Roti Mediterranean, Palatine (and all other locations)

Roti Mediterranean
768 East Dundee Road, Palatine, IL
847-705-0600
(just west of Rand)
http://www.rotiusa.com

I was hungry after a fruitless shopping trek out to Palatine, and this caught my eye.

The initial impression is very slick: kind of a middle eastern Chipotle: pick a meat, a bread, a bunch of toppings and they build you a meal. The guy there said it's the only one so far, but they're opening a second in the south loop.

They've got three big gyros rotisseries going: turkey, chicken and steak. In addition, they offer roasted veggies, tuna salad, chicken salad and rotisseries turkey breast. Bread choices include pita wrap, wheat or white
pita pocket, or ciabatta (no roti!).

I ordered the "Signature Fire Roasted Turkey" sandwich: turkey, with greens, cukes, tomatoes, a squirt of hummus, roasted eggplant and a "slightly spicy" Roti sauce, which I found not spicy at all, but very tasty. The pile of salad on the top with the meat on the bottom didn't make for a nice integrated bite of flavors, but by alternating high and low, you could get a good mouth melange. It included a small dish of "Capri Cous-Cous salad" which was merely OK (mandarin-orange phobes should steer clear).

Other toppings include greens, roasted pepper, eggplant, caramelized onions, "mediterannean" cheese, pepperoncini, black olive,s cukes, tomatoes, red onion, hummus, scallions and pickles. Sauces include the above "slightly" spicy roti sauce, dill yogurt and cuke, roasted red pepper aoili, creamy garlic and curry mustard. You can also get one of a couple of salads (with or without meats) or a platter of meat or veggies. They're also just starting to offer falafel, but I didn't try it.

If I'm in the area, I'll try it again, which is high praise from someone normally only prone to Pita Inn or a good Italian Beef.

Meats were VERY dry on my visit (tried the beef & chicken), so I haven't been back. Might have to give it another try.

I would imagine this as a place that is very good when it's busy and dried out meats if it's not.

Didn't this location close months ago? I didn't visit Roti until they opened their location in the Loop. When I asked about their Palatine location, the manager explained to me that they had closed b/c it was just a test location. The Loop location is at 10 S. Riverside. This place gets long lines during lunch. On one of my visits there, they ran out of the two items that I was considering for my lunch that day, and it was probably before 12:30!

I like that they post the nutritional value information of their food.

I called the number and it is no longer in service so it does appear that the Palatine location is closed.

I was driving down Dundee recently and noticed that it was gone; surprised me because I thought it was a great concept (almost like a Greek style Subway) and had a good experience the one time I went.

I went there a few months ago, it must have been shortly before they closed and I ordered whatever their special was that day, maybe lamb kabobs?

Anyway, they didn't have any lamb ready and took a relatively long time for it to be cooked. Everyone in my party got their food about 10 minutes ahead of me. It wasn't bad once I got it, though. Not dry, but maybe a little too charred for my taste.

Disappointing since there it was about the closest Greek/Middle-Eastern option to where I work (in Lake Zurich).

Northbrook has a new place called Roti Mediterranean Grill.

Roti Mediterranean Grill
984 Willow St
Northbrook, IL 60062
847-418-2400
http://www.rotiusa.com

LAM026 wrote:Northbrook has a new place called Roti Mediterranean Grill.

I wonder if this is related to the one that closed in Palatine and the NW corner of Rand & Dundee Rds. I went once but the food was very good.

LAM026 wrote:Northbrook has a new place called Roti Mediterranean Grill.

Roti Mediterranean Grill
984 Willow Road
Northbrook
418-2400
http://www.rotiusa.com/#/contact/

Santander wrote:I just loved the steak roti and baba ghannoush the last time I was in Venice.

This is like when Cedars of Lebanon in Hyde Park closed, moved down the street, and reopened with yuppified food as "Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen" a few years ago. God forbid someone should mention the Middle East, or - gasp - North Africa in a restaurant name or description anymore. Roti won't go closer than Gibraltar (where a more authentic combo plate would involve a hamburger and bangers and mash with a Guinness).

I had to check 3 times to make sure I saw correctly what they were calling their Venetian plate. Having just returned from a week in Venice, I can concur that steak roti with hummus and baba gannoush is not a staple there.

Kennyz wrote:I had to check 3 times to make sure I saw correctly what they were calling their Venetian plate. Having just returned from a week in Venice, I can concur that steak roti with hummus and baba gannoush is not a staple there.

It may not be geographically accurate, but the food is really good. I ate there every day last week for lunch. The food is very fresh, reasonably priced, and the portions are large. For those of us in the area, it beats our other lunch options.

Roti Mediterranean Grill
984 Willow Road
Northbrook
418-2400
http://www.rotiusa.com/#/contact/

A saluki from Deerfield on LTH? I thought I was the only one of those.

I am a saluki as well, and I often dream about those late night grilled bagels on the strip

Craig B wrote:

LAM026 wrote:Northbrook has a new place called Roti Mediterranean Grill.

I wonder if this is related to the one that closed in Palatine and the NW corner of Rand & Dundee Rds. I went once but the food was very good.

The website and menu are virtually identical to what I remember about the place in Palatine. That one didn't last, I assumed due to lack of business, and now they've got two locations? Somebody's willing to throw good money after bad, apparently. I did enjoy it the one time I was there (Palatine), and it was a nice alternative to a fast food meal, especially with a lot of flavorful items to add to a wrap or salad, all while staying away from deep fried stuff (not that there's anything wrong with fried stuff, just nice to have an alternative in a rapid meal).

Candy_Coated_Kimchee wrote:I am a saluki as well, and I often dream about those late night grilled bagels on the strip

Ahhh Winston... Even though they sound terrible when you've never had one, let me tell you. Nothing is quite as good as a charcoal grilled lenders bagel with cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, apples, sunflower seeds, and raisins on it when you're half in the bag.

He's even made it to youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwltWwJco3A

Yes, beat the hell out of a burrito bigger than your head.

One thing Roti touts is receiving a rating of 4 Forks from the Chicago Tribune, which is (was?) their highest Cheap Eats rating. I'll definitely check it out for no other reason than I participated in an early promotion and now have a free meal coming but I'm not optimistic.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:One thing Roti touts is receiving a rating of 4 Forks from the Chicago Tribune, which is (was?) their highest Cheap Eats rating. I'll definitely check it out for no other reason than I participated in an early promotion and now have a free meal coming but I'm not optimistic.

=R=

Thread here. I've been to the loop location for lunch a couple times. It's not bad.

Kennyz wrote:I had to check 3 times to make sure I saw correctly what they were calling their Venetian plate. Having just returned from a week in Venice, I can concur that steak roti with hummus and baba gannoush is not a staple there.

I couldn't access Roti's site to read their Credo. But here's a wild, random thought: Could they possibly have meant PHOENICIAN plate, instead of Venetian? Stranger word mix-ups have happened on menus.... That would, at least, be a little more geographically accurate.

Is the same menu online used at lunch and dinner?

Neither an opening nor a closing or a coming or a going. Then again, maybe it's all of the above. Goose Island to remain open!
http://www.nbcchicago.com/around_town/n ... -Open.html

Roti's poor location in Palatine may have had a bit to do w/ their demise (the one time I ate there it was pretty good). While it was in a brand new strip mall, the location on Dundee (due west of Rand Rd) wasn't the most convenient, and making a left out of there during busy times of day could cause even slightly timid drivers to cruise right by. Who knows (and who cares I guess)...

Bonefish in Northbrook shut their doors by the way...

Tony_Spilotro wrote:Roti's poor location in Palatine may have had a bit to do w/ their demise (the one time I ate there it was pretty good). While it was in a brand new strip mall, the location on Dundee (due west of Rand Rd) wasn't the most convenient, and making a left out of there during busy times of day could cause even slightly timid drivers to cruise right by. Who knows (and who cares I guess)...

Bonefish in Northbrook shut their doors by the way...

Not a great loss....

ronnie_suburban wrote:One thing Roti touts is receiving a rating of 4 Forks from the Chicago Tribune, which is (was?) their highest Cheap Eats rating. I'll definitely check it out for no other reason than I participated in an early promotion and now have a free meal coming but I'm not optimistic.

=R=

On a whim, I stopped by there for lunch today. It was during the noon rush. It was fairly crowded and a bit noisy from my taste (I'm not a crabby old guy). It was occupied by what appeared to my a fairly young-ish office worker type crowd. Lots of people with security swipe badges hanging from their belts.

The food is prepared cafeteria style. The line moved quickly.

I chose the falafel sandwich. The pita bread tasted like it just came out of the refrigerator. The chickpea balls had some decent flavor along with the accompanied sauce. Decent iced tea.

There were several restaurant manager types walking around and offering to clear tables. They weren't being too obtrusive.

Would I go back there again? Probably not. There are better spots in the area for the money.

Tony_Spilotro wrote:Roti's poor location in Palatine may have had a bit to do w/ their demise (the one time I ate there it was pretty good). While it was in a brand new strip mall, the location on Dundee (due west of Rand Rd) wasn't the most convenient, and making a left out of there during busy times of day could cause even slightly timid drivers to cruise right by. Who knows (and who cares I guess)...

When I dined at the Roti in the Loop soon after it opened, I asked why they had closed the Palatine location. The manager explained that the Palatine location was just a trial experiment and was not intended to stay open for business. *shrug*

I went to Roti a couple weeks ago in that Willow and Waukegan road shopping center in Northbrook sort of near the Glen. It was great! I guess it's a chain but there are only two locations: downtown Chicago and Northbrook.

I had a chicken flatbread roti and it was soo good. The place is sort of like a cross between Pita Inn and chipotle. In my opinion it's higher quality food than Pita Inn but it has a Chipotle style build-your-own service with a Mediterranean twist. That's my two cents. Anyone else been there?

Roti Mediterranean Grill
984 Willow Rd
Northbrook IL
847-418-2400

A few of my coworkers have been for lunch and praised it. The sandwich I briefly saw here at the office looked decent, not too gloppy or skimpy. I'll be trying it in the next week or so and will report back.

I go by that intersection from time to time. I love the Whole Foods there. Have to check this one out, thanks.

The place is part Chipotle (look and menu system) and part Pita Inn. Both parts not executed that well. The menu on the wall is a bit confusing at first look and the portions are on the small side for the price (but maybe this is Northbrook). One thing I can say was good was the food was fresh and cooked well. Not a place to go out of your way for in any circumstance. Pita Inn in the similiar price range is a better choice.