Majani Food Emporium Inc — Restaurant in Hyde Park Township

We've recently shifted to a mostly plant-based diet, but living where we do, finding soul food that we adore is nearly impossible—unless I whip it up myself. I love soul food and I love to cook, but these days I focus on pouring soul into healthier choices for our family. This means digging deeper to find places to eat when we're out and about. I try to steer clear of meat substitutes, opting instead for fresh, creative plant-based meals. So, after a fun family outing, we decided to grab lunch at Majani. Let me just say, they did not disappoint!

We ordered two Bean and Rice Soul Bowls for my husband and I. They were serving up red beans that day, and I couldn't resist adding BBQ cauliflower to mine. We also treated ourselves to the fried grits appetizer. Every bite took me back home—seasonings so familiar, yet fresh and vibrant. You can tell they've put in the time to perfect each dish, honoring soul food traditions without leaning on meat. The fried grits? Oh wow. Creamy like you'd expect from grits in a bowl, but with a crispy outside that made it perfect as a stand-in for any dish that needs a little crunch. Hands down, my favorite!

I stole a bite of my daughter’s mac 'n cheese, and let me tell you—wow! The sauce was so close to any high-quality cheese sauce or béchamel, I had to double-check it was plant-based. And the pasta? Every inch of it packed with flavor—no sad, pale noodles here! Seriously, if you go, get the mac ‘n cheese! There is just something about it....

My husband swears the ginger lemonade cleared up his stomach issues before we even got home, and the sorrel was an equally bold and refreshing punch to our already flavorful meal.

What really blew me away wasn’t just the flavor, but the care they took in letting each ingredient shine on its own. No false representatives! The cauliflower wasn’t trying to be chicken, and the greens didn’t feel like they were missing something and topped with anything else to deflect from what was missing. Every dish was exactly what it was meant to be, with just enough culinary flair to keep it exciting and enough personality to make you wanna holla.

Honestly, it might be a blessing we don’t live closer to Majani because I’d probably stop cooking at home as much if we did! But for anyone who hasn’t been yet—go, like, now! I've been to enough vegan spots that focus more on marketing a mediocre dish rather than pouring love into the food. Majani nailed the "home cooking", health conscious, flavor, texture, presentation, and customer service. No terrible waits. No questionable reheated dishes. No disappointment what-so-ever. Safe to say, we’ll be back next time we’re in the...

The location is understated and cozy. Not easily recognized from the street. You must be purposefully looking for it. The South Shore neighborhood eatery overlooks south Exchange St. and a Metra train stop.

Inside Aesthetics: There are a total of 7 beautiful wood seating options. 1- 2 seater, 5- 4 seaters, 1- 12 seater table. The dining area is brick with cultural accents adorning the walls and floor to ceiling windows. There is a television montior inset on the dining room's only focal wall. You'll find one well maintained restroom with a full body mirror, one over the sink face mirror, lotion and flavorful handsoap. The kitchen is open concept, completely visible and seemingly well organized and managed.

Service: During both of my visits the chefs made themselves approachable, navigating between the seating area, greeting and accommodating guests, and moving the kitchen forward. There is a full staff with 2 noticeably pleasant servers on the floor, and a cashier managing carryout orders and call-ins. On my first visit I waited about 9 minutes for my meal. During my second visit, I ordered a 2 course dinner special. I waited about 4 minutes for the first course and about 10 for the second course to arrive. The place moves like a well oiled machine. Without any background info on this restaurant I would dare say this place is NOT being run by amateurs.

The Food: Delicious, appropriately priced, delivered hot, and did I mention good, chile?! The menu items are labeled gluten free and/or soy free where it matters. Sandwiches can be placed on gluten free buns by request. I ordered the Falafel sandwich as my introduction meal. They were out of gluten free buns but offered for me to have it on a bed of lettuce. I wanted to lick the plate! On my second visit I had the dinner special. Black Eye Pea Croquettes, Quinoa, String Beans, Bre-Bre Cauliflower, and a Garden Salad with Beet Vinegarette dressing. I am NOT a fan of Black Eye Peas. As a matter of fact, I haven't eaten them since I was a child so I was leery about trying them. THOSE DAMN CROQUETTES WERE THE BOMB! I wanted to order more to go but the BRE BRE CAULIFLOWER beat it out as a take home snack. (I actually ate them after a night of drinking and I swear they tasted even better)

Conclusion: They have figured something out here and before long they'll expand across the city. The food is superb. The atmosphere is embracive. The staff are skilled and...

Jan 4 2020 update:

I originally gave this place 2 stars. Updating to 1. :/

The service is HORRIBLE.

They selectively offer a full service experience to certain (maybe frequent ?) guests.

We waited a good 20 mins, watching runners come out with food and to go containers for other guests before we were told that the service model had changed and we were to order at the counter and then the food would be ran to us.

But again, I saw them take orders at the table for guests who came after us....

It still took another 15 mins before we got the water we ordered at the counter.

It would be better to have a stand with self service water.

There are so many simple ways to make this small space work better and just make more sense. Even the tables don’t make sense for the size. They’re rather large and it’s small.

Where the food is concerned...

The bbq cauliflower was superb.

As for the oyster mushroom wrap I ordered... Due to some confusion, our food was packed up and sitting although we were dining in and the quality wasn’t to up to par.

To add a bit more to it all (live reviewing), we didn’t receive our garden salad or side of avocado with our meals.

This was disastrous

I wanted to like this place. I'd heard really good things about it.

I went one Sunday hoping to get the fried oyster sandwich. I was told I could only choose from the brunch options or have the fried grits. I chose a breakfast burrito, which was served luke warm.

The manager happily removed it and offered a brunch plate (which if I wanted, I would've ordered to begin with), but I declined.

A few minutes later, I saw the BBQ Cauliflower being served to a guest. When I inquired about how they were able to order beyond the list of limited options, the server said fried foods were an option. She didn't tell my party that at seating.

So two things: luke warm (Cold) food. The younger server needs...