Sheesh Mahal Dhaba

Got take out from here and ordered the frontier chicken, lamb biryani, beef roll, chicken roll and beef kabab. It was about $ 50 with tax, delivery and tip and was easily enough for 5 people. Personally I liked the chicken roll, beef kabob and frontier chicken best. The beef roll was good but the flavors were a bit overpowering so it was hard to finish a whole roll. I was stuffed so I didn’t try the biryani so I cant comment on that. Id say the price is pretty good considering how much food you get. So overall its worth checking out.

Best kabobs and paratha in Chicago– coming from a local who’s frequented Devon for 25 years. Ps you’re paying for the quality, not the ambiance.

We thought of trying this place after reading good reviews. Menu was very limited. We ordered a kabab combo, baghare baingan, chicken biryani and buffet. Buffet had a limited selection of non vegetarian items but all tasted good. Chicken biryani was ok, seekh kabab was nice but chicken kabab was dry. My friend, being a vegetarian, ordered baghare baingan. There were only 2 vegetarian items on menu. She was served mirchi ka Salan instead of baghare baingan and when we said that we had not ordered this, they said the base is same for both the curries so it doesn’t matter. I was shocked to hear that, instead of apologizing for their mistake they accepted that it was not a mistake and it shouldn’t matter. Really?
Anyways, considering the price of dishes the taste was ok. Will I be going back?.. No way.

Went here to share a meal with family for Diwali and the food was amazing. We had the sheesh kabob, chicken boti, biryani, the 2-​curry special and many many parathas. I would definitely come back and I would definitely recommend it to all of my friends!

Delicious! The prices are fantastic, the food is authentic and the owners/​staff are very sweet and accommodating. I’ve been looking for good, authentic Indian tea for years and found it here! The Chicken Biryani and Lamb Biryani were both full of flavor and the meat was tender. Order a side of Roti bread!

I almost don’t write this review because of fear that this place might become the «next hip place» for Indian food. This restaurant has been around for years. If you’re wanting a fine dining experience I want to emphasize that THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU.
However, if you want some of the best quality Indian food with the best prices, this place is the way to go. I ordered the seekh boti roll, chicken roll, lamb biryani, and chicken biryani. Every dish I ordered was great. My only complaint is that it wasn’t as spicy as I wanted it to be which I don’t fault the restaurant because I eat pretty darn spicy and most places don’t make food as spicy as I would like them to.
Be cautious of the fact that the interior of this place does look run down and this is one of those joints that you see mostly men hanging out during the day so it’s not your typically family friendly place.

I always visit this restaurant when I am in Chicago. The flavor in each entrée or appetizer is the best!!! It feels like home. Chicken Boti kabab is so delicious I feel I am blessed!

When you are on Devon, & are looking for a place to eat… you have some 189 different options — Sheesh Mahal Dhaba, a hidden gem is far from a place to take out a date, or expect fine dining from but the quality and taste of the food is better than most places around little india.
I have been coming to this place since 2008, and the food never disappoints me. Authentic hyderabadi style comfort food.
Their Chicken Boti should be nominated for an award. It comes on a bed of cucumbers and lettuce (always fresh) with a side of chappati. (Indian thin flatbread)
The aunty at the counter always welcomes me as if we were related, if I dont go there for a long time she never fails to ask why I hadn’t come by. Lol its cute.
I tried to get her to give me the recipe for her chicken boti… she of course said no. But it was worth a shot.
The chicken biryani is exquizite — generous amount of meat that falls off the bone.
A must try.

We ordered delivery on a Sunday night around 7:45pm — about 50 bucks worth of various kababs, sides, etc. I had to call and ask about my order when it still hadn’t arrived by 9:30pm. The woman who answered said she had sent the driver at 8:30, and she’d call him. I received a call about 10 minutes later from the woman saying he’d arrive in another 10 minutes, as he had gotten lost. About 10:00pm, the driver called saying he’d be there in 20 minutes.
At this point, we had already eaten a different dinner and given up, so I called the shop and explained I wanted to cancel since waiting more than 2 hours for food is unacceptable. She said she was sorry and understood and that she’d call him. The driver showed up at 10:30 after we had gone to bed and rang my doorbell and beat on my door until I came down to answer.
I explained I had called and cancelled because, at this point, I had waited for more than 2 ½ hours. Ever-​professional, he gave me attitude and stormed off.
The moral of the story: I can’t give you a rating on food, but I can warn you against TERRIBLE delivery service and sub-​par customer service.

Very disappointed. Unilocalers, you’ve let us down with this place! We should have turned around when we entered. We had to step over a cord and then sat in front of a broken window. The food was okay. The service was friendly but literally left the restaurant last night before we were finished. I had to poke my head in the kitchen to get our check. There are so many other better options on or around Devon for Indian.

I always get the chicken rolls. They are absolutely awesome. Occasionally, I get other stuff like the kababs, biryani and pepper chicken. They are all good. But, nothing beats the value of the chicken rolls.

I still think this place beats most of the other Indian restaurants and buffets; however, the second experience was a little bit underwhelming than my first. Maybe it was a little less lack of hunger; the beef and the spicy chicken kabobs were still how I remembered them, but they seemed to put a bit more cilantro into the white sauce this time around. The mango lassi was still the best I’ve ever tasted, hands down. Service was again, still slow, but no harassment in kicking us out — we took our dandy ol’ time. Parking is available in the residential area a couple of blocks away, so don’t try wasting your time in finding a metered one. I found a wonderful hidden gem located in Little India, off of Devon and Maplewood. It’s located next to a modern-​type of restaurant that serves a more of a ‘buffet style’; however, next to it, Sheesh Mahal is truly an authentic place. Their food is unbelievable, and the prices? Even more shocking. I had the Combination plate, and that came with their famous Boti chicken and beef kebob; you had a choice of Basmati rice or a side of roti bread — I chose the rice. There was a huge plateful that comes with it. The chicken? The spice mix they use is unbelievable and grilled perfectly. Inside it’s still tender enough (I love how it’s cooked), and has a little kick. The beef kebob is also a ground sort that’s also charred and has the same spice mixture. There are slices of fresh lime, lettuce and cucumbers on top. The side of roti bread (you can get two kinds) were absolutely thin and delicious. The two little bowls of sauce that’s served with your meal (one is a yogurt type with little chunks of tomato and barely-​there cilantro; the other one is a heavily cilantro-​based one which I avoided) that was great in pouring all over your meat and dipped into with your roti. The service was a little slow, but the owner was very gracious and extremely apologetic. It seems as if a lot of customers come in to do carry out, and there are regulars who dine in as well. Definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall type of joint, but the food is excellent. The portions are pretty nice and filling. I’ve also tried their mango lassi, and this is the best mango lassi in the world — fresh mango, great shake mixture, and definitely a great ‘dessert’ type of drink to wash everything down. Their water is from a water system (Hinkley, I believe). There are metered parking in the front (very scarce), free after 6PM; try a few blocks away in the residential, non-​permit spots. You might be a bit more lucky there. After your meal, you can walk around the area.
+mango lassi
+Combination plate
+very authentic!

Hands down the best biryani around and so reasonably priced! We never eat here because it is not a great interior but we always take a ton of chicken and goat biryani home and never tire of it.

Fantastic place! First off, the restaurant has a very homey feel. You don’t ever feel out of place or uncomfortable. They are extremely friendly, especially once you become a regular of course. I’ve been going there on and off for nearly 10 years and the quality and service keeps getting better. When I’m in the mood for some simple, clean food, it’s my go-​to restaurant. You can pre-​order over the phone and they’ll have everything ready for you to pick up. And since it’s not directly on Devon, parking isn’t impossible to find most of the time.

My friends have assured me that this place is halal.
My wife comes here very regularly to get their chicken kabobs and paratas. My daughter inhales them. THey are nice enough to wash the chicken since my kids can’t handle that much spice.
The chicken biryani is very very good. The uncle and aunty who run the place are very nice.

Great chicken biryani. Good quality and clean!

I love this place and have been going here since they first opened many years ago! Auntie cooks the food fresh everyday. There is a daily special everyday that is very reasonable in price. There are several grill selections, byrani, and special items such as haleem available daily. This is a family owned business. Friday lunch is very busy, but well worth the wait! This is the spot that the locals of this region go to.

We walk up Maplewood almost every time we go to Devon and Sheesh Mahal is usually crowded. On the Sunday afternoon we went, we were the only two at first. They seated us on a platform in the front room. We were served by the waiter but after other people started to arrive, we figured out you order at the counter. Also, they seat families on the other side, which is fine since John and I don’t have wives or children and prefer the men’s side. Really, more Western restaurants should think about segregating children.
We ordered the combo plate of seekh kabab and chicken tikka kabab which came covered in cucumber and lettuce slices. Both excellent. The seekh kababs were exactly like we like them, completely dissolving in our mouths. We also ordered the daily special which was ghosht curry (little square bits of beef). Just perfect! Better than the kababs. The meat was so tender and there was only small traces of fat, just enough to enjoy and give flavor. Another customer ordered a whole bowl of the ghosht with rice, and he got a huge plate of rice too. I was jealous because I could have eaten 5 times, it was that delicious.
We didn’t have rice but had heard about the chapatis. Definitely homemade. Real chapatis, not frozen like those we buy down the street.

The Chicken Biryani left a sour taste in my mouth. The quality (meat/​rice) was fine but the taste was a let down. This is a sure skip considering the rich array of options that Devon has to offer.
Pros: Its not pricey

I’ve been to just about every place on Devon, and this one makes the exclusive list of ones to which I’ll return. The place seems busy, probably as a result of the Jama Musjid next door. If you’re there after prayers get out it can be quite the madhouse.
Food: The most charming feature about this place is that it’s like home cooked desi food. For starters, the quality of all the meats is excellent — no fatty, gristly pieces of goat, chicken, or lamb, a great virtue in a Devon street context. Moreover, the food is not too oily and spiced in a unique way. It’s a lot like eating in someone’s house. The bihari kebab rivals Khan’s. The liberal use of black pepper makes them quite distinctive (don’t worry — it’s good). Moreover, this is the only place I’ve seen that has lamb biryani with boneless lamb without gristle. However, judging by the texture and flavor, the «lamb» was probably more of a young sheep than a lamb… but still good. This is also one of the only places that still serves chapatis regularly. Almost all the other places only have naan and/​or oil soaked parathas. The korma was just ok, needs a little more flavor. The menu is a little bare, it could use some expanding, especially in the gravy domain. Considering the prices, it’s one of the best values on Devon.
Ambiance: not amazing but at least it makes sense! On Devon, there’s either nonsensical décor (like Mediterranean impressionist paintings in a desi place), or just disgustingly ostensible. This place is at least sensible.
Service: Just one waiter and he was swamped. That said, he was a nice guy who was very hospitable.