Bolat African Cuisine: User Reviews

Terrible
By denise from gold coast, January 22, 2009

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My boyfriend and I waited for our food for an hour while they served other customers (there were only 8 people in the entire restaurant including us at the time.) While we waited, we noticed large orange tubs of food being carted out of the restaurant for a catered event. After waiting, we got up to pay for our drinks and walk out, but to prevent us from leaving, the waiter ran to the kitchen and brought out our food which had been sitting in the back and was no longer hot. They did not have any of the appetizers listed on the menu. The jollof rice is greasy and the goat was dry. Also, there was no soap in the bathroom. I found Vee Vee's jollof rice and goat to tastemore authentic.

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Loved it
By lavable11 from lavable11, May 20, 2008

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I loved the food at Bolat. I am not the person who "tries new things," but my friend made me go with her because it is her favorite restaurant. I started off only sharing an appetizer of platter of meat pie, something called suya, and some kind of sweet bread with Nigerian stew. After all of that I ordered my own plate of jellof rice, chicken, and plantains, the food was actually very flavorful. I thought the food was delicious, but not a place to go if you are in a hurry. I will definitely be back!

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Best African food in the city
By amberjohnson from wrigleyville, May 20, 2008

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I love African food more than any other ethnic food, and have eaten it all over the country, and in Africa as well. If you are looking to enjoy African food, especially Nigerian, Bolat is definitely the way to go. I, although am not African, grew up in Lagos from my 5th to my 12th year; I recently moved to Chicago from New York and was desperate to find my favorite local spot for an affordable meal that is full of flavor......it's a guilty pleasure of mine. My favorite meal there is the Jellof rice with Oxtail and a side of plantains. The food is amazing, but takes a lengthy amount of time to prepare; the food is a great value, but I usually take to go because the service needs some work.

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exceptional value
By dreamsicle from rivernorth, March 23, 2008

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I am a worldly eater and i would say this ranks as one of the best if not my best experience for world cuisine. The ambiance was just enough, not trying too hard to be what they are not. they manager who was readily available to converse with patrons was quite a delight to speak with. he gave us a great explanation of must of the food on the menu and the their seasonings as well. for starter we had the grilled plantain and peanut sauce, and my partner had the fish peppersoup. the soup was extremelyspicy but also extremely flavorful. For our main course, we had whole tilapia and jollof rice with jerk chicken and a side of plantain. the complexity of me flavors that were combined in this meal can only be justified by experience. There was a perfect placement of curry, thyme and bay leaves and so much more that our mouth was never bored from the excitement.. to top off the experience, the waiter gave us a free sampling of their upcoming dessert menu. i had the coconut sorbet which was served in real coconut shells and my partner had the Kashata coco berry , which is a hard Kenyan coconut candy baked in house and topped off with dark Ghanian chocolate and strawberries. the dessert was wonderful. absolutely wonderful, a perfect blend of sweetness, bitterness and tartness. to top off the night, our bill came out to be just $43.00 for two of us because we both had one beer each as well. a three course meal and drink for $43.00. i will definitely recommend this place, and i am definitely going back again.

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the worst meal i have ever had
By shayna from uptown, March 19, 2008

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first we ordered our ten dollar drinks, and the waiter didnt even know how to make them. he came back twenty minutes later with juice and vodka, not what i ordered. then we tried ordering the african beer, but they were out. they had heineken. my mom ordered a fish dish and we all waited an hour for our food. finally it came out but the fish was going to take more time. we couldnt figure out why because fish is quick cooking, usually first thing out! finally the waiter admitted that they didnt have the fish, but he called the manager to go get it and it wouldnt be much longer. he didnt return to refresh our drinks, we asked him to bring us another round, never got it. finally an hour and a half later, after we had all eaten, the manager finally came over and told us he finally got there and was making the fish. i told him to forget it, i wasnt paying for it because my mother had to sit there while we all ate our food. he took off the fish and we had to pay the rest of the check. that guy was some joke. never have i ever had such bad service in addition to the stupidity of the management. i will never recommend this place to anyone except my enemy. besides all of that, my food was horrible, chewy and mortally over cooked... ugh, i cringe just thinking about this horrible experience.

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Hospitality was FANTASTIC
By jolivola from UIC, March 4, 2008

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I was interested to try African cuisine and decided to give this restaurant a shot. We had so much fun, will be going back soon. The food was fantastic, I had the Joloff rice with goat and fried plantains. DELICIOUS. I'd never tried goat before but it was very flavorful and the rice was perfectly seasoned and went very well with the plantains and pepper and onions. Ask if they have Stone Strong Lager when you go, you will not be disappointed. The service was really the best part, we were made to feel very welcome.

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Great Food
By Brit from Lakeview, December 28, 2007

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We went with a party of six and had great service and the food was fantastic! My friend had the okra with rice and it was great. I had the tilapia and it was very good. Ther bill for our party with tip was only $100. What a great value. We will be back.

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Being that I grew up...
By CBG from Chicago, IL, April 30, 2007

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Being that I grew up in Nigeria (and I'm not african), one thing I suggest is: Nigerian food is a taste you acquire and learn to appreciate over time. Nigerian food takes hours to cook. I really like Bolat's food. Service is a little slow, servers are friendly. Definitely, recommed Bolat for people who love african food!!!!

Enjoyed our dining experience here....
By Matt from Chicago, IL, January 26, 2007

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Enjoyed our dining experience here. The food was good and the portions were large. Our waiter (seemingly the manager) was attentive and fun. He gave good suggestions. The decor is not fancy but nice. Try the yam appetizers. They come fried with a nice spicy dipping sauce.

this is african food. this...
By johny from chicago, il, November 5, 2006

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this is african food. this is not food for those watching their weight, or those too scared to try good food from other cultures. this is food fro those hoping to indulge in other cultures. if you want great service, go to bistro 110 and pay $50 per plate. but if you are more concerned about the quality of the food you are given, then you can go this restaurant. i have been to this restaurant 3 times and i have tried all the other african restaurants, and this one still seems to be the best. the food is great, the atmosphere very nice and the music was excellent. but lke i said earlier, the service needs improvement.