Ali Baba Grill

Stick a fork in it folks. This one is locked up tighter than a drum.

The owner was extremely nice! We had a nice chat while I waited for my lunch. The meal was good and I will go back.

We tried them last night for the first time. It was really good. The owner was so nice and since we have never eaten that type of food before he walked us through the menu. We will be going back soon!

Worst felafel I’ve ever had.
So bad I made an account for this review.
How can you fuck up such a simple dish?

Finally, Pakistani/​Indian food and I don’t have to travel to Schaumburg to eat it! We had a suspicion that this isn’t a middle eastern joint when we saw it and I think
that could have been a contributor to the low Unilocal reviews. Though they serve falafal, offer gyros, as well as a mexican wrap (?), this is, without a doubt, a place for good Pakistani food. What makes it good is that it is very fresh. I did not have to wait that long, considering that it was made-​to-​order and not reheated. I’m very picky when it comes to things like seekh kababs and chicken boti, because some places have tried to pull a fast one on me and serve me readily-​prepared or reheated items. Chicken boti was juicy and not overcooked, marinated all the way through, as was the seekh kabab. Mutten curry was off the bone soft and tasty. Naan was hot and soft. We didn’t care for the plain rice side. that was about the only middle eastern influence I had on my plate, white rice. The owner was very nice. He and the chef, at two different occasions, came by to make sure that everything was to our liking. Portions were decent. Just know that it is more Indo/​Pak than middle eastern and you’ll judge it differently.

I came here for lunch today and ordered a gyro plate and a chicken samosa to go. My order was under $ 8. The gyro was pretty good, about the same as anywhere. The chicken samosa was excellent, I will definitely go back just for those and try the others as well.
My food took about 10 minutes to be ready and the person who served me was friendly and offered ice water while I waited. They also brought around free samples of one of the chicken dishes to try while I was there.

We have eaten at Ali baba’s a couple of times. Both times the owner greeted us warmly I can agree with some the other comments, this restaurant is not fine dining, for good Indian food you need to go to schaumburg or Chicago, Ali baba’s is somewhere to go for a light lunch or snack in basic surroundings, I do feel it would be better to focus on one style of cuisine, in this case Indian, and do it well
Last time I had the dhal, a spicy dish, but no more than i would expect being indian food my husband had the chicken Biryani which he enjoyed we also had garlic naan which was good.
The food does take a little while to be prepared but I think thats because it’s cooked to order.
It would be nice to see some dishes like chicken tikka masala, or butter chicken. dishes that are very popular.
My husband has friends from work who go for lunch and enjoy it, as makes a change from the boring burgers you getand we would return and hope to see a small business find its feet.

Went there after kids game nearby after seeing the signs that said Grand Opening the week previous. It looks like a fast food joint but the food is Pakastani. I was confused by the name of Ali Baba as it implies Middle Eastern food which it is definately not. I think a lot of untraveled westerners may not know the difference anyway. You will not see true shish kabob or shawarma or falafel here like on Lawrence and Kedzie in Chicago. You will however see Chicken Tandori and other spicy dishes with rice. It was a nice change of pace in an area begging for more than Chinese and Mexican as a ethnic food option. The owners were quirky but nice and did bring out water to us so I’m sure they read Unilocal reviews! lol, no soap opera drama here. The owner even brought out a small order of fries to treat my son with as he thought the chicken kibedeh was a bit too spicy for him. I would go back again for a change of pace. Fairly reasonable, home cooked Paki food with a more reasonabley priced and tasier option than another nearby restaurant newly opened at the Algonquin Commons mall that serve Persian food bu call it mediteranean.

I really don’t like these negative reviews! The staff is really friendly and outstanding. The customer service is phenomenal. I haven’t had any of these timing issues. It’s always quick and delicious. It’s not the best middle eastern food I have ever had, but it’s a really good, fast, cheap lunch. I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the area. Give it a try!
I have had the falafel sandwich and the gyro. Both good, I think I liked the gyro best. Give it a try!

Had the Falafel, just ok. I like Middle Eastern food, but this place needs to do some work. I don’t think I would come back here.

It was a nice place with fresh food! Not the kind that they use from the box! We had the the frontier chicken and the seekh kebob! The kids enjoyed chicken nuggets and gyro sandwich. It does take awhile to get the food but that is because they make it fresh. Definitely try it!

I was curious because we pass this restaurant all the time when we grocery shop, so I stopped in for lunch. I saw the comments from the previous posters, so was a little leery. Thankfully, they seem to be addressing the shortfalls mentioned previously. The restaurant was pretty packed. We ordered the chicken boti, the kebabs, some naam and a falafel to share. Even with a packed place, we waited less than ten minutes. The food was flavorful and reasonable in portions. Since we were in a Mediterranean restaurant, I expected spice and got exactly what I expected. It might be nice if there was a guide to the spice levels, but anyone ordering this type of cuisine should expect hot food. The falafel was very good, nice mint level and perfect overall texture. Prices were good for what you get. I would have liked a bit more sauce for my falafel, but that is pretty minor.
Overall, this was a nice quick place to each lunch and we will definitely come back again!

I was excited by the opportunity to have a Middle Eastern Restaurant in the area. I’ve been to Israel several times and love the food. I went there with my son and we were disappointed the moment we sat foot in the place.
They have a giant menu on the wall, too high to look up at. They also had printed versions of the menu. I asked the guy how long had they been opened, he said 3 weeks. What surprised me was that this place was new and the menu on the wall had a bunch of items crossed out with green tape already.
The menu was confusing and my son and I had a hard time figuring out what we wanted to ordered. We also noticed that they had pictures of food that apparently do not even come close to what they actually have.
The menu states that the entries come with a salad and rice, but they did not offer any with my entrée.
I ordered a Lamb Dish that was supposed to be their specialty, I could not believe how spicy it was. I had a difficult time eating it. The lady who worked there was concerned and offered me a small bowl of Yogurt and a bowl of Rice Pudding.
My son ordered the Beef Shish Kabob (spelled Shush Kabob on the printed menu), the vegetables in the Kabob looked old and the beef on it was a low quality cut of beef that wasn’t very good.
The best part of the meal was the Rice Pudding.
I was also confused by a middle eastern restaurant that offered Mexican Food, cheese burgers and Hot Dogs.
Too bad, I won’t be going back to Ali Baba’s Grill.

Saw this place back in October when we got new phones at Verizon next door looked like a cute place to try someday. Unfortunately I went there tonight to get something different. All I can say is the rice is good. Ordered tandoori chicken which was so dry I had to drink water to get it down. Oh and I ordered at 810 my order was done at 855. Veg samosa’s were good. Naan was burnt both sides. Two of the items on the menu I wanted they did not have. I also ordered Kofta Kabab and Reshmi Kabab if you decide to go the Kofta Kabab was better. I feel bad but if your going into the service industry make sure you sell a good product before you sell something, just because you can feed your family doesn’t mean you should sell it.