Do not let the strip mall fool you. Do not let the kiosk ordering fool you. Do not let the…read moreunassuming interior fool you. Just go. Taste of Jerusalem is the kind of place that reminds you why you should never judge a restaurant by its zip code or its signage. Tucked into a perfectly forgettable strip mall in Plainfield, this little spot is quietly serving some of the best food in the area and I am genuinely annoyed it took me this long to find it. The chicken kabob plate was a revelation. Massive portions of beautifully marinated chicken laid over a split of white rice and spicy rice. That spicy rice deserves its own paragraph. Fragrant, deeply spiced, with a slow building heat that lingers just long enough to keep pulling you back for another bite. Addicting is the only word for it. The hummus was exactly what hummus should be, fresh, delicious, also addictive. I added falafel and pita and those falafel were genuinely among the best I have ever had. Perfectly cooked, not a trace of that greasy heaviness that ruins lesser versions. Just fragrant, spiced, crispy little bites that I genuinely savored. My partner got the chicken wrap and said every component worked together without competing, tasted fresh, and left him full without feeling heavy. High praise from a man who knows his way around a wrap. The space is clean and simple. You order from a kiosk. None of that matters because the husband and wife team running the grill are pouring obvious passion into every plate and it comes through in every single bite. Plainfield has a gem here. Treat it accordingly.

Tried this for the first time and was so good. Loved they give the option of half and half flavors…read moreof rice. Chicken was so flavorful! Only thing is definitely a bit over priced. Got 3 little pieces of steak and it was added $9....

Our first visit to Chef Abdul was an absolute winner! My husband and I stopped in for lunch, and we…read morewere so impressed. It's a true hole-in-the-wall spot with just enough seating for about 10-15 people, but don't let the size fool you--it's clearly a local favorite because it was busy throughout lunch. We ordered the tabbouleh, lentil soup, mixed shawarma plate, and a falafel wrap, and every single dish was fresh, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. The owners were incredibly kind and welcoming, and they even treated us to a sample of their baklava. It was so mouthwatering that I had to get some to go! If you're looking for authentic, flavorful food and warm hospitality, this is the place. We highly recommend Chef Abdul and will definitely be back!

5 stars for Chef Abdul Mediterranean Restaurant - a very nice family owned small business in St…read more Charles. We tried them for the first time today and it was amazing. The waitress was very friendly, and provided us complimentary pita bread and pita chips and a sample of orange/pomegranate juice. The entrees were excellent, the beef kebab was amazing, very tender and fresh, as was the chicken shawarma. The portions are also massive and can easily be split into 2 meals if you wanted to. As an FYI, the dine in area is not very big so if you come during prime lunch time you may not be able to dine in. Overall if you want Mediterranean, I highly recommend Chef Abdul - a great chef and restaurant!

Great casual modern middle eastern food. We tried the beef crunch wrap, the chicken shawarma crunch…read morewrap and loaded fries. All were good. Prices reasonable, nothing takes too long. Lots of carryout orders but they have a dining room. Staff is super friendly and helpful. Free parking lot.

Got a steak bowl. Was pretty gross. Couldn't finish it. All their ingredients are cheap. I wanted a…read morehealthy meal but everything was terribly and felt heavy. Chewy "steak", ice berg lettuce with no nutritional value, over sauced, and everything was way too sour. Disappointing waste of money. Way better options out there in this price range

The whole concept and aesthetic of this restaurant completely wowed me!! It feels so well thought…read moreout. The service was amazing too, super professional, friendly, always on top of everything without being overwhelming. And the hummus was especially good, and creamy, which I loved!! The food overall was great. Such a cool experience from start to finish.

I really liked this place. They have parking in front of the restaurant and back. I highly…read morerecommend a reservation on Friday-Sunday even if you are just one person. I called them because I wasn't sure if the online version would be too slow. We were a group of three that came in Saturday night at 7 pm. It was moderately busy. The staff were all welcoming with smiles on their faces and attentiveness. Prices were fair for the amount of food you receive. Food portions are colossal so I would recommend one appetizer and one entree if you are a couple. They give you a complimentary dish. We ordered arayes with meat, meat toshka, mixed grill with baba ghanouj, fillet of basa fried, and mint lemonade. They also offer you fresh Arabic coffee before you leave. This is about a 4.5-5. -arayes with meat 4 - this was not bad. It's like a tamer version of the meat toshka. -meat toshka 5 - I prefer this over the arayes because they add the Syrian cheese. This one was bursting with flavor the moment you took a bite out of it. The minced beef and lamb just melt in the mouth. -mixed grill 5 - this came with 3 big skewers (shish kabab, kufta kabab, and chicken tawook. It also has tomatoes and onions to help cut down the meat when digesting. There are two heaping portions of biryani and saffron rice and baba ghanouj. The baba ghanouj was creamy and flavorful. It goes well with the pita bread. The meats were cooked medium well unless you want something. I think next time I'll ask for the shish kababs to be cooked medium rare or medium for a more juicy taste. The chicken tawook and kufta were both succulent. -fillet of basa fried 5 - the two pieces of basa fillet were astronomical. It also comes with two different kinds of rice. The fish was flaky, moist, and seasoned. Make sure you add the lemon and eat it with the sauce. -mint lemonade 5 - this was very refreshing after eating a heavy meal.

Loved this place. Food and service was amazing. Got the falafel wrap, houllomah wrap, hummus and…read morebarley pudding, plus a fresh pressed juice. Will def be back when we're in the area. Loved it so much we were talking to the owner about opening an Indiana location!

I had been wanting to try this place for a while but just never got around to it. We used to live…read morecloser to a spot in Tinley where I would always get my shawarma, but it's a bit of a hike now. So today I finally decided to give this place a shot. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed -- not only with the presentation, but also with the skimpy portions of toppings. The meat and rice tasted like they had been sitting for a while, and I was surprised that I had to pay extra for sauce. I selected feta as one of my toppings, and they literally placed a solid brick of it on top of the bowl. ‍ The other toppings looked like maybe a couple of tablespoons each. The wrap was also served in a floppy tortilla. From what I'm used to, places typically crisp the tortilla slightly in a pan before wrapping it so it has some texture and a little crunch. I'm glad to see that others seem to be enjoying their meals here, but unfortunately this experience just wasn't it for me. I guess I'll have to make the drive to the GOAT -- Sem Sem.

This restaurant looks really nice on the inside and the food tasted good, but there were two main…read moreproblems 1: The portion size was quite massive to the point of being really hard to fully eat 2: It was EXPENSIVE. We ordered the fish tower for 2-3 people and it costed $99. Overall, the ambience, staff, and food were all good but with these two flaws just bringing it down to 4 stars.

I have been meaning to visit Al Bahaar for the longest time and finally hubby and I decided to try…read morethem out and it was a 10 stars experience! We got the seafood tower for 2 and it come with 2 dips and bread and everything was Devine!!!! An absolute mouth heaven for seafood lovers. The top tier was fried calamari, lobster tail split in 2 and 2 giant shrimp with this spicy tomato dipping sauce. The bottom tier was a bed of delicious spicy yellow rice with 3 different kinds of fish, shrimp and mussels. Every single thing I put into my mouth was excellent!!! Our server Ferris (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) was absolutely amazing. Funny, knowledgeable, he explained everything that we were eating and telling us about the buffet that they offered. He was tentative and nice. The decor was sooooo beautiful and romantic as well. We sat on these super comfy round cushion chairs over these beautiful round lights and it was dim enough to feel a wonderful atmosphere and romantic but bright enough to see our food. The entire experience was wonderful and if I could give them more than 5 stars, I would. I will recommend this place to anyone who loves Mediterranean food or seafood and I will 1000% be back. This is my new favorite place!! Thank you for a great date night experience for hubby and I!

All I can say is wow! As someone who is from this part of the world, I was amazed at how flavorful…read morethe food was. We ordered the falafel bowl, a crispy chicken shawarma sandwich, hummus, and 5 piece falafel. They fry the falafel to order which is amazing because it will always be fresh and crispy. Hummus had a good smooth texture and they were very generous with the oil (great quality olive oil) and toppings. The crispy sandwich had a good amount of chicken in it making it very filling. The garlic sauce tasted exactly how it should. Like pure garlic! The restaurant was very clean and they even had gloves at the tables. I love that! Workers were very friendly as well. Overall, I would 100% recommend!

Late post Came here…read morelast night with some friends for dinner. For most of us, this was our first time. This place is located in a strip mall, so there is ample parking. Some staff are inviting, others, not so much. They have seating and music playing. I like that they offer options to choose an item from the menu or build your own meal. Some of my friends chose to do this. Another friend ordered a wrap, and I chose the chicken shawarma garden. They don't have their desserts on their menu, but they do offer quite a bit. We got a sampler which had a variety of desserts. The ingredients were fresh, and everyone enjoyed their meals. The fries are awesome, and I am not sure which dessert I had, but it had pistachios on top, and it was delicious.

I used* to* love* Kabobs, BUT sadly I fear it's becoming commercialized and the quality is…read moresignificantly suffering. Please hear me out. They have always* struggled with CONSISTENCY issues ever since they started (I've had raw chicken multiple times from them, now it's all burnt/dry), but it's more and more apparent recently. The meats are not only overcooked and EXTREMELY DRY, but the burnt exterior is a genuine *carcinogenic* (fact-check me) issue that leaves a disgusting taste in my mouth that is worse than sand IMO. The gyro meat is more grainy and un-chewable lately. The chicken is overcooked and dry as heck. The rice is undercooked and almost hard. The salads are less fresh, and I notice a distinct difference in the olives lately (more bitter and mushy, YUCK- I love good Kalamata olives, but NO thank you). I genuinely write this in a probably naive attempt to warn Kabobs that they are cutting too many corners that will probably, eventually, bite them. I would be very sad if that happened. I used to love Just Kabobs-- I've had great gyro and chicken and salad, etc, so I KNOW FROM THE PAST that they can do better. The main problem now* is that they are SUPER busy and they probably don't care about quality control because the money is rolling in, but I hope they will reverse course and get better quality ASAP. (PS; at their peak they are capable of 5/5 stars.-- I just feel that the quality has significantly* declined lately and it's sad to see, and waste money on. I couldn't stomach the burnt dry chicken kabobs I got last night and it's going to waste in my trashcan ).

We got takeout during the Christmas Holidays, the wait was long…read more Price is super affordable. Portion is huge for the price. Both the gyro and rotisserie chicken are tasty. Plate comes with a salad and fresh pita bread.