Al-Diar Restaurant — Restaurant in Chicago

The food at this restaurant is AMAZING!! Got the Fahsa and Lamb Mandi and I was very very impressed. I’m Yemeni so I know good authentic Yemeni food and this place is very authentic. The Lamb Mandi was cooked to perfection, you pick up the bone and the lamb falls right off!!! The rice was also delicious and perfectly cooked. I understand to some people the price might seem high but you get big portions with high quality meat so I thought the price was great for the food quality we got. Personally, I would rather pay more for the excellent quality meat we got than to pay less for bad meat. Yemeni style dining is to share the plates which is what we did during my visit. I also got vimto and ayran to drink, those aren’t traditional Yemeni drinks but very popular there, felt like I was back in Yemen. If you want authentic Yemeni drink, I would get Adeni tea. The people working there were very nice and showed true Yemeni hospitality. The only feedback I have is I hope in the future they can offer the traditional yemeni bread and the place is a little small so if you’re going in a big group, I recommend calling in advance. We didn’t have that issue but a helpful tip for big groups during busier times. I strongly recommend this place to everyone considering going. I’m still thinking of the food and can’t wait to be back. If you’re thinking of going, GO!!! These great reviews are true and you won’t...

A hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant, serving up delicious Yemeni cuisine. Everything is halal. It's a small joint, probably mostly used for carry-out. They have a couple of tables set up to dine-in if anyone chooses to do so. It's pretty clean; they have a great set up where they change the plastic cloth for every new diner. Be as messy as you want! Since it's traditional Yemeni, everyone eats from the same plate... so it's encouraged to eat with your hands, the tablecloth set up makes it so much less of a hassle to do so.

I went with my husband & kids, we ordered the lamb mandi+haneeth and the chicken mandi. They brought us out two bowls of soup, it had vegetables, and the broth was definitely made with the lamb or chicken.

I can't articulate how tender, melt-in-your-mouth delicious the lamb was. It was fatty, but not greasy, the spices were perfect. The rice was basmati; fluffy and separated. The sauces were spicy, tangy, just the perfect accompaniment with the lamb.

For dessert, we had something called areaka. It had dates, cake, cream, nuts and honey. Another perfect dish.. it wasn't cloyingly sweet like some Middle Eastern desserts can be. Heavy, but it hit the spot.

My husband ended the night with Adeni chai... i can't find another word to describe it bcos; perfect. Just perfect.

If you see this place, or someone recommends it, please make...

We happened to bump into this restaurant for a late lunch....while exploring that area. We peeped in and saw that it is literally a hole in the wall, with limited seating right next to the serving counter, with authentic feel. Clearly, it seemed like a favorite place of some Yemeni people.....So we decided to give it a shot even though it was very modest decor. There was a short wait time to get seated. But they set up the table for us, very quickly and patiently answered all our questions about what do order. We had never tried yemeni food before this. We ordered both lamb and chicken out of the limited venue. Both dishes were served in a platter style to share. Both platters were pieces of well, cooked meat, served on a platter of rice and lots of salad and couple of sauces. We also ordered butter milk as accompaniment since there was not much curry/saucy moisture in the dishes. Portions were large, taste was good and dishes were not greasy....and best of all, we tried something new. Two platters were enough for 4 adults. We also tried a warm dessert Areka, which was delicious! The staff were also eating in batches on the other table, so likely a small family run modest, newly established small business. This was a very new experience for us.... and overall we...