I had really high hopes for this place as it looked so authentic. Unfortunately no one in the restaurant was able to explain the items for me. I ended up getting charged so much for such little food. As for the food it self, it was just okay. Most of the curries tasted the same. The food was sitting out and they had a microwave where they warmed up the food.. it was really odd. I will not be coming back. read more

100% unapologetic, heartburn causing, artery blocking "dhaba" cabbie food. 24 hours a day, you can find immigrant men slamming some seriously traditional halal indo-pak cuisine. I would venture to say, this is more authentic than any place of Devon street. However, this is not somewhere to bring a family, or a date. This is a straight up cabbie joint. And the best. Period. The.best. read more

Four of us that went there were presently surprised . The mixed BBQ Platter was amazing with well pre-marinated meats, Nans were a little too thin but good. Beef Nehari's test was very good but meat was slightly tough .This I think, because one should never use beef thick cubes like Boti's in a Nehari but the meat should be cut side ways or longitudinally to cook through. Staff was very attentive and externally nice especially Ginesh who we initially thought was the owner because of his friendliness and enthusiasm about his manue and food. Overall, an excellent experience. read more

This review only applies to delivery. So I ordered delivery....Never do that unless You are getting Biriyani or the fish grill or chicken Tikka. All the curry orders are super small in terms of portion for the price. There were 3 small pieces of chicken in the chicken curry for $10.99 and 4 mostly bone pieces of mutton in the mutton korma for 11.99. There was barely any meat. It is different when you go here though and order for carry out or dine in. The portions are 2-3x more. They have some of the best biriyani and grilled meats as well as Curry's. read more

I worked I. The Gold Coast and this was a go to lunch/dinner for me. Love their samosas!!! Meat is packed in and portion overall is wonderful read more

Decent food. Place seems good. I ordered the chicken briyani and some meat and potatoes. The quantity was low for the price. One thing I cannot understand is why do they charge $3 more for takeaway. That's a huge margin. read more

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Good spot for authentic food. Ambiance is not high class but food is. This is a cabbie spot so remains open 24 hours Food is really tasty and really inexpensive. read more

Tabaq Restaurant - Authentic doodh patti chai (milk based tea) - Pakistani Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food was okay but then again I ordered very late in the evening. The naann and chapati were good.

Went around 9 pm with the lights barely on, cold food on the steamer, full of men. Sort of scary for someone to go alone specially after dark. The food was being microwaved. Daal which is such a staple and shouldn't be hard to make delicious was very bland and cold. Rice was cold. My seekh Kabobs were heated in the microwave and were tough and cold. Not a good experience at all. They put the napkins by the cashier so remember to ask. Weird spot definitely not a decent go to place. read more

I discovered this spot because it is right in front of my job and my coworker had ordered from there. This restaurant is located at a very good location. It could be easily passed up for Starbucks and Panera bread but it is an hidden gem. The restaurant setting isn't spectacular in any way but I know enuf not to be discouraged by that. This works out for me because I only order here 1-2 a month and I order to go. The food is amazing. My favorites are the curry goat and lamb.... yes the lamb is a bit boney but the tenderness compensates for it. The explosion of flavors is out of this world. It isn't too expensive ... $12-14 dollars would buy you a well portioned lunch for 2 or 2 servings. Please do not make the mistake of eating the entire meal in one setting. You definitely would not be productive afterwards. I made that mistake once and lets just say it wouldn't happen again. You certainly wouldn't be disappointed. read more

Super friendly hole in a wall with delicious food ! Had the lamb & shish kabob with biryani rice & naan. Felt authentic. Highly recommend going here. Portions are large- get ready to FEAST ! read more

Tabaq Restaurant - Pakistani Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Food was fire. Service was good too owner seemed friendly and personable. Real authentic Paki vibes in this place legit felt like I was eating at a restaurant somewhere in Karachi. Would definitely prefer this place for late night Paki food over any late night spots on Devon read more

Definitely a little hole in the wall-ey but the number of cabs parked outside this place should be a clear sign, they have AMAZING food. For $10-12 you get enough food for 2 meals. The best Mutton Curry I've had in a long long time. The Beef Nihari was incredible as well. I'm feeling hungry just thinking about it ha! read more

One of my favorite no frills Pakistani/Indian take out. You know it's all about the food when the majority of the customers are FOB Pakistani and African Cab drivers.. clean, inexpensive and absolutely delicious. I never walk out without a few piping hot tandoori naans and a handful of crispy keema samosas.. and don't even get me started on their lamb curry!!! Spice level is lethal just how I like it. My kids demand it at least once a month when they're sick of burgers and pizzas. Must try, unless you're too snooty in which case please stay away. read more

Friendly Pakistani guy behind the counter (FPGBTC): Hello boss, what can I get you? NP: I'll take my usual: biryani to go, please. FPGBTC serves heaping spoons of aromatic biryani into a Styrofoam box, enough to last me for at least two, maybe even three meals. FPGBTC: You are a doctor, right? NP: No, I am not a doctor. FPGBTC: Oh! You look like a doctor. You should have been a doctor. NP: ... Thank you? Hear that, mom? I may not have become a doctor like you wanted, but at least I look like one! Note: Chicken biryani is served Sunday through Wednesday, mutton pilaw is available on Thursday and Saturday, and mutton biryani, my favorite, is the special on Friday. Also, it's not really mutton; it's goat. read more

Writing a review because the young man working behind the counter yesterday on Labor Day was incredibly nice. Like any other Pakistani person, my all time favorite food is Nihari, so I went into this place craving it after not having it in a while. I just moved to the Gold Coast area and Devon is a hike for me. To my disappointment they were all out of Nihari and just had the gravy left. I was starving so I still asked it I could buy just the gravy, and a few minutes later I received piping hot Nihari, naan, raitha sauce and toppings for FREE. I mean I know there was no meat left in the gravy but still awfully nice of them to pack it up so nicely for me and not charge me. Needless to say I have found my new go-to spot in the area. read more

Take-out is $10.99 for your choice of entree that comes with rice or naan and salad. Dine-in is the same with the additional option of a $7.99 "small" portion of an entree with the same rice or naan and salad. Choose from deliciously seasoned and spiced goat nihari, beef nihari, lentils, chicken korma, chicken makhani, tandoor fish, biryani, etc. etc. Selections change daily and if only I hit the gym more often, I'd come every day to try all of them. Don't be intimidated by the 15 cabs parked outside. The counter service is friendly and helpful too. Authentic, fast, cheap. PERFECT. go now. read more

This place is really good. The food was outstanding - had chicken biryani and the guy in front of me asked to have some mutton stew juice drizzled over his so I did the same. Wow! Tasty! The entrees come with either nan or chipatis or pakoras. I got the pakoras and picked up a mango lassi too. I saw other people with nan and asked for that as well. The total came to just over 15.00. I paid with a 20 and he gave me 5 even back. It was too much food for one person. Like I said, the biryani w/ mutton juice was sublime. It came with a small salad of lettuce, white onions and sliced jalapenos. I like! There was some greenish yoghurt sauce that might have been for the salad -- not sure -- but I dipped the pakoras into it and poured the rest on my biryani. The nan was really good and hot. The mango lassi was absolutely amazing! I kept seeing men (some in traditional dress) come in and go downstairs. A few minutes later they would come up and get food. I assume they were going downstairs for prayers because I noticed a review here last night mentioning a sign detailing prayer times. I didn't see the sign but I would like to think I was eating above a room where a lot of people were praying. I'm an atheist myself but I appreciate the hearts of people who pray and I like to be around them as long as they are people of love. I sensed no ill will there and didn't feel out of place. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go back before I leave town. I only wish I could sample a little of each option. Maybe I'll have the daal next time. read more

My friend told me about this place near red line Clark/division station. We went to get dinner. There was a decent number of people, but we didn't have to wait. We got frontier chicken, which was great, chicken curry, which was good too and the mutton korma, this curry was tasting really good! We got naan, but it was hard! I would recommend getting the roti(chapathi) as this was getting done fresh in the kitchen and soft compared to the naan. We got the samosas as well, I didn't like it, the outer shell was thick and damp, usually they are crisp. Our dishes were cold, I saw them heating it up in a microwave, so maybe this place is good for lunch? I loved the mango shake(lassi) and dessert(moong dal halwa). read more

Tabaq Restaurant - Chicken curry, frontier chicken, and samosas with chutney. - Pakistani Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Where should I start for this place... 1. Open 24/7.... 2. Nice Warm food everytime 3. Better than all the overly priced so-called Indian restaurants in downtown chicago. 4. No fuss place. 5. The meats are very authentic and very nice. 6. Super cheap. read more

Be aware that many of the people reviewing this place are reviewing take out orders and have never set foot inside. I'm all for a good dive/hole in the wall, but this is beyond that. Everything is served cafeteria style and the food has been sitting out a while. Before serving to you they throw it in the microwave. So while this may be authentic, it's pre-prepared and reheated. That's not really what I'm looking for when I want authentic Pakistani food and it points to why this place has a 78/100 health score. I was surprised to see that many of the people who have visited in person said the staff was really friendly to them. We did not have this experience. One person made us feel welcome and the rest treated us like we were an inconvenience at best. The TV that displayed the menu had a notification blocking half of the offerings and so we asked if they had a physical menu we could see. Even though we showed them that we couldn't see most of the menu the response was basically exasperation. Eventually, the one friendly staff member noticed that we were unable to see the menu and got us a copy of their takeout menu. The food was alright--we ended up ordering from what was available and weren't really sure what we ended up with. I might have had a more positive reaction if it wasn't reheated in the microwave. I will say the naan was excellent. But who wants the best part of a meal to be the bread? Bottom line, we won't be coming back. The mediocre food isn't worth the risk of food poisoning and feeling like you're not welcome there. read more

I've never had Pakistani food before but this really hit the spot. The restaurant is open 24 hours and is usually filled with cab drivers. Parking is hard to find! We felt a little out of place when we walked in (I was the only girl out of 20 or so patrons!) but there was a guy who was very welcoming and friendly. They don't have any signs up about how the process works, but basically you have two options: small for 7.99 or large for 10.99. You can pick one entree, and then you have the choice or rice or naan. They have lots of options, including vegetarian dishes. Everything is already cooked and out for you to see, kind of like a cafeteria. We went with the lamb briyani and the goat. I would highly recommend the naan- it was fresh and toasty and delicious. You get four giant pieces. The goat was okay- there wasn't a whole lot of it, but I enjoyed dipping my naan in the sauce. The briyani was decent too. It tastes better when you mix in other sauces. You also get a small side salad. So you order your food, sit down, and they call you up to get your food when it is ready. Then, you enjoy your meal, go up to pay, and leave your dishes on the table. 5 stars for amazing prices and really large portions. The two of us ate until we were stuffed and still had a ton of leftovers, which were still good the next day! Also, customer service was great. If you are reallt hungry, you should check this place out! read more

Tabaq Restaurant - Lamb briyani- small (7.99) - Pakistani Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My wife and I have often driven past this restaurant in a non-descript area of Clybourn. We had always noticed a lot of cabdrivers frequented Tabaq (always a good sign!) and my wife, who's Pakistani, and I thought we'd give it a try. There are very few truly authentic Pakistani restaurants off of Devon and the few that we've found were either overpriced (compared to Devon) or unsanitary. We've finally found our go-to place! The food is fantastic, authentic, spicy and reasonably priced. It's also only 3/4 mile from our home when we're craving Paki cuisine. We had the Frontier chicken, Biryani, Nihari, and samosas. It was outstanding across the board. The one complaint was the temperature of the food but it's not a place where you want to dine in anyway and we just warmed it up at home. Highly recommended! read more

Totally unexpected delicious food! Area is sketchy (to put it mildly) and I truly did not expect much coming in. Yelp reeled me in and I am thankful for it. The interiors are plain, clean and completely fuss free. Seems like a close knit community that gathers here to drink tea, eat biryani and discuss current affairs. The food is the REAL deal. They were out of chicken biryani so I got the goat biryani instead. Perfectly spiced, but I do wish there was more meat to match the proportions of rice. My husband got the frontier chicken and it was delicious too. Definitely great fix for Indian/Pakistani food in the old town area if you don't feel like driving all the way to Devon. read more

Amazing food. This is like Chutney in SF. Cheap, authentic delicious food in a humble setting. I ordered the frontier chicken which seemed to be chicken tikka chopped up into smaller pieces and juicier. It came with 2 chapatis (you can also have 1 naan instead, and you know it's real naan from their tandoor), a simple side salad (lettuce, carrots, onion, jalapeno slices), green yoghurt dip (wonderful - not as spicy as it usually is in other restaurants), and your choice of veg side dish (I chose matar which is a kind of green pea cooked in sauce, but you can also choose daal) which was super. All for $7.99.... wooooow Note that the chapatis are more like thin naan rather than the crispy sheets you might be used to in Indian restaurants. This is a really relaxed joint; no waiters; service from a catatonic old dude at the counter. Come here for the food; the ambience isn't fancy but the food is straight up delicious, homecooked, and comforting. read more

I'm a big fan of spicy food and there're very small number of restaurants in/around Chicago that serve authentic Indian/Pakistani food and this is one among them. The good thing is, you don't have to empty your wallet to get food for a group/family. The price is generally $9.99 for a full entry that includes a curry, roti/naan and a small salad. Their chicken biryani, frontier chicken, haleem are really good. I always bike there and get a carry out order, so never cared about the ambiance. But if you're looking for dining with family/office team, i would recommend finding an other place. Other than that, this place is great! Pros - Freshly made and authentic, Cheap, Free street parking. Cons - Ambiance and Location (Cabbie joint, not recommended for fancy dining) read more

Finally a good Pakistani restaurant in the city! I was a bit skeptical about this place considering its a cabbie joint and the sighting of any females in here is a rarity. I decided to check this place out and I was impressed! It's definitely not a fancy place but who cares! No frills = good food at an affordable price! MUST HAVES: The chicken biryani and frontier chicken are delicious DESERT: Gulab jamun PS,, don't try to to bring any alcohol in here, it is far from a BYOB type of place. read more

Their delivery service with Grubhub is horrible. They take the order and you get a text saying that your delivery is on its way, and then you get a call from Grubhub saying the restaurant canceled the order, you get another text saying track your delivery, shows delivery is on its way, and then your Grubhub app shows that the order is canceled and refunded. Happened many times. After 30-45 mins, your order is canceled, and you are left to look for another restaurant and order. What a waste. As for the food itself, their biryani used to be great, but then it became mostly just rice with a couple of bone pieces of goat! read more

I think this place is great. It is no frills for sure, so the complaints about service are sort of misplaced. What service are you talking about? You order at the counter and pick up your own food, pay when you are finished. Now to that food, I think it is very tasty. Like I said previously, it is no frills. We have never had anything made to order and just get what is in the serving dishes. This sort of food isn't suppose to be made to order and is generally slow cooked so don't be turned off by the fact it is sitting there. I really like the rice mix they have with chicken and some excellent clove flavors. I don't know what else is in it but it is like Asian Dirty Rice and comes as part of the combo special. The choices seem to vary and all have been good, some more so then other for sure. Last time we go a fish curry that was excellent and unlike anything I have had before here or otherwise. O, there is a prayer room downstairs if you are in the mood. It is also open 24/7 to satisfy that curry urge after a night of drinking. O, am I the only one. Tabaq, Exactly. RrL read more

We landed in Chicago on a Sunday night and knew we would venture to Devon street for an authentic Pakistani/Indian meal...but we broke down the first night decided to give Tabq a shot as it was in the city and naturally the cabbie knew where to go. So, its a cafeteria style spot where the cabbis go--hence it must be GOOD!! The young guy who was taking orders let us taste a few different dishes and we ended up getting the pillao, goat curry and a naan. First off the portions are huge but that does not equate to lack of taste as the food was delish. The pillao was great and so was the goat curry. The only downside was that I wish they could deliver to our hotel. But overall, if in the city this is a solid spot for Indian/Pakistani food. read more

Tabaq is an authentic Indo / Pak mughlai dhaba (cafe) style food where what you see is what you get. There is nothing made to order, you get what has been made fresh that day. There are pros and cons of this approach I had the green daal - good, not spicy, goat korma - great and spciy, chicken biryani - great and spciy, naan, mango lassi and chai. Food was flavorful = fair amount of oil. Leaves you full for the entire day, and you can skip dinner or double up on the cholestrol meds. Meal was shared with my little 5 year old who pretty much ate the naan with yogurt because everything was spicy for her, she's 5 after all ! Cash register is manned by a young fellow by the name of Javaad who is a co-owner and he really took care of us. When I complained that my goat curry was mostly bones, he brought some pieces with meat. Food was decent and the service was good, it was a late sunday afternoon so not many people Having lived in and around downtown Manhattan and San Fran where arguably the best Indo or Pak restaurants are to be found, I have been disappointed in not having anywhere near the same in downtown Chicago. Why is that I wonder?? read more

I had an excellent meal at Tabaq last night with a friend, my first time there. It was very clean and well lit inside. Not much atmosphere, but the fast, delicious, plentiful, and affordable food is the main draw. You order at the back, picking out a main entree (all fresh, already prepared) and choose a side of rice, chapati or naan. Eight of the ten or so entrees were meat-based, so I chose the lentils with naan. My friend selected chicken kebabs with rice. They supplemented both our meals with delicious baked squash (the other veggie entree) and a small side salad with yogurt dressing. Even though the portions were huge, we ate most of it as everything was quite delicious. My favorite was the baked squash. We were charged $8 each which included a drink. The young man who I am assuming is the owner was super friendly, asked for our feedback, and invited us to return... and I certainly will! read more

Subhan Allah , I didn't expect to find this Musjed , mosque underneath Tabaq Restaurant, its nice place , cozy , may Allah put Baraka on the people who made it easy for us to pray at this place read more

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The best Indian/Pakistani food. Though its a Cabbie place, but its very clean. I've tried 4-5 restaurents on Devon, believe me their food is not authentic, they use readymade spices which is bad for health. At this place the food tastes and feels really good, specially whole wheat Naans, they are good. Parking is free on the road and its open 24 hours. Staff is really nice and courteous. I'm Indian and a good cook myself, I strongly recommend this place. Authentic taste. read more

Omg why I didn't discover this amazing place before !!! This place is always open !!! I ordered food for delivery and the delivery was surprisingly so quick !!! The portion sizes are HUGEEE!!! Food is fresh and yummm!!! You guys keep it up!!! read more

If you live in Chicago, you are Indian/Pakistani and you've had great Indian food....this place will be a nightmare to you. I would rather drive all the way to Devon Avenue then have food here. The place is a pit, it smells like toilets/sewage, it's expensive, and the food is old/grose. I would never go back. Two stars for having a prayer area in the basement....other than that...stay away. read more

Every bite a delight! I had never had Pakistani food before. Jumped in and went with the goat curry, which was through the roof delicious, emphatically seasoned but not burn-your-esophagus spicy. My husband ordered chicken, which was easier to eat (no bones) and almost as good. We told the young guy at the counter that we were noobies and he was super-helpful, describing what they had to offer this evening and giving us bread options. We'd read that the naan here was wonderful so we asked for that and weren't disappointed. Also gilded the lily with an order of pakoras (veggie fritters) that were totally unnecessary. They were reheated in the microwave and a little soft, so half a star off for that. We mostly ate Pakistani-style (with our hands, using bread to scoop up the stews) and washed down our dinner with mango shakes that were the perfect foil to the main dishes. Yes, there were five taxicabs parked out front when we walked in. It seems to be the kind of place where single men hang out with their guy friends. There were no other women in the place and although nobody gave me attitude, it just felt a little weird, so that's where they lost the other half a star. And I'm glad I was there with my husband, and now I feel weird even writing that! Still, go for the food. And the guy at the counter couldn't have been nicer or more welcoming. read more

Review is for carryout - hubby brought home some frontier chicken, chicken chargha i think and naans. We wanted biryani/some sort of rice.. but they didn't have any on a Sunday night. Frontier chicken was yummy...but nothing out of this world. Same with the chargha. I felt like the food was flavorful without being spicy. Tandoori/chargha or whatever...that was kind of disappointing in the spice department cos i like my tandoori to be really spicy and smokey. The naan were delicious and warm. Erm...we got two free 'sides' - vegetable dish and lentils. They were ok. I want to try their biryani to really see how good their food is. So, hopefully next time. read more

Food wise, it is a typical Pakistani restaurant for cabbies/ late nighters in chicago. Like other Paki places, a vegetarian will have limited options - dal, chhole and palak. But the Pakistani naan always rocks. What I found interesting was that dine in is cheaper than take out. Latter is almost $3 more per dish. We had two orders of chhole egg curry as dal was out of stock. I loved the food and the raita. The owners are very friendly and welcoming and don't charge you for additional raita and stuff. The place itself is kept clean and street parking is free in the night. If you don't wanna hit gareeb nawaz at night then this is the perfect place around downtown to hang out with friends, strangers and family. read more

Wow. I have a new favorite food. Who would have ever guessed it would be called biryani. I'm not even sure I'm spelling or pronouncing it correctly. But I love this place. Super staff, clean place, food is fast and delicious. Small space but that's okay. I'm not here for the atmosphere. I'm here for the biryani. read more