Bad service. We clearly explained that we wanted chicken dumplings, and they brought vegetable. We told them about the issue three times and they told us they would pack up the correct dumplings. When we got home we realized that they packed up the vegetable (WRONG) dumplings and sent us home, after we asked three times for the chicken. read more

Consistent, good quality Chinese food. I've been coming here for years - both dine in & take-out - and both are enjoyable. Nice vegetarian options, solid appetizers, and the fish choices (which I normally shy away from in Asian restaurants) have been better than expected. My only disappointment is that delivery times vary hugely. They tend to estimate an hour for delivery - sometimes it ends up being 30 minutes & there are times we've waited an hour & a half. If they could firm up their delivery times, it would be a 5 star experience. As it is, Ping Pong is still my favorite local Chinese restaurant. read more

I'm surprised that others don't all like the food here because I think it's very good. Great food, BYOB, and one of the best atmospheres in Chicago. read more

I'll start with the negative. Their music is often way too loud. Which results in people practically screaming to their party members. It isn't the crowds that Ping Pong attracts that turn me off, its just that the place gets so loud when its busy. As much as I want to go, I make a point of staying out of it during peak hours. Other than that though... What is there to say? It rocks. The place is lovely, very beautiful and comfortable. Their food is beyond amazing and the staff is too sweet. Really, they're very nice. I'm very shocked that some reviewers have a problem with them. Then again, I've had coworkers complain about the wait staff as well and any ill words that have to say generally stem from their own lack of self worth and confidence. Yes, the place is trendy. You may not feel comfortable there, we get it. Don't take it out on the staff. Don't be afraid to order delivery or take out. The quality is exactly what you'd get at the restuarant. Sometimes it can take a while on busy nights but they'll tell you over the phone. The food always arrives hot though. read more

The modern minimalist decor is great. The walls lend them selves easily to being used as the projection screens they sometimes are. The tranie and gay servers are allowed to dress as they please. The result is sharp fashion perhaps al la Bjork a bit. I do not know how anyone could wright a negative comment about Ping Pong. The best pot stickers in town fried or steamed. Why doesnt every place serve brown rice?? Try the sashime tuna dip as well. I love it. I have people come into town often. Ping Pong is always on the itinerary. There is no place else like it in Chicago. With some terrific bottles of wine running less then twenty dollars just get your own. read more

Ping Pong is such a fun and delicious restaurant. The asian fusion menu is large and offers all types of dishes including many vegetarian selections. The martinis and service are top notch. The music inside is very loud and consists of Rhianna, Britney, Backstreet Boys, ect. It is because this restaurant caters to a certain crowd and style and that is why I love it, so fun and carefree! The decor is very contemporary, the tables are small and close together and it is an intimate/family feel at ping pong. The servers are just as delicious! p.s. I love the BYOB. Bring your own bottle, own selectoin of delicious wine and drink away. Only $5 to cork it, that is totally reasonable since it would be much more to buy a bottle with regular restaurant mark-up. read more

What a disappointment! One of my bestest friends was in town with her husband, and we ordered takeout from pingpong because they were into staying inside after a long couple days out in the city. But I wanted them to enjoy what they had to eat, and I thought from the kind of minimalist look of the takeout menu the food would be more about quality than quantity. In the end, it was about neither, it was just crappy. They ordered the summer rolls, the chicken lettuce cups, and then some kind of lo mein. I got the seaweed salad and some tofu/vegetable soup. The summer rolls smelled fishy, I mean really fishy...not just normal shrimp smell. I almost stopped her from eating them but she decided to take the risk, and there were no adverse consequences that I know of. And the sauce they serve with them was clearly the stuff you can get in a jar from the grocery store. The lettuce cups..basically the filling is whole round peanuts with with sauce on them. Glad they went through the trouble to shell the peanuts. I don't know if there was any chicken in there at all. They said the lo mein was good...but maybe they were being polite. Or even if the lo mein was good, is that enough to make up for an over-dressed seaweed salad in addition to the items described above? The tofu soup I really can't complain about it being bland, that is the nature of the soup, but I've definitely had more interesting versions. Possibly their dine-in is better, but I have no desire to try it. read more

Chinese food that doesn't have that gloppy texture. The kung pao tofu was the best I have had in a long time and the brown rice was great,hate sticky, white rice. We ordered a few dishes for delivery, it came super fast on a Friday night, Great stuff. read more

I have lived in this restaurant's vicinity for years (both north and south of it) and i have never been here. but the place is always PACKED no matter what day of the week. especially during the summer when i jog with the dog i am always jealous of the people drinking and eating outside this place! ANYHOO, i finally tried it on a Saturday night. I see why people go ape $hit over this place. the food is very good and it is BYOB. can't beat that. there are a LOT of selections on the menu - i could hardly decide what I wanted, they all looked good. the food was fresh and our meals had a lot of meat without a lot of filler. the only complaint i have is that my chicken kung pao, which was just the perfect amount of spicy, could have had more vegetables. The corkage fee, as we saw on our receipt, was $1.98 (99 cents per person? whatever. good deal). Also they give you the most amazing chocolate fortune cookies drizzled with white chocolate at the end. last complaint - server never asked if we were OK or if we wanted dessert. he just put the check down. boo! as a former server,. you ALWAYS try to upsell (without being obnoxious, of course). all in all i love ping pong and will be back soon!! read more

I was supremely disappointed in many things about Ping Pong, starting with the service. After we had sat and waited for nearly 20 minutes, our less than friendly server sauntered over and finally brought us water. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, she came back and took our appetizer and main course orders. She had little opinions when asked questions about the menu, and barely spoke audibly in a restaurant where the "unz unz" is so loud with 90s hip hop you can barely hear the person next to you. And the food. Blah. Really blah. I felt like my dish, the pingpong chicken, was a Jolly Green Giant stir fry meal that had been microwaved. No flavor, and an overly preservative tasting sauce. Won't be going back here. read more

Overpriced and definitely overrated. By far the worse asian food I've ever had.

I wish I could write this review in all caps because you will be forced to shout in order to be heard over the ridiculously loud, blaring music. I asked the waiter if they could please turn it down just a bit and was answered with a very pretentious "this must be your first time here. This is how we do it." When I again asked if the music could be turned down even the slightest bit so that my party of 8 could carry on a conversation, I was met with complete indifference. By the end of the meal, I was losing my voice and my ears were ringing. I'm not sure what the purpose of the ear-splitting music is, but it made for a very unpleasant experience. I will not be returning, nor will I recommend this establishment to any of my friends. This is how I do it... read more

This place was awesome in 2007, now, it's pretty terrible. Let me summarize why: Bad service and overpriced food (for the quality). From the point we walked in, the waiter gave off an aura of superiority. Keep in mind this was a quiet Monday when we dined here. I walked in holding a coffee I bought from the amazing coffee shop across the street and the host actually made me throw it away. What's the big deal about me finishing my cup of coffee in a place that doesn't serve coffee? The service in general was unfriendly and sparse which is just intolerable on a quiet Monday night. In general, the food isn't any better than any other Thai takeout place except for twice the price. Come here if you enjoy being treated with an attitude and dine on mediocre Thai food in a place decorated like a Thai brothel. read more

Very disappointed with my meal. The service was slow. The food overpriced and cold. I was charge a double cork fee of $15.90 because my bottle of wine was 1 L instead is a 750 ml. Total cork fee for two bottles was $24.00. Never again! Still a lot of attitude. read more

Met a friend here last night for the first time. Immediately I noticed the "club beat" type music-which I liked- and cute decor. Our waiter was a bit odd and the chairs were uncomfortable, but the food was good. It was just a quick meal, so only an entree for each of us. No appetizer or dessert. I would go back with friends to try more of the expansive menu. read more

Food isn't good at all despite ambiance and atmosphere being nice. The two dishes I've had so far from here have a overpowering taste of soy sauce. If you're someone who enjoys real asian food, stay away from this place. read more

Wow. Did not expect this. The place was fantastic. We had a table that was inside but the windows were open so we got the breeze from the outdoors too. The decor is adorable and I am obsessed with the music choice (Rat Pack and the likes). Our waiter was fantastic the whole night. He was very good with the wine recommendations. We tried the lettuce cups for an appetizer, which were a fun twist on a usual lettuce wrap. We also shared the potato curry steak and the pad see ew with chicken. Both were great as well. It's near my house and I pass it often but I'm glad I finally stopped and and will definitely be heading back. read more

Don't love it. Don't hate it. My panang curry with beef was pretty tasty but my wife's General Tso's chicken was a bit tasteless and dry. The crowd is funky. The atmosphere is simple. The music is loud. This place is most fun when it is warm and the front windows open up to more seating on the street. read more

We ordered delivery last night. I vaguely recall ordering once before and liking it. That was not the case last night. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. The food was really bland. I added some chili pepper paste that I had at home to give it some flavor. My boyfriend ordered Pad Thai. He said it was one of the worst he has had. Once he put some spice in it, it was a bit better. He didn't finish it though (and he always does). I ordered the Harvest with tofu and shrimp. The tofu was really good. I would advise to stay away from the shrimp. They were bland and tough (and a little fishy tasting). The summer rolls were decent enough. There are too many good restaurants in Chicago, so I probably will not go back here. read more

the sashimi tuna dip at ping pong is one of the most delicious things i've ever eaten. and the margaret cho's chicken is wonderful every time. the service here can be so aloof at times that it's almost funny. my servers usually never even acknowledge my existence. i mean, he'll take my order, bring my food, etc., but i'm pretty sure the whole time he's just thinking to himself "wow, i'm so beautiful and thin... wait, who are these people?... ewww, whatever" so, i usually get takeout. and it's delicious. read more

Last night I went to Ping Pong with a friend for the first time. She had ordered takeout before and wanted to get the experience of eating in the restaurant. I was told to expect 'interesting' ambiance and got a taste of what she meant the minute we walked in the door. Ping Pong has a very modern, club vibe to it. There was house music playing pretty loudly (at many times it was hard to hear my friend) and very minimalist decor. Think all white walls, unusual artwork, and sleek black tables. The bar by the door looked particularly fantastic and with all the fresh fruit set off to the side, it made me think having one of their cocktails would be absolutely fantastic. We arrived on the early side of service (5 pm) on a holiday so we were seated very quickly and the only ones in the restaurant. We ordered the veggie dumplings to start and then I had the egg drop soup and the orange chicken while my friend had the Buddhist Enlightenment. I was intrigued by the Pan-Asian menu but worried that such a range of dishes meant that rather than doing one kind of cuisine really well, they might do a range of dishes just okay. Unfortunately, when our dishes came my fears were confirmed. Nothing was awful, but everything was just solidly average. The veggie dumplings had a fantastically fresh filling, but the wrapper seemed just a bit too thick and a tad gummy. My egg drop soup was bland and the ratio of egg to broth was off. It was like eating a bowl of running scrambled eggs. My orange chicken, thankfully was better. However, it was not at all what I was expecting. The menu indicated it would be spicy, but in actuality I tasted no spice whatsoever. Not sure if the chef forgot to add peppers to the dish, but it was mostly sweet. The sauce was mostly pleasant with strong orange and ginger flavor, but I think some heat would have balanced it out better. Unfortunately, like the soup, the ratio was also off again. WAY too much sauce, which meant that the crispy chicken lost its crunch quite quickly. Kind of disappointing because if I am going to have the calories of a fried dish, I want to get the most out of the texture. I think the best dish was my friend's Buddhist Enlightenment. I found the sauce pleasant without being too sweet or heavy and the mix of textures was really nice. I especially liked the lightness of the seitan. Overall, the food just did not live up to the ambiance for me. I'm thinking I might have liked it better if we ordered cocktails (many did and they looked and sounded fantastic), but I can only judge the meal based on what we ordered. I'm not sure if I would go back for a full dinner, but I would definitely be open to going back for a cocktail and perhaps an appetizer. read more

Businesses that don't put customers first will lose customers - Ping Pong is one of those businesses. Poor customer service - they fail to make it right even when it's their fault.  I decided to order takeout dinner for my sister and her family for her birthday. I used the website to schedule delivery ahead of time, which is an option provided on the website. I placed an order at 10pm the night before, and scheduled delivery for the next day at 6:15 pm. The receipt confirmed the date and time for delivery. Instead of delivering the next day as scheduled, the delivery came at 10:30pm that night. The delivery woke my sister and her family on a Monday night. The restaurant closed at 10:15pm so there was no option to contact the restaurant at that time, and we were all in bed by that time anyway. I called the next day as soon as the restaurant opened (it opened at 5pm and I called at 5:06pm) and told them what happened. I asked if they could please re-deliver the food so that my sister could have the hot birthday dinner that I ordered at the right time, but they refused. He requested we return the food from the night before (are you kidding?) and only then they would deliver new food. He said I should have called them the night before (despite the delivery being after closing time and my receipt specifically stating the correct time of delivery). As a business, if you make a mistake, own it and take care of if for your customer. Period. Won't be back. read more

I waited about 10 minutes for my cocktail, another 15 to order, and yet another 30 for my comida. No me gusta. Service was friendly, when it was there. read more

Went here only once but remember it well. Very nice place, one of those restaurant-bars you'd see as background for Sex and the City if only it were a bit bigger. I suppose that's my one complaint is the space, but you can easily tune out those around you and keep beat with the downtempo, chill music constantly playing. (We had a guy describing in great detail his latest and greatest hook-up with a guy who'd made it clear he just wanted friendship but wouldn't you know he booty-called on Saturday. This has potential to ruin the taste of your Ping Pong Chicken, if it wasn't so perfectly made.) Everything in the dish I had (Ping Pong Chicken, as mentioned) was cooked perfect. A lot of Thai places drench the dish in teriyaki or soy sauce, turning it into Pad Soup, but it tasted and appeared as if everything was carefully cooked and added to the meal. I'm sure it's a quick task of throwing it all together, but in comparison it says miles about the food and gives you the hunger to come back for more. Recommended-- go early if you're doing a weekend thing. By the time dinner was finished it was nearing 8pm and the line for a table was out the door. This place gets extremely crowded and stays that way until close, especially in the summer. read more

They get 3 stars for staying open late. The food was tasty (had low expectations for late night Asian fusion cuisine) but the portion size was ridiculous for the price point. read more

Decent quality of food. Prepared well with fresh ingredients and not a lot of oil BUT service is TERRIBLE: trying to order while they rush you is super annoying, giving the phone orders to the employee who doesn't speak English, and having the rudest delivery guy who yells at you if you don't tip him to his expectations or if he has to wait 3 mins for u to walk down stairs because he can't figure out an intercom system, too many other good Chinese restaurants with better quality and way better service! Just go across the street to Joys noodles with better menu, cheaper, BYOB, and better service read more

I've eaten here a few times, alway had great food and good service. This time we found a dead grasshopper at the bottom the salad. While I understand things happen or can be overlooked, offer a round of drinks or find a way to save the experience. Instead, I had ask to turn away the entree and was told it's policy to charge for everything with the exception of the salad. Making the paying customer feel responsible for your lack of oversight in the kitchen is not where I chose to spend my hard earned cash. Here's your grasshopper back. read more

Four words...HAIR IN MY FOOD. Ok, we've all been there. You get a little piece of hair in your food, you tell the waiter, they take it off the bill and you move on. At ping pong, apparently the policy is "blame the victim". After finding a long strand of the kitchen staff's hair, I politely told the waiter. He empathized with the situation and brought me a new dish. The bill came. There it was, the full price hairy pad thai. I requested that we speak with the manager. He approached the table with his arm's crossed. He told me the hair belonged to me. I looked confused. I didn't know I had short black hair?!?! Apparently I did. The manager, "Roy" refused to take the dish off the bill and I had to pay full price for the meal I could barely eat or enjoy. Please, save yourself the trouble of eating at a restaurant where the customer comes last. Pull yourself together Roy. read more

Lovely, lovely place. Great ambiance, delicious food! Options for stir fry include on noodles, rice, rice noodles and quinoa. So many delicious choices and nice service. Oh, and the cocktails! So yummy! Beautiful touches and great flavors. Kid friendly as well. Recently, after a visit we were given a vintage post card to send. Our son wrote a lovely note to his grandparents and Ping Pong mailed it for us! A special place for all. read more

Great food, modern decor. Relaxed. Prices a little more than other Asian food places, but can be worth it

v. enthusiastic staff. as true sales people, they love to love their products. fun game, how many adj can you use to describe... rice? GO! i generally dislike asian fusion restaurants as they are mostly over-priced and poorly imitate asian restaurants, masked by a nice decor. pingpong was much of the same. the food wasn't half-bad, but it wasn't amazing. read more

i've always liked this place, from when it first opened in that small orange room, to its now more expansive size and beautiful white decor. the sashimi tuna dip appetizer is a long time favorite and also the lettuce cups. i think they do a great job with their seafood, so i tend to get fish/shellfish when i go. attentive service that's friendly enough, although, frequently there is something of a language barrier that is not helped by the loud music. used to be byob only, they now have a nice reasonably priced wine list as well as some of those signature drinks/martinis that seem to be required these days. great place for dates, business dinners, or just good times with friends. read more

LOVE this place!! Not only is it BYOB, but they still have a full bar on top of it. The atmosphere is young and hip with a pretty crowd. Hands down the best fried calamari I have ever had and the sashimi tuna dip is something I always end up craving as well. Delivery is good and you get a free appetizer when you place an order, but something was defeinitely missing when I ordered in- Perhaps it was the pulsing techno music and see and be seen crowd... read more

The atmosphere is cool, but the food portions are a little small for what you pay. I like it, but not one of my absolute favorites.

Yummy food, inventive drinks, stellar presentation, but do not expect to converse much if you're inside, as aforementioned cool music is a bit loud. read more

yum....understatement......yum yum. i am kind of a health conscious girl (when I am not eating pizza or chocolate) and this place has light options for the people who enjoy asian food but not the caloric side effects. I recommend the tofu harvest. healthy but tasty. and i cannot live without edamame in my life only wish they had larger portions of it with their serving size. suggestion...put one in my hood read more

Ping pong has extremely vibrant colored food and their sweet and sour chicken was bright orange, had tomatoes and flowers (yes actual edible flowers)in it - I've never had this kind of sweet and sour chicken before. Their crab Rangoon had a plum sauce, and it was the color of a plum like bright purple. The chicken lo mein was decent and the ping pong sushi was good and came with a cute little travel soy sauce bottle. Overall, I'd like to dine-into this restaurant since it was delivery. read more

I came here based on my friend's recommendation. She told me it was BYOB and that the food was great. I agree with the food portion, however when I brought a 6 pack of beer, they told me they do not accept it. Given no reason as to why, apparently it was just one of their rules. Luckily my two friends had two bottles of wine, however they charge $8.00 corkage fee. Just to open the bottle, not even bothering to refill our glasses when they were low, we had to spend $8.00 per bottle. When she opened the bottle and filled (the only time) our wine glasses, my friend and I had food encrusted into them. We notified the waitress, not even bothering to apologize, she gave us new glasses. Perfectly good wine was wasted! Overall the food was a little pricey, but good! The portions were filling, but don't expect to bring leftovers. The service was average. When we left, they gave me the wrong beer and I didn't even notice until I came home. Thankfully it was Blue Moon, so I wasn't too disappointed. I don't know if BYOWine is now the new rule, but I do feel like that corkage fee was slightly outrageous. I am from the burbs, so its hard to sometimes grasp the extra fees Chicago restaurants, bars, parking, driving, maybe even breathing (anything associated with Chicago) likes to charge on people. read more

Loved this place. The salt and pepper shrimp is a must. The chicken roll appetizer (giant egg rolls) had great flavor. We will definitely go back. The service was very friendly and efficient. read more

A silly place that serves up a lot of attitude with their not particularly interesting food. The neighborhood deserves better.