Andalous

08/25/2008 Posted by lalindad

I'm not very well-versed in Moroccan food so I have little to compare this restaurants fare to. From what I do know Moroccan food is supposed to have a plethora of unique flavors. The food at this location did seem a bit "one-dimensional" as I think someone else put it in their review. Their Moroccan mint tea was a nice addition to our meal though and the service was decent. Our server was not extra attentive or friendly but neither was he rude or dismissive. The reason I enjoy this locale is the ambience during warmer months. When I went in the winter and sat inside it was a rather uneventful experience. When it's warm outside I suggest sitting on the open back patio and puffing on a hookah with some friends. Just that and some mint tea will do it for me at Andalous.

Pros: Clark Street, Ambience, Hookahs

Cons: Parking, Average Food, Average Service

06/13/2008 Posted by renzilbarretto

The place is truely "HORRIBLE"....I had initially made a deal with the owner 'Jay" for a party of 25 people, he insisted that I pay only in cash (including taxes and tip) and leave a deposit. when I came to pay the deposit on the day of the party "Jay" added another $200 to the bill to make some easy cash because he knew that I was helpless since everything had been organised and all the people hade been informed, he even threatened to cancel the event if I did not pay the new amount. At the dinner not a single person enjoyed the food, not only did we not get all the food that we had paid for (food was pre-ordered) but "Jay" kept complaining about the business he was losing because we were there and kept asking me to leave with my party after an hour. I will definitely be reporting this guy to the IRS

04/26/2008 Posted by FranklyMiller

The service is not "okay." It's simply bad. The excuse seems to be that "real Moroccan food" takes time to make "fresh from scratch." That's interesting since numerous Chicago restaurants are able to serve fresh braised or stewed entrees within 45 minutes. At Andalous, we waited over an hour and a half to be served! Yet we thought, well the food must be good. NOT SO. The flavor is one-dimensional and not at all complex. In fact, the beef dishes are so over-salted that they are nearly inedible, the vegetables as so over-cooked and mushy that many are unidentifiable, and the meat is so dried out that one is left to think that an angry chef must have done it on purpose. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Pros: None

Cons: Flavor & Service

04/07/2008 Posted by GabrielM

A group of 5 went there this past weekend, completely forgetting to reserve a table on a busy Friday night. After driving around and around for parking, we were lucky at getting a table after waiting only 6-8 minutes! We read the reviews before arriving, and I must say we don't believe everything we read. The restuarant was great... the food was amazing.... and the service was terrific. (Am I making the point yet?) The server/manager recommend all of our entrees (which we all thought was weird and funny), but we trusted his judgement and loved every bite of our meals. We tried some appetizer, some samples of their desert, and the green mint tea was awesome. Best of all, the bill was SO cheap! We tipped very generously because everything was perfect. I highly recommend taking a date there, or a group of friends. Did I mentioned they sat us quickly after sitting 2 parties of 18-20 people each! I felt like they went the extra mile and they deserve to be noticed.

Pros: BYOB, FOOD, PRICE

Cons: hmm... tight squeeze between tables

05/28/2007 Posted by longhorn2289

My wife and I have never had Moroccan food, but found this to be a great introduction to the cuisine. The service was nice and relaxed, but also attentive. If you're looking for a place to get in and out of quickly, this might not be the place for you. Each entree takes approximately 25 minutes to make. Try the zalook as an appetizer. For an entree, the tenderloin with butter cream sauce was incredible, and you can't beat the price. My wife had the vegetarian pastilla and she really enjoyed that as well. Citysearch says that there is outdoor dining, but we didn't notice that there was. There is however, window seating that we would recommend. It also says that they accept debit/credit cards, but we were told at the time we were paying that they would only take cash. It might be a good idea to check on this before you go, so that you're not surprised.

Pros: Great window seating, friendly waiter

Cons: Small dining area

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/11/2007 Posted by pink75

i had a chicken dish and it was okay. it was a little bit salty. my friend had one of their beef dishes, did not like it, but we have to give them credit for the tender and succulent beef. overall, it was not bad or good, but i would not go there again, i think there are other good mediterrenean restaurants in chicago. the food took a long time perhaps we went on a friday night.

07/19/2006 Posted by sleopold

My friend and I went here last night and brought in a 12 pack of beer, which the server was very rude about (if you dont want people bringing in liqour, dont be a BYOB restaurant). We ordered an appetizer (mashed eggplant and tomatoes...very good) and were just going to order an entree to split...well we didn't know but there is a minimum of one entree per person or pay a $6 share fee (little on the high side just to split a meal...dont you think). I thought that was a little ridiculous so we both ordered an entree. I had the fish patilla or something like that, it was pretty good and my friend ordered the veggie coucous...which was very bland. The portions were huge...we ended up each taking like 3/4 of our dinners home. The server was just very rude to us and acted like we were white trash or something...it was a really odd feeling, maybe because we were two white girls...I dont know. Other than that, my food was delicious and her food was just ok. I probably wont be back but it was ok to try something new, I just wish that our server would have not been so condescending towards us and we would have known about the minimum entree order (so weird, I dine out alot and have never heard of every person having to order an entree, maybe a minimum amount but not entree...what if I wanted just soup and salad...RIDICULOUS!!) Anyway...thats it, useful info...

Pros: BYOB

Cons: rude servers, minimum order of an entree per person

06/12/2006 Posted by mlescarlet

This place is nice, quiet, casual, and Sooooooooo good! I highly recommend trying it out! I would avoid driving if you can, but their vegetable tagine is to die for! You can find the recipe here: http://www.andalous.com/Recipes.asp

Pros: Small, intimate setting, great service

Cons: Small, intimate setting.

08/11/2005 Posted by almg

I love Andalous. I go there all the time, and wish I went more often. The food is delicious - from the olives and bread they give you when you sit down, to the salad and the Andalous Deal appetizer to the tagines. The atmosphere is wonderful and warm, with the owner coming by to greet you, and a pretty little courtyard in the back. It's BYOB, the prices are great and the hookah and mint tea make for a delicious and relaxing way to end your meal.

Pros: Reasonable, Delicious Food, Great Atmosphere

Cons: Parking is tough