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“Awful customer service. Forced 20% gratuity for all. ”
Review of Sahara Restaurant

Sahara Restaurant
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Ranked #18 of 74 Restaurants in Oak Park
Restaurant details
Reviewed 23 September 2021 via mobile

Their dining area is open until 9:45 PM. The restaurant closes by 10:15 PM.

It’s a huge place at the corner of 10 mile and Coolidge. Their grocery store is at 14 and Ryan, which I visited just last weekend.

Salmon gallaba, spicy with lentil soup, I just wanted three skewers of chicken Kafta, but the not so friendly or warm waitress told me that I cannot order individual skewers unless I get 10 or more of them and they have to be carry out orders. I went back to the front counter and ordered two fresh squeezed orange juices, a medium hummus and asked if my chicken comes with the garlic sauce. She told me or take a few minutes to make the orange juice, since she’s by herself.

We had to get the veggies with our meal or fries or rice, no way to get hummus. Rather rigid about the order options.

The pita pocket bread is okay, dense, but warm.

Our waitress seemed extremely stressed out and impatient and rather curt. There’s only six tables in the entire restaurant.

The lentil soup is good, hearty.

I had part of the orange sticker skew in my fresh squeezed OJ, nice.

The Fattoush salad was good, the dressing is nicely seasoned. It’s lush, green and veggie filled. Had some peppers and like a Fattoush with some red cabbage too.

The side of veggies are soggy and are from the freezer. My husband said they are garbage.

The chicken kafta was quite good, super flavorful and had a bit of chili on top to give it some kick too. The meat was so juicy too.

Our waitress did seem to warm to a tepid temperature later in our meal. Asked how our food was. Then asked if we wanted boxes for our frozen veggies, we said no. Then our bill. That’s the extent of our interface. Other folks brought out our food.

I was rather annoyed to find that they force a 20% tip on our bill. I went to the front counter and they said they do that to all customers since the pandemic. I said they need to post it somewhere, the waitress said it’s on the menu. I said the menu says for 6 or more guests the 20% would be applied. The other guy by her said they are getting new menus that will state the 20% gratuity for all. I told him that’s all good and fine, but I didn’t get the menu. The guy called his manager. Had me wait several minutes while he explained the situation and how this lady wants a refund of the gratuity.

After making me stand for way too long during the guy’s lengthy conversation with his manager, while his eyes darted everywhere, he finally told me that they would give me a refund for the gratuity. However, before handing me the money he asked me if I wasn’t planning on giving a gratuity. I asked him why that mattered, he said he’s was just wondering if I wasn’t going to be giving a gratuity at all. He persisted and asked me 3 more times about the gratuity. I finally said not after all this headache from him and the waitress and the added guilt trip about how the waitress lives off her tips.

I was absolutely disgusted with how they handled the situation and treated me at what could hand been a decent meal.

Terrible customer service and not honest or transparent either. The bedrock to a trustworthy business.

Date of visit: September 2021
Thank NikaNumber1
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (19)
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1 - 5 of 19 reviews

Reviewed 27 August 2018 via mobile

Carry out order - easy to order, staff was super polite and helpful. Food was great. You will not be disappointed. Will definitely return.

Date of visit: July 2018
1  Thank GreatLakes66
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 April 2018 via mobile

Delicious! Clean! Great friendly staff! The garlic sauce is really good! The arayis we’re different than what we usually have but we loved them!

Date of visit: April 2018
Thank LailaLynn1984
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 14 January 2018

I have always loved this place. The staff is attentive and polite. They also have the best curry stew! I hate spicy stuff but when I am ill,this is my go to. For NYE we ordered the Combo for 2 and had enough for 4. We also order some other favorites like Falafal. It all was above plain restaurant food. I can't wait to go there again. It really is the best.

Date of visit: December 2017
Thank whitehawk16
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 13 December 2017

Sadly, there isn't a lot of good food in this area. But, the Sahara is an exception to that. Love the chicken cream chop, the potato chop, the chicken thighs, pick your shawarma. The lentil soup is enough of a reason to stop here. Especially when it is accompanied by their fresh baked bread. If you have a large enough group, sharing some hummus and pita would be a pleasure.

The service is excellent. the servings are huge. The place is huge, to the point that it always seems empty at lunch. But, I am not there to eat ambience. Especially on a business lunch. Even the teas (both hot and cold) are well prepared. As a result, I eat here often.

Date of visit: December 2017
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank DLHirst
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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