02/10/09

The worst Persian food I've ever had...and yes I know what it is supposed to taste like.

by DrMonicaRose

I was recently in Chicago for a short visit and decided to try Reza's since it was recommended to me by my uncle (yes, he is Persian and so am I). The chefs must have changed since he's been there since he would never recommend the food that I had there. Either the chef does not know the proper spices to use, or they are trying to save money by substituting cheaper versions. The yellow coloring on the rice must have been food-dye since it wasn't saffron and the fesenjoon contained no pomegranate. The quality of meat was poor, the chicken in the fesenjoon was dark meat full of fat and the beef in the ghormeh sabzi was tough. Both dishes were served only slightly warmer than room temperature.

We would have sent our dishes back, but given how poor the food was we did not want to waste our time trying anything else. Since we barely touched our food the waitress asked how it was and I attempted to be polite, I said it was "ok", she said "just ok? have you had Persian food before?", I said "yes, I AM Persian", she said "have you had these dishes before?" and I said "yes, many times". Well, I no longer feel polite and would like to warn others to avoid this restaurant so my response today is that I have been eating these dishes since I was in diapers, I know exactly what they are supposed to taste like, and that was the worse "Persian" food I've ever had.

• Pros: Close to other good restaurants
• Cons: Food inedible

02/10/09

terrible persian food

by marilynbreeze

we ordered white zinfandel and chardonny and got sweet red wine.we told the waitress we thought there was a mistake she took it back to the bar and came back and said no that it was correct!! well we drank the BOX wine.then ordered a salad which came with no dressing(should have had lemon juice) next we ordered gohrmeh (sp?) sabzi and fessenjoon (sp?) received it cold supposed chicken breasts were dark

fatty meat, beef in the sabzi dish was tough as leather.we will never go back or recommend this place

• Pros: none
• Cons: taste,content,temperature

09/21/08

Worst Place/Service By Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar

by Farwill

We went there with 15 of our friends and family members. Saturday night. The service was rude and late. They did not give a damn what we want or what we need. It was like being a needle in a barn. This was my first time experience but all my other friends have been there and ?loved? it. It was so bad that we had to get up with shame and walk out of the place after an hour of wait. The managers did not give a damn about us, the servers didn?t care. Honestly the only ones that did care were the servers assistants who brought us water and bread, It was embarrassing. Do not recommend it. You are in for a treat, but it is a different kind of treat.

• Pros: NARAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
• Cons: Everything

05/30/08

Horrible Experience(Ruined Graduation dinner)

by rave694

My family had reserved a table for 7 at Reza's 2 weeks before for a Graduation dinner on the elevated floor. We spoke with the representatives and they said that Reza's is open until 12:00 am just like their website says. We came the night of the Graduation for the dinner and told them about the reservations and we were guided to the ground floor. We told the person that we reserved seats on the elevated floor but he said that they will close in 1/2 hour and there is no time to set up. We arrived at the restaurant at 9:30 and they said that they close at 10:00. How does that make sense if we made the reservations before and they stated that they close at 12 and it also says that on their site. So then the manager said that because of the inconvenience the drinks will be on the house. We started ordering the wine and after we ordered a bottle, the waiter came and told us that they had just printed a new menu and about 10 bottles printed in it are not in stock yet. They have not told us this before we ordered the wine. Finally, the bill came and guess what? The manager charged us for the wine, we told him about what was stated before and he said that it was just for the sodas. We ordered their party packages and it said within the packages that the soft drinks were included so the only other drinks would have been the wine, and the manager said that he would cover the soft drink which were included in the price of the packages. The service for this establishment was absolutely terrible, no one knows what they are doing, not even the manager. The valet parking was also terrible, we drove around the restaurant at least a dozen times and no one even came out to valet the cars. We left the cars on hazard lights and went inside and at last found 1 guy who would valet our car. The experience at this restaurant is definitely one that I will never forget since the Graduation dinner was ruined.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: SERVICE/VALET and manager

05/12/08

Hayden Reza's Bartender

by phsyco

The person that reviewed the bartender poorly must be phsyco or must have been majorly p.m.s.ing (or maybe jealous because Hayden is so beautiful). Hayden is the best bartender in the city. She is well educated and polite. She is thoughtful and accommodating. It is too bad that she only works on the weekends now... I used to love having a cocktail during the week after work at Reza's.

• Pros: Bartender

01/03/08

Avoid at all cost

by suecraft12

I have never written a review about a restaurant before however the service here was so horriable I felt I needed to take the time.I started by getting a drink at the bar I believe the bartenders name was either Hayden or Hallie after making the drink wrong twice I finally drank it just so I wouldnt have to talk to her again seems she was much more interested in trying to flirt with the other patrons than make cocktails. after I finally got seated I ordered when the COLD food finally got there the beef was over well done even though it was ordered to be medium.then after such a wonderful time I recieved the check which was incorrect also. I thought goin out to eat was supposed to be a relaxing experience.

• Pros: nice building
• Cons: horriable service

12/07/06

Good for a change if you like eating with children

by quarterjack

Wow -- a long, sparse barn-like place. I went on a recommendation from an Iranian colleague who, it turns out, was last there during the 80s or something. I decided to give it a go to have a change from the all-dominating Chicago steakhouse. The service is patchy then. There were some interesting flavors, and that's what you're looking for when you want a change from Chicago's omnipresent steakhouses. Business travellers like me aren't good with kids in resataurants, so it was irritating to find every child born in Illinois since 1998 sitting within 4 yards of my table, but there you go. The kabob combination I had was well prepared, especially the filet which was miraculously tender. Worth a visit.

• Pros: Interesting flavors, lots of room to spread out
• Cons: THOUSANDS of children; grouchy, listless staff

12/13/05

I cannot believe this place has a rating of 9.0

by analysergreat

I went over to the Reza's on Ontario after hearing good reviews from people. The place is huge. Good ambience and location.The waiter gave me some weird looks. Did not explain anything. Kept on slamming plates on the table. 20 min later we had no drinks yet.

After unable to take it anymore, I had the manager replace our waiter. Not once did the manager apologize to us about this. Chicken not grilled enough, beef kababs were plain. The Persian tea is just lipton with some cardamom to flavor it. The only 2 things good were the eggplant appetizer and the baklava. I have been to many Persian and Arabic places and never have i been treated as bad.I do not think I will ever go back to this place.

Food subpar, Services horrible and overpriced for the food.. Save your money and go to National 21 across the street.

• Pros: Ambience, Location
• Cons: Service, Food

06/06/05

Bring Mediterrian dining to the SOUTH SUBURBS!

by peacheswrites

I enjoyed my wonderful buffet At Reza, the selection and quality of the mouth watering lamb, fresh crunchy salad selections and lovely side dishes.. that you can go back to again and again!

The desserts and sticky, honey filled baklava was a real treat.. my enjoyment was at their new location on Corporate drive and Butterfield Rd in Oak Brook terrace.

It was a lovely dining room, people were pleasantly dressed up, and the staff was very attentive despite a packed resturant and a line outside.

The food was fresh, attractive and hot or cold as needed.

I would have a party there as well , they catered two large banquets during a prime time dinner on mothers day!

Excellent fair and service.. CHECK OUT OAK BROOK LOCATION..

Keep coming down south.. we'd love to have you in Flossmoor or Olympia Fields too!

04/10/05

RUDE service

by icerice

I enjoyed the food, but the service was HORRIFIC!

At the beginning, the hostess was just so hm, lifeless and made it obvious that she hates doing her job.

The waiter didn't pay any attention to our table (not even checked on us once) and when he brought the food he almost threw it on the table. He would even leave before I stopped talking. And boy what an attitude I got when I could talk to him! When we gave him a tip of $5 (the bill came out to be $40), he gave 'the look'- if you ask me, he didn't deserve a penny out of that!

Even though the food was ok, I'm sure that I will never go back to this restaurant again.

• Pros: Sat night-no wait, good food
• Cons: rude service , rude service , RUDE RUDE RUDE