The Nile Restaurant

I really appreciate that they serve authentic fava beans—something most Mediterranean restaurants don’t offer. Their falafel is good, though a bit on the salty side. They also have a nice variety of vegetarian options like fried eggplant, cauliflower, and tomatoes with garlic. The prices are fair.

The Original Middle Eastern Palestinian Owned Restraunt in Chicago. Nothing more to say They have updated the interior, But kept the Best food served in the area. Always fresh Filafil and The combination platers are filled with the best meats and flavorful rice. The service is awesome.. from the kitchen to the servers

We had the stuffed lamb necks and they were absolutely delicious — the meat was tender and melted in the mouth! The salad was super fresh and flavorful, and the homemade yogurt was out of this world. We truly enjoyed the food, the fast and friendly service, and the overall experience. The prices were very reasonable for the high quality and outstanding service. Oh, and the tea was so flavorful! Highly recommended!

Title: Mixed Experience Post-Management Change – Hoping for Improvement I’ve visited Al Niel Restaurant multiple times in the past and always enjoyed its offerings, but recent changes under new management have left me disappointed. The lentil soup, once a comforting staple, now tastes overwhelmingly acidic—almost as if it’s overloaded with lemon juice or citric acid. The texture was equally off-putting, with undercooked, hard lentil seeds lingering in the bowl. The pickle selection, previously a vibrant array of options, has been reduced to a single type, stripping away the variety that once complemented meals so well. On my latest visit at 4:30 PM, I was excited to try the “dish of the day” (lamb/beef neck, a personal favorite), but was informed it was already sold out. The staff suggested arriving earlier, which felt impractical for a late lunch/early dinner timeframe. Reluctantly, I opted for falafel and fava beans, which were decent but failed to make up for the other shortcomings. While I appreciate that transitions under new management can be challenging, the decline in food quality and menu consistency is hard to ignore. I’ll revisit soon to see if improvements are made and update this review accordingly. For now, I’d recommend tempering expectations or providing direct feedback to the management—they may benefit from hearing patrons’ concerns.

This hummus and falafel restaurant is a hidden gem! The falafel was crispy on the outside and perfectly spiced on the inside, while the hummus was smooth, creamy, and rich in flavor. The pita bread was fresh and warm, pairing perfectly with the dips. The service was friendly and fast, making the experience even better. The restaurant had a cozy atmosphere with authentic Middle Eastern decor. I also loved their tahini sauce—absolutely delicious! Highly recommend this spot for anyone who loves Mediterranean food.

Mashallah beautiful people so kind and welcoming the breakfast there is truly athletic Palestinian i highly recommend thank you from mississauga Canada .especially thanks to the amazing 2 ladies at the door the hiejabi and baseball hat.

The food was good but took over half hr to bring a dish of falafel, my family finished their food and I was waiting for my falafels.

This place brings back so many great memories. Good quality food at an affordable price that is made love. The staff is super friendly and always great you with a smile. Their sage tea and mint tea is a must have! Highly recommended!

Just stopped for hummus and baba ganoush appetizers. Hummus was just okay but baba had a nice Smokey eggplant flavor. Service was friendly and speedy.

I've been a customer for a long time at this place the food always good, customer service is good. Also, the girls are trying their best to help and accommodate the people. However, my concern is the prices are way high for what it is in terms of quality, an item menus. If you're here for hummus and falafel and paying over 30 bucks, I don't think it's worth it doesn falafel over $13. That's a lot. Especially there are many competitors around this place. Hate to see this place getting downhill as I grow up coming and eating here. I hope they work on their price and not make it overpriced.

very authentic palestinian place + everything is always so quick, fresh and hot. wonderful falafel, hummus with beef and foul. ladies are so nice, generous portions and inexpensive too

Authentic taste! Great service! They are very friendly and fast. The fried cheese is definitely a must have!!!

Excellent Food and Service. Always come back for the hummus and combination plate. Have been eating here for years. Never disappoints.

I've been coming here since they originally opened their first location in Chicago! The food is authentic and fresh every time! The service is fast including when ordering through Grubhub! I've never had the opportunity to dine inside so I can't comment on the ambiance however I will vouch that the quality of the food is always outstanding! Palestinian owned and operated! The owner is a kind person and always goes above and beyond for his customers ensuring that they have a great experience! I usually order the hummus (with steak), baba ghanouj, kelaya, and shawarma wraps. If you haven't tried the Nile Restaurant, I highly suggest you check them out!

I like chicken shawarma it's tasty and fresh of 5 stars but they were making good foods and sweet delicious and drinks

My favorite place for falafel and chicken shawarma. Service is ok. Ambiance is authentic

Ordered Shish Kabob Sandwich, Falafels, Kalaya and Eggs and Potatoes. And man, everything was AMAZING!!! Even the side of pickled vegetables that were served with the food were absolutely phenomenal! The service was friendly, sweet snd prompt. Neto polish everything off, the best (and most comforting) mint tea!!! It's an absolute MUST to visit and eat at this restaurant!!!

So delicious and fast! We tried a couple of other middle eastern restaurants in the area but the Nile surpassed them in food taste and service. All of the other restaurants were slow but the Nile was packed with nowhere to sit. Great!

I did not like the food here. I did order goat but I didn't line it here at all. I won't be returning, too many better choices in the area.

First time there not disappointed. Ordered hummus baba falafel and parsley salad for 2. All very fresh and delicious. Very fast and friendly service. Thank you and we will be back again.

Taking another star off for terrible service... rude inattentive entitled waitresses.

Food was ready for my order when I got there. But that is where the positive stops. Ordered chicken shawarma plate and a chicken shawarma sandwich. Got beef for both. Too far away now to amend it. Do better please.

For Middle Eastern food, this is a great hole in the wall joint. You get a selection of old school middle eastern sandwiches in pocket pitas and now they offer wraps. There's a barrage of, what looks to be, family members working the back kitchen. Every employee seems to help out one another, as well. I prefer my beef shawarma in a pocket pita, and that's why I ordered it. It came quickly and had lots of beef. The tahini sauce is a great compliment. You also receive a pickled turnip and peperoncino dish with it. They taste great when you add it to your sandwich. I also ordered tabouli and foul (pronounced fool). The tabouli wasn't too bad. I squeezed some more lemon and it tasted just right afterwards. It was chopped finely, which is how I like it. Foul is moudamas/fava beans slightly mashed with olive oil, garlic, salt and lemon. I was disappointed in that dish. It had no flavor. It needed lemon and salt. Booooo. If you're looking for fancy, go somewhere else. This is very authentic and isn't expensive at all. You'll be brought to an establishment that has the same style cooking as mom's in Palestine. That's why I keep coming back.

My favorite middle eastern restaurant. I love to come here for breakfast, best food in town

Worst falafel sandwiches I ever had. Shame on you.. Dry pita. Very less salad hard falafel.

The best falafel of all time, never tasted something that delicious in the entire United States, the hummus and baba ghanoush are to die for, good food overall. Friendly cashiers, not so much on the servers side. My only concern now during the pandemic that they're open and face masks are not required for the seated customers and social distancing is none existent either. But all and all is a great place to eat vegan and vegetarian food, and the food quality is beyond excellent.

If you're looking for the best, authentic hummus around, this is the place! Schwerma, lamb chops and falafel were also cooked to perfection. Very casual place, food comes out hot, fresh, and fast. Only reason I took a star off is because for the first time ever, they served me slightly stale pita bread with my meal. I'm giving them a pass because this is the first time it's happened. Other than that, great food, large portions, reasonable prices. Update, last 3 times I have received stale, old pita bread so at this point I will have to remove a few more stars. It's unfortunate to serve such great hummus only to be ruined when paired with stale, old pita bread.

We have experienced a lot better in this area. Most restaurants around them are much better; customer service is terrible, food is also sub par. Did not like their chicken shawarma at all. Their falafel is not okay but just forget it. I have no idea why this restaurant gets busy, it is very weird. Just forget it.

Food was decent, service could have been better I know it was busy I wish they would hire more servers. Overall I'd still go back and try again.

Fantastic food. Great value. Lamb kabobs, lentil soup, fatta... playing the hits, keeping time, even crooning a few harmonies.

I went to the establishment to have sunday dinner because it was a recommendation. Sat down and was ready to order no waitress yet. Another party comes in and the waitress walked right over and began taking orders. I was slightly pissed because we had been sitting at the table for 5minutes and no service. I will not visit again

loved this restuarant ever since they were on 63rd st. no one can beat this restuarant! no one!!!!!!

Amazing, I love you guys. Best middle eastern restaurant in Illinois. Just like downtown Ramallah

Terrible customer service and very bad over price food, Do yourself a favour and avoied this place

This is my favorite spot for middle eastern. There food is always good. Never disappointed when I go back. Sharwarma is great. The mensaf is great but needs more meat. But hummus and everything else is amazing.

The BEST Mediterranean restaurant in Illinois. Falafel is 10/10 tastes like the falafel back at home (Amman Jordan) they also sell spicy falafel which is also 10/10. Hummus is on point and great portion in a plate. Shawarma a bit salty. They have a big variety of food on their menu and everything is fresh. MUST HAVE!!

Had the pleasure of having a mediterranean breakfast here. Very attentive staff and everything I had was good. Would recommend the falafel as well!

Food is excellent best in town if you ask me. Service was prompt this time around. Tried the liver for the first time it was amazing. Great middle eastern breakfast don't think twice just come !

Food is exceptional a little bit on the dry side. Portion wise not as generous as other restaurants the rice wasn't enough. There's a new restaurant now in the same plaza competition is going to be tough. -Keep your prices and you'll keep your customers. Good.Luck

Second time here. I think it is because of the thanksgiving , the food was not as good as last time. Also the service was slow and made some mistakes with our order. The small dishes were ok but the beef（we actually ordered lamb ）was saulty and the rice tasted and felt like it was parboiled. it could be because of the holiday, so I am willing to cut them some slack

Easy order by phone and pick up. Slow during covid times, but great food and service. I enjoy the vegetarian dishes. Friendly atmosphere.

A hidden gem that serves authentic middle eastern food. ONE OF THEE BEST IN CHICAGO. The food is always cooked to perfection and seasoned well. From Hummas, Shawerma, Falafel and pita bread you can never go wrong with eating here.

This was the first casual restaurant I took my now husband to and the food was great although the place seemed run Down. We were weekly customers because my then-fiancé loves it so much and he could not get enough. Fast forward to 10/26. We should've known something was not right since it was dinner time and the restaurant was empty. We ordered our food and sat for about 15 mins. I wish we didn't get our food because we were both ill afterwards and I was nauseous for three days straight. Never going there again.

Great middle eastern breakfast at The Nile !! Fettah hummus, falafel, and qualiyah. Delicious meal with some traditional middle eastern fare. The falafel was steaming hot and fresh... crispy on the outside & deliciousness on the inside. We also had some Turkish coffee and tea which was a perfect compliment.

I love this place the food is delicious and they play Fairouz in the morning it reminds like back home when I was in high school I used to go to the restaurant in the morning have the same food listen to same music so it's not just a typical Arabic restaurant the customer service is excellent, that's the experience I had at this place

Homemade Middle Eastern cuisine is right. This place serves up a tasty Chicken Shawerma Sandwich. For those who are not familiar, its a sandwich wrap sort of toasted with shaved chicken or beef meat. I like to order hummus on the side for dipping, just an FYI there is a charge for the side too. The sandwich is a generous size, so you will get full. They also served Jerusalem Salads, Arabian Coffee, Baba Ghannouje and more! Lot of parking and located in a plaza.

Food is good. But not a single employee is wearing a mask. Unbelievable. I think one thing we learned from covid is when we breath and speak we spread saliva. So anyone serving our food should be wearing a mask covid or not. And we are still not free from covid.

Lamb Chops were amazing flavor but too many hard pieces Other than that, everything else and the service was great

This my favorite place for Middle Eastern breakfast. Falafel, hummus, fresh bread, mint tea, and so much more. It gets crowded early for breakfast, so brunch may be easier to schedule. They're open for dinner, too. Also very delicious.

A friend recommended this place and it did not disappoint. The food was really good. I ordered the combination plate and all the meat choices were very tasty and I was able to choose the type of salad.

The food deserves 5 stars, but the horrible service from the waitresses brings my rating down. Hands down best hommus I've ever had. Anything from their menu won't disappoint. I always order to-go because of the waitresses. They don't check on you, they have such a bad and unwelcoming attitude that's intimidating.

The food was well worth the long drive from the other side of town. I really liked the hummus and sage tea. There were also other dishes that I don't remember but all of it was delicious.

A BIG WOW!!!!! Food was fabulous the Falafel's were so authentic and nice and warm, bread was fresh and my hummus with chicken shawarma was creamy and delicious with the side of pickle peppers and pickles.....service was right on point.

I don't understand how they get away of having different prices on the menu. The menu at the table has different prices that the TV monitors and what is online. Please be aware of your charges on your receipt. The food quality has gone down and the prices gone up now 40%. The Shawarema they serve is from a pot from days before and not from what is spinning. Buyer beware!!! No one in the kitchen wears masks and they offer indoor dining that is slow and the waitress i had did not care for anything except for her tip!!!

This place is the worst restaurant in that area the food is very bad the staff is very bad and the dinning room full of trash and the tables are very dirty oh no wait until you go to the bathroom it look like no body clean it for a week

Went in to get some food and not one employee was wearing a mask in a crowded restaurant. No social distancing. I am discussed. I will never go back. They are the ones making this pandemic worse.

Falafel delicious. I can eat almost five falafels. I usually get the combination platter and I like the fact that their rice is very simple and not to season. A lot of other Mediterranean places like to get fancy with their rice but I'm a fan of the simple white rice or yellow rice. The only thing I wish this location had was dessert or fresh juices