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    The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen

    4.7 (677 reviews)
    Open 4:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen Takeout or Delivery

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    THE GUNDIS KURDISH KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Baba Ganoush
    Aly M.

    Presentation was decent but food quality very poor. Some ingredients like the mushrooms and other vegetables were from a can. Meat was tough. Was not of the quality or freshness I would consume.

    Mashed potatoes
    Jill R.

    We finally had the opportunity to eat at Gundis tonight. We really had a enjoyable experience and I would highly recommend it. I liked the fact that there were plenty of options for my vegetarian husband. I am now a fan of Kurdish food. The environment was warm and welcoming and it was packed on a Saturday night. I will say it was initially very noisy but got significantly quieter as people left. We had great service and our drinks, appetizer and main meals were served with great timing. We started with the sampler plate, which included baba ghanoush, octopus salad, ezme (a Kurdish dish) and hummus. The bread it was served with was delicious. I did feel like everything on the sampler plate, apart from the baba ghanoush, had a similar taste. I think the similarity in taste came from the same seasoning on everything. We still enjoyed it despite. I did love my dinner which was grilled octopus with spicy lemon yogurt and roasted vegetables with mashed potatoes. The potatoes weren't super hot but they tasted great. The portion sizes were very generous. Everyone in our party enjoyed their meal. I would definitely come back as there are so many great options on the menu that I would love to try. I also liked the atmosphere and location. Parking can be challenging so give yourself time.

    Veggie scramble
    Anna T.

    I love the brunch here but not a big fan of the dinner. Service was great all around, lots of seating too! To start we got the calamari, I love calamari. This wasn't cooked great- extra chewy. For my main I got the fries and the goat cheese and lentil soup. The fries were great! The soup was really lacking flavor. The lentils are also blended so you don't get the texture. I would come for breakfast/brunch as that menu has many options and is great!

    Sanika P.

    Gundis food and service makes you feel the same way when you're invited to someone's house for a meal. It's wholesome, hearty portions, and filled with absolutely unique flavours. The grilled calamari was a party favourite for appetiser. You can't get enough of the jus with the bread. If you're a meat eater, the lamb shank is to die for- the meat melts off the bone. Highly recommend the rice pudding w apricot- its cinnamon-y and the absolute best way to end a meal

    Spicy Red Lentil Soup
    Leyang Z.

    Located in Lakeview, it is said to be the first Kurdish restaurant in Chicago. I ordered the red lentil soup and Mardin. Both of them were new to me and delicious. I never had **red** lentil soup before. Its darlk orange-red color seemed to come from both the red lentils and spices like chili and paprika. It was topped with smoky Isot pepper and a mild chili powder, giving the soup a subtle heat and complex, raisin-chocolate taste. So rich. But once I added some lemon juice it became refreshing. The Mardin was basically chunks of grilled beef (I chose medium rare) over a bed of creamy eggplant puree, topped with a mixture of vegetables. The puree contained small cubes of eggplant and eggplant seeds, and had a slight hint of creaminess. The beef was quite tender and fresh. Recommended. I also want to mention their naan-style bread. Not salty at all--they just let the food speak for itself. Good for pairing with the soup and Mardin.

    Kurdish Coffee
    Minaxi S.

    The only reason we visited this place was because it was recommended by someone we trust and boy did we love it. Both our host and sever were really polite. Since this was our first time trying Kurdish cuisine, our server recommended Kurdish coffee for caffeine free drinks and Ezme. Both were delicious. They have some really nice vegetarian options. We ordered the beet salad and couscous entree. Portion sizes were perfect which meant we did not have to carry any leftovers. Ambiance was nice and relaxing. Much needed respite after walking around Chicago on a sunny day!

    Matt B.

    Our server was very accommodating- Luckman was his name. We started with soups and move on to the main course. Tea and dessert were gifted to us The inside is very soft light and gives a good and relaxing feeling.

    Brunch
    Natalie N.

    Stopped in for the kurdish breakfast on a weekend. The restaurant is cute and bright, great for a brunch location. I loved the kurdish breakfast experience. Our favorites were the bread and jams, the cheese bread, and the baklawa crepes that we ordered in addition. We got the veggie scramble and I do think it could use some more flavor, and it was slightly watery but overall everything was good. Service was also very attentive and I had several refills of my tea.

    Soft Scramble and Lamb
    Ginger S.

    Food was delicious. We ordered the Soft Egg with Lamb. It was bursting with flavors. The Octopus Salad was fresh and the octopus pieces were tender. Service was quick and it was nicely decorated.

    Halloumi Cheese Salad
    Suhani A.

    This place has great service, lovely ambiance, and delicious food! They have 3 main vegetarian options and some different vegetarian salads and appetizers. I loved the halloumi salad--their halloumi is cooked differently than the usual and has a wonderful taste; dressing is also very mild but fresh. The pasta was absolutely amazing; I was shocked at how well the tofu went with the dish. The pasta felt very warm and homey--I would say it's between a soup and a pasta because the sauce is more watery but absolutely delicious. All the flavors were great and I will def be back to try more dishes! (I was very upset they didn't have Kurdish coffee or hummus when I visited, but the food makes up for it!)

    Kurdish Breakfast for Two
    Anthony D.

    After walking past The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen and always seeing it packed we decided to give it a try. I definitely recommend making a reservation, otherwise you'll probably be waiting. the staff busses tables extremely quickly, but patrons won't be rushed to leave. We went with the Kurdish Breakfast for two and chose the Lamb Scramble. It's comes with house tea, but we also tried the Kurdish Coffee as it was a popular item. It is definitely enough food for two, maybe three people and you don't feel heavy after. The scramble was soft and filled with peppers and onions, delicious. The jams and jellies were fresh and flavorful. You get orange, apricot, and strawberry. Also honey, butter, a sesame butter (more savory), and black & green olives. It also has some cheese and what are essentially cheese sticks. Overall it was fantastic and highly recommend it. This area of Clark Street has great restaurants.

    Kurdish breakfast
    Veda M.

    Came here on a Saturday afternoon with friends to try the Kurdish breakfast & it was awesome! The breakfast includes a scramble of choice (we went with veggie scramble), 3 varieties of jams, sesame bread, honey, butter, olives, sesame butter, fries, 3 types of cheese, fried cheese rolls, tomatoes, cucumber, and unlimited tea. We also ordered turkish coffees which were well loved by everyone. The spread was amazing. Everything was fresh & we loved every single item! We all left The Gundis feeling happy & with full bellies!

    Brunch for two spread and octopus salad
    Brianna R.

    Had the brunch for two and chose the lamb option. Also ordered the octopus salad. Everything tasted fresh and in season. They were out of the Kurdish coffee so had the tea instead. Service was great!

    Crusted Isot Salmon

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    3 months ago

    Burnt food, loud establishment impossible to hear each other, rude service, no idea what reservations mean. Will not be back

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    The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

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    Taste of Lebanon - Lamb Kabob Wrap

    Taste of Lebanon

    4.6(880 reviews)
    3.1 miAndersonville, Ravenswood, Uptown
    $

    A red awning with a cypress tree covering the entrance to one of Chicago's famous…read more"hole-in-the-wall" urban eateries and all that announces the presence of one of the city's best Lebanese/Mediterranean restaurants. This place has all the staples you expect in Levant cuisine, and best of all, they do everything well! I love this place because it's no frills, inexpensive, quick, and SO GOOD. The hummus is fantastic, and the falafel is some of the best I've had, but my hands down favourite item is the Chicken Shwarma Wrap. That's the winner for me. The crew here was very accommodating with catering when we had a company event... and I watched a huge tray of wraps disappear in what seemed like minutes, so I can attest they were popular with our attendees. This place is truly are more than meets the eye.

    In this day and age, even though the prices have gone up at Taste of Lebanon, they're still okay…read morecompared to other places making similar food. I enjoyed my beef shawarma over baba ghanoush plate, ~$11 (it made quite a filling lunch!) although I would've loved if they'd thrown some pickled veg in there. The beef shawarma is a bit different from shawarma I've had elsewhere--almost ground beef-like in texture--but the flavor was pretty good. Their baba ghanoush is also creamier than others I've had, seems quite similar to their hummus, with a lot of tahini mixed in maybe? I didn't love their chicken shawarma wrap in the past, but that might be because I'm not that into their hot sauce. I'd love to get their veggie platter sometime! Service is friendly and quick. Cash only.

    Photos
    Taste of Lebanon - Menu

    Menu

    Taste of Lebanon - Chicken Shawarma Wrap and Fries with Garlic Sauce

    Chicken Shawarma Wrap and Fries with Garlic Sauce

    Taste of Lebanon - Chicken Hummus w/ Pita & Veggies on the side

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    Chicken Hummus w/ Pita & Veggies on the side

    Sinya Mediterranean Grill - Mediterranean Salad with Chicken Shawarma

    Sinya Mediterranean Grill

    4.8(291 reviews)
    1.7 miRoscoe Village

    We were in the area and I was craving some shawarma and stumbled upon this little gem…read more My partner got the gyro plate and we agreed we could've shared that together! Portions were huge. Rice was super flavorful as was the gyro meat. We both agreed this dish was the star! The pita bread was fluffy but crispy at the same time. I got the Mediterranean chicken shawarma salad and it was flavorful! The chicken itself was kind of dry but it tasted great. Salad was fresh and light. Excellent quality of ingredients. Got a baklava because it was staring me in the face; yummy but very honey forward. Not my favorite but not the worst, probably would just try something else next time. The restaurant itself was very simple, nothing to see except the menu and the kitchen. The service was great and it came out crazy quick. The cashier was personable and the kitchen staff seemed chill. Definitely a good spot to try!

    The food was great, service was good and they were very quick and efficient…read more The one thing I like about this place is that they use a very thin slicer to pull the gyros and you do not see a lot of places do that anymore. The thin gyros makes for such a nice wrap or sandwich. Please don't change that! The chicken is cooked nicely and has a little tartness to it which pairs nicely with the tahini and red sauce within the wrap. Overall, the place has great food at a great price and a great pick up spot if you're in the mood for some thinly sliced meats.

    Photos
    Sinya Mediterranean Grill - Veggie Combination Plate

    Veggie Combination Plate

    Sinya Mediterranean Grill - Kefta Kabob Entree

    Kefta Kabob Entree

    Sinya Mediterranean Grill - Kefta Kabob Wrap

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    Kefta Kabob Wrap

    Ragadan - Thee ragas

    Ragadan

    4.6(110 reviews)
    1.9 miUptown
    $$

    With limited time for dinner and uncertainty/disagreement about what we were in the mood for, this…read morewas such a good choice. What are the odds one restaurant can be a serious contender for the best falafel AND the best burgers in town? I've been there a few times and I'm in love with the ka'ak patty melt burger. Its not only melted cheese and grilled onions. It's bacon and jalapeño and za'ater mayonnaise. And it's two burgers. Served on an amazing sesame loaf. We split it and fries (also delicious with za'atar seasoning) and that was plenty.. But the onion burger is also pretty great. And you have to get the falafel. Also the onion rings. You may want to skip lunch. Ragadan has quickly become one of the first places I think of when we consider picking up dinner somewhere. We've eaten in, but there's not a lot of ambience. And even though they have a powerful space heater, the dining area is kind of cold in the winter. The kitchen is open though, so you end up interacting with the friendly staff. It's a bonus to see how clean they keep the kitchen.

    I had Ragadan saved for so long, as a burger guy, you know that took some will power and every time…read moreI wanted to come, they were either closed or we were too far away. But on this day, everything aligned, we picked up some cupcakes from Jennivee's and I found street parking in one minute flat and walked over here. It's a nice and inviting space and there's a lot going on in here with the owners being from Jordan, the chefs being Mexican, the burgers being Oklahoma style smash burgers. We were talking to this dude with his girl and he was from Italy and he seemed to have enjoyed his burger as well. We get double protein as much as possible as we're big eaters and the double pattie OK smash cheeseburger was excellent. The Ragadan salad was different with kale and it was pretty good (bright, fresh, and colorful) with extra kefta beef patties. We also smuggled in those Jennivee's cupcakes and ate them after our peaceful meal here in Uptown, which happens to be my old hood. I still remember eating sardines for dinner, just like Biggie. :)

    Photos
    Ragadan - View from tables

    View from tables

    Ragadan - Kefta Burger, French Fries

    Kefta Burger, French Fries

    Ragadan - Looking out, onto Broadway

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    Looking out, onto Broadway

    Cafe Yaya - Shakshuka bun

    Cafe Yaya

    3.8(98 reviews)
    0.6 miLincoln Park, DePaul

    First things first, cafe yaya is by the same group that operates galit and is literally right next…read moreto galit! So if you aren't able to get a reservation at galit, cafe yaya is a great option to consider. Cafe yaya was a great experience for us! We had a prior reservation and came here for brunch. We ordered a bunch of things for the table, including the Yaya fries, shakshuka, veggie bowl with sweet potatoes, mushroom, some more veggies with a side of some slaw and a sauce, lamb burger, pistachio rose bun and a veggie twist (this was at the cafe counter). The food was good but for me he standout was the pistachio rose bun. Omg it was to die for, it was not overly sweet, very decadent and had a great amount of pistachios and rose flavor in it, YUMM! The veggie bowl and the shakshuka were decent. My friend loved his lamb burger. The veggie twist was ok, and our server had forgotten about it for a while so we got it late. Overall, the service was great! The server was super friendly, explained everything really well to us and even offered a replacement when I spilled my coffee. Very hospitable staff overall! The ambience was great! Felt like we were in a Mediterranean cafe.

    Tried a grain bowl recently for lunch, as there are no vegan breakfast options from what I could…read moretell (disappointing but I'm used to it), and it was alright but the upcharge for tofu was ridiculous. $6 tofu upcharge. Tofu is less than $2 per 14 oz pack and this is a lot less than a block. This may still be a fine price to pay for someone prepping my food were it not a miss. It feels like miscellaneous vegetables thrown together without much thought or anything to tie it all together. There's also completely random unadvertised services charges? Wtf? There's barely any service! The atmosphere is nice but the entryway is always crowded and chaotic, it's confusing when you enter the building. Overall disappointed. It's cute but really felt like I was getting charged nearly $25 for beans and rice. Wanted to like this place as it's near where I live and looked promising.

    Photos
    Cafe Yaya - Very nice interior space

    Very nice interior space

    Cafe Yaya - Challah french toast - awesome, great sharable

    Challah french toast - awesome, great sharable

    Cafe Yaya - Shakshuka bun

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    Shakshuka bun

    Galit - Iraqi Kubbeh Halab

    Galit

    4.1(542 reviews)
    0.6 miLincoln Park, DePaul
    $$$$

    Came as a solo diner after having tried Cafe Yaya. Absolutely delicious and a HUGE amount of food…read morefor one (they're meant to be sharing portions so for one I had plenty of leftovers, which were delicious the next day). The wait staff were SO sweet and did warn me about the portions so I didn't fill myself up too early! I could eat that hummus by itself with a spoon and be perfectly happy. LOVE the tiny little tasty side dishes! The highlights for me were the foie gras and the lamb chops, which were a special item: they were so tasty and juicy in their sauce and absolutely perfectly cooked. There were protestors outside who screamed at people coming in and out of the restaurant, but honestly obnoxious people like that just make me want to come back and support Galit MORE, not less.

    Galit offers a cozy four course meal that is both creative and filling. When we arrived, our table…read morewas not ready so we were seated at the bar. Service was fine but not overly warm, and since it was our first time, we found ourselves asking about the menu rather than having it introduced. The menu starts with a shared hummus. We had the bubbe's brisket, which was very tender, along with four sides to mix and dip with pita. For the second course, we chose the kubbeh halab and beef tongue. The kubbeh halab, a fried dumpling with lamb, was flavorful and came with some dill and brown sauce, that worked well together. The beef tongue was extremely tender and paired nicely with its rich sauce. The stuffed cabbage with rice was a bit plain compared to the other dishes. For mains, we had the barramundi and lobster. Both were cooked well. The sweet potato purée with the barramundi did not work as well with the beurre blanc since the textures were too similar, and there was a bit too much sauce. The lobster stood out with a citrus sauce and slices of blood orange, and paired nicely with the parsnip purée. Worth the additional $20. For dessert, we had the malabi, which was described to us like a panna cotta. The citrus topping was a bit too tart, so this was probably my least favorite course. Overall, really good execution on their meats and seafood. We would come back and try other dishes. They also offer a happy hour with some dishes available à la carte.

    Photos
    Galit - Fun

    Fun

    Galit - Beef tongue

    Beef tongue

    Galit - Grapefruit Grove Elixir

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    Grapefruit Grove Elixir

    The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen - mediterranean - Updated June 2026

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