Alhambra Palace Restaurant

I've read some of the reviews, anybody who doesn't like this restaurant doesn't know good and properly prepared arabic food. This is an exceptional restaurant in all aspects. The cuisine, the service, the ambiance and the entertainment is all 5 star. After my first time, I've been a number of times where I entertained my guests from the Middle Easts and they too fell in love with the restaurant! To all the people who gave it bad reviews, I'm sure you would enjoy something of much lower class... Mcdonald's is opened 24 hours a day in a neighborhood near you! Pros: Service, Price, Portions, food, Ambiance and entertainment... Cons: None whatsoever. more

We were a little concerned when we read some of the other reviews, but the place looked interesting and we wanted to have entertainment. We found the food (we ate mostly appetizers) really tasty, well proportioned. reasonably priced and the desserts were great. Our server was new but attentive and courteous.\r \r The entertainment too was very good and we would recommend this restaurant.\r more

If I could give it zero stars, I would. We were in town one weekend and saw the advertisement for Alhambra in a magazne, so we decided to check it out. I called beforehand and whoever picked up assured us that the kitchen stayed open after 10 pm. When we got there, no one even bothered to acknowledge our presence, much less seat us. We wandered into the main dining room and after 10 minutes managed to find a waiter. He seated us and quickly informed us that the kitchen was closed and all we could do was order from the bar. We then asked if they would at least have entertainment and he said they would have bellydancing in a few minutes. 30 minutes later, there was still nothing going on. We decided we had wasted enough time here and left. Bad bad experience--very inattentive staff and they don't even know what is going on at their own establishment, since we were given misleading info from everyone. Plus, it is WAY overpriced. Go to a mom and pop mediterranean restaurant if you want real authentic food. Pros: decor is sort of nice Cons: everything else! rude and inattentive, the staff is oblivious to their own policies and very unhelpful more

I went here with my family (total of 12 people) just last week (December 8, 2007). We had such an exceptional time, because of the combination of food and treatment we received - in such an elegant and unusual setting. We decided on Alhambra as part of an on-going family tradition that we have - to experience a different ""country"" every year by choosing a unique restaurant. It was the little extras, along with the exciting entertainment, that made it such an exciting event. My daughter, 8, was with us, as well as my grandmother, 97. The entertainers engaged us (especially the 8 and 97 year olds) - even my mother (64), was brought onto the dance floor by the belly-dancer. My daughter said it was one of the most exciting nights she had ever had. We were there at 8 - and saw both the flamenco dancing, and the belly-dancing, at 10:00. The dance atmosphere at 10-11 felt more like ""big-family-wedding"" - not ""pick-up-at-the-nightclub"" - that all of us - 8, 33, 64, and 97 years of age - had a blast. I'm going to make reservations for another special night this weekend. If you are going to go - get some recommendations on what to order (I like the kabob platter - ordered by # of guests), and definitely get a hooka pipe and turkish coffee - it's all part of the experience. It's an experience, not just a dinner. I eat out so often - Alhambra is not where you go to just get a meal - you go to experience a fun, unique evening. My daughter was treated like a princess, and we were also given a little tour (by the sweetest waitress - I think her name was Heather.) Plan on staying for a few hours. Pros: Ambiance, unique experience, atmosphere, entertainment, ""family-type"" dancing Cons: Skip the regular coffee - go for Turkish more

The decor is georgous and funishings are very tasteful. Food is tasteless. They should be ashamed to serve such terribly and carelessly prepared food. The couscous was a disgrace. $250 for 5 people with NO drinks. We gladly pay that and more when the restaurant owners/managers care about the product they serve. The only plus - the waiter was congenial and the bus staff tried to be attentive. But nothing can make up for the incredibly bad food. We will never go back. Pros: Ambience Cons: everything else....especially the food more

What a disappointment! We had reservations for graduation party of 15. Once we were seated, a manager rudely accused us of taking a table reserved ?for regular guests.? We didn?t mind moving, only his attitude was horrible! So, he moved us, but 5 mins later, we were told that was the ?doctor?s table.? We moved to the THIRD table. Management never came to apologize but they sent a round of drinks. A waiter, Alexander, was AWESOME, pleasant and professional, but couldn?t get to us fast enough (not enough waiters). People who joined later waited 1.5hrs for dinner!! Oh, we saw another group being moved to another table. Music and decor was very colorful and lively. Food is average, can get it cheaper at any other Middle Eastern place. Alhambra is pretty, but it has bad management, not enough waiters, and no hospitality. Tab was $810. Will any of the 15 of us go back there? NEVER.\r Pros: extravagant decor Cons: not enough waiters, management doesn't have customer service experience more

DO NOT WASTE YOUR OR ANYONE ELSE's MONEY IN THIS PLACE. I do not have enough room or time to write down all of our issues however I will relate the following: \r When your server hits & knocks into a seated customer with a beer & shatters glass & beer on the customer, do NOT blame the customer. This was probably their 6th strike of the evening. PLEASE DO NOT FOR ANY REASON SUGGEST THIS PLACE TO ANYONE. I give you my personal guarantee you will be dreadfully dissapointed with both the food & the most atrocious service I have encountered in many, many years. They should be ashamed althogh it will not matter since I'm sure they will be changeing hands much more sooner than later for obvious reasons. I guarantee anything above ""below average"" was posted by the owner's or friends... Pros: Departing this place Cons: Everything especially the staff more

I had the worst dining experience of my life here. Slow service, cold, bad, wrong food. Never had water glasses refilled. Never had drinks ordered. We waited over an hour for the overpriced falafel and hummus. Our bill was $200 for 4 people and that didn't even include drinks because we didn't get the chance to order them. To be fair, it had been open a week but for all the marketing done by the owners they should have spent a little more time getting their operations in order and less time on the cheescake factory decorations. Regardless of how long they last I will not waste my money here. There are too many great restaurants in Chicago to give Alhambra your money. Pros: large bar area Cons: mediocre food, slow (non-existant) service, bad layout, unattentive management more