Al Bahaar — Restaurant in Orland Township

There is an edit, tldr the owner fixed all the issues. Owner is rated 6/5.

So we ordered the seafood tower and my mother proceeded to ask whether or not it came with rice. The server said no, so my mother ordered the paella. The server, WITHOUT informing us, changes our platter to a fried seafood platter because it comes with rice and then tells us it's the same $165 platter which is not true. The fried platter did not come with lobster even though it is the same price supposedly. They then tried to gaslight us by telling us it's what we ordered. They said the platter they are charging us for usually came with two lobster tails. They brought us one tail cut in two with two shrimp as an apology like we are stupid. Why even lie in the apology? The seafood tower is the only platter on the menu for +$150. The food was tasty but hopefully you get what you order when you come. Photo attached, clearly not the seafood tower. Yes we ate it hoping we would eventually run into the lobster. As first time customers unfamiliar with middle eastern cuisine, we didn't know what to expect and the menu has no pictures. The seafood being breaded made it much more difficult to discern until the food was eaten. Management was not helpful either.

Can't recommend any platter even though it was good as I'm still not sure what platter off the menu that they brought us (because it wasnt on the menu).

Edit: after my mother talked to the owner, he fixed the price and made things right. Had it been right from the beginning, it would've been 5,5,5. I hope the server staff pulls it together. Alot...

This was honestly one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. I rarely write reviews, but I feel like people need to be warned.

We walked in and were seated fairly quickly, which gave us hope—but that’s where the good part ended. After being seated, it took nearly 15 minutes just to get someone to take our drink orders. The restaurant wasn’t even busy, so I don’t understand what the delay was. The staff seemed disorganized and uninterested, like they had no system in place for who’s taking care of what table.

Once we finally ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes to arrive, and when it did, it was barely warm. My meal looked like it had been sitting under a heat lamp,

To make things worse, the food was mediocre at best. Bland, under-seasoned, and honestly not something you’d expect to pay a premium for. Nothing tasted fresh.

Then came the bill. For five people, with just fires and hummus appetizer and two entrées, no alcohol, the total came out to nearly $310 I’m not exaggerating. I don’t mind paying more for quality food and good service, but this was neither. It felt like a complete bathrooms weren’t clean, and it felt like nobody working there cared about the experience they were providing. It’s one thing to have a bad day in the kitchen, but the combination of slow service, overpriced food, poor attitude, and lack of cleanliness made it a hard no for me.

We left frustrated, still kind of hungry, and completely disappointed. I don’t recommend this place to anyone. Save yourself the time and money and go somewhere that actually respects...

Excellent place for family. We came here for my niece's birthday. There were about 18 of us, including some young children. We had an amazing time. We were seated and waited for the rest of our party. They were late but Jaser is just about the coolest guy you're ever going to meet. There was an unspoked understanding that our reserved tables had some kind of time limit but instead of being upset Jaser keep checking in on us and being pleasant. When everyone finally got there, the food service was instantaneous. They took the orders, brought out our water and drinks while we waited. When the food came it was like a buffet because we had so many different dishes. Between all of us, we order Dynamite Shrimp, mozzarella sticks, avocado salad, Greek salad, Lamb Chops, the al-bahaar mixed grill, red snapper, table side tomahawk steak, Sautéed broccoli, Filet Mignon, macaroni and cheese, and all kinds of teas, fresh orange juice, and a smoothie. I'm not even sure if that was all of the food but that's most of it. Also, Jaser and the crew went out of their way to make something for the children since they don't have an official "kid's meal". It was grilled chicken with rice, and they loved it. I know this was a long one, but I wanted to show my appreciation for a wonderful restaurant with top-notch staff, that deserves to be highlighted. The atmosphere was beautiful, the bathrooms were clean and well maintained, and there's plenty of parking. Definitely returning with my wife soon.

Sorry about the photo quality, these were...