Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen

Visited this place for the first time before the holidays and it was a delight, came back this past Saurday to a nightmare! Enjoyed warm hearty bowls of Lentl soup followed by rotten fish and half done chicken! When I brought this to the waiters attention, he offere to replace the dishes. We were the first customers for the day and we’re looking forward to warm blissful lunch. The waiter came to report that the cook refused to replace the food. When I asked him what did he expect us to do, he replied he didn’t know. So I ask him did he want us to leave without paying? He replies «why would you do that to me»? What a clown! He explained to us that someone would come to speak to us, but we were not in a wait and see kind of mood at this point. My husband instructed him to bring us a bill for the soup and soda! Poor thing complied and we gave him the 11 dollars and change! I have never experienced such horrible service or witnessed such a lack of regard for a customer. I’m a Mediterranean food enthusiast and was really looking forward to returning. Never again. I don’t do hit or miss restaurants.

The reason that I’m giving five stars is the fact that the owner of the restaurant was so sweet in taking care of us and everyone around us. For a Saturday night this place was packed. The lentil soup on a cold snowy day was amazing. We had the veggie combo plate and the cedars kebab combo plate. Both were delicious. The veggie plate had hummus, stuffed grape leaves and falafel. My husband loved the falafel while I just loved the grape leaves. The meats were juicy and the variety was excellent. Dessert with their pineapple cheese hasasa was so good with tea. A great meal and most likely will come again since it’s so close to home

This was OK, but not great for the price. Biggest problem was day-​old semi-​stale pita (we got take-​out) which really undermined a number of the appetizers.

Went to Cedar Mediterranean Kitchen, it’s in the Hyde Park neighborhood mixed in at a strip mall location. The restaurant is super clean and nicely decorated. The staff was helpful and present. The lentil soup was good after adding salt. Everything was good but a little under seasoned. Once you add salt and pepper everything is YUMMY. I had the combo of chicken Tika and ribs, it was so tender and delicious. It wasn’t crowded when we arrived at 5pm on a Saturday. Enjoy its a good, solid restaurant.

This was my second time at Cedars. After reading the online reviews, I decided to give it another try. I really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, the hummus just tasted like lemon, the pita was just ok and I was expecting yellow lentil soup. Guess I just have a different tastes so not for me.

I love getting their sautéed vegetables (cauliflower and eggplant appetizer, along with a large hummus with chicken and lamb. Yum!!!

This place has five-​star potential. The food was well seasoned and flavorful. However, on a slow night, our waitress was terrible. My food arrived cold. Mostly because our waitress was chillin’. Pros: lentil soup! The food was fresh. Cons: bad waitress, waitress drowned my salad in a house oil/​vinegar dressing w/​o first asking if I wanted it, and she seemed a little spacey.
I’d come back because the food was so f*cking good.

I love Mediterranean food with how simple and wholesome the ingredients are, but Cedar’s never manages to get it quite right. I’ve had their food a bunch of times as they cater to a lot of UChicago events. Although the spices are there, the texture of the chicken is always off — it’s always too rubbery, as if I were eating chicken-​flavored plastic/​gum.
I went to the restaurant to see if the food was any better and unfortunately that was not the case. I ordered the Shekriya. It was too creamy and rich, and there was barely any lamb meat! Quite pricey for the lack of protein…
While I won’t say no to free Cedar’s, you won’t find me sitting down at their restaurant any time soon.

Whatever had kept you from trying this place, has kept tourism a Hyde Park gem.
I’m a sucker for their Salmon kebobs, so much so that I rarely order anything else. Although, over the years I’ve had crushes on their different entrées, depending on my mood. The Kushary, Tagene, and Chicken Tika Tandoori are all excellent choices. With the depth of their menu, I can brings friends who have dietary restrictions, due to faith or personal choice. You have the option of double veggies or rice with most entrées.
They have well seasoned soups and warm pita is served along side your meal. I just wish they had a better drink selection but I’m anti-​Pepsi products. I love that I can work out or be famished and get full from a place with healthier options that are so delicious! Most of their meats are grilled and I have even purchased Moroccan seasoning trying to get my food at home to taste like some of theirs.
The have a simple and clean set-​up and get packed in the evenings. They also deliver, which I opt for on cold nights.
I’ve always had friendly and attentive servers, a calm ambiance that perks with lively diners, and a free parking lot shared by nearby businesses.

Lunch portions are very huge and a great price ! we got the lunch combo and it came with a delicious soup !! the lunch plate is so big !!
The service is very friendly and fast. The food is good but be warned you might be sleepy afterwards ! lol

I’d order it again! The chicken kabob was seasoned well and the portions of hummus and side vegetables were excellent. The chicken kabob may have been a little dry for some but I’m ok with drier meat.

My girlfriend and I ate here for a late dinner on a Friday night. We were in the mood for middle-​eastern, and weren’t disappointed. The falafel is great, and the chicken kabob with roasted vegetable is very tasty. A pleasant surprise was the spicy lentil soup, which wasn’t that spicy but was very flavorful and not too heavy, which made it a great compliment to the meal.

I am not sure what happened here. We noticed many small maintenance items being left undone around the seating area. Things like missing vents and light bulbs burned out.
The food was o.k., not what I expected after the other wonderful visits. The server was overwhelmed with too many tables and no support from anyone else. Where was the manager or owner?
I am giving the stars and hoping my experience was a one off.

The Unilocal reviews were what influenced my friend and I to stop here for a «quick» lunch on our way to the 57^th Street Art Fair. There was nothing quick about it, nor was there much of anything discernibly Middle Eastern about this restaurant, other than the name.
Based on the reviews I started with the lentil soup. Whoever says this soup is delicious is delusional. It was ok enough, but more a consistency of water than soup, and there certainly wasn’t much lentil to it. My friend had tabuhle, which was a generous serving and tasted pretty fresh. It also tasted like too much oil, way too much parsley and not enough bulgher.
Then, something seemed to get lost in getting the lamb + beef/​schwarma sandwich to me which I had ordered. Waited. the server finally stopped over to tell me it would be soon. Waited. It finally came. I asked for tahini and hot sauce, I was brought tahini and salad dressing.
The schwarma didn’t have any discernible lamb taste, and some parts looked like chicken. After a 30 minute wait, it was questionable as to what they had actually done to produce this sandwich. Tasted more like fajitas than schwarma, maybe that was what the cook knew.
I lived in the Middle East and my friend is from Lebanon. She explained the name Cedars makes it a Lebanese restaurant. Apparently, any Lebanese involved headed for the hills long ago, and they took their lamb with them.
Apparently they lost their abacus as well. When the server brought my change, she shorted it 45 cents!

My favorite Middle Eastern place. All the food is exceptional and fresh, while the service is also wonderful. Anytime I take my parents to their doctors appointments, I make sure to get over there and get some hummus and shwarma. Their think is leaps and bounds better than other places. I honestly cannot wait to go back.

Recently ordered the chicken shawarma dinner platter with rice. It also came with a house salad and roasted veggies. Very delicious, and I didn’t feel TOO bad about myself since there was a lot of vegetables. The raw red onions that the chicken was on was a bit too strong for me; I think they would have been better if they did a quick pickle on them to cut it a bit.

My gf (32) took me (29) here on a date one a Wednesday night. We both were nervous because we had never tried Mediterranean food. Parking was simple. Customer service great! The food was hearty, hot and delicious! We will be back! :)

I’ve been coming back to this place for a while now, and haven’t updated my review. Since the last time, the food has gotten a lot better. It has a lot of flavour and the portions are good, especially during take out. I’ve tried the soups, chicken wings, Mediterranean chicken sandwich pita, chicken and beef/​lamb sharwama, skirt steak, pomegranate ribs, and vegetable tangine. The Egyptian lentil soup is amazing, it’s so delicious and so high in nutritional value. The spicy garlic chicken wings are so good, especially with the garlic sauce they provide. The sandwich pitas are tasty, and they come with a side salad, house dressing, and homemade fries only for $ 8.24. Sharwama’s really good, while the skirt steak is good but a bit dry sometimes. And if you ever have to between the steak or short ribs, get the short ribs! The short ribs are superb, the pomegranate sauce is truly wonderful. The vegetable tangine is a must for any vegetarian, and cooked in beautiful refreshing sauce; the smell is just heavenly!
The environment is super clean, and customer service is amazing. The staff are so friendly, efficient, and fast. They are very nice to all their customers.
This is my favourite Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern restaurant in Chicago. I eat here at least once a week so if you’re in the neighbourhood then enjoy the food, and fabulous customer service.
Also they offer 10% off to students so don’t forget to bring your student ID.

As we entered into the almost empty restaurant, there was a sign that read PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED. We waited as several staff members walked back and forth cleaning tables that were already clean. Finally, after several minutes, a waiter said, «Oh, you can have a seat wherever you’d like.» The waiter took our order (see pics of food) and everything seemed fine until I noticed that the salad that I received was not what I ordered. The waiter was out of sight and never checked on us until the end of our meal. I ate what I wanted out of the salad and explained that this was not what I ordered. I wasn’t charged for the salad. Mediocre service at best!

Lunch is fantastic value for a student budget, particularly with the UofC student discount (it’s 10%). I got a chicken kebab, roasted veggies and rice, as well as pita and lentil soup for less than $ 8 with tax. You can switch out the rice for fries or other veggies and the soup for salad if you want.
There were enough leftovers to provide dinner — in fact, the chef actually added some rice/​vegetables to the box I was taking to go! Service was good, and I was able to get in and out in around 35 – 45 minutes.
Will definitely be back to try the falafel sandwich and the spicy red lentil soup.