soups are fantastic! love the yemenite soup and my favorite is the hummus with onions and mushrooms I could eat this every night for dinner! read more

The best Shawarma in town love there food. The taste was like in Israel.

I have been eating so many times, lunch or dinner and I think it is a wonderful place to eat good food. Those with bad reviews, maybe you should look at your behavior before you talk about the other people who are working for you to feel good. Lafa is amazing, homemade, but do not count your calories...whenever you go try their chicken pita or beef... read more

Mix combo my favorite appetizer I like Middle Eastern food and that's my favorite place :-)) I'm definitely coming back again read more

Excellent and open relatively late. They stop seating at 9. Try the dark chicken steak and fresh herb mint tea.

The food is Great! Fast service! I like the atmoshere, sounds like home!

The shawarma and falafel - I imagine those are the two items that most people would order here - are pretty good. Not too oily, and they do a pretty good job of stuffing the pitas or lafas. I've always wished for better pickles on the table, and more quality sides and salads to choose from on top of your sandwich. In most similar places in Israel, which is pretty much what Taboun is aiming for, you can get tons of different stuff on top of your pita. Still though, good food, and when you take the Kosher factor into account, very reasonably priced. read more

Excellent kosher Israeli food, best in the Chicago area. Clean, high quality dishes. Service is slow, particularly Sunday nights when it can be very busy, but they are generally very nice. Keep in mind it's kosher meat so prices are a bit on the high side. read more

Just had lunch there yesterday, the chicken thigh were really good, but the hummus with the mushroom and onion was my favorite, service was fast and professional, I would eat there at least ones a week if I was living in Skokie :) read more

I love that they finally opened in Skokie, we use to go to their Chicago location but only to take out. Now that they are in Skokie whenever we have guest we take them there. They have the most authentic israeli cooking around. Its abit more pricey than other middle eastern restaurants in the area that are not kosher, but well worth it. The portions are so large we normally split items. I recommend leaving room for dessert because the owners mother makes an amazing layer cake that you can't believe has no dairy (parve) in it. If you go as a couple I would recommend ordering a few of the appetizers and then share an entree and dessert. It will be more than enough food. read more

I am experiencing something very rare for the places I review. Usually I can compartmentalize each aspect of a restaurant, but for the first time in recent memory I am holding something usually peripheral as a primary judging factor. That factor in this instance is price, and usually it is an afterthought. Long story short, this place is pricey, really pricey, so much so that it affects my decision to return here. To be fair, this is the first Israeli restaurant I've visited. I can although compare Taboun Grill to several Middle Eastern restaurants. Compared to said restaurants, it's REALLY expensive. Is the food good, yes, very good in fact. was the place clean and nicely decorated? Yes to both. Then why you might ask is it not worth the previously mentioned prices? It's just not, plain and simple. I can go to several places quite close, and get similar quality food at a fraction of the cost. Nuff said read more

While the food is pretty good, the wait staff can be extremely rude. The big guy with the beard is especially curt and abrasive.

Fantastic kosher Middle Eastern cuisine! Wonderful management and staff, conveniently located.

Nice restaurant and staff, but I was a bit unimpressed with the food. I grew up with borek and kibbe, and I missed it, so I tried the appetizer platter, but the flavor at Taboun is too harsh with a lot of spice and none of the sweeter notes other restaurants deploy. So I probably won't come again. Sticking to Zad, which I also recently tried. read more

I've been coming here at least every other month and the food is always delicious and fresh. My daughter said it is better than the same things in Israel. There is a level of quality that surpasses every other Mediterranean eatery. read more

best schwarma in Chicago. Love the chicken tenders

We already love the food at Taboun, so we were excited to see they do catering too. This review is for Taboun's amazing catering. The owner, Anat, took a tremendous amount of time and effort with us, and our menu. We had a lot of vegetarians coming, so she tried several versions of what are normally meat dishes at Taboun, using meat substitutes, so we could see what they'd taste like. Now THAT is effort. She made us feel iike family, as we nibbled our way through her offerings in two different impromptu tasting sessions. She took good notes, made thoughtful suggestions, and the food turned out to be the easiest (and probably will be the best-remembered) part of our celebration. She willingly worked with our desire to cook and add to our menu a family soup recipe--no ego about it. Every dish arrived exactly as planned and promised (a day early, wrapped to be prepared or served the next day under Sabbath restrictions--MORE work, also done perfectly). The food was as tasty as it is at Taboun's tables, and she kept our budge on track, too ("No, you don't need that much bread...") We wish we had more family occasions that merited Taboun's talents, but we'll keep returning to her restaurant as customers in any case. read more

I ate there with two kids. They finished their food, but it doesn't mean it was good. The food is not horrible, but it is not great either. The shish kabob was not bad. The shawarma reasonable. Everything else was not interesting or greasy. Way too pricey for what it is. I do not recommend this place. read more

Enjoy the food, the atmosphere, the only place worth spending money on when going out for kosher food.

My party and I dined at Taboun last night. It was clear there was a problem from the minute I walked in and the place was filled with smoke. I considered leaving but was meeting others. By the time the party arrived, the place had cleared out a bit. Soon after we ordered we had to walk outside to breathe. This went on for another 45 minutes. There was no offer to discount our food, provide dessert or any other way to make up for the fact that their ventilation system was not working, the sprinklers were off (had to be or in addition to being smokey, would have been wet!). They should have closed....it was hard to enjoy the food given the air quality. Epic fail Taboun! read more

Taboun Grill is just that: A grill place. Very high noise level. Wooden tables. The food is good, but nothing to rave about. Because they have a captive audience (People who only eat Kosher food), they charge almost twice what it's worth. If you don't have to eat Kosher, other places, such as Pita Inn, would be my suggestion. We went with a large group, and were served several appetizers which were serviceable. We expected an entree, but soon realized that the appetizers were the entree! Coffee or tea were never even offered. We left hungry and disappointed. Too bad. read more

During early September, Anat, an owner of Taboun, helped me plan a dinner party for 40, through text messages as well as emails. (from 950 miles away) She was always accommodating and helpful with my menu, table arrangements including my bringing decorative placemats, napkins, and flowers. The tables were festive, ready for our celebration. Anat and her "team" of three women were gracious to my guests. Each woman worked hard during those three hours to provide outstanding service. The meal was delicious, each and every item. Hummus, baba ganoush, falafel, warm moist fluffy pita were appetizers. Abundant plattersful of tender beef kabobs, shwarma, chicken breast kabobs all flavorful and nicely presented. Serving bowlsful of scrumptious onion mashed potatoes, crunchy, cold Israeli salads, condiments, beautifully arranged platters of melons with pineapple. The restaurant prepared an over-the-top cream cake and other desserts. The servers, always smiling, friendly, replenished coffees, fresh mint teas, sodas, without pause. They carefully packaged any remaining food. Anat has set a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The chef and cooking staff outdid themselves. That Thursday evening was a PERFECT PARTY. This is gratefully submitted. read more

Great home cooked Middle Eastern food. The schwarma is always fresh.

I had driven by this place numerous times. I decided to try it out because it is new and 5 minutes from my home. I peeked inside and saw that there were families with small children, so I was relieved. We brought our infant and 3 year old. We waited 15 minutes for a server to take our order. While this might be ok in a busy restaurant, this place had several young girls talking near the counter. Two of the girls passed us up 3 times to ask other tables if they needed anything and if they were ok. The person who finally took our order was NOT friendly at all. We got our food quickly, but no one ever came back to check on us. We needed water and sauce, and again were passed up over and over again to other tables. Maybe because we were asian, the servers didn't think we deserved their time. We didn't feel like we were wanted in this restaurant. As soon as we finished, my husband didn't even wait for them to bring us the bill. He went straight to the counter and told them about how terrible the service was. My husband really believes that if we were handing in a bus boy application, we would have gotten more attention from them. This aside, the food wasn't terrible. I don't know if the food was worth the price...the service definitely wasn't. If you are jewish, israeli, or caucasian, I'm sure they will treat you with the utmost respect and service. If you are not, don't count on being treated well. I told my coworkers at Lutheran General about this place. Most of them are Jewish. They are grossly disappointed that we were treated that way. They were so ashamed of this behavior, they had to apologize for the restaurant! Oh, I should add that they did try some recovery service after my husband told them about being ignored. We were almost out the door, when the gentleman at the counter asked my husband to come back in. He gave him a piece of cake. read more

We found it particularly unusual that the service was well below par at our recent dinner. The restaurant was nearly empty and we had the most rude and non-attentive server ever. We didn't want to be fawned over, but we were glared at, interrupted while we were in conversation to get our order, and generally left with a feeling that we were not welcome. To make matters worse, when we left, after getting the "its time you leave since we want to go home look", we were nearly knocked over by our server as she left as we were continuing our evening out on the sidewalk. I guess when a business states on the window that they close at 10, 9:45 is close enough. We have been customers for many years, starting at the Chicago location, and while the service has been not polished, we have never felt like this before. In today's economic climate, it shocks us that any business would go out of their way to alienate a large party of frequent diners. Maybe we will all be less frequent from now on. read more

Really great mid-eastern food. Pricing is a little high--but not out of range for a kosher restaurant. Service is excellent.

I have 2 carry -out lunches about 1.5 months apart and both times the moroccan cigars were overcooked , split open and greasy. The rest of the sampler was just o.k. The baba ganoush and hummos are both really good. I will try one more time, if the food is over cooked again I will shred the menu we have in the office. 3 strikes and you're out. read more

First time at Taboun Grill. The atmosphere is diner, very bright lights and no ambiance. So if you are looking for a nice place to have a quiet dinner this is not it. Service is good and the food is plentiful. The baba ganoush is unlike any I've had before, hard to tell where the eggplant was in this dish, it was very creamy I think it was basically mayo. We didn't try the hummus hopefully that's better. We used a WBEZ Member Card that is supposed to give up to $16 off. Basically, buy one, get one. We ordered baba for $6 and two entrees, the lamb chops were $27 and the chicken $19. When we got the check back they had taken off $6 for the baba! I asked the waitress and she said they take off the cheapest item. What the .... I asked to speak to the manager who said the same thing. So, if we hadn't ordered the appetizer then you would have taken off $16?? Finally she got it and said ok, they would take $16 off the bill. She was not happy about it. I caution anyone using the WBEZ card to beware of this and inquire before you order to make sure you get the proper credit. read more

Fan- freaking-tastic. The food is awesome. There is an obnoxious waitress that I dread seeing, but other than her this place is a great kosher joint in skokie with awesome middle eastern food. Best shwarma in chicago! read more

The food here was delicious! My whole family liked it, which can sometimes be hard to please everyone. The schwarma wa a favorite and the appitizers were delicious! The place is very clean and the waiters were friendly. read more

Excellent place! They newly opened and is nothing but a great success. I do love the food at the other location though!

Just went here 4 the first time. The food was absolutely delicious and amazing. But I don't thing I would come back just bc of the insanely rude waitress. Also location is super far. Horrible service read more

Great service, in fact it was stellar from the moment we walked in until we were done. I keep gluten free in solidarity with my daughters who both have Celiac disease. They weren't with me but I think this place would be pretty safe for them. The pickled appetizers that came automatically were excellent, especially the garlicky pickled beets. My chicken kabobs were yummy. The full meal comes with 2 sides and they informed me that I could do a half order of the meat and still get both sides, so that cut down on the expense and was just the right amount of food for me. I never get to order french fries out because they are usually fried in the same oil as breaded items, but here they assured me that only potatoes were cooked in this oil so I got them. What a treat! I wasn't wild about the red cabbage salad because I don't like mayonnaise but it was fine. I would have preferred a vinegar dressing. My father-in-law got lamb chops which were cooked perfectly to his liking, grilled onions, pita, and Israeli salad. He wolfed everything. I had fresh mint tea which got me nostalgic for Israel. All in all, a very pleasant dinner. read more