Cousin's Incredible Vitality

Last night i and my friend were in Cousin's incredible vitality restaurant. It was my first time eating at a raw restaurant, and it was amazing. There are a lot of different foods, juices and desserts. After we finished our foods, amplified upon about raw foods with the chef owner about raw foods. They only use organic, fresh vegetables, fruits, spices... they take the water of some vegetables with a machine to make them taste like it is fried. when they make juice, they mix useful and healthful fruits, vegetables or spices! I always eat bread with my meal but there isn't bread. They eat cracker or different bread. I learned a lot of information about foods. Now I wonder how are the vegan foods?, why they eat only raw foods. I want to go to the restaurant again. The chef and The waitstaff are very knowledgeable and attentive. I fell in love with the restaurant: the service, the design, the atmosphere, the foods were so excellent! I loved the raw deserts especially the fake cheesecake. They don't use cheese:) it's amazing i think. I bought a lot of pretty and useful things and books in a shop where in the restaurant. I'm glad to learn that dishes at a raw restaurant can taste good! I think you don't miss the delicious and healthy foods :) Pros: Very delicious foods and desserts. Especially Cheesecake. Cons: There isn't bread. more

I always go the restaurant. The foods are delicious, the portions are very good, the waiters friendly, helpful and courteous; juice are fresh and wonderful and cheeselees cheesecake is very delicious.I think it being one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. It is one of the best vegan dining experiences that we have had anywhere. You should visit the restaurant and discovery delicious foods.. Pros: organic, fresh, delicious, healthy Cons: losing weight ( i am thin :) ) more

When i didn't know cousin's iv restaurant i couldn't understand vegetarian people. But i am vegan! one day i went the restaurant with my husband. My husband was fat person. Fortunately we discovered cousin's and we are healthy people now :) I think it's miracle!! We learnt a lot of things about raw food and health life. we buy 'live box' all of the time and generally go here. Restaurant has a shop, a salad bar, a juice bar, beside a yoga class and chef class. There are a lot of kind meze, entrees, desserts and juice. They give free green juice and tea. Salads bar has a lot of salads. I went chef class and enjoyed so much! I can make different raw foods. They start to delivery and you can heel their event website: cousinsiv.c om In my opinion all of the people should go cousin's iv. restaurant. If you go, you meet delicious food and healthful life! Pros: best raw food in chicago Cons: there is no garden more

I went there last weekend, I had bad experience and I want to share it with you.The service was good, the waitresses are friendly,but i was waiting for my meal around half an hour. Then I asked the waitress to hurry up with this,cuz I was running late to meet my friends. After that the owner of the restaurant as I know Mr.Memet chef started to shout to the waitress loudly and rude. He freaked out and started saying things like f*ck you all and hurry up.The clove tea was BS, and cold. Pros: friendly waitresses Cons: BS more

As a vegan of almost 2 years, I instantly decided to become RAW vegan after tasting the delicious raw vegan cuisine at Cousin's Incredible Vitality in Chicago. Being a suburban girl at heart, I was happy that Cousin's I.V. was so easy to get to since it's just past I-90 heading east on Irving Park Rd. toward Lakeview. Pros: Everything is absolutely wonderful!!! Everyone should experience Cousin's Incredible Vitality! Cons: Not finding this place sooner! :) more

This is a wonderful place. The Turkish style window seats look very cozy and inviting. For an appetizer we ordered the hummus. It was very delicious and flavorful. I was surprised to find out that there weren't any chickpeas in it. WOW! They truly had me fooled. My husband ordered the Moussaka and I had the Zoom Burger. The flavors and textures were just right. For dessert I actually got to try the infamous Durian fruit; definitely an acquired taste. The Longetivity Tea was very good and slightly sweet. more

I had a great experience here! Everyone was very friendly and helpful. I've been a vegetarian for 10 years but I'd never had raw food before today - it was excellent! It makes me sad to see the negative reviews, but I am going to chalk it up to their warped expectations of a raw food establishment. more

If you are traveling to Chicago, don't miss going to this restaurant. It should be at the top of your vegan restaurant list of places to eat. It is one of the best vegan dining experiences that we have had anywhere. The food was delicious, the portions very good, the help courteous and friendly, and the restaurant decor very pleasant. It made the whole dining experience a very enjoyable evening. more

A place to get real wholesome food at a nice price. The vegan options are good and the service is polite... more

A place to get real wholesome food at a nice price. The vegan options are good and the service is polite and friendly. I always feel relaxed in this place and not rushed to finish my food and get out. A must place for all vegans. more

A place to get real wholesome food at a nice price. The vegan options are good and the service is polite and friendly. I always feel relaxed in thi... more

I have never been before to Raw food restaurant. But after visiting this place I really understand why do people become vegetarian. Food was really delicious and different. so I think it will be one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. more

Cousin's Incredible Vitality is a smorgasbord of fantastic food for your body, information for your mind and inspiration for your soul. Try the best raw, vegan organic cuisine! more

This a FANTASTIC place for people looking for a truely healthy alternative to standard restaurant fare. The food is raw and vegan, yet doesn't rely on soy, wheat gluten, or other fillers that give vegetarian food a bad name. The place is pretty relaxed - however, one person's ""relaxed"" service is another's lax service - so if you like to be waited on hand and foot, this place is not for you. Also, the prices are quite reasonable given the quality of the ingredients being used. If you went to Whole Foods to buy everything that goes into the dishes, you wouldn't save much money (I had the opportunity to see some of the recipes). I have been into heath-concious eating for years and am a very cheap person on top of it. That being said, I am amazed how Cousin's can offer the quality it does at these prices. The salad bar is all you can eat and usually has a lot of good stuff on it. My brother and I both can pack it away and don't go away hungry. Pros: Excellent quality, healthy food that you can eat 7 days a week Cons: Service can be a bit slow, but on the plus side they don't pester you at all more

I went to Cousin's two weeks ago. My friend and I were anxious to try it as we had read wonderful reviews. Unfortunately my experience was far from wonderful. I tasted a small amount of a number of dishes. The food was decent but it lacked a variety in taste. The staff was slow but friendly. It was not two hours after I returned home did I get violently ill. Violent! My friend did not get ill, but we called the restaurant to inform them of my strong reaction. According to the manager, eating raw food can send your body into an involuntary ""detox"" that can last 1-3 days. I had mine for 4 days and missed 2 days of work. I feel strongly there should have been a warning on the menu or in the restaurant that this reaction could occur. This is why I feel I should warn you. Pros: Friendly Service Cons: Involuntary Detox more

This place was horrible the food tasted like a it came from a bird feeder. The service was very slow. the place is strange and the chef is in love with him self and full of BS. Stay far away from this place!!! Pros: there are not any Cons: the place is still open! more

I am a left wing extremist tree hugger, but I had never been to a raw vegan restaurant before. I had couscous which was actually ground up cauliflower. I would have never known the difference! It was actually really good. It took us a long time to get water, and they screwed up the payment with our credit card when they forgot to take off our Restaurant dot com $10 certificate. However, the apple pie was delicious. I'm sure I'll go back. Pros: Interesting vegan raw food, raw food chef school, monthly meal programs, & take out Cons: Slow service, non-vegan friends would trow a fit, west on Irving Park more

I had been to Cousins when it was a Turkish restaurant and was quite happy. Based on the sign, and the advertising I was led to assume that it was healthy Mediteranean food. Upon arriving we were greeted by an emaciated waitress who we could not hear becuase she spoke so quietly. We were shown a table and sat down to look at the menu. The menu is small and expensive. It tells you that it is a Vegan restauarant which is ok with me. So we ordered a sample of thier appetizers and a cup of soup from our incoherent waitress who didn't seem to know or want to tell us anything about the menu. She said ""would you like to try it?' when I aske a question. What does this mean? I was perplexed. The food came along with a stack of the WORST ""healthy"" crackers I have ever tasted. They may be good for me but tasted like a bitter tree bark. Our appetizer platter arrived. We had ordered falafal, hummus and a flatbread pizza. The flatbread was the same bitter crackers we were served earlier. The hummus was bland. But the real shock was that the falafel was not falafel at all. I was some type of raw nut dish. It was absolutely disgusting. The texture was grainy and it didn't taste anything like falafel. I wish I had asked for my money back. Pros: not crowded on a friday night Cons: worst food I have ever tasted more

I had a remarkable experience at Cousin's. It is hard to find good organic vegan raw foods in Chicago. I don't know what salad the other reviewer got, but I found it to be a much better value then Karyn's which has a $25 sunday buffet verses Cousin's daily $12.95 buffet. They have a menu with many choices and their raw falafel is supreme. I keep coming back. more

Firstly, I'm not vegetarian, but I do enjoy a break from the meat-heavy menus of most places I frequent. Visiting Cousin's IV for the first time the other day, it was nearly empty. I assumed this was due to location, because once my food came I enjoyed it. However, i didn't think that my salad should've cost $10; $6 would have been more appropriate. Once finished I waited at least 15, maybe 20 minutes to get my bill. This should never happen even in a full resaurant, much less an empty one. The people there were very nice, just not attentive enough. The food was good, but too expensive for what you get (I had to get a sandwich afterward.) I'll probably give them another chance, but not very soon. Hopefully they'll read this and make some changes, as Chicago needs more good vegan places. Pros: good food, nice atmosphere, friendly people Cons: location, price, slow service more