JK Kabab Express - Indian Restaurant in Niles IL

The food quality is still excellent — the Chicken Tikka was flavorful, well-spiced, and cooked perfectly. I’ve always enjoyed the taste here. However, the portion sizes have noticeably decreased since last year, especially the rice. For a dish labeled as a 'Chicken Tikka platter,' I expected a decent, satisfying amount of rice to go with the protein, but it was surprisingly small — way less than what competitors serve and much smaller than what this place used to offer. After getting home, I called the restaurant to ask about it. They told me the rice is 'complimentary.' That explanation doesn’t really make sense in this context — if it’s part of a platter dish, it shouldn’t feel like an optional add-on with such a tiny portion. It comes across more like shrinkflation than anything complimentary, and it seriously affects the value and how filling the meal is for the price. The flavors are too good for this to keep happening. I really hope they bring the portions back to a more reasonable level soon — it would make the platter feel like a proper meal again.

I recently tried JK Kabab Express and had a mixed experience. When I placed my order, they mentioned it would take about 25 minutes, which made me think everything would be cooked fresh. I ordered the biryani and chicken tikka grill. The biryani arrived in about 15 minutes, but unfortunately, it was disappointing. It was served cold, tasted bland, and the chicken seemed like it had just been reheated rather than freshly prepared. After that, I wasn’t expecting much from the chicken tikka, but it turned out to be the better dish. The tikka was freshly grilled and flavorful, though the rice served with it was also cold. On the positive side, the service was good, the area was clean, and they also offered complimentary chicken soup, which was a nice touch. Overall, I’d say JK Kabab Express might be worth visiting if you stick to the grilled meats, but I wouldn’t recommend the biryani or anything that comes with rice unless they improve the quality and freshness.

2nd experience with this location. 1st time, we had a group of 25-30 in restaurant. 2nd time a catering order for 120 ppl. Quality did not suffer when we ordered for the larger group. Chicken Dum biryani, Chili Beef, chicken Tikka masala, and Palak Paneer were all delicious. No complaints and would cater from again. Very flavorful and right amount of spicy. Not like other places that taste bland. Even kids had multiple servings.

This place was absolutely delicious. We came here on Christmas Day and although they weren’t even open for the day yet, they invited us in anyway. The wait for the food was a little longer than what is typical but completely worth the wait. And they offered us a complimentary soup while waiting. The food was delicious and the portions were enormous! We have five kids and not all of them are adventurous in their food choices but they all loved it. We walked out of there spending about $70 for a family of seven.

i order dal and naan ..taste is good.. i love the food service is fast and superb

Definitely 5 star. The service is very good. You can eat the soup of the day while dining in. And they gave us free mango milk shake. 😀. Food wise - it’s tasty and the kababs are flavorful. A must visit if you want to eat something after watching a movie next door, or if you are in the area.

Been going to these guys since the 90s and was glad they opened up here. All this chatter about it not being Halal is just that. It definitely is. Came in with my family and ordered some items. Each one was exceptional in taste. The restaurant, including restroom was super clean which is a great indication. Will be coming back soon IA. Thanks Syed for making us feel welcome!

I was here in Chicago on a flight from Seattle where I met an individual who shared the same 4 hour layover with me. We made friends and he suggested we go here for lunch. One of the best decisions I’ve made. This was my first time having authentic Indian food and babyyyy!! They did NOT disappoint. Expectations were vastly exceeded. I ordered the chicken tikka, samosas and the butter naan bread. Absolutely freakin delicious. I do hope they see this review cuz it’s well deserved

Food is always amazing. Especially butter chicken. I hit a take away and they gave me rice and I got two samosa Excellent food. Proportion was quite alot compared some other restaurants I ordered from. The only thing. The grub hub driver did not follow instructions and left my bag in the main lobby of my condo and not even a phone call to say he arrived

My issue with them is that they are using original JK kabab name, just adding express to it, while its original name is Indian bistro. That is so uncalled for. I get it you wanna expand your business and all that but ppl will come for JK Kabab name . so anyone thinking they are going to one of the branches for JK Kabab they are not . they even tried to copy the menu but you can tell its not same thing. I would recommend them not to use JK Kabab name because it is NOT JK KABAB. and their meat is also also non zabiha halal. gosh these days you can not trust anyone

I have memories of the OG JK Kabab just off of Devon in Chicago. I absolutely love seeing that they have stretched their arms to the burbs. I'm going solely by taste and service here because after all, this is the "express" version of the original, so ambience won't wow you. All the food that we ordered was top class and just like the original, be it spice level, rice quality, size of the kababs (those are some big boys), they didn't even compromise on real charcoal grilled flavor. What I love about JK Kabab is that you get chicken corn soup when you dine in. Also, all entrées come with rice so if you forget to order parathas or naan...you know the rest. Food is served fresh and with perfect spice level. They don't tame it and make the food touristy yet they don't ignite an inferno your mouth. You can taste the ingredients in your food. The tandoori chicken is served fresh and not overcooked to a dry state but charred and juicy. Their signature chili chicken rice is delicious, you cannot go wrong with it. Gobi (cauliflower) manchurian is crispy, tangy, and spicy. Mutton biryani has generous amounts of tender meat, again perfectly spiced. We also ended up packing our "special" chicken biryani (as it was written on their specials board). We had that the next day and it was delicious. Perfectly seasoned and flavored rice with tender, not chewy chicken that packed a punch of aromatic flavor. We also tried lamb kadai, mutton kadai, lamb seekh kabab, all exceptional. The prices surely are not what they used to be but I guess that fresh deliciousness justified it? The gentleman and lady running the counter and serving were very kind. We ordered a ton of food but even the leftovers did not go forgotten in some distant crevice of our fridge, we whipped them out and finished them quick!

This would have been a 5 star review but some items were missing from our takeout order and not the best customer service when calling on the missing items. Overall, the butter chicken and lamb biryanis were flavorful. The naan gave it a nice touch as my cousin and I were missing our rice from our order of butter chicken but we were able to take some from the other plate. I would go back again to try the food again.

We came to ABT and wanted a quick halal lunch nearby. JK Kabab Express came up on Yelp and we're glad we stopped by. The restaurant is small and casual. You order at the counter. Since we were dining in, the restaurant provided complimentary soup which was decent. It's rare to find a Chicagoland Desi restaurant offer anything complimentary. We ordered the chicken seekh kabab roll and the Chapli kebab. Both portions were huge. The chapli kebab did come with rice but wish it came with a small side of daal. Or, the dish could have come with paratha instead of rice. Both dishes were tasty! We wanted to end our meal with chai and we were charged for it. However, they ran out of chai and we got some dessert instead. Chai is a must and I'll have to come back to try. Lastly, there were no zero sugar drinks, only diet. Coke zero would have been great with the food. Since it's canned drinks, it won't be hard to add to menu.

Ordered Chicken tikka masala with naan for to go, $13.99+$2.49 (naan) +$2.91 (tips) $20 spending I got EXACTLY 6 pieces of chicken VERY SMALL rice, and naan bread wasn't burnt But lots of BURNT pieces of their GRILL or something! Basically, I paid $3.00 for very small 6 pieces of chicken (each less than inch diameter)! IF They want to save money ? They shouldn't save money from the customers food who paid already! Not mentioning the front desk guy used bathroom so fast in 1 minute No time to wash hands But In hurry to hand people's food!

Amazing food , same consistent taste and quality of food . When they were on Devon I used to go here almost every other week with my family , and then one day I believe in 2018 they just shut down , n the other day I randomly saw there little poster saying jk kabob , n there owner was there I was surprised . And was it nostalgic to have the food again man I and my family love it .

I absolutely love love love their lamb seekh roll . It's so tender juicy and flavorful. If you are a desi you know the taste of the street Kabab's back home this really does justice to it . My only issue was I wish they had green liqudy chutney . This roll is perfection on its own

I ordered takeout, so I can't really speak to the dining experience, but it was still good getting carry-out, and very good re-heated. You know when you go to a Taqueria and you know it's good if you see a lot of Mexican, Central American and South American folks eating there? Same thing here! Granted, I arrived just after sundown during Ramadan, and I saw quite a few Muslim families, as well as some Indian families, but if they are coming here for Iftar, you know it's (at the very least) authentic. I'll have to come back for the Mediterranean cuisine, as I ordered an Indian dish. I came about a year ago for the first time and ordered a rice dish, but I was craving Indian and I wanted to mix things up, but as I tried to order my first 2 choices they told me they were 'out' of those dishes. Since I've not had Chicken Tikka Masala at this place I tried the old 'stand-by'. It did not disappoint! I'll definitely come back, not only for their Mediterranean food, but also their CTM. Very tasty and rich as the actual dish is concerned. Why 4 stars...well, the aforementioned being 'out' of my first 2 choices, but also not nearly enough rice. LOTS of, er really ALL, Indian restaurants do this. There is NEVER enough rice for me. I'm sure this is my screw-up, I'm not eating it right and someone is going to tell me as much, but I like to put a nice, generous bed of rice down and top that with whatever dish I get. Then I mix all of it up and have a nice, filling meal. What I end up doing is always having plenty of white rice on-hand at home, hence the carry-out. But, again, good eating at home, and very good re-heated. I've been getting dental work done, I wasn't confident in biting through Naan with my temporary crowns, so I didn't get any Naan, but I'll be sure to try it (and maybe update this review) next time. Perhaps when I try the Mediterranean I'll eat in the restaurant (but wait until after Ramadan...it was quite full in there)!

Yummy yummy- I ordered this to the office after forgetting my lunch and let me tell you- it did not disappoint. I got the chili chicken rice and it had all the right spice. Perfect for two sharing a dish

Chicken Biryani was spicy but good. Chicken tikka was delicious but spicy. Frontier chicken rice was mild and tasty. Chicken corn soup was good. Waiting for beef bihari Kabab only have chicken Bihari for now. Had no idea this place has been open since September 2022. It is next to Big Cinemas. Old Indian bistro location. Will be back for more.

Food was amazing just like Jk on Devon. Same great service and friendly staff The chili chicken is one of my favorite Dishes and it did not disappoint. Totally worth the drive, can't wait to go back for more