Klay Oven Oak Park

I now have double reason to lament the passing of Cafe Le Coq; the cozy wallside seating and old-world bistro tile floor has been banished in favor of drab laminate and uniform table islands, making a tiny space feel cavernous, especially without any diners. The new Klay Oven owners at least preserved the tin ceiling and added some wall hangings, but I couldn't find anything homey (or any homie) in either the atmosphere or the food.

We started with the samosas, which came in an order of two, for $6. While large, they were bready, baked affairs with a distinct, distracting peppermint aroma and uniform, uninteresting texture. The corners were cooked to hardtack consistency. The chilli kulcha was a similarly dry, tired dough smeared with an overripe chili oil with no other seasoning to note, including salt. The bhuna gosht did not give the impression of long-braised goat falling off the bone, but rather gamey, chewy nuggets in simple tomato sauce. By this point, I was fervently clicking my heels together and wishing for Lao Sze Chuan stir-fried lamb with cumin.

The chicken makhni arrived and, well, it's hard to screw up chicken cooked with that much butter, so it was pretty decent. But the sauce was very similar to the lamb, and similarly covered in brown, curling cilantro. The pacing of the dishes was considerably off, with the samosas appearing instantaneously and the chicken just barely making it before their official lunch closing time (and we had been there for 50 minutes at that point).

The mango lassi was good.

All in all, I can't wait for Khyber Pass to be re-opened in full strength, where, if the buffet does age fast, at least the hosts are fun and the space warm and welcoming. This Klay Oven bears little resemblance to the one downtown, at least from the dishes we ordered. I'd be interested to hear if other items (or other days) get more kitchen attention. Our visit was not Konfidence-inducing.

Klay Oven Restaurant
734 Lake St.
Oak Park
(708) 386-3999

I would give it a try for dinner. We ate there about two weeks ago and found everything to be satisfactory. The one exception were the samosas, which were horrible....like eating a 16 inch softball. You could kill someone with one. The service was fine.

Oddly enough, I thought it was a lot better than my one visit to Khyber Pass.

After a couple of Indian friends recommended the Oak Park location, we finally tried Klay Oven. We got it delivered, since I was flying solo with the kids, but even then the dishes we got were pretty good. Lamb kabobs (for the kids), tandoori Mahi Mahi ... nothing spectacular, but not bad at all. I tried in my mind to compare it to Khyber Pass, but considering I'd only ever had the KP buffet, there wasn't enough common ground for a fair comparison.

Thanks for the review. I live in Oak Park and have been meaning to try Klay Oven since it opened. Now, I'm not so sure. Like the OP said, maybe I'll just wait for Khyber Pass to be re-opened... or just make the trek up to Devon...

There's a reasonably large menu with many other dishes to try, and word on the street is that they're tweaking the atmosphere and service, so don't be too scared off; it's new and more data is needed. They didn't earn a quick followup from me, but I'll be back eventually.

Re-opened Khyber is consistent with the old days. Less satisfying was the Sunday buffet at India House in Oak Brook (nice bright room with a view, impossible to find, damn stringy chicken).

Khyber is indeed re-opened, and consistent as ever. The wife and I will likely give Klay Oven a try at some point, but it's rather difficult to convince ourselves to given our long-time enjoyment of Khyber Pass just down the street, and the less than positive things read and heard about Klay Oven thus far.

At long last, I stopped in Klay Oven tonight. The Wife and Daughter were at EL, so I knew there'd be no one home; I just got off the train, hungry.

What a godawful dinner. I was hungry, so I ate what I could, but it was so bad, I left, still hungry, unable to finish apps, side, main course, just miserable damn food, dull, done poorly.

Woke up this morning, still pissed off. It's amazing how long a bad meal sticks with me. It colors my attitude for up to a day afterwards. Fortunately, same goes for a good meal.

Sounds like you need therapy. I'd suggest the West Rogers Park area.

Considering the number of restaurants in that immediate area, congratulations on finding the worst one!

seebee wrote:Sounds like you need therapy. I'd suggest the West Rogers Park area.

Instead of Rogers Park, I sought therapy in Franklin Park, at a taqueria called Chiquita's.



All better now. No medication or long talks required.

hoppy2468 wrote:Considering the number of restaurants in that immediate area, congratulations on finding the worst one!

I think I've eaten in just about every other restaurant in Oak Park. There's a reason why I'd held off for years from going to Klay Oven: it didn't look right. It isn't.

I think I've eaten in just about every other restaurant in Oak Park. There's a reason why I'd held off for years from going to Klay Oven: it didn't look right. It isn't.

Dave, I sincerely thank you for being my "canary in the coal mine" and thwarting any horrible effects I may have had from stumbling into such a meal. You are both a gentleman and a scholar (at least in the culinary sense ).

This place is GONE. Hopefully something more interesting takes its place.