Vegan
Delivery
Take-out
Asian
Korean
Vegan restaurant offering buddhist Korean cuisine menu with dishes like savory pancake, rice noodle soups, dumplings, kimchi, and its signature Dr. K's soup. For dessert, there's ginger tea with ice cream and maple cookies. Open Wed-Sun 12:00pm-9:00pm. Closed Mon-Tue.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
-
Loading...
-
-
Last update on 22 Apr 2024 by Vegan Vagabond
Update business info
-
-
105 Reviews
First Review by mollypitcher
tobby54
Points +113
Yummy Korean vegan food - Edit
Amitabul has a very relaxing setting. The staff are very attentive and the food delicious. The dumplings are wonderful tried Dr. K's noodle soup and that was some of the best soup I've ever had. Spicy broth with plenty of veggies and noodles. Cleared my nasal passages.
Read moreGuest
edwardbc
Points +1021
Good alternative - Edit
Good alternative restaurant. Food is not salty, but it is tasty. Good service
Read moreGuest
LarisaValerievna
Points +35
My first vegetarian place! - Edit
Once I gave up eating meat about 3 years ago, I set myself on the journey to discover another world of food and lifestyle, cruelty free, tasty, nutritious and far more exciting! Amitabul was the very first meat free place that I found and I was amazed that such places exist. I was excited to see a whole variety of dishes and juices that they make. The juices and teas here are the best!! I tried a few hot dishes which were always large and filling. The one with shiitake mushrooms were my favorite! Love this place and atmosphere!
Read moreGuest
CMSDE
Points +126
A Great Neighborhood Restaurant - Edit
Amitabul is in a category of restaurants where care is obviously put into the food but whose mission is more about feeding people than impressing people. The food is good, the portions are large, and it's a vegetarian oasis in a part of the city that focuses more on meat and potatoes. I have been visiting Amitabul occasionally for about ten years. Things tend to change slowly on the Far Northwest Side, and fortunately Amitabul isn't an exception, because I always leave happy. The spicy dishes are particularly nice on cold, blustery days.
Read morePros: Tasty food, Neighborhood feel
Cons: Public transit isn't plentiful
Guest
rawlovenbeautie
Points +23
MY FAVORITE - Edit
I LOVE THIS PLACE. It's my favorite little vegan gem. All the food I've tried is amazing, but most especially Dr. Ks cure all soup. Just, yum!
Read moreGuest
BanjoGirl
Points +227
Left full! - Edit
My husband and toddler and I recently tried this restaurant. The food portions were HUGE and we ordered way too much. It is a BYOB, which is nice, and the owner was very friendly. It is very quiet, which is sometimes not great with a child. There were some carry-out orders when we were there, but, most of the tables were empty. The savory pancakes and Dr. K's soup were great. My husband ordered a spicy noodle dish (cannot recall which one) and loved it as well.
Read morePros: satisfying food, large portions
Cons: out-of-the-way location
Guest
KMR607
Points +400
yummy, healthy - Edit
Nice vegan Korean food. Huge serving of soup! Tasty wontons. Everything nicely seasoned, leaves you with a good feeling.
Read moreGuest
Sophie
Points +376
all time favorite - Edit
i have been vegan for five years in chicago and amitabul is my all time favorite, for sure. i cannot rave about it enough. i bring my friends and family there (not always all vegan) and they absolutely love this place too! if you are looking for suggestions on what to order, i get these items almost every time i go: ginger energy tea, steamed mandoo (dumplings, stir fried is also an optional), and the 9 ways to nirvana rice noodle soup (or dr k's cure all soup) followed by green tea and chocolate ice cream (or maple cookies). sometimes we love it so much, we have to go back the very next day. there is plenty of parking and service is excellent. they also have vegan kim chi, korean pancakes, and a variety of other noodle soups and non-soup dishes.
Read morePros: most delicious vegan food, huge selection, everything is good
Cons: wish it was closer to downtown!, wish it was open 24 hours! :)
Guest
mariec1
Points +125
Spot on good!! - Edit
Very tasty food and friendly atmosphere. A must go to place if I'm in the area. Their Dr. K's CURE ALL soup is the BEST, even if you're not sick but really helps when you are.
Read morePros: Delicious food, Street parking, Friendly staff
Guest
EverydayTastiness
Points +2723
Tasty - Edit
I'm not a huge fan of korean food, but this place was very good. Very friendly staff. We'd definitely go back next time we are in Chicago.
Read moreGuest
Keith_Thode
Points +717
Four and one half cows - Edit
A very peaceful and serene atmosphere. Very fine food and drink. Great service.
Read moreGuest
khhipps
Points +37
Our Favorite - Edit
We have been going to Amitabul for years (maybe 10 or so, can't really remember it has been that long) and it is by far our favorite. Never, ever, have we had a disappointing dish. The vegetables are cooked to perfection and amazingly flavorful. After going there for so long, my favoite dish is now "surprise me". This dish no matter what it is never fails to come to my delight and the more "surprise me's" we order the better. Don't get me wrong, we have favorites on the menu, but it is truly just a delightful experience and you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. You cannot leave this restaurant stressed and you certainly can't leave hungry as the portions are ample. ENjoy!
Read morePros: Fantastic food, Wonderful relaxing atmosphere, Good prices
Cons: None. This is as close to perfection as
Guest
gr8vegan
Points +2369
My ultimate healthy vegan mecca - Edit
I read about Amitabul years ago and never managed to get to it while in Chicago, finally on a trip in over the weekend I made it to my mecca a TOTALLY OIL FREE vegan restaurant (they do use sesame oils for flavor, but not cooking and you can omit) I started with a plate full of vegan dumplings, don't forget the spicy sauce and plum sauce to kick them up, its so nice when you break them open not to see globs of oil oozing out! I had the kim chi noodle bowl. Bill the owner was so nice and took our order and they kept the delicious purified water glasses full (HUGE to combat the spicy food) I thought I could eat the entire menu, but half way through and drinking gobs of water to combat the spice (heaven to me!) I was physically full!!! I boxed it up and ate it later before bed, it was just as good!!! I've never had kim chi cooked into a dish before and it was just beyond delicious, I didn't want to stop eating!!! I can't believe its taken me so long to make it to Amitabul. I looked at the news articles and clippings on the wall from the 1990s and am just sad it took me so long to find a place that is so congruent with my way of healthy eating. Korean food is my favorite food on the planet and to find healthy korean vegan just seems like dream. Amitabul just hits it out of the park on flavor/inventiveness/great menu / portion size / friendliness and service. Its one of the few restaurants that you leave healthier than you came in! It lived up to every expectation I had and I can't wait to go back!
Read morePros: oil-free, kim chi, huge portions
Guest
Caroline12345
Points +65
Great food! - Edit
It was a nice small quiet restaurant. The food was very healthy and tasty. ALl our meals were very spicy even with the mild sauces. If you cannot eat spicy food make sure to say not spicy. The portions were very large and filling. It was delicious and I would come back again!
Read morePros: great food, all vegan
Cons: slow service, large portions
Guest
ChrisSanderson
Points +28
Simply Fantastic! - Edit
Plenty of great reviews, but I'll add a quick 5 cower myself. Best I've ever had!
Read morePros: Delicious, Fresh, Friendly
Cons: 220 mils from home
Guest
ChicagoVeg
Points +47
Very delicious and healthy Korean cousin - Edit
Very delicious and healthy Korean cousin. Completely vegan and has a feel as a macrobiotic cooking (recommend!) Unfortunately the place is not good for large group but perfect to have a healthy dinner with a few friends.
Read moreGuest
promwall
Points +98
Kim Chee Noodle Soup - Edit
Ditto to all of the above. I had the Kim Chee Noodle Soup. WOW! Delicious....packed with fresh vegetables and the best kim chee I've ever tasted. It's spicey and the portion size is HUGE but I couldn't put my spoon/fork down. Just one more bite....
Read morePros: fresh, delicious, generous
Guest
veganese
Points +40
Healthy Vegan - Edit
Don't believe the others claims of having the healthiest food around. This place will leave you feeling good. No it is not RAW and yes it is all VEGAN. The food served here is a type of Korean/Healthy-Vegan fusion. I've had the bibim bop and some of the boochingae. Very well made and the tastes are excellent.
Read morePros: Healthy , all vegan, awesome service
Guest
milind
Points +26
Welcome, some surprises... - Edit
Good friendly homely restaurant. Our only experience with Buddhist cuisine was Chinese Vegetarian restaurants in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, London, Florida, etc... and one reason we sometimes eat there is because they don't use onions and garlic, which we strictly avoid too (these are foods that bind us strongly like ropes to materialistic life)... so we just say "no mushrooms no fungus no eggs please" (these are foods in the mode of darkness)... here the dishes were full of onions and garlic. The chef prepared a meal without, but it wasn't quite the same after the shock of that heavy taste in the mouth in the first bite. We paid though, because honestly there is no strict definition of "Buddhist" cuisine, almost anything goes, many buddhists eat meat as a matter of course.
Read moreSo, anyone else going there, if you don't want onions and garlic, please say so upfront.
Guest
happycowgirl
Points +5684
Awesome in every way - Edit
I can't add much except to confirm the other excellent reviews on this site. Warm, welcoming feeling when you walk in. Friendly, kind staff. The food is fantastic.
Read moreI would especially recommend this restaurant to someone who is vegetarian trying to go vegan or to those who have friends or relatives who are skeptics of vegan cuisine. This restaurant is a showcase of just how flavorful vegan cuisine can be.
Guest
Kaywal
Points +41
High expectations blown out of the water - Edit
I recently went to Amitabul with a couple of friends, expecting to satisfy my needs for a good vegan meal and my other friends' desires for good, authentic Korean food. I have heard rave reviews about this place, so I was expecting a lot. I was blown away with how amazing this place was.
Read moreI ordered the Bim bop kimchi or something along those lines, and tried the Tibetan curry and another noodle dish, and then the spiciest soup on the menu. all of these dishes had such distinctive and amazing flavors. Even though it was so spicy, you could really taste the unique aspects of each dish.
The service was excellent--both people working were so kind and attentive and seemed to really enjoy providing the food to their patrons.
It has been only 5 days since I sat down at Amitabul, and I have craved it every hour since then. I can't WAIT to go there and explore every dish on the menu.
this is my FAVORITE restaurant, vegan, in chicago, or otherwise, EVER.
I can NOT recommend this place more: go there, feel amazing, and feel as if you just indulged in something you should regret (but can't! it's too healthy)!
Pros: authenticity, health, taste--to die for.
Cons: distance from inner city
Guest
Kell Bell
Points +58
Authentically Korean and delicious - Edit
I'm Korean so I should know how good Korean food can be. Often, Korean food in the States is "Americanized" by adding meats and more sugar than necessary. This is not the case at Amitabul. It was my third time in Chicago, but my first time at Amitabul. It's about a 25 minute cab ride from downtown, but it was well worth the $20. It's difficult to catch a cab back, so we had to call a cab service to come pick us up. When we first walked in there were only two other people in the medium sized dining area, but after we were seated, the place quickly filled to 3/4 capacity. The owner/chef? greeted many of the guests by name. I guess it's a neighborhood mainstay. We started out with the dumplings, which were soft, tender, and perfectly seasoned. I had spicy mixed veggies with rice cakes which were super spicy - but I loved it. It cleared up my sinuses in minutes! Extra napkins, please! I didn't know how large the portions would be so I ordered the kimchee soup on the side. Big mistake. Both dishes were big, and I struggled to finish both. Couldn't do it, but I had fun trying! The Korean food here is authentic, delicious, and yes, vegan. I would love it if the restaurant served bahn-jan with the meals, but the portions are so big, you don't really miss it. This is healthy Korean cuisine at its best!
Read morePros: Authentic Korean food, Large portions, Nice menu selection
Cons: A little out of the way
Guest
·X·
Points +21840
One of my new favorite places in the Chicago area! - Edit
Oh my goodness this is definitely a find! I ate here for the first time last week and I was more than impressed. Not only is this place Vegan and health conscious, but the food tastes amazing (especially for being so healthy!). So I tried many things from here and I highly recommend all of them. I started with the green juice (can't remember the name but it had fruits as well as spinach and cucumber in it) and I was very impressed...my Vegan dining counterpart enjoyed their protein juice as well. The appetizer we chose, Vegan dumplings, was my favorite part of the meal! I can't believe they're Vegan and healthy!!! Finally for my meal I got the The Dark Side of the Moon (with rice noodles)...spectacular! My friend's dish was quite tasty as well and the rice cakes in their dish were so good! I will be here often and Amitabul is one of my new favorites here!
Read morePros: Everything, **VERY** friendlly staff!
Guest
mollypitcher
Points +72
Fantastic & healthy - Edit
This place is great! I eat hear pretty regularly and have always had good meals. The dumplings are wonderful, as is most everything on the menu. This food will warm you from the inside out.
Read morePros: excellent food, healthy, friendly staff
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business
See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 48846 times.