Click here to subscribe FREE to Ray Hanania's Columns
What’s the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland’s suburbs? Zwar in Orland Park
One of Chicagoland’s best Middle East Arabian restaurants offers a special exotic entertainment show every Wednesday, complementing their great food menu with the mesmerizing dance of Belly Dancer Tina every Wednesday from 7 PM until 9 PM. Enjoy a great show along with the best tasting Middle Eastern and Arabian food menu in Chicagoland at Zwar, 9328 W. 159th Street in the Jewel-Osco mall complex in Orland Park
By Ray Hanania
Every week I receive 3 or 4 emails mainly from readers of my columns asking me to recommend the best Middle East restaurants to visit so they can enjoy some authentic Arabian foods.
I always respond the same way: The number one restaurant offering Middle Eastern, Arabian food is Zwar, located at 9328 W. 159th Street in the plaza just adjacent to the Jewel-Osco center off 94th Avenue in Orland Park, Illinois.
Zwar has the absolutely best foods and the quality of their food is consistently the best.
One of the top meats in Arabian food is lamb but the lamb kabobs need to be cooked to perfection and they always are.
A dish I always recommend is the shish kabob plate which consists of a skewer of lamb, chicken or “kufta” which is an Arabic word for mildly spiced ground steak with parsley. Sides include white and red long grain rice.
And every order received a small serving plate of a special garlic dip, hummus (garbanzo bean) dip and th popular and healthy baba ghanoush made from crushed and spiced eggplant. These sides are eaten using the freshly made Arabian or “Syrian” Pita Bread.
There are many restaurants offering Middle Eastern and Arabian food but consistency isn’t always guaranteed.
Zwar gives you the best quality of meats and side dishes on a consistent basis. I eat there all the time and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the food.
Beginning this week, Zwar is offering Belly Dancing entertainment every Wednesday evening from 7 PM until 9 PM.
The Belly Dancing to the Middle East music is very respectful for family entertainment and is a Middle Easter entertainment tradition that goes back to the earliest days of the Middle East thousands of years ago.
Dancer “Tina” will add that extra experience during your meal to bring you back to the exotic atmosphere of the Holy Land.
Make sure to say hello to the owner at Zwar, Saedah, or “Sue.”
She always welcomes news customers and strives to make their experience the best each and every time.
Zwar Restaurant
9328 W. 159th Street
Orland Park, Illinois
Call 708-223-9133 for reservations.
Click this link to watch a Tiktok video of Zwar rated by “The Food Guy” at NBC Steve Dolinsky.
Click this link to watch “The Food Guy” Steve Dolinsky review on NBC TV
His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].
Follow RayHanania at Twitter
- Hastings champions school safety with mobile panic alert bill - February 6, 2026
- Alderman Silvana Tabares (23) Announces Endorsement of Richard Boykin for 7th Congressional District Seat - February 6, 2026
- A father’s fight to save his bond with his son - February 5, 2026
