VEGAN REVIEW
Dudes, this restaurant was so fancy for the monies. Â What an incredible array of vegan foodstuffs. Â Waitstaff was really helpful and considerate, bringing us multiple rounds of condiments and pointing out what could be subbed on our Huge Plate o' Appetizers.
The falafel were really, really fluffy, in addition to being really tasty.
I was really, really happy we ate here!
Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen offers noticeably better dishes (in at least the meat arena) than the other options for Mediterranean food that I frequent. Â But you pay a higher price so as far as I'm concerned that evens out.
Seriously I feel dirty every time I post of these Mediterranean reviews. Â To not give full marks to a restaurant that consistently delivers a solid food experience but it's easier to rank these against each other and once I started with an average 3 for Baba Pita the other 3 kind of all fell in line (spoiler alert: they're all 4's).
This is my comfort food spot. BYOB is of course convenient and awesome and they don't really care how many bottles you bring. I saw a huge group of 20 people once with a bottle each and no one said a peep to them.
The food is my favorite Mediterranean in the city. It's so well-priced, two people can have a serious feast for $20.
The hummus is awesome and the falafel is just as food as Sultan's Market. The lentil soup is sooo yummy and hits the spot on cold winter nights. One thing you HAVE to get that I would not know if it were not for Yelp are the fries!! Fries at a Mediterranean place, you say? Yesssss!! The dipping sauce is so delish, I could just eat a tub of it. It's so addicting, I seriously have withdrawals. The space is cute and quaint, nothing super fancy but it is always clean and comfortable. The staff can be a little slow but when you have multiple bottles of wine, it's a.o.k.
I love this place! Â I've been here for both dine-in and take-out and both experiences were equally delicious. Â The food is reasonably priced, well-portioned, and fresh. That's often hard to find in my experience, especially with take-out. Â The only dish I've had that I wasn't such a big fan of were their shish kababs. Â Maybe it was an off night but the kababs were cooked too dry and a bit bland. Rice is good but nothing too spectacular either.
The standouts here are the lentil soup & hummus w/ meat on top (I usually get seasoned lamb). Best lentil soup I've had in Chicago and it's so cheap (less than $3)! Â The hummus is sooo creamy and they give you a very generous portion to eat with the abundant pitas. Â Service is friendly and food is quick. It's clean, casual, and BYOB- my kind of place.
Oh man, Dawali has the best decoration in this side of Lincoln Park. Love this place. It always comes to mind everytime I think about Mediterranean food in the city. The best part of it all? The prices. I couldn't believe the numbers when I first took a look at the menu...
While you're here, I urge you to try their lentil soup. Yes, I know. There's nothing like it. For only $2 is one of the best deals in town. Their baba ghanouj and shawarmas are also stellar. Try the chicken or lamb sandwich (only $6) one with humus included.
Don't blame if you find yourself coming back to Dawali over and over and over again.
I had heard that they have great hummus and I can confirm it. Â Fantastic! Â I like that its bright and friendly and clean inside. Â Very friendly too. Â You can tell they do a lot of carry out biz. Â We forgot that it was byob. Â Next time! Â We started with the large hummus and a village salad. Â Both were fresh and bright. Â The salad had 2 huge chunks of feta in it. Â The hummus is served with warm pita and really is that good. Â I got the large thinking we'd want to put it on our sandwiches and have some to take home. Â Well we finished it. Â I got the falafel and my boyfriend got the lamb shawerma. Â Both were very good. Â I liked the eggplant in mine and the falafel had a great herb flavor to it. Â But not greasy or heavy. Â We were too full for dessert.
1 diet, lg hummus, salad and 2 sandwiches came to around $25. Â
We will def be back even if we're not seeing a show at the Steppenwolf.
I was in the neighborhood doing some shopping and I worked up an appetite...I found Dewali on my phone and I quickly headed over for lunch on Saturday afternoon. From the minute you walk in, to the minute you leave, you feel so warm and welcome. Leah( or Lea) was amazing! Anytime I needed a refill she was right there to refill me. Anytime I was looking for something, it's like she popped up and gave it to me without me asking. She was so kind to everyone who walked in the door and it seems like there are a lot of regulars who come here.
I started off with the lentil soup and it was delicious...a real treat. Next up, the Appetizer Sampler which is made up of Hummus, Baba Ghannouj, Ful Mudamas, Masaka's, and Falafel. I'm new to Ful Mudamas and Musaka's but I really enjoyed both. You really need to like eggplant to enjoy the Musaka's. I really only like Baba Ghannouj from the Holy Grail of all Mediterranean food (Pita Inn) but I thought the baba was actually pretty decent here. I also tried a spinach bread pie and a feta bread pie. I was a fan of both, but I liked the feta one just a little more than the spinach one.
I'd come back here again in a heartbeat.
Oh and it's BYOB, so that's a huge plus :)
Good food and nice dining room. The service was good too. We had their combination platter with a choice of two meats and rice and salad. I liked their falafel
and their hummus with pita bread. They are not cheap but I felt their prices were fair. I would recommend to friends because it is a nice sit down place to eat middle Eastern cuisine.
Finally had the opportunity to give this place a shot after the rave reviews. I must say that I was impressed.
I took my order to go on a Friday night and shared the lentil soup, broccoli soup (soup of the day), half dozen falafel, and the chicken shwarma wrap. Everything was excellent! The soups were amazing and came with some pita to dip into. The wrap came with piccles and a couple of different sauses to try. Although it sounds weird, the pickles were a nice touch that took the wrap to the next level. Finally the falafel...oh the falafel....crispy and delicious!
The entire meal was $17 and we have plenty of left overs for tomorrow. I cannot wait to go back and try the full dining experience BYOB style.
like this place because
-got a sweet parking spot right in front, didnt see a meter soo..free parking!
-BYOB
-attentive service and she offered extra pita!
-combo meal is always a plus, comes with garlic sauce and tahini sauce
-shrimp kabob is super flavorful
-beef shawarma and chicken sharwarma both yummy, a bit dry but thats okay cause the rest was delicious!
I just wish that they included hot sauce with it, thats extra.
All I can realy say is meaahhh...
The service was slow and there was only 2 other tables in the restaurant the entire time we dined.
The lentil soup was bangin!!
Both of our entrees were sub par, Im usually a big fan of doggie bags and I hd no interest in eating any left overs from this place.
I will not return..
Yum! This place is possibly my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in Chicago so far!
My roommate and I decided on this place for dinner as it was right across the street from the Steppenwolf Theater, where we would later watch a play. At around 630p on a Thursday evening, the restaurant was packed! I was surprised, and as I waited for my roommate, I felt my stomach growling at me as I caught whiffs of the yummy food coming from the kitchen in the back.
My roommate ordered the galaya. The lamb meat was cooked with a tomato broth, and it came served with a side of basmati rice, salad, and pita bread. She let me try some, and it was delicious.
I ordered the beef/lamb shawerma. The broiled beef and lamb combination was super tender and soft. I loved the spices they cooked it with. It wasn't too heavy and I thought it was delicious. The basmati rice was out of this world though. Rice is always a great complement, and it's even better when it's cooked perfectly.
As we finished our dinner, we saw a plate of hummus arrive for another table, and boy, it looked really good! I want to come here again.
Amazing food, quick & friendly service!
We found this place with our Yelp app and it is a gem! It's a small, casual place, but the food is authentic and delicious. The portions are huge and it's so cheap. We always end up overordering and take leftovers to-go. They had a coupon on Yelp a while back and I highly recommend buying it if the promotion returns.
I always get the spicy hummus and the falafel. Falafel usually isn't my thing, but this is an exception! There are too many delicious items on the menu, it's hard to make a choice. Go hungry and plan on sharing because you are going to want to taste everything.
I went to this place after seeing favorable reviews. Â We had a show to see at Steppenwolf, so we wanted a close restaurant that would be quick. Â The restaurant was a great choice.
Food: Very good chicken shawerma. Â It was tender and cooked nicely. Â Some of the pieces got a little hard to eat at the end, but that was likely do to how slowly I was eating it. Â Good portion size. Â The fact that it's BYOB is a big plus.
Atmosphere: Very casual. Â It adds to the charm though.
Service: Prompt and friendly. Â Not too overbearing. Â
Price: Very affordable.
Overall, I would recommend it to a diner who is either in a hurry or wants to try something tasty and casual.
This is my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in the city and possibly my favorite overall restaurant. Â The food is excellent and the cost is shockingly low. Â Their spicy hummus is out of this world and I love all of their sandwiches/wraps. Â Surprisingly their fries are also excellent. Â The restaurant is BYOB and you and a date will be absolutely stuffed for less than $30. Â I don't know how this place isn't busier all the time, but if you do go only spread the word to those who are worthy of such a treat.
Review Source:Food is delicious and HUGE portions. Â My entree turned into 3 meals--and for only $11! Â Loved the pita bread. Â What I was most impressed with was the service. Â After we were seated and given water no one came to our table for probably 10 minutes. Â A man came over (I'm assuming the manager/owner) and asked if we had been helped. Â We told him no and he immediately apologized and told us the hummus app we ordered would be on the house. Â During our meal, he came over again to see how everything was and again apologized. Â He then had the waitress bring us a free baklava dessert (which was delicious!!!). Â I really appreciate when businesses can acknowledge a slip up and make up for it. Â They really went above and beyond considering we weren't in a hurry and really weren't that upset about it. Â I'll definitely be back!
Review Source:Loved this place! First off, the service was great. I went with some friends around 8 pm and we had to split the check three ways, splitting the cost of a few things, etc. and the waitress was totally cool with it and everything came out exactly like it was supposed to. She was incredibly accomodating and patient!
Also the atmosphere is great. Good music and it looks fairly fancy, but the prices can't be beat! Big portions for way less than you'd pay pretty much anywhere else. $3 for enough hummus/pita to split between 3 people and I got bread pies for $3 but I took half home with me!
And most importantly, the FOOD! Amazing! I got the lamb bread pies, and having never tried lamb before I was skeptical, but they were fantastic. I don't know what the spices were, but they tasted perfect. Hummus was amazing and smooth, and my friends both got chicken schawarma which they said was the best they'd ever had. Also: their grape leaves are fantastic.
I would definitely come back here! Amazing food, great prices, and awesome staff!
Dawali has the best chicken shawerma I've ever had, hands down. This really is as good as it gets, guys. I've been here tons of times and have never been disappointed yet. Really everything they have is good, but I keep going back to that delicious, juicy, perfectly seasoned chicken shawerma with garlic sauce so amazing I could drink it with a straw. And at around 6 bucks for a very filling pita sandwich or wrap, you can't beat the price. Also go for the feta bread pies as an appetizer - piping hot, melty feta inside soft bread, with just a hint of mint. Incredible!
Consistently fast, fresh, and delicious, this is a definite favorite. Several friends and I have even been known to eat here 2-3 times in one week! Go there right now!
I visited Dawali with my wife and a friend for lunch. Â It is a quaint little Mediterranean restaurant with great food at a good value. Â
I ordered the chicken shawarma sandwich, and I truly enjoyed it. Â The chicken was moist and flavorful. Â The other ingredients made the sandwich pop. Â
Overall, a great experience. Â I would definitely pay another visit.
I've been looking for a good Mediterranean place to take the spot of Oasis in Iowa City. Dawali may have done the trick.
The restaurant is a quaint, little place, surrounded by super-fancy looking places. There were not many others inside, and it was a bit warm, but nothing too bad. The hostess/waitress was very nice and seated me quickly. I started off with the Lentil Soup -- I ordered a cup and received... a HUGE cup. It was thick and hearty, and I appreciated the lemon wedge that came with it (it needed some acid). Pita bread came with the soup, which was a plus. The bread was soft and warm, but not stand-out.
My main course was a falafel sandwich, and it was also HUGE. The falafel itself had just the right amount of crust, green hints of fresh herbs inside, and was overall very tasty. The hummus that I ordered with the sandwich (extra 50¢) was also nothing special, but was not bad. A nice tahini sauce came with the sandwich, too. The total bill for all this deliciousness: around $7.50. Terrific.
Overall, Dawali had great food for little cost. It was a comfortable setting and in a comfortable neighborhood. (I did not take advantage of the BYOB, but that's another huge plus.) I'll be back. You should go, too.
While I've established my love affair with falafel, I need to repeat it constantly. What can I say, ground up chickpeas that then get fried are wonderful. I was furniture shopping near by, so the crave needed to be taken care of once more for a late lunch/early dinner.
It was the late afternoon, so there weren't going to be a lot people here. I came in here with my mom and we were the only ones around. Entirely fine as it would mean that we'd get our food faster.
I was hungry. Like, really hungry. So, multiple things were ordered with the two appetizers for sharing. I liked the falafel that they had here. It wasn't amazing, but it really scratched the itch. What I did love however was the spicy hummus. I forgot to take a picture, but it was really done up as well on the presentation. I needed the spice kick it had and was doing my best not to inhale the hummus. My chicken shwarma sandwich was very good. The sizes of the meat were perfect and it wasn't overloaded with more veggies than meat. There was a good combination of both, which is always nice.
Since my mom and I were the only people there at 4 in the afternoon, the service was naturally very good. What was nice was that we weren't hounded the entire time and just left to eat.
The order was also inexpensive too. With all the food I and my mom ordered, it came out to about $20. I gave them a nice tip and away we went. I'm sure my obsession with falafel will bring me back here (well that and a friend living close by).
Good value for $$. Â BYOB.
Lamb Shawerma -- wonderfully marinated marble lamb. Â Nice dish presentation. Â Fresh salad. Â You put them ALL in a pita bread with tahini sauce...voila! Â All flavor complement each other. Â Plate can serve 2.
Lightly Sweeteened Arabic Coffee -- perfect! Â Lightly sweetened can be tricky. Â Arabic coffee generously served in a 4 oz copper dalla with cool handle. Â
Creme Brulee -- serves one in a cute cup with firm texture. Â I know it is a crime to choose it, but I shall be back for knafeh and baklava.
The front area of the restaurant is a little beat up and disheveled. Â The Charming Man assures me it will be repainted soon.
A good addition to the neighborhood that is a welcomed variety.
Is it possible to have an orgasm with food? Well, I do not care because I definitely did after eating everything from Dawali.
My friends and I came here last night after the Rock and Rock Half Marathon to celebrate my twin sister and our other friend, Dana completing 13.1 miles since my sister was craving Mediterranean food. My other girlfriend started searching on yelp and Dawali was the first query to show up and after reading the reviews, all 7 of us showed up at last night at 8:30pm (actually, 8:00pm for all of our white friends and 8:3pm for us 2 Koreans since we tend to be on Asian Time unfortunately).
pros:
1. Their Falafels - for those of you do not know what is is, they are chickpea fritters highly seasoned and fried to golden perfection! And perfection it was! I must say these are the ABSOLUTE BEST falafels that I have ever eaten!
2. Grapeleaves - These were divine! They made them homemade stuffed with rice, tomato, lemon and spices! Just perfect.
3. Baba Ghannouj - My twin sister is dating a Syrian so she kept raving about how delicious these were so we ordered these as well and they definitely tasted just as good as my twin said it was! For those who do know what it is, they are a tangy puree of fire roasted eggplant, tahunu and garlic!
4. For my main entree, I ordered their chicken shawarma and it was da bomb! Perfectly roasted and blended with the most perfect spices and the flavor just oozed out with every bite!
5. We had to order their dessert so we ended up getting their knafeh which was a baked shredded filo dough with cheese and simple syrup. More sweet than I thought it was going to taste but delicious nonetheless!
cons:
ZERO!
My favorite part of this place was that one of the owners kept coming to our table and making sure we were doing okay and just for that, I have decided this is my new favorite place to eat in Chicago and even though I just moved to the city 3 weeks ago and still have many places to try and eat in this great city, Dawali is somewhere I will coming to time and time again!
Overall, delicious food, amazing service, and great prices ... what more could you want yelpers?! :)
My husband and I live in the neighborhood and randomly decided to try Dawali one Saturday for dinner, and we were very pleasantly surprised! Â We didn't make a reservation, but there were a decent amount of people in the restaurant. Â The atmosphere is great; it's intimate but roomy. Â It's very clean (restroom included) and the decor is simple yet interesting. Â It's also BYOB, which is a huge plus to me.
Now for the most important part, the food and service, which were both phenomenal! Â My husband got the lamb kabob and I got the Galaya. Â My husband's lamb was cooked perfectly, and both dishes tasted very fresh and authentic, right down to the sauces. Â Additionally, you get a lot of food for a reasonable price. Â Also, our server was awesome. Â I wish I could remember her name, but she was very friendly and attentive. Â I would definitely recommend this place, and I think it's good for any occasion: group outing, date night, lunch, etc.
OMG what a delicious value. Â Solid and authentic Mediterranean food. Â Super fresh and homemade tasting. Â Nice selection of items on the menu. Â I went with a friend and we ordered the salad combo for 2-4, which we suspected would be more than enough food. Â But I'm loath to pass up an opportunity to get falafel when all signs point to it being delicious -- so I did. Â Even though we ended up ordering enough to responsibly feed a family of 5, we didn't regret it! Â
PS - I bought a $5 for $10 coupon through Yelp! just before sitting down. Â I felt like they were paying me to eat there. Â Whatha?
The food was surprisingly very good for what I was expecting. Â The price is not cheap but you can get a coupon just about anywhere. Â The service is very good.
I ordered takeout for 3 people on a weekday afternoon. Â It was pretty empty in there because of the time of day, yet the takeout order took a fairly long time. Â When I got home, I realized that that one of the orders was missing. Â I was pretty angry, but it was soon dissipated by their apology. Â They also added a very delicious baklava and a $10 gift certificate for free for their mistake.
Overall pretty good food, a slight mishap, but quick atonement by them.
The two times I went to Dawali started out as me getting groceries at Whole Food with a dinner plan in mind and then out of the sudden got lazy and hungry very quickly. Dawali was the first restaurant up on yelp with a decent review, so I stopped by.
I got some kind of sandwich and falafell on my first trip. I was not familiar with Mediterranean food, but the waitress who was genuinely nice and polite explained everything to me in detail. She was also very friendly and efficient. My meal was great, the portion was big, and I left a happy man.
The second instance, I planned on getting pizza after my trip to Whole Food, but then I saw the $5 for $10 deal on yelp, so I gave Dawali another try. Eventhough I enjoyed my meal last time, Mediterranean food is somewhat out of my comfort zone, so the discount was definitely an incentive for me to go back there and try other things. I got a pick 2 combo: Chicken Kebab and some sausage-like beef thing (as I said, Mediterranean food is not my forte). I dont know if it was me just being hungry or what, but I finished that plate in ten minutes. The waitress was, once again, very nice and helped me choose my meal. The food was great and the service was excellent; it's definitely as good as it gets. This place would also make a good first date place (very casual and comfortable but still nice enough).
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