Kurah Mediterranean

I’ve been here a few times. The food and service are always stellar. On top of that, the décor is lush and beautiful. They even went the extra mile in accommodating a large group a couple of years back for a friend’s birthday party. Everything was taken care of, no fuss, and we all had the best time!

Last week my friends and I visited Kurah Mediterranean, it’s an amazing place to eat and great ambiance to hangout with friends to either enjoy and have fun or study!

Enjoyed the food but came in on a night some business was running an office meeting night in the restaurant. Quite bizarre to watch over the proceedings of some start up talking about their going’s on while munching away on pita and hummus. Would go back though

Belly is full, heart is happy. Kurah is great. Just what I have been looking for. Delicious mediterranean/​middle eastern tapas, great bar, friendly people, chill vibe. A really nice intimate environment and it is not overbearing/​loud/​pretentious.

If given the option, I’d actually say it’s 3.5 Stars, but I’ve rounded up.
The food here is absolutely fantastic. Great options, perfect size for sharing and plenty of your favorites. It’s definitely Kurah’s saving grace.
The first, and largest drawback, is the price is going to add up quickly. Each time I’m surprised how fast it adds up.
The second is the wait staff isn’t exactly attentive. They don’t check in nearly enough and have even asked us to sit at the bar when several tables next to it are open. When the bill easily adds up to over $ 100, I’m looking to sit down and enjoy myself, not juggle plates on a small surface and have a hard time time talking with the people I came with.

This review is for their New Year’s event.
We purchased tickets to their New Year’s party/​event with a few friends, thinking it would be a great option as they are close to home (no crazy Über surcharges!) and we liked their food.
When we arrived, the tables hadn’t been arranged any differently, and it was quite quiet, so it felt like we were just hanging out in a restaurant. Seeing as it IS a restaurant, that wouldn’t be weird, but it was New Year’s Eve! We were hoping for something more festive than ordering drinks while seated at a table in the corner.
The drink menu was limited, which was not advertised but was fine, as everything on there was more or less tasty and good quality.
Our opinions really shifted though, when we asked if we could order a small appetizer (sidenote: there were two options: $ 75 for open bar, or $ 125 for 4-​course meal and open bar — we chose the former). The waitress told us that they only made food for the 4-​course package and we couldn’t order anything — just drinks. Welp. I’m sure if we had asked management, they likely would have changed their tune, however we didn’t bother. I was just surprised that they had no issue with denying someone food — pre-​prepared hummus no less! — who plans on drinking $ 75 worth of booze.
In terms of ambience, they didn’t dim the lights (we even asked), which sucks, but they had a belly dancer who was lovely and a very nice jazz trio. If the glaring lights had been adjusted, I think it would have felt much cozier and more festive, but that wasn’t a huge dealbreaker.
The kicker was when we realized it was 11:56 and champagne hadn’t yet been passed out. When we asked the waitress, she said it was coming. I walked down at 11:59, tired of waiting, and she shrugged and told me I could just grab a few from the bar. So I trudged back up the stairs with 3 glasses for 4 people as the restaurant patrons were halphazardly counting down (the restaurant didn’t do anything for the countdown).
My companions and I cheersed a minute late, quickly drank our champagne (which, to their credit, was very good), and remitted to boozing for two more hours.
While their food is quite good (I’ve eaten here before), I would not recommend ever attending a special event here. The staff was not apologetic at all (I even said something about the toast to a manager, and got a «Yeah, it’s our first one and we weren’t quite prepared» — but no apology) and we left feeling like we had wasted money and the evening.
I like this place overall and it’s close to home, but I am torn on whether I want to return or not after dropping $ 75 on a total flop of an evening.
To Kurah: I would suggest either skipping out next year, or seriously re-​thinking your execution and advertisement of this event.

Candlelit vision and waft of saffron, the homespun and yet tastefully opulence in décor definitely adds charm to this place. Stone pillars covered with patterns, a marble-​topped bar dispensing cocktails, hardwood banisters and dark walnut-​colored staircase connecting the two floors, clusters of dew-​like bulbs from ceiling. The place was filled with smiles on our Christmas-​eve visit.
It’s very pleasing and lovely when you go through the menu and want to order every item, although you will soon realize you’d have to raise a mortgage if you did exactly. Dishes are made using fresh ingredients and well sourced.
We were amazed by the grilled shrimp, where shrimps were used in very simple, effective ways for maximized flavor and smoky aromas.
Grape leaved stuffed with creamy rice and beef, imbued with slight bonfire notes.
The falafel appetizer was great too. Rather than deep-​fried, the croquettes/​balls must also have had a awesome brush with flames.
Rosewater flan– Different with those previously reported in the business pictures, the flan had a fresh orchid flower on top. Pistachio nuts were missing in the caramelized sugar. Additional egg yolks seemed to manifest in the custard to create more thickness.
Will revisit to try more food.

This place is DE-​LISH-​OUS! Delicious! The prices do reflect the quality of food, but I’ve never had better lamb kabobs in my life! The kifta kabobs were slightly overseasoned, a little too much salt and desperately needed some acid. The garlic smash was one of the most unique things I have tasted, it’s a mix of garlic mashed potatoes and a dill yogurt mix, a must try! They have quite a few interesting twists on modern dishes, which makes the food that much more interesting. All in all, I would come back here again, but mostly to try to lamb dishes.

Pretty pricey, so my friends and I stuck to getting appetizers. The hummus was delicious and served with warm pita bread. The red lentil soup was delicious, too. I really liked the environment because it had a real Mediterranean vibe. There was an upstairs with more seating.

Pleased to find a nice Mediterranean spot close to home! I came here for a late lunch on a Saturday, and it was pretty empty. My sister and I ordered the hummus, falafel wrap, and Middle Eastern cheese flatbread. Our waitress accidentally brought us the falafel instead of the wrap, but in her defense, we were really hungry and decided to just eat the falafel without saying anything. It was decent but a bit dry. The hummus and flatbread were better, and pretty delicious.
Other than the food, there seemed to only be a few employees present while we were there, but our server was kind and efficient. The atmosphere of this place is the real treat, though – it’s gorgeous!

ordered delivery from this place. I dont know why it took so long to order from here as I LOVE mediterranean food, but it was so good. Everything I ordered I loved and I will be ordering from here ALL the time now. It’s not necessarily traditional Mediterranean food, however it’s been altered in such a good way.
I highly recommend everything I had, the chicken kabobs, the chicken shawarma, the chicken biryani, the assorted appetizer platter, the ghost pepper sauce, the garlic sauce. The wraps are huge, you get your money’s worth there. You can tell they make their own pita bread and its the best Ive had in chicago. I cant wait to try more. my personal favorite was the spaghetti squash, with olives and feta. I follow a low carb diet and this did not make me miss pasta at all, it was very hearty.
of note: their biryani is on the sweet side, with raisins and almonds, which I loved, however my indian husband was not as excited about it. keep that in mind.

Excellent variety and flavors in their menu. Some of the menu items are very authentic (the lentil soup is just like my Lebanese mama makes it!), and some menu items are contemporary/​fusion, so there’s something for everyone. I will be coming back, especially for the kibbeh.
I took away two stars because they are very stingy with the sauces. The kibbeh comes with yogurt sauce and the falafel comes with tahini sauce, but they gave us so little of the sauces (barely a drizzle). Perhaps a spoonful or two would really make these dishes better. Also, the fatoush salad is not very good. They serve you the salad with whole lettuce leaves and a whole tomato cut in half. It’s really difficult to eat a salad with uncut vegetables! It’s not that hard to cut the vegetables, so this should be an easy for them to fix. We had to cut the salad ourselves during the meal.
If they make these little changes I can see Kurah becoming a five-​star restaurant!

I have been to many Middle Eastern restaurants but the cuisine here has a unique and tasty twist! This has to be one of the best places to go for this cuisine: hands down!
It was my first time going and I had no problem with parking since there is a parking lot literally right across the street for $ 10. The restaurant is conveniently located right on the corner of Michigan and 14^th street.
The décor was nice with beautiful artistic designs on the wall and wide open space. The restaurant is two floors and has plenty of space with windows that give you an open feel. I absolutely love it!
The customer service is top notch and there is so many options on the menu to choose from.
For our large party, we got a few Kurah sampler dishes, tabouli dishes, a few Kurah platters, and dessert, which was a good variety and plenty of food. Again, I have had Middle Eastern food a million times but the food here is so flavorful, and unique, I couldn’t stop eating!
–The tabouli was tangy and tasty. Highly recommended.
–The baba gannoush was smoky flavored and delicious.
–The hummous was creamy and perfectly made.
–The Chicken and beef shawarma and kabobs were cooked to perfection. The vegetables were also delicious and complimented the main dish.
–DO NOT pass up on dessert! The rose flan is to die for! Yummy!
I know I will be coming here again.

The flat bread has no surprise, either positive or negative, although the oliver+tomato is kind of genius.
Baba gounash is five star. Don’t miss it

The star of the show here was the delicious (and well priced) muthowma — a creamy flavorful cucumber dip that we adored. The flatbread was also pretty good, as was the (small) kifta kabob. The bacon wrapped dates were slathered in a super salty sauce that made it impossible to taste any flavor. The sangria was quite tasty.
Overall, I’d shy away from the «shared plates» which are not any larger than the tapas selections but more than twice the price. 3 – 4 tapas selections for two people was plenty for us.

Darling intimate and beautiful spot in the south loop.
We had:
Bacon wrapped dates — these were exceptionally large!
Muthowma — a delicious light garlic yogurt dip with lemon and olive oil. Wonderful. Pita bread was great too.
Birayani — quite flavorful with raisins and pine nuts. Excellent.
Spinach and feta pies — a bit doughy and a bit bland but not terrible.
Service was fantastic.

A couple quick hitter neighborhood Mediterranean reviews while I’m feeling Unilocaly. Second up is Kurah, a neighborhood white-​linen sit-​down spot that ups the ante on price and fanciness versus my earlier review of Pita Heaven.
My favorite thing here are the small plates, particularly the hummus. It’s excellent, and comes with a few slices of cucumber and tomatoes. If you load up on the pita bread, I daresay you could make a full, light meal right there.
Their entrée-​size dishes are considered shareable and easily feed two despite the high prices. I’m not a huge fan of their red meats, but their chicken is very good. The highlight of the plate is the excellent saffron basmati rice.
Someone somewhere (Thrillist, perhaps?) gave major kudos to Kurah’s shawerma wraps, but I fail to see the greatness. The pita bread (which you can get with the hummus, natch) is the best part. It’s filled with plenty of tasty vegetables, but light on the meat and sauce. There are potatoes in there, which is fine if they’re good (think lemon aromatic oven potatoes) but detracting if they’re just starchy and dry fries.

There are some restaurants that are a 3.5 star that you round up and give a 4. Kurah is one that is a 3.5 that I round down and give 3 stars and here is why…
We went for dinner on a Fri night at almost 9 and there were diners at 4 – 5 tables, so fairly empty. They have an Ok drink menu but a full bar makes up for a lack of ‘craft’ cocktails. I got a single malt while my wife got a dirty martini. I was at the bar when the server cum hostess cum bartender made it. The olive juice was a pour from the container that has the cherries and olives. I thought that was odd and sure enough, my wife claimed that her proportion was off.
For food, we got the bacon wrapped dates, the squash and the combination kebab platter (kefta and ribeye). While the food was well seasoned and cooked right, we weren’t wowed by anything. Sadly, we don’t feel the need to go back to try other food items since we have so many other places book marked.

It was my last day at work so my coworker and I went here to say goodbye. One of my coworkers is allergic to gluten, milk, and chocolate. This is one of the few places that have Gluten-​free identified on their menu. She was able to get falafel tapas and eat that.
The décor in this restaurant is very beautiful. There are cool patterns along the wall. Llamas in gold spray paint. I thought it was beautiful. I also liked their large windows. I’m a huge fan of natural light (get the Vitamin D going!).
The food was great. I got a duck shwarma wrap and it was moist, tender, and well-​balanced. The Tahini sauce and the Ghost pepper sauce were amazing, and exactly what the wrap needed. I got rose infused flan for dessert. I thought it was top-​notch because the flan was the perfect thickness for me. I didn’t taste any rose though, but I thought it was good nonetheless.
I thought the service was slow. Our food took a really long time to come out. Also, when we wanted our checks, she took a long time getting it too us and then swiping the card at the register.
I went here on a Friday afternoon and the parking was packed. We looked around and eventually just paid $ 10 for the Columbia University Public Parking lot. It was well worth it since we took a 2.5 hour lunch. That’s how much I was ready to leave work. :)

Upscale Lebanese-​inspired Mediterranean tapas in the South Loop? YES!
We had reservations for 3 at 6:30 but were late and there wasn’t too many people inside so we were seated right away.
The décor of the restaurant is really interesting. It felt like I was in a middle eastern café, but had a nice modern touch to it. It’s a small space but it was used efficiently, yet not uncomfortably. There’s an upstairs as well!
Our server gave us a run-​down of the tapas-​style menu and explained how certain items come out in no particular order, and that to get enough food for everyone we should order a lot of different things. She was very helpful and polite, great service!
Here’s what we had:
–Hummus: This was fantastic, hands down probably the best hummus I’ve ever had anywhere, period!
–Falafel: Thick, seasoned well and still piping hot, fresh out of the fryer with a just-​as-​yummy dipping sauce!
–Kifta kabob: Unique spices and flavors with a little kick.
–Beef and Lamb Shawarma: Similar to the Kifta above but more mild.
–Eggplant flatbread: Also really great, the olive relish was amazing, it reminded me of a light pizza but with more exotic flavors.
There was also rice and various veggies served with the two meat dishes, which had a special seasoning on them as well, much better than your average rice accompaniment, I was picking for every last grain on the plate!
I tried a recommended Lebanese red wine, the «Massaya» which went great with our meal, it was unusually tasty and I might look into obtaining a bottle for myself!
We also had dessert which consisted of Turkish coffee and cheesecake balls. The coffee was very strong, just how it’s supposed to be! The cheesecake balls were also decadent.
Overall we really enjoyed everything we had. The only problem I have is the price to portion ratio. We spent a little over $ 30 each after taxes, drinks and tip, but were not exactly full after everything was said and done. If you really want a lot of food here, I do recommend getting at least 1 «shared plate» per person and at least 2 – 3 other items.
Other than that, I thought the food at Kurah was fantastic. Unique Mediterranean cuisine in an upscale setting, I think you will be hard-​pressed to find anything similar.
I do recommend and will most certainly be back, solid ⁴⁄₅!