Restaurant: Al Bawadi Grill
Address: 7216 W 87th Street, Bridgeview, Illinois 60455
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of Visit: 9/3/16
Background:
Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my latest review! After visiting two places in Atlanta, I am reviewing the places that I visited Chicago. The first place is called Al Bawadi Grill, located in the suburb of Bridgeview. Normally halal food is Chicago is associated with Devon Avenue or Lombard, but in Bridgeview, the nickname of the place is Little Palestine. And there lies a cluster of Arab businesses and halal restaurants. Most of the halal restaurants in Chicago are concentrated in Cook and DuPage counties. To be fair, Cook county is really big. Anyways, we came to Al Bawadi because my mom was going to meet a childhood friend of hers from her schooldays in India. After they arrived, we went inside.
Let The Experience Begin!
The inside was just awesome. The atmosphere was really nice, and it meant to look as if you were in the Middle East. They also had a huge table that could seat 10 people under a tent inside the restaurant. Basically, the inside is like Cafe Mawal back in Houston (based on pictures that I have seen of it), but with the tent inside with large tables, a bunch of tables with a TV playing, and no hookah. Seems like the sort of place that I would love to visit frequently if it were to be in Houston. What immediately struck me was the uniforms. The uniform was the traditional dress from Syria/Palestine. An older gentleman with a thobe and kuffiyah was going around offering Arabic coffee (which I took) in the traditional jugs and in the small coffee cups that are traditionally served. I do not remember going to any restaurant in such a long time where it was like this. Definitely a refreshing experience compared to what is the norm at most halal places. After talking for a bit, we were ready to order.
Let's Eat!
We ordered the Mashawi platter, two actually. It basically had all the meat options (shish kabab, kufta kabab, chicken kufta, shish tawook, quail, lamb chops, and shawarma meat), grilled onions and tomatoes served over biryani (not Indian/Pakistani) and saffron rice garnished with parsley and roasted almonds. We got one with the quail and one without the quail. Along with that came baba ghanoush, garlic sauce, pita, picked vegetables with Arab salsa, salad, and hummus. Boy they do know how to feed us lol. There were so many things that I found it hard to put them all on my Instagram pic.
Menu: http://www.albawadigrill.com/menu
This place has a really large menu for a Mediterranean place. They have breakfast as well. They have the regular popular shawarmas and kebabs as well as quail and lamb chops.
Address: 7216 W 87th Street, Bridgeview, Illinois 60455
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of Visit: 9/3/16
Background:
Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my latest review! After visiting two places in Atlanta, I am reviewing the places that I visited Chicago. The first place is called Al Bawadi Grill, located in the suburb of Bridgeview. Normally halal food is Chicago is associated with Devon Avenue or Lombard, but in Bridgeview, the nickname of the place is Little Palestine. And there lies a cluster of Arab businesses and halal restaurants. Most of the halal restaurants in Chicago are concentrated in Cook and DuPage counties. To be fair, Cook county is really big. Anyways, we came to Al Bawadi because my mom was going to meet a childhood friend of hers from her schooldays in India. After they arrived, we went inside.
Let The Experience Begin!
The inside was just awesome. The atmosphere was really nice, and it meant to look as if you were in the Middle East. They also had a huge table that could seat 10 people under a tent inside the restaurant. Basically, the inside is like Cafe Mawal back in Houston (based on pictures that I have seen of it), but with the tent inside with large tables, a bunch of tables with a TV playing, and no hookah. Seems like the sort of place that I would love to visit frequently if it were to be in Houston. What immediately struck me was the uniforms. The uniform was the traditional dress from Syria/Palestine. An older gentleman with a thobe and kuffiyah was going around offering Arabic coffee (which I took) in the traditional jugs and in the small coffee cups that are traditionally served. I do not remember going to any restaurant in such a long time where it was like this. Definitely a refreshing experience compared to what is the norm at most halal places. After talking for a bit, we were ready to order.
Let's Eat!
We ordered the Mashawi platter, two actually. It basically had all the meat options (shish kabab, kufta kabab, chicken kufta, shish tawook, quail, lamb chops, and shawarma meat), grilled onions and tomatoes served over biryani (not Indian/Pakistani) and saffron rice garnished with parsley and roasted almonds. We got one with the quail and one without the quail. Along with that came baba ghanoush, garlic sauce, pita, picked vegetables with Arab salsa, salad, and hummus. Boy they do know how to feed us lol. There were so many things that I found it hard to put them all on my Instagram pic.
Menu: http://www.albawadigrill.com/menu
This place has a really large menu for a Mediterranean place. They have breakfast as well. They have the regular popular shawarmas and kebabs as well as quail and lamb chops.
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| Top: The Family Platter. Middle Row from left to right: baba ghanoush and garlic sauce. 3rd row from left to right: pita, Arabic coffee, pickled vegetables and Arab salsa, salad, and hummus
Menu:
Move over Sayad, I've found the best tasting Mediterranean restaurant in America right here! This also means that it's the best Mediterranean food that I have had outside Houston. The food was simply phenomenal. We all were huge fans of the food. The only blemish was that the salad had too much dressing on it. We all drank water and had a nice conversation. Overall, two thumbs up.
The service was good. No problems and the people were nice.
Conclusion:
I definitely see myself going back frequently whenever I visit Chicago. This is a great place to try if you want to try some Mediterranean food. I would definitely put this on top of one of the places that I would recommend to eat at in Chicago.
Grading:
Service: 9/10
Food: 10/10
Total: 19/20 = 95% (A)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$
Restaurant Information:
Al Bawadi Grill
7216 W 87th Street, Bridgeview, Illinois 60455
Phone: (708) 599-1999
Website: http://www.albawadigrill.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/albawadigrill/
Timings: Mon- Thu & Sun: 10 AM - 11 PM; Fri and Sat: 10 M - 11:30 PM
Caters: Yes
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
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