Khyber Pass
Category: Indian/Pakistani [Edit]
1031 Lake St(between Forest Ave & Marion St)
Oak Park, IL 60301 (708) 445-9032
- Nearest Transit:
Harlem (Green Lake)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
24 reviews
Chicago, IL
"When the hubby & I decided to try our hand at Indian cooking, a trip to Devon Ave was a must. We didn't really have plans to visit any…" read more »
29 Reviews for Khyber Pass
I love this place! Whatever you do, get the Buffet. My favorites are the Samosas and Chickpeas in a red sauce. Its not very expensive either. I didn't like the soup very much though, so it didn't get a perfect 5 stars.
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Man, I love Khyber Pass, it's too bad it closed while they work on the building. The buffet is kick ass and the samosas are awesome. Lots of vegetarian options. Friday night Sandalwood, a sitar music ensemble plays. My wife and I have been enjoying this place for six years and we've never been disappointed.
We had the lunch buffet here a couple weeks ago on a weekday and I didn't find the food very tasty. I like Indian food in general, but this place is like the McDonald's of Indian restaurants. The waiters seemed lazy and not very friendly. It was difficult to get their attention to bring more water or clean the table.
I've never has a bad experience here. The buffet offers a nice selection of vegetarian dishes as well as a couple meat ones. It's easy to try and eat too much, but save room for the rice pudding, it's excellent. The belly dancers are a fun touch on Saturday evenings and really liven up the place.
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Had the buffet for a midweek lunch. Comatose the rest of the afternoon. The food was decent and satisfied the craving but it does not light a candle to the many great places up on Devon! Go naan and you will go back often.
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Very good place to dine, Excellent service and food. The buffet tends to be sometimes old and dry, if you say something they will replenish!
Khyber Pass is a favorite place for my husband and I to go for a cheap date night, especially when we're catching a movie at the Lake. The food is pretty consistent, but I'm happiest when they have their butter chicken (in an orange sauce -- reminds me of tikka masala). The samosas are flavorful and awesome with their mango chutney. The buffet also includes naan and tandoori chicken, which is a bonus.
The service is a little inconsistent, but overall, we love the place for great Indian food, a nice atmosphere and a buffet with a great variety.
I came here on a lazy Sunday to try out their lunch buffet. Overall, I think this place did a bit better than Gaylord in downtown Chicago. For one, the food wasn't burnt. I know if I try to even pronounce or spell half the things on the menu, I'd just make myself look more of a dumbass than usual so suffice it to say, I like most of it. The fact that the labels on the buffet items were scribbled bits of crusty ... erm aged? .. paper didn't help.
The nan were warm - crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside... perfect really. The lamb curry and the tandoori chicken were good but a bit low on heat. My favorites happened to be this cabbage and peas concoction and their single appetizer which I likened to a falafel fritter.
Although the overall selection was very small by any buffet standards, just about all the available dishes can be considered a good shade of tasty. Definitely a good value for $8.95. I was kind of bummed when I saw they had no more desserts, but maybe it'll be there on my next visit.
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We used to travel to Devon Ave. to enjoy Indian food, but Khyber Pass puts it right in our back yard. If you're feeling timid, the buffet gives you a chance to sample things you might not have tried before. It includes samosas, soup, and several rotating entrees. It also comes with Tandoori Chicken and nan bread, which is brought warm to your table.
Of the menu items, my favorites are onion kulcha, a double-layered bread with chopped sauteed onions in the middle, and the chicken muchni, which is served in a rich and spicy tomato cream sauce.
Service is attentive, and the prices are very reasonable. It is conveniently located across the street from the Lake Theater, and a short walk from two very good ice cream shops. (I have not yet developed an appreciation for Indian dessert food).
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Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines. I had the lunch buffet and found it to be okay. The food was not very spicy, and the curries were a bit watery for my taste. The tandoori chicken was a bit dry. I also did not like how all of the meat was served on the bone. The samosas were very tasty.
The price was unbeatable at around $9 for the buffet.
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Average food. The rice was not thoroughly cooked. The chicken tandoori was not of so-so quality. The buffet items looked like they had been sitting there for a while. Poor service. We had to ask for the bill three times. Finally, we got up and went to the cash register to pay. $15.95 for buffet on a Saturday night. A strange smell permeated the room. I agree with another reviewer, go to Devon instead.
Great buffet. I often have a hankering for Indian food but I do not always like to drive all the way up to Devon. So, I like this alternative. The Tandoori chicken is so-so, but everything else is fresh and tastey. I am a samosa fan and they do not disappoint. Check it out if you are in OP.
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I find their buffet selection quite good. They always have a couple of vegetable dishes, plus a few meat dishes, and rice pudding-type dessert. The food is never overly spicy. Anyone can go there, even someone not familiar with Indian food.
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My experience with Indian food is limited, but I can say I've never had a bad meal at this place (or when eating the leftovers at home - two items and some bread are enough to feed two people two times).
I usually stick to the meatless items and have enjoyed them all, but the spinich dish (can't recall the name and I don't have a menu, but it had chunks of cheese in it) is a favorite and their saffron rice is a must.
I'm not too impressed with their bread. The Naan always tastes sort of dry and burned and last time I didn't like any of the selections in the catch-all "bread basket for four" we ordered.
Service is hit-or-miss. Generally our water glasses remain filled (essential with spicy food), but the food can take forever to arrive and we once waited over 15 minutes just to place our order.
Overall, though, it's a good place to eat in Oak Park, especially if you don't want to spend a lot. Two people can eat for under $25 and have a lot to take home (or, in our case, to first take with you across the street into the theater, so that you are occassionally hit with a blast of Indian food stink during your showing of The Queen).
Also: If you go on Friday, keep an eye out for the hippie white guy with the sitar. He plays this slow, slow version of Norwegian Wood every single time I've seen him there, like it's real clever. He probably thinks no one will notice.
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yelp. how you dissappoint me.
Khyber Pass did not live up to the reviews. Everything was liquidy & unimpressive. The selection was pretty standard.
One very weird twist was that they bring the Tandoori Chicken to your table. I guess it's a smart way to cut down on wasted food. It's also a way to creep out your guests. The whole point I go to a buffet is so I don't have to answer to anyone about what or how much I want to eat. Of course the grumbling old waiter man brings you out just a few slivers of chicken at a time. It seriously butters my naan to have my selection metered by the old waiter man.
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Really good Indian Food. Always get the buffet. There is a really good garbonzobean dish sometimes, an awesome Chicken Muchni, and Tandoori Chicken served. Also, the Naan bread rocks! Great for soaking up sauces. Then of course there is the mullagatony soup...mmm. Go here, its really great!
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Better than some of the highly rated joints downtown serving the same style of cuisine. On par with Devon, but far more convenient for those of us in OP. Ignore the bad reviews -- I haven't had Indian food this good since I left California.
Love this place!!! Their samosas are some of the best I've ever tried! Their chicken tikka masala is awesome...could be spicier but still really good! I've tried a lot of stuff off their menu and also the buffet...been happy every time!
The service is also good, everyone is always polite! They also have belly dancers on occassion. Fun to watch!
What a great Indian restaurant. Maybe my favorite in the Chicago area. Buffet stays refilled with fresh food throughout lunch and they balance the selection between American-ized favs like chicken tikka and palaak paneer and some of the more exotic goshts and vindaloos. Great Fish Tikka (a dish often done wrong in Indian joints).
What puts this place over the top is the peripherals. *Great* appetizers (samosa, pakora), noticeably good rice and bread (+ nan obviously).
Very good and worth a try. I cannot add much to what has been said already. If you are able to, try coming here for lunch since it is a bit cheaper and the same buffet. But on Friday and Saturday night, you get the full experience with entertainment of some sort and it really is a different atmosphere then.
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My wife actually decided to try Indian food for the first time while we were strolling the mall. We had the buffet and it was delicious. Our waiter helped explain the items when we had questions. There weren't a huge number of items, but enough to do, especially for someone like my wife who is a newbie. The kids enjoyed it, too. I though it was good, not great, but would go again.
Update (Aug 4th 2007): I just had the Chicken Tikka Masala at Khyber Pass as take out. WOW!!!!!!!! It was absolutely fantastic! One of the best dishes I've ever had from any restaurant ever. If you enjoy Indian that's not particularly spicy, you have got to try this dish. Can you tell I was impressed :)
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The Kyber Pass buffet is one of the best places to go for lunch in Oak Park. The waiters are usually completely confused and don't understand english (this, I feel, makes the experience even better) and they don't bug you if you sit and nurse a pot of chai for an hour. The selection of food available on the buffet is always changing but the samosas are reliably delicious. My favorite is the rice pudding which tastes vaguely of flowers and is always a refreshingly sweet way to end the meal. There is also an eclectic little indian gift shop next door.
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Indian. Buffet or order from the menu. I'm not usually wild about buffets but this one has all the stuff I like - samosas, chicken, saffron rice, biryani, etc. It's a nice-sized dining room - fairly intimate. In the heart of downtown Oak Park.
I went here for the first time at lunch today (a Tuesday). It was very non-crowded (which I usually see as a bad sign). However, the food in the buffet was quite good. I had no problems with the service, the waiter was attentive but not intrusive, and brought me individual plates of fresh naan and tandoori chicken without my having to ask for them. This will become one of my regular favorites.
I am stingy with my five star ratings, saving them for places which blow my socks off. This restaurant, while not rising to this level, was quite good.
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If you like Indian food, stop in for buffett that is not huge, but offers a few basic dishes and sides. Everything was fresh and hot. The bus boys were very attentive and the place is furnished and decorated with items from their mother land.
It took me a lifetime (and that's a whole lot of years...) to finally give Indian food a try. And boy, was I surprised at how much I loved it! Part of the charm was the (small, but quaint) dining area and the superb service, but the food was also very good. They have a small but mighty buffet for lunch and dinner and they feature some great, authentic Indian sitar music on Friday nights. Stop by this little restaurant and you'll be glad you did.
Excellent indian buffet. During one visit, there were belly dancers dancing around the tables and one almost thrust her hip into my samosa! Fun place to bring a date.
Very good Indian buffet. A must try while in Oak Park.
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Warning: During their lunch hours ONLY the buffet is available. If an item runs out it may take A LONG TIME to replenish, which is quite annoying.
Despite my negative comments, I do recommend this restaurant.
I very much enjoy the flavor and quality of their food, but if you want anything other than the buffet, which is good, but doesn't have a huge variety, come during dinner. The mango ice cream is excellent! Of course it will cost more at dinner time, but the individual servings, as opposed to the buffet at dinner, are reasonably priced and very high quality.
The lunch buffet is about $9.00 which is very reasonable.
We went to the lunch on Saturday, May 12, 2007. Their lunch buffet is from 11 am to 3 pm. we were there at about 1:45. The Samosa ran out and was not replenished for at least a half hour. The same with the tapioca pudding. The manager/waiter was indifferent to the situation.
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