Haifa Cafe

I have to review this in context — after closing the location on Adams, and my discovery of I Dream of Falafel — I can’t rate this a 4 star.
It’s good, yeah, but not great. I think quality has gone down. And it’s way further than IDoF. Plus, not the same variety… or quality, for that matter. Sorry, Haifa, but I’ve met another restaurant…
I should also comment that I have been getting a «why are you here» vibe from Haifa. I don’t get that from IDoF.

Pretty sure this place is closed, unless its currently undergoing massive renovations. the storefront it occupied is now under construction…

Maybe it’s because I don’t have much experience with falafel besides Taza (which is untouchable), but I like this place. It’s a nice change from the dozen sandwich places that litter the surrounding blocks. The food is reasonable, but you’re also not getting gourmet. The service is mediocre and as another reviewer commented, «there is no love in their food.» Then again, I wouldn’t say there is love in each sub at Subway but their food is decent enough.

The prices are pretty high and the food is sub-​par. This is the only middle eastern food I’ve ever thought was so bad that I had to throw it away. Honestly, how do you screw up hummus? It’s hummus, for Pete’s sake! Would I eat it again? Umm… Maybe if I was starving, but my foot might start to look real good if I got to that point… I think I have a word for the food… Um… I’m thinking… Thinking… Oh yeah, bleh! That’s the word I was looking for: Bleh.
My advice: Go to Brian’s Deli at 80 E Lake if you must have Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern food, go to Nino Panino’s in Union Station or Pockets at 329 S Franklin or Qdoba at 175 W Jackson if you need sustenance.

Went to Haifa randomly for lunch today. Can’t say that I was impressed at all, but after reading some of the reviews for this restaurant I have to share a funny story.
So I walk in and have the place practically all to myself. I walk up to the counter and order a chicken shawarma plate (I have no idea what in the hell is included in this plate I just ordered, but I’m as hungry as a beaver, so who gives a frak?) Anyway, they make my plate real fast piling on a mound of Uncle Ben’s rice (I seriously think they use good olé Unkie Ben’s here) and throw on the chicken and top it with a nice greasy falafel ball. It’s all good when the cashier asks «would you like any sauce.» Hmmm. Sauce you say? Being a sauce fiend since my days in ‘Nam. I order a hefty serving of creamy goodness AKA tzatziki sauce (no idea why since that crap goes on gyros and shit). As I receive the creamy goodness, I spot some Greek version of giardiniera, which being a devout Chicagoian I cannot resist, and I ask for a hefty serving of «that spicy pepper stuff over there.» She jokes that I’m going to put them out of business by asking for too much stuff… and I reply, «well I have to add some flavor to your food somehow…» She replies, «yeah I know, especially that chicken shawarma you just ordered, it’s pretty bland.»
That’s when I knew I had made a BAD mistake. I didn’t know what to make of her response at first, but after I took a bite of my lunch, she seemed like one of those really smart foodie people on Bravo.

Ahhh! Why is so hard to find a decent mediteranian place in this town?
This place is flavorless and mediocre. There is no love in their food. You can tell.
Its kind of like «The Subway» of Mediteranian food.
Everytime I go here I think to myself I am not going back. Then about two months go by, I forget how much this place sucks, and I go here again. Oh yeah, Now I remember.
I have had the Chicken Kabab plate, the hummus, falafel (kinda soggy) and the gyro. Nothing I would really order or crave again. It just all tastes the same.
If you go here, get a side of tahini– you’ll need it!

I first went to Abe’s around the corner, but wasn’t too excited about the options. Then suddenly, one of the guys ahead of me says «I’m feeling turkey sandwich, it’s better around the corner». As I see he and his friend start walking out the door, my feet follow them around the corner (yes, stalkish) and walk in into this awesome divey spot.
I picked up the turkey sandwich, kaiser roll (great roll!) with dark meat. Fantastic! Not sure about the Middle Eastern options, but the Turkey sandwich was up there. Top 5.
So kids, the lesson of the story is: when two random guys decide to blow off a place and go elsewhere, maybe you should follow them.

Decent Mediterranean lunch place in the loop. Plenty of options or able to customize your order. A few items I tend to get are the hummus, pita, falafel, baba ghannouj, and Jerusalem salad. Sometimes I get a combo, other times a sandwich, either way its a change from my usual lunch.

Haifa is a bit hard to find while walking down the block but it is totally worth the hunt. Granted the only meals that I have eaten at Haifa are vegitarain i. e the Falafel Plate, Flafel Sandwich and the Vegitarian Plate are all spot on. I’m so thrilled I found Haifa. A diamond in the ruff.

Quick falafel spot suitable for lunch in the loop. Not anything special, but all chickpeas are good as far as I’m concerned. There are limited seats but it’s better for take out as there are many places to eat outside in the area, weather permitting.

Ok, I read all the reviews and I still went there today. I guess I wanted the greasier fast food type of Mediterranean so I thought realistic expectations in tow, this would do the trick.
Well, it didn’t.
My co-​worker accurately described the Hummus as having the very distinct smell and taste of egg. How this could be explained, I do not know. But it was unquestionabley eggy. The consistency was also off, to say the least.
The falafel was cold, hard, and tasteless.
The baba Ghanoush is edible but extremely mediocre.
The pita is cold and from a bag.
The tabouli is pretty good, but that’s not really a stand alone selling point, now is it?
The staff is also very angry. That would be ok if their food was good. But, it isn’t.
I advise you to go somewhere else — like anywhere.

This place is for people who:
1. Don’t know about Roti
2. Know about Roti, but either
a) don’t have enough time to walk two more blocks over
b) are in the mood for Mediterranean… greasy style. admit it. you’ve been there.
Haifa is a vice for one of the guys in my office, especially since he usually doesn’t have time to grab anything but for a second, and only until 2 PM. By then he’s starved, figures he deserves a bit of grease, and so he goes and returns with a Combo Plate of Rice, Chicken, a spot of hummus and a spot of salad (re: chopped iceberg/​tomato).
He can do better than that. People who go here often enough know you can switch out the «sides» in your combo platter for baba or some tomato/​cucumber/​onion salad. You can even switch out the massive dish of rice for «salad» if you’re trying to be healthy. But there’s not much point.
The falafel here isn’t terrible, but it’s not great, and usually lukewarm/​cold. Boo on that score.
(But in the winter this place gets a half more of a star for being so damn close to work! we all know we’ll forgo a bit of quality for one less block to trudge in the snow…)

Horrible food. Horrible service. I’m literally choking on my overcooked chicken kabob as I type this. Seriously, I can’t even finish this. So nasty…

I love you, Haifa Café, and your deliciously simple yet full-​flavored hummus! And perfectly seasoned kebabs! And beautifully steamed rice!
And you feed our whole office for only $ 61! Could I ask for more? Never.

Haifa Café’s recent price hikes have knocked their vegetarian combo and falafel plate out of my range, but their delicious falafel sandwich is more than affordable at $ 3.95. I even have enough $ left to get baklava for dessert! A large order of hummus is $ 3.25, but it gets a little boring by itself (and they never give you enough pita for dipping). Never tried their yellow lentil soup, but it’s only $ 1.95.
Not a fan of their Jerusalem salad nor their baba ghanouj, but a large version of each is $ 3.25.

My boss has actually ‘outlawed’ me going to Haifa, as she claims the turkey plate– with its MASSIVE portions of light and dark meat, luscious rice, hummus, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and pita– sends me into a tryptophan-​induced coma lasting the entire afternoon and reducing my productivity by about 40%.
And yet, even in the face of my boss’ mock scowl and the jeers of my coworkers, I manage to smuggle a treat of falafel or shawarma back to my cube every now and then. I mean, what else am I going to eat? This hood is full of the mediocre– Potbelly’s, Subway, Jimmy John’s…none of them compare to my love, Haifa.
Haifa, they may not understand our bond, but we don’t need them to. I will never let you– or your babagenush– go. Never.

Key Unilocal — Bare bones takeout only. But exquisitely fresh middle eastern, Greek and vegi lunch options.
Review —
I pass this place daily and never stopped in till yesterday when I read someone else’s review complaining they ran out of gyros at 12:30. So I go over there at 1:30 and guess what? No freakin gyros! Well, OK so I get a chicken schwarma — essentially a slow cooked skewer of chicken breast in a sauce, over a bed o’ rice and topped with hummus, a falafel ball, pita and salad. It was delicious, the meat was juicy and fresh and there was a ton of it. A better person could have split it into two lunches. Hummus, per other reviews is sick-​tasty good…
So I go back today at 11:15 and guess what? Gyros a plenty!!! YUM… the meat was extra spicy, again plentiful, fresh tomato and onion and they added giardiniera… and creamy, cold tzatziki sauce.
There are a lot of lame places in the loop. I am impressed with the efficiency, portions, speed and cleanliness of this place. The food is laid out in a way that looks very appetizing too, no small detail. Nice people too. Shalom, bitches!

The three Haifa Cafes are my favorite places to eat in the loop, bar none. I get all my friends who work or study there addicted to this inexpensive, tasty, healthy food, with my favorite humus in town. This is the smallest one, and a great place to dive in for a sec to grab a quick bite. Great for vegetarians!

Really amazing hummus! I usually get the chicken kabob special (comes with rice, salad, and hummus) for ~$ 6. It’s a to-​go place b/​c there is no place to sit. Once, though, I found what looked like a pube in my chicken. Did I continue eating? Yes. Did my co-​workers? No. Could it have been a really thick, wavy, Mediterranean arm hair? Maybe. I like telling that story. :) Oh, and they also open early to serve breakfast and juices.

They ran out of gyros at 12:30 on a Monday. Yes, let me repeat that. HAIFA CAFE RAN OUT OF GYROS DURING LUNCH. I went outside, in the cold, in the snow, and THEY HAD NO GYROS. WHY GOD WHY.
Luckily, they only made me wait a few minutes while the gyro machine turned and turned and did whatever it does to make the gyros so yummy.
I did get the chance to notice that almost everyone orders the turkey sandwich. The turkey did smell very good. But I’m at the Haifa café. I’m not eating the turkey sandwich. I only eat the gyros. Other people tell me that the other dishes are quite nice, but I do not care.
My gyro was yummy, as always. It had tons of cucumber sauce, hot peppers and tomatoes. I never eat the pita, but the pita is always soft and warm.
I so don’t get why they have smoothies though.