Food was good. I especially enjoyed the asparagus salad, dinner rolls with flavored butters and the shrimp dish (dum?) Shrimp mixture wrapped in pastry fried, with rice and salad. The service was excellent. Daviona was our server and Issac. Our reservations were for noon on 4/10. The room is beautifully designed with comfortable seating. Coat check was available though I didn't take advantage of it unsure of the temperature in the room; which was by the way perfect. I had hot tea for beverage and strawberry shortcake for desert. The shortcake was unlike any I'd had before. It was not a fave. I look forward to giving these students many more opportunities to impress me. Y read more

See all

This establishment has VERY LIMITED HOURS BUT THEY ARE NO LONGER CLOSED!!! The students prepare good food, reasonably priced and are polite as they come! Good luck! Now if we could just get Parrot Cage back at the South Shore Country Club! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7kmQb2g5oY read more

Things started bad when the restaurant had no record of my reservation which I called and made about a month in advance for party of five including myself, however we were accommodated; wait was longer than expected for order to be taken and food to be served, and some menu selections were not available; when my meal was served, the black female server made a comment to me that you can't show up and be served this kind of food without a reservation here which I found to be totally out of order and disrespectful to a patron especially unbeknownst to her I had called and made a reservation--the error was on the person who took my reservation read more

Newly reopened restaurant --lab for Washburne Culinary Program students at Kennedy King College. The menu is varied and the food is tasty and plentiful. read more

This place is a hidden gem! I'm so glad that I found this place (well a friend found it but I tried it first! Don't judge. Haha). 3 course meal (appetizer, entree and desert for under $10! Where else can you get that at???? *****THIS PLACE IS RESERVATION ONLY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS AND ONLY OPEN WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY FROM 1PM TO 3PM)***** This is a restaurant that is attached to a culinary institute. They allow the students to work the front and the back of a real live restaurant to gain the necessary experience to transition to a career in the food industry. The restaurant itself looks amazing! The ambiance was very appealing and the hostess was very polite. My wife and I did not know that you needed reservations but the hostess accommodated us. As she was explaining to us, the reason for taking reservations during the summer is due to the low volume of students they have and the amount of product they order. This is smart but something that I wish they were able to expand because so many people are missing out. The food was amazing. The menu changes every 2-3 weeks. We had the corn bisque, shrimp kale salad, grilled tuna tostada, pad Thai, strawberry bread with vanilla bean ice cream and a pistachio cake with vanilla mousse and a caramel drizzle. These students did an amazing job. Although the meal is $8, they charge tax and a scholarship fee which I think is a great idea especially given the meal is inexpensive. For a soda or lemonade type drink it's about $2 and I believe you get free refills. They also do catering and I can see that venue being used for some amazing things. I will explore that option soon. Overall, great experience and I cannot wait to go back again! read more

See all

Great Food and Service Always! I work nearby so I visit often, the food and service are always consistently very good, make sure that you tip!! The students work really hard. read more

See all

I wish this place had more advertisements because the food and the service is superb!! I had the Italian wedding soup (pic posted), pesto crusted cod with spaghetti squash (pic posted), and apple cider donut holes with homemade hot chocolate. All of it was very good. This is a school, so the meals and the service are all done by the students. You get a three-course meal for $13. You can't beat that. I wish I had pics of the braised lamb...oh my word!!!! To top it off, the chef comes out numerous times and works his way around to each table to check on how the patrons are enjoying their food. We were part of a large group and the service was great. Please visit this restaurant. Only downfall is that they are only open Wednesday-Friday from 11a-1p. Would be great if they would open on the weekend. read more

Sikia - Very good & healthy Italian wedding soup. Made with Kale instead of pasta. - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

One of two restaurants located on the south side, owned by the City of Chicago, this place is a much needed outlet for the area. Love the simple, yet chic African decor. At first, I thought the dry attitude of the host/server was going to dampen our mood, but he turned out to be one of the absolute best (and he is a recent graduate of King Kennedy College Culinary program - has better customer service skills than most seasoned wait staff). He made small talk with us, checked on us periodically and even offered us a private tour of the culinary schools' state of the art facility. And he kept us laughing the entire night! The food was great. Loved the goat and peanut stew! Full of flavor and oh so creamy. They even have live jazz on the weekends which I will definitely be back for! Don't forget to BYOB, they do not and will not be getting a liquor license! read more

I am a student at the school and I was referred by some of the teachers to check out the restaurant and you really get a bang for your buck. 4 course meal for $10 and they are really good in their preparation and presentation of the food. read more

Last weekend, I was part of a parent's group that hosted a private workshop for our children to teach them about social graces and it was held at Sikia. All of the moms were delighted with what we found. The waitstaff was attentive, the prices were reasonable, the decor was attractive and the food was wonderful. Keep in mind that we were dealing with children - the menu was butternut squash soup, fried chicken, mac & cheese and corn on the cob, and sweet potato pie with ice cream. Even the sweet tea was delicious - a kind of spiced tea. We were all impressed and vowed to come back and recommend Sikia to everyone we knew. read more

Where can you get a delicious three course meal for $10? Nowhere right? My friend and I went to Sikia, the restaurant operated by Kennedy-King College culinary students. It is a fine dining restaurant with linens and tablecloths and the menu is planned and prepared by the students. The service was excellent and I plan on going back. read more

Sikia - a dining room with tables and chairs - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Sikia is a restaurant attached to the Washburne Culinary Institute and manned by students and supervised by experienced faculty chefs. I had never heard of it before taking a job in the Englewood area and I have to say, if it were located in the Loop, it would be packed every day. The concept is designed to allow the students to gain valuable kitchen and front of the house experience but the gain is really for the diners. Three days a week, the restaurant offers a three course gourmet meal for well under $10. I'm not overstating the presentation, this is gourmet food prepared by tomorrow's top chefs. If you've got the time, get out to 63rd and Halsted and take advantage. Lots of free parking. read more

Finally made it here. It was definitely worth it. Everything---the decor, the service and food - - was phenomenal. I hate they're not open year- round. Kudos to "Janelle". read more

I went here yesterday for lunch first time at this restaurant man was the service top notch and the food is amazing and the place looks like a high class place you would see in downtown, but most importantly the staff and the waiters were super friendly and nice. Don't let the area scare you yes it's englewood, but it's up and coming and people were friendly as well to me when I was walking down the street as well. read more

We went here for Valentine's day dinner. They are part of the Washburne Culinary Institute so the cooking, serving, etc. is all done by young people studying the hospitality business. Sikia is a Swahili word for a synthesis of sensory input, a nice interesting name for a dining room. Sikia features a lot of African dishes but on this occasion their Valentine's special menu sounded too good to pass up, a multi-course not particularly ethnic affair which I assume gave them a chance to practice various kitchen disciplines. On the appetizer sampler plate, we especially enjoyed the grape encased in goat cheese and rolled in pistachio. The salad featured grilled quail, how cool is that! This was followed by two, yes, two entrees: salmon with morel sauce (I'm tellin' ya!) on saffron risotto with asparagus; and lamb glazed with pomegranate molasses and fig, over mashed potatoes. OK, the execution was not entirely perfect, both could have been a little less cooked, but this was still a wonderful couple of courses and quite a deal. The lamb sauce was definitely one of the more interesting and delicious things we'd eaten in a long time. The triple whammy dessert was exciting too, a flourless chocolate cake, a peppery chocolate panna cotta, and a chocolate sorbet (attractively non-creamy). It's BYOB, though they did toss in a glass of some so-called champagne. Their interior decor is a bit on the dry side and could use some livening up and personality. But anyhow, we were impressed; it was a more than satisfying meal, very enjoyable for the special occasion, a surprising find a few miles south of us down Halsted, and it was our pleasure to sponsor in some small way these future chefs and restauranteurs (our server, for example, hoped to start a catering business after serving some apprentice time at a restaurant or two). read more

Sikia's menu is American and international, depending on the week you visit them. They do all their menu choices extremely well. I have never been disappointed with their menu choices. Their appetizers, main courses and desserts are delicious, as are their drinks. Sikia's service is great, their waiters and waitresses are attentive and helpful. I've been to Sikia many times, and every time I feel as if I'm in a five star restaurant that is amazingly inexpensive. The only drawback is that I can't visit it more because it is open on Kennedy King College's schedule, and is closed during their breaks. read more

I really, really want to rate this rest. higher because of the mission. But, too often I eat here and am disappointed. I recently ate here and had a wonderful chicken breast sandwich. I went again two days later with coworkers boasting how good the place is. Unfortunately, the chef of the day replaced chickeb breast with chicken thighs!!!. The sandwich was horrible and slimey. The problem seems to be that the manager Jorlie (sic) seems to walk around talking and sitiing with campus staff. She totally ignores other patrons and never seems to interact with the students. We tried to speak with her and she pretty much ignored us. The students seem t need better supervision. read more

Sikia,Sikia, Sikia... so wish I could provide a better review, unfortunately after my 3rd attempt to consider this a "best kept secret", I cannot . First visit I came alone. Considering I work directly across the street from the establishment. I ARRIVED ON TIME. I was seated promptly. Only 7 adults were being serviced also. My starter was promptly served with my bread/butter . everything else was down hill. My entrée took an entire 30 minutes to come out. I was extended an apology. Once arrived my 1 hour lunch was over. My third course was take out. The food was salty and average overall. Second trip I was accompanied with another guest. Starters (crab cakes) came out 30 minutes after being seated. This time I wasn't able to even eat my main entrée. I left my guest there and was delivered my food later that evening. This time I was given an excuse and not an apology. Apparently 4 students had called off that day and it was a new menu. Pecan crusted cod is not a appealing or tasteful reheat. Third was the worst... my entire 3 course meal had to be take out. I spent a whole hour with bread and basil lemonade. No excuse or apology from management or students. How unprofessional . If students are to learn and develop 5 star attributes to fine dinning, " correct consistent error in your service!!!!" Not impress, given 3 tries. Never again. read more