This is a great little cafe that offers up healthy, high-quality food prepared meticulously. They will even deliver it themselves if you don't want to go through the Terrible Trio of delivery apps. I order from here regularly and I've never had cause to complain. My one suggestion: more vegan options! But I'm happy with the decent selection of vegan food they already have on the menu. Hope this place lasts a long, long time. read more

The search is over!!! Since moving to Evanston 10 years ago I had given up on finding a good Thai place that can pull off a curry at the same level as Thai places in the city. I finally found AMAZING curry at Bonsai. I ordered the seafood curry. The red curry sauce itself was complex and flavorful. The seafood was fresh. This place is a gem. It's obviously family run, with the smallest members sweetly serving us menus and water! The ambiance is calm and pretty. I can't believe I missed this place, just a bike ride from my house all this time! read more

An excellent little restaurant. The fried rice's that my wife and I had were delicious. Definitely going to return.

Delicious fresh food at very good prices. Bonsai has been under new management for the last year and would welcome your business. The food is better than it was under the last management and very tasty - Chinese, Thai and sushi, all good! Very good prices, especially their incredible lunch special! read more

My daughter and I planned to pick up Thai food and have a lunch picnic outside in the gorgeous weather, but discovered that our favorite Thai place didn't open until 5:00. We were in north Evanston after errands and decided to try Bonsai Cafe. Online ordering was easy and our order was ready when we arrived. The lady was very nice. I had the Chinese Chicken salad with a side of shrimp and my daughter got the Bonsai Bento Box which came with miso soup, she chose the chicken teriyaki entree which came with rice, a California roll and three pieces of sushi. We both felt that our meals were a bit lacking in flavor (my salad had few ingredients and was boring) and her teriyaki was bland, but everything was good. The sushi was fresh and she liked the soup. We also had their homemade ginger ale which was also fresh and refreshing. They smartly package the carry out drinks in cardboard carriers. Prices were very reasonable and we agreed that we will try other dishes next time. read more

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I would avoid the Chicken Satay. Some kind of formed chicken strip with bbq sauce. Peanut noodles salad very thick noodles and peanut sauce, not my like. read more

I don't generally order online-- but I did this time. I think that I have FINALLY found a really good Asian restaurant. I got prompt, and very friendly curbside service-- and the food--was not only fresh-- but delicious! The shrimp Shumai was light, and very flavorful. The green beans were well seasoned and delicious. I love calamari-- but calamari is tricky. You cook it SECONDS too long-- it turns into shoe leather. Not here. It was tender, juicy, with a spicy dipping sauce that I wished they had given me more. I was coveting the recipe-/ it was that good. I will definitely go back. This is a hidden gem. read more

EXCELLENT FOOD!!!! Been here over 40 times and tried many things exceptional food epically for the price. Kungpow beef is 10/10 and fast service for a large menu. Love this place read more

Tasty and priced right - not a place for ambiance per se but carrying out will certainly satisfy your Thai cravings.

I love this place. From the second we got there to the second we left it was, for lack of a better word, a vibe. The lighting was pretty, and it had a cozy atmosphere. And I would just like to point out the extremely variety filled menu. It was amazing, there was nothing missing! And the food didn't take to long to get to us. We got crispy pot stickers and rainbow maki, and it was SOOO good. The pot stickers were crispy, flavorful, and loved by me and my family. The rainbow maki was also amazing. I like how the fish balences out the flavor of the California rolls. Five minutes after our appetizers came the main dish had arrived. My beef and broccoli was heavenly, the beef was cooked to perfection, and there was the perfect amount of brown sauce and rice. There could be a but more broccoli. This place is amazing and I highly recommend it read more

Bonsai Cafe - Rainbow maki - Japanese Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Chicken pho was delicious- service was okay, around a lot but not when she was needed, had to get up to ask her for hoisin and siracha which she didn't understand and got Chinese chili sauce instead. Sushi was okay-some of it was fresh but some cuts were pretty dry. The sushi was cut kind of sloppily-I think the sushi chef was inexperienced. The shrimp in particular was really dry and when it comes to sushi that's pretty bad. I don't want to talk badly about the service but I think that being the only table in the place you would think the service would be more attentive but it was wanting. She came around but very briefly and again we had to get up and find her a few times. Aside from the Chicken pho nothing else really stood out and was kind of sub par. read more

Bonsai Cafe - Japanese Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Sushi was fresh and very tasty. My husband enjoyed the Basil Chicken and it was a hearty portion. The service was friendly and fast. We'll certainly be back to try more. read more

This was my first time ordering, but my daughter had eaten there before. Unfortunately, the three of us who ate the food this time all got sick - big time digestive problems. So, the food was okay tasting; it seemed a little bland, but again, it was my first time ordering it so I couldn't compare it to a prior visit. I'm not sure if I will order again. It's very close to home, but I feel a little hesitant. read more

Excellent food, nice environment. I has orange chicken, delicious and fresh. Homemade ginger ale is also a must try. read more

Family owned and in our experience a real undiscovered jewel. Don't be put off by the surprisingly low prices. It's very kid friendly, spotlessly clean, BYOB, and you won't be disappointed. My wife and are frequent customers as are others we know as neighbors. read more

Terrible food experience. Very small portion very expensive. Taste not good also . I will never try again

I order food they said long time for delivery 3 hours later didn't get it at all talking about getting ripped off.

Chat, if you are still the owner I hope you are reading this. The quality of the food is consistently decreasing and in Evanston is very difficult to get closed by the health department...twice... Pease do something about food safety and food quality. Bonsai Cafe's reputation among us, the neighbors, is getting worse. Please spend time at the restaurant yourself if you are not. And if you are there, do something about the food. You are loosing customers and we would hate to see you go after all these years. You staff is always polite and attentive. But the food... read more

Ordered delivery here for the first time. Delivery was 35-minutes longer than expected and the food was warm at best. Sadly, all of the ordered dishes (2 appetizers and 2 entrees) were terrible. The sesame chicken had no chicken to be found; I think it was all deep fried chicken skin. Well, at least the rice was fine. read more

I absolutely love this place. My family and I go here all the time when were thinking asian food. First of all its BYOB but not like a college BYO where kids are crushing full cases of beer but you usually see people bring in white wine for their meals. Being such a big eater, I usually get the chicken pad Thai for my main course which is as good as it gets. There are so many flavors just bursting in your mouth and its not too heavy either. Epic and a must! We usually get a bunch of sushi rolls to start out with. The Shogun maki is my favorite. Its got sweet potato and cream cheese which is not typically seen in restaurants topped with a sweet sauce. Its almost like a dessert roll but its legendary. We also get the shrimp tempura roll and the spicy tuna which are always slamming. It's not a flashy place and to be honest if you weren't looking for it you would never think of going but its great. The service is usually very good but the last time i was there it was a little slow but it was also because were in a hurry and everything seems slow when you trying to Eat and Run. Legendary read more

So I tried Bonsai cafe for the first time last week, I was looking for great sushi. See, I live near Logan square in Chicago but I work in Evanston and I gotta say as far as Ive seen the food selection in Evanston isn't that great. Anyway, I came across this restaurant on menupages.com and I ordered sushi and soup. Delivery was on time and the delivery person was nice. Now the sushi that I ordered is didn't look that special but tasted really good it was actually one of the bust sushi meals Ive eaten, I ordered shrimp wonton soup as well and Ive never been a fan of Asian soup but this one was amazing. So I guess I found my sushi place in evanston! read more

Bonsai Cafe - Shrimp Wonton soup - Japanese Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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I am surprised to see 1 star reviews on this place. The service could be better, the atmosphere isn't inspired, but the food makes up for it. The menu might seem run-of-the-mill Asian (con)Fusion, but things are not as they first appear. It seems like every dish is a reinterpretation. It is all fresh and light and everything has a wonderful blend of flavors. Try the Orange Chicken. Even if this is something you wouldn't normally order, just trust me. The makis are great and I like to get one or more for an appetizer. (Hint: order the appetizer first and the entree later so they won't come at the same time.) Really, you can order anything and I don't think you will go wrong. The prices are reasonable and BYOB makes it a bargain. read more

Well, here's the thing. The food is pretty good. My real objection is that I was in there with my two kids (the younger is 17) and--for the entire time--they played rap music with lyrics that regularly had b**** and N*****. We were there for an hour and the Spotify playlist never let up. However, my salad and my son's maki rolls were pretty good. read more

This place has really good food. We've been going here for a few years and have not had a bad meal. My favorites are Panang Curry Noodles Chicken, Thai Red Curry Chicken, Kung Pao dishes and Pad See Ewe. The Chinese Dumplings are great too. We get both delivery or eat in. The place is small and comfortable. Really good service. read more

Great sushi. Fresh and mouthwatering. Really good experience. Our expectations were also met in relation to pickup. It was ready on time unlike some other local sushi restaurants that we have stopped going to because the food is never ready when they say it will be and is sometimes more than an hour late. read more

This is a go to restaurant for our family. It excels at really tasty food, friendly service and kid friendly. The sushi is the best I've found outside Chicago. The Chinese and other Asian dishes are made with very high quality ingredients which separates this place from most others in the area offering the simular fare. We take out as much and eat in. Very rarely disappointed. read more

We've eaten-in and had food delivered from Bonsai Cafe several times in the last two years and were always completely satisfied. Our last meal (A Saturday evening in late February) was a disappointment. New kitchen staff? As usual, I ordered the Thai Hot Pepper Basil Chicken. This time around it was missing peanuts, chilis, basil (only one small piece) and most of the chicken. They did, however substitute what appeared to be half a can of water chestnuts! An odd choice for a Thai dish. My niece ordered some rolls and Pad Thai with shrimp and enjoyed her meal. So maybe the Basil Chicken fiasco was just a fluke. My advice to Bonsai Cafe: If you don't have the ingredients on hand for a particular dish, let the customer know in advance, so they can order something else. If this is the new version of Thai Hot Pepper Basil, an update of the menu description is in order! This dinner was on Saturday, February 21, 2015 around 7 pm. read more

Ordered from GrubHub to be delivered to the hospital. Food arrived on time. Our group had pork with sticky rice, chicken satay, orange chicken and crab rangoon. We all thought it was ok, but not the best we've ever had. As a side note, I didn't ask for cutlery-- by my mistake, but I guess if I was a business owner with a delivery to a hospital... I would just send (and ask the receiver) if they needed cutlery. Just my two cents as a thoughtful way to make people continue to choose this restaurant over the variety in the neighborhood. read more

We ordered takeout. Positives: The food was good. We enjoyed our entrees as well as the crab rangoon. All had great flavor and were high quality dishes. Negatives: For $30 I was disappointed with the portion size. Our normal pricer Chineese takeout (koi) would have had a much larger portion for about the same price. Also with 2 sides of steamed rice plus a extra order of rice, we received no soy sauce. Or sweet and sour sauce. We got the chop sticks. I found this particularly odd. And disappointing. I never imagined having to request a few packets of sauce sauce in a Chineese takeout order. Strange. We live close by. Maybe I'll try it again. The food was good. But I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth. Bummer. read more

This is our new take out of choice for Chinese. We've ordered from there now several times and like it a lot overall. The portions are smaller than other asian restaurants (e.g., the rice and entree are in one container that normally is the size of just the entree). Loved the potstickers, chicken satay, crab rangoon and most of the entrees and curry dishes. Didn't love the spicy peanut noodles appetizer or the potato croquettes -- I guess you aren't going to love everything. read more

This has become our favorite Asian fusion / Thai style restaurant in the area. Prices are reasonable as the portions are good-size, especially the soups. The quality seems to be getting better with time. Some dishes taste a little different than they do from other places, but we like them. read more

The food is pretty good and prices are reasonable. I like their lunch special options. However, they could work on their delivery services. I was waiting for my food more than one hour and I got cold dishes. Also, I didn't get a spoon to my soup. Overall, I think this is a good place to eat with some room for improvement ;) read more

We eat carry out from Bonsai about once a month. The young employees are pleasant and timely with the food. The prices are good and food is good. The curry dishes are excellent! read more

This is byob place !!! The best spicy tuna!!! The best california!!!! I will be back.. read more

The Bonsai Cafe has the most excellent Asian food in town. It is fresh and the spices and sauces are so flavorful. Everything is perfect. This will continue to be our go to restaurant for Thai food. We love it especially the curry dishes and the tofu dishes. read more

Pretty decent food and convenient since it delivers to my bf's area. Love the mandarin steak salad as well as the sushi. We've ate at the place twice (my bf has been there many times before he met me) and just 1 out of the 2 times, they seemed a bit rushed or slightly agitated since we did go there near closing time, so I understand in a way. But I would still go and also get their food delivered :) read more

If you want tapioca with your bubble tea, then look somewhere else. This place doesn't do tapioca. "Bubble tea" is misleading. It's a smoothie. read more

The Kung Pao chicken here is definitely the best I've ever had. I've sorely missed it since moving away from Evanston.

Was not really impressed. The restaraunt tried to make the food more like american-thai. There really was no flavor on the food. It was just really sweet. I wouldn't recommend this restaraunt to ANYBODY. Go to Old Neighborhood Grill. There food is way much better. read more

My parents really like this place. So I've eaten there or had take out a few times. For starters, the take out portions are rather weak in my opinion. I've had the sesame chicken, mongolian beef, and kung pao from here, and besides the portions, these dishes just lacked flavor. Dry, almost. When I went to eat there once, I had the orange chicken, which was different in a bad way. Dry and just lacking flavor. I will say that the Chinese dumpling soup was delicious, but one can't just eat that small soup portion for dinner every time you eat from/at this place. Need to step up their menu. read more