cash register is extremely rude and has a huge attitude. Apparently, it's also Elvis night, but this 30 yr old "Elvis" was almost an hour late. Not impressed at all. read more

Was suggested to go here by a friend and let me tell you diffenlty didn't disappoint. Great fun atmosphere with amazing drinks. The staff was second to none one of the most friendliest I have experienced. So if you want to feel like you are on a mini vacation I suggest to swing by this place kick back and relax in this tropic get away of the Midwest. read more

Fun atmosphere with live entertainment, great cocktail selection. Don't forget to try the teriyaki beef sticks. For an outstanding overall experience "The Chef" never disappoints! read more

Hadn't been here in years (until yesterday), but I was introduced to it by a friend a long time ago. "Bad day at work? Looks like you should see the Doctor," he said. "No, I'm fine, just really frustrated. I don't think I need medical attention, thanks." "No, no, no. Not *a* doctor. THE Doctor!" And plans were made. He and his wife and I and my SO headed to the Chef. And the rest, as they say, is history. What is the Doctor? Why, Doctor Fong, the restaurant's signature drink. All I can tell you is that it's rum-based, citrusy, very tasty, and VERY strong. Like, when you have one of these? Don't plan on driving anywhere for a couple of hours. I mean that in a good way. When we first started going, the drinks were served in cool tiki glasses. That's the point of a place like this, right? That tiki atmosphere? In fact, my friend would judge how well the Doctor's treatment was coming along by how far down the tiki face you'd drunk. "By the time you get to the eyebrows, you're feeling fine," he said. And he wasn't wrong. Now, though, they come in normal diner-style glasses. Apparently, you can order drinks in special glasses, but it costs extra because you get to keep the special glasses at the end. I'd guess people must have stolen their cool glasses a lot back in the old days, leading to this policy. Good job ruining it for everyone else, jerks. But the Doctor is still as skilled as he ever was, I'm happy to report. Now, onto the food. It's a tiki restaurant, and a good one, at that. If you go in here expecting the most authentic Chinese food ever (from any region), you will a) be disappointed, and b) forcefully be made aware that you don't understand "tiki." However, if you go in here expecting a full-on tiki experience, you'll be very happy. Had the appetizer platter, with tasty pork pot stickers and crab rangoons that they clearly make there (not prepackaged, which is nice), as well as big veggie egg rolls. The table also ordered the Hawaiian Bolo tofu and combo entrees, as well as the sesame chicken. That sesame chicken was fantastic. So tender and juicy, with a great sauce filled with baby bok choy and snow pea pods. Delightful light breading that my SO observed would probably make the best fish fry ever. The Bolos were good, too. I usually used to get one of the various yummy entrees involving mangoes before, but I broke with tradition and went with pineapple instead. Unfortunately, it seems that shrimp toast (our favorite appetizer from before) is no longer on the menu. And it's sad that the tiki mugs no longer grace your table, unasked, watching you get happier and happier as you drink your cares away. But Chef Shangri-La is still solid, reasonably priced for what they offer, and worth a visit. Oh, one more thing -- they now offer different sizes of Doctor. That's different. The small is the same size as the old drink. Pretty sure I'd be passed out on the floor if I ever tried a large. But I'm a total lightweight, so keep that in mind and booze up accordingly. ;) P.S. - I am apparently a liar. One more thing. ;) One of my friends had been under the weather, so she really wanted a hot toddy with her dinner. While it wasn't on the menu, the restaurant happily brought her a nice big pot of the restaurant's requisite oolong tea and a shot of Jameson. They don't have honey in-house, but she was otherwise pleased -- the Jameson goes very nicely with their oolong. Just for the record. (If it had been a few days earlier, I would actually have had honey in my bag, so it would have been perfect. Oh well.) read more

We ate there two nights ago and I am still violently ill. Within an hour or so after we left I was queasy. By early morning I had spent several hours on the bathroom floor. I had the Hawaiian bolo combo.. It's just sweet & sour pork, chicken, & shrimp. We also had crab Rangoon. So good luck figuring out which one it was that made me sick. Also.. When I hear 'Hawaiian Asian fusion' I don't picture a tacky 70s Hawaiian decorated place with mediocre Chinese food. It kinda smelled like nursing home too. It might have been the room of elderly people playing slots. read more

I love Chef Shangri-La but in good conscience I can only give it two stars. The food isn't very good, the servers are trite, and they don't serve drinks in tiki glasses anymore. (I was told there was too much theft.) However, I love the Asian/Polynesian atmosphere. The restaurant is dingy and overdone with fountains, fake oriental flowers, and Buddha altars. The bar is dark and stale with some very crusty tiki decor. It's a fun place to go for something different and the drinks are strong. My guy friends recommend the Dr. Fong, but they can't usually remember anything else about their time in Shangri-La. read more

I love a good tiki joint and this dive is a true gem. It's even here for decades. Yes, it's seen different management but it still serves up good food, delightful drinks and live Elvis performance every last Friday of the month. Where else can you ask for this kind of entertainment? Love me some Shangri-La! read more

I found a deal on living social which prompted the boy and I to stop into Chef Shangri-La. Walking in I instantly fell in love with the look of this place! It's like walking into an Asian/ Hawaiian party house. I F***ing lived when I saw the decor lol! The boy and I started out with an appetizer sampler which had beef sticks, chicken wings, fried shrimp, crab Rangoon, & egg rolls. I loved the shrimp. The crab Rangoon is pretty standard nothing amazing. The chicken wings I loved! I have Learned over the years that Asians can fry some damn chicken, and they do it well! I loved the sauce that was poured over the wings. It had a very nice ginger taste. The egg rolls were not my thing( nothing against chef Shangri-la I'm just not into egg rolls. #PointBlankPeriod With our appetizers I ordered a drink- The Coco Loco. I really liked it. It's on the sweeter side one was good for me. I ordered two and wished I didn't just because I overloaded on sugar. My boyfriend ordered a drink called Shangri-La surprise I think it was. I liked it also, but one would be my stopping point. My boyfriend and I decided to have a big gurl moment (#Lane Bryant) and order the dinner for two special (which included more appetizers lol!) This set of appetizers had pot stickers which weren't included in the appetizer sampler we ordered. I ordered soya chow fun for my noodle/ rice selection, and salt and pepper pork for my main course and the Hawaiian ice cream sandwich for desert. The soya chow fun was decent. A fat rice noodle with soy sauce and bean sprouts. My highlight was the salt & pepper pork!!! Omg. #Gurl. I've never been to a restaurant that served a salt and pepper beef or pork! I've usually had only smelt, shrimp, or chicken. The salt and pepper pork was so good I wanted to run out into oncoming traffic and do the hokey pokey. #Okay. My desert was a total miss. It sounded good on paper, but no. The Hawaiian ice cream sandwich didn't work for me it was coconut ice cream with pineapples sandwiched between two almond cookies with a chocolate sauce drizzle. All you really taste is the over powering almond cookie. You could've used vanilla ice cream and I wouldn't have known the difference. I tasted my boyfriends food- Mongolian beef. Omg was it salty. I didn't really care for his BBQ pork friend rice either. The lady who worked at the door was nice, but she did something that I thought was a little stupid. My boyfriend and I approached the register to pay for our meal, and she walks away to go check her car?? Hello we are waiting to pay for our $82 dollar meal. We could've walked right out without paying and she wouldn't have noticed. I will definitely be back to check out other menu items. I want those fish tacos! Until next time!!!!! read more

See all

I really wanted to like this place. Sadly, the food is bad and the drinks were disappointing. I ordered the Shrimp Chow Mein and the Szechuan Spicy Chicken. Everything was under-seasoned and flavorless. The presentation of the dishes was sad and non-appetizing. I ordered a spicy oil sauce on the side and even that was disappointing and tasted awful. Our server told us the drinks were strong so we ordered 2 large cocktails. They were sweet and not strong at all. Even the fortune cookies at the end tasted bad. If you're looking for quality tasty food, do yourself a favor and pass on Chef Shangri-la. read more

We were on our way to Brookfield Zoo for their Holiday Lights and stopped here for dinner. The decor is definitely "interesting". We were expecting Chinese restaurant and was a little surprised with the Hawaiian decor. The menu is traditional Chinese-American so you will see your usual Egg Rolls, Egg Drop Soup, and so on. But they also have a few specials with their own twists to them. The hostess/owner took the time to explain the menu to us. We can quickly tell she takes customer service seriously, and she's proud of her family restaurant. We ordered the Sampler appetizer, Tahitian Mango Passion Chicken, and Szechwan Beef. Everything tasted great and we had plenty for leftovers. If you are in the mood for traditional Chinese-American, this place is really good. No, it's not trendy and modern. No, it's not Thai, Japanese, or Hong Kong fusion. It's old school Chinese food with a little twist on top. Best of luck to this little gem as it is hard to find a good family run Chinese restaurant that still retains its root. read more

DO NOT get the family meal option. Our food was absolutely terrible, the mango sauce, which had sounded delicious, drenched the rest of my food in a soggy gross mess like some kind of mini swamp in a dish. Don't get the fried rice: restaurants often make fried rice as a way to get rid of rice that's getting old, and that couldn't have been more evident here. We went on a night with the hula and fire dance show (which aside from the cool decor is seriously the only redeeming aspect of our experience) so the place was very crowded, as was the bar. Walking toward the ridiculously narrow, dark hallway you have to take to get to the ladies' room, I was bumped into by more than a few shamelessly drunk people and the tiny, unventilated bathroom stank of vomit, among other smells. Would not recommend. read more

Chef Shangri-La - From family meal option - all very gross - Chinese Near Me - North Riverside, Illinois

See all

Worst tiki bar/lounge I have ever been to. The food was nothing short of disgusting. The bbq pork was mainly fat and the rest was gristle and hard, chewy pork. I couldn't eat any of it. My husband got the salt and pepper pork, a dish that he has liked from other restaurants, but here it was a little bit of the same inedible pork cover an inch-thick in breading. We were both starving but sent back our dishes mostly uneaten. The drinks were also sub-par. First, most tiki bars serve the drink in the glass pictured in the menu. Not here, almost all drinks were served in standard non-tiki glassware. Plus, the drinks were weak, overly sweet, and they all tasted the same. You can order a Planters Punch and a Zombie and it's the same crappy drink. The service is terrible as well. They were confused, disorganized, and slow. We were without drinks for up to 20 minutes at a time. This place even has free music occasionally. We went there to see a band and mentioned that to the hostess. She sat us far away from the band, left those seats open for about an hour, and then sat people who had absolutely no interest in the music in the prime spots. The music was great but not even a good band with no cover charge will get me back in this place. You would have to pay me to go back here. read more

I was a huge fan of this place for many years. I experienced it's loss of luster, then it's rise from the ashes. For a while, it became a destination. I was excited to have a place in my town that was a Tiki wonderland. I've gone to the bar a couple of times since THE CHANGE and it was decent. However, tonight my family ate there. The menus are from the glory days. They're old and worn. Quite a few of the items are just crossed out with marker. My favorite dishes are a glimmer of what they used to be. If you love Tiki, like I do, I would suggest just going to the bar and getting appetizers and drinks. The Mai Tai's and Crab Rangoon are good. read more

I'm only reviewing the bar. The food, frankly, isn't that superb when you're not at least slightly loaded, and I know better than to mix cloyingly sweet cocktails with volcano beef, sesame chicken, or "Hawaiian chicken nuggets." Sure, the drinks mostly taste the same, and if you ask about ingredients, you'll just get the reply "rum" for every single one. But they're all delicious. The Dr. Fong is supposed to be the strongest, but honestly, even the weakest drink has enough booze in it to strip the paint off a building at fifty paces. And at $5.50 a drink, it's a night of drinking for under $20. Spend more than $20 and you'll probably spend the next day in bed. The place is usually quiet--a neighborhood drinker or two watching game shows on the TV, but sometimes a group of youngsters gets the idea that it'd be kitschy or something to show up, or they hear about the drink strength, and it can get loud. Last time, I was booed out of the place! A bunch of scumbags were blasting R. Kelly at maximum volume, and my bunch and I decided to head for quieter surroundings; the scumbags booed us as we left! Despite that, I still--and will forever--carry the torch for the Chef! read more

Food is terrible. Over priced for lack of quality. Haven't tried the drinks. Never again. I prefer golden wok if I go anywhere local. ALMOND COOKIES WERE BURNT! read more

To clarify the ower's response, as I type this update, my co-workers who came to lunch with me at Chef Shangri-La are helping me write this updated review. Myself, nor the other guests recall being offered complementary soup or otherwise. The owner offered to provide a carry out menu but no other options. The owner recited to us her establishments rules and policies including NO LUNCH MENU CARRY-OUTS. One more thing, in defense of TL's review of Chef Shangri-La, one of our friends confirms that there used to be a buffet quite a few years ago at Shangri-La at the east wall of the restaurant. You also have a wonderful day and remember, the customer is always right, is the best practice business policy. We all agree the food was good but the treatment of the customers ruined the experience. Finally, in the end when we were leaving, one of co-workers had to step up to the responsiblity of the restaurant staff and thanked us for coming to Chef Shangri-La as we were walking out the front door. One other co-worker told us that the previous owners really treated customers very well. read more

This place was really freaking awesome. Huge vegetarian selection and an awesome selection of Asian food with a Tiki twist. The bar is great. The drinks are fruity and tropical. The food is amazing. It's sort of old school Chinese food given a modern day update and quality. I can't really explain it. The place smelled delicious from the moment we walked in. The decor is fun. They give you almond cookies and fortune cookies at the end of the meal JUST LIKE THEY DID IN THE 80s. I was really impressed. There's about 10 more menu items I want to try. read more

OVERRATED!!!! Ive wanted to go to this place for a long time. Finally went and was not very impressed. The food was only ok. It got cold after 3 minutes. I had the Tahitian Passion Mango Moa (Lightly battered bite-size chicken, sliced mangoes, a colorful blend of peppers and white onions simmered in a sweet mango sauce). It was too sweet. The crab rangoon were pretty good though. The service sucked! Our waiter was unattentive. Waited far too long for refills on water. Had to ask for plates and It took about 15 minutes to get the bll when we were done. The clientele isnt good either. Had 1 moron talking extremely loud and another blowing her nose at the table. WTF??? Also this place holds at 120 people. Why do their bathrooms only hold 4? 2 for the women and 2 for the men? What happens on a packed night? And this place is too damn dark. Had to squint the entire time. Overall the see-thru kitchen in hillside is a better option and cheaper. read more

Could I give more than five stars? I had my baby shower there today and I'm so glad I did! It was a big hit! The staff was very kind and accomadating. The management was very quick with all my questions up to the day. Everyone, even the harshest critics, LOVED the food and the ambiance. We added the dessert table to our package and it was more then worth it! I look forward to going back whether to host another event or to have lunch or dinner. Thank you Chef Shangri-la!!! read more

This was without a doubt the worst lunch experience I have had the misfortune of enduring. The horrible food, along with the rude waiter, and the arrogant manager made it worthy of my first ever yelp review. read more

After being forced to go to this restaurant, I ordered the hot and sour soup. The portions are HUGE. The bowl of soup is bigger than my face and 4 inches deep. One negative comment I have is how there are so many things to choose from on the menu. It could be cut in half and still have plenty of options. I would come here again, it was really good. read more

Food and drink was good. I counted and there were 4 other tables seated in the entire place. FOUR! 8:00 PM. During my meal I had to physically track down my waitress for water. And then 10 minutes later I had to do it again to clear our plates and get the check. AND then she muttered something under her breath to her coworker as she walked away from me shaking her head. Too bad she was having such a rough day and took it out on me. No more Dr. Phong for me. I'm done with the La. read more

I'm not sure where to start. This place had raving reviews and I've always heard that it was phenomenal. We stopped in on a Saturday afternoon and the bar was completely empty minus a couple that was sitting at the bar. We bellied up to the bar and waited for someone to great us, anyone to great us. We waited...and waited until finally a bartender asked us what we wanted? We hadn't even seen the menu yet. So after having a look at the menu we decided on a Dreamsicle and a Coco Loko. The bartender repeated multiple times that they DONT do frozen drinks, these will be on the rocks! Okay dude, we got it! So after like 10 minutes the drinks arrived...in milkshake glasses, massive milkshake glasses. Kind of weird for a tiki bar but whatever. The drinks were bleh and basically nothing but sugar water, headache and stomach ache inducing after like half the drink. We saw the bartender wandering around aimlessly like 20 minutes later and asked for the check immediately, he dropped it off and proceeded to disappear. We wanted to just get the hell out of there so we left a $20 and the check with the random Asian lady who was staring deeply into the fish tank. We'll never return to this place for as long as we live. Mahalo. read more

Definitely one of the better Chinese restaurants that I have been to. The food is great and the drinks are a plenty. The staff is attentive and a reservation is must if you are going on a weekend. They have free entertainment each week which is great for date night or a family outing. read more

Chef Shangri-La - Beef and chicken skewer appetizers - Chinese Near Me - North Riverside, Illinois

Great food and nice atmosphere. Something to look at every direction you look. Tropical drinks in tiki mugs and Hawai'ian music gently playing in the background. You can even feed the koi/goldfish in the fountain. The veggie section is big and everything the table tried was excellent. Plus they deliver to a wide area (like to Oak Park) for $3.50. Only negative was that the drink menu doesn't have prices. But at the display of mugs, it says the mugs are $13.50, or with a drink it's $20. However this may be just for the restaurant part and not the bar side. read more

Had a nice evening here! The Spicy General Tsao's Chicken was delicious with the right amount of kick. The drinks were good and reasonably priced as well. Nice place with great food, drinks, and live music in a great ambience! read more

This place was recommended by someone who saw this on CheckPlease. A positive review was given and my question was "How long ago was this episode?" This place was not even ok. The Pupu platter was ok while the other dishes like the shrimp fried rice and orange chicken, were either overcooked or didn't taste fresh. BIGGEST TURNOFF: was the fruit fly in my Mai Thai. Gross and will not head back. read more

I feel bad giving the chef only 3 stars because ive been coming here for so long. My grandfather used to hang out here when they first opened, and living around the neighborhood a little while ago I used to find myself in their bar every once in a while. Now, as for the resteraunt. As a kid sitting by the fish pond was pretty cool, as an adult, i find staring at a dirty pond with fish (they are ugly arent they), not so exciting. The only thing I can really reccomend here are the baby back rib appetizer..its really the best thing that they have, and for years was the main reason (besides the fish pond when I was a kid) for me to come here. After getting older and trying a few othe rthings on the menu I came to the realization that their food isnt that good. THe other problem with the resteraunt aspect of Chef is the fact that you feel like you are in a really dirty resteraunt. It has the smell/feel if a musty old place. You can see dust coming out of the ceiling tiles, its very dark, and most likely hasnt had any work done to it since its been opened. Maybe Im a stickler but I kind of need to be in a clean looking atmosphere to be comfortable eating there. As for the bar part of Chef..thats pretty good. The drinks arent awesome..but they have so much fricking alcohol in them that its worth it. From what I understand the mai tai's actually have more alcohol in them then a Dr. Fong. If it was up to me id stick to just checking out the bar at night. WHen you come in you might feel kind of akward because it will, or alot of the times is, filled to the brim with 19-25 year old RB graduates who just dont seem to want to leave the neighborhood. read more

DR FONG!!!! Oh, Chef Shangri-La...how many nights have I spent in your dark tiki bar sipping your delicious Dr. Fongs. The tiki bar is medium sized, dimly lit, perfectly kitch place. If my review ended there it would be 5 stars. But, I have to say your food is hit or miss. Overall, it is usually good but I have had some poor selections. I guess with the size of the menu there are bound to be some less-than-amazing dishes. read more

huge portions, amazing service from wait staff, and came out quickly. 10/10 recommend

This restaurant sounded perfect on a hot evening - fresh, light Hawaiian/Asian fusion food and refreshing, fruity drinks. Unfortunately, this was not our experience. If you're looking for excessive amounts of oily, salty food and excessively strong drinks, this is the place! To start off, as I mentioned, it was a hot evening. I'm not sure the air conditioning was working properly, because it was uncomfortably warm and humid in the restaurant and there was a dank, moldy smell. Thankfully, we were also greeted by a very friendly hostess and then waitress who took our drink and appetizer order. As we were waiting for our drinks, we noticed a server trying to deliver an appetizer plate to several tables, then disappear for a time. Later she came back with the same plate and deposited it on our table. It was certainly not fresh from the kitchen when we finally got it and, we had not gotten our drinks yet. After flagging someone down to ask for our drinks, we did finally get them, but they were not worth the wait. I've had better concoctions prepared at college frat houses. All I can say is that there was a lot of alcohol in them. Then the food... Yuck! I ordered the spicy fish tacos (which arrived well after the other entrees. My family was done before I got my plate). There was very oily rice served with chewy, salty fried fish and a few peppers. No sauce and nothing fresh. My husband had some sort of gloppy fried rice that had canned peas and carrots in it. And did I mention salty! I won't go into what my two sons ordered, but one of their entrees was inedible. At the end, the waitress dropped by extra take out boxes to accommodate the excessive amounts of food on our table. We felt bad leaving it there, so we boxed it up (6 containers did not cover it) and threw it out before we got home. I've read the reviews and saw it on Check Please. I just don't get it! read more

2nd time eating in this establishment. Not very happy to say the least. Mr. Irv Abraham's a very unpleasant man to speak with. Apparently he is also the owner and manger of this place. I stopped in last night after a long shift and just wanted to grab some of their chicken fried rice to bring home for me and my daughter. Rice was delicious! So I portioned out some for my daughter, and I began to eat mine right from the container that Chinese (Cantonese food) would typically come in and as I'm chewing through a few bites something sharp literally punctures through the roof of my mouth. My first thought is that it is a piece of chicken bone. I take this on identified object out of my mouth and it is what appears to be a piece of a skewer that would be used in a drink or a spoke of a plastic utensil. All I wanted to do was call the restaurant to make them aware that this piece of plastic was in my rice and punctured the roof of my mouth. All Mr. Abrams can do is deny the claim and act like I was the one who put it there? Thankfully, I'm the one who took that bite rather than it, being my four-year-old daughter. I ask him if there's a way that I can send him a picture of this object and maybe it would help him identify something that is similar to it in his establishment or something particular in his establishment. I sent him the email with a picture and his responses and I quote thanks for the pic, but I have no idea how that piece of plastic could have gotten in the fried rice. No apology no, I'm sorry sir I will do my diligence to make sure my chefs are keeping an eye out for things like this because again I would've hated for my daughter do you have been the one to bite down on that piece of plastic? All I spent was $11 and I believe Mr. Abrams thinks I was looking for a free meal when I specifically told him I am not looking for anything in return for this incident just for their staff to be more aware and he still has not even done the least and sent his apologies for what happened! Hopefully people will read this and be discouraged to eat at this establishment not because of their food but because of the way that it's managed! read more