Jerusalem Cafe

Had a falafel sandwich here, taste was below average but the the worst part was I felt nauseous afterwards. Never again.

When I want to eat healthy and not travel far, I opt for Jerusalem Café. I love their beef and chicken shawarma entrees. The entrees come with rice, pita bread, and a vegetable mix that includes carrots and green peppers. The only down side is the parking in Oak Park, the wait time for the food, and lack of space inside of the restaurant.
I have also tried their falafel, tabouleh and fatoush salad, and lentil soup. All were very good.
If you are okay waiting about 20 minutes for your food (watch them when they are in rush mode, they may place your pita bread inside the bag without wrapping it in aluminum foil first), not mind having others wait or eat where you are standing or sitting, and parking down the street and around the corner, it’s worth a try
The prices are not bad for the portions either.

Great food, clean resultant very authentic (coming from someone who is very familiar with the cuisine). Moved to oak park recently and will definitely make this place a regular for me!

Seriously I order from here at least once a week… It’s like someone’s mom is bask there making you a home cooked meal. I love the combo platter it’s a great value at $ 10 and enough food to feed me and my two small kids (under 5) with leftovers… They deliver too which is awesome cause parking in lake street can be busy at times. Love love love this place

So I walk by this place on my way to the movie theaters all the time but never tried it. Saturday we decided to give it a try. I am very glad I did. I am trying to eat healthy so I wanted a place that gave me that option. When I read the sign that said they use no butter, no lard but instead uses extra virgin olive oil and corn oil I was sold. I decided on the chicken shawarma with extra veggies instead of the rice. The meal also came with humus and pita bread. The chicken was flavourful and the portion of the food was a good amount. There is a small seating area but it’s not a lot of space. Overall I was pleased with the experience and will be back.

I cannot get enough of this place! I am in love with their chicken shawarma sandwich and whatever spice they put on their fries is AMAZING! I’m also really into their shakes, my favorite is the berry berry berry. If you haven’t been here, you definitely owe it to your taste buds to check it out!

Food is exceptional quality. Fresh, flavorful, casual and non pretentious atmosphere. This place is a hidden gem and I would travel from any place in there city to try it!

Great customer service. If you are a tea lover you must try the Persian tea.

The food is good. The kifta is the best in my opinion. They are shy with the hummus but heavy with the rice. The veggies and salad are good as well. If you are in the area and have a taste for Mediterranean, they are a good choice.

So good. Fair prices. Outstanding falafel and hummus. The owner is often working. He is charming and personable. Sometimes the wait is too long — especially during Thursday Night Out over the summer. Get some extra hummus and pita to-​go for a great snack at home.

Food is really good and prices are reasonable. Dining room is tiny though and not cleaned very well. The lunch buffet is great — all you can eat for $ 8.

I base my 5 star rating on the category for this restaurant — small, very causal and with no attempt to be anything more. I’ve been to 50 states and 17 foreign countries and their luncheon buffet is the best that I’ve ever encountered. Everything is fabulous. If I miss lunch, I get the large combination platter for dinner. I come to Oak Park about once a month and I go here at least once a trip. It seems to be family run and those working there are very pleasant. If you’re looking to impress someone with an upscale atmosphere, there are better choices. But if you want very tasty Mediterranean food at very fair prices, this is the place.

After passing this place for more than two years, I finally stopped in last week and have already had a second visit. As I write, I cannot explain why I stayed away so long.
I enjoyed every item we have ordered. The portions are large given their price especially in Oak Park.
Combination Plate — 5 stars; delicious and enough to for two people. ($ 9.59/ $ 10.45 with tax)
Lebanon Salad — 4 stars
Service — 4 stars; very good; the order is always right and most items are prepared once ordered.
Location — 4 stars
Ambiance — 3 stars; the equivalent of fast food type dining with a few extra signs and papers for other area businesses or additional notices.

Great service and very fast and fresh.
Takes the place of Falafill that closed across the street with no problem.

I’ve only made it here for dinner and usually after checking a movie theater next-​door. It’s a really relaxed place to go and they have a good size outdoor seating. The food has never disappointed especially because they are very generous with the portion size which is always a plus in my book. The only downside would be that you always seem to wait quite a bit for your food but it’s the price to pay for freshly made dishes.

Downtown Oak Park on Lake St. reminds me of State St. in Madison, WI. I’m a proud alumna of UW-​Madison (go Badgers), class of 2009.
As always, you can find something Middle Eastern in a small-​city downtown. On a spring Saturday afternoon, hubby and I stopped by Jerusalem Café for vegetarian-​friendly meals.
Initially, I didn’t think this place was suitable for dining in, yet I discovered a dining room on the right. Our entire time spending at Jerusalem Café was quiet and enjoyable, with soothing Middle Eastern music playing in the background.
Hubby easily found a dish he could consume without any reservation. He had the vegetarian combo (dolmas, falafels, hummus, yogurt sauce, and salad). My pick was the kifta kabob entrée. Kifta are Turkish-​style meat patties, a mixture of lamb and beef. The entrée came with rice and hummus. They were also provided a plenty of pita bread for dipping the hummus.
Hubby still preferred the food at Hala In on Lawrence in the Mayfair neighborhood (see Hala In review if interested); nevertheless, he thought the entrée was well put-​together. He raved about the side salad he had. I tasted a little bit but couldn’t figure out what was in there. Can someone, who sees the picture I took, help decipher the components of this delicious veggie dish?
My kifta were tasty, and I was full after this late-​afternoon meal. I don’t think there are many «city foodies» travel to Oak Park for something that Chi-​town doesn’t have (since Chicago pretty much covers 95% of the world cuisines humans can find). If you ever visit Oak Park, for fun, for work, or for whatever purposes, Jerusalem Café is a solid choice.

I stopped by this place with a friend for something different than what I normally eat. I was impressed with the buffet selection, pleasant environment and tasty food. They had stuffed peppers, delicious rice, soup, hummus and a nice selection of salad. It wasn’t too pricey so was great pick for that day.

First time here — really! I’ve always wanted to try it and finally made it with a coworker. We went during lunch time and had the lunch buffet. The buffet offered a wide selection of meats, salads, rice and soup. I really enjoyed the lentil soup, hummus, tabouleh salad, Jerusalem salad, beef shish kakob, kifta kabob, fattoush salad and chicken shawarma. Yes I ate a little bit of everything!
I tried the stuffed grape leaves and they’re not for me. The pita bread was good as well as the falafel. My coworker ordered a hot mint tea (not on the menu but my coworker speaks Arabic so manager made a special order just for us) which was a nice ending to our lunch meal. :-) And he brought it out in very fancy crystal tea cups! Awesome!

Bought a combo tray for a lunch meeting and one of my colleagues bit into a piece of glass.
I called the restaurant and was essentially being told that there was no reason for glass to be in there based on the way they prepare the food.
It seemed like they were making excuses and not taking responsibility for their mistake. They were more or less suggesting that we were trying to be deceitful. This was a professional hospital meeting and there was no reason for us to lie about the situation.

Restaurant review
A hidden gem in Oak Park. I had no idea this place had a AYCE lunch buffet for 8.99. What you get is a wide selection of Mediterranean food similar to Reza’s but with half the cost. If you have time you might as well get the lunch buffet as the combo plate is essentially the same cost. The buffet has a selection of salads, hummus, kifta kabob in mini hamburger shape, falafel, multiple chicken dishes including chicken kabob, lamb marinated with a sour sauce. This is a great selection of food and you can always get up to get more with a clean plate. Service is friendly, but you bus your own plates. The downside is the hummus comes out of a bag and you don’t get other kabobs except for the chicken type. No sauce for the falafel which makes it quite dry to eat
Pro: inexpensive, quick, large portions, AYCE buffet
Cons: no sauce for the falafel
Hidden gem:
Lunch AYCE 8.99
Park in the Oak Park garage free for the first hour