Aladdin Mediterranean Grill

This is the WORST place I’ve ever eaten! My fiancé and I went to get a small bite to eat because we didn’t have much of an appetite. So we ordered the hummus and baba ganoush. The food tasted horrible! I can’t believe how bland there food tasted. They need to go to Pita Inn or Naf Naf to learn how to cook. Thank God we didn’t order any other dishes. It would have been a complete waste of money!

Went by to have lunch last weekend and there was a sign on the door stating, «Closed for remodeling and rebranding» anyone know what is happening? I was hugely disappointed. Update to the update: They are in fact CLOSED for good, there is now a Thai restaurant in its place.

I came here for a first date, which, in case you don’t know, is the most irritating kind of customer there is for a server.
Our poor waitress probably had to come to us about eight or nine times before I finally decided on food. She was lovely and helpful and I have no idea how she resisted the urge to throw spare chairs at us.
Food arrived in a timely fashion — not so quick that I questioned the source, but I also wasn’t left wondering where it was. The falafel was nice, though I was pretty distracted through the appetizer course.
The lamb shank my date ordered was massive — truly massive — and he said it was good. My shrimp and steak was absolutely heavenly. I don’t really like my meat cooked so much as threatened with the prospect of cooking, but the steak skewer was lovely and juicy, to the point that I accidentally ate all of the meat and most of the rice, when I had intended to only eat about half or a third of the plate.
Décor was predominantly clean and classy, with themed accents (lighting fixtures, etc.) and very appealing. Great place for dates, for dinner with friends and young family members, and for business dinners. Upscale-​casual; you can get away with jeans if they’re nice, but also will be very comfortable in slacks and business casual.

II’ve eaten at this place three times and after the last time I ordered take-​out, I haven’t and will not return.
The first time ordering, the food was pretty good. I went with a couple of friends and we all had the chicken skewer entrée with dill rice and Persian garden salad. Everything was pretty good. The flavors in the chicken were really subtle.
The next time dining, I tried the beef koubideh wrap. It was delicious! We all agreed that it was the best of the entrees we ordered. The chicken wasn’t as good as the first time. The salad wasn’t fresh and was watery.
The last time we ordered take-​out and ordered the beef koubideh wraps again and we also ordered beef shawarma. The koubideh was BAD. It tasted like completely unseasoned meat. It just tasted like ground lamb and beef cooked with no salt, pepper — nothing. It also had a slightly foul taste to the meat. The cucumbers tasted like refrigerator. The kicker was that the wraps come with fries. One of the wraps had ONE fry in the box. Yes, ONE fry. Why did they even bother? It was almost comical, but at the same time we couldn’t believe that someone in their right mind would put one fry in the box. I was lucky with mine and got around 3 – 4 fries. Were they out of fries or something? If so, they should have offered something else. With the lack of fries and our wraps that ultimately had to be thrown out, we were turned off. At the same time, my husband was eating the beef shewarma in the other room and yelled out «never order this food again». Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased with his food either.
This place could have potential, but as another reviewer stated, they don’t put enough effort in their food. Each time we ate there, the food was very inconsistent and there was only one young guy running around waiting on each table.
I now go to Larsa’s when I want Mediterranean food, I’m not wiling to give this place another try.
I wish this small restaurant the best of luck, but they need to work on the quality and consistency of their food.

I have high middle eastern food standards from east Detroit area, where half the population is some sort of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern. Regardless, everything was very bland. I would not go back. My husband gave it ³⁄₁₀ for the food and I really felt the same. Extra stars for amazing service and the good location. The parking is easy and the location is great, it’s by every store known to mankind.

The service was great and the food is delicious. Falafel is tasty but a bit more fried then I remember from last time. Bath was excellent. Remember dishes are rather bland but add the tahini or yogurt sauce to add some flavor. We’ll be back. :)

AMAZING FIND! My husband and I decided to try Aladdin for Valentine’s Day this year. We were hesitant but it was amazing! I had the Barg & Chicken. It’s marinated filet mignon & marinated Chicken served with your choice of white rice, dill rice (which has a slight dill taste with Lima beans mixed in), or veggies. My husband had the beef & chicken koubideh. Pretty much the same thing I had but the meat was ground then put on a skewer. We also tried the saffron chicken soup and the chocolate mousse bomb and the falafel. Everything was AMAZING! There was so much food that we had to bring home some for lunch the next day. We will definitely be going back. Don’t hesitate, just try it. The wait staff is amazingly helpful by explaining everything and providing suggestions. It cost us around $ 50 for everything we had with drinks. Go and try it out!

This is a small place with probably seating for about 30 odd people give or take, not a place to take a really big group, because I doubt if you will get seats for everyone. There was just one guy to receive us at the door, even before we really entered, he kinda asked us — «table for just two» !!! He was the only one running around and serving about 3 — 4 tables, answering questions etc. I thought he was friendly and did give us a lot of information about the way food was prepared.
The décor in this place — is AMAZING. Like really amazing. I really really liked that and it had not so loud middle eastern music going on, which did give an overall really good ambiance. We started off with a couple of appetizers — Falafel and the Kash-​Ke-​Bademjan. I thought the Falafel was really good — fresh and crisp, with a side of Tahini. I have never had this «Kash-​ke-​bademjan» which was good. It was a little different from baba ghanoush (since that is like eggplant hummus) and the fresh soft bread that came along was really good.
The entrée we got was a chicken shawarma wrap and Chicken soltani (which is a chicken barg and chicken kiboueh) with some dill rice. This was such a large plate — definitely two people can eat this. The chicken kiboueh is like a long chicken sausage which is nothing but ground chicken mixed with spices and made into a sausage, which is then grilled. The chicken barg were proper chicken skewers which tasted pretty good and rice was definitely fresh. I thought shawarma was average and overall entrees were average.
The dessert — we got the mousse and the baklava, both were uhmm ok. I thought the baklava was better, but then it was much smaller than anticipated. I thought the syrup/​dressing on the baklava could have been avoided — just cause there is too much there than just a drizzle, with the baklava already sweet. (think this was a honey syrup I guess).
P. S. I went ahead because there was «Iranian food» supposedly, but when I went and asked the waiter, he said it was usual persian/​middle eastern flavors alone. I mean, I don’t mind that, but it kinda gave me some false hope.

Great falafel! Fresh baked bread on Tuesday afternoons, which goes great with baba ghannoug. Great atmosphere. Too bad more people aren’t frequenting this place! We’ll come back.

Wow!!! So glad to be able to give a 5 star rating to this place! We came to celebrate my son’s birthday as he chose to eat here.
I was expecting a «Pita inn» type experience. Don’t get me wrong, Pita Inn is a decent medeterrain restaurant. However, our experience at Aladdin was the Cadillac of our dining experience.
First we started off with pita bread and hummus. It was remarkably delicious and I am not usually a hummus fan! My son had the Koubideh, which was tender, seasoned sirloin beef served w/​white rice and a grilled tomato. My husband and our exchange student ordered the lamb shank which they both enjoyed. I had the grilled shrimp and chenjah, which is tender chunks of filet mignon. The shrimp seasoning was to die for, really delicious generous pieces! The grilled veggies, tomatoes, peppers and onions were also grilled to perfection.
To top off our meal, we enjoyed baklava and chocolate mouse like cake.
The restaurant was clean, warm and inviting, nicely done décor to include a fire place.
Our server, Karolina took good care of us. We will definitely be back!!!

I don’t get places like this. It’s a great location and a beautiful restaurant yet you put ZERO effort into your food. I ordered the kabob and was anxiously awaiting my meal until I heard the beep beep beep of the microwave. Seriously? You microwaved the rice for my entrée at a Mediterranean restaurant. One of the staples of your meal is thrown in a box and nuked for a minute.
The chicken looked nice but had no flavor whatsoever. My guest ordered the falafel and it he said it was good, I tried a piece and would disagree.
I hate slamming places based on my personal opinion but I was as disappointed in this place as I could possibly be.
The food is zero stars, the young man working the establishment was great and the men’s room was spotless so a star for each.
Would not return.

Visited for the first time today. Food is remarkably fresh and delicious. Really enjoyed the tabbouli salad and overall quality of ingredients. It’s obvious the food is prepared with care. Excellent service and a much-​needed addition to the area.

Maybe it’s because I came at a dead time around 2:45pm today, but I wasn’t impressed by the $ 10 chicken shawarma dinner I ordered. For $ 10, I would expect a little more than dried chicken and grilled veggies. No pita bread or rice unless you order as side. Chicken was pretty dry as I chalk that up to the fact that I probably had the leftovers from the lunch crowd. Maybe eating in at a «normal» time would improve the quality of the food. The server/​cashier who took my order was friendly and patient as it was my first time there.

I would give them 2 ½ stars if I could.
The tabouli/​tabbouleh is not finely ground and included barely any wheat or parsley. It was top heavy on cucumber, which was not even listed as an ingredient on the menu and typically isn’t included in this dish.
The kash-​ke-​bademjan was ok. Flavor was good. Nothing to complain about, though nothing to rave about either.
There is no firindan on the menu, which was disappointing to me.
The place was empty when I arrived for my carry out at 3.

Our first time and Aladdin Mediterranean Grill did not disappoint!
The hummus appetizer was excellent! The pita wedges were fresh and soft. We also ordered the lentil soup which was fragrant and really delicious. My husband ordered the shawarma beef wrap and I ordered the falafel wrap. Both were really, really good, we each were raving about our choices. They each came with French fries (I think it was from the lunch menu). Sharing the hummus three ways (kids were with us but didn’t order), and with a bowl of the soup, we each only finished half of our wrap (and I didn’t eat the fries). The portions are a great size and the quality of the food is excellent. I also really enjoyed the hot black tea with my meal.
Not as important but just for the record, I loved the dishes and glassware they used! The tables are nice, the décor is really pretty (and looks a little fancy), and the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.
Overall I would highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who likes Mediterranean food. I hope this place is around for a long time, I will certainly be coming back!

I have been here for dinner twice already, and each time I loved it. I’ve tried their Baba Ghanoug, Kashkeh Bodemjan, their marinated beef, marinated chicken, dill rice, beef schwarma and all of their desserts. Everything was delicious and well seasoned. Nothing was overcooked and juicy. Highly recommend trying their grilled vegetables and their dill rice. It’s a small intimate place, but it’s a nice change from the over populated and loud restaurants surrounding.
Only thing that I would recommend to their owner is adding more lamb choices, and appetizers. They need to have some kind of stuffed dolmeh option. Maybe some soups too!
Otherwise, I highly recommend going here if you looking for a nice change from your normal chain restaurant/​American cuisine routine. I love that they have brought a place like this into the suburbs and bringing some more culture.

A quaint place located within the Algonquin Commons. I was craving Hummus and Shawarma that night, and this place loomed over the horizon. Didn’t even have to use my Unilocal app!
Atmosphere:
The person who did the interior design did some spiffy work! I love the elegant yet not overly stimulating places. An introvert can truly feel at home at places such as these. There are cultural art pieces that blend really well with the atmosphere. My favorite part of the visit was the ethnic music! It was like if Aladdin wished for Mediterranean House music lol. I would come back for the atmosphere alone, and would consider this place as date place material.
Service:
Our waiter was friendly and informative. He even joked with us on occasion when he noticed a couple quirks within our group. I wish I could have gotten the easy going guys name. He even adjusted the light shining upon our table a notch higher when we were about to eat. That was really cool and a fun way of letting hungry people know that their food is arriving lol.
Food:
It was a tad disappointing as it was the first time I have ever had Shawarma. Yes, I only ordered it because of The Avengers post credits scene lol. The meats were a tad dry in comparison to the wonderfully moist rice and juicy tomatoes. The sides were much more livelier than the meat for sure. But my favorite item that night was definitely the Pita bread with Hummus. The texture of the Hummus and warmth of the bead really took it home. I am now considering becoming a Hummus connoisseur!
Aladdin’s Lamp granted my wishes with their Hummus and relaxing atmosphere. It was so nice to unwind after a busy day with friends. The waiter took care of us well and the food hits the spot with generous portions. I might decide to update the review once I try their Chicken and Beef skewers. This would be my go to place if I am ever in the Algonquin area again.

My wife and I have dined at Aladdin Grill on a few occasions, with positive results each time. Each time we were there for our evening meal, so we really cannot attest to lunch prices and such.
You start with a plate of radishes, parsley and feta cheese, accompanied by a basket of bread. No, no pita here… but the bread is very very good, and always toasty-​warm. Try a simple stack of radish, feta and parsley. The parsley has a cooling effect and helps cleanse your palate.
We’ve had a few of the appetizer selections. The baba ghanoush was delicious, as was the hummus, which had a more lemony taste than I’ve experienced, but it was still quite tasty. There is another eggplant appetizer as well– I can’t recall the name, but it’s also very good.
Dinner is usually some form of meat– you choose either grilled straight-​up, or they grind it, add spices and form it on a skewer before grilling. The beef chenjeh is sirloin, so basically chunks of steak, accompanied by either rice (2 kinds) or grilled veggies. Either option is wonderful– grilled peppers are very nice, but the rice is a good choice too.
A word about sauce/spice…other reviewers are claiming that there was no sauce. The food speaks for itself. The cuts of meat were high quality, and the rice was perfectly done. However, they DO give you two bottles of sauce to apply if you wish. One is red, and quite fiery, while the other is white, and still has a kick though not as much. I like the white sauce blended in with the rice… delicious.

My husband and I decided to give this a try during his lunch break. We ordered hummus, chicken schwarma wrap, and the chicken kaboucha (sorry, spelling’s way off) wrap. The descriptions on the menu say the food is wrapped in bread, but it’s actually a tortilla, making these more of a Mediterranean burrito. I say ditch the tortilla and just offer extra bread on the side. The chicken in my schwarma wrap was ROCK hard. Way over cooked. But the pickles were delicious! I don’t know if it’s because they used persian cukes or a blend of different spices, but I really liked the pickes. Also, there was too much rice for my taste. If I wanted a fat burrito filled with rice, I would’ve gone to Chipotle.
The kid that served us was quite pleasant. Other than the cook, he was the only one there, which made for a slightly longer wait on everything. But we were in and out in a half an hour. There were 8 people in 3 tables during lunch. I can’t imagine if there had been any more people. We walked out of there spending about $ 25 with tip. I’d rather go to the other Mediterranean place on North Randall.

Cook is Iranian and has fresh fusion ideas. Falafel was amazing. The naan is totally different, which I like. Had a chicken shawarma wrap (not pita), which was a cool funky Mediterranean-​Mexican fusion thing. Jalapeño sauce (evidently traditional Iranian) was good too. Food was overall excellent. Service was excellent. Will definitely be back and bring friends.
My only suggestion would be more meat, less rice in the wrap.