This hole in the wall type place has been around forever with great reviews - so I had to try! It was a perfect night out to grab a patio seat for an early dinner with a bottle of wine. We ordered the vegeterian combo, which had a nice variety of appetizers, and a small greek salad for a side with the meat combination platter. The meats were tasty, nothing special in my opinion sadly. The falafel was the best part, as many people have been saying. However, the complimentary pita bread was dry and hard to eat. I think Athenian room still does this type of cuisine (though slightly different I know) the best. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - vegeterian combo, greek salad, meat combo - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We stopped in to this classic staple of Old Town last minute. We were starving and the neighboring restaurant Orso's power had gone out. Since we had already parked, Old Jerusalem was our plan B. I am soooo happy with our choice. This small spot with unassuming room was reminiscent of Grandma's house. Dark wood furniture, minimal decor and a real Grandma helping out really felt simple yet welcoming. There is a sidewalk patio but we chose to sit inside by the big front windows that slide open. There was a nice breeze blowing in as we watched the city life go by. Service was very kind, although a bit slow. That's ok. We weren't in a hurry. The guy who took care of us was friendly but a bit busy to offer personable service. I was so happy to see this cute local spot is still going strong. I ordered falafel and my friend chose the grape leaves. We added a side of rice and shared everything. With every bite we kept say "mmm this is so good" to the point where it became funny. I think the quality and price point make this a definite stop for everyone. They gave us so much food!! My falafel was the best I've ever had. Crunchy outside, soft and flavorful inside. The grape leaves were bright and full of flavor too. Yum!! I would love this place even more if they gave the decor a bit of attention. It would really enhance the authentic vibe the delicious, homemade cuisine that is offered. I will definitely remember to return very soon! read more

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Some of the best great leaves and falafel I have ever had. That service was sketchy. Even waited a long time to get our bill. All windows were open so tables needed to be cleared right away. But maybe they have a staffing issue like everyone else? The food more than made up for the lack of service. Just plain delicious. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Grape Leaves Entree Falafel Plate Entree - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great, inexpensive, family-cooked Mediterranean food. Wish they were in the Northwestern suburbs.

Came here on a Saturday night around 9PM, lots of people seated outside, a table or two inside taken (yay AC!). Sat outside, got the vegetarian platter and switched out the tabouli for Greek salad. Friend got the meat platter, and we were given some hot sauce too. I tried all the meats, shish kebab was dry, shawarma was almost going to be dry, and the kefta kebab was pretty flavorful and tasty, not dry. On my vegetarian platter, the babaganoush was amazingly roasty and flavorful, falafels were crunchy outside and soft inside. Everything else was a bit flavorless and mediocre. Pita left much to be desired, pretty standard, flat, not fluffy and thick. Prices were alright, came out to be about $41 post-tax, quite a bit of food. Service was good, we were checked up on a few times. read more

I came inside here cause it looked og asf. Old and family owned. Also cause I'm part Jewish so I was like hey :) Handsdown the best falafel I've EVER HAD. It was crispy, flavorful, not too hard not too soft goddamn I felt like Goldilocks hitting the jackpot. Also there was baba ganoosh (I'm going to misspell lots of things rn I apologize), tabooleh, hummus, and some other salad? So good. So good. Everything paired so nicely. Def would come back anytime. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Combo Vegetarian Entree, 5 diff things!!!! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I was looking forward to eating at this restaurant but was wildly disappointed that the Greek salad (my main course) was lame. The palest pile of shredded iceberg lettuce was topped by equally anemic cucumbers. When I queried the waitress about any other lettuce--perhaps one that was green--I was told that no can do. This restaurant has little ambience which is absolutely fine when the food is good. But alas neither is noteworthy. read more

Excellent home made rustic food, friendly service and comfortable atmosphere. The vegetarian platter was amazing. We will be back!

I've been a regular of this place for almost 7 years. The food is authentic, delicious, and always feels like home

My wife and I have been ordering deliveries from Old Jerusalem for DECADES. Our typical order is baba ganouz and hummus appetizers and shawarma and either shish kebab or chicken kebab entrees. That's enough for two dinners for the two of us. Delivery is always prompt with the food hot and ready to eat. The pitas are fresh and perfectly chewy. We love everything about the food and the service and order from them about every two weeks. We recommend Old Jerusalem highly and send our friends. read more

Having lived in the Middle East, I had high expectations, and this place was the real deal. The food was delicious, the place was clean, the bathrooms were sanitary, and the service was friendly and informative. The place felt very authentic and is family owned. Overall, it was an amazing experience. read more

Had dinner from here yesterday.. ... the pita was warm and fresh, falafel was ok. Hummus creamy, stuffed grape leaves. Salad all of which were fresh and flavorful. I like this place, bang for the buck, we will be back soon!! read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We've been coming here for 40 years. It's a great place still owned by the founders. Standard authentic Middle Eastern quisine prepared very well. I loved the mousardara. My companion enjoyed the falafel sandwich. If you are in the mood for this kind of food and are in the area, definitely worth stopping by. Have a chat with owners and chow down on some nice food. Order the extra garlic sauce. In fact, order two. Affordable. Good value. read more

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This restaurant has delicious food and great service. I have been going there since the 1980's. The owners are very nice to work with for your catering needs. You wont be disappointed. read more

great for cheap eats in old town. I've only ever ordered for pick up but the portions are very big (enough for two people). We got the chicken plate that comes with rice, chicken, a salad and a little side of hummus! read more

The food was really good and the service was awesome! They were very friendly. A little hidden gem in Old Town. Sadly the I forgot to take photos of the food because it was too delicious and ate all of it. read more

Do you hate the chicago version of middle eastern food like me? THIS IS THE PLACE. The shish tawook wrap is made with real pita - not that pita pocket junk. They have REAL GARLIC DIP. Not that weird brown stuff every place else has. This reminds me of some of my favorite restaurants in the suburb of Detroit. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Shish Tawouk Wrap Sandwich - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Wow!!! I wish I have given it a try before ... What a neighborhood gem! Fresh, homemade hearty food! Falafel was the best I have ever had!! Combination platter absolutely delicious with great quality of meat!!! Lean meat!! The sandwich are delicious, tasty (nothing like halal guy) Absolutely 5 stars but deducted 1 because server (fat lady was kind of rude) never refilled our water, lemonade. Cashier was friendly and polite Surely, I'll keep coming read more

"Shish tawouk" sandwhich was NOT shish tawouk. Anyone who has had proper shish tawook would be disappointed by this. Also, the kunefe was so sad. Cheese made of some cross between blended cottage cheese, cream cheese and a bit of mozarella maybe? Not authentic. Very bleck. No syrup. Better off getting the new frozen "Trader Joe's" kunefe! Definitely better places for these dishes in the city! read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The place is neat and clean. Family run with average service. I found the food average Mediteran fare. Falafel were good, Kebab were average. Hummus was average. Baklava was pretty good read more

Okay experience here. Old Jerusalem has a patio out front which is nice onto the main street of Old Town. The interior is clean but fairly minimal. Their menu is pretty extensive and includes a pretty large selection of meats and veggie dishes. The schwarma here isn't from a large roll - it looks like they slice it from a loaf in the back. Got the schwarma hummus bowl and was hoping for something delicious. However the hummus tasted fairly run of the mill - a bit bland and not too creamy, tasted like something I could have just gotten at a store. The beef schwarma was very disappointing - it was very hard and a bit flavorless, like eating almost flavorless jerky. The dish really didn't keep well either, when I tried the leftovers later. Three starts for solid service, large portions / good value. The garlic sauce and tahini is pretty good as well, and they are very generous with the pita. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Anytime I'm in Chicago this is our spot to get delicious fresh food. We love the owners too. Such a nice family!!! Neighborhood favorite ;)

They have a nice shady patio for lunch. The service was super friendly and lovely. We shared a chicken kabob plate, hummus, tabbouli, and baba ganoush. I liked the baba ganoush and the tabbouli but wasn't a big fan of the hummus or the chicken. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Chicken Kabob - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have been frequenting this place for years and never wrote a review. This place has the best baba ganoish I have ever had. The prices are reasonable ,the food has a lot of flavor,0and I adore the garlic sauce. I smeared that on everything I ate. Don't just walk by, walk in and treat your tastebuds. read more

Great place gives me peace and good food Great place again and again to try Baba Ganouj read more

Old Jerusalem is a great establishment with all of your classic middle eastern dishes. They were short staffed but continued to pump out to-go orders and seat guests quickly. We started with grape leaves and hummus. The falafel sandwich was very tasty and loaded. The shawarma sandwich had plenty of meat for the price. The chicken was the only dish that missed the mark. If you do decide to come to Old Jerusalem make sure you enjoy some baklava and don't forget to BYOB. read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Shawirma Sandwich - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food here never misses. I'm obsessed with their hummus entree with chicken it's so yummy. The family is also super sweet and friendly:)

Family owned restaurant that's a breath of fresh air compared to most chain restaurants you'd find in the area. The menu is very expansive and includes a lot of options for those that have dietary restrictions. The portions were very generous and I appreciated how accommodating the staff was. The patio was cozy but there's also a lot of indoor dining space. They had a number of delicious baked goods inside so I'd recommend you save room for dessert read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Baba Ganouj Entree - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very okay food - tried the chicken kabob and shawarma sandwich. Everything was just dry and nothing special. Seemed a little overpriced too for the kabob especially. read more

Very authentic food, small quant location. Very unassuming place, but really worth a visit.

Old Jerusalem is a consistent staple. The falafel is always perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The hummus is tasty, and the kabobs cooked well. I've never had a problem walking in and getting a table, but the patio does fill quickly when the weather is nice. BYOB is an added touch that makes this place special. There's a small charge per person for a corkage fee. read more

I was looking for a place to grab some dinner to honor my fathers birthday, and was blown away by the authenticity of the kefta (tahini sauce) and grape leaves I ordered. I ordered to-go but I honestly can't wait to get back. Fantastic! read more

Been here a couple times and my most recent visit was a miss. I had the vegetarian sampler and while everything tasted alright, the food was all cold, the falafels were undercooked, and it was missing a kick like zhoug or some other hot sauce. I tried a bite of my friends' chicken musaheb and it was incredibly dry. I wish I liked it more...but I'll be heading to Sultan's for my next falafel craving. Also had a stomachache a couple hours after my meal :/. read more

Delicious food, great portions and reasonably priced. A super cute family-owned restaurant. I ordered the Musaheb, the chicken was so tender and flavorful. All the sides were delicious, specifically the hummus. Will be a go-to for me when I'm craving something healthy and filling. My only ask is... please bring out the pita warm!!!! read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Musaheb - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food's good. The service was abysmal. The waitress didn't seemed she couldn't be bothered, never filled our drinks once, then I had to ask for the check multiple times before they got around to it. We were just sitting there twiddling our thumbs when there was barely anyone else inside. read more

We recently ordered take out for a party. For about $300.00 we fed about 12 people. They were very kind and helped transport food to the car. The food quality and taste was lacking. The shawarma had no flavor. We regularly eat Mediterranean and actually no one ate the chicken. We threw it out. The hummus was average. Compared to pita inn in burbs or other places in Lincoln park it doesn't taste well. We won't go back. Nice people but no flavor. read more

Although this place is more on the pricey side, it's still a solid spot for Middle Eastern food. If I want something quick, I go with the lentil soup & hummus/pita apps. For something a bit more filling, you can't go wrong with any shawarma dish. I also like to order the musaheb plate which is basically a seasoned chicken combo plate with a salad, hummus & pita. Sit on the patio when it's nice out. One thing I would suggest especially during 2020 & beyond is QR code menus - this place is old school so they still use regular menus. read more

Humus was really bad and tasteless Pita bread was tossed on the table and was half frozen. Will not come back. Chicago has much better choices for the money. read more

I love their pita sandwiches here! Most recently I've tried their falafel sandwich and it was excellent. Freshly cooked falafel accompanied with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, & tzatziki sauce stuffed into a pita pocket. I've also been quite the fan of their lentil soup as of late. Accompanies nicely with any of their sandwiches and has that homemade quality to it. If you're looking for some actual protein, my go to is their mosaheb (chicken) or shawirma (lamb & beef) sandwiches. They also do plates if you're looking for something heavier. Did I mention they're BYOB?! Don't forget to bring a 6 pack or bottle of wine as you please! 'Til next time, cheers! read more

Old Jerusalem Restaurant - Falafel sandwich! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I LOVED how when you first walk in, there's literally grandma sitting at the table. The food tasted like grandma made it, and the atmosphere made it even better. I got the shawarma, and my friend got the vegetarian combo platter. We shared the grape leaves. Overall, everything was incredible. Other Yelpers did not lie - the hummus and grape leaves are so good. My shawarma was HUGE and delicious. I'd come back any time for any of the food above. The space was a little chilly - many customers had their jackets on. Also, I'd recommend cleaning the bathrooms a little more often. Otherwise, this is a very solid place for what feels like a home cooked meal! read more