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Da' Nali's Cafe - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Pizza Pizza [Edit]
4032 W Oakton(between Crawford Ave & Keystone Ave)
Skokie, IL 60076
(847) 677-2782
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Lunch, Brunch
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Carmie C. said: "We tried another pizza on Sunday night. I ordered Caputo's Favorite - sausage, onion, mushroom & green pepper - and on a whim asked them to add spinach. Husband thought it was too much, I thought it was just perfect. Especially…" read more »
12 reviews for Da' Nali's Cafe
12 reviews in English
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Review from Dan F.
Chicago, IL
3/6/2009
I know, the idea of a brick oven pizza place that stays strictly Kosher seems counter intuitive. It did to me as well, but then again, working in Skokie, you learn something new all the time.
Like the other day when one of my orthodox Jewish students explained to me the fable of Hanukkah Harry, a Santa-ish Character who wears an outfit of blue with gold trim, including the yarmulke. He has a sleigh that is pulled by gefilte fish with names like Joim and Gloim, maybe Boim. The details got a little fuzzy towards the end of the narrative.
It was with this student that we went to Da'Nali's. The one thing I found very exciting was that, yes, they have pizza by the slice, and you can order any topping you want at no extra charge. Apparently, they prepare the pizza 'halfway,' so that they can add whatever toppings you like (for no extra charge!).
I ordered one slice of feta with spinach and another with straight up anchovies ($6.00 total). And let me tell you, when these things arrived at the table, they looked like friggin' hubcaps, cheese liberally spilling over the edges of the crust. They did not skimp on the toppings at all, you should have seen all those hairy, salty anchovies swimming around in my sea of cheese, what a sight.
I quickly divided and conquered as my student recognized every yarmulke-wearing, beard stroking patron that came in, asking if he could go up and say hi. "Not now buddy, time to eat."
"It wouldn't be appropriate would it, while they are eating."
"No, it wouldn't. Eat your pizza buddy."
This was more than a satisfying lunch. If I was ever in the area, I would definitely come back, but probably only order one hubcap.
Le Haim folks, and have a nice weekend. -
Review from Carl S.
Chicago, IL
12/27/2008
Though I have eaten at Da'Nali's Cafe before, this was my final visit.
I came to hear a musician this weekend, and was astonished at the service I received. From the moment we walked in, the manager was barraging us with questions about who we were with, and where we were going to sit. He seemed to follow us to assure we would be seated with our friends at a table, as if he was a crazed clown in a haunted house.
We were questioned when a friend got up to go to the restroom because he wanted to seat more people in her absence. He had doubted that anyone was really sitting there in the first place. We ordered chocolate milk which never came, but mysteriously appeared on our bill anyway.
All the owner cares about is turning over tables and not the customers.
Everyone else in the world can love this place. But personally, I wouldn't be back for awful food and painfully parsimonious management.
Overall verdict: EXTRAORDINARILY AWFUL and not recommended. I'd rather sit on a small butter knife. -
Review from Jean C.
7/26/2007
I'd never heard of Da' Nali's Cafe before yesterday, but I'd scheduled a lunch meeting with someone who kept kosher, and he suggested the place when I told him that lack of meat wasn't a hardship for me. Da' Nali's is a bright, clean, busy restaurant which is under cRc supervision, and which is, apparently, one of the few places in Chicago which serves Cholov Yisroel soft ice cream, a fact which makes them very popular with the local kids.
Their specialty is apparently their brick oven pizza, which looked tempting. But the day was hot and I didn't have much of an appetite, so I ordered a Greek salad. I hadn't had a really good one since the local coffee shop closed. I have to say it was excellent. It was very fresh and loaded with feta and olives, both black and green, and served with a very good homemade Greek dressing on the side. The bread was absolutely delicious and the iced tea was brewed. I didn't get to see any of the other dishes up close because the person I was with had the exact same thing for lunch, but he told me that everything he'd ever had there had been good.
Service was fast and friendly, too, and after we finished, no one rushed at us to hustle us out. We had our meeting in peace, and occasionally got refills on our drinks.
If you're looking for a really good meatless kosher restaurant, try Da' Nali's. While most of the significance of their kosher credentials is lost on me, I really enjoyed my lunch, and I hope to go back someday to try their pizza and ice cream. -
Review from Adele S.
Buffalo Grove, IL
11/29/2007
As the other reviewer mentioned, the restaurant is bright, clean and busy. The decor is somewhat upscale, with the center tables under a backlit soffit, painted in a tromp l'oie (spelling?) blue sky with clouds, giving a cozy gazebo effect.
I've had soups and egg dishes here, all very good. You can taste the cream in the soups, the omelettes are full of fresh vegetables and cheese.
Pizza is excellent, but the last time we were here(Saturday night) I went with the eggplant parmesan, so good with the cheese all caramelized on top, and shreds of fresh basil in the marinara.
In addition to salads, soups, egg and fish dishes, they have Mexican specials on Mondays, sushi on Tuesdays, and nightly entertainment. Saturday was supposed to be jazz/blues but we ended up with folk songs instead...oh well
They were very accomodating to my sister, who has celiac disease and can't eat anything with gluten. She ordered an omelette which comes with fries, however the fries are coated in a flour/spice mixture to make them crispier, and unfortunately they were touching the omelette. They made a new omelette, free of charge, with a side of brown rice instead of fries. I'm not sure if the menu described the fries as having a coating of any kind...if it did and we missed it, then my sister should've questioned it before she ordered. Ok, so you learn.
Desserts are good too. My husband brought me home a piece of chocolate cake that was to die for, you could taste the butter in the chocolate frosting...OY! But the cake we had Saturday night lacked the orgasmic buttery taste, though it was delicious and very chocolatey.
Not that this concerns me, because I'm past childbearing, but they are very nursing-friendly. I hear so many stories about nursing moms being told to take it into the bathroom. A woman at the next table modestly put a blanket over her shoulder and fed her baby. Neither the restaurant owners or the patrons had any problem with it, which I thought was nice. So nursing moms, come on down!
This is a regular place for us, too bad it's in Skokie! We spent more time traveling than we did eating. -
Review from Kenneth S.
Chicago, IL
12/9/2008
I have eaten in Da'Nali's and picked up pizza there. I strongly recommend either choice. This kosher-dairy restaurant has a full menu with a number of breakfast options. As noted in other reviews, the pizza is excellent. I ordered a deep-dish pineapple and onion pizza and loved it. Even my non-Jewish friends found it tasty. Da'Nali's is reliable and reasonably priced.
Notes: shares parking lot with kosher supermarket; open Saturday nights in winter with live music ($1.50 cover charge to stay); meat-free restaurant, so no anchovies, ham, chicken or beef on the pizza. -
Review from Asaf O.
Skokie, IL
8/10/2008
Great food. A nice clean place and great staff.
They have awesome pizza but even though they are known for their pizza, all their food is great. -
Review from Amanda O.
Skokie, IL
11/24/2009
I have nothing to say about the food here as the menu looks okay-ish. I was doing laundry at the next door laundry mat and a friend went to next door to this establishment and asked for 2 cans of pop. When the cashier rang up $2 he though "not bad, $1 a piece" and then she rang up $2 again bringing the total to $4.60 for 2 cans of soda. When he said "I didn't get any food" she said something along the lines of "I know". It didn't make any sense so he continued to push that he only wanted the two sodas and nothing else. When another staff member said "This is a restaraunt" my friend realized they charge $2 per can of soda. The bus boy was smiling like "another sucker". My friend left without purchasing the pop as the grocery store right next to it offered more sensibly charged products.
When my friend told me about his experience I went in and asked for a to-go menu with the intention of Yelp!ing this place. After perusing the menu I must say this place is pricey!! The cheapest sandwich you can get is a grilled cheese at $8.50 - that better be a DAMN GOOD cheese and bread sandwich! Pizzas range from $10.50 (small cheese thincrust) to $17.50 (large deep dish cheese) and for each topping you have to pay an additional $1-$4.50 for each addtional topping or to make it a "specialty" pizza.
They do serve breakfast and have quite a large menu which they claim is a kosher menu. They also have live music on Saturday.
Anyhow! Maybe I'll give this place an actual chance one day for the menu but only when I"m ready to drop $2 on a pop :-/Listed in: My Neighborhood
-
Review from Jeff F.
Chicago, IL
4/12/2010
CLOSED!
My fiances first shower was there a few weeks back. The guy gave me a hassle when I had the audacity to ask for a table for the shower gifts. The guy kept telling me that he wanted to keep a table next to our 50 person party in case it got busy. So I finally said "Ok, I don't want to argue with you anymore." Guess what? He learned restaurant management from, well, no one who has ever worked in a real restaurant. Because he kept trying to argue with me. I had to turn to him and tell him that when I said that I didn't want to argue with him anymore, that was his cue to stop arguing, savor the "win" and move on, then I asked him to leave me alone.
Anyway, apparently they closed down for good. They didn't tell anyone they were going to, but I'd wager that it had something to do with the terrible food and rude, unaccommodating management.
Too bad. The real question is: Will this send a message to the other kosher restaurants in the area that their customers want good food, good prices, AND expect good service?
My bet is that it won't. The kosher mafia has poisoned the well in Skokie and there isn't a good kosher spot in Chicago-land. What a shame!
Want to try great kosher? Me too! Unfortunately, we'd have to break bread in Aventura, Florida at China Bistro or at one of the dozens of great kosher restaurants in New York. -
Review from Joe D.
Los Angeles, CA
12/13/2009
I did not enjoy this restaurant. I went with 2 friends, the food was bland, not good at all, and the cost was quite high. The service was poor. Decor is boring. Why would anybody eat here? I got the feeling like this is some type of locals place, where the owners give good service to locals and bad service to strangers. I almost gave it 1 star, but I can't because the food was at least edible.
-
Review from Fran D.
Skokie, IL
9/16/2008
There is nothing really wrong with Da'Nali's, but nothing that special about it either.
The pizza is pretty good, but not great. I think the crust is a little too chewy/doughy and is often underdone. Sometimes it helps to ask for it crispy, but not always. I do enjoy the pesto pizza, so give that a try.
The entrees are of varying quality. Pasta dishes tend to be greasy, creamy, overloaded with sauce, and a bit gummy. Salads are decent, but nothing special. The sushi (available on Tuesdays) is all right, but not at the level of a standard Japanese restaurant. On the whole, the food tends to be underseasoned; very little use of salt, pepper or other spices.
Several kids meal options are a pretty good value. My son likes the pizza slice in a basket.
In short, this is an inoffensive choice for a kosher-observant family. I would not ever say, "Hey, let's go to Da'Nali's!" because there is really nothing all that special here.
On my last visit, the service was quite good accommodating a large party. I have been on other occasions where the service was indifferent or just plain rude. Your mileage may vary on this one. -
Review from Jack L.
Lincolnwood, IL
3/22/2010
Too bad YELP doesn't have a zero star rating, because this place is an insult to food establishments. After we were served the most expensive, sh-tiest food by the could-care-less waitress, we heard the most bitter, vile abuse that the owner was spewing onto one of his employees. Now I said heard, not OVERHEARD, because it was so loud and in the open, that everyone present heard it. To the douche-bag owner: if you must rake one of your hires over the coals(and after I found out what the issue was, you didn't ), do it respectfully and privately - Nobody is helped by insulting your staff publicly.
Stay far away from this place - you'll be happy you did. -
Review from Caryn P.
Skokie, IL
9/10/2009
The french fries here are the BEST!!! Sometimes thats all I order but I'm a huge fan of the "chicken" parmesean as well. The food is good but the fries are heaven!!
