Usmania Fine Dining

I’m sorry — this is not ‘fine dining’. The presentation, ambience and service all fall short of expectations.
I’ve grown up in Pakistan and back home we have some outrageous, other-​worldly food, believe me. This restaurant simply does not deliver.
While there are some positives on the menu; for example the Malai Boti is quite nice and the Nihari isn’t half bad, there is no consistency. If we concentrate solely on food, there have been days where I would say the food is a low 4 star quality and others when it’s very average. My last 5 experiences (my family goes here often) were poor.
I know you’re trying, Usmania, but authentic Pakistani food is inexpensive to make, easy to construct and tastes and looks incredible.
Not even close for now.

I am loving the chicken 65 and hyderabadi biryani they have been serving on weekends… I think a lot of hyderabadi guys have started working there and have had a hand in making these two delicious items… The other items i emjoy from here are the butter chicken, biryani, naan, etc. highly recommend!

HAIR
IN
FOOD
TERRIBLE SERVICE.
With so many other options on that Devon strip, this is something you need to avoid.
People’s hair in your food is gross, fam. I don’t know what part of the body that hair came from.
That’s all.

I am very foodie person, I have been here first time after living on Devon for 5 years, everything was good what I ordered, faluda really taste good.

The best place to eat. The service was great the food was amazing. I can’t wait to vacation again so I can go back and enjoy this place. If I could give it more then 5 stars I would. Thank you all for being so polite caring it really means a lot. I will be back.

If you’re craving good Pakistani food, please don’t go here. We got the lamb, chicken and some kebobs. Everything was cold. The kebabs looked as if they were burned by the microwave. The naan are large but they wont put sesame seeds on top for you. Im new to Chicago and don’t know what the rave is.
The ambiance was nice. Looked recently done. Many families having dinner. The bathrooms were clean. But I would go to a place that looked dingier with better food
Two stars for the fast service.

I would like to start the review by saying that this is not Pakistani food. And this is coming from someone who has lived in Pakistan all her life. Pakistani food is amazing and this is just pure crap. U can tell how good a restaurant is by the quality and taste of their biryani and omg the biryani they serve is just chicken korma with boiled rice on top. I mean seriously!!! Toss the rice in the masala when you serve… It’s so bland it’s unbelievable. And the mixed platter bbq is so bad. The meat kinda has this unwashed smell. And a bad aftertaste.
Sabri is way way better than this. If you want authentic Pakistani food. Please don’t eat here!!!

Having grown up in Pakistan, places like this annoy me the most. This is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Devon but everything about it is mediocre at best.
I came here a while ago with two of my friends and we ordered the butter chicken. It came with literally three pieces of chicken in it, as if they’d counted one for each of us.
Recently I came here again and ordered paracha rolls only to get lukewarm chicken rolled into a lukewarm paratha, both of which had clearly been prepared much earlier.
On top of how much I disliked the food and the service here in general, at the end of my meal, the server asked me if I wanted anything else while he already had the cheque in his hand.
There are obviously a few good items on the menu here but I can’t say I’m a fan and I usually come back disappointed from here.

Very tasty Recommend to try it. If you try one time you will back anthers time
I try many Indian restaurant but usmania was the spacial from all

Visiting from California and so I had to visit Devon Avenue and Usmania. Best desi place I’ve ever eaten at. I had their buffet and every item I ate was fantastic. Their unlimited mango lassi (in the buffet) is literally the best mango lassi I’ve ever had in my life. Would recommend.

This place is alright but the staff o my. So I come in with my Indian friend (I’m African) and this waiter would not stop looking at me. My friend said Indians do this often. It was so bad that he forgot that we ordered fries till our meal was over.

I’ve been here 3 times. I like them better than Sabri and they are not over-​spiced.
The food is good. Not like OMG SO GOOD, but good and reliable.
The service is okay. Sometimes a little odd. Staring, for example.

I gotta start eating based on «looks» rather than making choices based off previous tastes. What I mean is, take a look at other tables. See what other peoples are ordering and order based on those views.
For instance at the table across from us a group of young college-​aged fellows devoured some grilled chicken and when their chicken biriyani hit the table, they were gorging that down as well. The grilled items and assorted biriyanis seems to be where the best tastes are found. (But like most restaurants on Devon, I haven’t yet tasted a biriyani that I adore. It’s all bullshit. Tri-​colored rices mixed with a bit of biriyani mix and some meat. The real deal is marinated meats in biriyani mix that are blended thoroughly with rice and pressure cooked. This method ensures true flavor. Since it’s time consuming, most restaurants will not prepare it the proper way. A pressure cooker or «dum» are the best methods)
A note about their food. It seems that it is all made in advance and not freshly prepared. So sad. Curries are ladled out onto a bowl and reheated. Some items taste as though it’s been stored some time. For instance the samosas. The ones I got yesterday looked as though they were baked from frozen and if my tasting is correct, it had been stored in the freezer awhile. Not bad, but still not great quality for a samosa. (With all the monies spent on aesthetics, you’d think they would teach someone about plating. Or invest some monies in nice dishware) A further note about dishware would be, for the prices charged on entrees, they could make the sizing larger. $ 13.99 for the average entrée is expensive. Especially when some dishes primarily consist of sauce and meat.
Now onto my experience. The place is immaculately presented once you drive into their lot and walk through their doorway. Once taking a seat, you’ll start to notice the few kinks in their «armor».
Their chicken makhani was like eating flat latex paint. Or better yet, like eating cheese whiz with chicken. Yuck! (This is the second business on this side of Devon that makes a makhani that tastes like cheese whiz.) I requested they make it spicy which the waiter adamantly refused doing, I don’t know why Pakistani restaurants resist from altering their dishes. Is it because they know they don’t have chefs in their restaurant? (If you read my earlier paragraphs, remember when I mentioned they prepare foods a day or more in advance) I wasn’t going to order food unless dude budged, so, he eventually caved but told me he didn’t think it would taste good. I just wanted to eat spicy food. So they sprinkled chili powder over the top. (The easiest fix for spice in Indian food is a measure of chili powder, most any kitchen has this on hand. They would also have chilies, jalapenos and etc, but the go to is chili powder.) Spicy it was, a little. But the gross amount of yogurt in the dish killed it. We’d also ordered some Nihari gosht which was oily as fu — . Serious oil, like an impermeable shield protecting its contents from the harm of the outside world. The meat tasted different, like it’s been frozen for far too long of time. Regarding the meat, the waiter said «halal preparation was studied and is the best most healthy tasty way to butcher meat». I have no qualms with halal, I do however with meat that’s been improperly prepared.
To be honest with you guys, my insides were so grimy feeling soon after eating that I felt like pooping immediately. Fifty bucks later and I’m figuring out whether I want to relive the experience or see if one of my (bachelor) friends will take my leftovers.

Food was okay. For the prices the quantity was very less. The tandoori naan were literally burnt and the manager was so rude and instead of apologizing he denied the fact. Very bad management.

We always go for their weekend buffets. They have a variety of meats and veges including an omelet bar. The service could be hit or miss but overall we go for the variety of food offered in the buffet which is spicy and delicious.

Was visiting Chicago with my family and was looking to eat some good food for lunch.
We order Chk. Pakora, Tawa Keem,
Chk. Karahi & Paya
Chk. Pakora was uncooked from inside (Chk)
Paya had very bad smell & also not cooked fully (Heek)
Chk. Karahi more like Chk. curry
Tawa Keem very blend no taste
We didn’t try there BBQ items maybe next time when we’re in town.

The front banner, spires, and signage is really upscale-​looking. Once we walk in the waiters immediately welcomed us and sat us down. The service was great. We received our food very quickly.
Bihari kabob is amazing! Flavor, firmness, char, juice, so good.
Mukney chicken sucked. It’s really creamy and bland.
Chicken briyani was the best briyani I’ve had in months. So very good.
Naan is really fresh and piping hot.
The total was $ 40 and change with 3 people, pricing wasn’t too bad. Good solid restaurant.

I was totally unimpressed by this place. The food was bland and the service was slow. I really enjoyed the Seekh Kebob but otherwise the food was completely uninspired. The waiter’s cell phone kept ringing at the next table over and that got annoying, too. He gave me a funny look when I got up and stopped the ringer after 20+ rings. I won’t be coming back any time soon.

USMANIA. #twothumbsup
Came here after a very busy night on Devon street celebrating Pakistan’s Independence Day & still the service we received was exceptional!
This is certainly fine dining, so definitely bring your appetite. They have a couple items that are American such as burgers & Philly cheese steaks, but those were not available when we went.
What we did order, however was the Chapli kabob (side order of naan) & a kabob platter (malai chicken & behari beef). My mouth is watering as I write this because of how good it was. The Chapli kabob was truly cooked a way in which I felt like I was in Pakistan. The malai chicken was a little too tender for my taste, but the BEHARI BEEF. #zindabad definitely try that!
Service is splendid! Our waiter was Bengali but offered us the best advice on what to order! I truly appreciate it. Spectacular service, exquisite food, you know I’ll be back again.
THANK YOU USMANIA FINE DINING!
PS. There are two different Usmania’s, owned by the same people I believe, but this one is the one with «fine dining». Read my other review for the Usmania Zabiha Chinese.

I had a pleasant experience eating here. We’re usually fans of Sabri Nihari, but lately their cleanliness has gone down the drain. So we thought, why not give Usmania a try? We were glad to end up here on a Sunday afternoon because they have a great buffet available, which includes all the Paki/​Indian cuisine people like to eat for breakfast.
I’d definitely recommend.

Food was not too good. Mutton Korma had a glass of oil. Couldn’t even taste it properly as I didn’t want to have too much oil. Overall we get better food on devon than this place. Quantity is too less for the price.
Waiters ?? They try to act smart. Pressurize you to order at their own will as if everything is free. Service was ok but their attitude was not even 0. I will never visit again for their service as well as food. I wonder why people go there.

Vegetarians should refrain from eating here. We found non veg in our food when it was strictly ordered and confirmed as vegetation.

Very poor rude service I ordered chicken fried rice and chicken menchorian it was below average

Best nihari in all of Chicago. Hands down. Everything about this restaurant is amazing. They have great food and they have great service. The owner’s have done a great job with the way this place is being managed. I go here for every family celebration occasion. Can never go wrong with Usmania. Yay. :)

I was recently turned onto this place after my Indian friend and her family visited from Ohio and had heard great things about it through other friends. They love biryani, so naturally I obliged with them and was not disappointed. Since then, Usmania has been my go-​to for a biryani fix.
Mutton.Biryani
Don’t be fooled by an apparent variety listed under their biryani menu. Their availabilities change on a day-​by-​day basis. On weekdays, you’ll most likely encounter their chicken biryani. Paired with an order of their gingery Frontier Chicken, the meal was PERFECTION. With generous portions, this meant I could re-​live the magic for a couple more meals.
The accompanying raita was delicious. I save any leftovers as a dip for my celery and carrots!
**Since my last visit, the guy at the front said they might start offering Mutton Biryani on weekdays too depending on availability.

So I’m updating my review and giving this place 5 stars, because last time I was a little upset that the staff came off as grumpy/​unfriendly. But we had two servers this time, Ahtestam and Junaid they were really nice and friendly and made the experience much better! And my grandparents were here visiting for the first time eating here and they loved it! Thanks guys!

The food was great and the service by Junaid made it even more wonderful. Extremely smart guy with great service. We will come back just for his hospitality. The biryani was especially good. The restaurant unlike other places like sabri nihari was clean and well managed. Unlike other resturants in Devon the food was not greasy and oily.

If You like some hot spices food go to this place try the goat barianny and you must try their brides it’s unbelievable and my other favorite is a kebab you must try all the flavors especially the bhary kabab .and if you like to try crazy dish try the brain masala one of my favorite dishes over there

At first the Nihari came with hardly any meat, instead shreaded meat that gets in the Process of heating it up several times, I complained to the waiter and then they brought back Redish looking and with one Piece of meat. Overall it was ok. Consistency is the key and with these Desi restaurants, it is a hit or miss…

I had heard so many good things about this place so I finally had a chance to try.
Overall this was a let down. The batter on the fish pakora was generic and doughy. The sizzling beef dish we had was too charred — it was just burnt with hardly any masala — not too tasty. I added soy sauce when I reheated the left overs.
The biryani was decent. I was disappointed that they did not have lamb biryani on weekdays. .only option was chicken. Also they need to consider serving this in a bowl or pot… a plate piled high with rice and spices made it hard to mix masala. It just spills.