El Souk

I am updating my review: this place has really improved from when I lived here 4 years ago. The Kafta is pretty good but their hummus is delicious. I still prefer Nile kafta in Hyde Park and Sultan’s spinach pie and falafel. That said, this place is close to my home, the prices are okay, and the guys who work here are just so sweet. Plus they are pretty quick with filling orders. Tonight I was a tad hangry when I picked up my food and they still tolerated my attitude and made me laugh. That alone is worth an extra star!

A hidden spot with a taste of the Middle East!
Pros:Great chicken kabobs! The plate has everything middle eastern you would typically have with your meal. A good spot for quick middle eastern inspired meal on the go. The menu is well diverse and very reasonable pricing. The staff were great and helpful in selecting from menu.
Cons: I felt the portions could have been a bit larger.
Novelty: would be the quick pit stop tasty Mediterranean meal for the casual consumer!

Down side: no restrooms (!!). Good for pick up or delivery, I guess.
We found the place a little dirty.
Food it’s good, tasty, but a bit expensive for what the place is. Dishes are about 10 dollars, I’d say it should be more like 8.
Good service, not a big wait.

Went back to get another falafel sandwich after craving it all day. I ordered one falafel sandwich and one chicken kebab sandwich. I got two chicken sandwiches. I didn’t realize this until I got all the way home. Very disappointing.

So good. Best baba ghanoush ever, I could’ve made a meal of it. My kids wolfed down the shawarma. Five stars for great food plus a basket full of hot soft pitas! Right off the Chicago Red Line stop.

I was excited to try this place because it’s right near my apartment and I was in desperate need of some falafel. I popped over last night and ordered the falafel appetizer plate to go.
First, it took a good amount to get my order together. I guess they were making another batch of falafel, which I can appreciate, but I was waiting for a good bit before my order was ready. I saw that they had included two different sauces — a spicy pepper sauce and some kind of creamier sauce.
I was underwhelmed by the food — the falafel, while very crunchy, lacked flavor, as did the cream sauce. I found myself coating the falafel in the spicy sauce just to get some flavor in there. I actually ate the entire salad that came UNDER the falafel, and found that to be much more satisfying!
I’d probably come back to try a sandwich or kebab, but I’ll have to keep hitting up Roti or Nesh for falafel.

Tried the food here twice — their falafel is the only good thing. The lentil soup is sort of sweet. The hummus too. The pita is really thick. The falafel wrap is made in a roti paratha (malaysian roti) not in a greek or arabic pita bread/​pocket.

Best beef shawarma i have ever had, great falafel, delicious rise, and amazing checkin kabob!
The service is wonderful and the prices are Fantastic.
Went there several times and will defiantly go back for more.

best falafel in town!
I find this to be the best in the neighborhood.

Love this place. total hole in the wall across the street from Loyola. I do not think that I have ever been here when it is crowded. Do students not like falafel any more? Was that a 90s thing? I don’t care. I like it. And I like El Souk.
I cannot say too much about the menu because I basically drop in every other week for my falafel fix. Nothing fancy. Bottled water and falafel. It is finally getting warm again so it is so much easier to walk over and take it to go. Falafel at the park, in the sun. So happy.
Nothing personal, El Souk, but ambience is not why frequent you. But please keep the good food coming.

Restaurant review
I was craving Mediterranean and walked all the way up north from streeterville to this location. I was a bit surprised that this place has changed ownership. No more dill rice, replaced with some reddish colored rice. The menu on the LCD board was a bit confusing. You can order 2 – 3 meat places. I ended up with the mixed grill that had chicken, beef and lamb along with hummus, pita, and salad. The tahini sauce was a great addition, but the spicy sauce was a bit too much for my taste. For 13 dollars it was a good filling meal. One downside is after ordering it takes a long long time to get the order ~15 minutes. There is also no bathroom at this location for customers.
Pro: above average Mediterranean food
Cons: no dill rice, no bathroom for customer, super slow service
Hidden gem: None

I searched halal on Unilocal and it was the closest to loyola university. I’m a big fan of Mediterranean food, especially the beef shish kabobs. I went in during lunch time, so I tried the lunch special. It was a decent amount for $ 8.99. With salad, hummus, pita bread, chicken shawarma and beef shawarma.
ALTHOUGH the drink was quite expensive. $ 1.89 for a can of pop!
I wasn’t a big fan of the beef shish kabob. It was dry and hard to chew, I managed to eat it because of the garlic sauce they gave with it. The chicken didn’t have much taste to it.
Hummus and falafel were good!
Overall, I probably wouldn’t come here again. It looked good, but food quality wasn’t there.

Damn, son! I’ve been living within walking distance of awesome shawarma for years and didn’t know? OK, so I’ve been living within walking distance of a lot of shawarma for years but only decided to try El Souk recently. Don’t be put off by the proximity to the Crackhead McDonald’s or the less-​than-​clean awning outside. Crackheads gonna crack, and the #36 bus is gonna spew pollution, so I’m glad I overcame my misgivings and gave this place a chance.
Listen, I’m whiter than Wonder Bread and I wouldn’t know a «true» shawarma from a monkey’s ass, but I saw my shawarma meat being carved off a spit while I waited, so if that’s what defines it, then we’re in business. I’m kind of a big eater, and my meal was enough for two meals. Hummus was awesome, and the meat was flavorful.
Sorry, Kan Zaman, you’re a farther walk, and Ontario & Wells is even uglier than the Crackhead McDonald’s corner. This place isn’t much on atmosphere – if you want that, go to Kan Zaman. This place’s food is tastier, so I’d rather grab my food & go. So, I’ll be grabbing a lot more food and going. A lot more often.

still cant believe that I have access to this place and that it is in my neighborhood. MIddle Eastern food till 11PM.
I understand they may be changing the menu in the next few weeks.
I hope they do not change the lunch special which is like $ 8 before taxes for some chicken schwarma, beef schwarma, two falafels a salad and some flavorful hummus. Be careful when trying to ingest this meal in one sitting. It is almost not possible to do so. So go for the lunch special and you will have a dinner as well. Wowee tobago MMM MMM good :)

My neighborhood go-​to falafel guys. Solid fare. Falafels skin is a little on the hard size compared to what I am used, not better or worse, just different. They have a good lentil soup, which sells out early, and decent tabouleh salad. Not a fan of the spanikapita as I prefer the Greek version. These are like little filo dough triangles that you buy at Costco, otherwise, everything else is solid and recommendable. It’s quick, tasty, reasonably priced and dependable.

Solid, fast, inexpensive place for falafel. With really friendly service!
The pita is grocery-​store quality, which is excusable but certainly nothing to rave over. The falafel are GREAT, moist and crispy at the same time, and totally flavorful. I just wish the sandwiches were a bit more authentic… I’m used to the Levantine style, with french fries, pickles, and hummus in there. These just come with tahini and salata. So… three stars.

Not a fan. Pita was so bland and dry i felt like i was in a cartoon with alum in my mouth. The tahini didn’t help either, strangely. Falafel patties were decent on their own. Hummous was bland but passable. Likewise lentil soup.
Plus they don’t have a bathroom. Just a sink to wash your hands.

An A-​OK place for picking up a quick meal but the food is just ok. I shared a Vegetarian Plate with a friend ($ 9.99) & there was plenty of food for the 2 of us: 3 falafel, 3 dolmas, hummus, baba ganoush, salad, & a pita bread. The falafel was very crunchy without being too greasy, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture inside, it was kind of thick & paste-​like. The dolmas were decent & so were the dips. Everything just tasted ok too, nothing to write home about.

I really love the chicken kabob… it’s a little expensive with delivery almost $ 17 with tip. but totally worth it if group ordering.
The hummus is creamy and lightly drizzled with Olive Oil… the cucumber salad is also really delicious.

I loveeeeeeeeee Mediterranean food… Unfortunately for most places, Pita Inn has ruined it for me (because it’s just so damn good!) so I now go off of my «Pita Inn Scale» when it comes to reviewing Mediterranean food.
Chicken Shawarma sandwich: This was actually really good. I liked that they put a bunch of Tahini ON the sandwich and wrapped each ½ separately (I’m a messy eater… shit gets weird sometimes). Lots of chicken and has great flavor. If you don’t want Tahani on it, speak up… otherwise it’s gonna be drenched!
Hummus: Great thick consistency. Good flavor… but I feel like it’s missing one flavorful ingredient.
Babaganoush: NEXT! Hated it! (
)
It might just be me though, some of the other reviews raved about it and that’s what made me get it.
Falafel: Huge. Tasty. But once again, I feel like it’s missing a certain spice… and it was kinda dry in the middle.
Great prices. Really friendly service. I’ll be back because I think they need another chance from me
FYI: El Souk does not have a public restroom… so take care of biz before you come here :)