Insider Pages Reviews for Alhambra Palace Restaurant

1 Stars: This place should be shutdown (by Tamika1234)

Tamika1234 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:00:00 GMT

We went there last weekend and the place was an absolute nightmare. the food was practically raw and tasted horrible my wife became sick after we left. the waitresses didn't care about us nor the staff.. we asked to see the owner to tell him our complaints, they informed us that he was a little busy and will soon come to our table.. needless to say he never came.. but when we asked another member of the staff where the owner was they told us that he wasn't there. OMG if you want to be ripped off and get sick from the food and the service, then go there..

5 Stars: Impressed (by Migdaliasotomayor)

Migdaliasotomayor — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT

After reading the reviews, I decided to ta a chance (felt adventurous). Must admit I was very impressed with
the whole scene. Beautiful Place, food was very good, I must admit I was surprised with this one. Service was fast and the server was very polite (Tim) The show is amazing ! The only thing that can improve a bit was the bar, I ordered a margarita, I expected a frozen margarita, I got the mixture not to crazy about that. Then I danced all night long my feet still hurt. I really like this place.

5 Stars: GOOD FOOD (by David69)

David69 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT

GOOD Food, GREAT Show, LOTS of LADIES, LADIES
plenty of FUN!!!!!!

4 Stars: REALLY NICE (by Jessie369)

Jessie369 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Was there last night for a birthday celebration.
I can honestly say this place is FUN. We enjoyed the dinner which consisted of the Alhambra Platter, while we ENJOYED the Flamenco, and the BELLY DANCER
after that we danced some salsa (must admit had to have a lesson before I started to really dance)
Must say I, We had a fun night !!!!! I'll will be back!

1 Stars: Speechless (by rastamania)

rastamania — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT

cool to take a girl on a date, but damn.

1 Stars: Interesting (by Rschmidt)

Rschmidt — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT

What an interesting place. We went there for the food and to watch the belly dancing. Well, let me start by saying, the food was nothing to write about, very expensive, service was ok, ordinary.
This place lacks enthusiasm. The show was nice.
I don't know, something about this place just turned me off. Can't shake it.

1 Stars: Mind Boggling (by Kesha)

Kesha — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:00:00 GMT

An experience was definitely one I wish we had never experienced. Commencing by waiting for our table for more that 30 minutes. We waited at the bar, the bartender was a total witch, not once did she smile,very rude, not a "what can I get for you, but a "what do you want" classy place huh ( mind you during all this she and I assume it was the mgr (tall husky young gentleman) were busy talking about plans after closing. Well we finally got our table,we ordered WOW , very small portions, the hummus for 5 of us was served on a coffee plate and only two pitas cut in half, we ask for more pitas , were brought one cut in half. OK, move on to the entre
we order chicken kabob, tons of rice and only 4 tiny pcs of chicken. Lamb tangine, was all fat, very greasy. Mixed plattter was good I must admit, Then we asked for a glass of water, it smelled like eggs. We complained to our server, think her name was
Asa (isha), she mumble" thats why I don't eat here" Way to go. I tried to complained to the mgr ( young guy), just as I started to tell him the problems he walked away. We have never felt so INSULTED, ROBBED. I will not say, not to go there, I say, if you feel you need to be screwed, go there, you definitely will be.

1 Stars: Wow - what a circus (by greggmorrison)

greggmorrison — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Well much to my amazement, if I didn't see it with my own eyes I would never believe it, this place is a circus I don't know where to be it began , first by having to wait approximatedly 40 minutes for a table and asking for a drink at the bar which I never recieved. Then we were seated, where I lost my hearing, I could hardly hear myself speak, I asked for the manager which was a young fellow with no knowledge of what he was doing, totally confused, (he actually looked scared), to change our sitting, he could not accommodate us, so we left, Cannot grade the food, didn't get that far.

1 Stars: This place Stinks !!! (by jantone)

jantone — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Went there ate, got sick, wont go back
Need I say more!!!!!!!! Worst experience of my life.
Do not go there.

1 Stars: MY WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE EVER! (by juliayud)

juliayud — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Me and my boyfriend went to Alhambra On Valentine?s day.
We were seated at a table with a pretty good view to the stage and came right on time to catch the belly dancer show which was excellent.
45 minutes later - the belly dancer has finished her performance - we still haven?t been greeted !!! Finally a server came to our table and took our pre-set 5 course meal order ($105 per person!!!)
As for the appetizers - The tinniest sampler of hummus and babaganush - were served w/o pita bread and were ridiculously small. We asked two different people (since our server was nowhere to be found) to get us some pita bread - without any success.
It took FOREVER for ALL the courses to be served.
The food was ok but the service was awful!!! In fact it was so bad that we saw 2 different couples from the tables next to us just get up and leave!!!
By the time we finished our desert,the only thing we wanted to do is get the hell out of there !
I?ve worked as a server in a restaurant not too long ago , and trust me? I KNOW how it is when its packed and everyone is running around like crazy trying to get everything out for their table, and I perfectly aware that on a busy night its absolutely impossible to get 100% good service sometimes not even 50% - which would be perfectly fine with me but 1%??? For a $225.00 bill??? That is just unheard of! I?ve always tipped 20% or more from the bill in every restaurant I went to- even if the service wasn?t that great , but this time I just couldn?t get my self to leave $50 tip for the most terrible service!!!
Our plan was to spend a wonderful romantic night in a fancy restaurant and maybe continue our night at the upstairs dance floor or a different club , but at 12:30 when we finally finished dinner - the only thing we wanted to do is forget about that night and the $250 we threw away in Alhambra - the Moroccan palace?.

5 Stars: SOOOOOO SWEET (by jackiedowner)

jackiedowner — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:00:00 GMT

OMG what a place, the place is amazing never seen anything like it. We had reservations for 8, we were seated within 10 minutes. The show was good, people seem to really enjoy it cause one guy from the audience tried to go on stage and give a dance, which I thought was really awesome cause this place made everyone feel comfortable, relaxed. our meal was great, we ordered the lamb and the surf and turf which was awesome (reasonable priced) service was good, our server was Roy he is fast and really knows his stuff. Only thing I really wish they had frozen drinks and not so much the mixes, ( I really like frozen pina coladas) I hear they have salsa dancing, plannig on coming back for that.
I really like this place I'll be back......

2 Stars: Good show but the worst service ever! (by KelLove2Eat)

KelLove2Eat — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:00:00 GMT

I went to this place for my dad's birthday hoping for great food and a great time. We had reservations and it took them ten minutes to seat us. Our table was really crammed. It started out with a nice flamenco show which we really enjoyed. Our waiter, however, was totally inexperienced. In fact, he wasn't even wearing the waiting staff clothing, which makes me think he was either new or temping because they were short-staffed. He didn't even tell us the specials and he had to look at the menu to see how to spell the drink I ordered! The appetizers and drinks came in a timely manner and both tasted great. From then on the service went down hill. Once another waiter knocked a menu out of my dad's hand and a few minutes later spilled a drink all over his nice suit. Then, we waited 45 minutes for our food, only for the waiter to tell us it wasn't ready due to a "kitchen confusion" whatever that meant. By then, my mother was so mad she told him she didn't want the food anymore so I didn't get to taste the lamb shank I ordered! All he did was apologize and kept repeating that it wasn't his fault, which is useless to the angry hungry customer. No manager came to rectify the situation. The belly dancer was probably hired only for her looks, because her dancing at best looked like she was seizing. The decor was beautiful but prices were jacked up to pay for it and for the show. Needless to say we felt my dad's birthday was ruined and I don't think I ever want to go back there again.

5 Stars: Best place ever (by roertogomez)

roertogomez — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:00:00 GMT

I was there this past Saturday, what an amazing place. Food was great not costly for the quality and quantity. Service was great. I highly Recommend this place to everyone. ITS a MUST!!!!!!!

4 Stars: Good Night Out (by riosaddles)

riosaddles — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:00:00 GMT

My wife is from Brazil where Arabic food seems to be more popular than here in the States and she's also a very good belly dancer, so even though I was originally looking for an authentic Brazilian ?Churaqueria?, I thought we'd give this place a try instead. Personally, I thought the ambience was nice, the entertainment was pretty good (especially the main chic that was belly dancing), but the food & drinks were just okay in my opinion. My wife however, absolutely loved the place and wants to go there again. Although she didn't seem very excited about the food, my guess is that the ambience, along with the flamenco/belly dancers won her over. All in all, not a too bad of a place to have your wife drag you to. It?s cheaper than a Churaqueria (although that?s not saying much) and your date will be entertained.

1 Stars: Get a clear understanding (by TiffBam)

TiffBam — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:00:00 GMT

This restaurant was recommended by some friends but it was very disappointing. The customer service was poor and the food was average at best. Upon making reservations over the phone we were not told that we could be made to still wait even with reservations due to the performances that happen on Friday and Saturday nights. There was no real way of knowing when your table is available. From what we witnessed and experienced, you just keep badgering the hostess unti you are sitted. I ordered a trio of kibobs; however asked them to substitue the shrimp for more chicken as I am deadly allergic to seafood (I explained this to my waitress). When the food came out my friend who was with us noticed that there was shrimp on my dish but the waitress quickly moved the tray and then moved it back after she had one of the bus boys take the shrimp off my plate by hand. My friend witnessed the entire thing and thankfully because I would be writing this reveiw from the hospital. All of our food was luke warm.

1 Stars: beautiful decor,nul food (by jayjay36542)

jayjay36542 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Ok as i walked to the Alhambra i was stunned with the decor,looking at menu i was like i can eat some Moroccan food,after i ordered and food arived it was SHOC of my life,what suppose to be Moroccan Tagine it was everything but what it stated on the menu,i was VERY dispointed.I asked the aitress is there any Moroccan working here,so i can ask about this (strange dish) she was no there is only one turkish,what...Turkish guy cooking what suppose to be MOROCCAN DISH,i was offended,that was my first and last time there.By the way im Moroccan,i know how Moroccan Tagine suppose to be like.
NOT GOOD PLACE TO EAT MOROCCAN FOOD AT ALL,they are lying on their menus.

5 Stars: Luxurious, Sumptuous, A Feast for The Eyes (by lisagreen)

lisagreen — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Menu is great. Prices are a bit high, but the food is good and portions are ample so it feels like a good deal. The decor is stunning and over the top. Even the rest rooms are beautiful. I've never had bad service. We've been fortunate to get Georgana on multiple occasions. She's the best in town.

The entertainment varies. On one occasion we were listening to Ramsey Lewis' sons. Which was nice. They were very talented. We've seen and been amazed by the belly dancing. And we've experienced the flamenco dancers. Never had a bad time here.

Late night, this is a fun crowd. Especially if the belly dancers have been working it previously in the night. A lot of people are on the dance floor, and inhibitions are left at the door. It's a great time, a gorgeous space, and a beautiful crowd.

5 Stars: Incredible (by awp123)

awp123 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Al Hambra Palace is truly an amazing restaraunt. If you want great authentic middle eastern cuisine this is the place to come. They are other mom and pop places out there and this is definatly not one of them. But this place is bigger and better than any arabic food in the city. I bring my cousins when they come from lebanan, and wow they love it. ITs so great and the service was great too, from the valet at the door to the hostess and wait staff. Again excellent food, great for a fun date too, also great entertainment, it really starts from the people, moves on with the excellent food, and ends with a great entertaining night, They give great portions as well, and it is not too expensive. You get to be the biggest and best by serving, the best food, and Alhambra really does.

1 Stars: High price should NOT mean low quality food and service! (by fraperring)

fraperring — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

I can understand if the establishment call themselves "Palace" for its nice decor, and authentic imports that could really be enjoyed by urban patrons of a lovely and sophisticated city such as Chicago. However, Alhambra really should be some kind of a cultural museum for its architectural ambiance and NOT because for their food or service! The whole management and staff are so disorganized. We went there for an anniversary celebration for my aged parents; and we also had reservations for 9 people, and they made us STILL wait for an hour and 15 minutes in a very long slow-moving line?! Why do they take reservations then! The acoustics of the place was very loud, I couldn't hear myself talk to the person next to me. Entertainment is fine, but we would've enjoyed it more if our food was in front of us. We were served almost an hour and a half AFTER ordering, and several servers brought foods that weren't our orders. By the time we finally got our orders, it was cold?! The owner of the establishment was walking around, as pointed out by our waiter. He was some surgeon who happens to own the restaurant. We noticed he frequented the table next to ours. I'm sure they were being treated with kid gloves. I think the surgeon should stick to hospitals, and find another hobby because the restaurant business is just as serious to run as saving some sick person's life! To be honest, and with some concern where money is spent in this economically challenged times, find another middle east/Arabic fusion place. High, high price should mean high quality food with service unsurpassed!

5 Stars: AMAZING, FUN, FUN, FUN (by Julian69)

Julian69 — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

This is the place for GREAT FOOD, GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE, and lot of FUN
this is the place to be at for all of the above. Went there on Friday for Salsa night, lots
of fun, nice looking girls there, dance all night.....

5 Stars: GREAT PLACE (by queenbee3456)

queenbee3456 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

What a difference a year makes, I visited when it recently opened service was awful, but now WOW food is GREAT, service was great, we were greet ed by a young polite host. Our server was well informed about food that was being serve. I just cannot believe how much this place has improve. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this restaurant to everyone

5 Stars: Beatiful (by Alexander2008)

Alexander2008 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

This restaraunt brings together all the things any one would like to find in a restaraunt. The food is exceptional and the ambience is amazing. The arabic cusine is top notch, the entertainment is always amazing. This is a beatiful restaraunt with amazing decor, food is excellent, priced well, portions are generous and service is fast and friendly. This is truly an amazing resaraunt and it always makes for a beatiful night out.

5 Stars: Best arabic restaurant in Chicago (by 1Melissa1)

1Melissa1 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

I've read some of the reviews, anybody who doesn't like this restaurant doesn't know good and properly prepared arabic food. This is an exceptional restaurant in all aspects. The cuisine, the service, the ambiance and the entertainment is all 5 star. After my first time, I've been a number of times where I entertained my guests from the Middle Easts and they too fell in love with the restaurant! To all the people who gave it bad reviews, I'm sure you would enjoy something of much lower class... Mcdonald's is opened 24 hours a day in a neighborhood near you!

4 Stars: Great overall experience (by WisconsinNative)

WisconsinNative — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:00:00 GMT

We were a little concerned when we read some of the other reviews, but the place looked interesting and we wanted to have entertainment. We found the food (we ate mostly appetizers) really tasty, well proportioned. reasonably priced and the desserts were great. Our server was new but attentive and courteous.

The entertainment too was very good and we would recommend this restaurant.

1 Stars: Awful awful place! Don't waste your money here! (by QueenSarah3784)

QueenSarah3784 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

If I could give it zero stars, I would. We were in town one weekend and saw the advertisement for Alhambra in a magazne, so we decided to check it out. I called beforehand and whoever picked up assured us that the kitchen stayed open after 10 pm. When we got there, no one even bothered to acknowledge our presence, much less seat us. We wandered into the main dining room and after 10 minutes managed to find a waiter. He seated us and quickly informed us that the kitchen was closed and all we could do was order from the bar. We then asked if they would at least have entertainment and he said they would have bellydancing in a few minutes. 30 minutes later, there was still nothing going on. We decided we had wasted enough time here and left. Bad bad experience--very inattentive staff and they don't even know what is going on at their own establishment, since we were given misleading info from everyone. Plus, it is WAY overpriced. Go to a mom and pop mediterranean restaurant if you want real authentic food.

5 Stars: Best ambiance - treated like a queen (by biancjc)

biancjc — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:00:00 GMT

I went here with my family (total of 12 people) just last week (December 8, 2007). We had such an exceptional time, because of the combination of food and treatment we received - in such an elegant and unusual setting. We decided on Alhambra as part of an on-going family tradition that we have - to experience a different "country" every year by choosing a unique restaurant. It was the little extras, along with the exciting entertainment, that made it such an exciting event. My daughter, 8, was with us, as well as my grandmother, 97. The entertainers engaged us (especially the 8 and 97 year olds) - even my mother (64), was brought onto the dance floor by the belly-dancer. My daughter said it was one of the most exciting nights she had ever had. We were there at 8 - and saw both the flamenco dancing, and the belly-dancing, at 10:00. The dance atmosphere at 10-11 felt more like "big-family-wedding" - not "pick-up-at-the-nightclub" - that all of us - 8, 33, 64, and 97 years of age - had a blast. I'm going to make reservations for another special night this weekend. If you are going to go - get some recommendations on what to order (I like the kabob platter - ordered by # of guests), and definitely get a hooka pipe and turkish coffee - it's all part of the experience. It's an experience, not just a dinner. I eat out so often - Alhambra is not where you go to just get a meal - you go to experience a fun, unique evening. My daughter was treated like a princess, and we were also given a little tour (by the sweetest waitress - I think her name was Heather.) Plan on staying for a few hours.

1 Stars: Awful food. (by zakoman)

zakoman — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:00:00 GMT

The decor is georgous and funishings are very tasteful. Food is tasteless. They should be ashamed to serve such terribly and carelessly prepared food. The couscous was a disgrace. $250 for 5 people with NO drinks. We gladly pay that and more when the restaurant owners/managers care about the product they serve. The only plus - the waiter was congenial and the bus staff tried to be attentive. But nothing can make up for the incredibly bad food. We will never go back.

1 Stars: Great decor, bad service (by tanya1978)

tanya1978 — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:00:00 GMT

What a disappointment! We had reservations for graduation party of 15. Once we were seated, a manager rudely accused us of taking a table reserved ?for regular guests.? We didn?t mind moving, only his attitude was horrible! So, he moved us, but 5 mins later, we were told that was the ?doctor?s table.? We moved to the THIRD table. Management never came to apologize but they sent a round of drinks. A waiter, Alexander, was AWESOME, pleasant and professional, but couldn?t get to us fast enough (not enough waiters). People who joined later waited 1.5hrs for dinner!! Oh, we saw another group being moved to another table. Music and decor was very colorful and lively. Food is average, can get it cheaper at any other Middle Eastern place. Alhambra is pretty, but it has bad management, not enough waiters, and no hospitality. Tab was $810. Will any of the 15 of us go back there? NEVER.

1 Stars: CONSIDER YOUSELF WARNED ABOUT THIS HOLE (by dfmacc)

dfmacc — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 09:00:00 GMT

DO NOT WASTE YOUR OR ANYONE ELSE's MONEY IN THIS PLACE. I do not have enough room or time to write down all of our issues however I will relate the following:
When your server hits & knocks into a seated customer with a beer & shatters glass & beer on the customer, do NOT blame the customer. This was probably their 6th strike of the evening. PLEASE DO NOT FOR ANY REASON SUGGEST THIS PLACE TO ANYONE. I give you my personal guarantee you will be dreadfully dissapointed with both the food & the most atrocious service I have encountered in many, many years. They should be ashamed althogh it will not matter since I'm sure they will be changeing hands much more sooner than later for obvious reasons. I guarantee anything above "below average" was posted by the owner's or friends...

1 Stars: Bad service (by mron)

mron — Tue, 29 May 2007 09:00:00 GMT

This Place needs a new Staff....What a waste of a beautiful place..
Service is Bad..one of their Manager's Sam Youkana was so clueless...
Spending more time chasing women instead of taking care of his Customers..
My wife and I just walked out.
Their are other places to spend our money.

M. R

3 Stars: don't waste your time or money (by cmrcmrcmr)

cmrcmrcmr — Mon, 07 May 2007 09:00:00 GMT

I had the worst dining experience of my life here. Slow service, cold, bad, wrong food. Never had water glasses refilled. Never had drinks ordered. We waited over an hour for the overpriced falafel and hummus. Our bill was $200 for 4 people and that didn't even include drinks because we didn't get the chance to order them. To be fair, it had been open a week but for all the marketing done by the owners they should have spent a little more time getting their operations in order and less time on the cheescake factory decorations. Regardless of how long they last I will not waste my money here. There are too many great restaurants in Chicago to give Alhambra your money.