Baba Palace

Excellent food, was cooked by non Indian at the grill. Atmosphere and ambiance is typical of hole in the wall, but who cares when food is awesome and open till late

Blargh.
In efforts to order a meal that was not pizza via Grub Hub, my guy and I decided that we’d get down on some grilled chicken kabobs and some hummus. Sounds good, right? We usually have great luck with Middle Eastern food because it’s super flavorful and you can usually order something at least moderately healthy.
So we both ordered the chicken kabobs.
They arrived about an hour late. BOOOOOOOO.
The food was bland as bland can possibly be.
Imagine chicken with no seasoning at all served over absolutely plain white rice and a sad looking piece of lettuce (yes, I said piece) and a watery tomato wedge. Then further imagine boring, bland hummus and stale pitas.
Gross.
We tried to trudge through, but honestly, I gave up about ¼ of the way through my meal. On the upside, my appetite was completely destroyed, so I guess that I ingested far fewer calories than I would have should the food have been remotely appetizing.

I am not sure why I am even giving them a 1 rating. They made some sort of chef change recently I guess and the food SUCKS. I ordered their chili chicken and it was TASTELESS, RAW and UNDER-​COOKED. It was just pathetic. DO NOT GO THERE UNLESS u WANT TO GET FOOD POISONING…

The meat feels like your biting into a leather shoe, dirty inside. Defiantly don’t recommend this place to anyone. Stay clear!

Excellent value for $$. Each dish serves 2 – 3. A family favorite since 2003.
Chili Chicken — Brother’s favorite and I have to order 4 to satisfy his cravings. Good balance on spices.
Palak Paneer — Mom’s favorite and could eat it forever.
Aaloo Gosht and Palak Gosht — I simply like mutton and I switch between the two to avoid being boring. :-)
Chai — best in the neighborhood. I always get one when in the neighborhood.

Cheap Fast Indian/​Pak food.
Its not the best in the world but its also not that bad either.

2.5
I stopped in after a falafel hankering struck, picked up a to-​go meal that included an enormous amount of rice, some small greasy-​ish falafels, sauces, green salad, and I ordered some extra naan. The quantities were off — too much rice, too little falafel, not enough sauce — all in all, too dry.
The place was big and empty, sort of weird. I probably won’t be going back…

So many mixed reviews on this place… With the prices here, I don’t think it would be fair to expect the most amazing and authentic food in the world. Like others have said, it’s a dive. It’s like that small, cheap and kinda strange Chinese joint you always order your weird greasy noodles from and it just hits the weird-​greasy-​noodle spot

First came to this place with some college friends about 15 years ago when it was somewhere further south in the loop. Was pleased to find it again in its new location a year or two back.
Yeah, it’s a little bit of a dive, kind of a cabbie hangout. The recent sanitation problem are a bit of a concern.
I’ve generally been pleased with their food, especially the naan. I’d recommend the frontier chicken.
I went there today and got the mutton masala, and I really wouldn’t recommend the bone-​in meat dishes. There was very little actual meat in the dish. Maybe ²⁄₅ oil, ¹⁄₅ gravy, ²⁄₅ meat stuff (and about a third of that was bone)
On the other hand I’ve been satisfied with their chicken dishes.

Came here yesterday I have a feeling it might be my only visit.
I had a huge craving for Chicken Makhani aka Butter Chicken. I pass by Baba Palace all the time and decided to check it out. I couldn’t believe how cheap the prices were, until I started reading Unilocal reviews to kill the time while waiting for my meal. I was a little worried, but I kept an open mind. The man who took my order was very nice and I like to support local businesses.
Got an order of Chicken Makhani, upgraded to Garlic Naan, and went for a Mango Lassi. The grand total was just under $ 12. I’d call that a steal for that much food. However, the quality was somewhat lacking. The Chicken Makhani wasn’t all that good. It’s rather hard to mess up most of those dishes, so even a less than stellar version is still edible. It just didn’t satisfy me the way it normally does. There were about 4 actual chucks of chicken and 1 chunk of cartilage. The rest of the meat seemed to be shredded very finely and didn’t give off that smoky flavor to which I am accustomed. As others mentioned, it seemed as if it had been boiled.
The Garlic Naan was actually very good and the portion was quite large. I really enjoyed that part of the meal and used the bread to soak up the sauce that was leftover, which was a lot of sauce. After all the chicken and tomato chunks were taken out, I had about ¾ of a deli container of soupy sauce left. I didn’t even have enough Naan to soak it all up and I felt really bad pouring the sauce out, but it was way too much compared to the meat and I didn’t feel it was tasty enough to justify the calorie consumption.
The Mango Lassi was also pretty tasty, but it had a strange, grainy texture. I found out this was due to the chunks of white sugar that hadn’t been properly blended. I don’t know if adding sugar to this drink is the standard. I do know that I’ve never had a coarse Mango Lassi before and as yummy as it was, the texture kinda freaked my mouth out.
They are on a busy street near a lot of bars, so I think most of their customers are probably the cabbies from the area or intoxicated people in the middle of the night. The food wasn’t terrible, but it just wasn’t that great. I really wanted to like them because I’m near them so often and love Indian food. Unfortunately, I’ll have to keep searching for a place to get my chicken fix.

Pretty good, I love how spicy the food was. Whatever that hot sauce they gave us was awesome. We had take out from here one night, we had A couple of the Naan, Chickpeas Masala and the rice and chicken. All and all pretty good and pretty cheap.

DON’T DO IT!!!
This is hands down the worst indian food I’ve ever almost eaten. I threw it out after a few bites. I ordered paneer makhani (my favorite). It tasted like ketchup and water mixed with a few chunks of old indian cheese.
And the counter woman, while nice enough, was utterly clueless. She asked me 3 times if I wanted rice. Umm… Duh. Does paneer ever come without rice? They gave me enough rice to feed an indian village. Like they weren’t sure how much to give me because?

Baba Palace is fine if you’re looking for an inexpensive, casual Indian/​Pakistani lunch. It’s not the best of this cuisine that I have ever experienced and they certainly don’t earn any points for ambiance, but it’s a great value for what you get and the staff is friendly.
I definitely do not recommend the restrooms. Dirty, smelly, and more dirty. Actually, you should probably just get your food to go.

Baba Palace is great if you have a craving for Indian food and you’re in the area… especially around lunch time. Prices are extremely reasonable and you get a TON of food. They also have an easy online ordering system for pickup or delivery (super nice if you work in the area).
Basically it’s kind of a hole-​in-​the-​wall place you wouldn’t notice unless someone told you about it frequented by cabbies.
Not necessarily the best place to eat-​in, but great if you’re super hungry and looking for a quick fix (or enough food to put leftovers in your office fridge for tomorrow’s lunch).

The four stars may be a bit weighted only because I had such low expectations from reading other Unilocal reviews, but had a very strong craving for Indian food. Yes, this place probably isn’t for someone who is looking for a restaurant-​experience meal (you order, pick up your food on a cafeteria tray, and sit your butt down in what seems like a hospital lobby with that dull, washed out looking television set in the corner). Yes, this food doesn’t compare to places like India House (I love me some Indian lunch buffets). But when in a pinch, and craving Indian, this place will do.
Entering the place, the guy at the counter was old, a bit leery, but all in all a nice guy who just doesn’t know how to come off not creepy (for all of you who blame him for that!). They have a daily special that’s only about $ 6 for a lot of food. I ordered the chicken masala I think (I didn’t realize their menus change daily) and it was better than I expected especially in quantity. The yogurt sauce they gave me was the perfect addition to giving everything that sour note that my taste buds love. And there were four sizable pieces of chicken in the masala sauce. You get a huge plate of rice, but with the gravy and the chicken, you have enough to finish the rice and plate. I had it in two meals, and it was overall of good value.
If I’m craving Indian again, I will be back!

This is not about dining in. We ordered delivery– I had the vegetarian falafel and my husband had the super combination. And we didn’t have any Indian entrees, so this review only covers the supposedly middle eastern entrees.
The falafel was the worst I’ve ever tasted. Bland, dry, I couldn’t even have a second bite because I couldn’t swallow the first bite. The super combination was supposed to have all sorts of kababs, but all we had was very little meat, and couldn’t even tell what was what. Again, very bland flavors. If you want to try kababs, you are better off ordering from Roti.
Now here comes the delivery part, it’s not really «delivery», they call you and you have to go outside the building. They must have some taxi driver also works as deliver persons, because when I went down and picked up the food, it was a cab and a very rude driver. Should’ve written down the license plate, but I was too hungry by then to think… Anyways, stay away.

Very average place.
Service: Ok, so i know what to expect when i walk into a place. Its definitely not the kind of place where i was going to be served, cool. but when i pay for my food with a credit card. don’t throw the receipt and pen across the counter and say «sign!» Very rude, i did not appreciate that. Also, i was very nice throughout the order, said please and thank you, he didn’t flash his pearly whites at me, not once. BUT, he was all smiles to the Sudanese taxi drivers, i guess im not special enough?
Food:
VERY Average. I would say 2.5 stars, but i guess 3’s gotta do. The naan was okay, i got the garlic naan, it was a bit burnt. If you r one of the reviewers who said that this place’s naan is the best you have had, then trust me, you haven’t had the best. This was average, by far.
I got the frontier chicken, which are dry chicken cubes and the bf got lamb curry. They were both good dishes and came with ample rice but just a sliver of yogurt. When i went back to ask for more, he gave me a tiny container of yogurt (that i guess they give to take out orders) and that itsy bitsy container was filled about ¼ way. I was so frustrated because i eat every Indian dish smothered in yogurt. a yogurt fiend. But that’s okay. Oh, i found the goat to be a bit oiler than im used to, but then i realized it was a Pakistani place and their food tends to be on the greasier side. I think Unilocal needs to differentiate between indian and pakistani restaurants. Theres some things Paki places get just right and some things Indian places are better for :)
Bathrooms are clean, so def a plus!
They have separate counter for napkins, silverware and plastic wear. I thought it was nice that they had silverware, but i didn’t trust it.
Maybe we went at a weird time (sun night). idk. I have been looking for Indian places to eat that are a one $ Unilocal category, and on my escapade, my first one is definitely disappointing. I’m going to try that flaming wok place next and will review it.
Overall, if you are craving Pakistani food (cause its not really Indian), id say go ahead, its not half bad. But, please don’t expect Devon st style food. Actually this place grimes me out a bit (sanitation wise… i saw one of the workers go into the bathroom, she came out and her hands were dry, i don’t think she washed).
So, i wouldn’t return and the food looks much more appetizing in the pictures :)

So I’ve read some mixed reviews about this place but since I live so close I figured I need to try it out in case it’s some awesome gem that I’ve been missing out on. And the consensus is? Yeah, its awesome.
My boyfriend and I walk in to a relatively empty place, very bare (but we already knew what we were getting into since we drive by it ALL the time) and two tvs were playing, one was Middle Eastern news and the other was some Beatles session. Interesting, I know. I’ll just say that if atmosphere is a vital part of your rating of a restaurant, skip this one.
Anyway the guy working immediately greets us, asks us if we like spicy food and if we like lamb or chicken. We understood the menu completely but the fact that he was so helpful was really nice.
I ended up ordering the lamb masala and the bf got the chicken masala. For around $ 15, we got two huge pieces of naan, two big servings of masala and a nice portion of a cool yogurt/​spice/​onion/​lime/​jalapeño mix. (See photo for pic of ONE serving) It was plentiful. It was good. The guy even told me to use my fingers on the lamb because there are bones, which was a nice heads-​up. Overall, the food wasn’t phenomenal by any means, but if you want something fast and cheap that’s not a burger or some other fast food, this is a great option!

Great late night food!
Their paneer makhni, yellow daal and especially their naan were all so good at 3AM! $ 7 for a pretty generous portion of curry and you can choose whether you’d like rice or naan with your entrée order!

A friend and I came here after a decent night playing poker at the casino. Before we came in we asked one of the numerous taxi drivers outside about the place. When asked what’s the food like, a particularly happy fellow smiled and said «It’s never given me trouble.» Green light.
As soon as we walked in, we felt we had been warped into some strange third-​world foreign country. Let’s get this main detail out of the way. This place is GRUNGY. Now this restaurant is on some prime Near North real estate, and you’d think the owner would put some effort into keeping it presentable. But no. It honestly is the dirtiest restaurant I’ve ever been to. They do have some interesting additions like a pool table and mosque for prayer. The bathroom is pretty terrible, AVOID IT. At 4am, we didn’t have much options so we stayed course.
We ended up ordering a grilled chicken and chicken masali, both came with the well-​known naan. Food came quick and hot, and we carried out (no way we’re eating in there). Prices are cheap (about $ 7 for each dish)
Both dishes were fantastic for a late night eat. Our other option was Mickey D’s and this place blew it out of the water. The Naan is EXCELLENT and we ate everything. After our meal we were satisfied and didn’t have one ounce of that greasy feeling you get too often at other late-​night joints. Ah yes, this place is open 24 hours.
I would give this place 4 stars, but Baba you really have to clean yourself up!
Also, for some odd reason, their colorful menu boasts «We Sell Phone Cards At Discount Prices.» Weird.