Singh's Kitchen — Restaurant in Libertyville

I've been to Singh's Kitchen before and usually had really good experiences-- I'm sure they have usually very good brunch food, I've enjoyed their dinner before. But I must admit I've left my brunch experience there a little bit confused. I ordered the Mango French Toast, and my boyfriend ordered the Chicken and Waffles. This is possibly partially on us because we didn't want to bring up any problems, and I wasn't sure how to broach the problem to our waitress (it was her first brunch shift), but the food that we ordered did not match the food we received, and it does not resemble the food in other people's reviews even slightly. When I recieved the Mango French Toast, it was two slices of plain white bread. It was not banana bread, as the menu description mentions. It also lacked the mango cream cheese and tamarind drizzle, which comprise the other two listings in the menu description. It came instead with two slices of plain white bread and mango sorbet, (possibly), and a small cup of maple syrup. At the time, I was mostly confused by the lack of banana bread and when our waitress said it was her first brunch shift, I just decided I didn't want to cause her any problems. She said that the lack of banana bread was due to the holiday (Diwali) and that they hadn't gotten a shipment of banana bread, but also had elected not to tell us about the substitution, because they were "trying something new." My boyfriend's chicken and waffles did not come with waffles, nor did it come with tamarind drizzle. Instead, it came with two slices of the same plain french toast I had received, and maple syrup as well. When we left, I had assumed that we had just seriously overestimated their brunch menu and perhaps everyone else had had the same experience. Maybe it's just best as a dinner restaurant! That's okay, I get it-- it's hard to balance different demographics and menus as a small business. However, upon getting back to the car and looking at other people's brunch photos, I've come to question what exactly happened. The food that other people received during brunch looks great, has larger portions, and displays all components of the menu listing. The food that both my boyfriend and I received might well have come from an entirely different restaurant, and we paid the same price for entirely different and lesser dishes. I really do hate causing a fuss, our waitress was doing her best and we didn't want to cause any problems for her. We've had good dinners here. It's simply that for an 86 dollar order, I would have liked to receive the food other patrons have historically received, and what is described on the menu. I didn't take pictures, because frankly it didn't seem particularly photographable or worthy of note. Just circles of a frozen mango ice cream on top of plain french toast and two pieces of chicken atop the same. At the time, I didn't think it worth the effort. I'm just really confused and honestly, I'd like an explanation as to what happened because I normally love and highly recommend Singh's and I'm pretty disappointed. Edit: I talked it out with the owner, who was very responsive. They did explain a little bit of the behind the scenes aspect to what happened and offered a refund and a comped meal. I feel that's more than adequate, although I'm still not particularly sure I'd like to go back any time soon. Presumably people who were going at any other time than we did would have a much better experience, which is pure luck and just how things shake out sometimes. I would still recommend the restaurant...

Was SUPER excited to try this place out. While I am not a fan of fusion food (takes away from the originality and credit for the real origins of the original dishes), I liked their menu when I saw it online. Sure it has fusion options but it ALSO had some traditional Indian Punjabi dishes. We ordered several different things. There were a few hits and a few misses.

First up; of course my favorite appetizer, the samosas. These were really good. Smaller than the traditional samosas (3 pieces) but were definitely made in house. The masala had the hint of garam masala. Sadly, the first round that came was not properly fried making it cold in the center so they gave us PERFECT samosas after that.

We also ordered the samosa chaat which I thought was well executed. A little on the tangy side but great flavor.

Vada Pav was what we ordered next. While everyone thought it was ok, for me it was a big miss. To understand why though, you have to know that a vada pav is not from the northern state of Punjab in India. It's actually from the western state of Maharashtra in India. So while the attempt on flavor was definitely great, I couldn't even compare it to an original vada pav. Being so different in flavors, I would recommend them to not call it a vada pav (since the flavors I think might work). The other thing I found was that the bread on this was not fresh or had been left out too long. It was a little dry.

For the meat eaters, we ordered the tandoori grill. At $36, it did not disappoint in terms of the amount of food. It came with sheekh kabab (my fav of the meats), jumbo shrimp (way overcooked and too dry but flavor on it was spot on), tandoori fish (cooked BEAUTIFULLY but did not absorb the flavors well), creamy malai tikka (wonderfully cooked and flavorful) and tandoori chicken (not bad).

The garlic naan was again not like what you would get in India but for an Indian restaurant in the US, it wasn't bad.

The last thing we ordered was the signature chole bhatoore. The chole was EPIC. In fact, the meat eaters liked it so much we all came with the concensus that we wish we would not have ordered the tandoori platter as the chole was just something we could not stop eating (however the room in our stomachs would not cooperate).

The bhatoore was a little bit of a surprise though. I can't say it was bad (even though I didn't like it) because after this meal, I learned that a bhatoora in Delhi is like this. I know a bhatoora as this deep fried bread that really pops up to larger than the plate it's served on. Now I've never tried or seen what a bhatoora looks like in Delhi so I can't criticize this one. If anyone from Delhi comes here and reads this review, let me know how it is based on Delhi standards.

All in all a fantastic interior, very well intentioned service. They however did forget to give us tomato shorba (it was not added to our bill) but nevertheless, it was a loss.

All in all, we really enjoyed the place and food. Would definitely try and get back here again to...

Update 3/16/24- During my return visit, I was delighted to be served by Ram, whose exceptional service truly enhanced the dining experience. Ram’s attentiveness and professionalism were exemplary, ensuring that our meal flowed smoothly and all our needs were met promptly. His recommendations added to the enjoyment of the evening, and his warm demeanor made us feel welcomed and valued as guests. I also had the pleasure of meeting the owner’s mother, whose presence added an extra layer of warmth and hospitality to the dining experience. Her genuine interest in ensuring our satisfaction was evident, as she took the time to engage with us and ensure everything was to our liking. Her personal touch, combined with the delicious food and excellent service, made the evening truly special. It’s clear that hospitality runs in the family, and their graciousness further solidified my positive impression of the restaurant. My recent experience has restored my faith in this establishment, and I wholeheartedly recommend giving it another chance.

I was so excited to try this restaurant based on previous reviews. I had been talking to my friend about this restaurant and how good it was and since she had never tried Indian food before I suggested we try this restaurant. The experience wasn’t good at all. Before going to the restaurant I checked the website as well as contacted the restaurant about there being a happy hour at the restaurant I was told yes there is this percentage off on drinks from 4-6. When I arrived I inquired about that the waiter said he didn’t know what I was talking about and they had no happy hour. Ok, that’s fine.

We then went to order, I ordered samosas my friend ordered the chicken wings. The chicken wings were drumsticks and to top it off or not the sauce on the drumsticks was cold and the drumsticks tasted as if they had been cooked days ago. It was rough to eat, the sauce was cold and bland. We were so dissatisfied that we decided to get the check and go. I was very disappointed...