Iyanze Bolat West African Cuisine

When you step into this Bolat, I hope you’re ready for an authentic Nigerian experience, right down to the reality that you should order what you see in front of you. Just because some thing is on the menu, doesn’t it mean it’s available. It also might not available the next time you’re there.
That being said, as a Nigerian, I can say the ambience is unpretentious and the food is good. While the Bolat Lakeview is definitely one you take your date to or someone you’re tying to impress; this is the one you take your close friends and/​or spouse/​long-​term SO because you shouldn’t be trying to impress anyone in here.
The food is good though and you can expect large portions. I also recommend wearing loose-​fitting clothes because you’ll likely eat more than you can handle. Maybe bring a handkerchief too because the food will make you sweat. (LMAO) Classic Naija food, it’s work to make it, and work to eat it!

I’m am totally disgusted I ordered three different kind of dishes goat, rice, and spinach to go, I got home opened my good started to plate my food and found a long brown hair on the spinach I couldn’t believe my eyes so I ended up throwing everything out coz I didn’t knw what I was going to fine next this is disgusting. The ladies dishing the food are not even wearing head net with all that fake have hair they have on I wish they would at lest put a hat on. I will never ever order from is this place again .*EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK **

I Love Nigerian food my other place closed down so I tried this place yesterday since it was the only one open at 4pm nearby. I had the biggest craving for moi moi and when I tell you this is the best moi moi I ever had! I ordered 4 I was asked if I wanted them all heated I told one of the ladies I only needed two heated (two cold to save for later) they were separated and put into separate containers. I also ordered Joloff rice and tilapia now I got a nice sized serving on the rice maybe a little too much but the tilapia they were really small pieces but the whole plate was tasty I might I was really impressed overall a good experience

Terrible experience!!!
This place is incredibly disorganized and not equipped to serve customers! All of the reviews I read about terrible customer service are true. They were out of every item that I ordered: jerk chicken, peanut soup, plantains, and coconut rice. Instead they gave me a plate of rice and beans and charged me $ 15. I cannot imagine this place will be in business much longer.

I will start of by saying then when this place *does* accept your order — which is rare — their peanut soup and fufu combo is amazing. However, twice now, ordering through Eat24, Iyanze has declined my order: 1^st time they said they couldn’t make the peanut soup, because the lady who makes it is not there, 2^nd time, after I spent 30 extra minutes driving there for pickup, they said they never got the order and then *declined* to take my order in person (2x peanut soup, 2x fufu, 1x jollof rice, 1x goat meat). All within two months.
Seriously? Don’t have this on your menu if you cannot make the order. They two workers who were there yesterday didn’t even ask what was on my order, they just said they can’t/won’t make it.
I won’t be going back. I’ve met the owner of Iyanze /​Bolat — he’s a friend of my ex’s — that time he insisted on going into the kitchen and putting in the order for peanut soup, himself. This place needs a new staff, because typically their food is good — with the exception of the goat meat which is mostly bone and fat and only some meat. One star for bad service, rude staff, and ‘no’ food.

Good amazing especially the jollof rice !
Service, girls have no idea about customer service but I will go back for the food… Cow foot was a little tough but loved the fish and goat meat with jollof rice

This place used to be a fav. and now the meat is tough, with too may onions. And the customer service is very poor sometimes, it’s ok to smile. I ordered about $ 40 worth of food and called to complain to the manager, it was pointless. She never returned my call, my complaint wasn’t taken seriously at all.
Please cook the meat so that it doesn’t cut the customers gums.
Thank you

I had a disappointing and infuriating experience on Friday July 25^th with Inyanze
I was at the Omni hotel downtown and while searching for west African restaurant, came across Inyanze.
I called to place a large order (8 individual orders) for my family. My family and I were excited to get to have some West African food after
I called at 4:30 pm, was put on hold for about 10 min then a lady came back on and, sounding irritated, started taking my orders. For each item, like peanut sauce or yam she had to go check for a couple of minute each, to see if they have it. I patiently went through this then she told me, for fried yam that my daughter desperately wanted, it will take an hour. I agreed to this.
She said there is a delivery service they can use that is expensive (about $ 40). I agreed to it since it will be quicker than me trying to drive through Chicago traffic using GPS to find them. I did not care about the cost. We were just looking forward to having the food.
She told me she will call back in 40 min as the food is almost ready. Took my phone, name, etc.
But after about an hour of waiting I called the restaurant back.
They put me on hold after telling me they have customers waiting in line. I was on hold for9 min then a lady came on. I ask about my order. She claimed she had no waiting order. I insisted and gave her the whole list. She then went: «ohh I see. You placed that large order».
I said yes.
She then went:” the lady who took your order said something and was suppose to write it down for me, but she left and did not.“
I was flabbergasted.
I asked her if they tried to reach out to me or her to get the details to get the order restarted. She just went silent then said No. Then went on to say it was not her issue, she did not take the order, etc.
I was so incensed but kept calm. She then ask me if I wanted to re-​place the order again. I just told her No but no thanks. I looked online, called Mama Osas and place the order. Was ready in 30 minutes and I went and picked it up sand my family had a wonderful meal from them.
It is really unprofessional and especially the attitude towards a paying customer that I could not stomach or understand. It was as if me placing an order was an annoyance.

OMG best jerk chicken and caramelized spicy wings of Izanye @ Taste of Chicago 2015, love ‘em! We cannot get enough of it!

Sorry, just not too impressed, which stinks because this elegant-​looking place is just a block away. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves — on a Saturday night! — which is really such a poor sign. I was rather shocked with the cafeteria-​style setup, but rolled with it. I picked the goat-​meat, which came out on the bone and oh-​so-​tough. My friend got the stewed goat, a decidedly better choice. The fufu (cassava) and plantains were pretty good, but I couldn’t get over the fact I paid $ 15 for some rice, fufu, and inedible meat.

Terrible service. The woman who prepared our to go order had an attitude. As for the food, the goat meat was all bones and fat. The jalof rice tasted like it was from the night before and was greasy. It’s so sad that they don’t give a damn about customer service. I have zero tolerance for such a place and will not go back.

Came to this place on a random Sunday with a few of my friends. Well one of my girlfriends is Nigerian and forced us to come to be real clear! I really didn’t want to eat Nigerian food because i was craving Iranian or something besides that but i took one for the team.
When we got here the place was pretty much empty and i was thinking that we would get our food pretty fast. WRONG! It took them a while to get the food and sit down.
I didn’t order anything because before we came here, we had drinks and chips at uncle julios (the review on that place is coming; thou shall not worry)! I pretty much ate of all my friends dishes and i was very satisfied! The fufu and pepper soup was amazing and the people that work here were very nice!
The only reason this place is getting a 3 star is because the wait time was pretty much ridiculous and the chicken was WAY too tough. If you are looking for some decent Nigerian food this place is not bad. I know i will be back for some fufu and pepper soup.

This place is legit, I tried the jerk chicken and rice with red beans during the Chicago Taste. This experience has definitely impressed me enough to go check out the restaurant. The chicken is boneless„ perfect seasoning, very tender and grilled to perfection. spicy enough with a good kick. The rice is moist and the bean is very good! There is another establishment at the taste that had rice and jerk chicken, it’s Belize food, not nearly as good. This place was the winner.

Terrible food, let’s be honest. The plantains were dry, the chicken I got was all fat and bones, zero meat (and judging by my peers, we were all in the same boat), and even the sauces were spicy (good) but tasteless (not so good).
I RECOMMEND: the fufu. They didn’t mess that up but I don’t know what sauce you’ll have with it
EXTRA TIPS: lots of tv screens so good spot to catch a game

First, I was never able to use my Groupon — so this one star is not about the food because I didn’t get a chance to try it. Its the horrible customer service and bad attitude.
I have tried to go to this place 3 times in the past month and each time there is something that gets in the way. A few weeks ago, I went there on a Sunday and was told that I can’t use this Groupon on Sundays. It doesn’t mention that in the Fine Print at all. Then a couple of weeks ago, I called on a Tuesday to make sure I can come that day for dinner, and was told that «the lady who handles the Groupons is not in today» — Really? I asked her if there was anyone else there just to accept my groupon and tap a button on my phone to Redeem it and she said «No, the lady is not in». Then I called yesterday before it expires, same thing — she says the lady is not in and asks for me to come today between 1−4pm. I’m at work and can’t do that. I told her how utterly ridiculous this was. I don’t want to waste my time anymore.
I don’t wanna pay that high of a price for food that I’ve never had before and the reviews here are mixed so I’ll pass.

I’m a huge fan of their ox tail, as it is tender and falls right off the bone — it has a nice thick sauce and is great with the rice. I did try other items on their menu, such as the Spicy Chicken skewers and lamb over Jollaf rice. I wasn’t a fan of these items, but I highly recommend in getting their oxtail specialty. Make sure you call beforehand since they usually run out!
+ox tail specialty entrée

I have lived in Chicago for 4 years now and have refrained from creating a Unilocal account… that is, until I ate at Iyanze.
I will cut to the chase and say that BOTH my boyfriend and I have terrible food poisoning. Vomiting, diarrhea, etc. I will attempt to contact Chicago food safety in the morning.
As for the restaurant, it is completely overpriced. Not only was the food cafeteria style, it was cafeteria taste. Dry, burnt meat. My boyfriend and I ate different food, but both were dry and burnt.
Now, for the service. She was rude and short with us. We wanted to order the jerk chicken. She told us that we couldn’t have it. Fried rice? Nope. So once we finally were able to order what they actually had/​she wanted us to order, as I mentioned, it was less than impressive. Also, they were out of silverware and napkins.
It was 6:00pm on a Friday night and they certainly weren’t busy. That should have been a red flag.
There it is. My first scathing review and hopefully my last. $ 35 and a lot of pepto bismol later, I have learned my lesson!

I found my way to Iyanze looking to take my ‘hot date’ to a place neither of us had been before. Luckily, we’ve been together nearly 3 years or I think I dont think it would have worked out, strictly based on my choice of this place.
We walked in around 7 on a Friday evening, the place had about a couple in front us in the buffet line, so we waited patiently while the woman behind the counter socialized with them. When it was our turn we told her we had the Groupon (which we had read on the sign required reservations, but the place was empty and the Groupon said the reservations were recommended).
I know Groupons are annoying for restaurants, especially random staff members who dont necessarily know the ins and outs of them. But I have mixed feelings about that, since restaurants opt into them. If its too much hassle — don’t offer them. The point is to get me back in your establishment paying full price, and that will never happen at Iyanze since my experience was so bad. Which, of course, started with the attitude and eye roll and soon as I mentioned the Groupon. But I digress, let me tell you about the actual experience…
We found seats and one of the staff members came over and told us he would bring us pop (even though the Groupon clearly states its a should be a real drink) and meat pies — its a good thing I wanted a meat pie since I was supposed to choose my appetizer. The meat pie was probably the best thing I had in the evening, even though mine was pretty burnt, my «still date» must have had one that came out earlier because it was cooked to perfection.
We got our entrees — which were supposed to be simple meat and rice dishes. We ordered the goat, which ended up being one piece of ENTIRELY overcooked meat — tough, charcoal tasting, hard, you name it an the chicken, which was a leg that was about 75% skin, leaving literally less than 2 inches of meat. Both were swimming in a decently flavored sauce that tasted fine (but not great) with the giant plates of orange rice we got with the meat.
I’m only leaving 2 stars (as opposed to 1) because I’m assuming that these aren’t the meat serving sizes when you order normally. Although, personally, even if it was more meat, it would need to be higher quality and cooked differently if it were to actually change my rating.

We wanted to try something new but we wanted goat to be on the menu. We ordered goat, tilapia, scotch egg, okra soup and two different fufus. Holy hotness! This food is so spicy and hot! My tongue was on fire. The tilapia had a ton of bones in it as did the tilapia. They were both very good other than that. Fufu was good and the okra soup was good!

I was excited to try this place. I am a fan of the sister restaurant Bolat in wigleyville (before and after the makeover). I looked over the menu, and despite a modicum of experience at African food, I was a little over my head. I asked the server for vegetarian recommendations, but I think she was confused by my questions. I took a stab in the dark, and so did my spouse, and we ended up with some pretty boring stuff. My yam porridge was mashed sweet potatoes with either cassava or true yam pieces inside. Stodgy and unexciting, and the fufu didn’t help.
Unless this place becomes a little more user-​friendly I will skip it for one of the other West African places in the area.