Charcoal Delights

The gyros are really good. The place is clean, nice employees, speedy service, and is a local business. I had a grilled chicken sandwich there and it was okay, nice quality ingredients, skimpy on the condiments and tomato though, not really worth 6 bucks. However, what actually makes them loose the stars is the crinkle cut fries. Crinkle cut fries are terrible. They gotta cut it out, as a little local drive through place with a name like charcoal delights, you gotta make decent fries! Maybe I’ll come back if I get a real craving for a gyro, but I don’t think I’d get anything else again.

Not really that much special to say about this restaurant. Its not that bad but also nothing that distinguishes them apart from all the other burger joints you can choose from all the other locations in the des plaines area. Wife and I ordered a burger and fries and a hot dog with everything. Passable to say the least but definitely could have more taste. The burger was juicy but just lacked a tad of flavor. We went and got a dessert from the counter, a cake parfait and tasted like crumbles of leftover cake mixed in with grinded oreos and cream, really not that good for the price. Overall the place is nice, employees were pleasant with us but if your in the area for a burger and fries, give it a try or go to a place your familiar with instead.

My family has been coming here since they opened years ago. I’ve always received friendly service and hot fresh food. The restaurant is always clean and the outside is also well maintained and always well manicured.
Shout out to Tony an employee there who’s been there a long time-​such a great employee and always smiling.

I really like their ½ pound burger (¼ pound is just OK). when I order the ½ pound, they even ask how I want it cooked.
The booths are kinda narrow, grab a seat at a table or at the counter

Yea this place sucks now, the staff used to be pretty friendly, but the last time I was in there and ordered an omelette to go, the person who made the omelette for me didn’t even bother telling me it was done, just left it in the container and didn’t even say anything, and then when I asked about it, the stuck little bitch behind the counter just looked at me and shrugged like she didn’t give a shit, oh well

First time here — ordered a Greek salad with chicken. The chicken was the only good thing about this salad… plenty of it and perfectly seared and seasoned. The salad itself was a joke. All iceburg lettuce (c’mon Charcoal Delights… at least make it romaine!) with a few kalamata olives, a couple of pieces of feta, two chunks of waxy supermarket tomatoes and 2 thin slices of green pepper. Divey atmosphere, but clean.

Looking for a local place-​well this is it. Charcoal Delight is the place. On arrival, I was greeted like I was one of the family. Having not scene this menu before I arrived, I was grateful for the assistance when asking questions. I ordered the Italian Beef/​Sausage combo. For $ 10.35 tax included, the meal was a bargain. Generous portion of beef, a piece of sausage, 2 peppers and a ton of fries. This with a Coke (1 free refill) meal was great. Only problem I had was only getting 2 pieces of pepper. That isn’t enough with the size of the portions. Great food, super clean and friendly staff. What else can you ask for?

Chicken kabob sandwich with fries and a large fountain drink for $ 7. Only my 2^nd time here but I am sure to become a regular. Quick service and good food!

I had not been to this place for probably 20 years. Was in town for family n wanted some broasted chicken. Never again it was the driest chicken ever. No skin on the breast, only the thigh n wing were edible. The rest went into the trash including their menu.

It’s my first time coming to this place. And I’m pretty happy about my experience. Came here not knowing what to get, but ended up getting a gyro meal based off an employee recommendation. The food was good and the gyro was pretty big. The staff is friendly and didn’t get annoyed when I didn’t know what to order. They were helpful and told me to take my time even though they are very busy. (came during lunch) I would definitely come back since theirs plenty to try off the menu.

My boyfriend and I work nearby and order food to-​go from here 2 – 3 times a week. Gyros and chicken are great, soups very flavorful. I love the prices but wish there were more options for dessert such as pies or cake. Other than that, love the place.

Works well for a quick lunch. Free parking or drive thru. Clean inside. Not fancy. Order at the counter, they bring your food to you. Chicken kabob on a pita with fries is like $ 5.00. And the people are nice.

1^st time
Had the Combo and pizza puff
Beef had flavor, but… was wrinkly and a little thicker then I like the meat sliced, I was edible and not bad.
Sausage I cant really tell you what it tasted like since it was not a usual sausage taste, I didn’t finish it.
Pizza puff was nicely cooked and wasn’t oily like most places but… had absolutely no flavor.
I think I uncovered the reason its called Charcoal, the sausage was black as Charcoal. Don’t get me wrong that’s not the reason the sausage had a weird taste.

This was my second visit to this establishment in over 2 years maybe? Definitely a long time and I will tell you why I have not been here in almost 2 years. I cannot even remember my first time here, it was that bad. Oh, wait was it the extremely long wait? I think so, and my recent visit was worse than the first one. I don’t know if I should give this place a try or recommendation anymore.
I ordered here through the drive thru because I figured it would be faster than going inside, you know there should be a difference in wait time in a drive thru as opposed to inside the place. Well I ordered a gyros meal, with fries. Thats it, nothing fancy… and I waited through the confusing and awkward drive thru line for 13 minutes! I have NEVER waited that long for a meal at a drive thru. Fortunately for me and the place, there were no cars in the drive thru aside from me… maybe thats a sign to not go thru there anymore. Well the drive thru is one window only and they tell you to pull up and wait in front of their restaurant… its kind of awkward… a car sitting there for over ten minutes while everyone inside gazes at the car wondering why its been sitting there for so long. I was starting to get annoyed and was thinking about driving off but my card got charged so too late to drive away.
After annoyingly waiting and waiting, I was gonna actually park and get my food from inside and ask why it took so long to make? Well I didn’t want to confuse the workers and make them believe I had driven off so I decided to wait and endure the stares from the indoor customers. After 13 long minutes… the drive thru employee smirkingly slowly walks to my car and doesn’t even apologize for the real long wait. He hands me the food and makes a cliché comment about the weather, and I thought he was maybe gonna hand me a coupon or incentive… but nope, nothing and I NEVER complain or ask for anything nor am I a freeloader. Honest. After driving home, I find my gyros scattered everywhere in the to-​go container and there were too many tomatoes cut into quarter chunks, not slices like most places do. The bag had grease spots on it which makes me question how long the food was in the bag for it to create grease spots. Everytime I think about this place, which is almost never, I still think of that day. I am a person of doubt and think maybe they had a busy day or issue with something, but I have no idea when I will come back here. 2 out of 2 visits and both were terrible.

We love Charcoal Delights! Every single employee at this establishment is super friendly and the food never lets us down. We’ve tried everything from breakfast, lunch to dinner specials. I especially like their omelets, chicken kabob sandwich and chicken fingers. I’m not a gyro fan but my boyfriend is and he likes theirs a lot.
Thank you for always being so wonderful, Charocal Delights!

My experiences have all been pretty good here for a while now! Also to add, the fries are better than Culvers or Steak n Shake, and are about on par with Portillos.

Strange to see I haven’t already reviewed this location since the one in Chicago had always been a dear place to me. Charcoal delights had always been a favorite char house for me until they put in place major changes in their food offerings back in 2010. Blame the economy, if it wasn’t for these changes all of you that say in exasperation, «what the heck are people loving so much here?!» there was a time when one could say mostly everything. First there was a change with the breasts used in their chicken delight chicken sandwich and then it was the fries! The fries used to be plump alike what Wendy’s used to offer (years before their change in 2010) but far better. Due to the economy they changed their fries and went with something thinner and smaller in quantity. Free fries with a hot dog or sandwich sounds good on paper but the quantity of it, blows.
Most repeats like some of the following:
Italian beef with or w/​out cheese. (If you don’t know how to order it, «Dip» is necessary with hot giardinera)
Gyros (Not a fan personally)
Pizza puff (previously a fan)
Any char burger the bigger the better.
Chicken Delight (Previously a fan)
Char chicken sandwich (get it with BBQ sauce, its almost caramelized)
Fish sandwich (Fan)
Broasted Chicken (this is a must for chicken lovers, but get it fresh. Not the shite sitting under a heat lamp all damn afternoon)
I used to be a five star fan of this business for many years but the changes were too great for me.
This location is never as busy as the one in North Park. Nicer seating area. Cozy, comfortable atmosphere. More family like. A flat screen television in view for most to catch up on news while dining. Some green plants and well lit. It’s also got a drive-​thru but once you’ve made the decision to drive through it, there’s no backing out of it.

In the space of a month I have visited twice, each time bringing a different friend-​both agree with me… this is a step up from usual fast food. Dont waste your money at McD or Burger king. The burgers here are very good as Brigitte also commented.
Glad to see they now have a proper, bright menu and ditched the chalkboard.
The service is better here than some regular sit down restaurants I have been to and the young man at the cashier (glasses) deserves a raise. He is always patient, remembers you, helpful, pleasant, etc.
The place is ALWAYS clean, no matter the time of day, and the food is always delicious and fresh. The owner actually gives a damn and is certain the staff does too. No mopers at this place.
Always full of cops and postal employees.
I love this place

I look at all the 5 star comments and can’t help but laugh hysterically and shake my head.
So far I have been here twice… twice too many. I can tell you I will not be making a third trip. My first time I purchased a burger and fries. The burger had no taste what so ever. It was flat, greasy, and overcooked. The fries were average at best. Nothing to rave about.
After my first mediocre experience I thought I will give them a second try. Maybe the cheese steak sandwich has to be a winner… right? WRONG! I ordered the steak sandwich with bbq and cheese (of course). It usually comes with onions and peppers. I asked the man at the mic if the steak comes in slices (which it does, I found out later when I dug in) he told me it was a new york strip. After he said that I assumed it would be a whole steak instead of slices. You know what you get when you assume right? You get a bland steak sandwich on a french roll with melted american cheese (excluding fries) for a little over $ 6.
My first sign should of been the empty restaurant and parking lot. I should have ran, ran far away. I should have ran to paradise pup and begged them to take my credit card.

I have only visited Charcoal Delights twice. Both times I ordered the Charcoal Broiled Chicken on Pita. Seriously, the charcoal cooking brings the flavor to maximum overdrive! Obviously this is an old school way of cooking and rare to find. The wait time is quick and the food runners bring everything to you. Staff is super friendly and will even make suggestions if you are undecided on what to order.
Plenty of parking and if you are lazy, they have a drive thru too :)