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It's not often that I want to open a review with "For the LOVE OF GOD, people," but here we are.
Usmania is Pakistani food. It's greasy. It's meaty. The waiters don't care if you live or die. It's not too smart to go here and then ding it for, well, for being a Pakistani restaurant. If you require health-conscious, vegetable-based dishes with polite service, may I suggest you go elsewhere?
Also, unlike several Indian restaurants I could mention, I have never seen a puddle of vomit decorating the parking lot or the sidewalk directly outside - which on Devon is an endorsement in and of itself.
This is one of the more well known spots on Devon Street - the place to go for cheap Pakistani food.
Mos of the entrees are good - any of the kebabs and you cant go wrong with the beef nihari.
Safe choice and the interior seems cleaner than the other places on devon.
Food here is good but not $15 a dish good.
They are open until 4am.
Service is super shitty. Long waits for no reason.
I will highly suggest to stay out of this joint unless you really really have to.
People thought this was:
I love that this place is open till 3:30 am. It was midnight and my friend's flight had landed, so he said let's go here. Now, Indo-Pakistani food might not be the best food to eat right before you go to sleep (morning issues), but i'm gonna say it's worth the trouble. On to what we ate...
Seekh kabab - good flavor and was neatly shaped into sausages, if you can call sausage "neatly shaped". The texture was lacking somewhat, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.
Nehari - spicy beef stew. The specialty of the restaurant. Pretty lively. Also the stew serves as a dipping sauce for your naan, and as a topping to your basmati rice. A multi-dimensional dish, kinda like what Mark DeRosa, super-utility guy, did for the Cubs last year. These guys sure are convenient with their dishes.
Behari kabab - beef strips pretty much. I don't have much to say about it, sorry. It was tasty.
Tandoori chicken - disappointed in this dish. The chicken was dry and lacking in taste. That doesn't mean i didn't eat it though.
Dessert - they brought out this cubed ice cream with rice noodles on top. I think the flavor was strawberry. It tasted like strawberry. I'm going with strawberry. Not bad.
Please forgive me for any spelling mistakes, these are tough words to spell. I even asked for the menu before i left to memorize the spelling. That's how much care i put into this review. Damn you judgemental yelpers =). I can see myself going here after the bars close for a nice and very heavy meal.
People thought this was:
I went to this place twice in the last two weeks and that is how much I like it.
Their chicken boti is surprisingly juicy and tender after heavy grilling. Lamb dishes were worthy to raise dead to life. My stomach did not complaint aftermath and neither did Justin's, which is virtually a good sign given the mix of dairy, spices and his fragile stomach. Added the hearty size of naan and rice, what an amazing treat!
Atmosphere is nice. Their setting is always sparkling. There's also extra dimension to this place, there is absolute absence of alcohol. "We apologize, we do not serve alcohol" the server apologized gently. My dinner was absolutely sober and I felt "detoxed", if I shall devise the hip word. Solid four stars and Usmani shall remain in my heavy rotation.
PS: Female bathroom was spectacularly clean with convenient basin placed inside the cubicle. This might be a frivolous detail to the review. After all what impact does clean bathroom has on kitchen, but my critical gaze was set to rest after seeing how much emphasis they placed on hygiene.
People thought this was:
Moving to Denver recently, if there is one thing that I miss a lot besides my dear lake Michigan. Its USMANIA. Yes that's how much I love their food. Talkin about the "Desi" one here.
I have to admit I am kind of dissapointed at some of the reviews here.
If the food is oily. Heck! its Pakistani food. That's how Pakistanis roll. There HAS to be a layer of oil before you get to see the actual curry or "saalan"
If its too spicy for you. We are talking about "authentic" Pakistani food. Have to have that spice where you sometimes start sweating. And trust me they have definately toned it down to suit the Desi American palette.
Lousy staff..... Used to be 2 years ago & there is no doubt about that but since they moved across the street. Staff seems to be pretty decent now considering other restaurants on Devon. Reminds me why you pay a dollar or two more for every dish. Or maybe that justifies the portions then. Yeah you can order two dishes & three people can fill themselves up & that is minus the drinks or desserts.
So this is the deal. First time I had Usmania food was at someones graduation party five years ago. Got hooked up to the Biryani right there.
Since then me, family, friends, even co workers have gone there numerous times for their Biryani, Chicken Makhni, Nehari, Chicken Boti, Seekh Kabab & their Brain masala. Yes you read that right, "Brain Masala" from Usmania is the only time I am eating a sheep's brain. I don't know how they make it but they serve it with some sliced ginger, green chillies & coriender. Ouhhh Yum yum yum. All you need is a warm "naan" & you are good to go.
Recently I went there for a food tasting (yes this time it was for MY wedding food) tasted a little bit of everything & boy oh boy being a "Pathan" woman's daughter if there is a place to eat "Chapli kababs" in Chicago. Got it right Usmania again. They were actually large enough to be called Chapli kabab. Tasted their Usmania Chicken. All I gotta say is just try it.
Now last but not the least. Dessert!!!!!
Its usually pretty simple or maybe Desi restaurants in America chose to keep it simple. Their kheer is okay. Tasted their Kulfi for the first time. They had topped it off with some noodles & some "Ruh Afza" ??? Try it & you won't be dissapointed. Their "Falooda" .......I'll be honest its always a tie between Sabri & Usmania on that one.
If you are one of those people who are far away from Pakistan & crave their wives' or moms' "masalaydaar" desi food or if you are one of those who have always smelled your co workers or friend's food & curious to try it but get scared away by the oil & spice. Give Usmania a try & you won't be disappointed.
People thought this was:
Excellent food! Great food in fact. Service totally sucks! It is horrible service. But I will continue to eat there because I go to a restaurant to eat not have my ego massaged. Keep that in mind and if you need to be pampered by a waiter do not eat in there you will be very disappointed and it will ruin a great meal for you and everyone else you are complaining to about how bad the service is.
This a good place if you want Pakistani food. Not spicy at all, to some its a disappointment. typically north Indian and Pakistani food are not as spicy as southern Indian. I personally prefer spicy but at Usmania the falavour was there without the extra spice. Beryani and grilled meats are pretty good. I didnt try any of their curry dishes.
the staff is very friendly and helpful. the lace looks clean and has a good vibe to it. they give you lots of food for a very reasonable price.
my gf loves the mutton biryani there. rest of the food is ok/good but everytime i see the bill i wonder if it is worth it... not entirely sure but worth a visit.
I had carryout and enjoyed the Frontier Chicken and naan. I think it was the best naan I've had, actually. It was a tad overpriced, but you get free parking and a clean restaurant, so I think it makes up for it. The staff was very friendly, but like I said, our time there was limited.
This restaurant was a big dissappointment and we felt totally ripped-off. It looks nice and clean on the outside (especially compared with some of the other restaurants on Devon) but that is deceiving. We ordered the Chicken Quorma and the Daal Fry. Guess what? You have to pay for an order of rice with these dishes (cost us $4.40, for rice!), even though they are both typically served with rice. The Daal was terrible...it had a burned flavor that persisted with us late into the evening. The Chicken Quorma's spices were not balanced and it wasn't very appealing. Both dishes were very oily...Chicken Quorma should saucy. The only thing about his meal that was any good was the Tandoori Naan, which is probably not made on site (and cost $1.00 each). We were sat in the middle of a high traffic area and our table was bumped repeatedly by the busy and impolite wait staff.
Basically, this place was rip-off and we both felt like we had been had by these people.
People thought this was:
Its like coming home...
So my friend Shawn who is from Singapore always professed a love for Indo-Pak food, but always implies that most of it is vegetarian. In these situations I always refer to section P of the playbook, immediately drop what I am doing and take these poor souls to Usmania. Basically for those who don't know, Pakistanis are big fans of meat. So if your experience of Indo-Pak food is some over priced chickpeas floating in oil then check it out.
Atmosphere: Its actually a decently looking restaurant by Devon standards. You roll by shops until you see this monstrosity of a sign indicated you are there. While inside you see a clean, fairly bland interior. You are not here for the ambiance I remind you, just the food. Oh of note, the bathrooms are clean and nice.....something us Asians are still working on. Ohh yeah its Devon, parking is an absolute pain in the ass.
Service: Ranging from aged 16-65 these gents are usually really nice and quiet helpful. Most will speak english quite well, definitely enough to get across what you need. Other than that no real complaints.
Food: oooooh so tasty. Truly if you want to know what Pakistani food is this is the place. Yes the meat can be fatty and food can be greasy but if you want to check it out some suggestions: 1) Frontier Chicken - mod hot and spicy shredded chicken 2) Nihari - a chunk of beef in a brown gravy eaten with bread 3) Chicken Tikka - mod spicy chicken with chili 3) Biryani (Mutton or Chicken) - a rice dish mixed with seasoned meat. I think are all very good, then again I am biased. Finally Naan...oooh....its long flat-bread that is a meal itself, so warm and so good, usually accents the above dishes.
Mommy Factor: My mommy loves this place, and I think your mommy could too if she is adventurous.
Date Factor: Now don't go proposing at this place. This would be a decent "try something different place" but bring plenty of Tic-Tacs for later.
Bling: Actually pretty reasonable. Most dishes that serves 2 people are about 8 bucks. Naans are about a dollar apiece. So I usually get a couple of dishes with a couple of Naan per person and that works out great.
Upshot: Some of the tastiest Indo-Pak food in the City. Not as refined as an India House, but better food for your money.
People thought this was:
Well, I am very surprised by some of the reviews on here. I took my family here last night due to the recommendations on the LTH Forum. (google it). The prices are very close to Khans and it was a choice between the two - in the end we chose Usmaniya because it is more of a fine-dining atmosphere.
The comments on service especially surprise me because our servicer could not have been better. Our waiter had my whole family rolling with laughter, and our food came quickly. When we had questions about how things should be eaten, then answered them without making us feel uncomfortable. They brought us extra salad and nan without charge, and at the end of the meal brought my father Pakistani tea since he'd had so many questions about the culture/food. Service could not have been better.
We ordered the Chicken Boti, which was a little too spicy for my taste. We also got the karahi gost, which was absolutely awesome. It looked nearly the same as the Nehari so we kept getting the two confused, but the nehari definitely had more spice to it. The mutton biriyani was also great, and of course the nan was fantastic, and our meal started with a complimentary salad with a yogurt sauce and a tamarind sauce.
Give it a try - it was more then enough food for our large group
People thought this was:
This place came highly recommended by several different Pakistani cabbies. I knew they were on to something when several of them mentioned the same place when I asked what they thought was the best Pakistani food in Chicago was.
THEY WERE DEFINTIELY RIGHT!
Not sure what their relation is to a restaurant by the same name on the south side of the street but this one is much larger and has a parking lot.
The food is excellent, extremely fresh and the staff is very, very nice. I love a restaurant that leaves a pitcher of water on the table.
My ladyfriend got a BBQ spread that was awesome. I got some sort of Lamb dish, I forget, but it was also excellent. Their Nan was fresh and very large. I always know we have come up on something good when we go to an ethnic restaurant and are one of the few dinners that is not the nationality of the type of food being served. This place is exactly that style. Several of the dinners were in full Burkas, so don't get weirded out.
As I said, the food is excellent and owners and staff very friendly and helpful. I know there are a lot of choices on Devon but can't see any others being much better.
Prices are amazing and portions are very generous. Especially the grill selections.
RrL
People thought this was:
We always go to Sabri Nehari but decided to try something different since people seem to rave about Usmania--but we were sorely disappointed. I don't know if it was an off day or we just didn't order what's supposed to be good on the menu, but it was pretty disgusting. We got frontier chicken rice and the chicken was so undercooked and kinda melted in your mouth...gross. I don't even remember what else we ordered, but obviously it was unmemorable. Food is overpriced for a Pakistani restaurant but then again, so is Sabri's. I guess you pay for the atmosphere since it really is a step above most Pakistani food places but I'd rather go somewhere without the frills and get great food for less.
Another Pak speciality restaurant. This place has only 3 specialities:
1. Goat Biryani
2. Chicken Makhani
3. Matka Gostht
Come to think of it, this IS actually thier menu!. Ofcourse you have the nan's and rice etc. which no one ever eats. But all three of thier specialities are finger lickin good. The tandoori is also good, but it didnt taste like authentic pakistani tandoori. It tasted more like microwave/electric cooked rather than the real clay Tandoor. The Nan proportions are also good. Chicken makhani tasted rich, most probably due to the butter and fat. Goat Biryani was spicy and lip smacking. The gosht was tender and tasted fresh, so thats good news.
Hospitality is good. Service is fast. They have opened a bigger place exactlly opposite to the old Usmania.
Prices are a bit high. But the proportions are big, true to Pakistani hospitality.
Advice: Butter Chicken and Nan? Usmania.
People thought this was:
who knew chickpeas could taste this awesome? It was one buttery meal, and I'm definitely heading back!
i went to the usmani that had its own parking.
food was average. had the butter chicken that included 5 miniscule pieces of chicken. the "salad" was a tiny portion of shredded lettuce, onions, and 3 slices of cucumbers. the dressing was watery. the water was warm, no ice.
service was horrendous. our waiter dropped off the menus and did not speak to us. i dont know if it was because we were not accompanied by a male? he didnt even pour our water. hard to understand him. and didnt check on us once. they were very slow. took an hours just to get his attention to request our check. we were the only non-indians there an they made us feel very unwelcom. i wouldnt go back again.
A disappointment. It's pretty fancy looking for a Devon place, but that doesn't carry over to the food. This place claims to be serving up Hyderbadi food (i.e. the name Usmania)... The curries (dishes with gravy) are inedible because of the half an inch of oil that's floating over the entire top. It's like the Exxon Valdez crashed in their kitchen. When we asked a waiter for an extra plate to spoon out the oil, he apologized saying that the cook has been told to lessen the oil, but that he refuses saying it makes the dish taste better and people like it. The biryani and kebabs were good, but I'm not going to come to this relatively more expensive place for that when Khan is just up the road and I can get decent biryani at Ghareeb for half the cost. Surprisingly, there are no appetizers. That's not a deal breaker obviously, but come on, how hard is it to have a samosa or a pakora on the menu? It's not like it's unheard of... The prices were also too high.
Please distinguish this one from the desi Chinese food place across the street. I have yet to go there but sharing the name Usmania doesn't exactly entice me.
People thought this was:
I was really excited when my friend suggested that I try an Indian-Chinese restaurant. Usmania somewhat met my expectations although it was definitely more Indian than Chinese (even on the menu in terms of number of offerings). We started with pakora in both Manchurian and Szechuan sauces. I was told that "Manchurian" is a sauce that they use specifically in India for Chinese food. As an Chinese-American, I have never heard of this sauce so that seemed like a plausible enough explanation. We ordered the pakora to be medium spiciness, which was our biggest mistake. Eating a single piece of pakora shot spice through my system (and those of my meal-mates) that we could not shake for the rest of the meal. The mango lassi was the saving grace here. Needless to say we ordered everything else with spice level of "1". I wasn't impressed with the chicken noodle dish we got, but the mongolian beef and szechuan chicken were pretty good.
All in all, an interesting experience, but the "Chinese" food does not taste Chinese so be aware of that. Also note that they serve the Indian Pakistani food at the larger shop across the street; this location only does Indian and Chinese.
I went here with a Pakistani friend and the two of us got four entres (enough for four or five people--we had leftovers). One was frontier chicken, which had a great ginger and cilantro flavor. The other was some beef pot roast in a brown gravy. Then some lamb rice dish that I found boring and a lamb (or was it goat?) in a red sauce. I enjoyed all of them, the first and the last especially. I wish there were more veggies on the menu (like a saag paneer or baingan bharta that you'd find in an Indian restaurant), but this was a great, albeit very meaty, meal. I'll go back!
People thought this was:
Usmania is great! I've tried many of the pakistani restaurants on devon and overall i'd put usmania as the best out there. The food is authentic despite the "western" look"and decor. My favorites there are the biryani, nihari, frontier chicken (if you like ginger). Note for Vegetarians: Pass on this place (and on most other pakistani places on devon).
We ordered 8 dishes and only 1 was good, the chicken biriyani which I would go back for. The naan bread was very good. Everything else was sub-par, including the murg makhani which was heavy on the oil and too tomato-y.
People thought this was:
My friend and I were the only caucasian americans in the place, and we genuinely felt like it affected our service: I have NEVER experienced this before in my life and I was apalled. They tried to seat us in the corner and seemed annoyed when we decided to take another table towards the front and middle of the restaurant. Our food took FOREVER and we saw plate after plate (Two people ordered the same dish as I) brought to other tables, and when we finally got our food it was BURNED. Badly, noticably burned.
My friend was there to write a paper on the Chicago Indian/Pakistani culture and neighborhood and was extremely unfamiliar with the food. She wanted to ask questions but the staff was just plain rude and unapproachable. We sat there for well over an hour waiting for our check and the staff seemed to almost RUN from us when we approached, but we saw other people getting top notch service. It was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life and I was so frustrated I almost cried. We just wanted to get out of this place.
Also note: this place is kind of permeated with an air of cheapness, from the tables and chairs, to the carpeting, silverware, flatware, etc. When I told a friend we ate here, he stated he had before and had insects in his rice. Food bad, service apalling, dirty, unfriendly, vegetarian unfriendly too!
People thought this was:
I think this place serves breakfast which I really love. The chef used to work at Shan on Foster and I love his breakfasts - I gained 10 lbs from his food. Try the Halwa Puri. Very fattening so don't order it every day like I did. I'm pretty sure they still have some vegetarian options. You might want to take the breakfast to go to avoid the cabdrivers. At night it gets pretty busy with families.
People thought this was:
Family style and friendly. Naan, pratha, dal, korma, frontier chicken, chicken makhni, mutka gosht, nihari, biryani, seekh kabob all delicious with the heat you would expect without being blown out of your seat. Friendly and fast service at a reasonable price. Don't expecct to get your veggies here. Sag isn't usually available, either is gobi or okra. Eat the simple veggie plate of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions at the start of the meal and you'll be plenty rewarded with the entrees. Rich food and if you need extra naan, the wait staff will get it asap. Don't forget to first order a lassi - mango or plain - it's a yogurt drink- to cut the heat if you're sensitive. Russ malai (sp?) or kir for dessert - think thinner and not as chunky rice pudding kind of. They are a nice, authentic finish - they have a very delicate touch of rosewater. Chai is a standard finish with dessert.
Good food, decent quality. The only negative is that I've found the taste of dishes not as consistent as I would expect. This is something they should work on. Other then that, its a great place. Their new Chinese place is fantastic as well, two words: mongolian beef. You'll love it!
hmmm..I went here once and found a fly in my rice...need I say more?!?!
People thought this was:
I actually like this place despite its limitations on the menu -- which as Avaiz said has only a few items. Some of the reviews might be old because when I went there a few months ago it was clean, and quite new -- in fact I think the grand opening of the new location was this year. Price is right. We had the goat was so tender and yummy, and one of the spanich dishes were deceivingly spicy which was great! Service can be slow, but there seem to be all these wait staff who are just standing around doing nothing, so I am not sure what's going on. I'd give this place a try and decide for yourself. I know I'll be going back!
People thought this was:
yes, I've given it better rating then anybody else cause i'm addicted to their Nehari, hands down. They have open renovated bigger restaurant which looks much better then the older one. To the people who are not aware how things run in most of Pakistani restaurant, most of the time you do have to pay for your rice and naan. It doesn't come with anything even daal ( usually rice goes with it ). They have open other restaurants on Devon such as Usmania Chinese and 100% Zabhia Halal Brown's chicken. Both of them are very good. Usually there service is good but last couple times i had some bad experience which i hope they work on it. If you want good authentic food in good family environment, this is the place. One star less cause of bad service experience couple times other wise they are good. Most important of all, people who like their naan, they cooked them from scratch in the Tandoor and it is delicious.
People thought this was:
Usmania is an okay restaraunt. Their food is good but only someitmes. Not only that, but it is really hot these days and they don't turn on the air conditioning, so it's burning hot in their restaraunt. Alhtough, the pricing is good.
People thought this was:
Usmania does not have the greatest food.Sometimes their good ,but most of the time they are not good at all.Their service is very slow and they can not have a big capacity in their restraunt which they try to fit more than they can.
People thought this was:
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