5101 Washington St
Gurnee, IL 60031
(847) 623-8999

Chan’s Chinese Restaurant has been a staple of Chinese cuisine in Gurnee for years. We’ve been eating there for many years and have been extremely satisfied with the quality and taste of their food and the fast (and cheap) delivery service. Their main restaurant is located on the corner opposite Great America, at Washington and Route 21/Riverside.

While they have a large sit-in restaurant, I have never been there when there have been more than a handful (or less) of eat-in customers. I believe, from experience, that their main customer is the pick-up or delivery customer, especially on weekends. Their delivery service during the week is decent for a small restaurant, hitting my home within a half hour.

Placing orders over the phone is usually not too difficult, especially if one of the younger men is taking your order. Even the lady who regularly answers the phone is easy to understand and hasn’t made mistakes on writing down my orders — this is important as many Chinese restaurant order-takers I am experienced with can be difficult to understand.

The food is wonderfully flavorful and pungent, and it is very consistent from day to day. Our favorites are the “dinner for 1″ which combines any entree item with crab ragoon, egg rolls, and rice. Their crab ragoon order by itself is big with the ragoons packed with crab and cream cheese. The curry beef and onions can’t be topped by any other Lake County Chinese restaurant, and their egg rolls are so flavorful and fresh that they re-heat well for days. Always order twice as many as you think you’ll want!

My only issue with Chan’s Chinese Restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois is their lack of concern about their customers. I stopped going to Chan’s for an entire 6-months over an issue regarding just 2 egg rolls I had ordered but not received. We were having a dinner party and decided to introduce our friends to a variety of restaurants in Gurnee. We spoke very highly of Chan’s eggrolls, so we ordered a large order of different foods to bring home. Upon arriving, we realizing there were no eggrolls, but rather than stop our entertainment, we just waited until the next time we ordered. The lady taking the order was very mean and told me that she will not fix the order. While most restauranteurs will gladly fix a $2.50 mistake, this lady has repeatedly been mean and unconcerned in the past. We stopped our 6-month boycott, though, because the food is just that good and Chan’s knows it.

I’m giving Chan’s Chinese Restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois 5-Stars for Product Quality and 3-Stars for Service Quality, based on their lack of concern over an incomplete order. Definitely try their food, though, as their delivery service is perfect and the food always comes piping hot and tasty.

3747 Route 132
Gurnee, IL 60031
(847) 249-9999

Bombay City Restaurant is located closer to Waukegan than Gurnee Mills. It is located just east of Highway 41 on the South side of the street (directly across the Onan Giant Statue). They are Gurnee’s second Indian restaurant, and one I was looking forward to for months before it opened.

Bombay City is owned and managed by Iqbal Malik, former General Manager of the famous Gaylord’s Indian Restaurant in Schaumburg, Illinois. Iqbal learned many secrets on bringing the Indian flavor to the masses at Gaylord’s, but he unfortunately has not learned customer service. I have been to hundreds of Indian restaurants in my life (it is one of my favorite foods), and this restaurant had the worst service from the management staff I have ever experienced.

It hurts me to leave a negative review as the chef staff and the server staff are amazingly talented and personable. I would give the servers and the chefs 5-Stars without thinking twice, especially considering that they have to work under the torment of the owners of this restaurant.

Bombay City is a nice little restaurant with a very basic layout. It is a little cramped during the buffet as the line backs itself up and blocks off people returning to their tables. The food selection is decent (nowhere near as full as you’d find on Chicago’s famous Devon Avenue Indian strip) with a wide selection of meats and vegetables. Their desert table is standard fare, usually kulfi ice cream and some fresh fruit.

Flavor-wise the food is decent, but they run through the more popular meats (chicken and goat) very quickly, requiring a 10 minute wait on each lunch buffet I’ve visited. Their weekends tend to pack up so get there early or late if you want a table. Prices are a little higher than Devon Avenue, but they have very few competitors and likely a high rent to pay. The dinner menu is too expensive for my taste considering the atrocious management service. I have had repeated take-out orders done wrong, and have had to return to have my food fixed only to have it made wrong again. Never had the owners offered to compensate me for the repeated travels or the money I spent. One take-out order I made (my absolutely last take-out from this restaurant) cost me over $40 for 2 people and was missing more than half the food the menu said came with the “deal.”

I hate to give this restaurant 0-Stars, but I have no choice. The wait staff is excellent and hard working (overworked) and the chefs know what they’re doing. I just can not imagine another afternoon of looking at the dark faces and mean responses from the owners who think they’re doing me a favor just by being open. This is the anti-thesis of luxury, and the end-all best example of how to not run a restaurant. If Bombay City is open in a year I would be very surprised, but I hope that someone else takes over control of managing the fine staff and layout so that I can take my friends and family back.

Until then, I would not only avoid Bombay City Restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois, I wouldn’t even drive past it. If things change, I will be happy to re-review it, but I have the expectation that they won’t, until the doors are closed.