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Talay Chicago

4.2 (344 reviews)
ModerateThai, Sushi Bars
Closed • 3:30 pm - 9:30 PM

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TALAY CHICAGO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Quiet
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Talay Chicago

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Pad Thai with shrimp
Jacqueline F.

After getting my sweat on next door at Perspire Sauna, I was starving and needed food! Didn't really want to walk or go too far so Talay was perfect. I was checking out the menu on Yelp while a fellow Yelper recognized me outside the restaurant and highly recommended their Pad Thai, so say less! I went on a Thursday afternoon around 5pm and the place was empty so perfect time to grab something without having to wait. My order came out in about 5-10 minutes . Hands down one of the best Pad Thai I have had in a while! It came in a huge bowl and I got shrimp as the protein. I thought I was going to have leftovers for later but I underestimated how hungry I was and finished the whole bowl. It was delicious. It was creamy and not dry and just perfectly seasoned. The ambiance of the place was dark and moody, nice place to relax and chill. My server was nice and checked on me a few time to refill my drink. Will definitely come back again whenever I am craving Thai food.

Butterfly Pea Tea
Ashley B.

Love Talay! The staff was so kind and helpful. The butterfly pea tea (the purple drink) was unreallll lol delicious. The cashew chicken was so good and I was putting their spicy mayo on it and it was fire (sorry not sorry). I recommend!

Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles)
George C.

Great Thai place in the west loop area, the have lots of Asian fare got the drunken noodles with tofu and vegetable dumplings, both were delicious. The service was fast and friendly and had very good ambience very chill perfect for a week night dinner.

Natasha P.

Not bad Thai food but it lacked a bit of flavour especially since having been to Thailand. I did appreciate the vegetables in the dish though and it was served piping hot!

Basil Entree with Beef
Linda Y.

I've walked by Talay a couple of times and have always been curious. I love Thai food but it's rare that I ever find Thai restaurants that I enjoy and Talay left a mark. It is located on the quieter end of Madison and there is plenty of paid street parking available. We did a walk-in on a Friday night and were able to be seated right away. I love the restaurant's ambiance. It is very moody and cozy yet not too dark. The staff are also the best! They are all so nice and welcoming. We started with the Chicken Satay which is one of the best satay's I've had! Lots of places end up with super dry chicken but the chicken satay here is so juicy and also fairly large. Paired with the satay sauce and the side of pickled veggies, it is a must-get item. We shared the Chicken Pad Thai and the Basil Beef. The pad thai was flavorful but lacked the balance of the trio you typically get from pad thai (sweet, salty, sour). I find that a lot of restaurants don't get this ratio right but it still fulfills the craving! They also don't use the traditional pad thai noodles here and I prefer the traditional thick pad thai noodles rather than the thinner rice noodles. The Basil Beef was really good! You can choose your protein for this dish and we felt it paired really well with beef. There are so many more items I want to try on the menu, including their sushi offerings so I'm looking forward to coming back!

Refreshing non alcoholic beverages
Christine C.

This is mine and my daughter's favorite Thai sushi place in West Loop. Always fresh and delicious. I would've taken a picture of the tom kha soup, but she ate it too fast. It's her go to. We love the nonalcoholic lychee drink. Very refreshing.

Mongolian beef
Jo T.

The food and service is excellent! I think their sushi is better than Sushi Dokku and I like Sushi Dokku!

Black Pearl
Blue A.

Finally tried Talay after months of living right next to it. I shouldn't have waited this long! Wonton soup: some of the most flavorful broth I've ever had. Delicious and will be getting a large of this on cold days and next time I'm a little sick. Idaho - this sweet potato sushi roll comes with a tempura sweet potato in the middle and then the entire roll gets lightly fried as well. It's a decadent roll..really tasty. Spicy tuna with avocado - always a go to for me, and this was excellent. Super high quality tuna. It's one of their cheapest rolls so a great quick lunch option. Black Pearl - this is quite the roll. It's massive. Shrimp tempura, avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno rolled in tempura crumbs and topped with spicy tuna, unagi sauce and black tobiko. It's $21, but a real treat. The inside isn't massive, but they have plenty of tables and it's a nice casual atmosphere. I got everything to go, and the staff was super nice.

Pad Thai Chicken
Isha J.

Ordered take out from Talay last night and we all really enjoyed the portions and choices. I almost wish we could have stayed to eat in the restaurant though because when we picked it up, the decor and ambience was lovely. Note for the crab rangoon, the crab pieces of meat lay on top of the cream cheese filling, I hadn't seen this before. The chicken pad Thai and the Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) were both delicious. The pad Thai take out size was a pretty big portion, I definitely had leftovers for lunch the next day.

Red Curry VEGAN
Suhani A.

This place has a very calm and quiet ambiance with fast service and very somber decor! I absolutely loved stopping by here as if felt very soothing. Food was good, but not great. We felt the red curry was far too watery in consistency and pad Thai noodles were good. Portions are big for the price, but as someone who has a lot of Thai food, this place doesn't quite hit the mark. It's a good spot for more casual vibes!

Maitri S.

A hidden Thai place on Madison that kills it with their sushi. I love substituting items to make my own speciality vegetarian roll. It's huge and comes with many sauce options! Also, how pretty is that roll?! It's reasonably priced as well. I wasn't too big of a fan of their Thai food. The curry was not spicy at all and lacking in flavor (after asking for it to be really spicy!) and the noodles were just average.

Mod Roll, Crunchy Spicy Hamachi

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2 years ago

Ordered pick up on my bus ride home and when I got to the restaurant it was ready. Quick service and good food. Can't ask for anything more

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2 years ago

Easy online ordering and pick up. Good quality food. Good portion size. Pleasant experience.

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2 years ago

Atmosphere was great. Food delicious. Service was superb! Price was moderate. I highly recommend!

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4.4(375 reviews)
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Been meaning to come here for far too long. Walked in at 5:15 PM on a Saturday- next time make…read morereservation or order takeout. Did not wait too long but my family does not like waiting at all Ordered the soup to share- total win. I could have poured that juice in like water it was so good. The lemongrass and fresh ginger. Reminded me of the food we ate in Vietnam. Lots of shrimp, fresh mushrooms and a nice amount for a family of 4 before our meals. I ordered the Talay Pad Pong. That sauce once again made me shake my head. Could not believe how flavorful and unique it was. I shared a tiny bit with my family. Just enough to get a try of their Pad Thai. Pad Thai: I'm always like common branch out. This one did not taste anything like any other pad Thai we have had before. It was silky and saucy. Like a Thai broth- not dry like some just barely covering the noodles. Fill our two teenage boys up. Okay, dessert. Came for the mango sticky rice . Did not disappoint. We got 1 to share. Bad move. Next time 4. One for each of us. I have no idea how they made this but it was moist, purple. Sweet mango. Really kind of a dream come true. Kanom Tuay next: not really a sharing dessert, but we did. It sits in a coconut wet custard, mochi like balls- small. Very hot. In a hurry to beat our parking meter we ate quickly and learned next time. Mango sticky rice wins our tongue. Anyways, this place is vibrant , cute, friendly and delicious! Go check it out.

Everything is extremely flavorful. I could argue almost too extreme, but I finished everything…read morenonetheless. To put it in perspective, the Khao Soi we ordered is a curry base yet that was the most mild and almost acted like a pallet cleanser for us. I appreciated the spice levels as well. We ordered a medium for one of them, but I was sniffling throughout the meal. The workers also let us stay into their break hour to finish our meal, which was beyond generous. Very cute interior.

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The BEST Thai food - very authentic!…read more I got the Guay Tiew Nam Sood - very delicious and received great service from the staff. Feels like this place could be in Thailand!

Had a lunch there with my friends in Chicago. Actually it was highly recommended by one of my…read morefriends, who said "she had tried almost every dish on the menu". Indeed, this spot did not let me down! It is a small Thai restaurant in West Loop, with a large menu featuring monthly specials and quite a few dishes I rarely find in other Thai restaurants in U.S. For food, we ordered the following: 1. Khao Ka Moo: a stewed pork hock platter served with rice, pickled mustard greens, shitake mushrooms, sauce (similar to soy-sauce) and egg (which I opted out). It was my first time to have pork hock in a Thai restaurant. The meat was juicy and the skin was mouth-melting. Highly recommended. 2. JJ Tiger Cry: Basically grilled ribeye served with Thai style sides. The ribeye was cooked at ~medium well. I wish it could be a fattier cut and cooked for a shorter time, but my friend thought the temp. was perfect for her. It was served with a Thai sauce and cabbage+carrot slaw. 3. Green Curry Chicken: my sister's entree. The curry tasted refreshing and flavorful. It was also great that the dish came with both rice noodles and jasmine rice, so you can try both of them -- indeed, the rice noodles, after soaking it in the green curry, tasted heavenly! 4. Yum Hed. Grilled mushroom salad. There were shitake and king oyster mushroom. Served over a bed of fresh lettuce and a kind of spciy, sour sauce. Great as a side. 5. Guay Tiew Tom Tum Koong: Shrimp and rice noodles served in a generous bowl of Tom Yum Soup. It also had much veg. Unfortunately, I am allergic to some seafood so for safety I did not try this dish. Overall, the dishes are of medium sizes, but definitely enough for us. Service was friendly and quick. I may try more dishes the next time I visit Chicago.

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I've been going to Serai for years, which makes this review especially disappointing to write. I'm…read morenot sure if there has been a change in management or the kitchen, but this was by far the worst experience I've ever had here. The food was completely underwhelming, and when we shared our concerns with the staff, nothing was done to address them. The service was equally disappointing. Our server spent much of the time sitting on her phone while we waited for basic service like water refills, being asked about drinks, and receiving the drinks we ordered. We repeatedly had to get up and find someone just to receive attention. As for the food, the gyoza was bland and tasted like unseasoned pork. The lemongrass beef stew curry, which was highly recommended, arrived cold, had an odd texture, and lacked any real flavor. Most shocking of all were the drunken noodles. I've ordered them countless times over the years and always considered them among the best in Chicago. This time, I couldn't get past a single bite. Every dish was left unfinished. We didn't finish a single plate and didn't take any leftovers home--something that never happens for us. Between the poor service and incredibly disappointing food, this was an awful dining experience from start to finish. Unfortunately, after being a longtime customer, I won't be returning.

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