Cairo Kebab — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Everything was tasty and flavorful!

Came on a Saturday afternoon the place was empty. The decor is simple and elegant and the music is in tune with the Egyptian theme which was nice.

We ordered the eggplant appetizer which came with warm pita bread. The eggplant was very tasty and flavorful! I enjoyed all the fresh herb toppings and eggplant was soft and creamy and didn't taste deep fried like the menu description stated. It was a cold appetizer though which I wasn't expecting, I thought it would be warm since it said deep fried but it was very good regardless and I highly recommend!

For our entrees we ordered the shawarma platter of beef and lamb with yellow rice and red onions which was huge! Definitely worth $20, we had leftovers to take home. The yellow rice was rich in flavor, soft and fluffy and very tasty. The beef and lamb was tender and well seasoned. I will say though that I couldn't taste the lamb and I'm wondering if they even gave me lamb at all it was hard to tell bc I think they mixed both meats together so everything tasted like beef to me and I couldn't taste lamb which makes me think they only gave me beef.🤔

We also ordered the chefs specialty which was the molakheya dish. The chicken was tender and tasty and the white rice was soft and fluffy and had a subtle sweetness, it was good but not as flavorful as the yellow rice. The molakheya itself had an extremely slimy consistency similar to okra and it tasted good flavor wise but I wasn't a fan of the slimy consistency. I would not recommend nor order it again but I am glad I tried it for the first time. Unless you like a slimy dipping stew then I'd skip this. It is very traditional dish from Egypt and Lebanon but for $22 not sure it was worth the portion size.

We also ordered the chicken orzo soup $6 but I was disappointed bc the description on the menu states it has chicken but there was no chicken in it at all and the broth was a tad bit salty. Would not recommend.

Our waitress was polite but she did not come and check on us once our food was brought to the table. It would have been nice if she checked once if we needed anything else like extra napkins etc. Once our food was brought to the table we didn't see her again and had to flag her down later.

Overall, I'm glad I tried the food it was delicious for the most part but I don't think I will return. The menu is a small selection and there wasn't anything else I'd be interested in trying.

Metered parking, very...

After hearing about Cairo Kebab from an Egyptian friend of mine who discovered it in his neighborhood, I was so looking forward to patronizing them. Last night, my friend and I had dinner there and he wasn't exaggerating, the food was so tasty. I'm vegetarian and they had plenty of options which won me over immediately. Service was good from our first foot in the door. From the wait staff to the owner, you felt welcomed.

We started with the fried eggplant, and I'll call them Egyptian falafel as appetizers. Yum and yum! I'm extremely picky about my falafel and these were flavorful, crisp and not at all greasy. The eggplant, which I love but can never properly cook was also flavorful drizzled with I believe a garlic sauce and a spicy sauce. Soooo good!

For our entrées, we shared plates. I'd been hearing about koshary from him so I had to try it. It's definitely a carb heavy dish but worth it. Reminded me a bit of my tata's (grandma's) emjadara, which is a similar Palestinian dish. I was also thrilled to find molokhia on the menu and so we ordered that as well. I love that the molokhia is not cooked with the chicken but rather as two separate dishes so I was able to indulge on the soup while my friend enjoyed the chicken. Egyptian molokhia is made differently from what I'm used to, with the leaves being finely chopped versuse whole, and it was delicious in its own right. More garlicky than lemony, it was tasty over the flavorful rice that accompanied it. Eating here was not like eating at a restaurant but at your tata's house.

Our meal was washed down with non alcoholic pomegranate beer and tea. Wish we had room for dessert, but the food was so good I opted to use belly space for apps and mains. I will definitely be back and will be bringing friends when they visit.

I highly recommend giving Cairo Kebab a visit. And come on an empty stomach so you can try a little bit of this and...

I have had a lot of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food, but I have yet to eat at an Egyptian restaurant. This blew all my prior experiences out of the water. Starting off with arriving ~30 min before close (which I am really ashamed of and am fully aware of the societal faux pas), only for them to let us order take-out, then let us dine in. Which was already incredibly generous, and they encouraged us to enjoy our food and not rush. It truly felt like they cared more about feeding us and creating a good experience more than closing on time. Now to the food…

We ordered: Hummus with meat (lamb and beef shawarma), Cairo Platter, and the Kofta Kebab.

I have never had shawarma outside of a sandwich so I did not have the same experience as others with me, but for them it was in their opinion the best shawarma they have had since visiting the Middle East. I’m not a huge fan of hummus but the combination with the meat was the best tasting hummus I’ve had. They made the best kofta kebab I have had to date across all varieties I’ve tried. I have had really tender kofta and chicken kebabs, but the amount of flavor they were able to infuse into the meat took it to the next level for me. I wasn’t able to try any of the beef it was all snatched before I could get to it, but I imagine it was just as good. Finally, the white rice, grilled onions and green peppers that came with our orders. I love green peppers and onions, so it was a nice surprise with our meals, they were grilled so nicely! The rice was the perfect balance to the meal and quite addictive. I cannot recommend this place enough, it...