The worst Yemeni food I have ever had. This place use to be one of my favorite one. Not sure what has happened to it. The rice were plain, no spices no flavor. Meat is somewhat okay. Be sure to note 4+ people have to pay i think 20% gratuity AND there is also a 4% charge if you're going to use your card. WTH!! lol I think the owner is still living in the 80s. I'm just posting pics to show everyone what have we received for total of $55. Not worth going at all, this was our last trip to this restaurant. Very sad to see owner cutting corners and being very cheap.

PATHETIC EXPERIENCE EVER!!! One of the most pathetic restaurants I’ve ever been to. The staff before was very kind and the food quality and taste was much better. The guy at the reception/register is very unprofessional and even when dealing with customers he is on call really loud and doesn’t pay attention to customers at all. And when asked for a bag and receipt he threw it instead of handing it to the customer. Also, when we got the food home, there were two small hair in the mandi rice and it was not even freshly cooked. Absolutely pathetic experience, wouldn’t recommend this at all!

If you're in the mood to try something different, Yemeni food is the food to try. It has a uniqueness that makes it different than most other middle eastern cuisine. Shibam on Elston is the number one place in the city to eat authentic Yemeni food. Their food is always fresh tasty and the meat is so tender. Yes its very greasy but when you're cooking lamb on the bone, its definitely going to have alot of fat. The most popular dishes for me are the Lamb Mandi and Aghda lamb. I ordered delivery and took pictures so you can see what it looks like. They put a good amount of meat despite what the pictures look like.

It's a wonderful place to eat Yemeni food such as mandi and Mutabaq. My orders were mandi beef and Mutabaq. Delicious. Also, the staff are friendly and helpful, I strongly recommend this restaurant. Thanks to everyone who works there.

My expectation was a bit higher. We ordered a bunch of items. In none of them the meat was salty enough. Part of the meat in Zurbian and Haneeth was just tasteless. Agdah was the only item that we genuinely enjoyed.

This rating used to be 4 stars but I changed it to 1. Food is very good, but now they significantly reduced the portion. Anyway, the main reason I changed my rating is the behavior of the lady. I had a water bottle with me that I brought, and she said no outside water is allowed and that I have to buy it from them. Do you think I really care whether I spent a dollar on water or not? Well, congratulations you just lost a customer.

Today, we picked up grilled chicken and extra kabsa rice from this restaurant. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the quality of the food. The chicken was overcooked and burnt, and the kabsa rice was lacking in flavor and only seemed to be mixed with masala. The mandi rice was dry and lacked any seasoning or flavor. When we tried to contact the restaurant to address the issue, it was too late, as we were already far away. We suggest anyone who plans on ordering from this restaurant to taste the food at the restaurant before taking it home. Overall, we had a negative experience.

It's a hole in a wall restaurant, easy to miss but a gem, situated at busy traffic crossing but the food is super delicious. All items are authentic, amazingly flavourful and freshly made . Enough sitting tables but was not crowded when we visited . Food comes in super large plates and portions . Parking is on street . Wheelchair accessible. May not be super clean but good for take outs .

First time trying Yemeni food. It was similar to middle eastern food with basmati rice with spices including cardamom. The rice was excessively spicy and we had to bring it home to add much more white plain basmati rice. The bread was good and came out warm and huge for my baba ganoush. The baba ganoush $6 was good and had lots of olive oil plus some olives and spices. The lamb dish was $23 with not so much lamb and the meat was quite fatty …and it had a huge pile of spicy rice which was most of the food. Nice and friendly and respectful staff. Just wish the rice weren’t so spicy and the lamb so fatty. They don’t serve tap water cold or hot. They charge $1 each for bottled water bottles.

The taste and quality of food went down. I am visiting this location after couple years and its not the same (visited on 07May22 for dinner). You serve water but charge a dollar for water bottle without letting the customer know. Above all 3$ gratuity per person is charged. And who charges tax on gratuity?? You should do something better than this... It is not FAIR

5 star for lamb Kabsa! Tender well seasoned fatty meat. Very generous amount of meat. One order is enough for two. It's similar to Hyderabadi biryani but better. Tried chicken mutapq too. It was a simple mayo chicken wrap that you would make at home, nothing special. The interior could be scaled up a little. Staff were quick and friendly. Will come back for their Kabsa!

Food was incredibly flavorful and yummy. They give a lot in their portions. Everything came out tasting fresh and well made.

Awesome delicious food. Try to stop here everytime I’m in Chicago. Got the family mix platter this time. Chicken falls off the bone and the lamb is so tender.

This was one of the best Mandi's (10pcs chicken mandi) I've ever had ❤ even my Mexican friends liked it a lot it was delicious 😋 and budget friendly costing only $29.99+ 4 regular people and 3 foodies can eat good. I will be back for more Insha'Allah. I'm gonna be your regular customer now 😜

The waitress lady have no manner at all. She dont know how to deal with customers. Food was fine I got a very dry meat that I asked to be replaced. Rice wasnt seasoned properly and Massob is not the authentic one.

This is one of my favorite spots to find Yemeni/Middle Eastern food in Chicago, and I have enjoyed it every time that I've gone. The lamb haneeth/mandi is amazing! What is even more amazing is the service that my friends and I have received each time by Syed; he has made us feel welcome, which always makes us want to come back. Highly recommend!

I recently dined at Shibam ,and overall, I must say the Zurbian was quite delicious. The texture was perfect, and it had a rich aroma that made my mouth water. However, I was disappointed by the excessive spiciness that overwhelmed the dish. It's important to note that I enjoy a bit of spice, but this was just too much for me The flavors were intense and fiery, making it difficult to fully appreciate the other ingredients in the rice. I believe it would greatly benefit the restaurant to offer a degree of flavor or spice level option for their dishes. This way, customers can choose the level of spiciness that suits their preferences. I understand that taste is subjective, and some people might enjoy the heat, but providing customizable options would cater to a wider range of palates. It's always a pleasure to have the freedom to tailor a dish to our personal preferences. I hope that the restaurant takes this feedback into consideration and considers offering a degree of flavor or spice level option. This would greatly enhance the dining experience and ensure that every customer can enjoy their meal to the fullest.

My husband and I came here and needed the food quickly so we could catch our flight. The staff was great and friendly, the food was flavorful, the meat was perfectly cooked and they helped us get our food as quickly as possible. The prices are great as well which is always a plus. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. This was the best Yemini food I’ve had in the US.

The food was amazing. Very tasty. Lamb was cooked perfectly. Though we went on Sunday didn’t have to pay for the street parking, but no free parking available here.

First time trying Yemini food. Everything was so delicious and savory! My friend had the Fahsa. It was so rich and tender. I had the grilled lamb chops, which were excellent. The rice was great too. The hummus was some of the best I’ve had as well. It got busy late before closing. I highly recommend trying and supporting this small business, especially if you like lamb as there are many lamb dishes to try.

Great Yemeni food, hidden gem… easy to miss hole in the wall, but great food… takes the time to prepare the food fresh… just be mindful, takes about 30min or so… but totally worth it… ordered lamb head, family platter with mandi and haneeth… delicious!

My friends and I have been here a couple of times. During our recent visit the food was really amazing! The lamb was very tender and it would just fall right off the bones!! It was very tasty. The only picture I took was the Mutabaq because I completely forgot to take pics of the other dishes because of how tasty they were. The Mutabaq was really good, and the meat in there was perfectly cooked. The other dishes we ordered were the Lamb Kabsa and the Lamb Fahsa both dishes were perfect. The bread that comes with the Fahsa is more than enough for 2 people. We accidentally ordered an extra piece of bread, and it ended up being too much for us. We mixed in the Fahsa with the rice that came with the Lamb Kabsa and it is an amazing combination that you should definitely try! It’s a Game Changer!!!! We also ordered the Red Tea. We weren’t really a fan of it, but I am still going to give the restaurant 5 stars because of how amazing the food was! Can’t wait to go back there again!!

This is the best food I’ve ever tried. I’ve eaten at a lot of 5 star restaurants, nothing compares to this. The lamb here is literally the best thing that I have ever tasted, easily!

This used to be one of my favorite places. The quality of the food became really bad. The meat is under cooked, old and so fatty

The meat kabsa was delicious, but the ma'soub was not delicious because the bread used tasted doughy and was not cooked well.

Arabic Halal Food. Friendly staff. 5 Star for Chicken tawook, very juicy! Recommend this restaurant absolutely.

Halal Mediterranean restaurant and food taste is average. Need to use street parking. Their gratuity charges is 3$ per person if the group is 5 or above and kids also counted. This is something not felt good and this portion will be more than a platter dish for the group. Family platters are reasonable price and it’s mandi rice with the grill items.

AVOID AVOID AVOID Not what it used to be. Only if I could give it a ZERO stars 🌟 - High price, Low quantity and lost quality food, Service was TERRIBLE. Single Person working both the counter plus serving lobby. Ordered food Over phone, Was told it'll be ready in 10mins. Waited over 18mins for eat-in order than asked for sauce it took additional 9mins as the cashier got busy with recieving payments while the employees didnt want to miss a chance to laugh, giggle and goof around in kitchen area. Finally Spoke to the Chef and was told its the owner Salman guidelines that is resulted in less employees and reduce food quantity with shoty food quality from 2yrs ago, when I was there last. Lost a good customer with extended family members around the resturant for good. Shame on Owner to serve customer in the manner above!

Walked in tonight and ordered a main dish. Was told it would take 10 mins. Literally took an hour. I was about to ask for my money back but didn’t want to cause a scene. When they finally came out with my food, the cashier blamed it on the cook. I can’t explained the long wait and nor could they. There was only one other table being served in the restaurant. Trying to support local businesses….Never going back.