Al Khyam Bakery & Grocery

We drove 45 minutes to get to get baklava for a party. It was average at best, and not fresh. Disappointing.

Check your bread. it may still be warm. Things you’re sure you’ll never find outside of the Middle East, you can find here… and they are happy to help you locate whatever item you need. It’s gotta be in there somewhere…
Prices? Amazing. Nobody is charging you airfare on that box of exotic whatever-​it-​is.
Lots of fresh items too, like Lebne, and olives (are olives technically fresh?).
Stand around and sniff the air, just for the pleasure of it.

This grocery store and bakery used to be my go-​to place for delicious Middle Eastern baked goods, tea and olive oil.
However, the decline in both sanitation and food quality has me rethinking this place. Employees chain-​smoking directly in the store, filthy floors, damaged food product packages and dented cans, blaring loud mariachi music, a meat case that looks like a road kill morgue, and almost empty bakery cases with less-​than-​fresh offerings. That was my most recent and probably last experience in Al Khyam.
Sad times.

Nice people, great products. Found everything I needed and got cheery service. It’s a bit of a hike from downtown but convenient enough from the brown line. Will definitely be back and I will have to try out the bakery next time.

Baklava is good, they have typical manakheesh (cheese bread) with zaatar, etc. It was OK. Lots of middle eastern options in terms of the grocery store. Fresh meat section.

I’ve been getting their pita from Middle eastern bakery but decided to visit their location. It was fun to look at my beloved pita coming our from oven in the store. Sweet section has many kinds of «baklava» — including hard to find Osh El Bulbul («bird’s nest») !! I did not look around much on Grocery section, but when I decide to stock up my Middle eastern stuff I will come back here.
Their large pita is great for wraps — i usually roll any kind of salad vegetable with dressing or spread (hummus etc), avocado, then cut in half. Healthy and filling quick fix. Yum, Yum!

This place has .99 freshly baked pita in packs of 12. You can’t beat that price man. They sell zabiha meat at affordable prices. They have various items in the grocery section, but most of it is middle easternesque. Great for my husband!
There is also a restaurant next to it but I’ve never gone.

Decent prices and wide selection, but I was incredibly disappointed with their baklava, the pride and joy of an Arab bakery. The man said that the pieces he sold me were baked that morning. Either he was lying (a poor decision) or their baklava is always hard and dry. At eight dollars a pound, I will go elsewhere.

This place is amazing! All of the workers are so nice and so helpful. The quality, taste, and selection of the food is the best I have ever seen at any arabic grocery. I really have had only wonderful experiences in Albany Park in general, but this place is my favorite part of the neighborhood. Their pitas, cheeses, and baba ganoush are must tries.

I Unilocal-​searched for Sumac in desperation and the amazing Unilocalers advised Al Khayam Bakery – thanks guys! Spices at a bakery? I’ve been going to the restaurant next to it for years, which I never reviewed it for selfish reasons: o
I knew this «bakery» was known for its pitas (not into pitas that much), but little did I know it was actually a little mid-​east grocery store disguised as a bakery. I never saw such a humongous can of chick peas in my life! After almost loosing hope not finding the Sumac in their big selection of mideast spices in plastic bottles, I was relieved to finally find the Sumac Spice $ 3.59/lb in a bag with help from a friendly store clerk in another section of the store.
I no longer have to smooch for extra dressing from Pita Inn that comes with their Chicken Fattoush salads. I treated those little containers as gold. Now I feel I struck a gold mine – I can make as much as I want :)
I loved going through the cookware. Found some kind of mold – package was all in Syrian so I didn’t know what it was but it looked interesting so I got it anyway. I googled it when I got home and found out it was a Momoul cookie mold and found videos of how to use it. Can’t wait to try making some! I bought some spicy dired mangos and spicy toasted pita chips to try as well. ‘Tho the food items weren’t to my liking and the store isn’t very astheticly appealing, the 5 stars are for the Sumac, nice employees, and the enlightening cultural food discoveries. I’ll have to go back and try some actual Momoul cookie varieties-​dates, pistachios, walnuts – before I decide which one to make, and pick up that giant can of chickpeas when I get on my occasional hummus kick.

This is a nice place for falafels. I have to agree with the reviews on the falafels being one of the best around. But the final sandwich does not quite match up to my favorite places.
Moreover, the service at this place has been horrid, the 3 times I’ve been there. We put up with it, just because the falafel are just that good. Last time we went, the waitress was sitting there in the corner eating her own dinner. I don’t even think that’s allowed per regulations. But she didn’t care to check in with us. We had to sort of wave her down for anything. Really careless…
Also, I have to say, the hot sauce doesn’t quite match up to Pita Inn, which is still king in my opinion.
I guess I rate it as 3-​star (OK) because it’s not too far and the softness of the falafel do make up for the shortcomings with everything else.
Update ⁸⁄₁₆ — OK, downgrade down to one star because the service issues have just gone too far now. I tried going there again (it was a few months ago and that was the last time) and they closed like 15 minutes before their posted closing time. The person inside was just shrugged as if to say, sorry buddy, ur SOL. Mr. Khayyam, don’t be sorry… just know that you lost a customer that was willing to put up with your BS service.

In Albany Park you can damn well find anything if you look hard enough. After a devastating awesome dinner at Al-​Khaymeih, we saw a sign for super megacheap hummus over at the grocery store next door and couldn’t resist. Stepping inside into Al-​Khyam, we walked into another universe.
Stepping in, you will be greeted by the biggest wall of shisha that you have ever encountered. The amount of shelf space dedicated solely for shisha made me wish I had a hookah as all flavors under the sun were represented with plenty of charcoal to keep your hookah locked and loaded. Shisha is stacked on two shelves five feet high and three feet wide, if you can’t find something you like there — you don’t like shisha.
Plenty of olive oils to choose from of all different sizes as well as honey with honeycombs still inside, nuts, pineapple jam, more fruit preserves. I am not jam or honey expert, but I can imagine getting lost in their tidal wave of preserves! Across from this shelf, you’ll find dried apricots, dried oranges, and dried all manner of fruit you didn’t think could be dried. If dried fruit and honey are your thing — stop on by immediately!
If you are a fan of baklawa, make sure you check out their bakery! For $ 6.99 a pound, you can rock baklawa of all kinds with plenty of nuts and sweet crispy honeyed goodness. The baklawa I had was super sweet, super crunchy and packed with nuts. YUM!
You’ll find hookahs from $ 40 and up on the top of the shelves along with more aisles of candy, spices, and more neat little gifts for people. There are pots and pans if you need some and some interesting teapots. Stop by Al-​Khyam next time you are in Albany Park, you’ll soon find yourself becoming a regular.

Happy Valentines Day to me! I have just completely inhaled a serving of their fresh, delicious, completely additive baklava. I did not even like baklava before trying Al Khayyam’s version. OMG! It’s amazing!
Warning – if you purchase the 1lb tray you must not (I repeat *must not*) be alone with it. You will (oh you will) eat more than you ought.
(As I reach for another serving…)

Wonderfully exotic Arabic grocery store, butcher and bakery…
I love the vast assortment of baklava in various shapes, sizes and varieties. Interesting aisles of Middle Eastern food, cookware and specialty items. I love places like this.
One of a kind and unusual.

Baklava for $ 6.99 a pound!
I love a deal and this is a great deal but that isn’t even the best part. This is the freshest baklava I’ve ever tasted. I wasn’t aware of the many different varieties having only had what I assume is the standard filo and honey version. Al Khayyam has at least a half dozen different types. I’ve had cashew, walnut and pistachio. I like the rolled style cashew personally but always select a delicious menagerie.
A pound of their baklava fills what appears to be about a 5″ by 8″ aluminum carry out/​leftover container… and that’s a lot of baklava. But since it’s so fresh it keeps well for over a week. They also will generously cover your pound of goodness with a crushed pistachio. DAMN IT“S GOOD!
While there I grabbed a can of hummus for $ 0.88 and a block of feta for $ 3.49. Both were great. Now I expected the feta to be good but canned hummus? It was really good. Also there was a young guy who I imagine is the owner/​owner’s son and he was super accommodating and outgoing which has not always been my experiences at neighborhood, ethnic specific joints. He was helpful and friendly.
Sanabel Bakery is still my spot for fresh pita and delicious, savory, middle eastern baked goods. But for spices (great deals!) and the rest Al Khayyam is my spot.
Oh ya. The picture is misleading. This is a grocery and not a sit down place.

This is one of the shortest reviews I think I’ve ever written but it’s getting straight to the point: PITA!
For $ 2+tax you can get 2 HUMONGOUS circular pita breads that were hand-​made that same morning. Don’t even think to get pita from the same restaurant you pick up your tabbouleh, baba ghannouj, or hummus, just do yourself a favor and make a quick stop at Al Khayyam’s grocer.
If you don’t believe, take a peek at Al Khayyam’s business profile pictures or just make a visit.

The baklawah was very, very tasty. My uncle found some molasses that he couldn’t find anywhere else. Their filo dough was half the cost of Jewel.
Overall a great store, it just took a while to get service at he bakery.

When I first walked in I was greeted by one of (what I think was) the managers. As soon as I mentioned I was looking for maamoul molds he became much more friendly, took me to the back of the store, diligently searched through a bunch of boxes and presented me with them (they were just $ 3) with a big smile.
Whenever I’m next door at the restaurant, I pop in here for bits and pieces: Vimto blackcurrant soda (though I wish they stocked the still cordial variety), olives, fig preserves (way cheaper in here than Whole Foods!), orange blossom and rose water, pistachios, spices, and pita bread.
I love wandering the aisles littered with drums of olive oil, five gallon jars of pickled labneh, pickled turnips (though I make my own), halwa, and other Lebanese delicacies.
You’ll also find a great selection of baklawa, maamoul, and other delicious baked goods (for reasonable prices) in their bakery case, as well as fresh baked pitas.
Everything is reasonably priced, and you can walk out of here with several grocery bags of goodies for less than twenty dollars.

Ya, habibi! Go here for the Pita bread, it’s the best in the city. Verily, all the Middle Eastern groceries and restaurants in town serve THIS bread (albeit at a markup!). It’s that good. Go on a Sunday when it’s right out of the oven, buy a dozen bags — you can freeze them for quite a long time. I prefer the larger, round bread, but they also make the popular «pocket» pita bread. Honestly, I think the bread they make here is better than anything I’ve had «over there», and I ate a LOT of that stuff «over there!» Giant selection of sweets, cookies, baklava — all made here.
Awhile back, they got a new bread oven that is out in the middle of the bakery. It’s so cute to see all the kids gathered around, mesmerized, watching the guy take fresh Zatar bread out of the oven.
Zatar bread — it’s the stuff in the plastic bags that has spices, meat (lamb) or cheese on it. Especially good the day it’s baked, but you can also do the ol’ «third world» method of warming it up by throwing it on an open gas burner (ditto for the pita bread). Drizzle a little olive oil on it, and wallah — lazeez! (delicious!)
The guys who own the store are Lebanese, I believe — and they are the greatest. The Lebanese, along with the Syrians *really* know good food, in my experience. Syrians are like Italians who speak Arabic. Lebanese would be like Frenchmen who speak Arabic (and French). So, if you’re unsure about what something is, just ask one of the guys, you’ll have your own personal shopper in a minute!
The olives and feta cheese in the deli cases here is WAY cheaper (like dollars per pound cheaper) than Dominick’s and the large corporate chains.
Plus, it’s way more FUN to shop here. Delicious bakery smells, free sample tastes, charming owners — YALLAH!

Stopped by this place on the way home from So Gong Dong Tofu House because I was craving something sweet and there happened to be a parking spot right out front.
Al Khayam has a decent selection of middle eastern canned goods, groceries, and cheeses, and a halal meat counter. They also have an awesome assortment of bulk spices, both whole and ground. I bought about 4 ounces of whole fenugreek seeds for just over $ 2. I will definitely be back for some of the spice blends and for more whole, inexpensive spices.
After perusing the selection of cheeses, meats and assorted grocery items my dining companion and I remembered our original intention: baklava. Al Khayam offers a bunch of different little baklava bites, so we decided on a few and took them to go. We stuck to the small bite baklavas, so we could try a few, but they have larger pieces cut as well. My favorite one that we tried was a square cut baklava filled with walnuts. It was crispy on top with just the right amount of syrup on the bottom. It was somewhat spicy, with just a hint of rosewater. Lovely.
I’ll definitely be back.