On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Loading...
Three simple letters descibe Sabri -- O.M.G. This food was so incredibly delicious, I ate more than any average-sized girl should be capable of. The naan was fresh and delicious, I will have dreams until the day I die about the frontier chicken and the chicken boti. I will definitely be back again and again.
I went on a Saturday night so it was jammed packed and there was a ~30 minute wait.
The overall atmosphere wasn't too great. Sort of a chaotic feel to the place.
We had the lamb karahi and mutton biryani (or was it goat biryani? cant remember). Wow! The lamb karahi especially was terrific!
Despite the "hectic" ambience, I loved the place, especially the food!
Yes, it is seriously this good. Pakistani food? Well think Indian food with all the vegetables replaced by meat!
The lamb dish I had was out of this world. I forgot exactly what it was (they have a big menu) but it came stewed in a tomato-y sort of gravy. The naan was fabulous: delicate, charred and with a smoky flavor, rubbed with oil and garlic. Go there now! (don't worry they're open till at least 11 PM). Oh ya, the service? It was mehh, but who cares, I'm all about the food!
I have now been to Sabri Nehari twice and each visit has been quite a dream. The vegetable samosas are divine. I've had the mutter paneer and it's so good, I want it for my last meal if I ever happen to be put on death row. Friends have ordered the frontier chicken, chicken biryani, chicken makani and the palak paneer and they tasted amazing. I would recommend either coming on a very empty stomach or splitting a dish with a friend, because you will get very full. My roommate and I split vegetable samosas and mutter paneer (with rice and naan) and still had leftovers. This is one of my most favorite places to take friends from out of town.
I see that some previous reviewers have complained about the service. We have had the same server both times and he was great. He's told us when we're ordering too much food (and he's been right!) and he has been quick to give us superb recommendations when we're not sure what to order. Our water was refilled quickly and he stopped by a few times to check on our progress. I thought he was great.
Parking is not super convenient. Thought I was safe parking on Campbell near Devon, under a street lamp, and my car got broken into (meh). Devon is crowded as heck and its difficult to find a spot. Not the restaurant's fault by any means, just wanted to share.
This is my first time dining out for Indian food on Devon avenue, and this was a good start. One of the food runners consistently threw the food on the table, and our server did a good job trying to communicate with us. At one point the manager did a great job explaining portions of the menu to us, which was very considerate.
The food was very good! Our app was very good, and our chicken curry and savory chicken were equally great! The dessert was interesting, but I'm glad I tried it.
Overall, this experience has opened my eyes to the Devon Ave experience, and I will return.
Must have : Frontier Chicken , simply outta the world
Decent: The Biriyani's
Avoid: The undercooked chapattis, be kind to your digestive enzymes and go for the naan's instead
Best Indian on Devon. We went here for the first time last weekend. I can only rave about the food. We started with samosa and pakora which were really really good. Our group did a family style thing where we split three different kinds of curry. The portions were huge and we all left stuffed. We ordered the frontier chicken, and two other kinds that I can't recall the names of but all three were delicious. The frontier chicken was DIVINE! I can't say enough about it. The service was great. Our waiter was incredibly helpful. The only negative is that they don't serve alcohol and you can't bring it in either. I assumed that it was BYOB so I shuffled in with my bottle of wine only to be told that we could not have it. I was really really disappointed and was ready to leave but decided to give my alcoholism a rest in the interest of trying the food. I'm so glad that I did! The food is worth a sober hour. Seriously. I was so entranced by the food that I didn't even mind sucking down a Diet Sprite with my meal.
Although the food is delectable at Sabri, there is something about the devon location that brings about quesy stomach. Everytime we've eaten here, people in my family have gotten sick. The last time was the the goat biryani, which was rotten and served to us after we had asked for chicken biryani. Go to the north ave location in Lombard, it is much cleaner and better imo.
Love Sabri Nehari.
My buddy who is pakistani brought us here for the butter chicken, Sabri Nehari beef, and Pakcola!
I wish I could tell you what to order - but every dish we had was very good. Bring someone who understands the menu and you'll be much happier when you walk out the door.
This place was suggested by a friend of mine who lives in Chicago.. When I went to Devon street it was like being in native downtown (Chennai, India) except all the shops were selling food! I am so so glad I made the 30 min drive to get here and spent another 20 mins in finding a parking spot in the end it was totally worth it.
we asked the waiter what chicken would taste good and he said everything they make is delicious.. I was like OMG what a pompous little place and i was sooo wrong the food here can compete with chicago's best deep dish pizza.
Here's my order,
1. Frontier Chicken
2. Lamb Biriyani
3. Chicken Boti.
4. Onion Parata
5. Masala chai
For 2 people I'd say we got greedy.. but trust me I did open up my extra stomach space for this food.
so I'd say its a MUST MUST go to this place.
I still can't really be called an Indian food expert, because I eat the stuff that people here in the US eat (Northern Indian food or Pakistani food, mostly) like 3 times a year. I eat fucking Ethopian food more often than that.
But anyways, this is the best spot on Devon. Definitely try the Briyani, the kebab patties (more like minced meat then kebabs). Sooooper fast service (this is important on a man-date.. cue man-date music, please). Lots of spice, lots of taste, lots of culture (the brown to non-brown ratio is 10-1).
I even spotted a bunch of kids that looked like me when I was 8 years old: eating chicken nuggets and french fries.
Went here on a Friday afternoon with a friend, and had a pretty good time.
I ordered the Frontier Chicken, and she had Chicken Briyani. The waiter came back after a couple of minutes, and apparently they didn't have any chicken for the briyani, but plenty for the frontier chicken. We got the briyani plain, which was competely fine. We ended up sharing the two dishes, and still had some to bring home afterwards.
The dishes were great, very flavorful. The service was okay, nothing spectacular. Pricing was great too.
Will definitely come back again.
Hands down, This is the best Desi place in Chicago! I have been eating here for the last 3 years and I have never been disappointed. Their quality is consistent and their food tastes better than most mughlai restaurants I have eaten at in Delhi.
My favorite dishes here are the goat biryani, nihari, butter chicken, frontier chicken and karahi chicken. The food is spicy and rich but the flavors are to die for. I would say their curry dishes are very strong and while they do an OK job on the kebabs, its definitely not their speciality. Having said that, I should clarify that they do meet the mark.
This place is better for nonvegetarians as the variety and quality of meat dishes is phenominal. They seem to be improving their vegetarian options but its still not their focus and vegetarian dishes seem to be conceptualised here(I think) as side dishes accompanying their meat entrees.
Ambience wise, the staff here is friendly and its usually a busy place. The decor is quite unaesthetic and they do not serve alcohol. So if you are looking to drink and eat, this is not the place to be..
There is very few places that make my mouth water but this one is one of those few. I was first introduced to this restaurant several years ago through a friend in the Chicago area; he was from Pakistan and used to go here about 5 times a week (usually a good sign). I am indian and love eating good indian food but the problem is many times restaurants confuse cream and oil with good taste. Thankfully Sabri DOESN'T do that.
I am giving this restaurant 5 stars because of the quality of the food ; the ambience is ok and the bathrooms are par maybe subpar. Now lets get to the food :-)
If there was only dish to have the menu have the frontier chicken ; I couldn't believe the tenderness of the meat ; the freshness of the seasoning and the hotness (it's not too hot but enough to make u go yep that's good). The chicken biryani is awesome as well but you must have the frontier chicken here.
Tips :
1. Make sure to order the Frontier Chicken ; you will not be disappointed
2. If you are going in the evening make sure to allow ample time to be seated ( this place is always packed in the evenings)
My mouth is still waiting for the next time it can experience frontier chicken can't wait to go again.
We were there August 7th. The service was excellent and attentive, but this time the food did not quite so impress me. I'm not sure what it was. The food was not quite as spicy as I remembered it from the past - though that was to the liking of other friends I was with. Then, there was the crying baby at another table. Maybe that was it.
Anyway, this is still an excellent choice especially when you have guests who may be ambivalent about Indian food.
Oh yeah - and because of other reviewers I finally tried the goat biryani and it was excellent! Thanks to my yelp brethren who constantly mention this.
Yeah, another place we visited because of Yelp reviews.
This place was awesome, such a great…
Read more »
I had a delightful first meal at Sabri Nehari last night. Wasn't sure where to eat on Devon but, once again, Yelp did me right.
The dining room is large but not cavernous, and the decor is both pleasant and simple. And the service! Our waiter was cheery, professional, and quick to make great suggestions. As soon as we were seated, out came a plate of cucumber, onion, and tomato, two sauces, and a pitcher of water. Booyakasha!
The (vegetarian) dal palak and samosas are tasty if a little salty. I didn't try any meat dishes, but my friends weren't complaining. All said, our meal of 3 entrees, naan, rice, samosas, and sodas came to $50 after tax and tip. Trust me, this one's a keeper.
Great food, good service.
Make sure you get the Frontier Chicken, delicious !
Although I'm not Desi by birth, I am by association. I eat Desi food regularly and have to say that Sabri is about the only place on Devon that maintains its standard.
The food is authentic, the portions are generous and service is excellent. While most items on the menu taste great, I have to recommend the "Frontier Chicken" and "Karhai Gosht", I don't have to talk about "Chicken Makhni" its simply amazing.
It took us forever to get a table, even with a reservation. The Palak Paneer was super oily. Others who had meat dishes were not particularly thrilled. They actually ran out of vegetable samosas. Huh. Garlic naan good. Beverage selection not so good.
Pretty decent food however please yelp stop listing this an Indian restaurant, because it is not. Heck there are more traditional Afghanistan dishes (says so on the menu) dishes than Indian.
There are not many any vegitarian dishes.
The food was very good but I have several major complaints. There were several hairs in my food, the lettuce was brown, my table cloth had major stains on it, and the plates were not very clean, plusI never saw my waiter with the exception of my order and dropping off the food (although I am sure I could have waved them down). In fact the guy running the place noticed we had not been waited on so he came up to help us (which I really appreciated). The food was not as spicy as I expected.
I don't complain I just don't go back.
I can understand this was a bad experience that could be chalked up to it being busy so I could be talked into trying again.
However, there are better restaurants to choose from.
I thought we were going to an Indian restaurant but was pleasantly surprised to find that it says Pakistani restaurant on the sign, but regardless of the mistaken country, the food is EXCELLENT! We had the Frontier Chicken and it was very flavorful and just scrumptous. The portions are a very good size and the restaurant is quite large and tables are comfortably spaced apart.
The restaurant was quite busy so that's always a good sign and our server was quite the entertainer. Overall, excellent food, the service is decent and reasonably priced food so, yes, go to Sabri Nehari.
I luv Sabri Nehari! They are the reason why I love Pakistani food ;)
Definitely try the Seekh Kabob and Chaplee Kabob. If you order biryani, watch out because they give a lot.
The restaurant itself doesn't seem the cleanest, and the bright lighting is horrible...I feel like I'm eating in a bright red velvet surgical room. If you live close by, I'd recommend you order take-out.
So many good places to eat on Devon that it may be a bit arbitrary to compare them all. I'm glad the group I had dinner with met up at Sabri because I got introduced to one of those good places to get my eats on.
I was one of the last ones to show up and immediately saw that almost everyone was having the mango shake. Why should I be left out of such a silky smooth and yummy mango orgy? I'll admit that I had to work hard from ordering another!
I appreciated the flow of plates coming out from the kitchen as it all looked very good. I had the Chicken Boti and it was good and spicy enough. I had plenty left over for lunch the next day. I also enjoyed the vegetable samosas with both chutney sauces.
The service was pretty good and they were attentive with our big group. I'm sure to come back for sure and maybe often!
Ok, first things first: Order the mango shake thing. It's pretty fantastic. I sucked that baby down in about 3 minutes flat, and didn't show no shame at the slurpy noises. None. So good.
Ok, now...we can continue.
Location: Admittedly, I lived in this neck of the woods (about a mile east on Devon) for about 3 years. However, when you are young, naive, and boring you do not travel outside the comfort zone. This meant that I ate at several places: 1. Clarke's on Belmont, because it was 3 steps off the red line. 2. The cafeteria. 3. Carmen's Pizza. BORING.
Had I just forced myself to walk a bit further down Devon...a world of dining opportunities would have enveloped me in spicy, savory, sweet mother of god mango goodness. Who knew? Sigh.
So finally, dinner at Sabri. Very good. Fantastic service...I had the chicken boti, as recommended by the server and it was just the right amount of spice for my Midwestern mouth. (not much, but at least I tried!). The appetizers (veggie samosas and fried veggies) were tasty). Tip: Do NOT order the naan before your meal, or you'll be stuffed. The plain kind is down right addictive, the variety with garlic, onions and cheese is without a doubt, off the charts. Just trust me.
Great company, obviously :)
For about $25 (with tip) I left stuffed and with enough chicken boti for dinner (read: breakfast) the next day.
Wander. Find something new.
I've been to Sabri a million times and somehow have never managed to write a review.
Their Frontier Chicken is to die for, and they put cilantro IN their basmati rice. What's not to love about that? Anyone with a heavy hand for cilantro is a friend of mine.
Friendly service, easy menu and solid food every time.
I do have one small gripe though that resulted from a recent visit. My white-as-they-come mother needed some plain yogurt to dull the spice in one of the dishes and they charged her $2 for this little bowl of yogurt. We were all surprised to see it on the bill.
Either way, Sabri is a go-to spot for my family and also a great place to take anyone who is an Indo/Pak cuisine virgin!
Went back last night for a late dinner and had forgotten about their no BYOB rule. That's OK, the night was not ruined. The food was sooo good and I ate sooo much that it's probably best that I didn't have alcohol.
Eating at Sabri Nehari makes me want to visit Pakistan. But of course, I cannot. The Taliban is really moving in and I worry (not only for culinary reasons) that Pakistan is going to turn into another Afghanistan . The US is really making a noble effort as is England. Although, the rest of Western Europe needs to get with it and send in troops to help fight these Taliban bastards.
Moral of the story: Sabri Nehari makes good food and living under Taliban repression may impact any future culinary greatness.
Hooray! This restaurant didn't make me sick and the food was damn good. My bf and I ordered the… Read more »
Decided to try this place seeing all the relatively good reviews, but the place didn't do it for me. It was a pretty bad experience for me.
I didn't scan the reviews well enough and walked into this place in the mood for Indian. Whoops - I guess I deserved the experience because of my ignorance.
The dining room is clean and well maintained, but the lighting is terrible. Too bright and pretty uncomfortable. I didn't care much for the food. The samosas were good, but this chicken dish we ordered was literally tempura fried chicken nuggets with Buffalo wing sauce. The nuggets were tasty, but it was definitely not an authentic dish and no one will ever convince me that this was NOT Buffalo wing sauce. Had I been in a bar, I would've been raving about the hot wing nuggets but in an authentic Pakistani restaurant - no way. That is unless Buffalo wings had Pakistani origins. Then I'd apologize for my ignorance but I doubt that's the case.
Also got the Dal? It wasn't very appetizing, and that was before I found the big long white hair in it.
Some good things about this place are the service and the portion size. There are 3 or 4 guys hovering over you to make sure everything is a-OK. The menu has pictures of everything, which is a nice touch but when Pakistani food is concerned does a picture really tell you anything?
The food came out less than 5 minutes after we placed our order - our entire dinner lasted about a half hour. Beware - the portions are family size and enormous. We ordered enough for a family of four and got out of there for less than $40.
Yummy and Delicious..
Try not to over-order because they are hefty, large portions. For two people we got the following
Veg Samosa - order comes with 4 pieces, I just wish they gave out individual orders.
Lamb curry - YUMMY! Kinda tons of bones, but the sauce was tasty and not that spicy. It was moderately spicy.
1 Paratha - tasty and not to oily! Large piece and we have a quarter of it left over.
Bill was $22 after tax and tip and we still brought leftovers home!
I don't quite know how to put this...but this place make we want to cry tears of glory. Seriously, I live at least a 30 minute drive from here and regularly make the trek to indulge myself with frontier chicken and chicken boti. It's that good.
Everything still amazing as ever, but the menus! Oh my, they're so filthy: falling apart with food stains all over them. I'm not picky about stuff like that, but it's bad. That being said, they still get 5 stars, that's how good the food continues to be...
My favorite "desi" place in Chicago and among the best and most comprehensive mughlai joints in town… Read more »
The boyfriend and I were driving back from visiting his family in the suburbs, when I realised Devon Avenue was on our way. I persuaded him to stop for food, because I had a major craving for curry.
We picked Sabri Nehari at random- I remember hearing good things about it, so we walked in. The man at the door who seated us was very nice. We sat down, checked out the menu (a good selection, but I thought the menu seemed quite small compared to some other places).
We ordered karahi gosht (with lamb), the beef boti, vegetable samosas, rice and naan (we made the mistake of ordering two portions of rice- they are HUGE and more than enough for two people).
The vegetable samosas were perfectly fried and filled with curry and potatoes. They were awesome accompanied with raita and the tamarind chutney. Our entrees did take a little while to come out, but the boti was charred to perfection, and my gosht was delicious, but not as spicy as I'd anticipated (next time I will ask for it spicier). The lamb was bone-in, but really tender and perfectly flavored. Our naan were HUGE and fluffy, we had leftovers of everything except the boti, which my boyfriend practically inhaled.
The service was pretty good as far as places on Devon go. Also, I'm really particular about Pakistani food having grown up near Bradford, England, where we have a substantial Pakistani population and some amazing restaurants. Sabri Nehari came closest to the great food at those restaurants.
We'll be back!
This is the best greasy-spoon Pakistani restaurant on all of Devon! Sabri Nehari isn't much to look at, there is no decor, but the food there is great!
Things that keep me coming back are:
Frontier Chicken
Seekh Fry
Seekh Kabab
Grilled Fish
Biryani
I'm not a big fan of Nehari, but others have told me it's okay. My Pakistani family (from MD) visits us just go they can go to Sabri because it reminds them so much of back home.
I'm not eating much meat these days, but if I do choose to indulge, it has to be at Sabri!
Holy crap. Best. Food. Ever.
Here's what happened.
1) I went to this place, and had my first-ever morsels of Pakistani food. It was pretty ridiculously great, with amazing flavors that I have never tasted before.
2) Then, I went home and texted my buddy who lives in LA. I said, "I just had the most frickin ridiculously great Pakistani food ever." He texts me back from California, "Oh, Sabri Nehari on Devon?"
Yes. Yes it was. Turns out this place is famous the world over. Go there, and eat their food. You will find it to be delicious.
A reliable Pakistani restaurant on Devon. Much more Pakistani options than traditional "Indian" food as this restaurant is often mislabeled as. I feel that it is an art to balance the spices so that the flavors in the food still shine through. My favorite here is the Maagz Nihari and they also have a great grilled fish on the menu.
I chose this place based on Yelp reviews, really enjoyed the food here but still had a pretty weird experience overall.
Our waiter went out of his way to point out "milder" entrees when we sat down... ok, we're white, I get it. So what happened when I ordered the Nehari? He explains to me what it is and that it's spicy, and flips the menu back to some other entrees I don't want. Ok. So I say no, no I am sure, and I have to go back and forth like this for literally 2 minutes until he finally takes my order.
The kicker is that the heavily suggested (to say the least) frontier chicken was spicier than my nehari!
Overall the food was awesome. We almost ate all of the delectable tamarind chutney on our veggie samosas, which were great. The frontier chicken was delicious, the garlic naan was very good too. I didn't think the nehari was worth raving about, the flavors were subtle, I would have thought a little more spice would have made the dish more interesting. I'd rather try a chicken dish next time... Spicy, thanks!
-2 stars for endless stereotyping of my group, although service was otherwise very prompt. Also, someone who worked there was watching Youtube with the volume turned up EXTREMELY loud, disturbing the whole restaurant. A second wtf moment for the evening. Otherwise this place has just a blah, nothing-special atmosphere, which is typical of this stretch of Devon I guess.
I mean, the food was great and let's be honest that's why you're going here anyway. I'll go back, but probably explore a few other places where they'll give me what I order first!
i tried nihari at another pakistani restaurant on the devon strip and finally made it to the place that names itself after the house specialty.
i was not disappointed. i ate sliced cucumbers with in-house made raita and chutney, seriously the best sauces of this kind in town. pefect with my apps-shammi kabob & beef samosas.
the nihari was rich in flavor, served with a generous side of fresh ginger & jalapeno slices. spicy goodness that comes out of your ears. this dish is hearty & best served with plain nan.
i also tried the dal palak, also quite rich in flavor, teamed up with plain paratha fried to a golden brown (!!!) one of the nicest paratha i have ever eaten.
eating food in this area is always good, so i was wondering what made this place really stand out. one thing that was noticable was the super fresh herbs & spices screaming from the food. and then i let him talk me into the mango lassi instead of a kulfi.
and i knew.
it's the best mango lassi i have ever had.
If I could be buried with anything it would be the frontier chicken and chicken boti from Sabri Nehari. I have been back here more times than I want to admit and firmly believe these are the best two dishes on the menu. If you love spicy food (and not to judge, but if you don't I find you highly suspect) this is the place for you. Don't make the mistake of a lifetime and pass this place up.
11pm Sunday night on Devon street there was a block party going on and my best friend and I had NO CLUE. The neighborhood was bustling and hopping - children, newborns, pre-teen, teenagers, middle-age, seniors all hanging out and celebrating Pakistan's Independence day.
Have you ever been sunset blvd in L.A. or las vegas blvd in Vegas? This was Devon street version. Modified cars with the glow lights, hip hop music in Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu or one of the 16 official languages, the Pakistan flag and cruising for girls.
We stopped in Sabri because it was packed like a night club, line out the door, tables filled, mountain of take out orders, and the waiters in black uniforms. The waiters are running around creating faux earthquakes and sweat dripping down their forehead. We absolutely love Indian food and Susa is learning Hindi. (I only know "Thank you" and "food is very good")
If Sabri was in my neighborhood I would come here AT LEAST once a week. Frontier chicken, beef samosa, tikka chicken, daal, beef marinated with yogurt and 2 nanns. The frontier chicken consist of my two loves, fresh jalapenos and curry spice. Tikka chicken was moist, thoroughly cooked and smoky grilled crispy bits. I didn't even bother with utensils. It's was a good thing I can wipe my plates clean with nann or I would have to LICK the plate.
Who am I kidding? I WOULD lick the plate (but to show some class I would wait until my dinner guest leave the table)
BESTEST MOST AWESOMELY BITCHIN GROOVY INDIAN/PAKISTAN FOOD!!!
*see photos: our meal http://www.yelp.com/bi...
beef samosa http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Ladies and Gents, the nihari was triumphant! I had that with some naan, garlic naan, fools. Yeeah. Uhhh!
Stuff was spicy, too. The plate of fresh veggies was very good, too. I really like having something fresh to chomp into whenever I'm eating something very stewed, saucy, and spicy. It provides contrast, emphasis, and boost virility (look out ladies!).
They also refilled that veg plate for me at no charge, several times, which is cool, by the way. I'll eat the hell outta some raw tomatoes and jalapenos, I'll tell you what.
Also, just to be a jerk, I ate here during Ramadan, at 2pm. The upside is we had the place to ourselves and had like three servers to ourselves.
This street is fuckin' cool, too. It's like a cross roads of all things "Eastern" and "Muslim."
Does my having visited Sabri Nehari three weekends in a row mean that I am addicted to this place? Well, by midweek I, without fail, seem to find myself dreaming about their scrumptious goat curry, their flavorful Frontier Chicken, their creamy matter paneer, and their tender mutton biriyani. The aforementioned goat curry is not listed on the menu but will be served upon request. The mango lassi and naan at Sabri are by far the best I have tasted in Chicago. The generous portions also mean that there is plenty left over for a second meal. Okay, doing the math and including the leftover meals, that's 6 Sabri Nehari meals in 3 weeks. I guess I am hooked.
Chicago, IL
Category: Indian
Chicago, IL
Category: Vegetarian
Chicago, IL
Category: Indian
Park Ridge, IL
Category: Indian
Chicago, IL
Category: Indian
asian food is my favorite. i have spent a lot of…
Recommended places for the visitor....can't wait…
Here's the South Asian places in Chicago I've…
India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Oh My! Some of…
Just like the famous diva Tina Turner's song…
The Indian/Pakistani eateries that stole my heart,…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in…
Places that I enjoy for some good and spicey…
