Rumi Middle Eastern Grill — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Today’s date is October 16, 2018. I was searching online for a middle eastern Restaurant as I am very familiar with the food. I called and asked to order a tabouli salad with chicken shawarma on top Since I do not eat bread or rice for my diet. The girl that answered the phone said they cannot do that. I then asked her how much is the chicken kabob skewer a la carte, she said $3.50 (I was thinking to jus order that with tabbouleh. But I told her I will look at the menu online and call back. I did call back about ten minutes later, before I took my lunch break and the same girl answered, I told her I would like to order one small side of hummus, one side of tabbouleh, a small order of falafel and one chicken kabob skewer. She said she can’t sell the chicken skewer alone, it has to be in a pita or a plate or on salad. I told her that I don’t eat bread or rice and I wanted to order it that way. She said OK I will do it for you this time And the skewer is $4.00. I told her I’m not interested in ordering and I’m going to be honest that was the worst first impression to try a place that is new to me. I I’m not telling the owner or manager what to do but I will say that it is unusual especially for Mediterranean or Middle Eastern restaurant to not offer to sell chicken kebab or beef kebab skewers a la carte. Some people don’t eat rice some people don’t eat bread and maybe some people don’t want to order it on a salad. The girl on the phone clearly has minimal experience in dealing with customers. Unfortunately I will not be...

Maybe it’s because I ordered for delivery, usually never goes accordingly these days, but the food was mid. I ordered last night and I had hopes that this place would do me right, but my gut was telling me it might not be worth the risk. Last time I ever question my gut instincts with food - I usually don’t. And that’s after many bad experiences over the years throughout the U.S. . The falafels were super mid, borderline bad. I got the mix plate and the kefta was not it, kind of undercooked, I honestly think it made me nauseous throughout today. The chicken was probably the best, but even that could’ve used more seasoning. And don’t get me started on the hummus. Somehow it was dry AND bland, literally tasted like nothing and I know it’s not because of COVID. Certainly not the worst Arab/middle eastern place I’ve eaten from, but far from the best. Like opposite side of Chicago far, if Waukegan is where the worst is at, lol. Kind of disappointed overall but at least I know not to try my chances here again. Whether you want to try it or not is up to you, we all have agency (or something), but if your gut is telling you to go with another middle eastern restaurant, you’re probably better off trusting your instincts and...

I don't usually find myself this far up North on Milwaukee, though as the Blue O'Hare bound currently isn't stopping at my normal stop, I have been walking by Rumi on my way home, and I finally decided to give it a try.

The staff is very friendly, and helpful, I decided on the "All-in Platter" Plate to get a feel of the diversity of items on their menu. This seems to consist of Gyro Meat, Chicken Swarma, what I believe may have been Lamb Kabob, Falafel, Basmati Rice, half of a pita and some sort of Mint Salad. (please note order yourself an extra full pita if you like to eat pita with this type of food the price for one is pretty cheap :P)

I found the meats of the plate tasty, and left a pleasent long lasting spicy flavor on my palate that I have not experience quite a while. That I would consider mildly spicy. The only thing that I didn't really care for was the mint, just not a big fan of mint in general, so I can't really attest to how good the salad was. The pitas are excellent, get yourself an extra one.

The menu is 100% Zabinhah Halal according to their website. I would say definately go if you want a different take on this region's...