Layalena Restaurant & Night Club

wow the best middle eastern food the chicken pieces are delicious so fresh and soft i recommend every one to try this place it’s also a banquet i went for my friend graduation and its a wonderful restaurant/​banquet great food!

So tonight was the first time i was there. My friend and i were trying to decide where to go since we both are into Arabic music and ended up in there. We go there and the place was empty but that didn’t matter much cause there was some Hot middle eastern guys that were worth checking out LOL… The owner came to greet us and we sat by the bar where the bartender got us our drinks, than we order some food…
we order Hummus and dolma as appetizers and the chicken kabob which was SO GOOD. so we ate and drink and had fun talking to the bartender and the owner…
From now on this will be THE PLACE TO GO for me!

this place does not even deserve one star. I am being too genrious to be honest. Theythey have the worst service. The worst food. The worst facilities.

This business is hosting a singer who is Pro Bashar Assad.
If you don’t know who that is, he is the current dictator of Syria who is currently killing his own people.
I will never ever support a business who hires singers who support the current régime and you shouldn’t either.
If you care about human rights at all, please look up the current death toll in Syria and boycott Laylena Restaurant until they change their mind.

We were in and out of here in 20 minutes.
Our group took our time deciding what we wanted, but once we did the drinks came in a decent time. This is what the 1 star is for
Next we ordered a hookah & it was brought to us & we started smoking it. One of the staff came a few minutes later and told us that the police were here and not to smoke the hookah until they had left (Some licensing/​local laws issue I am guessing).
My buddy at this point went up, paid the bill and we left. Although I wish he hadn’t paid for the hookah.
Don’t think I will be going back here again. Ended up at Kush Lounge next and that was a much better experience.

Layalena is awesome. Well it helps to know the owner who is a famous Assyrian singer btw if you didn’t know Mr. Shabeh Lawando! They have the best food and hookah here. I always get the shish kabob, it is to die for. it is so flavorful and juicy. The portions are huge. And the drinks are pretty strong so hope you’re ready. A lot of good singers come to the club like Fatin Shabo and it is so fun to dance here. Service is good although can be a bit slow when busy but they are great. It can get really pricey if you go in a group. The atmosphere is really pretty and romantic too.

My girlfriend’s family threw a party here when she passed the Illinois State Bar. It was a very different, but fun experience. I walked into a room of about 100 Middle Eastern people, and got a lot of stares. However, everyone was very welcoming and the music was very vibrant and culturally enriching. There was a great band with drums and an electric violin… that was pretty cool. I didn’t participate in the dancing as it was completely foreign to me and I was feeling a little shy… did not want to be «that Asian girl dancing.» ha.
So the service is pretty slow here. The servers must be overworked and they must be understaffed because everything was SO slow. However, the food was pretty good. We started out with pita bread and hummus and babaganoush. Definitely stick with the baba… I think the hummus was a bit flavorless and had way to much tahini. However, the baba was just right. Salad was nothing special… a bit drowned in their dressing (which was very light oil/​vinegar). For dinner we had chicken kabobs (this was fantastic), a beef kebob (had way too much salt — not so good) and an Indian long grain rice (this was amazing).
I don’t think I’d return unless my friends insisted on it. Reminds me a little of Juliana club on Peterson (far north side).
Oh, they have a nice parking lot and good valet service as well.

The former Ramina Restaurant (owners and management not location). Great food, LATENIGHT fun, dancing — the best Arab musicians in Chicago! A restaurant that turns into a rollicking nightclub on weekends — esp. when the owner takes the mike. .. this is one of those totally Arabstyle clubs.