If you are in the Tri-Taylor/UIC area and are craving some flavorful Indian food, hit up Curry on Fire! Will it leave you sweating and your nose running from all the spices? Sure. But that's when you know they do it right. I ordered the Curry Lamb which was perfectly spiced--not too salty, not too bland....got it just right. I have a high tolerance for heat, and found my tongue to be doing a happy dance, so if you don't like spicy food it might be a bit too much. Fear not, there are plenty of other mild/non-spicy dishes that you can select from. I have to agree with some of the reviewers who said that their portions are small. The food comes in these cute little bowls, and I'd rather choose quality over quantity. And to be perfectly honest, I have a pretty big appetite and found myself having leftovers for the next day, so it's not terribly small that would leave you hungry. Can't wait to come back! read more

Ordered a couple of Biryanis and curry on the nice Saturday evening. Food tasted okay, cannot expect to get real authentic Indian food when I'm not in India. Found pieces of glass in the Biryani though. Hear a brother out and avoid this place. read more

Curry on Fire - Found glass pieces in my Chicken Biryani. You decide now. - Indian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Nice place but keep reading for an important suggestion. I ordered "chicken tikka" thinking it was going to be chicken tikka masala. When it came to my table, this dish looked completely different than what I was expecting. THEN, I realized I didn't complete my sentence properly when I ordered and neglected to add "masala" onto the end. Was too embarrassed to send the dish back so ate what they gave to me. Not surprisingly, it was completely delicious anyway. Large, juicy, spiced chunks of grilled chicken with fresh peppers, onions and a mint, coriander chutney. Very nicely presented. I ordered some garlic naan as well which tasted lovely. Overall, service was very good and staff polite. HOWEVER....Here is my suggestion to help this restaurant get more customers (usually not crowded at lunchtime). I think that this restaurant DESPERATELY needs a lunch specials menu. Every single item is a la carte. You want to do that on the north side of Chicago? Sure, why not. But being so near a college campus (UIC) with hungry broke students, you need to give them something that entices them to come in for a meal. Otherwise, they are just going to go to Subway for 5 dollar footlongs. Have a few classic Indian dishes on a lunch menu...maybe $8-12 total for the meal. Have it come with rice or bread and a drink. I guarantee you will see an influx in customers during the lunch hour. read more

The food at this place is great. I really like their Chicken Dum Biryani. But their customer service is horrendous. So I ordered Biryani at their place and went to pick it up. They have this weird minimum $15 credit card transaction policy (usually its $10). One of the server talks really rudely and tells me that he'll charge me $2 extra since total was $13. He then very rudely tells me to keep my order to 15$ from next time, if I want to use my credit card. Absolutely horrendous servers with no work ethics. The restaurant should really think about getting in people who know how to talk to their customers. read more

Came here with a couple of co-workers for lunch. I got the keema Samosas and malai kofta, both are which are a favorite of mine. I really enjoyed the keema samosas. They weren't overly spicy, but had good flavor and were crispy. The Masai kofta was ok. I asked for spicy and it wasn't spicy at all. The gravy has nice flavor but did not have one ounce of spice. It was almost sweet. I've had way better malai kofta. The price for the food is fair and the service was good. This is a good place to go if you want Indian food without spice. Just don't expect anything too authentic. read more

Our favorite Indian restaurant in the area, and my husband and I have very high standards for Indian food. Everything on the menu is excellent, but the standout is the Chicken 65. So delicious and my in laws from New Delhi give it an enthusiastic stamp of approval. read more

Great customer service from the owner. Non-invasive wait staff. The Manchurian Cauliflower is my favorite dish on the menu. The veggie samosa and veggie biryani took the show tonight. Eat here, now!!! read more

The food arrived for delivery in a prompt manner. The food was warm and tasty.. The taste of paneer butter marsala and the roti was okay. It's not bad , but they can definitely improve the flavor. I look forward to order from them again. Very reliable , I look forward to ordering from them again. read more

This is our go to Indian take out spot. We have tried many things but always order our favorites: chicken korma, lamb tika masala, mancherian cauliflower, tandori chicken and of course the garlic naan. I've never dined in but the staff are always friendly and professional when we order and pick up. I think it's a great value too. Be warned though the spice level varies from time to time - sometimes things are mild and sometimes they are on fire. We have gotten the vindalu several times but the last time it was SO spicy we couldn't finish it even though it was very tasty. I'd love to try more things but I'm kind of obsessed with our usual order. Highly recommend Curry on Fire for take out. read more

To be completely blunt and honest... just go to Ghareeb Nawaz. You'll get the same quality for a lot less and a lot more food. I came here twice and both times, I was treated well service wise but felt cheated. All their dishes skimp out on the main part of the meal (whether is pork, eggplant, etc). It seems like a lot but usually only because of the quart of curry that fills the bowl. All this for a steep price. Don't get me wrong, it's decently tasty. I just felt like I didn't get what I paid for. This goes for other things like the doughnuts and the lassi. The dining area could also get a few touch ups. Especially for the price they charge. My friend also pointed out that they played the same music video over and over for the entirety of our meal. A meal inside a restaurant is always an experience. My experience unfortunately did not match up to what I felt like this place advertised. I'd come back if just a few things got fixed: The ambiance and the portions. read more

Visiting from Los Angeles, California We are some big foodies (Fat kids at heart lol) We could smell the food from our Airbnb so we did the only logical thing follow our noses ! We arrived at this cute lit corner restaurant ( Curry on fire) Greeted by a kind gentleman and seated right away! Decoré is super cool and colorful We proceeded to order the Chicken Tikka And Garlic Naan ! It was absolutely superb not spicy at all which we wanted and the garlic naan was so beautiful cooked and not to over-seasoned ! Totally coming back and would recommend to anyone! read more

2 Caveats: 1 - This review is for delivery only, so I'm not reviewing dine-in service 2 - I am a vegetarian, so I'm not reviewing any meat Allrighty, so I order from Curry on Fire via GrubHub rather frequently (GH calls it my 'go-to') but I have not made it to the actual restaurant yet (I will soon, I swear). This is great Indian food at a great price, AND I have never gotten sick from Curry on Fire (I can't say the same for some restaurants on Devon). Unlike the South Loop Indian restaurants, the price to food portion ratio is totally reasonable - so I feel like I can justify ordering from here all the time! That said, there have been some inconsistencies with the RICE portions. Each time I order the same amount of white rice, but I've gotten different quantities delivered. The last couple times were the same- BUT the rice portions were way too small, and since you have to pay for the rice it's really annoying. Curry on Fire - you guys need to get normal to-go containers for the white rice & give people MORE rice, seriously it does not cost that much to give larger rice portions. My favorite dishes are Malai Kofta (amazing), Dal Palak (keeps nicely in the fridge for leftovers), Saag Paneer, and the Masalas. I did not like the Pav Bhaji - I can admit I was possibly thinking of a different bread & dip dish - this had an entirely different taste & texture than what I meant to order. But even so, I just didn't like it & it was not marked as spicy online, but it was definitely spicier than the masala! I also have to mention they do not make the best Gobi Manchurian (cauliflower in spicy sweet sauce). I've gotten this dish from every Indian restaurant I've been to or ordered from, provided it is on the menu, and Curry on Fire's is just subpar - never breaded & fried right, meh sauce. I'm so surprised at all the people who are giving the cauliflower thumbs up, but maybe they've never had it anywhere else? FWIW my partner likes their gobi manchurian...so if you aren't too picky & like spicy fried food, why not try it. read more

How does this place have 3.5 stars? Good service, but terrible food. Indian restaurants are either cheap and have okay food. Or they are moderately priced and are decent. This place is expensive and have awful foods. My butter panner came with 8 small cubes of paneer in two cups of masala sauce. Frozen butter paneer from Tradersjoe beats these and they cost leas than 3 bucks. read more

The only bad thing about this restaurant is its closed on Monday. I have ordered from this restaurant multiple times and never has the quality gone down even if there were multiple dishes in the order. To start with, I think this restaurant makes the best Vegetable biryani in Chicago and I would praise the owner to open restaurant in UIC neighborhood, finally a good Indian restaurant for a well placed Indian crowd. Onion pakora were divine. People should also try Daal and Chaana masala, its quite good with the well made thin and crispy garlic naan. I hope this restaurant has good business ahead and doesn't lose the Chef. It can easily kick some ass to all the neighbouring Indian restaurants with their poor quality food. To the restaurant: I think you should also add some basic South Indian cuisine to make your restaurant the go-to place for anything Indian. read more

Ordered through Uber eats: came reasonably quickly and the food was very tasty. There is a lot of flavor and a good amount of spice (I am Mexican so I like my food spicy). However the portions are ridiculously tiny for the price. An entree of butter chicken (just the chicken in sauce in a tiny little plastic to go cup) was $13. There were probably about 5 pieces of chicken in this cup. Also got the onion Bhajia as an appetizer. Again, very tasty, but they did not come with a dipping sauce or anything which I think they definitely need. Alone these frittered onions are dry and feel like they are more of a topping meant to sit atop a hamburger or something. Probably won't order from here again. Good food but prices a little steep. read more

Food was delicious, flavorful and the service was exceptional! We tried : Chicken 65, Veg Samosa, Vindaloo Chicken (SPICEY) and the Garlic Naan. I would most definitely get all of it all over again. We came on a Friday night, the place is small so it filled up quick. I will most definitely be back. Oh! and it's BYOB. read more

I was thoroughly disappointed by the portions and amount they're charging. The food is really overpriced compared to how little they give you. The naan wasn't even warm and the chicken was over cooked so it was really dry. I wouldn't go here again. read more

This place is almost exclusively take-out but I did sit down (and was served) at one of the 2 tables nonetheless. The food is quite good - I had the butter chicken, bhindi and naan so far. Way better than Taj Mahal down the street. read more

See all

Worse service ever! I ordered delivery and was told it would be delivered in 40/50minutes. I live 8 minutes away. Food was delivered an hour and thirty minutes later. Then I get my $12 entree just for it to look like soup. There was literally six small cubes of chicken which are not even equivalent to a whole chicken breast. And literally three small potatoes. I hate to be robbed especially by a business. read more

Curry on Fire - Indian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Horrible! Aloo paratha was half cooked and tasteless. Pav Bhaji was so spicy that it literally puts your mouth on fire. Samosa was the only thing which was edible and acceptable. read more

Updating my review(04/27): ordered chicken 65 and chicken biryani last night, chicken 65 was cold, very dry and hard. Biryani was flavourless and again chicken pieces were very chewy and hard. Seemed like stale chicken. Previous review: It's a to-go place for food delivery. Usually very crowded to find a table so I prefer takeout from here. Love the chicken-65 it has a spicy and tangy flavour. Chicken chettinad is also a must try.. read more

John had escaped from the tower. He and I met up beneath the wabash st bridge. He was out of breath, sweaty and terror-stricken. I was worried someone might point him out as the escapee. We rented a kayak and paddled as far south as our exhausted muscles could manage, capsizing behind the old shoestring factory on 35th. I am a good swimmer, but John is sore afraid of the water. I swam him in. After a dozen minutes of mouth to mouth, John came to, burbling something about "mr. masala." "I am Mr. Masala, I am Mr. Masala. I haven't even a crust of naan." He was hungry! He hadn't eaten since before last night's chair aerobics, sent to bed with a mere berry tartlet in his stomach, and that to be vomited up during the escape! I carried him into the shoestring factory where the night shift supervisor tried to subdue us with Sambo. The manager had me in a rear naked choke, but john popped up with a gladiator's net, knitted of shoestring. He flung it over the manager and me, and beat our bodies indiscriminately with closed fists. The Lassi at Curry on Fire was a perfect balm for my welts and scrapes, John was in heaven with a mound of hot garlic naan, and the district attorney who sat beside us completely pardoned John after hearing about our difficult night! read more

I've ordered twice from here and got the same thing each time - butter paneer masala. It is absolutely delicious and with the perfect amount of spice. The only downside is the small amount of rice for the amount of curry. I've never gotten so little rice from an indian restaurant before and the quality is a bit dry too. Im not sure if the rice they order is too expensive but they are definitely skimping on it! The curry is perfect, just would like more rice. I'm indian myself and it just seems stingy to give such a tiny amount. Otherwise, I'll definitely be ordering from here again. read more

Great neighborhood, neat old building, indoor sunny bright atmosphere, friendly smiling staff- that all combined to set me off to a good start. I ordered tandoori roti, chai & chana masala, indicating "Indian spicy". Everything was absolutely delicious. Chana was as spicy as I wanted it (very) but more importantly the flavors were rich, developed, authentic, wonderful. Will be back soon. read more

I ordered carryout from here based on the excellent reviews and it's location. The vegetable biryani was okay, but I bit into a tamarind pit with my second bite. I found 4 pits in the dish...I was lucky I didn't chip a tooth! The chicken in the tikka missala was tough, and the samosas lacked flavor. I will not be returning to Curry on Fire. read more

Curry on Fire - Pits left in biryani - Indian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Decided to try it while walking down Taylor. Food was good and so was the service. Got the Chicken Tikka Masala will go back to try more dishes. read more

Curry on Fire - Indian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was craving Indian food and my friend recommended this place! Super delicious and very responsive customer service read more

Curry on Fire - I was craving some comfort Indian food and my friend recommended this place. I got 2 curry dishes and garlic naan, super delicious! - Indian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

One of the Best Indian Restaurants in Chicago. Must try: Hyderabad Dum Biryani, Chicken Chettinad with Puri. But, They reduced quantity of Biryani now, it was enough for 2 when it started. read more

As a college student at UIC, every once in a while I crave some real spicy South Indian style food (aka not Ghareeb Nawaz or naan/butter chicken). Curry on Fire opened up right near UIC about a year ago, and I have to say this place is my go to whenever I'm craving some real spicy Indian food. The place is owned/run by Andhra people, and this is definitely reflected in the very flavorful, spicy dishes here at Curry on Fire. I've tried the Hyderabadi Bagari Baingan, Vindaloo Chicken, and Lamb biryani. The Hyderabadi Bagari Baingan is a very authentic South Indian dish, consisting of eggplants cooked in a coconut based thicker curry. Caution, this dish is spicy! If you're from a South Indian background, you will definitely love this. Very flavorful, and the portions are enough to split between two people. The dish comes with rice, and I also recommend trying this with tandoori roti or something of the like. Vindaloo Chicken is similarly really good. Extremely spicy (we asked for extra spicy on top of regular spice, which was our mistake), but very flavorful. Tender chicken pieces, and once again the portions are enough to split between two people. Next time, I'll probably try a different chicken item but you can't go wrong with this order. Finally, I've heard great things about the Lamb biryani. A friend of mine ordered this item and I tried it form him, and it was so flavorful! Authentic flavorful biryani with copious, tender lamb. Overall, this is a very authentic South Indian/Andhra restaurant where you can get flavorful items beyond your standard naan/butter paneer. I definitely recommend trying the more "South Indian" items as these are probably the strength of the restaurant. My one qualm with this restaurant is the prices. Being located right near UIC, it would seem like a traditional sit-down restaurant isn't the best idea. It'll easily cost you nearly $15 for one curry item and roti, which is pretty standard and maybe even cheap for Indian restaurant, but still I feel that this place should have more student friendly options, or lunch options like another Yelper mentioned. This would make this restaurant change in my mind from a once in a while treat to an every week staple! Otherwise, though the food here is very good and I definitely recommend trying it over other Indian restaurants in the Taylor St./Little Italy area. read more

We had Onion bhajiya, kofta, naan and lassi. Onion bhajia were crispy and tasty much better than many restaurants from W Devon. Kofta gravy was tasty too. Lassi was too sweet. Overall, nice food. read more

Curry on Fire - Awesome food. We had onion bhajia, Kofta, Naan and Lassi. Onion Bhajia were crispy and tasty lot better than many restaurants from W Devon. - Indian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The Chicken Biryani comes in a huge container, there was definitely enough for more than one meal. However, the flavor doesn't live up to home cooked goodness. It's still tasty, however, the rice was a little hard, the chicken was very scarce and very overcooked. In my entire container there may have only been 4 small pieces of chicken. The naan is ENORMOUS. Ghareeb Nawaz is cheaper, and it's roughly the same quality. read more

I got some take out from here and it was pretty good! Ordered the saag paneer, tikka masala and gobi Manchurian and it was all good. You get rice with your order and the portions are a good size. I would definitely order or dine in here in the future. read more

Asked for less spicy in curry chicken but still came with super hot sauce. The sauce had strong spice odors.

First timer eating Indian food and this spot is the best choice for your first timers service was good one of the servers don't remember her name but she was cool and we had a good conversation with her for sure coming back to this place read more

I ordered uber eats put a message then called twice on mild dishes for the kids. The food arrived 45 min late and extremely spicy for all of us. I love love spicy food but this was a dig lever of spicy. I understand being busy and missing special messages but I called twice and they assumed me it won't be spicy. Worse part I gave the chicken to my one year old before I tasted it. Not cool!!! read more

This is my favorite Indian restaurant in Chicago. I can't attest to the in person experience as it was my go-to pandemic delivery spot, but the delivery food has always been delicious. Spicy curries, great sauces, amazing veggie samosas...And it didn't make me sick like another Indian restaurant in South Loop. Everything I've tried on their menu is delicious. read more

One of thee best Indian restaurants i've been to, the food is amazingggg. the cauliflower, butter chicken w/ the garlic naan is a must. The staff is always awesome as well. read more

Ordered take out from here more than a few times and it never disappoints. The butter chicken, garlic naan, and cauliflower appetizer are my go-tos. I only wish the portions were larger! read more

This used to be a 4/5 star authentic Indian place last year. But unfortunately, it doesnot feel the same anymore. The onion bhajia was too salty, butter chicken did not do the justice either and felt like chicken in tangy tomato puree curry. The garlic naan was burnt too.. I hope to see more of the old Curry on fire authentic Imdian quality back. read more

Ordered from Uber Eats and I'm disappointed. The garlic naan was plain and kind of boring. The chicken tikka masala tasted like tasteless tomato sauce. But at least the samosas were good. Wouldn't order from them again. read more