Highly Flavored Chicago City Grill - Calumet City, Illinois

Shaquita H.

$39 for Smashburger Jerk egg rolls orange chicken bowl. Only thing that was good. Was the Jerk egg rolls my smash burger don’t have no bacon on it so bogus my fries has been cooked in Old grease like y’all know when you got Bag of fries that’s all broken up and the grease is old and burnt. I could’ve kept my $39. It’s cool for a first time try I will never go back there again. they only give you one sauce for the egg rolls. I don’t know what that Yum Yum sauce is but it tastes just like mayo. They don’t give you no ketchup no hot sauce for the fries. No drink came with it. That was just a waste of time driving all the way to 123rd halsted

Paris

I ordered the Buffalo chicken rolls and jerk chicken rolls and they were ok but I didn't receive the garlic ranch sauce. They gave me extra Buffalo sauce and it was a hair in the pineapple glaze sauce .😢 I asked for yum yum sauce and they always give me pineapple glaze sauce but this time with hair in it. Highly disgusting

Shawndra F.

The food was really very good. We bought 5 meals and spent less than $100. I know its a take-out-only restaurant, but the lobby had no heat in it so I waited the 30mins for my food in my car with the heat on. (Yes we could have called ahead but it was our first time). The food was not only good it was filling and my family enjoyed all of it. We barely had any leftovers because everyone enjoyed it so much. We look forward to trying more things from here soon - especially looking forward to maybe the brunch dishes &/or some catfish!

Jai D.

I'm writing this review because I love to support Black owned businesses whenever I can, and hope that leaving reviews helps to address customers concerns and helps to make the establishment a better and more successful business.

With that being said, today was my first time trying this restaurant as I have heard so many good things about it and I was very excited to try them out. I ordered the Hot honey Chicken sandwich. So first, the menu does not indicate that the sandwich comes with onions on the online menu or in store, and had it said that I would have firmly asked for NO onions. I don't like the smell, much less the taste of onions. However, upon receiving my order it had a large amount of onions on the sandwich. I was too far to turn around, so I just picked them off, but the presence of them alone already altered the taste of the sandwich for me.

The reviews I have read in the past states that food is made to order so expect a wait time around 25-30 mins, which I'm all for because I love that restaurants serve you your food fresh. My order took 11 minutes, so I don't know if that meant my food was not made to order, or if what I specifically ordered just doesn't take as long. That I'm a little unsure about. With that I will say, the food was not cold, but it was not hot either.

Also, I personally am not a "spicy" girlie so I love to have another flavor to help balance out the heat. With that being said, the sandwich was EXTREMELY sweet. No "hot" to the "hot honey" at all. I would describe the sauce as having a sweet syrup like consistency. By the time I was able to start eating the sandwich, the sauce had completely drenched the bottom bun making it soggy and basically fell apart when trying to eat it. The chicken itself was seasoned well, but that all got lost by the amount of sauce that it was covered in. I will say, the pickles are what made the sandwich. They really help to break up some of the sweetness from the sauce, with a nice crunch.

Now as far as customer service, I have zero complaints. The staff was very nice and efficient. They were not rude at all, and very helpful. I wish the efficiency in the customer matched what I was served today.

All in all, I do appreciate the business, and I like the variety on the menu and the fact they sell brunch items during all business hours. I would like to give this place another visit in the future, but I hope that I have a much better experience when it comes to the quality of the food.

Nicolle M.

I will start by saying I love supporting my Black people's business. I had heard Highly Flavored was delicious by 2 sets of different people. So of course I wanted to try! I was at the beauty shop down the street from the restaurant. Took orders from people at the shop. Called the order in and was told..cooked to order. We will not start until u get here unless you pay over the phone. So I paid over the phone and was told 20-25 minutes. I got my hair washed. Sat under the dryer. Went to pick up in the time frame.( yes I have little hair) and was told give them a few minutes. I waited another 1/2 hour. Ordered the hot chicken sandwich. It was soggy. Lettuce/greens limp and not hot at all. It seemed to be dry white meat chicken strips. Just soggy and was at best warm. 2 out of 5.Shrimp and grits..needed more seasoning . 2 out of 5 and Jerk fried rice...3 out of 5. All of the food was warm, not hot after waiting an hour. Called them back because they provided no Utensils! When I stated this to them I was told you have to request Utensils. I then replied....shrimp and grits and fried rice usually comes with utencils...never again. So disappointed.

Becca A.

Hidden gem fasho . I had the jerk egg rolls with yum yum sauce, jerk chicken fried rice & a side of the Mac and cheese. 🔥🔥 support local to not be disappointed! Will definitely be back.

Cocochanel A.

It was a vibe the moment I walked in. Never knew that the man who was nice at the Regis who took my order was the owner. Chef Jerry very nice and energetic. Customer etiquette was on point. We felt so comfortable we sat in the restaurant and ate he encouraged us!! Thanks to the owner and the young man in the back who hooked us up.

Lola X. (.

I read through some of the comments, and I’m relieved to see I’m not the only one who felt this way. I really wanted to support this place and was so excited to try their unique menu items. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I ordered the hot honey wings, which tasted more like wings with a sweet dressing (like Thousand Island or ketchup)—there was no spice at all, which was frustrating. The fries were completely UNSEASONED, and I was so disappointed I ended up tossing them out, including the ones that came with my vegan Smash burger. Speaking of the burger, it wasn’t even what I expected—just two store-bought veggie patties, nothing like the smash-style burger I was hoping for.

Then I tried their buffalo mac and cheese, something I’d been really looking forward to because I’ve never had it before. Sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations either, and I’ll likely try another restaurant for that experience. I’m not sure what all the hype is about. I do want to give them another chance but not on my expense. They certainly make the food look appealing and fresh, but taste-wise, it fell flat. I was especially disappointed because I wanted to support a Black-owned business, but the food just didn’t reflect the passion I was hoping for. I sincerely hope they take the feedback into account.