Alhambra Cafe

9÷2÷08 Update:
Tragedy — they have moved their business to Rogers Park to this new address:
1622 W. Morse Ave.
(between Ashland Ave & Paulina St)
Chicago, IL 60 626
What used to be just around the corner from me has become a bit of a drive, but I will visit the new location, soon.
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5 stars is a rarity for me, as I’m fairly stingy with the stars (I feel some Unilocalers just swing between five stars and one star), but Alhambra deserves every star for sure. Now, I’m a bit biased, because Alhambra is within walking distance from me, so the whole experience of strolling through my neighborhood to sit down at the table in Alhambra, I’m sure, accentuates the overall experience.
It’s usually quiet when I go (I usually go for a late lunch on Fridays when I’m working from home) and the café’s rather quiet and hushed save for the sound of classical music or middle eastern music playing softly in the back — it’s very tranquil. A few moment after I place my order, however, the kitchen (separated only by a screen from the main dining area) come alive with the sound of knives knocking on the chopping board, and blender busily humming. I KNOW that’s when my hummus is being made from the chick peas, and the cucumbers and feta cheese are turning into the Greek salad.
I never really think much about freshness when I dine out (I usually eat on the road) but dining at Alhambra reminds me what real freshly prepared food tastes like without having to pay exhorbitant prices at the fru fru places. The check never goes above $ 10 per person. I wonder about another Unilocaler’s comment about Alhambra being «fairly priced» — sometimes when I see how much preparation goes into the beautifully presented food in front of me, I wonder how they ever make money here. (This is one of the few restaurants where I try to tip more to compensate.)
Definitely another shout out to the wonderful hummus and falafel (I usually get the falafel sandwich special) — and enough was said/​praised/​sang about them. Greek salad also excellent; it’s not one of those lettuce-​tossed-​with-​bits– o-​feta-​cheese fares, and thankfully, there’s a «baby greek salad» option (~$ 3).
Not enough has been said about the wonderful atmosphere. About five-​six rectangular tables fill the tiny café space, but the tables are all tall, large, solid ones that will not feel out of place in someone’s kitchen. Each table is lit by a table lamp, and dining there is a welcome respite from the ubiquitious Starbucks-​meet-​IKEA décor of many cafes in the city. There are live plants lining up the huge storefront window wtih tiffany-​style lamp glowing above, and there are pictures and paintings hung all around the room. It’s warm, cozy, and comfortable here — something many places say they are, but never truly are. It’s a wonderful exception.
The kitchen takes its time making your food, and service is never rushed (but prompt and courteous) — I can feel myself slowing my pace and actually enjoying my dining at Alhambra. They’ve just recently expanded their café drink menu (now you can get the capuccinos and lattes, too) and started live music at 7pm on Saturday nights. All the better…
I feel somewhat ambivalent about the place getting better known. Certainly, the extra business will ensure that Alhambra will always be around the corner from me and they deserve all the success, but at the same time, I cannot imagine what it’ll be like to have to wait for a table at Alhambra. Nonetheless, it is with this selfish trepidation that I most highly recommend Alhambra to my fellow Unilocalers. Come and enjoy, please… just stay away on late Friday afternoons, please. :-)

After passing by this place and promising myself to visit it — I finally did — and I enjoyed it. I ordered the Falafel sandwich and it was nice and plump. The falafel is different — It tasted earthy and not heavy — like the most fried falafel. I also ordered the grape leaves — it was ok, the flavor was good, but tasted like it was store bought.
I will be coming back with a friend to dine-​in since the space is very inviting and cozy.

When I first walked into Alhambra Café, it smelled so good that I wanted to change my order from «to go» to «eat in»! The scents enveloped me and I could not wait to dig into my first experience here.
I was greeted right when I walked in by the same warm woman who patiently took my order on the telephone. I was told my food would be done shortly. I had a seat and browsed through the funny cat book. (Another reason to stay and eat in-​house. That’s good stuff.) I really felt at home here. It must have good fung shui in there or something!
Once safely in my car I started in on the grape leaves. Yummy! They had great flavor, but no texture like the ones at Café Orchid. Still, they were delicious. Once at home I dug into the greek «salad» with feta cheese. It was ok. Thick chopped tomatoes, carrots, red onion, and cucumber. There are many different kinds of feta and I didn’t particularly care for this one, though they were generous with the portion size. The owner gladly made me a specialty falafel sandwich with provolone, multi-​grain bread, and tons of veggies. I even drizzled tahini sauce over each bite for extra moisture. It was awesome, folks! I have a feeling the falafel is good no matter how it comes.
Being that I felt such a great vibe in this place and for the most part really enjoyed the food, I WILL be back. Next time maybe I’ll try the cute outdoor patio!

The best word to describe this place is FRESH!
The hummus and pita appetizer was very good. We also had the falafel and cheese sandwich and falafel salad. Both were excellent. All the veggies were fresh and tasty. The sandwich was big enough for lunch and dinner.
Service wasn’t fast, but we weren’t in a hurry nor expecting our wait staff to rush through things. The dining area is pretty small, and outside had maybe four, 2person tables.

I came here with Amy D. and had a blast. The restaurant is decorated as if its a comfortable dining room in someone’s home, including table lamps and potted plants.
It’s American/​Middle Eastern, but mainly super fresh food. We had their lentil soup which was very tasty, their baba ghanoush was delicious with the pita bread, and we had a sun dried tomato loaf pizza with a small side salad. Overall, the food was fresh, healthy, and the owner took a lot of pride in what she served.
Ambiance — Loved it! super cute and felt like home. she even served the check in an old soft cover book.
Food Quality — fresh, fresh fresh!
Service — attentive owner, and its a small place, so you won’t be missed
Value — very affordable

Tiny Little Middle Eastern Eatery. Simple, fresh sandwiches… good hummus. and inexpensive. The owner was smiling and friendly and you can tell she enjoys her business… it’s not just about the $ to her. It was all good food but nothing stood out as amazing… therefore the 3 stars. There are just too many fun choices in this city for me to be back here again… the sad truth. *shoulders drop*

These guys are great! Ashraf and Julie are incredibly nice and their food is outstanding. The best hummus I’ve had in Chicago and the prices are great. I love this place. I agree with Jocelyn S. (see below) that they do run out of falafel — but I’d like to say again that their hummus is worth going, even if they don’t have falafel!

Tasty, healthy and fresh. I got a grilled veggie with cheese and had some delicious hummus added. It was piled with veggies, very filling. My husband got tuna salad with veggies — same deal, only even bigger. It was very affordable and we walked away feeling like we’d spent only a little money on something that was very good for us. The owner and/​or server was helpful and attentive.

I love this place. It’s tiny, its BYOB, and their food is outta this world. Their hummus is garlicy delicious and I think possibly that it is made with magic its just that good (I think Alhambra and Zad should have a dance off for best hummus EVER).
Their sandwiches are frickin huge and so fresh with veggies whenever i eat one it makes me feel better about all the greasy gross fast food i gobbled down the day before.
the only reason this place is getting 4 and not 5 stars is because they always run out of falafel! they are open until 10 pm but whenever i go in later than 7 pm they are out. if there falafel is such a crowd pleaser they should make sure to at least have it until 8:30 pm!
i think i am going to go eat some now. YUM!

Super duper tasty and really really fresh! I can’t wait to go back there again actually. Some downfalls on it though. They ran out of falafel. Kinda sucks, I’m sure they get alot of orders of it, maybe try to track what they get and have an average of it on hand for specific days? And I feel like I’m going to go studying. Beautiful furniture, but they need to dim the lights and take the lamps away.
Great waitress/​owner? Very nice. Checked on us multiple times. Overall great experience with Kat.

I honestly thought restaurants had given up on fresh vegetables. There’s some logic to not bothering with quality if a good portion of your customers either don’t care about plant-​based food, or actively shun it. But this just creates a vicious circle as unappetizing, wilted, and flavorless vegetables reinforce the biases many people have against said plant-​based food. Thankfully, for people who enjoy eating primary producers, and not just derivative producers, Alhambra Café delivers fresh, flavorful plates of hummus, baba ghannouj, and more– surrounded by an array of some of the most impressive vegetables I’ve seen at a restaurant in a while.
The only disappointment at all was the lentil soup, which I found to be a bit bland, even though it was one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen. But the Cuban coffee at the end of the meal made up for it. It was one of the best I’ve had outside of Miami, and it gave me a pleasant turbinado sugar buzz for the train ride home.
Alhambra Café has a really pleasant atmosphere, which is better experienced than read about. It’s got style, but gets it across in a completely unpretentious way, down to their using old paperbacks as an alternative to check presentation folders.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the atmosphere here is tranquil, cozy, and – I’ve always felt – a bit hippie-​fied, which I dig.
I sometimes swing by on my way home from the El and get the hummus platter, which they make fresh every time – so it takes about 10 minutes, but it’s totally worth it. The hummus is completely addictive.
I’ve had their egg-​and-​veggie sandwich on multigrain bread, and it’s AWESOME. I literally said to the owner, «This is SOOO good,» with my mouth full. I was just gushing. It was packed full of veggies, but it tasted great – not like a «health food» sandwich.
The owners are very nice and seem to genuinely care about each person’s satisfaction. Apparently the falafel is to die for (I haven’t tried it yet), but I’ll be stopping in to have some!

Just went here with my girlfriend and we didn’t like it. She (below) wrote a negative review. My first bite into my falafel sandwich, I found a hair, just like another Unilocaler found. The falafel wasn’t even that good.
Anyway, I don’t think that this place is terrible or anything (other than finding a hair in my food), but I am giving it only one star because the owner, after reading my girlfriend’s review, decided to send a message to her saying «Unfortunately you chose a vegan/​vegetarian café (i.e. small menu,
etc.) to find your meat, which is practically everywhere else. We
don’t expect people in your age group or carry out customers to
understand our place. Do your research better next time.
Thanks»
First of all, they did have non vegan food there. Then, the owner decided to be condescending to people in our age group (20 – 30) and carry-​out customers, saying we wouldn’t «understand» the place, and then told her to do her research better next time? About what? What does that even have to do with finding a hair in my food? I have lots of vegan friends, but I didn’t know that human hair is in their diet.
Obviously, it is pretty rude to send such a message to someone that is disappointed with your restaurant. Hopefully, Alhambra will learn some professionalism one day.
The dessert (JR Bakery, I think it’s called) was pretty good. I would have thought about going there to get some more, but since it’s a combined business with such a rude owner, I won’t be doing that.
If you decide to eat here and don’t like it, don’t think about posting a negative review unless you want the owner to send you rude messages.

Adorable is the word for Alhambra Café. We live in the neighborhood and all of your great reviews have us saying over and over, «We’ve got to try it.» And we finally did on a weekend evening. Seemed like the entire neighborhood was there. They were out of falafel, which is exactly what I had a jones for. Falafel aside, we loved all that we ate. Huge in size and flavor are the sandwiches. Hummus was excellent, and the spinach pie was a little overcooked.
The proprietor was wonderful with us and apologized for the missing falafel. This spot is a great neighborhood hang out, and we’ll be back during the week to try the falafel sandwich.
Update — back today for the falafel sandwich — excellent!

does a restaurant deserve a 5 star rating based on the soup alone? when its as good as Alhambra’s red lentil, then the answer is a resounding «YES!»
i’m picky about my soup, but theirs completely blew me away. it was perfectly spiced and not oily at all. the only thing i regret is only ordering a cup instead of a bowl (i was actually contemplating licking the bottom of the container when i was done).
the owner was very friendly and the interior was cute and cozy. I’ll be back for sure.

i had a good experience here last night dining with my roommate.
I had the falafel and we also split a hummos appetizer. the food was fantastic and like the other reviews say, very failrly priced. i will definetly return to support this neighborhood restaurant.
Also, they don’t have printed take out menus for you to take, but if you ask, the lady (whom i assume is the owner) will e-​mail you a pdf of the menu, which i actually think is handier.
They also have live music on some nights.

WOW! Looking for a great place in the hood for some tastey hummus treats and was I impressed…
Ordered the stuffed grape leaves and hummus as an app. Best grape leaves I have ever had. The hummus was also the best eva.
My boyfriend had the falafel sandwich which I tried, really good.
I had the baba ganoush (sp?) and it was so beautiful I didn’t even
want to eat it, but then I remembered how yummy everything is.
Too bad I didn’t have my camera on me to take a picture.
GOOD, GOOD, GO!

Alhambra Café is a great place for lunch.
I wandered into Alhambra Café at 1:30 PM on a whim as I passed by. The place is fairly small & the tables are big for the space. The atmosphere was interesting with the very nice wood tables and attractive lamps and they bring your bill inside a book – Cute!
I started with the red lentil soup. It was obviously very fresh, however, it didn’t have much taste. I ended up putting salt and pepper in it (which I almost never do) and it was fine. They call it a «cup» of soup, but it came out in a bowl – a very respectable amount. (But did take off a star because it wasn’t particularly flavorful. Why don’t they have HALF stars???)
I had the FALAFEL SANDWICH. OMG! (Doing my HAPPY MOUTH dance) Alhambra Café gets their falafel PERFECT – very moist and quite tasty! Often when you get falafel, it’s overcooked and slightly dry. The pita was stuffed almost to bursting with falafel, fresh veggies and dressing. YUM YUM YUM YUM
Alhambra’s sandwiches come with a small crunchy salad of cubed cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes with some cilantro in a nice vinaigrette. Also complementing the sandwiches is a side of several small green olives which are TO DIE FOR! I’m VERY into olives. These caused fireworks on my tastebuds. They were marinated with pieces of lemon – tart and somewhat spicy. YUM
The iced Karkade (Hibiscus) tea was wonderful, too. (Yes, it’s supposed to be a bit tart…)
Middle Eastern Music played in the background and the service was friendly and prompt.
Next time I’m back (and I WILL be going back – FALAFEL FALAFEL FALAFEL) I will try the baba gannouj and hummus instead of the soup! (And OF COURSE, I’ll order the Karkade tea!) MORE OLIVES, PLEASE! LOL

Oh yes, Alhambra is a neighborhood winner. I was looking for a great mediterranean place around Wrigleyville so I wouldn’t have to ride my bike all the way down to Sultans’ Market. Now, I have Alhambra!
The falaffel is the route to go here. I had the sandwich and my girlfriend had the salad. By far, the sandwich was better. Both included very fresh ingredients that spoke to me, saying, «It’s okay, I’m good for you… eat as much of me as you want.» Thanks, falaffel sandwich, I did and it was really good. At 5 – 6 bucks for the sandwich you get a nice little side of veggie salad and some green olives as well.
I thought the hummus was excellent too. Better than Sultans and just a tad bit short of Pars Cove, which I think is excellent as well. I need to go back now and try the american type sandwiches.
I don’t know anything about the hibiscus tea, but don’t get the lemonade. It was the only thing I didn’t enjoy, as it was extremely bland and still tasted watery even when I put a couple sugar packets in it.

I absolutely agree with the other reivewers… but they lost a star from me because:
7pm we went for dinner:
1. out of hibiscus tea
2. out of falafel (and everyone RAVED about it!)
3. served me baba ganous (sp, sorry) instead of hummus with my hummus plate.
Other than that, we really loved it. It’s walking distance to my home… quiet, cheerily decorated, some nice outdoor seating, very comfy, sturdy tables (I hate wimpy little tables you can barely eat off because they wobble and sway). Generous servings (The Greek sald is about $ 7 and could feed 3 – 4 people!). The grape leaves were divine. Hummus garden plate (despite passing off one beige dish for another, was full of fresh veggies).
Definitely worth a stop in… I love this neighborhood and try to support the businesses. The owner was our server and she was absolutely friendly, helpful and apologetic about the missing falafel and hibiscus. Parking is fairly easy with meters…
I shall return to experience the falafel!
BYOB with $ 3 corkage fee.