Great and varied Mediterranean food choices for every plaete. Large, clean dining area with a super friendly staff. If you're in or beat the downtown Waukegan area, make this a must stop destination.
Absolutely Impressed at the taste, friendliness, & cleanliness of this restaurant. This was my first time trying mediterranean food but have to say Im absolutely impressed at the balance of all the ingredients and spices coming together to form such a beautiful pallet of light but flavorful aroma and taste NOT led by salt as many restaurants do, but then again Im not sure if that is exclusive to mediterranean. Entering the restaurant and being GENUINELY greeted so kindly was refreshing in this day & age. The lemon water with ice was such a tasteful touch to the experience that made me GLAD to dine in instead of take out that night, & influenced me to dine in after I came back the day after. Yes, It was that good I had to come back the day after. I ordered the chicken & beef shawarma not knowing what to expect. Im hispanic so when it arrived, seeing the pita cut up into triangle pieces, seeing the seasoned rice, juicy beef, chicken and grilled vegetables, I knew what had to be done and did exactly that by instinct. There is no understatement and even less exaggeration when I state that I will quite literally never forget my first bite of that pita with grilled vegetables, beef, chicken, rice, tajini & gyro sauce. The following sip of that lemon infused water quite literally cleansed my pallet and let me savor the following forkful of that yellow rice and grilled vegetables I just HAD to try on its own. The 3 sauces given to me during my time there gave the restaurant and its food a sense of solidarity, like It was almost a sin to eat without them. The server then gave me a small square of baklava to try near the end of my meal and I fell in love with this spot even more. Restaurants really don't do it like this anymore, and Im glad to have found a spot that still cares & provides to their customers at this caliber. Will be returning with the family for sure, fan of this place at first bite. Oh, I forgot to mention, I paid $15.01 for this experience, that should be more than enough convincing if you are on the fence about visiting here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniela Lopez
I love this place! Super delicious and healthy. The food is not greasy. They have vegetarian options. The employees are very friendly! A great place to chat and eat! I ordered the lamb and beef shawarma, it was perfect.
Kid-friendliness: There's a kids menu that offers burgers and chicken nuggets.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baklava
Douglas Mills
Staying at Illinois Beach State Park and in the mood for Middle Eastern food Papa Marcos popped up with a great rating and great it was — very pleasant atmosphere and service and excellent food at a good price. Papa Marcos himself was present and from the moment we walked in it was obvious that he takes great pride in his work and his establishment. There was a pleasant capable waitress but Papa Marcos brought our water and was helped in other ways along the course of our meal. Service was clearly a high priority. If we lived in the area we would certainly be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baba Ghanouj, Chicken Shawarma Plate
anthony eno
The food here is so good. Biggest challenge is cleaning your plate with the generous portions. I eat here a few times a year when I'm in the area. Great friendly service, very clean and fast. Great choice for lunch.
The welcoming atmosphere envelops guests upon arrival. Friendly staff members strive to create a positive experience for each visitor. Dishes are carefully prepared and provide exceptional satisfaction with every bite. A palpable sense of warmth and care emanates from this place. It's clear that a lot of love and dedication goes into every aspect of the experience.
My wife and her friends went to Papa Marcos in Waukegan before a show at Genesee theater. She works part-time at the theater so she gets asked where can you get a bite to eat in the area quite often. She had recommended Papa Marcos just from what she had heard from others. However, this night she would actually dine there and found out what an absolute gem this restaurant was to the area! She came home after the show saying the show was good but she raved about how great the restaurant and the owners were at Papa Marcos. The food, the service, the prices, the atmosphere, all are TOP NOTCH! Wow, she said, this place blew me away with the service. Just OUTSTANDING! From here on out, I will be telling my patrons of the Genesee to head on over to Papa Marcos to get a bite to eat.
Dietary restrictions: Had a good menu for gluten free.
The definition of a family-owned business. You can taste the care put into every dish. We so much flavor and not a single thing was dry or overdone. Cooked to perfection and they provide service with a smile. If you want an excellent representation of Mediterranean cuisine, look no further!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Kabob, Sauce, Plates, Baba Ghanouj
Kathleen K
My 5 year old daughter and I went here a couple weeks ago for the first time. Happy that I came across this place. The food was amazing and service was very welcoming! It's family owned and I believe the owners are the ones serving, they were warm and friendly. My daughter asked when we will be going back and we will for sure. Authentic baklava too! We live in Wisconsin but it's worth the drive!
Kid-friendliness: Our service which i believe is also the owner was sweet towards my daughter and she even gave her a treat!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Peter Gajda
PAPA MARCO’s Restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets on the North Shore. Worth a trip from Chicago, Kenosha, Milwaukee or Lake Geneva.
Authentic, fresh, home-made south-eastern Mediterranean dishes: PHOENECIA. Reasonable prices. Owned and operated by a humble family from Lebanon.
If you like falafel, hummus, shawarma, gyros, baba ganoush, tabulleh - they make it better than anyone within 50 miles. Plus complimentary desserts!
Great and varied Mediterranean food choices for every plaete. Large, clean dining area with a super friendly staff. If you're in or beat the downtown Waukegan area, make this a must stop destination.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken & Gyros Plate, Baklava, Fries, Chicken Kabob, Wrap
Owner knows you and is very personable. Food is excellent and is very reasonablly priced. Worth going back to multiple times.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken & Gyros Plate
Good food very nice people
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Friendly service and very good food. Vegetarian options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Falafel Plate, Baklava, Veggie Plate
Absolutely Impressed at the taste, friendliness, & cleanliness of this restaurant. This was my first time trying mediterranean food but have to say Im absolutely impressed at the balance of all the ingredients and spices coming together to form such a beautiful pallet of light but flavorful aroma and taste NOT led by salt as many restaurants do, but then again Im not sure if that is exclusive to mediterranean. Entering the restaurant and being GENUINELY greeted so kindly was refreshing in this day & age. The lemon water with ice was such a tasteful touch to the experience that made me GLAD to dine in instead of take out that night, & influenced me to dine in after I came back the day after. Yes, It was that good I had to come back the day after. I ordered the chicken & beef shawarma not knowing what to expect. Im hispanic so when it arrived, seeing the pita cut up into triangle pieces, seeing the seasoned rice, juicy beef, chicken and grilled vegetables, I knew what had to be done and did exactly that by instinct. There is no understatement and even less exaggeration when I state that I will quite literally never forget my first bite of that pita with grilled vegetables, beef, chicken, rice, tajini & gyro sauce. The following sip of that lemon infused water quite literally cleansed my pallet and let me savor the following forkful of that yellow rice and grilled vegetables I just HAD to try on its own. The 3 sauces given to me during my time there gave the restaurant and its food a sense of solidarity, like It was almost a sin to eat without them. The server then gave me a small square of baklava to try near the end of my meal and I fell in love with this spot even more. Restaurants really don't do it like this anymore, and Im glad to have found a spot that still cares & provides to their customers at this caliber. Will be returning with the family for sure, fan of this place at first bite. Oh, I forgot to mention, I paid $15.01 for this experience, that should be more than enough convincing if you are on the fence about visiting here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love this place! Super delicious and healthy. The food is not greasy. They have vegetarian options. The employees are very friendly! A great place to chat and eat! I ordered the lamb and beef shawarma, it was perfect.
Kid-friendliness: There's a kids menu that offers burgers and chicken nuggets.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baklava
Staying at Illinois Beach State Park and in the mood for Middle Eastern food Papa Marcos popped up with a great rating and great it was — very pleasant atmosphere and service and excellent food at a good price. Papa Marcos himself was present and from the moment we walked in it was obvious that he takes great pride in his work and his establishment. There was a pleasant capable waitress but Papa Marcos brought our water and was helped in other ways along the course of our meal. Service was clearly a high priority. If we lived in the area we would certainly be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baba Ghanouj, Chicken Shawarma Plate
The food here is so good. Biggest challenge is cleaning your plate with the generous portions. I eat here a few times a year when I'm in the area. Great friendly service, very clean and fast. Great choice for lunch.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken & Gyros Plate, Beef & Chicken Kabob Combo, Baklava, Lamb Kabob, Chicken Kabob, Chicken Shawerma, Chicken Shawarma Plate
The welcoming atmosphere envelops guests upon arrival. Friendly staff members strive to create a positive experience for each visitor. Dishes are carefully prepared and provide exceptional satisfaction with every bite. A palpable sense of warmth and care emanates from this place. It's clear that a lot of love and dedication goes into every aspect of the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken & Gyros Plate, Chickpea Salad Black Bean Salad, Baklava, Lamb Kabob, Chicken Kabob, Veggie Plate, Wrap, Chicken Shawarma Plate
My wife and her friends went to Papa Marcos in Waukegan before a show at Genesee theater. She works part-time at the theater so she gets asked where can you get a bite to eat in the area quite often. She had recommended Papa Marcos just from what she had heard from others. However, this night she would actually dine there and found out what an absolute gem this restaurant was to the area! She came home after the show saying the show was good but she raved about how great the restaurant and the owners were at Papa Marcos. The food, the service, the prices, the atmosphere, all are TOP NOTCH! Wow, she said, this place blew me away with the service. Just OUTSTANDING! From here on out, I will be telling my patrons of the Genesee to head on over to Papa Marcos to get a bite to eat.
Dietary restrictions: Had a good menu for gluten free.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken & Gyros Plate, Baklava
Restaurantji Recommends
The definition of a family-owned business. You can taste the care put into every dish. We so much flavor and not a single thing was dry or overdone. Cooked to perfection and they provide service with a smile. If you want an excellent representation of Mediterranean cuisine, look no further!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Kabob, Sauce, Plates, Baba Ghanouj
My 5 year old daughter and I went here a couple weeks ago for the first time. Happy that I came across this place. The food was amazing and service was very welcoming! It's family owned and I believe the owners are the ones serving, they were warm and friendly. My daughter asked when we will be going back and we will for sure. Authentic baklava too! We live in Wisconsin but it's worth the drive!
Kid-friendliness: Our service which i believe is also the owner was sweet towards my daughter and she even gave her a treat!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
PAPA MARCO’s Restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets on the North Shore. Worth a trip from Chicago, Kenosha, Milwaukee or Lake Geneva.
Authentic, fresh, home-made south-eastern Mediterranean dishes: PHOENECIA.
Reasonable prices. Owned and operated by a humble family from Lebanon.
If you like falafel, hummus, shawarma, gyros, baba ganoush, tabulleh - they make it better than anyone within 50 miles.
Plus complimentary desserts!
JUST GO - you won’t regret it!
Parking: Free and available.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken & Gyros Plate, Falafel Plate, Baklava, Greek Salad, Baba Ghanouj, Chicken Shawarma Plate, Lebanese Bread
Just ok. Nothing to do with Mediterranean food.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Love love love this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef & Chicken Kabob Combo, Falafel Plate
Loading...