Couscous Restaurant

Been here once and had the lamb kebab, it was absolutely amazing! Will definitely be going back again :)

Came in today expecting a lot from how the newly renovated place looked, and I can easily say I made a mistake. First of all the owner was working the front while running to the back to cook which made my friend and I a bit anxious and overwhelmed for him. I ordered the chicken shawarma but instead I received the beef shawarma. Also, the kitchen looked very dirty and when the owner was making our falafels he was not wearing gloves, then dealt with our money. He was a bit rude and seemed like he was very busy and was trying to get us out as quick as possible when we were trying to pay for our food. He asked us if we had any cash to use when we took out our cards which was totally unprofessional. Our sandwiches were soaked in sauce and were way too soggy. Would not recommend this place.

Nice little place near UIC west campus. The food is good and portions are huge. At first the restaurant has a weird smell to it (kind of like a sewer) but then you get used to it. I’m not sure if that was just a one time thing. I would definitely go here again!

I love Couscous! My husband is vegetarian so it’s nice to have somewhere with a lot of veg options but also plenty of options for people who aren’t vegetarian. I love the chicken schwerma and chicken tikka. My husband loves the veggie platter. Best falafel I’ve had in Chicago. There’s also fresh lemonade. It’s delicious and reasonably priced. The few times I’ve been there, one guy was doing everything but he’s still pretty fast. Be nice to him and pay him cash.

As a person who has had Naf Naf, this is clearly a downgrade. Its very tough to compete with a restaurant like Naf Naf, but the food here just didn’t taste good. I got the chicken schwarma and some hummus with falafel. The falafel/​hummus was fine, but the schwarma just lacked the favor and consistency that I’ve had at other Mediterranean restaurants. And it does not help that this place is a bit more expensive than many other Mediterranean fast causal restaurants.

Went here for dinner with two friends on a Friday night and the place was empty (unlike everything else around it) which should have been a hint. We got baba ganoush as an appetizer which was fine, but my lentil entrée was VERY dry and the owner didn’t tell me that they had run out of onions, so it was not a complete dish. My friends had stuffed lamb amd the sampler meat platter which were okay, served with a ton of rice. Prices are reasonable ($ 8 – 13) but you can get much tastier food at one of the many other places on Taylor.

I have had takeout a few time from here as a resident in training and it was always quite filling and satisfyingly different from the usual pizza messes we got or the in-​house Au Bön Pain. I finally stopped by the actual restaurant with a colleague who was visiting. We were the only ones there so it was nice and quiet for a discussion. The food was so cheap and filling, basic but satisfying. The style of service is different that typical «American expectations:» minimal verbiage (I’m not sure anyone actually said a word to us the whole time!), not really well air conditioned on a hot day, a few flies at the window, relatively slow service; but these things are fine for a business/​casual lunch.

I really enjoyed the food here, great place to stop for lunch, close to UIC west campus. It’s a nice little spot that has Zabiha meat, and the portion sizes are great. Would recommend!

This place is great! Cheap prices and the food is descent. The service is a little slow but there are only 2 people who work there and one of them is a cook who I assume is the owner.
I had the vegetarian platter and it was delicious. If you are in the area– check it out!

The food was decent; my only issue was that I ordered a Chicken Shawarma and they gave me Steak. (It was still okay.)

Food — we did carry-​out chicken kabob plates — the food was lacking flavor — chicken was not seasoned and the rice was not very good. I would not recommend trying those particular menu items. We didn’t eat at the restaurant but the service appeared to be lacking… Price is pretty reasonable but there are so many better options on Taylor St that I would go to.

This place was a random find while walking around in the area. My friends ordered the chicken shwarma wrap which they enjoyed however it was very messy to eat since it was falling apart. I ordered the spicy chicken kabobs which were delicious and a good amount of spicy. The rice it was served with was extremelyyyy dry. The dish could have been much better if it was served with a sauce.
The place is run by an elderly man (who I assume owns the place) and he is the sweetest. He makes you feel at home at the restaurant.

I love this casual Mediterranean spot. I’ve never tried a dish I didn’t like here but my favorite is the chicken and hummus plate served with pita. I crave it all the time! The prices are also reasonable so there is no strain on my wallet.

The food at Couscous is alright.

Love this place. I am a regular customer here. Tried pretty much everything. My favourite is fauol and Jerusalem salad. Jawed who is running this place is a good cook and nice person to chat. Try sandwiches, lamb shank and his mint tea.

Friend and I were craving some Mediterranean food in the medical district and decided on Couscous. Our dinner time was around 5PM on a Tuesday and were the only customers, though a man who I believe is the owner was busy peeling some vegetables at a corner table. My friend frequents this location and knew exactly what he wanted to order before our menus were delivered to us. They had a special leg of lamb as well as meat and rice stuffed eggplants. Normally I never order specials, but I was intrigued and the food sounded tasty.
Both dishes were huge and meant to be shared. The leg of lamb was gigantic, almost displacing a ton of the tomato broth it came plated with when our server arrived. Flavor-​wise it lacked salt, but the meat was fall off the bone tender. Our second dish, the eggplant, looked like two big logs on a plate, in again, a pretty similar broth. Within the eggplant was a meaty rice mixture that was a nice complement to the lamb. After eating all this, I had a crazy craving for some falafel and ordered a plate that came with vegetables, pita, and fried, sliced potatoes. This dish was the real winner of the night. The falafel was crispy and spiced well, and the potatoes were addictive. Overall it was a solid meal, and I found it funny that my favorite dish was the least expensive and had the most flavor. I think next time I come here, I’ll enjoy the classics.

What a mistake coming here. I was at Rush University for a medical appointment and wanted a quick vegetarian bite to eat so, after reading decent reviews, gave it a shot.
I got my food to go and when I opened it up found my tajeen kaftaji (TK) was the most oily thing I’d seen in months. The rice was average and yet basically all I could eat because the TK was so damn salty I couldn’t taste any of it. Seriously I felt I was doing a great disservice health wise to myself. It was like poison by salt, of which I got a month’s worth in one sitting. I ate only the rice and Jerusalem salad, which was actually decent. So I am left hungry and threw the rest out because I felt I was putting horrible quality food full of salt and oil into myself. Ugh. I do NOT recommend this dish.

While I love this style of food, the quality I experienced here was somewhat disappointing. I only returned once as I was with a friend who really wanted to try the place. Otherwise, I don’t return even though it’s very convenient to work.
A couple other reviewers noted how pleasant the owner (?)/​manager/​server was. I agree. He was a very nice fellow. One hates to write a less-​than-​stellar review for such a pleasant man but if you want the truth about the food, it’s only «ok».

I really wish I could find something positive to say about Couscous other than that we had a nice server. Unfortunately, I can’t.
The biggest culprit in our disappointing visit to Couscous was the surprisingly dry meat. For a restaurant that should treat the tenderness of its meat with the utmost care, Couscous really fell short of our expectations. When I say «dry,» I mean that no amount of dipping the meat in sauce could salvage the dish. Aside from the meat, I was disappointed by the flavorless soup that I got with my shwarma plate. The falafel was also unremarkable.
There was also a mildly off putting smell coming from the vent we were seated next to. Needless to say, that didn’t make our dinner any better.

Grabbed a shwarma sandwich for take out and it was delicious.
I wish it was filled up a little more since there top of the pita as empty and I wish the lamb and beef was cut a little smaller so I didn’t have to split the pieces with my teeth after each bite.
Would definitely come back and try the falafel or maybe the lunch buffet.