Caravan Restaurant

Unfortunate. That’s the word to describe the worst dinner I’ve had in Chicago.
Perhaps it’s because we stuck to the vegetarian options but we got the Vegetarian Sampler Platter and the falafel and Jerusalem salad both were average at best and lacking in flavor paired with spoiled hummus and babaganush. Both of the dips were fermented with a gross carbonated mouth feel. We told the waitress and she switched out the platter for some yogurt dip that was less than desirable. Nothing had enough salt. We also got an eggplant dish with caramelized onions and it was sugary, they left the eggplant tops on and covered it in sauce so it was hard to find, and the onions were just burnt tasting. They served a complimentary platter of pita with sesame on it that was warm and tasty and some fresh veggies, but that was the highlight of the meal.
All that just to say it was the worst meal I’ve had in Chicago.

Amazing ambiance, amazing food, and amazing staff. My husband and I had family in town from Mexico and one of their staff, Caroline, knew Spanish!!! It was a huge help and it made the night an even bigger success! Thanks Caroline and thanks caravan!

Great service. Amazing food. The dill rice was amazing! I got the chicken kubideh it was really good. Def a must check out. On the lighter side of Mediterranean (not the heavy garlic most are used to) nonetheless it was perfection! Just an fyi this is not «traditional» medditeranean food. This is the slightly americanized version.

The food was super tasty and everything was very fresh. We had the vegetarian platter with chicken and filet. Service was fast and friendly. Loved the space and music was fun and romantic. A wonderful experience!

Very healthy and delicious food! I will never forget two types of hummus! Servers are very kind.

Ideal place for an event of ~50 people. First and foremost, the food is great — so too are the portions. The restaurant is elegant with the right amount of Persian flair. Elena, the event planner, was very helpful and attentive. She also let us try everything on their menu before we decided on the menu. The price to reserve the venue was very reasonable (much cheaper than downtown venues). Plus, it’s right next door to some great bars: Crew, Green Mill, Fat Cat, etc.

I read all the reviews and was excited to bring my family here for my bday dinner. Boy was I unimpressed! I don’t know if it was an off night, but our food was so bland. I’m not one to add table salt to my meals, but almost everything was under seasoned. We ordered the veggie appetizer platter and the falafel did not have any taste. It was super bland, like they forgot to add the salt. I ordered the stew with the lamb, it was just ok. My family members also felt like the food wasn’t seasoned well. Such a shame bc I was here 3 yrs ago, and I remember it being really good. What happened caravan?

I visited India once and fell in love with their tasty and spicy dishes. So when I learnt that there was a Persian restaurant in the neighborhood, I rejoiced and made a point of trying out the food last weekend.
First of all there is valet parking which I think is awesome and the waiters are attentive to your every need-​excellent service! Now the food is for those who prefer spicy and/​or marinated foods like the hummus, baba ghannouj, falafel, olivieh, borani and much more. They also offer a wide and exceptional collection of drinks and you can order a take away if you don’t have the time to experience the wonderful atmosphere. There’s also a love band that compliments the quality and service. Not too loud but just enough to go with the flow.
They even leave flyers at your doorstep to let you know that they are in the neighborhood which I think is awesome.

Came here for a birthday dinner. As soon as we sat down, they brought out complimentary naan and cheese/​veggie/​herb spreads. The dinner was delicious and they continued to refill our naan plates throughout the evening. The best part? They were able to cut individual checks for our party of 12.

Stopped in for dinner with some friends who recommended it and gotta say it’s pretty damn good food. For the table we ordered the Vegetarian Sampler which comes with hummus, baba ghannous, 3 falafel, and Jerusalem salad. The sampler was fresh, light and tasty. The restaurant also provides complimentary pita bread and small veggie platter (cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and parsley). For my entrée I ordered the Soltani — 1 skewer of Koubideh (seasoned ground beef), 1 skewer of Barg (thinly cut and flattened marinated Filet Mignon) dill rice and roasted vegetables (bell pepper, tomato, onion, and zucchini). The skewers were fantastic! Great flavor and prepared well. The light dill rice was a nice compliment to the meaty skewers and the roasted vegetables had nice grill marks and great flavor and crunch.
Our server was personable and attentive. The restaurant has a fair amount of seating including al fresco dining. My friends dishes looked equally great and they all complimented their entrees. I’ll definitely be back for dinner!

I’ve eaten at plenty of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants before but Caravan was my first stab at Persian cuisine. We started with a lovely complementary plate of sesame flat bread with an accompanying plate of radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta. I ordered the Persian chopped salad and the Sabzi — a rich, unctuous lamb and spice stew with spinach and red beans. Everything was delicious! My friend ordered the falafel appetizer, some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and the Shirin Polo, white rice topped with sour berries, saffron, orange peel, pistachios, golden, raisins, and carrots. The food here is fresh, flavorful, mildly exotic, reasonably priced, and the staff is helpful and friendly. If you’re in Uptown and you want a memorable culinary adventure, Caravan is a must visit!

Food is okay. I used grub hub to order and it came fairly quickly and warm. The driver was extremely nice. Wasn’t a fan of the Jerusalem Salad, but everything else was good. I’d order from here again

There is an awesome middle eastern (Persian/​Iranian) restaurant right next to the Green Mill… who knew!!!
I came here for a date about a week ago as we were both in the mood for some middle eastern flair. The place looks really nice, but no one was inside the joint… wasnt too mad as that meant there wouldn’t be a wait. I thought it was pretty cool that they were playing the March Madness games while we dined as I was hoping to check out the scores while I conversed… lol.
We started out with complimentary bread and olives from the server which was really nice. We then ordered the Kash-​Ke Bademjan which is a purée of pan fried eggplant with garlic, onions & mint with caramelized onions and house dried aged yogurt. It was a nice enough size for us to share and was really good. For my entrée, I got the shrimp skewer on top of dill rice of course with sliced onions, tomatoes and peppers to the side. I definitely enjoyed my meal to the fullest as it was delicious. My lady friend got the Sabzi which is chopped spinach, parsley, red beans, dried lime, cilantro, scallions and fenugreek slow cooked with lamb meat and spices. Her dish was better than mine and I tried not to stick my fork in her plate repeatedly lol. They have a full bar as we opted to have wine with dinner. Prices for food isn’t too bad here.
The manager and server was pretty nice as I think we may have overstayed our welcome as they asked when we were planning to finish. We came in @ 8:30 and was there for maybe 2 hours so we completely understood and get the check and dashed LOL! Good place… def will be back.

Food — 5 Stars
Service — 2 Stars
Food: Came in with a party, food was delicious. Fresh ingredients, quality meats, traditional persian style similar to Noon o Kebob. You will not be disasppointed with the flavor packed shish kebabs (chicken, filet, or ground)
Service: Came early 7ish, there were about 4 other table guests. They seated us, and 15 mins later, came to take our drink order.
In the food service industry, a few mins before wait staff arrives is acceptable. 5+ mins says to me you are completely disorganized
Ordered our food, which came about 20 mins later. with intermittent checks by our waitress (who was sweet as pie, but obviously over her head due to poor management style)
I had to order 1 beer 3 times, in 30 minutes to finally get the beer. Our party was willing to drink and spend more. A LOT more. had the waitress been more attentive.
This makes for frustrated patrons, and loss of profit for the owner.
Again, this is not the waitresses fault, she was obviously in 10 places at the same time as the restaurant was getting filled.
I hope the owner has the sense to hire more waitstaff and be more accommodating, I would hate for such a charming place like Caravan to go under, because of poor management style.
Ambiance: The place has an old world charm, mixing the characteristics of the middle eastern culture, with modern, clean and simple design and seating
No music in background, quiet, just the chit chatter of other guests. I did see a DJ booth, and a banquet hall/​Bar in the back.
Place has a lot of potential, and could very well stick around for a very long time as a staple to the uptown neighborhood, and adds a flavorful addition to the eclectic restaurants in the area.
But at the end, no amount of great food is worth it, if the service leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

I picked up my order through Unilocal (which I dont recommend, just because the app doesnt tell you the time frame lil grub hub)
restaurant and food related review: I ordered kebab meal & chengjeh. It looked the same but was tasty, the meat was a bit under cooked but the flavor was there. The dill rice was delicious and the best I’ve had in awhile. We ordered hummus on the side which tasted delicious but was not as creamy as I am used to.
There wasn’t a hostess that saturday night so I was waiting around for ten minutes until I grabbed a busy waitress for pick up. It looked beautiful inside and would be great to dine in. I am sure maybe the food and service woul d be better if I dined in.
It was a bit pricey compared to other places but the food was not bad in my opinion and would still recommend it to friends if they were already in the area.

My first experience with Persian food and this was the place to be!
A definitely favorite for me was the Persian salad, it was fresh and delicious. The barg was my favorite of the meats but they were all excellent with the rice and grilled veggies.
Our server was a sweetheart, extremely knowledgeable of the menu and cocktails.

Whoa, this cute little place was such a happy surprise!
The hubs and I happened in before a show at the Riv for an amazing and memorable meal. We will definitely be back and will recommend Caravan to others who are looking for a place to eat before heading over to the Green Mill, the Aragon, or the Riv for some live music.
We started with cocktails and wine. I absolutely loved the Caravan #9: vodka, green ginger tea, mint, and a splash of soda. Hubby had a glass of Fat Bastard red. The wine list wasn’t substantial but seemed decent enough.
Then our adorable server plopped down two platters of complimentary appetizers; one platter had a heaping mound of fresh-​from-​the-​oven naan. Seriously the best naan I’ve had. The other platter had greens, beets, tomatoes, cukes, cheese, and other fresh veggies. We could have stuffed ourselves on these alone.
We spent a lot of time on the menu because everything sounded so tasty. Ultimately I had the Sabzi (lamb stew), which had some tasty spices and flavors, but the olive oil was just too much for me and I had to soak it up with much more rice and naan than I normally would. It’s not a dish I will order again, but I can’t wait to try the other menu items when we return.
Kevin had the Soltani (filet mignon and ground beef combo), which was outstanding. The beef was tender and seasoned to perfection, the dill rice complemented the meat, and the grilled veggies were not an afterthought but companion to main course. I definitely had food envy.
Our servers were attentive but not clingy, and the owner or manager asked us to come back later to enjoy the live band. How fun!
My only complaint is the overpowering presence of TVs in the otherwise intimate atmosphere. It’s such a cute, romantic restaurant, but there are four giant TVs staring at you from all angles, which is really disruptive if you’re trying to have a conversation with your dinner date. Maybe a few TVs at the bar would be fine in a place like this, but the room is so narrow and the atmosphere is otherwise so amorous, except the hovering TVs take up a lot of social space, which seems a bit intrusive and unnecessary.
Regardless, I’m definitely returning and recommending Caravan to others.

Overall: A great, modern, delicious spot right by the red line for some quality food and service.
The good: Pretty good prices, nothing crazy expensive. The portions are very well sized, with free naan as well. Service was fast and friendly, and the atmosphere is modern and clean. Very moody and new. Overall, the food is great. Got our food quick
The bad: Not too much, just the food wasn’t ‘5 star’ derserving in my opinion. My shazbi was not amazing, but nothing was bad by any means. Would definitely go back again.
Atmosphere: 9.5÷10
Service: 9.5÷10
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀

Who can forget that old school Isley Brothers dusty:
Every woman every man, join the caravan of love; stand up, stand up, stand up
Everybody take a stand join the caravan of love, stand up stand up, stand up
Oops! Wrong culture. This Caravan is taking us through a remote desert rather than an urban jungle. Then again, it is in Uptown.
I was here for a private party; so I didn’t get the full experience. But I loved the rooms and the funky furniture; the DJ’s music was good and at an appropriate level; the kabobs they were serving as appetizers were deliciously grilled (from the picture-​book menu, I’ll bet they were «koubideh» and «chicken koubideh»); and I had to love that there was a guy passing out menus as I left (the owner?).
I love a little pride of ownership. (Note to self: drag the gang here to try the full meal deal.)

Review is for the bar area only. Popped in here for a cocktail, and it was so pleasant, we ended up staying for two. This restaurant is great, and the décor is modern and sleek. The bartender was fantastic and friendly.
We didn’t have dinner, but the food looked great. They bake their own Naan, which is a plus. I’d come back, very impressed. Prices looked VERY reasonable.
Oh, and the BANDOLEROS have seemingly come to roost here, that’s a definite draw.