If I could give a zero i would. I ordered catering from here last week and didn't get the itemized receipt with my delivery (this should be standard). Before I let the delivery guy leave I called the restaurant and said I needed it, guy over phone took my info and said he would email it to me. it's now been a full week and I still don't have it and have called 4x since. Remembered again last night & decided to call this morning while I had time and leave a voicemail. Big mistake...apparently this place is so low class they don't have a business phone, I apparently called him at home and he started screaming at me that I woke him up at 7am (it was 7:40). I tried to explain all I had planned to do was leave a voicemail and that it was his fault I was even calling a 4th time but he didn't care he called me all sorts of names & then eventually hung up on me. I guess my meal from a week ago was decent, but I have never been spoken to so poorly in my life! To all of you out there...I ask you not to support a business that treats anyone this way.
Review Source:I've never eaten a falafel before, so I decided since I was in Chicago, staying near a falafel place, I'd give it a shot. It was pretty good. Not super duper amazing, but pretty good.
Service was okay. Â Food was above average, I think... but I have nothing to compare it to. For $8 for a lunch for two though, I'd do it again.
Come for the $4 groupon now falafel special, stay because the unfulfilled teenagers working behind the counter are pleaing that you take them with you. And then they're shlocking bland sauce in your pita because you won't. I've even tried the chicken shwarma here and it's another case of eating crappy food just because it's cheap. Â This place doesn't have it going on. Â There's a mcdonald's next door with a value meal, and a Falafill across Wabash.
Review Source:Ordered this place for delivery. They called and advised they were out of salmon so we got chicken kabobs and chicken shawerma lunch plates. The Shawerma was excellent and the hummus/falafels/rice were really good. The kabobs were a little hard (that's where they lost the star)but the flavor was good. Delivered in timely manner and food was hot. I would definitely eat here again.
Review Source:Haifa Café is one of my go-to places for lunch. I usually order to-go as it's just as fast as calling ahead. Never tried the delivery or catering so I can't speak for those. The line is always short and fast moving unlike more recognizable chain fast food in the area. It's also cheaper and the portions are big. The falafel is fresh and the pita almost never breaks when I order the sandwich which is impressive with all the stuff crammed in there. If you're at a loss for what to order I recommend the falafel sandwich, salmon or vegetarian combo.
Try the fruit smoothies; they're delicious.
I love the guy who's usually at the counter taking orders. He's upbeat and friendly; always puts a smile on my face.
Greetings!
 I haven't gone to this restaurant for over a year, as I thought the food was bland and just plain unhealthy. But against good judgment, I decided to go with coworkers, who were craving it. There's one coworker at our office who eats it 3-4 times a week, so I thought perhaps things have changed since the last time I went, which was over a year ago. So, I gave it a shot.
 Let me tell ya, nothing has changed. Here are some "good" points: The food proportions are generous. You do get a lot for the amount you pay.
But here are the bad points: The food is bland. I got the combination plate, which for under $7 you get your choices of meats and two sides. Sounds like a great deal... not. I opted to go "healthy" and asked for the veggies instead of rice. The veggies was soaked in oil, perhaps olive or vegetable oil, but in either case, it was excessive. For my meats, I got turkey and chicken schwarma. The meat was so dry, which I found surprising, as both these meats were soaked in oil and/or "juices" waiting to be served.
Sides-wise, I ordered the hummus and lettuce salad. I had the food to-go, so perhaps there was some movement and jostling, but when I opened my container to consume the assumed awesomeness, I was horrified that my hummus looked like mash-potatoes and gravy; the oil from either the veggies or just the hummus itself pool all over the hummus. The lettuce was oily as well, perhaps a product of their "vinaigrette", or as I like to call it, oil-a-garette. All-in-all, I'm pretty disappointed, and it'll probably be the last time I will go. This is my very first review and as I write this, I have my still half-eaten container of Haifa. I'm hoping that maybe after another hour or two, the oil will somehow magically transfer into something better. But I doubt it. Roti is the place to be.
I feel silly reviewing a lunch spot because when I am hungry and forgot to pack during the week, my options in the West Loop/ Loop area a mostly chains and overpriced.
Haifa does not feel as Middle Eastern/Mediterranian fast food as "I Dream of Falafel" or "Roti" where it's meat+toppings+sauce and it's a lot cheaper too. Although if that's what you are looking for- both are a few blocks away from this location.
I get the turkey (hot/ pulled and juicy)- 1/2 white and dark meat  on a kaiser or chicken schwarma pita- both with swiss and hot sauce... not very authentic Middle Eastern but they have some great specials w/ kabobs, falafels and salads... if you are into that sort of thing...
Also, seating is limited- Â 4 or 5 small tables, so keep that in mind if you are planning on bringing the lunch crew along.
Worth a visit and they are open until 8 at night in case you are working late or live in the area :)
Great loop lunch option. Super cheap (most under $5 or $6), with a good amount of nice quality food. Ask for extras, and they give it you to on the house--like hot sauces. They also have smoothies--but I'm not sure how they taste...
Anything chicken is good, and sometimes, they pop in an extra falafel for ya! The food comes out quickly and you can see what it looks like before you purchase--kind of Chipotle/Subway style.
Don't be afraid to stop on by this lunch joint. They take credit cards, too.
Very mediocre and that is for both prices and quality of food.
I had a felafel sandwich and a soft drink that came out to be nearly $6.
The felafel was not very warm nor was it as crispy as I would have liked it to be. The wheat pita was not as tasty either. Perhaps the most impressive and only highlight of the sandwich was the hummus.
I love the location as it is a block from where I am taking classes at Chicago-Kent but I would rather go somewhere else. I probably won't be patronizing this establishment anymore in my time spent in Chicago.
I stopped here cause a kid handing out a flyer gave me a menu and it's around the corner from my office. The food was mediocre at best. the chicken swarma didn't seem to be spit roasted at all, tasted more steamed with some dry seasonings shaken on as an after thought. Â The rice Pilaf was bland, but i did enjoy the falafel. Â In terms of cleanliness, I've eaten at worse, but it certainly could be better. Â The big guy at the register was overly sweaty (and it wasn't even warm) and his shirt was dirty. Granted he wasn't making the food, but I didn't find that to be conducive to making me anxious to eat. Â on the whole it was edible, but I won't be returning.
Review Source:Absolutely love this place when I am in the mood for it, but don't come as often because the portions are so BIG. Â A coworker introduced me to this gem and I have been coming back ever since. Â It is a small store front with very few tables; I have only ordered to go. Â I get the turkey platter which is quite the deal. Â Tons of turkey on top of a bed of rice, a lot of hummus, and a pita for cheap. Â The amount of food lasts me at least two meals. Â The staff is very friendly and always willing to throw in an extra pita if I want :)
Review Source:haifa does have some nice lunch platters, especially if you're trying to shoot for something that resembles healthy food. Â the chicken shawarma can be pretty tasty but is usually kind of dry, and the roast turkey- their signature- is pretty good too.
it's a nice big plate of food, but still a hair pricey for what it is.. Â i suppose location is key here. Â the staff is nice enough. Â just don't get there at the tail end of lunch. Â they do run out of stuff and the staff is less tolerant of... well, you.
i get the comment about the uncle ben's rice. Â it seems as though it was parboiled. Â it has that shape and texture. Â which is fine by me, i'm not all that picky - but there is some validity to that statement.
anyway, haifa is worth a try in my book.
I am a Roti FANATIC but sometimes the walk to Haifa is worth the extra block. Â Roti definitely is fresher with more condiment options, but the platters at Haifa are double the size. Â I've had 3 different platters and they are all ROBUST and delicious. Â The person who said the rice is like "Uncle Ben's" must've gotten a bad batch.
Before 11:30am, I will go to Roti for the shorter walk and free falafal promotion; after that I will go to Haifa.
I crave Haifa on the weekend when I am on the Northside and can't walk across the street for it at lunchtime. Â I probably eat here 3 times a week for lunch. Â They have tons of healthy lunch options. Â The egglplant pita and the chicken shwarma are to die for. Â The tabouli salad is delicious as well.
Review Source:Having worked in the loop for years you sometimes get sick of your lunch options...(sure many can relate).  I eat at the Hafia Café at lunch at least once a week...and have turned others on to it as well as a good quick lunch option when you need to grab something and go back to you desk. Â
I see some other less than stellar reviews, so I suppose I can only report on the one thing I order - the Chicken Kabob plate. Â I think it's really good! Â Also, they give you a lot of food, and it's somewhat on the healthier side (something severely lacking from many lunch options) - grilled chicken, a little rice and a pita bread, plus some falafel, hits the spot during the work day, so I can't complain.
I love a good chicken schwarma...this is not the place to get it. Â I ordered the schwarma plate. Â They give you a ton of food, but it's not good. Â Chicken schwarma should be relatively healthy because it's supposed to be grilled. Â Here, it was sitting in a vat of something that looked awfully oily. Â The rice is basic boxed rice. Â The "salad" is iceberg lettuce with an occasional tomtato. Â The hummus was sub-par. Â There was no sauce, which I didn't realize until I got it home. Â I forced myself to eat it because I didn't want to waste $6, but I regret it. Â Oh, and the cashier seemed like she just wanted me to leave.
Review Source:This place is right across the street from work and for a little while, I was going there a couple times a week. Â Their combos are so-so, but the falafel sandwich is all I really go for. Â Not the best falafel ever, but still quite delicious for lunch. Â
I wouldn't go out of my way to go here, but it's convenient for me.
This is exactly what I was looking for when meeting a friend for lunch the other day! Â An affordable, quick falafel sandwich on pita in West Loop. Â And they even have fresh carrot juice. Â That's right - CARROT JUICE! Â This is one of my favorite things and it can be hard to find. Â They have a mixed juice drink called the "Energizer" that's half orange juice and half carrot juice. Â It was ultra-yummy!
The falafel was good too - had some crunch, but in a good way. Â And they just automatically added the cucumber, tomatoes and sauce - all that good stuff...
My sandwich and good-sized juice cost about $6.50 - not bad for lunch near the loop.
I'm a fan and will be back the next time I have a falafel sandwich and carrot juice craving.
I wanted to love this place. I liked the food going down. But alas, it was slurp n burp...and worse.
My Seafood Curry Combo of a huge piece of grilled salmon and shrimp on rice, with a piece of Falafel and Hummus, I thought, was terrific....until my stomach started feeling yucky.....very yucky, not long after I got home and before I ate anything esle. So, I know it was the food.
You get what you pay for, and it was cheap.
I love middle eastern food more than anything. This place is a 3 minute walk from my work.
I probably won't go back again :(
Edit: I was so wrong about these guys! Apparently I was ordering off the wrong potions of the menu. Now that I've tried a few of their dishes, I'll definitely up my star-rating from 2 to 4!
I really wanted to like this place. The staff was friendly and the portions were big but the food was AWFUL. Â It may have been one of the worst lunches I have ever purchased.
I got the vegetarian lunch combo. Â None of it was good but the hummus was the worst part - it was bland and did not taste like hummus at all. Â I have eaten many different types of hummus but this was like nothing I've ever had - it was quite disgusting. Â The pita oddly tasted like PB&J and whatever they squirted on the falafel was more of a mayo than a yogurt sauce. Â
If you want to waste your money on terrible food, go here.
Nothing special.
I loves me some falafel, so I was excited to give them a try since they just opened. Â $5 for a falafel sandwich and an apple (which needed to be washed). Â The price is typical for lunch downtown, but there was nothing special about it.
Wouldn't make a special trip, but I also wouldn't avoid it.
I went here fairly often and took this to mean that I liked the place. But I'm finally willing to admit that I only go there when I have a $1 off coupon. They're not bad. They're just... only good in certain ways.
The falafel, for example: tasty. They just don't give you very much. The lentil soup is amazing and their fresh juices and smoothies are to die for. See? Good things!
But their combos come with a lot of filler -- Uncle Ben's rice (sad to confirm) and salad (an insulting blend of sub-par chopped lettuce and an occasional dime-sized tomato chunk). The hummus is really touch and go. And entrees tend to taste like a frozen dinner.
I'd give four stars for the vegetarian combo, lentil soup, and whatever they call their carrot-celery-apple juice blend (Energizer?). But I'd give two for everything else I've ever had here.
I was excited to try this small Mediterranean lunch joint, which is a little closer than Roti, but this was pretty disappointing.
I also tried the chicken schwarma special with a $1.00 off coupon picked up around lunch time at the corner of  Adams and Clinton. The meal was (before the discount) $7.65 with tax--it comes with rice, one (1) falafel, a small amount of hummus, a half pita, and some lettuce, and also a 16oz drink. The chintziness on the side dishes didn't help the chicken, which was dry and vinegary--not tasty at all.
I wanted to ask if I could get some sauce or some other salad, but the people working there were pretty unfriendly.
There was some seating available in the small restaurant, service was very fast, and it was not at all crowded (but I can see why--the food is just no good).
So I've never been to Haifa Cafe before and this one newly opened across the street from work so I figure why not?
I had the chicken schwarma lunch special. It was decent, but definitely not the best I've had. They only gave one fallafel with it too with seemed pretty stingy especially for their price point.
I did like their smoothie however. Had the one with mango, milk, and banana.. It was sweet and delicious.
This place is fine, but for my money I'd probably just go to Roti a block further down.
Really wanted to give this a better review being the first for this place, but just couldn't do it.. Sorry Haifa Cafe :(
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