Casbah Cafe

As many reviewers have indicated, the owner of this restaurant is where the 1 star derives comes from.
We ordered 2 salads over the phone for pick up, we were told it would take 20 minutes. We know this place usually takes longer, so we gave him an hour. We arrive and wait for 20 minutes, still no food. We ask where our food is and are told they are throwing in free cookies to go with our meal for the delay. 20 minutes later and our food is out. The bill is almost $ 80 for two salads so we tell him that it is incorrect, we received more meals than we ordered. At this point the owner proceeds to flip out at us telling us that we ordered incorrectly, and next time we should call and ask for two salads. He made a large scene and the back and forth went on for about 10 minutes, and it finally ended in a refund.
The «pick up» ended with him holding both of our hands and telling us that he loves us. Not coming back.

I worked here as a server very briefly and after reading some of the reviews, I can definitely believe the horrible stories, especially about the owner. But the food, in fact, is tasty and well prepared.

My wife and I frequently come here for dinner. The food is amazing and the dessert (specifically the kanif) is great. The owner is the cook and his wife is the waitress so you know the people handling your dinner care. The food takes a little while to come out since its all made fresh, so if you’re in a rush this may not be the best place to go, however, if you have the time definitely give this place a visit.

Spinach pie, falafel appetizers were excellent! We ordered family style Chicken, Beef and Lamb with various sauces over each. all on a bed of couscous. Everything was exceptional. This is my second visit in 8 years and will now become a regular stop!

This use to be a good place until the owner became belligerent on our last visit. Then on trying to place an order for delivery he hung up on me twice and told me he didn’t have time for his customers. We use to go here monthly. NEVER AGAIN. He is the rudest restaurant owner (and it is just him and his wife that work there) even to longer time customers. The food has really gone down hill as well. Not sure what’s a happened, but it is very disappointing.

This was without a doubt one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had. Since the place was almost empty on a saturday night, that should of been my first clue. The food was mediocre and when we complained to the owner he got very angry and almost violent. Cleanliness is poor so I think they keep the place dark to hide that.

Nick is bomb !!! He was so accommodating and went above and beyond ! This is a must go to! They’ll cook anything you want, even sushi!

Sitting in Casbah on a Sunday night getting black lung from the grill smoke. A nice neighborhood spot, but I will not be back until they improve their ventilation system.

This place has the best food. Unfortunately I’m bringing down my 5 star review to 1 star because of the awful customer service I experienced my last time in. The woman who owns the restaurant with her husband is very nice, but he is not.
I was a regular here. I ordered my usual salad over the phone for pick up. I arrived late because the service is a bit slow, and the food still wasn’t ready when I got there. I left and came back, and still waited another 10 minutes. When he brought me my bill, he had charged me for two chicken dishes that I didn’t order, more than doubling the price of what it should have been. When I told him the order was incorrect and that I was way overcharged, he said «nooo don’t do this to me!» And proceeded to tell me what I ordered, and HOW to order correctly next time. I was so insulted. I told him that I knew how to order my food, thanks, and that I would just like him to correct the bill and give me what I ordered.
It was a huge scene, and it took forever and a lot of back and forth to finally get my bill corrected. His wife was trying to calm the situation and tell him that I’m a regular, but he was incredibly rude to her as well. I was so shocked and disappointed with this experience!
Unfortunately, I will not be back :-/

I really enjoyed this place — great experience. It’s BYOB and next door is a brewery that has (amazing) beer to go. Win/​Win. Loved the vegetable couscous.

While I appreciate that each meal is made to order, the service is terrible and the food is mediocre, at best. I placed an order for pick up and was told it would take five minutes. I arrive at the restaurant and there are three other parties in the whole place, two, that were already finishing their meals.
My order ended up taking 45 minutes. I didn’t even receive an apology. I ordered the chicken shish taouck and it tasted like grilled chicken with little to no seasoning. The hummus was also terribly bland.
I grew up in Michigan where there are many great authentic middle eastern restaurants and this one is nowhere near acceptable, especially for the price. I love to support small neighborhood businesses, but there’s no way I would come back here again.

This is a nice Moroccan joint. It is small and personable. It is a great location just south of Belmont. It is a BYOB place, with only a $ 2 corkage fee.
The night in question I only had the humus, and it was ok, not fantastic. My biggest gripe about the place is the services. There was only 1 waitress, and she was obviously over-​taxed. I might have ordered more, but ran out of time because she only checked on me 3 times in an hour and half, and after my humus arrived never came back to take my order for a meal. So my advice dont go on a saturday if you want a timely meal.

Came here on a Saturday night on a whim. We were taking a walk down Broadway and decided to check out this cute and cozy place. After spending some ten minutes standing at the door and still no sign of a hostess, I went to the register and asked for a table. I was immediately told by the guy that he was not responsible for seating. That’s it, no offer to help or pointing towards the right person, nothing. So we sat ourselves at a table when another couple left. Something about the untouched place mats bothered us and then we realized that the couple had left without eating. That should have warned us.
We were then moved to another table and mistaken for the previous couple. Yet it took another 15 minutes for the one single waitress to stop by our table to take our order. Now we knew why the previous couple had left! Our soup took another 30 min to arrive and the food took another 45 and the check another 20 min. The food was delicious I must admit, but the service was so horrendous and slow that I’m not going back again. I came to write my review and realized that mine was not an isolated experience.

I took some out of town guests here so they could experience a BYOB restaurant outside of the usual touristy areas of Chicago. Everyone loved it! There is a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. The food was delicious and seems to be made with care from good ingredients. Definitely recommend it.

The food is fantastic!
I’ve had Mediterranean food a lot… From Brooklyn its Mediterranean heaven till I came to Casbah!
It’s really good home food… If you say different you have know idea of what the fuck you talking about period!
There are people that have know idea what real food is about.

I have been to Casbah dozens of times. I’ve ordered take-​out, taken groups, gone by myself and with my husband. The food is almost always 5 stars, although in the past few years it has been going downhill. The service, which has never been good, has also been getting worse.
The owner is crazy, and his wife is crazy to be married to him. She is usually the lone server, even when they are very busy. I’ve also seen her in the back helping him cook, while attempting to «serve» at the same time. Sometimes they argue, loudly.
One time, I ordered some food for carry out. I came 10 minutes after it was supposed to be ready (knowing how they often run behind), they said it would be another 20 minutes. While I waited, the owner made awkward small talk with me while he cooked. He offered me a stuffed grape leaf. I really just wanted the food I ordered, so I said «thank you, but that’s okay». He started yelling at me! He said «you don’t want my food?! why do you come here!?». So I was like, damn, I better eat this grape leaf. So I said, «sorry, okay», and I ate it and it made him very happy. This guy goes from zero to sixty in 2 seconds flat. I’ve had conversations with him before and he was totally fine.
They used to have an occasional extra person or two helping serve or bus tables on the weekend, but lately it’s been just the two of them, which is nuts. Unfortunately, the last time I was there was a horrific experience. There was a table of drunk people, thoroughly enjoying the BYOB. They, like everyone else were not getting food. So they kept getting more and more intoxicated. And obnoxious. We waited over 1 hour for appetizers. The table next to us arrived and finished eating by the time we got our entrees.
Although Casbah’s food is delicious, and the cozy restaurant can be quite charming, we’ve had to put them on a long hiatus. I’m not sure we’ll return.

This is a BYOB middle eastern café on Broadway. It has a cozy feeling to it, nothing fancy. As mentioned the corkage fee is $ 4. The servings are ample and the food is good. However, the service is very slow and the waitress looked bothered when we eventually signaled for her to come over. She NEVER checked in with us over the course of the dinner. It was a bit confusing seeing as how there were only two other tables that were occupied. That being said, the food was good. I had the veggie Moussaka and it was very filling and tasty. If you don’t mind slow service then I would suggest it.

This is s small family run place that has great middle eastern food. I have been going here for over 20 years and the food has been consistently excellent. And BYOB makes it a bargain.
I am confused about the Unilocalers who post they are confused about this or other restaurants menus. Yes triple calculus III is confusing, but restaurants and menus are not.

It’s a very small restaurant and it looked like it was family owned. The restaurant itself is plain and simple with no frills attached. Total seating capacity is only 30 people. Food is good and it’s BYOB. Service is slightly on the slower side. It’s very quiet so if you’re looking for a fun filled and lively night out in the city this might not be the right choice for you. It’s in a good location with a lot of bars and other restaurants around it.

Go. Yes, the service isn’t your typical American style of rushing every entrée, and bussing dishes when you’re still eating off the plate, but I enjoy a long dinner, so maybe that’s just me.
It’s byob — $ 3.50 corkage fee. Not bad at all.
I’ve been here so many times and have not been disappointed with anything that I’ve ordered! It’s all delicious and authentic.