Basha

When I go out to eat I expect to be treated like a customer. Therefore this is a review based on my standards.
I came here with my cousin. We walked in and were greeted by the waitress and asked to choose our own seats. There was only one other group in the restaurant which was a party of about 7. I ordered some appetizers, hummus and falafel along with our entrees (2). Before I walked in, I read a top saying the food takes long when seating in because it’s all cooked fresh. Well, about 20 – 30 minutes after waitress got our orders I started to wonder were the appetizers went. I mean I thought the appetizers are supposed to come before your main course? Maybe I need to revise my definition.
Food and appetizers finally came out at about the 30 minute mark. The food was okay. My chicken sandwich was actually a wrap. I could barely taste the chicken since it was stuffed with a ton of vegetables. The hummus was delicious and falafel was okay but a little too sweet for my taste. Another thing to note is there are no fountain drinks just canned pop and bottled juices, bottle size you give to your toddlers.
Overall experience was horrible. Not coming back here. As somebody else mentioned, I rather take my money to Pita Inn.

This is MUCH BETTER than Pita Inn!!! Lines are shorter and service is faster. The beef shawarma plate is the bomb! So much more flavorful than the competition. Don’t miss the Basha sauce that comes with it. My husband gets the combo chicken shawarma & beef shawarma plate. Chicken shawarma comes with the garlic mayo sauce. I miss this place since we moved to the Silicon Valley almost 2yrs ago and I dream about it all the time. Nothing comes close to this kind of cuisine here in the Bay Area. Maybe pseudo-​shawarma or kinda-​gyro will do if you have no other choice. And the way they pronounce «gyro» here in CA makes me nuts (with a «J»)! My family still lives in Skokie – Basha will be one of my first stops when I go visit. Will be there for the Chicago Marathon this year and can’t wait to have a taste of the shawarma again. There’s nothing like the food scene in Chicago!

I was excited to try this place out as I have always passed by it while driving on Dempster. I ordered their gyros platter as well as their falafels that came with a side of hummus. The gyros meat was very dry and very flavorless, so I was not a fan of it. The hummus was very chunky, but not in a good way — it seemed more of a coagulated consistency with a lack of spices and garlic — I am not sure if they were missing the tahini or what not, but it was very very bland. The eating area is also somewhat unkept, as the tables are not washed down and there seems to be litter. I am glad I was able to try this place out, but not sure if I’d go back!
+bland fare
+unkempt dining area

It must have been years since I tried Basha’s and it’s changed for the better. A friend talked me into going back after being very underwhelmed years ago and I’m glad he did. Good beef & chicken shawarma sandwiches, good hummus, amazing garlic potatoes, and great garlic sauce. The place is never packed which might be a turn off to some but to me it means prompt service w/​no wait. I’d definitely go back.

It was my frist time going to Basha. The restaurant is a like a ghost town, i walked in and walked right out. I dont like empty restaurants, it means neither the food nor the service is good.

We’re regulars and LOVE this place. MUCH better than Pita Inn. More flavor.
In all honesty I will say that their carry out service is better than their dine in, but we always carry out, so no problems! The owner and his family are nice and pleasant to deal with.

Zero stars if available. I am always wary of restaurants that don’t know simple laws, and Basha does not. My sister and I thought we’d try something new, so we went to Basha with anticipation. As we were opening the front door, the owner stopped us and vehemently told us we were not welcome because no dogs are allowed. My sister’s dog isn’t a fluffy little dog kept in a handbag, it is a service dog for my sister who is blind. I told him Federal law allowed the dog to be there, but he was very rude and repeatedly refused us entry. We left there and went to California Pizza Kitchen were we, AND the dog, were welcomed warmly. Basha is the ONLY restaurant we have ever been denied entry in the many years my sister has had a guide dog.

I’ve been here 4 times so far. The shawarma is my favorite, much more flavorful than across the street. Great charcoal flavor– if you don’t like smokiness eat elsewhere. Veggie combo was good– falafel good. Chili sauce is perfect accompaniment to the meat. Lots of food for the money. I’ve always found service (owner and daughter I think) to be polite and pleasant.
TVs on every wall — be warned if eating here. Food is seriously great tho. Much more flavor than Pita Inn.

I am in love with their chicken kebob sandwiches. They come with the most amazing garlic sauce and are pretty much three bucks a pop!
The owner is friendly and the sandwiches are amazing!
Btw: there is a huge difference between the kebab sandwich and the kebab meal so make sure to differentiate so they don’t make the wrong thing!

I tried Basha out just because I wanted a change from Pita Inn. The first thing is that the vibe is totally different. It wasn’t particularly crowded like it is at Pita Inn, probably because of Pita Inn’s reputation.
The owner is very nice, although I can’t really comment on the service because I ordered take-​out. I will say though that the food came out pretty quickly.
As far as the food goes, I ordered some hummus, baba ghanoush, and a beef/​chicken shawarma combo. The hummus was the best part of the meal, it was one of the lightest, most delicate tasting hummus (ses?) I’ve ever eaten. I admit, I wasn’t too thrilled with the baba ghanoush initially since it had a sort of vinegary taste to it, but as I took more and more bites, I grew to like it. I would get the baba again. The shawarma wasn’t fantastic, but it had nice seasoning to it. Just to note, the rice I got was basmati so it’s not the pilaf you get at Pita Inn, which in some ways fills me up too quickly. The prices were also reasonable for Middle Eastern food.
I would go here again. As much as I love Pita Inn, it’s nice to try something new and even though the menus are pretty similar, there’s enough variation in both the offerings and the taste that would make me go back again.

This place is great! Sure, occasionally, you’ll get some burnt food, but if you go there again, you’ll see that it was most likely a fluke. Also, if it is indeed burnt, BRING IT to them! They are nice people and will surely want to fix the problem.
They remodeled the place so it looks a lot better now to address previous complaints.
Overall, Basha serves great food at a reasonable price. I keep coming back again and again! Would def. recommend!

The food is delicious, especially the Garlic sauce and the basha sauce that comes with it. They are a tad stingy with the garlic/​basha sauce and the owner looks annoyed SOMETIMES if you ask for extra sauce. But overall the staff is very nice, especially the woman who cooks. The shawarma is yummy!!! There is something about this place that gives off a home cooked meal taste which is great. I always recommend this place for people looking for middleastern food.

So. let’s start with service: The owner George is a sweetheart! He is all hospitality. Super friendly. Super caring about his customers!
The food: I absolutely LOVED the garlic sauce and chicken kabob! It was seriously to die for! I’ve never tasted anything like it. Their food is cooked to order and it’s all fresh. It takes a bit long at times, but it’s so worth it. Trust me.
I highly recommend Bashas!

Great bang for your buck! Fairly nondescript décor but you come here for the food! Fresh Mediterranean salads with plentiful mint and parsley. I ordered the lentil soup and with the addition of some fresh lemon it was some of the best I’ve had. Chicken shawarma plate was amazing. Each slice of chicken nicely browned and no oogly meat. The star of the show is the garlic sauce, request extra!

SAD TO REPORT THAT BASHA IS CLOSED DUE TO WHAT LOOKS LIKE FIRE DAMAGE.
Alwsys passed by, never went in. While driving down to highway, I got a little hungry. Unfortunately Pita Inn was packed. So, what the heck, I will try Basha. I did. The Shawarma was perfect and more authentic then Pita Inn. I had hoummos, Jerusalem Salad and baba ghanoush when I went back. I will choose this over Pita Inn anytime. My only problem, I drink alot of liquids. Pop is by the can as well as the ice tea.
BIG PEOPLE try sitting against the east wall. There are benches and it is quite comfortable.

I came here with two of my friends to see how it compares to Pita Inn, as other friends of mine said this place is superior.
During my meal, my friend pointed out that the recipes are different between the two restaurants because of regional differences, so it is difficult to make a direct comparison to Pita Inn.
With that in mind, i was a little bit baffled at the wait. It was decently long period of time before we got any food, and the place was not busy at our time of arrival.
I ordered a combination kebab with a side of hummus, and I was pretty pleased with my meal. Everything, including the pitas, were pretty good. One of my friends ordered the schwarma and thought it was really dry. The red sauce was good, but my friends didn’t like it.
Previous reviews rave about the garlic «sauce», but I’m pretty sure it’s garlic mayonnaise (i.e. aioli). It is tasty and garlicy, but I’d avoid overconsuming it if you’re watching your cholesterol or fat.
As I mentioned before, the menus and recipes aren’t exactly comparable, but putting that aside, I’d still choose Pita Inn over Basha if I’m in the mood for Persian-​ish cuisine. Sorry Basha lovers!

Better food than Pita Inn. There, I said it.
They won’t bring your food out right away, but you won’t be complaining after you take that first bite.
Due to current logistics and life decisions, I won’t ever have an opportunity to go back.
Eat there and remember me, my brethren…

Went here long before my Unilocaling days and have been wanting to refresh my memory of the place for a while now. Stopped here for lunch on a weekday, it wasn’t very busy. I ordered the kabob combo, which came with the beef, chicken and kefta kabobs. They were all very good, leaning slightly toward the beef kabob as my favorite. I also ordered some falafil on the side, which were good. The Kibbah was very good, I liked it a lot.
There is a very well known Middle Eastern restaurant in the area, which I really enjoy. Will this place make me forget my old favorite, no, but I can taste what seems to me to be a more ethnic flavor. So I can see myself stopping here again when I want something different.

Holy crap! I’m sold. This place beats pita inn and if you can believe it, it’s actually cheaper.
Basha uses noticeably better ingredients and makes some more lebanese-​specific foods. This is not something the average foodie would notice beyond simply feeling that the food is better and not knowing why. Mint + lemon is a great combo that sometimes doesn’t have enough mint, and Basha does.
So, what do you get for $ 2.39? A falafel Laffa. For those who don’t know, a laffa is like a pita footlong. Not that little pouch, and much more food for the size. Also vs pita inn is the falafel plate, which is $ 4 something here versus $ 6 something at pita inn.
For a place that is almost across the street, it was clear that they know and are dealing with being pita inn competition.
As Joshua N. says, they are definitely the smaller business, but that doesn’t mean they are worse. The difference: Basha has actual cultural foods, whereas Pita inn is akin to calling Panda Express chinese food. Thus you’re getting a more true-​to-​culture experience from the chef down the line, even if they don’t make the place look as fancy. Even the menu’s hung above the way they are is a very middle eastern thing. This is like a mom and pop middle eastern place.
Oh, and did I mention they are open super late and deliver? 10PM most days and 11PM fri/​sat is pretty impressive.

I’d never had Lebanese food until my first visit to Basha. Got some warm wraps that were much more filling and appetizing than the Potbelly’s wraps or any other cheap, but unamusing deli. I’m definitely going back for the salads — they look soooo good in the pictures!
I like how they have an extensive «vegetarian» menu, and everything else is simply labeled as «non-​vegetarian.» Nonetheless, they serve a ton of meat.
Menu and coupons (for free appetizer & dessert) available here: