Levante Grill and Cafe, a new Mediterranean restaurant in White Oaks Mall, is prepping for its official opening on Feb. 1.
The restaurant’s menu includes Mediterranean favorites such as chicken and beef shawarma, gyros, burgers, chicken wings, falafel and hummus. Owner Hisham Sweidan said all menu items are made fresh in the store with Levante’s own house-made seasoning mixes and sauces.
“Everything is fresh and Halal,” Sweidan said. Halal refers to food that is permissible under Islamic law. “We make it from scratch every day. We mix the meat and the fat and the seasonings for the burgers every day, so the burger is juicy. We don’t do frozen meats.”
Levante will serve desserts such as baklava and fruit desserts as well as 16 flavors of gelato. It also will offer a menu of specialty coffees and drinks.
The restaurant is located next to Cooper’s Hawk, in the former Five Guys space at 2501 Wabash Ave. Five Guys closed its White Oaks Mall restaurant in 2023. Sweidan said Levante has done a full remodel of the space.
“Everything is brand new,” he said. “We even have custom table sets from overseas.”
Levante has had what Sweidan describes as a “soft opening” at the mall, serving customers as he has trained his staff of seven employees. He said the restaurant is now fully staffed and ready for its official opening in February.
Sweidan moved to Illinois to be closer to his father. He previously worked in restaurants overseas, but Levante is his first restaurant in the area.
“I came here, and I decided to work with what I’m good at,” Sweidan said.
The restaurant will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.