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Categories: Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
Neighborhood: Near West SideWashington/Wells (Orange, Brown, Purple Express, Pink)
Clinton (Pink, Green)
Mon-Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
I like Roti. It's fast and not too expensive for a healthy(ish) sandwich or plate of food. Good place to get lunch in the Loop.
The hummus is solid and the toppings are good (carmelized onions, yum!) Falafal is good too.
Steak, chicken and salmon are standard (the salmon is delicious, but only worth ordering if someone else is paying.) It gets pretty crowded around 12, especially in the summer when everyone wants to eat outside. They just changed the decor to these colored lights inside, so it's not as brightly lit and gives it a more dark atmosphere.
Overall, Roti's not the most delicious or most gourmet, but it's fast, tastes good and doesn't have a million calories.
I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE.
I could go here every day and get something different and be completely happy. Where else can you say that about?
There are salads, meats, dips, wraps... so much to choose from and all delicious!
The only think I didn't LOVE was the baba gannoush, probably wouldn't get it again, but it's one of those things everyone has different tastes about...
FUCK! I have been calling Roti the Chipotle of Medit food for a while now, and thinking that I am ohhh sooo clever. well apparently you all beat me to it so just fucking forget it!
Anyways, this is a review for Roti's catering.
The fact that the food is so accessible makes Roti the perfect choice for catering large groups of hungry corporate slaves. It's exotic but just bland enough that everyone loved it.
You get a variety of condiments and toppings, which again makes it ideal for pleasing large groups of people w/ different tastes. I worked w/ Julie to place my order, and she was very helpful, suggesting the most popular options. She even threw in an extra sauce for free when I couldn't decide between two. The delivery was timely-- actually, julie, who is the catering manager, delivered our food personally, and stayed w/ me to explain everything and set it up. I like working w/ the same person from start to finish. Awesome service!
Oh. I ordered the "Simple & Basic" Buffet Package and it was great. We had plenty of leftover salad, and hummus. I wish they would have sent more pitas--I think we would have finished the hummus if we had something to eat it with.
Highly recommended for catering. I am only knocking off one star b/c as non-catering food goes-- well, I'm just not a big fan of Chipotle.
Half price now starts at 2:30PM! Woo hoo!!
Roti is one of my favorite lunch spots around the loop. Their Mediterranean food is always fresh… Read more »
Not good. The prices, for what you are getting, are not fair, and the meat, sauces, and veggies are .... shall we say, less than fresh. I actually felt that I should have returned my order and been credited the amount. I have only been here twice (first time was passable, the latest time, not so much) and I will not be back. I am also deducting stars for the staff (not friendly) and the array of sandwich fixings absent any explanations or guidance from the waitstaff. I will be sticking to the corner bakery from now on.
Good food , fair prices and great atmosphere.
Quality of the food was very fresh.
The staff was great.......
UPDATE: I emailed Roti about my bad experience with the falafel and they wrote back saying the recipe hadn't changed so maybe it was a bad batch. They were right. I went back today and it tasted like it used to!
But, me thinks Roti is in the midst of a teenage identity crisis. Everyone has been calling them the Mediterranean Chipotle...and today I went in and they had redecorated. Everything is now tan and that deep red that Chipotle has been using for years. Even the menus look like Chipotle's. Interesting. I always thought the original light blue/white color scheme was a nod to Greece, no?
Anywho, the food is still awesome. Prices on the higher side for the portion size. I'm upgrading (updating?) Roti to 4.5 stars.
Dear Roti,
Since you opened, I have been proclaiming your falafel to be the best in the city. Today I…
Read more »
Are u out of you fookin minds? Went to the "take-out" by the Sears Tower...
Half a pita bread with some rank NON SHAWARMA style beef for $8!!!
Tasted like ass. Have any of u even eaten a decent shawarma? Thought Chciagoans were supposed to know their food...
Complete rip off - wanted to throw this disgrace in the managers face
Fan-friggin-tastic. This is a veggie-head's heaven.
I get the flatbread sandwich, with falafel, and then proceed to add every moterloving garnish/condiment/vegetable delight on the line. Of which there are plenty. And they are all tasty.
So I'm the one who gets stumped, lets 3 people in line behind her go ahead of her, takes a deep breath, narrows it down to ONE sauce, and then doesn't stop speaking and pointing at things until I've had a meaningful interaction with everyone on the assembly line.
Order the flatbread and they wrap up your fillings like a burrito. But it's not a tortilla; it tastes like flatbread. It's hearty, contains your food well, and avoids sogginess. Cylindrical food is nothing to fear, and I appreciate their recognizing that sometimes portable foods work best when self-contained.
Staff is on it. Fast, friendly, efficient, smiley great at moving the lunchtime clstrfck. They have more outdoor seating than probably makes sense; some seats are a bit cramped and hard to to get to (by which I mean completely sealed off by back-to-back chairs), but hungry people can work that crap out themselves. Every seat ends up filled, somehow...
The "side of" couscous is just a 1oz portion cup that hardly seems worth the plastic, especially considering how full I get off the sandwich itself. I might start opting out of that.
Did I mention how tasty and fresh everything in that sandwich is? Or how filling for $6.50? Ok, good.
Hello all,
I'll try to be very methodical about this.
I ordered the Venetian Platter:
Chicken: C+...dry, stringy, it's like gristle; now if I ordered 'Gristle' it'd be like A-
Cucumber salad: C+...bland, forgettable; like your birthday
Hummus: C...I agree with 'needs more tanihi and lemon juice' I say it could use some more garlic as well
Pita Bread: D+, felt like a failblog entry...soooooo much hummus and baba G, not nearly enough pita bread
CousCous: C+ Cous either means bland or dry in Arabic. Well there's two 'cous's so I guess it can mean both.
Baba Ganoush: A-, pretty tasty. very, very surprising. one of the best I've ever had. Very garlicy, and tasted quite different from the hummus. I feel most places make them indeterminably similar. But I could feel some flesh pieces of roast eggplant...as least I hope that was eggplant. Very deliic~~~
Overall: C+, considering i walked 30 mins to get here and back. I'm going to Taza's next time, which is like a 3 min walk for me. I felt like I cheated on my homey girlfriend, for someone flashier, but ultimately empty on the inside. Sorry Taza, won't do it again. :( But this place is fast, well priced, and fairly unique. So it's worth a try.
I thought this place was pretty amazing.
As James W mentioned below, this really is almost like a Mediterranean Chipotle. But with even more quality ingredients!
I got a chicken roti sandwich in a wheat pita with lettuce, cucmber+tomato salad, baba ghanoush, eggplant, roasted peppers, caramelized onions, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and couscous, with dill yogurt cucumber sauce. Turned out to be a pretty beastly pita.
At $6.50 pre-tax for a sandwich, I think it's a pretty good deal. Aren't most Chipotles downtown about the same price? As usual, you just gotta make sure you get your money's worth by taking advantage of the fact that they say you can get as many toppings as you want, by literally getting everything.
Only big gripe is that it has to be in the financial district where everything closes so early! They're only open till 4:30 PM, and not at all on the weekends. I am never down here during the weekdays, today was a random fluke, so it looks like I won't be able to dine here for a lonnnggg while. Shame.
(Also, the map above is kinda misleading, it's really more near Monroe and Canal.)
Fresh, quality Mediterranean food for a decent price. But be prepared - you need to know what you want to order when you get there because the employees run a well-oiled machine that sends your food flying down the line and will apply pressure for an order if you're in line.
My falafel plate was quite good and my friends really liked their falafel wraps.
Big fan! Look for the light blue umbrellas in the cute outdoor seating area.
Roti is one of my favorite lunch spots in the downtown area. As my friend who originally introduced it to me described it, Roti is the Mediterranean version of Chipotle. Its set up cafeteria line style where you pick from a wrap, pita, salad, bowl or kabob. Then you go down the line picking your toppings and such.
I usually get the chicken roti wrap, but the steak is also delicious. I load it with toppings; hummus, tahini, cucumber, tomato, onion, couscous, cheese and there are plenty more options to choose. Everything seems to be fresh, the chicken is well seasoned and has great flavor. It seems to be fairly healthy lunch option.
I see a few people complain that they don't like the new bread. I get what their saying but I like the new flatbread as well and it seems like you get more food than with the old flatbread. My biggest complaint is the side of couscous that comes with the meal. Its such a small portion that its almost insulting; it's literally served in a plastic shot glass. Thats really a pretty minor negative though. The rest of the meal is so delicious that it doesn't really matter. I highly recommend Roti.
F.Y.I - If you go during peak lunch hours, don't get overwhelmed by the huge line that forms. It moves relatively fast.
Oh, Roti, Roti, Roti... What have you done?
Ch-ch-ch-changes!
1. The flatbread is... gone? I've always gotten the flatbread. On my last visit, I was offered a tortilla-type thing instead, which I, naturally, rejected in favor of the normal flatbread. This isn't Chipotle, folks - Mediterranean, not Mexican! This time, however, there was no choice! Tortilla-things for all! A sad start...
2. A tortilla base naturally lends itself to being wrapped burrito style. See point #1, I didn't come here for a burrito.
3. The couscous side has been reduced in volume by half! Where's my corresponding price reduction, punk?!
I LOVE this place. I generally (99% of the time) get falafel, but I've tried the salads as well… Read more »
I had been avoiding trying Roti because I am gluten free and I mistakenly assumed they couldn't accomodate me. Well, I was WRONG. They have a gluten free menu online, gluten-free cards by the register, and knowledgable people. The staff followed my entree down the line, reminding others to be careful and not contaminate it. The awesome part is that the food that is gluten free is actually tasty, not bland meat without sauce. A number of the various sauces are safe, too. AND they carry gluten free pita bread from Rose's Bakery in Evanston (for a $2 surcharge...but it's a very nice gesture all the same). The pita was crunchy, but tasted good.
I will definitely be back!
Roti is one of those places where if you aren't stupendously addicted to it to the point that nothing else will do, you probably won't like it. It's fairly expensive as fast lunches go in the Loop, and I think the quality is about the same as Mezza, which is in the building a block north and slightly cheaper.
Roti does it right!
I have never eaten a Roti kabob, nor have i ever eaten on of their lunch platters. I have eaten both Roti flat bread roll-ups and the Roti pita sandwiches... both of which are AWESOME.
If Mediterranean food is great. And tacos are the best thing ever... Why not try and make a Mediterranean taco? Yeah, that's a Roti pita. It's pretty glorious.
I'm officially a fan! Tried the Moroccan Rice Bowl with chicken topped with roasted pepper aioli sauce, sides of cucumbers, tomatoes, and baba ghannoush. I liked it all! Will definitely go back to try their other dishes.
In summary, good food, okay service, okay prices.
Roti Mediterranean Grill is the lovechild of Flat Top Grill and Subway.
The food was really good, but it smelled a little weird in there. I would have left without trying the food had my lunch pal not picked the place.
I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, because there are not so many places to buy fresh food in my neck of the Loop, and this is one of them.
My falafel sandwich was tasty.
Just finished a 'sandwich'. It was on stretched flat bread, chicken, medium hot sauce, garlic sauce, tomatoes, onion and cucumber. A monster - had to be close to a pound. A little - peewee - 'side' of couscous included. Excellent. The balance was just right. Soft, warm bread, chopped chicken and sauces were just great.
I also ordered a cookie/brownie square. Very good.
The one draw back was the price, at just shy of $10.00 ($9.46) - reasonable, but I'm so stinking cheap, it 'felt' like too much.
I'll go again.
A pretty tasty, quick lunch stop. It can have a kick to it with the 'spicy' sauce. Clean, which is… Read more »
The only reason I'm giving Roti 4 stars instead of 5 is because their new flatbread isn't as good as it was a few weeks ago when I was there, and because the littleittybittyteenytiny cup of couscous that comes with your sandwich seems to have gotten smaller, which I did not think possible. Aside from those two relatively minor complaints, I have found myself a favorite new lunch place. The staff is almost overwhelmingly friendly and the food is fresh, pretty healthy, and delicious! A roti chicken pita with hummus, sauce, veggies, and feta brings me PURE joy.
I was a little bummed to discover that this is their only restaurant in the city but the back of the menu says new locations will be opening soon -- I can only hope that one will open closer to home!
Yet another stop on my quest for the best falafel in the city. I have to say that their falafel pita sandwich is good...really good. But the stand alone falafel is not my scene...too wet inside with some chunks of...corn maybe? They aren't chunks of chickpeas, I know that. The hummus here is great and the sauces are flavorful & plentiful.
I do love the couscous that you get with every order, but wish it were a smidge bigger...I call it the couscous "shot" because you really could knock it back like a shot of liquor.
Roti is definitely a winner for Mediterranean in the loop--go early--it gets crowded quickly!
What makes roti so great? Two things: the number of delicious ingredients they have that allow you to customize your pita, and the way they somehow manage to wrap them all together that makes your pita edible without spilling all over itself.
That's not to suggest you're likely to have a particularly tidy meal. But the near overflowing nature of the sauces and ingredients you get to choose contributes to the enjoyment of the meal. I like the roasted red pepper sauce and the extra hot sauce as well. I also think the pitas go really well with a little bit of hommus, cous cous, raw onion and feta cheese.
Very tasty. Don't know much about Mediterranean food in general , but I do agree with the comments that the food gettin' line is very similar to Chipotle.
It's summer so the outdoor patio is a nice bonus.
New flat bread, falls flat.
Really, really takes away from the sandwich. Everything is still great except for that but that is a huge factor in the taste and texture of the sandwich.
Since the new bread they have gone from 2x a week to the last option when I'm sick of everything else.
Anyone who works in the West Loop area knows of the serious deficiency of decent spots to eat in the… Read more »
The steak Roti pita is awesome! Order with both cheeses, the asiago and the feta. Oh, and don't be afraid of the " very spicy sauce" it's not too spicy, it's just right. They have awesome hummus, everything tastes fresh. This place can be crowded at lunch but the line moves freakin fast. My coworker always orders the falafel and loves it!
we were in line and the manager came out with a tray of hummus and chips for all of us in queue. amazing customer service. i also love their half off post-3pm altho i never seem to get falafels for half price!
great food. quantity is perfect esp for the price point (even when it isnt half-price).
yes - "yay i am a fan"
Two & 1/2 stars. Of course, I'll round up though.
Roti is great for a quick lunch. Things I liked: atmosphere (great sidewalk location not too close to the street and pretty quiet for good conversation) and quick service.
Things I didn't like: quick service, mediocre food, crowded space.
The service was quick, but too quick. It almost seemed like you needed to know what you wanted before you got there. Indecisiveness would make you feel like you're holding up an otherwise well-oiled engine. I know I'm not the first to say this, but it really felt like Chipotle as we were going through the line. The food was mediocre. The fire-roasted chicken was pretty tasty, but the spicy sauce was not spicy enough. I did like that you could choose your toppings instead of just taking whatever is served to you and having to pick stuff off. A co-worker and I walked all the way over to Madison to try Roti, but could have had better food across the street from where we work at Taza's. But since the day was really beautiful and perfect for dining outside, it wasn't a complete loss.
As I say with all my other lunch spot reviews: Go early or go late to avoid the long lines during lunch rush hour. Enjoy!
The Salmon is good if you show up early, by late afternoon it's all greasy and weird.
The chicken is dry...always...
The hummus needs lemon and Tahini, it doesn't have a lot of flavor.
This review is boring.
I'm sorry.
So I just got back from lunch at Roti today, I had the salmon kabob special. It was delicious, and came with bread, rice, and a nice cucumber and tomato salad. The salmon was seasoned just right, and cooked to perfection, still maintaining the requisite moist, flaky texture. I'll be back for the salmon, for sure.
There is nothing particularly spectacular about Roti, but it's a notch above most of the other fast… Read more »
So if you are a loop area worker and want something different than the usual potbellys, chipotle, subway fair this is the place for you. Its still around the same price as those places, but you have an array of pretty decent mediterranean style food. Falafel, Kabob, etc. I like the Athenian salad and their lemon chicken soup is a cheap bargain because it comes with some fresh pita. They also have a pretty mean hummus.
Not my top pick for meditteranean, however if you are looking for something different than the usual lunch in the loop its totally worth the extra few blocks. In the summer they have outdoor seating and its right on the river.
Roti is a good option for fast mediterranean food with a little more "kick" to the food than most. I was glad I read the Yelp entries before going, as ordering online is a definite must if you don't want to stand in line for 30 minutes. I got the soup and the falafel plate on my first try and was pleasantly surprised that the falafel were actually spicy. The dill/yogurt saice was very good to spread in the pita with my falafel and I loved that the cucumbers and lettuce, etc. were all separated for easy stuffing of exactly the ratio you want!
Since they are in my building and you can online order about 30 minutes from pick up time, I will definitely be back!
This is one of my favorite lunch spots. It is a little pricey but what isn't in this area?
My favorite is the chicken kabob platter. It is around 7 dollars but for the price you get one kabob rice, salad and a whole wheat pita. What I like most is that you can place your order online and you don't have to wait in the ridiculously long line that seems to form around noon.
In the summer it can be a bit of a pain because they are one of the few places with outdoor seating.
The food is good. It's not to the point that I fantasize about it because I have seen the best of the best (Sultan, Fadi's, etc) and therefor my measuring stick is very long. BUT, they get big points for freshness. Everything is always very colorful and appealing looking and seems to be comprised of very high quality ingredients. They are def. a stand out compared to other offerings in the loop.
The most amazing thing BY FAR is how this place is a well-oiled machine. You are in and out even when the line is 40 people long! And it's not even that overwhelming of an experience. They are still very polite and don't yell at you or anything. AND they always have someone walking through the ordering line w/ awesome samples!!
It's like...unreal.
During the summer months I like to stop by Roti for lunch every once in a while. It always seems like there is a big line at this place but they do a good job of keeping the line moving. I like the steak pita sandwich with the tomato, rice, shredded cheese and spicy sauce. The small side of couscous with ever order is a nice addition. There is nothing that really stand out about this place, I'm never craving a Roti pita. But it's a nice alternative and a welcome change from the other sandwich stops I frequent for lunch.
I work right by Roti, and love how close it is to me. I think the food is really good (even when we have it catered in the quality stays the same). I agree it's a bit pricey, but what lunch place in the loop isn't?
Quality matches price here at one of the best lunch spots in the Loop - both high, and worth it! if you're in the mood for a bit of a splurge and something different than your usual $5 footlong at Subway, hit this place up. Their plates of meat/rice/salad are great, their sandwiches are bomb and their falafel rocks. and I've had a LOT of falafel (including that little place in the Village in NYC and L'As du fallafel in the Marais of Paris)
They're upfront with the health factor by comparing their chicken sandwich to say, Chipotle's chicken burrito on the wall, which is sweet. I had to search for an eternity for Sopraffina's and have yet to see nutritional info for Alonti's.
Roti caters to the masses by giving you a ton of options to "individualize" your order. it's amazing.
Toppings:
Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Tomato, Onion, Cucumber, Kalamata Olives, Roasted Peppers, Grilled Onions, orzo and couscous.
6 types of sauces: Greek vinaigrette, Tahini, Balsamic vinaigrette, Red Pepper Aioli, and Dill/Yogurt/Cucumber.
2 types of cheese: feta and asiago (I usually get both)
No partridge in a pear tree, but damn, do they try.
And heralding yet again the fabulousness of 2008/ever-evolving laziness of the human race: you can order via text message now too. http://gomobo.com/Orde...
Yes, you can have your pita and eat it too. They have an outdoor patio shared with Caffe Baci, which is nice for the three months of the year Chicago has decent weather, and it's right next to the river.
Nothing is going to hold a candle to Sultan's Market, but when I need a falafel fix, I can rely on Roti, conveniently located 1 block from my office.
Don't be deterred by the massive line that literally wraps around itself through the restaurant. It moves very quickly, and the yummy Mediterranean goodness that awaits you is well worth it. Set up like a high school cafeteria, you order your falafel, kabob, salad, whatever, and move on down the conveyor line. Be ready to choose your sauce (I recommend the cucumber dill), veggies (the cucumber/red onion/tomato combo is the best) and cheese (they have yummy feta!) on the quick because Roti is all about getting you through the line as quickly as possible.
I always seem to have an "eyes bigger than the stomach" issue when eating at Roti and pick up a side of hummus, served with 2 whole wheat pitas, but really, one falafel is going to fill you up. The hummus usually comes home with me. At a cool $8.90 for a falafel and fountain drink, it's a bit pricey, but you are getting loads of fresh veggies and sauces in that pita pocket.
Roti has TONS of outdoor seating, and on the bustling Riverside Plaza, its fun to do some people watching, mainly office drones and confused tourists getting off the Metra. Be prepared to be asked how to get on the free trolley down to Michigan Avenue. Even though I get bombarded with fanny-pack wearing soccer moms while noshing on my falafel, Roti is a solid Loop lunch pick.
I wish I worked closer to Roti, this place is dammmmmmmmmn good! I had the couscous salad with chicken. I added extra tomatoes, cucumber and feta. When I got to the register, that will be $11.13. Cha ching! Ouch, $11 for a salad!? They do charge and extra $.50 for "extras" (the tomato, cucumber and feta) the chicken was $2 more. No wonder that yummy "big" salad added up with a quickness! This salad was very HUGE and I ended up throwing out 1/3 of it. They gave me some pita bread that I didn't touch.
The guy let me try falafel since I never had it before. Wow, I can say that I'm a fan of falafel now! I can stop by the local Middle Eastern restaurants near my house to sample more at a lower cost. If you work near Union Station, stop by Roti. It's a nice change from the usual sandwich!
PS: They have outdoor seating on a very large patio. The inside is very cute, it's like you're in Greece!
Now that I'm vegetarian, my options are limited but Roti has excellent falafels and I'm always satisfied when putting them into a salad or a delish flat bread sandwich. I've also tried their brownies and they're perfect- just baked enough to form a solid but with that lingering essence of raw.
Still yum.
As a person constantly trying to balance the healthy/tasty seesaw, I really love Roti. You can go… Read more »
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