Shibam Restaurant

outdated place for Yemeni food Old tables. Nothing charming, BUT the food was a surprise good. Full of flavors. My only criticism for the kitchen chef, minimize oil consumption in cooking please.

The food is good, the tenderness of lamb and the flavor of rice, is good. Not sure about how the chicken tastes, but the lamb haneet and Lamb mandi always gets you, the juicy faty meat is all you need.

We were really excited to come back to Shibam Restaurant after countless amazing experiences at another branch, but this visit was a letdown. We drove almost 90 minutes for a meal, only to get cold, dry, burnt lamb chops , rice and hummus. When we asked for it to be reheated, it came back just as bad. The staff even tried to tell us that they are giving us FREE meat. The food was nothing like what we remembered, and honestly, it was pretty disappointing. The staff was nice, but we won’t step in again.

Best Yemeni kitchen in Chicago land area. Lamb and chicken Mandi are Yummy. You can try both if you order a family Platter

Felt like local yemen food! Average maintained restaurant! Mandi taste is good and lamb pieces are tender and soft! Felt too much oil in everything!

Awesome arabian food. Shibam city has a unique flavor compared to the other Mediterranean restaurants which is from Yemen. They have many options to try from. I loved the taste of the meat dishes and the quantity provided. Will definitely go again to try different dishes. Update(2020): There are some chances that you may not receive the order as you ordered as they take the order but the time you go pickup, they say that item is not there anymore and I have to either wait another 30 mins or take something else. Happened twice with me. They should take orders only if they can fulfill the order.

I called this place an order, and the first guy who answered said they were closed—even though we called 40 minutes before their listed closing time. After some back and forth, they finally took my order for pickup. As for the food, it was just okay. It kind of felt like they gave us the “last order of the day” vibe, so maybe that affected the quality. I’ll give them one more try and see if it was just an off day.

The owner is hands down the best man that you can ever find in any restaurant, he was so kind and humble, offered few extra dishes in the end as complimentary for our group. Do visit and try their main course meals and end it with their signature dessert. 10/10! They definitely deserve the praise.

We were throwing a party for 30 people at our house, and wanted to get something unique. We ordered a whole lamb chopped up with their signature rice. Everyone loved the food. It's a delicate bender lamb that came with a mild salsa on the side. We did not eat in the restaurant, so can't speak to the ambience of the restaurant, but we enjoyed the food.

I come here rather often for the fahsa, which is pretty consistent. I typically ask the server to make it spicy. The two menu items we tried for the first time this visit was the biryani which was a big hit, along with the meat pies which I believe are the first items on the menu (I forgot the name). I would highly recommend this yemeni food, I just wish the service was a little better as that is the only reason I'm giving them a 4/5 star review

Very dry chicken and hair in the food. Along with over 20 minute wait. Place smells nice and has nice design.

Great shawarma , great prices and fast service was a nice little spot to grab a bite to eat.

Very filthy establishment even from the outside dirty windows and trash everywhere. It stinks when you walk in. Much better similar restaurants in that area. I had made an online order and they didn't put something I had ordered I went back to see if they forgot and one of the workers said they ran out of it that he replaced it with extra meat which they never did . they still have the nerve to laugh in front of your face. And the food had a nasty taste it even smell bad and wasn't cooked properly

I found the place when I was looking for something late after work! Found Shibam! I was craving for my Indian tea, which is hard to find ! I was so pleased to find the please . Their tea is by far the best!

This restaurant used to have amazing, authentic food. However, for some reason someone decided to change the food entirely. Mandi is now an Indian version of the authentic recipe topped with raw onion. Today I optimistically bought it and receive literally TWO tablespoons worth of meat. Fasoolia used to be amazing but not it's become refried beans. I don't know what happened to the restaurant but it is not authentic Yemeni food. HUGE disappointment

I like to add to my review, that both Tea and salad been fixed and got way better. I love this restaurant and how friendly they treat there customers. During the pandemic Shibam always been my go to restaurant for carry out. Must visit .. you will never forget the taste.

to much oil in food bad lamp i think the meat is old and the cleanliness is bad service is rude man racism Arabi

Found a cockroach babies on food . Liked there food but never going back there again. Will be calling city .

DISCLAIMER: I went here when the place was called Yafa so my below review applies to when it first opened. I'm hearing mixed reviews of quality now so don't blame me if you're disappointed. ---------------- Newly opened restaurant. One word: Haneeth. Flavorful rice with probably the most deliciously tender lamb I've ever tasted. We also got a side of chicken which was also succulent and juicy. The dish came with salad and soup. After your meal, make sure to try the Adani tea - authentic, strong flavor. Highly recommend this place.

Tasty food, nice and comfortable seating area, and good service. Seating area can be divided for the comfort of family. Fair prices for the amount of food and how good it is.

Skip this place, go to Shibam North. They have the same menu and the place is not as nasty. Went there on a Sunday at 530-7pm and there were only 3 other tables occupied. The table we were seated at was not cleaned until we explicitly asked for it, even though the waitress walked past 2-3 times. We ordered Burma and Grilled Chicken. The food was ok but not as good as the North branch. Service was slow and we repeatedly had to ask for other food items i.e. adany tea, maasoub. Plus side: the maasoub here was better than the one at Shibam North.

The food here is awesome, we ordered Burmah (tender lamb on the bone slow cooked) it's so good, the meat was melted, and we also ordered Zerbian and it was delicious, I recommend this place, we will definitely be back again.

It's one of my favorite place & the service is wonderful Specially (AYA) she's have a really beautiful soul like she is , She is a perfect server I ever seen in my life . And the food always makes my day . Keep it up MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU GUYS...!

Delicious! Lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Loved the energy here, as it reminded me of the amazing hole-in-the-wall places you can find in the Middle East and India while traveling, where people just hang out for hours and all treat each other as family. Tried the mathlooth, which is foul (mashed fava beans with onions, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, tahini, and olive oil) and fassolia (kidney beans topped with same as above) and comes with naan. They were out of the lentil soup, so we'll have to come back to try. It says they're open during the day, but we just went back at 12:30 pm and looks like they're probably closed for Ramadan til maybe after sunset. They're open really late into the night though. We'll definitely come back whenever we're in Chicago again to try more!

Once again i came in here for breakfast. I got the beef dish this time and it was one of the best things I have ever tasted. It was a spiced meat with garlic and peppers and some other flavorings , maybe onion. It was really out of this world good along with the fresh bread it is served with . Their tea is so good too that I got two cups. The waitress here is very nice and will give you recommendations if you are not sure what to order. Stop in and try it. You will be happy that you did. It is the only Yemeni restaurant that I know of and I am quite happy to have discovered a new ethnic food.

Super fresh Lamb Basmati done to perfection My wife had the chicken and that was spot on delicious. You must go and try this place. Awesome!

Apparently Walla the owner replied to my review. Apparently you can't reply back so I have to make an entirely new review to reply. While I did give your place a 4 star rating. I'm pretty much accurate on how your place is set.. I also mention I frequent your place of business quite often... actually because I get my hair cut once a week at Official Cuts adjacent to your restaurant. So I didn't get the place wrong. As a matter of fact I'll be there Saturday to get some Agda ‍.. I'll be lucky to see you there I guess

You are gonna love it Yafa-style. The Taste of Yafa is always packed. Call ahead or bring some sabr with you. Don't worry, they will give you lamb bone broth soup with cilantro and fresh-out-the-clay-oven bread so that you do not faint from fasting. I knew what I wanted to order the minute my Jeep turned south-west on I-55, because I rolled the Jeep windows down and smelled the saltah in the air. I think I literally walked into the restaurant repeating the word "saltah", until I collapsed behind the ladies/family curtains. (Yes, privacy partitions just like back home in Michigan!). The saltah was more delicious than I could ever imagine, piping hot, and full of vegetables : big pieces of carrots, fresh okra, zuccini, potatoes; If you are trying to eat less meat and mehndi, definately order this Yemeni vegetable stew. Since this restaurant is about a 45-50 minute drive from downtown, I knew I'd regret not trying their masoob (that is a kind of a banana-bread dessert), so I ordered it. No one fat shamed me. The masoob was delicious and seemed healthier than Michigan-style masoob. Yafa really was a welcoming, family friendly, restaurant with wonderful waitresses and homemade, authentic food. See you tomorrow , inshaAllah.

Good food. Tea was awesome! Don't expect classy but the place is clean and prices reasonable. Would have given them five star if they did not mess up my order.

. . . The food was terrible and the service was worst. The rice was really crunchy and cold. The chicken was the most pitiful grilled chicken I've ever seen in a Yemeni restaurant. Don't bother. I've been eating Yemeni food for many years in many different cities across the globe. 1*

The food was really bad and the service was really slow we had to repeat many times for stuff and still they did not give it and when they were serving the waitress was slamming the food on the table I will not be recommending or going there again, really disappointing

It's been a while since i had such good food. We tried Chicken Kabsah, Fahsa and Mandi. The place looks questionable in term of ambiance but once you try the food it will start to look very nice :). They also served fresh baked bread which was very authentic and tasty.

excellent healthy authentic Arabian food exclamation mark this is a dream come true 24 hour operation of organic halal food high quality at the lowest price, I am still thinking that I am dreaming because it feels like heaven! I highly recommend this place my family and friends eat here at least twice a week if not five times a week open 24 hours seven days a week amazing! I like every single item on the menu.

I tried to give them less than a star but I cannot service is BAD and it is the most important thing on any restaurant. BAAAAAD is not even enough for them i have been to Shiam for more than 4 years before it even become SHIBAM. Hopefully we see new Yamani restaurant in the area.

This was our second time at this restaurant and although we like the food, the service today was terrible. We repeatedly had to ask for every little thing, the waitresses seemed irritated when asked for anything. Horrible service and we would never go back!!

Overall it was a delicious experience. The food was worth the wait (it wasn't too long) and everyone was courteous and friendly. Will definitely come back again.

Pretty good. Order the lamb fahsa, easily the best thing on the menu. Service could be better but it's not bad, just takes a little bit of time. They really revamped it since the last time I was here (about a year ago?) so the seating area isn't bad.

One of my favorite middle eastern restaurant! Their mendi is really good, almost feels as if it's homemade. I also like that they have really good breakfast options. Their meglalal chicken was seasoned so well. Also very family friendly, staff was super nice. Always coming to ask us if we need anything. I always recommend this restaurant to family, friends, and out of towners!

Just great ... love it. Lamb with men de the best there's a lot to choose from and try the adeni tea

For the prices you get a good value. The only thing they can improve on is the tomato sauce, could use a little salt and spice. Other than that, they do their best to provide delicious authentic food.

Wow,this place has seriously redefined the yemani food in the area, and I think they have dominated this type of food, from their teas, to the mandi, haneth, marak and sweets.

We go here atleast once a week... sometimes twice:) Amazing food and quantity. Can't beat the price either!

If the servers wore name tags I'd be HAPPY to give you names. But since they didn't, I can't help you narrow down who it may have been that served us. Also my friend paid the bill (it was my birthday dinner) so if the servers name was on the check, I didn't see it. The time and date we were there was about 7:30 pm on Saturday October 27th. I know because I paid a missed toll online while I waited for my friend to arrive. Hope this helps you. :)

This location on the south side is terrible - the service was bad the food was nasty. The waitresses stayed on their phone the male employees were loitering and chatting too loudly. I ordered the same thing I do on the north side and threw it away. DO NOT GO. they don't even have half the menu items.

I ate here a couple times and the food was good but not as good as the staff. the staff is all over the place. it seems as if they are overwhelmed with with customers. whether you order online or order in, the food is never ready. it always has to take time. so if you're impatient then i do not recommend. last time i went this girl i don't know if she was new but she made me pay twice. i already ordered online and went to pick it up but apparently they didn't get i paid online. so when i figured it out, i went back the next day to get a refund. the manager looked like as if he was upset and when he came to give me my money back he was very upset. i recommend everyone to not go there. if i could give 0 stars than i will.

My favorite restaurant, They know how to cook meat, but one drawback is the service. It is necessary to improve the quality of service and everything will be great.

Absolutely DELICIOUS food! You cannot buy homemade, authentic food for these prices anywhere else! Don't be fooled by its looks. I recommend 100%

They do not give complimentary water. The Greek fish is not Greek fish we were served tilapia and were told our $10 meal originally costed them $18 which made no sense. Lentil soup had no flavor and needed to be drowned in salt and lemon. The chicken and beef shawarma is majority wrap with little to no meat. The men and woman are separated so the woman get bad service in the restaurant. If I could give 0 stars I would so instead I gave one.

The owner and servers are personable and generous. The food was fresh and we were treated great. My group tried a number of dishes, including the greek fish, kefta kabob, hummus, baba ghanoush. The owner kept bringing more warm bread and checking on us. He asked if we wanted to try the soup, broth was delish, like homemade soup for the soul. Looking forward to another trip there.

My husband loves it here, he used to drive all the way to the north side just to eat at this restaurant when they opened a location here he was so happy! This is his go to restaurant he will sometimes eat there 3 times a week, personally I am not a big fan of the meat dish I feel it's too bland but I think that's how it's suppose to taste. Everything is delicious my favorite is the fish!

Such a great find! Great prices for soooo much food. My family and I were all very happy with our orders.

We ordered the chicken biryani and liver sandwich. The liver was so dry that my husband wouldn't eat it, which is saying something because he is not at all picky and usually eats everything. The chicken biryani was well seasoned, but was so full of tiny bones that we couldn't really enjoy it and couldn't feed it to our kids because of the choking hazard. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to be but I wish there had been some mention of the bones on the menu, for people who are not familiar with the recipe, since we ordered it to share with small children. They did get here a little early and the food was hot when it arrived, so no complaints there. Overall we just did not enjoy the food and likely won't order again.