Noon O Kabab Chicago — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

I don't easily give 5 stars, ever since I told a restaurant owner in Dallas why I believe his restaurant was better than his competitors and after ten years of doing a great job, right after my compliment they got rid of all their good elements😔

I have no such fear about Noon o kabab because I have spoken with the gentleman who owns it enough to know that he is a man with a big heart, not afraid of being better and doesn't feel remorse for being the best.

I don't know where to start, or if I can tell how amazing they are.

1. They are generous, not just in portions but also in many small details, like that touch of saffron or garlic in their mixed rice, or that rosewater in tea or the powdered herbs in Persian salad.

These details are what separates restaurants that are genuinely good as opposed to those who do barely enough to look good, and contribute greatly to the taste, though may not be too visible to the naked eyes.

2. They were not always great, 15 years ago they were just as average as others, but in the last decade they went above and beyond and I can taste flavors here that I haven't seen for long, reminding me of how food was 40 years ago when I was a child in Iran, a clear sign that they are not skimping on any good ingredients like spice or good oil that cost money, while sadly many other middle eastern restaurants even in Detroit that is the hub of middle eastern food cut corners by not using any invisible quality item, including natural spice and use food coloring instead, and try to compensate their lack of taste by throwing a jalapeno to fool your taste buds.

3. They have true variety, a task that is not easy and takes true leadership.

4. I love lamb, and they are not afraid to provide numerous lamb dishes despite lamb higher cost. My only wish is that one day they have fesenjoon with lamb meat balls just like I loved it when I was a child 🤤

5. Not only their price point is right, but also they have done something amazing, for those who want a fine dining experience they have a separate dining room and for budget customers another room. But if you think that means they do not treat you with respect and smile you are mistaken.

6. They have free parking, an amenity that not many are generous enough to provide in a city like Chicago.

7. My daughter who is very picky and didn't like koobide kabab is now with me that their lamb koobide is amazing, so now I always get some extra lamb koobide to go for her after I dine in on my way back to hometown.

8. This year for the first time they offered a dinner buffet for a month, I hope they can continue that and may do that like once a week or month in other times too.

Bottom line, I have seen many good people in my life who don't necessarily succeed, and in this tough restaurant industry too. But I am delighted to see a great exception like the owner/manager of this restaurant (that by the way have 4 branches and I hope he opens one in Western suburbs too) to show me that you can be good and successful at the same time, and most importantly you don't get tired of being good year after year and don't fall victim to your own greatness.

Thank you for exemplifying the true Persian...

I have been going to this restaurant for the past three plus years. It's always an easy go to for decent food (+ like others have point out, you don't go here for service)

I had the worst/weirdest experience with what turned out to be one of the owners yesterday. I pulled into the parking lot to go into the restaurant. I like going in for any food I am picking up and sitting down to get dessert or tea - otherwise i would just get delivery. I like sitting down to enjoy the atmosphere and something sweet and then taking food home for later. In the parking lot, some older guy is yelling at me while I am waiting for him to pull away so I could park in a spot he was blocking. He keeps yelling so I pulled my window down. He is asking me to move so someone else can leave which does not make sense since I will already be out of the way once I park and he leaves. At some point he is telling me if I am picking up that I should go park somewhere else. I am confused and annoyed by this point because why is a random man telling me what to do in a parking lot instead of leaving so I can park in a spot he is blocking. He is also assuming I am picking up food for some reason. Is it because I am a brown person in a honda? Is that his profile for uber delivery drivers who I can only guess how he treats from this interaction.

He then decides to back up and take the spot instead of driving off after a minute of just staring me down as I am sitting there waiting for him to leave. I am shaking by this point because I hate confrontation and it just such a weird situation. In that moment I decide he was being an asshole and decide to park behind him because what an actual mean thing to do. 1. Why are you assuming you know what I am going to do. 2. Why pull back into a spot when you were leaving?

I go inside and turns out this wonderful addition to our society who just had a showdown with someone less than half his age in the parking lot is possibly a manager or owner of this place. I should have just canceled my order and left, but I needed a minute to calm down so I order a salad and sit. He has an employee come up to me and ask me to move my car. At this point, I am calming down a bit but still shaken up and decide to cancel the order I placed to dine in and grab my food and leave.

I kept thinking about the whole interaction on my drive home and this morning. I keep rethinking what I could have done differently to get to a result where this grandpa would have left the parking lot and me alone. I threw away the food I ordered to go because I felt so disgusted for being made feel so small. over a parking spot. I am not sure what gives this man the audacity to do what he did, but after years of recommending this place and eating here - I don't think I could go back in good faith.

To the owner's response below: he was behind the counter and instructing staff. I am happy to upload a picture I took before...

This was hands down one of the WORST dining experiences of my life. I honestly regret wasting my time and money here.

From the moment I walked in, it was chaos. No one bothered to greet me, no one cared to guide me to a table, and I had to figure everything out on my own like I didn’t even exist. How do you run a restaurant and fail at the most basic part of hospitality? Hire a person to stand at the door, greet customers, and ask about a table — that’s the bare minimum. Instead, you give customers this stupid excuse for “hospitality” that doesn’t exist here at all.

Your staff not only lacked knowledge about the food, but they also had the audacity to act rude and arrogant. They judge customers by appearance, give attitude when you ask a question, and act like they’re doing YOU a favor by even being there. Absolutely disgusting behavior. There is one lady who has so much attitude and doesn’t even know what she thinks of herself.

And when I finally tried to ask about the dishes, nobody explained anything clearly. If you’re running a Middle Eastern restaurant, hire people who actually know the food! Customers shouldn’t have to feel embarrassed or brushed off just for asking. Instead, I was left completely frustrated and disrespected.

The service was beyond pathetic. It felt like the staff were more interested in standing around, chatting with each other, and avoiding work rather than serving actual paying customers. On top of that, you only seem to care about big groups — ignoring other customers completely. Every guest deserves respect, and priority should be given to the people who enter first, not whoever shows up in a big group.

If it’s “too difficult” to attend to all customers at once, then the owner should go and learn how to properly run a restaurant: assign each worker to a table and make sure they take care of that table until the customers leave. That’s called organization, and clearly this place has none.

Honestly, I’ve had better service at cheap fast-food chains. At least there, they greet you, respect you, and give you what you paid for. This place was a complete disgrace.

If the owner or manager actually cares, maybe go visit other Middle Eastern restaurants and see how real hospitality is done. Learn something about how to organize staff, how to treat customers with respect, and how to run a professional business. Right now, your restaurant is failing at all of it.

Your food may have brought me here, but your staff made sure I’ll NEVER come back. The level of disrespect, arrogance, and careless attitude from your workers left me boiling with frustration. I wish I could write even more or do something beyond a review to show how horrible this experience was. This is without a doubt the WORST restaurant staff I have...