Pita Belly

I like this place. The samosas are good, the platters are pretty good. The staff is very nice, and the place is very clean. There’s really not many places in the south loop to grab a good quick bite. The serving sizes are very generous. I always leave full and content

I got the lentil soup on a Saturday. I’ve had it before so I figured it was a safe bet. But either the lentils had sunk to the bottom and needed to be stirred up or they decided to extend the soup through the weekend by adding water. It was too thin and even the hot sauce could not make up for it. This could have been forgiven but I noticed that the same person who handled my money also handled the food, which is NOT OK.

I work right across the street at CCC and wanted this place to do well; but they’re making it incredibly hard on themselves. First; they also serve fried chicken and other unhealthy crap; so it completely dilutes what they’re able to do well. I’ve eaten here 3 – 4 times and every time, I’ve had something wrong. I ordered the Tabuloulah salad to go and when I opened the bag back in my office, it was a container of parsley with a side of lemon and some tomatoes sprinkled on top. The menu lists it with several other ingredients; Bulgar wheat, cucumbers, onions, etc. None of it came with the salad; it was just chopped parsley. WTF??! Falafals were dry and the lentil soup, which is actually okay; isn’t consistent with the seasoning. Sometimes it’s more salty and spicy; sometimes, more bland. I’ve given this place a try and I’m not going to go back.

The people who work here are very friendly and cool, but the food is greasy, bland, and cardboard-​tasting. This is not a hard cuisine to cook well and make delicious, so it’s criminal to have it be this unsatisfying.

Pretty bland altogether. Had a falafel sandwich which was palatable, maybe the other sandwiches are better. Very nice and prompt service though!
I wouldn’t go again, but if middle eastern food is your thing, explore the menu!

I’ve been here once and probably never will again. The food was mediocre and most of the food we ordered had a distinct cardboard taste. The hummus was bland, and falafels were cold and dry. We got home and realized they even forgot to pack us some of food we ordered. We went back and they gave us a free samosa, which was also dry and tasted just as good as the hummus.
Looking through the «good» reviews, I only question if they were drunk or paid to write them. I would not think twice to recommend this place even after a few drinks, it’ll just kill your buzz. There is cheap and good food, and this place isn’t both. Maybe it was a bad night, or maybe the food is just bad — either way, I won’t be coming back.
If you want good drunk midnight food, you’re better off going around Halsted and Roosevelt area.

I’ve read the other reviews and I disagree, I ate here three times while in Chicago last week and enjoyed every bite. A full meal of beef and chicken shawarma on a bed of rice, humas and salad was under $ 9.00 and was enough to feed two people. And it tasted good. Am I right? Let me say this, I watched «:Lawrece of Arabia» like three, no two… like three times so… there you go.

Reasonable prices & quick friendly service. Way better than in the surrounding hotels.

Had the chicken Shawarma and it was very tasty.
I got really filled up with the sandwich.
The only thing better was the Baklava which is an amazing little pastry. I usually can find it easily back home in L.A. but this is the only place in downtown I have seen it.
Cant wait to go back and try the beef Shawarma.
great location for Columbia students.

I won’t eat there again. I ordered a samosa. I took 1 bite and it was cold in the inside. I informed the mgr and gave it back to him. I thought he’d give me a fresh samosa. No, instead he ran to the back and put it in the microwave and gave it back to me. I had no idea until I was well on my way. Disgusting!

Very good food, love the sandwiches here. Shawarma is the best! They have icee’s too. Good place for lunch.

First time here. I ordered hummus and pita, and two samosas. I found both items average. Also the place was nearly empty on a Wednesday evening (despite the throngs of college kids in the area) so it felt like everything there had been warming under a heat lamp all day. They serve everything – fried chicken, Mediterranean, sandwiches, Indian. The staff were friendly, but I wonder if they should focus a bit more on fewer offerings.

My coworker had lunch there soon after they opened and her falafel was dry and cold so we thought we should give them a second chance today. I ordered the falafel sandwich and the falafel were cold and dry. My co-worker’s, however, were hot, moist and fresh from the fryer! She was even offered sauces on the side, I was not.
I also ordered a samosa, just to see what it was like (their menu has an identity crisis, they are also now serving fried chicken and biscuits) and it was good but it was too greasy and I basically just at the middle section.
About halfway through our meal they burned something in the fryer and the place started filling with smoke. I couldn’t stop coughing and neither could a person at the table behind us. The staff stared at us. We threw out the rest of our food and got outside where we could breath again.
I will not return.

Almost eight bucks for a pita sandwich? This better be the best chicken shawarma I’ve ever had.
It wasn’t.
Food is good, but not fabulous, and for eight bucks I would have liked something fabulous.
They are really stingy with their ingredients (my chicken shawarma sandwich had two chunks of chicken and barely any sauce. A warm pita might have been nice too, but that’s just me being picky!
I’ll give this place another chance, because I want to try some of the other things, but the prices seem a bit steep for what you get…

Sigh. Really wanted to love this place!!!
See my review for Thai Spoon. This is another mediocre restaurant by Columbia. I’ll be sticking with Chicago Carry Out and Bodega 5.
One time there was so much dill on my rice, I thought I was pouring a McCormick spice container of dill into my mouth.
Once I got a pita sandwich, and the stuff inside it made the pita basically dissolve because there was so much liquid — not appetizing.
The meat is decent just scarce. As in 4 cups of rice and a kabob as big as my middle finger.
The people working there are kind of clueless. I wonder if they’re smoking hashish. Seriously, I say my order, and 2 seconds later he’s «repeating» back a completely different order. I enunciate, I promise!
The baklava looks really good. Too bad it costs an arm and a leg.
I’m sure I’ll still get food here now and again, but for goodness sakes restaurant owners, taste your food once and a while!

I have been here three times… first was for Falafel and Fattoush. Second and third time was for Fattoush. Its good, acidy, lots of lemon and oregano. It hits the spot when you want a quick salad! I really am not a great judge of any of the meat — didn’t try it!

…get this… it’s called PITA BELLY,…
But they use white flour tortlllas on their wraps!
THEY DONT EVEN USE PITA BREAD!!! AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!
I ordered 1 samosa, 1 beef schwarma, and 1 falafel.
There was 5 or 6 guys behind the counter …
attentively cooking something in a large pot on the stove,
that clearly wasn’t something on the menu.
THEY TOOK FOREVER to give me my items,
and when i got them i realized it was all COLD and must’ve come from the back cause they didn’t cook anything of mine in front of me.
there was only two people sitting inside, and it was empty… not a good sign.
I REALLY WANTED PITA BELLY TO BE GOOD.

It’s not as good as The Falafill for sure but the neighborhood needs some variety like this. The wraps at $ 6.99 are pretty overpriced, especially for the veggie fillings at the same price. Huh?!
A coworker got a take-​out chicken shwarma wrap that looked great; it was also jumbo sized so much that she saved half for a second meal. But when I went for take out a half hour later, my chicken schwarma wrap was half the size for the same price. A staff member said they had used the jumbo wraps temporarily while inventory was low. I wouldn’t have minded that price for a larger portion.
They need to get over these types of hiccups or they won’t last long with these prices for just average food quality.

The sign of a good Mediterranean place is good hummus, and the hummus here was not exactly good. A little too thin for my liking and a MUCH smaller portion than they led me to believe… I specifically asked and the guy behind the counter about it; he showed me a decent sized take out box… I asked, «is that actually filled up?»…he said yes, but when I got back to the office and opened it, the bottom of the box wasn’t even covered and the carrot I dipped could hardly hold any of it, because there was so much oil in it…
Glad to finally have a Mediterranean option so close to my office, but it is very overpriced and needs a bit of work. A falafel sandwich is $ 6.99, same as any meat sandwich… I don’t understand that! I pay $ 2.75-$ 4.00 for the same thing (but better) up north.

Have been here twice. The space is inviting and and the guys behind the counter are really nice. Falafel was good. Not the best I’ve ever had but above-​average. Beef shawerma was kind of bland and dry. The main problem here, IMO, is the pricing. Seven bucks for a falafel sandwich is steep, even by downtown standards. My favorite Middle Eastern spot in the loop, against which I judge all others, sells a better sandwich for $ 4.50.