Amazing food, drinks dessert , great service, had a wonderful time celebrating our dads 90th milestone bday !! Can’t wait to go back ! We did the prefix menu , plenty of food and we took home leftovers 👌👌👌
Syed Ali
Fantastic restaurant and food. Service is stellar. We had Brandon and Brandon (2) and Walter. Tony the manager stopped by to make sure everything was good. Excellent experience will be back
Nickolas Demertzis
There are a plethora of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurants all over Chicago and in the suburbs as well. The service from the get go seemed distant and it took a little longer than I expected to get service, I understand the hectic nature of a restaurant, but after asking a couple times for service and having to wait is a bit much. The food was kinda mixed, the shawarma hummus had delicious chicken that was juicy and tender, but the hummus lacked a lot of salt and tang despite exceptional texture. The eggplant itself has a nice hue from the red pepper and tasted rich and luscious with bits of sweetness from the pomegranate. The chicken kebab is phenomenal, everything from the zhoug to the chicken really shined, excellent, tender bites The chicken fesenjan was quite good and fall off the bone, even the cartilage was supremely tender, the interior chicken did feel a little under salted, but is made up for by the outside accoutrements. I'm not really thinking of rushing back here, I feel like there are more affordable a nd flavorful option in the city.
EDIT: SIFR has responded to this review asking to email them directly, I did this weeks ago and haven't heard back since.
Christina Huynh
Edit: SIFR asked me to email them in response to this review, to which I did but never received a reply. Hence, the request to connect seems performative and the silence comes off as dismissive. This falls in line with the service I got at the restaurant.
With a mix of hits and misses on the food and indifferent service, it feels like Sifr's prime location and upscale ambience are its main appeal.
First off, it was strange and frankly annoying that the only menu handed to us upon being seated was the chef’s tasting menu. If you want the à la carte menu, you have to specifically request for it. Pair that with a painfully slow greeting from our waiter, the meal was already off to a rocky start. Sifr's service was stretched quite thin. At times, we found ourselves trying to flag someone down only to realize there wasn’t a single waiter in the dining room for several minutes. No one ever checked in to ask if we wanted drinks either. It was quite a hurdle just to get our order in. After this, service was at least passable at a restaurant this caliber.
We got chicken shawarma hummus, eggplant, a side of muhammara, chicken kebab, and chicken fesenjan. Thank God we got the chicken shawarma hummus and not the classic one because the only thing great was the chicken: well-seasoned and tender. The hummus itself, while having a luxuriously smooth texture, was so bland as if there was nothing other than blended chickpeas and tahini. On the other hand, both the eggplant and muhammara were quite enjoyable dips. The sourdough pitas arrived freshly baked and puffed up, soft and fluffy with a delightful nuttiness from the generous coating of sesame and nigella. That said, only one small pita per dip felt very skimpy. The highlight of our meal was hands down the chicken kebab: juicy, tender, and incredibly flavorful. Combined with the creamy toum and bright zhoug, this was excellent. The chicken fesenjan had a nicely crisped skin with a glossy pomegranate glaze. While the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, it was disappointingly bland past the skin, void of even basic seasoning like salt.
In the end, Sifr looks the part but the experience didn't quite deliver on the promise. I wouldn't rush back when there are so many other options in the city offering both style and substance.
Rama Hamad
Delish! Definitely get the dessert
Interpreter
Food was great, but it was a little bit overpriced, but the place is nice. We did the tasting menu. We ordered the mixed grill, but I didn’t really like the mix grill that. I didn’t like the fact that it was mixed with seafood. The bread is absolutely the best. The spicy potatoes are good.
Anupama Roopaimoole
I was manifesting dinner at Sifr from beginning of this year and finally decided to celebrate my birthday at Sifr last week !! Ambience is amazing !! Matches up to the hype !! As I am vegetarian, I felt mezze platter had only one dish which was amazing !! Rest all were ok!! My husband loved the cauliflower with saffron rice !!
Here comes the sad part !! While I was eating g food , I bit on a small chunk of stone like thing in food and caused severe pain in my tooth which lasted for another day!! The manager told me it came from grill !! Whatever, I did not expect that from Michelin starred restaurant dining experience!! They were not apologetic about it as well !! Also, don’t expect any candle or any celebration from restaurant!! They don’t care!!
At the end , dessert was so amazing , i just had to stop the urge to lick the plate !! Final verdict- I will go back to my safe place Aba 🙂
Cecilia Geo Dova
We loved it! The chicken shawarma hummus the best we have ever had. Lamb Kebab and Tiger prawns delicious (!!!!!) Pistachio semifreddo, we loved it. Everything made the perfect night! And of course the service was fantastic!
Pradeep Kalokhe
All the fishes we ordered were great but the prawns and lamb kebabs were outstanding. The waiter was very knowledgeable about the dishes, was very attentive and did not rush us.
mahmoud halat
Dietary restrictions: Halal
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Date Cake and Milk Ice Cream, Lamb Kebab, Batata Harra
Great experience, good food, awesome service. There staff was very knowledgeable and took the time to make suggestions, and made sure our group had a great time. There twist on the Old Fashion was really good! The scallops, brussel sprouts, and Lamb kabobs were really good, same for the desserts. This wouldn't have been my first choice, but glad I went.
Vegetarian options: They had some really good options for vegetarians and pescatarians
Went there with friends to celebrate. I recommend both mezz plates, lamb kebab. Both desserts were also amazing. Service was excellent. Great place also for vegans.
Beautiful restaurant and delicious food, worth a visit. I wish the bar was separate from the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Lauren Hai
Food was soooo delicious! The waiter was very sweet. Beautiful space. The outdoors decor is boring and unassuming, but then you walk in and wow!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Saadat Khan
Sifr’s vibe and service is on point. However, the food is not so much. The food was very underwhelming. We got a variety of things on the menu and all were under par. The only reason I am giving this restaurant 3 stars is because the service was great and the atmosphere is good for a nice dinner. But the dinner itself was not nice. It was a different sort of middle eastern fusion with other cultural foods but the fusion didn’t work. I would not go back because nothing we ate was worth it.
Amazing food, drinks dessert , great service, had a wonderful time celebrating our dads 90th milestone bday !! Can’t wait to go back ! We did the prefix menu , plenty of food and we took home leftovers 👌👌👌
Fantastic restaurant and food. Service is stellar. We had Brandon and Brandon (2) and Walter. Tony the manager stopped by to make sure everything was good. Excellent experience will be back
There are a plethora of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurants all over Chicago and in the suburbs as well. The service from the get go seemed distant and it took a little longer than I expected to get service, I understand the hectic nature of a restaurant, but after asking a couple times for service and having to wait is a bit much.
The food was kinda mixed, the shawarma hummus had delicious chicken that was juicy and tender, but the hummus lacked a lot of salt and tang despite exceptional texture. The eggplant itself has a nice hue from the red pepper and tasted rich and luscious with bits of sweetness from the pomegranate. The chicken kebab is phenomenal, everything from the zhoug to the chicken really shined, excellent, tender bites
The chicken fesenjan was quite good and fall off the bone, even the cartilage was supremely tender, the interior chicken did feel a little under salted, but is made up for by the outside accoutrements.
I'm not really thinking of rushing back here, I feel like there are more affordable a
nd flavorful option in the city.
EDIT: SIFR has responded to this review asking to email them directly, I did this weeks ago and haven't heard back since.
Edit: SIFR asked me to email them in response to this review, to which I did but never received a reply. Hence, the request to connect seems performative and the silence comes off as dismissive. This falls in line with the service I got at the restaurant.
With a mix of hits and misses on the food and indifferent service, it feels like Sifr's prime location and upscale ambience are its main appeal.
First off, it was strange and frankly annoying that the only menu handed to us upon being seated was the chef’s tasting menu. If you want the à la carte menu, you have to specifically request for it. Pair that with a painfully slow greeting from our waiter, the meal was already off to a rocky start. Sifr's service was stretched quite thin. At times, we found ourselves trying to flag someone down only to realize there wasn’t a single waiter in the dining room for several minutes. No one ever checked in to ask if we wanted drinks either. It was quite a hurdle just to get our order in. After this, service was at least passable at a restaurant this caliber.
We got chicken shawarma hummus, eggplant, a side of muhammara, chicken kebab, and chicken fesenjan. Thank God we got the chicken shawarma hummus and not the classic one because the only thing great was the chicken: well-seasoned and tender. The hummus itself, while having a luxuriously smooth texture, was so bland as if there was nothing other than blended chickpeas and tahini. On the other hand, both the eggplant and muhammara were quite enjoyable dips. The sourdough pitas arrived freshly baked and puffed up, soft and fluffy with a delightful nuttiness from the generous coating of sesame and nigella. That said, only one small pita per dip felt very skimpy. The highlight of our meal was hands down the chicken kebab: juicy, tender, and incredibly flavorful. Combined with the creamy toum and bright zhoug, this was excellent. The chicken fesenjan had a nicely crisped skin with a glossy pomegranate glaze. While the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, it was disappointingly bland past the skin, void of even basic seasoning like salt.
In the end, Sifr looks the part but the experience didn't quite deliver on the promise. I wouldn't rush back when there are so many other options in the city offering both style and substance.
Delish! Definitely get the dessert
Food was great, but it was a little bit overpriced, but the place is nice. We did the tasting menu. We ordered the mixed grill, but I didn’t really like the mix grill that. I didn’t like the fact that it was mixed with seafood. The bread is absolutely the best. The spicy potatoes are good.
I was manifesting dinner at Sifr from beginning of this year and finally decided to celebrate my birthday at Sifr last week !!
Ambience is amazing !! Matches up to the hype !! As I am vegetarian, I felt mezze platter had only one dish which was amazing !! Rest all were ok!! My husband loved the cauliflower with saffron rice !!
Here comes the sad part !!
While I was eating g food , I bit on a small chunk of stone like thing in food and caused severe pain in my tooth which lasted for another day!! The manager told me it came from grill !! Whatever, I did not expect that from Michelin starred restaurant dining experience!! They were not apologetic about it as well !!
Also, don’t expect any candle or any celebration from restaurant!! They don’t care!!
At the end , dessert was so amazing , i just had to stop the urge to lick the plate !!
Final verdict- I will go back to my safe place Aba 🙂
We loved it!
The chicken shawarma hummus the best we have ever had.
Lamb Kebab and Tiger prawns delicious (!!!!!)
Pistachio semifreddo, we loved it.
Everything made the perfect night!
And of course the service was fantastic!
All the fishes we ordered were great but the prawns and lamb kebabs were outstanding. The waiter was very knowledgeable about the dishes, was very attentive and did not rush us.
Dietary restrictions: Halal
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Date Cake and Milk Ice Cream, Lamb Kebab, Batata Harra
Restaurantji Recommends
Great experience, good food, awesome service. There staff was very knowledgeable and took the time to make suggestions, and made sure our group had a great time. There twist on the Old Fashion was really good! The scallops, brussel sprouts, and Lamb kabobs were really good, same for the desserts. This wouldn't have been my first choice, but glad I went.
Vegetarian options: They had some really good options for vegetarians and pescatarians
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pita, Scallop Zaitoon, Lamb Kebab, Classic Hummus, Brussels Sprouts
Went there with friends to celebrate. I recommend both mezz plates, lamb kebab. Both desserts were also amazing. Service was excellent. Great place also for vegans.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pita, Tuna Avocado, Lamb Kebab
Beautiful restaurant and delicious food, worth a visit. I wish the bar was separate from the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Food was soooo delicious! The waiter was very sweet. Beautiful space. The outdoors decor is boring and unassuming, but then you walk in and wow!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sifr’s vibe and service is on point. However, the food is not so much. The food was very underwhelming. We got a variety of things on the menu and all were under par. The only reason I am giving this restaurant 3 stars is because the service was great and the atmosphere is good for a nice dinner. But the dinner itself was not nice. It was a different sort of middle eastern fusion with other cultural foods but the fusion didn’t work. I would not go back because nothing we ate was worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
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