Chopal Kabab & Steak

And we are back to square one. Sadly a trend that exist within the Pakistani restaurant's in Chicago. Service is not the best and the only good thing on the menu is Chilli chicken. Ever thing else is below par and the rice is often very dry.

I went to Chopal with my family, largely in part to a dealfinder coupon I purchased a few months ago.  We arrived on a Sunday night only to find ourselves to be the only customers there.  Strange, but then not so much, when Devon Ave. offers an abundance of restaurants for those who have a craving for Indian/Pakistani food.  When we were seated, at the very large, awkward table with even more awkward chairs (I think they were trying to go for traditional Indian décor), I didn't even take my coat off because it was so cold in the restaurant!

Anyway, our server brought us all glasses of ice water and a pitcher which he did regularly refill throughout our meal.  We chose to order the Chopal Special Family Platter Chicken kabab, seekh kabab, bihari kabab, chappli kabab, boti kabab, boti chicken, chili chicken and chicken tikka, which should have served four to five people.  We also chose to order 8 naans for the four of us after we saw that they weren't as large as the naan you find elsewhere on Devon.

The naan was not soft and tender as it should be.  It was crumbling and brittle which made it really hard to eat.  The kabab portions were really stingy.  When you're on Devon, you're expecting a bang for your buck and for $45, the platter should have fed us all comfortably with some leftover.  However, there was not enough for the four of us and I actually walked away from the meal still feeling hungry.  

Of the kababs in the platter, I would say that my favorite was the bihari kabab.  The boti chicken was so dry that I had to choke it down.  The seekh kabab was over seasoned and dry as well.  The chili chicken was so spicy that I had to eat a lot of my naan plain to squelch the fire in my mouth.  I don't even remember the chappli kabab and now that I think about it, it's because it was forgettable like everything else on that platter.

At the end of our meal, our sever did bring each of us a complimentary bowl of kheer, which is a rice pudding type dessert.  It was good.

So, would I ever go back to Chopal?  NOPE.  With so many other places to chose on Devon that actually know how to make a great kabab at a much reasonable price, I don't see why I would go back.

One day, my wife and I drove past Chopal and noticed a sign in the window mentioning a Weekend Buffet. Decided to give it a try two weeks ago. Honestly, it wasn't too bad, not at all.

We were the only customers there for a period of time and I'm surprised as to why. Though the selection wasn't vast, as it is in various other restaurants in the area, what they do offer is quite delicious, with both meat and veggie options. And they apparently change the selections between Saturday and Sunday, so the buffet offerings will be different between the days. Also according to the waitress, who was attentive and polite to us, depending on how successful the weekend buffet becomes, they might try having it during the week.

I honestly think they should. That is, if the food remains as tasty as it was two weeks ago. And it's only $7.99. So, I'd strongly recommend people give Chopal's weekend buffet a try. And you still get the comp tea when your meal is done. Or at least we did.