My favorite Thai place! I dream of their Pad Thai when I'm away from the area. The inside is a hole in the wall, but the food (particularly noodle dishes) is amazing ! read more

If you charge me ~$10 for a medium-small serving of thai noodle, you better be good. Sadly Thai Bowl fell short in its food quality. Their jade noodle was so salty that literally all other flavors were covered up. It didn't matter if they used spinach noodle; with that amount of salt you wouldn't be able to tell between spinach and dog poop. The decor and kitchen condition definitely didn't add extra points. In fact, if this place looked cleaner, I would give 2 stars. So here's my verdict: Yummy Thai. read more

Solid UIC Thai Restaurant. Good Thai food and they give a free appetizer with large carry-out orders. Also a great spot for bubble teas and smoothies. read more

Thai Bowl has the distinct honor in being called the first restaurant that Ive ever tried Thai Food at. My sister and a friend of ours were attending UIC in the late 90's and we decided to give Thai a try very soon after they started going there. The food here is one of my favorites. However, the fact that I haven't been there in years now, does say something about it. Good food...yes....however, is it worth the 40 minute drive when there are A LOT of decent Thai Places very close by? Not at all. Our friend though, still swears by it and its only a 20 minute drive for her, so that's saying something about the food. I read a lot of reviews about the bad service, and I have to say, when I first started going there, the service was good. Especially if you were a regular there. We never had issues. However...over the course of time, the service did start to change, and became more and more lax...to the point where if there were 4 of us going for dinner, 2 of us would get our entrees, then 15 minutes later the 3rd person would, finally that poor sap of a 4th person wouldn't even start eating till almost everyone else was done. Not cool Thai Bowl, Not cool. The outdoor seating is a plus, though be prepared for the service to be a bit more lax. Food is good though, that's a fact. Curries are a fan fav. I personally LOVED the Crazy Noodles, and Pad Thai. Lucky for me Ive found Pad Thai that tastes nearly exactly the same at Benjarong in Westchester, and Crazy/Drunken Noodles that are on the same level at Spy Thai in Palos. Other things I or my Friends have tried and liked are Ba Me Wanton Noodles, Noodle Hot Pot, Egg Rolls, Pot Stickers, Hot and Sour Soup.... If you are in the area, give Thai Bowl a try and be patient. However if your not in the area...its not worth the drive if you have a tried and true Thai Place in your area. read more

I love the food. It is just sooooooo good. I have been going here for the past 10 years or so. I just can't get enough. The Pad thai is rad and so is the panang curry . Yes it is true that the waiters were very very rude but it has changed now. New waiters, really great and nice service. Hope this helps....!!!! BYOB read more

I used to live across the street from here and ate at this place regularly. I've tried almost everything on the menu save a few items here and there. I'll say this.. if you get any of the appetizers or salads you are a fool!!! It is not worth the money. Their noodle and rice dishes are a pretty good bang for you buck though. My favorites are: Noodle: lard nhar, pad see-ew, bamee-wonton noodles. Rice: basil chicken, rama chicken, panang curry, beef oyster sauce One hiccup in me and thai bowls relationship though is that the last time I ordered their rama chicken the rama sauce was "broken." The actual sauce and the oil in it had separated and I was left with a big pool of oil on top of the rest of the sauce. Overall though, this is a nice cheap eat. It's not the best place in the world but it'll do the job for a solid price. read more

My friend and I ordered the red curry with chicken and the beef pad thai. Both were delicious! They also were generous with portions, allowing for leftovers. We each paid about $11 with tip. I would go back to satisfy my thai craving. The restaurant itself is not the nicest. Their chairs aren't super comfortable and the inside as a whole doesn't feel the cleanest. Regardless, their food was delicious and well-priced. read more

I used to eat at this place like three times a week, minimum, especially when I went to school at UIC. I still make the trip to frequent this restaurant whenever I'm in the mood for noodles/fast Thai cuisine. If you're looking for ambiance and atmosphere, you should exit the door immediately. However, if you're looking for gigantic food portions with good/above-average quality for the price you pay, this is the place you'd want to keep coming back to. Even though the inside looks a little bit old and the tiles are a bit warped, the staff is friendly and the food is good/above-average and that's what keeps me coming back. I ABSOLUTELY love their Noodle Salad. I don't know any other Thai restaurants that give such a heaping amount of noodle in their salad. Their Lard Nar is to die for as well. However, I don't agree with the general consensus that their Pad Thai is the bomb. I've had better Pad Thai even at Tatsu across the street but their noodle dishes are awesome. I highly recommend the Lard Nar with beef, the Asian Beef Noodles, the Crazy Noodle, and their Thai Bowl Fried Rice (awesome dish and you could never finish it). Their Tom Yum soup is good too and if you want a noodle soup dish, try their Beef/Chicken Noodle Soup. The only downfalls are parking and a wider selection of noodles on the menu! They should try venturing out and make more specialty dishes (i.e. their bird nest noodle which was part of their special entree is a great hit) and not just stick to the tried-and-true route. read more

Food is good, but I can't stand that the website says open at 11am everyday but no one picks up the phone to order and online isn't a option. UIC is a huge hospital with workers who have no problem ordering from there, just get better phone service. This happens all the time. Please be better at this read more

Food is ok...but the only waitress there has gotten ruder and ruder over the years. I ordered something and before I could even finish giving my order she already slammed the phone down!! There are at least 3 other Thai places on Taylor St. with better food and service, that there's no reason I'll ever return! I called back and hung up on her while she was still talking and never canceled or picked up my order!! Save your frustration on better things and go to Golden Thai down the street instead! read more

Always delicious. Always fresh. Always relaxing. Tip. Eat outside when the weather is nice and enjoy the neighborhood. read more

This place is as no-frills as hole-in-the-wall places can get. IGNORE the interior, and if you can - choose takeout over dine-in every time. This place appears to be family-owned, and the staff is super friendly - a kind lady behind the counter gave me two bananas once because she thought that the food I'd ordered was too spicy for me. (My Indian taste-buds couldn't help but scoff gently) Generous portions, free crab rangoon with every order, and consistent, dependable quality Thai food which leaves you full and your wallet happy! I tend to order my dishes on the spicier side, because they're a little light handed with their spice. Dishes I recommend - Panang curry, pad thai with veggies, tom yum soup Generally speaking, the curries are much better than their noodle dishes. Thai Bowl is a worthy opponent to Khaosan and Taylor (my favorite Thai place!) but loses out because of its interiors. Investing a little on that aspect will greatly benefit the owners. read more

This is definitely the worst experience I've ever had. The food is ok, and with a good portion for the price, but it is not the best. The food alone is not enough to take me back to this small and bad managed place. The service is terrible, the worst as far as I know. The waitress was rude and did not seem to care about what we wanted or why we were there. She did not take our order well since she forgot to ask for drinks. Since she forgot to ask for drinks, we had to get up and go ask for them. The worst thing is that she even saw that we got up to ask and did nothing to come and ask the rest if we wanted something to drink. I could understand if the place was at full capacity and she really did forget to ask or was really busy, but the place was empty and had no customers but ourselves and it pissed me off. I would not recommend this place at all for anyone, unless you will consider ordering take out or carry out since it seems that is the only good thing they do according to what i have heard. But other than that, the place needs to improve on the ambiance and look of the place and is in desperate need of trained wait staff. read more

I stopped in for a to go order of hot & sour soup on a rainy day. From the time I ordered, it took about 12 minutes before it was ready, but I didn't mind waiting since they clearly were making it fresh instead of having some massive vat of hot & sour soup that just keeps getting overcooked all day. Very tasty, huge serving, and I highly recommend. Thai Bowl consistently offers one of the better Thai options in the area. Not oily or greasy, fresh ingredients. Don't let the atmosphere scare you - the dingier the place, the better the food in this case. read more

Have been coming here since before I was legal. I no longer live in the area but when I am, it is a must stop. Its cuisine is my go-to comfort food and wallet friendly as well. The only downside is they aren't too friendly to tiny humans. Ah well, adults only get-together it is, and it doesn't hurt that it's a hop, skip, and a jump away from Mario's Italian Lemonade read more

Really, I've had better food, better prices, and better service elsewhere. The first thing that annoyed me is that when you enter the door there is no greeting from the staff and not even an acknowledgment of sorts that you've entered and that you should sit down. After standing there for a few moments friends and I decided to just grab a table ourselves and wait for someone to come and attend to us (which happened about 10 minutes later). I also noticed that when other people were walking in they were also a bit confused as to what was the procedure to get food. Some decided to just sit down, others just left. Their food portions are weird, some are excessive amounts of food and in other dishes its too small. On their menu they have spring rolls ($4.95) and decided to order some, keep in mind the menu never indicates how many pieces of appetizers you get but I expected a fair amount seeing as how usually you get about 4 - 6 pieces per appetizer dish. To my surprise i received TWO rolls. Two rolls for $5?! Maybe it was a mistake... who knows. The pad thai, pad see-ew, and green curry (friends and I shared dishes) were nothing to rave about and lacked flavor in general.I've had bigger glasses of thai iced teas at other places and paid less. I see the cheap prices being mentioned in some other reviews, and I don't think I can agree with that. If you walk up (west) Taylor st. you'll find two more thai food places which have the same dishes that taste better and are consistently a couple of dollars less and better quality too. I know college students don't have much money and like convenient food, but i don't think an extra 10 minute walk to save your taste buds would hurt either when trying to satiate a Thai food craving. read more

After couple years of boycott, I decided to go back and I was pleased to retrieve their delicious and juicy pad thai! The place fell off until I stopped going but I'm not the type to hold grudges so I went back. AND THAI BOWL WON MY HEART AGAIN!!!! ps: The portion are pretty big and the service is pretty fast. read more

This place is so good! Anytime I'm in the area, I always go. The best way to start is with spring rolls; the beef curry noodles are awesome, as well as the fresh smoothies. I made my boyfriend come (he had only heard bad things about Thai food) & he ended up loving it too read more

Thai Bowl - We had to wear our coats, it gets so cold in there - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is always good! I know the space is kinda of small inside but the outdoor patio/courtyard makes up for it, it's nice sitting out there in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. Now the food, very very good Thai food, simple and delicious! I like that they just give 1 price to all rice/noodle dishes, and very reasonable prices too. My absolute favorite has to be Pin Noodle Duck, this is the only Thai restaurant that I've been to serve Pin Noodle, which is a shorter, thicker noodle, much different from the traditional Pad Thai or Pad See Eew noodles, very tasty, on top of that the roast duck with crispy skins on it, is to die for! Love that they serve their dishes in a bowl, simple, comfort-y style and no other non-sense/fansy-shmansy dish. That's the essence of Asian cusine! I do have to agree with some other yelpers for their services, when they get busy it could take them a while to wait on you or serve your food, but on a non busy day, they do serve you pretty quickly, like me and my husband just went last night at 7pm, got seated right away, got service right away, food came out steamy right away! So, for good food, I don't mind waiting, and it's not ridiculously long wait anyway, it's standard everywhere. The servers, well, true, they could improve their service a bit but I had to say, in all authentic Asian restaurants, service usually is not their priority, LOL, so I can forgo that for good/cheap food! read more

Thai Bowl is always a hit or miss for me. Panang Curry: awesome! Curry Noodles: Great! Pin Noodles and Duck: meh and Rama Chicken: ummmm. Since it is Little Italy, there is a bunch of Thai Resturants (makes sense right?) So as a result, there serve generally the same thing which makes it easy to compare. Thai Bowl is offically the place I go when I really can't decide and chinese food gets old. read more

The food is almost always great. Thai Bowl was the place that got me into thai food. Try the pan fried chicken, and the pin noodle duck. read more

I love this place. It gets very crowded sometimes, but in the spring and fall - the outdoor seating is best. You can't beat the prices with a student discount. :) The best plate for me is their Pad Thai and I love that I can exchange tofu for anything on the menu. I have to give it to them they are FRESH. Their spring rolls are delish and not tiny, they don't skimp on their sauces either, and their steamed shrimp dumplings are large in comparison to other places i have ran out from. If you want decor and personalize service then you won't don't mind paying for it in your tab somewhere else. This place is my little gem when I am craving some Thai nearby and know I can go in my sweats, pig out and not worry about it in my wallet. lol. read more

A nice noodle place. Reasonable prices with good flavor but nothing special. It's an every day type of place but not something you'd think to go to for a date or special occasion read more

I came here with a friend after we visited some friends at UIC a while back. The location is great because it is so close to the school. The place is small with sticky tables and musty menus. We ordered pad thai and their spinach spaghetti noodles. Both had pretty standard flavor except I think both could use a dose of spicy garlic sauce to break up the monotony caused by the homogeneity of the dishes. Would come again if craving Thai in the area but nothing to make a special trip to. read more

A must-go if you're a UIC student. I used to come here all the time while attending UIC. The food is decent. I used to get the pad Thai and the panang curry, which was ok but not the best Thai I've had. Their bubble teas are fairly good. Service is iffy. Don't expect the warmest welcome, they'll serve you then leave. Food is fairly priced, so if you're looking for a quick, well priced lunch in between classes, come here. read more

Delicious thai food. My favorites are pad sea ew and pad thai. Ordered delivery, the driver forgot to give us our thai iced-tea. But he took the time to drive back and give us our drink. Really appreciate it. The reason why I only gave four star was because their Tom yum soup was just ok. More on the salty side and lack of the sour taste. Overall I would recommend this place! read more

One of the things I miss about living around that area is Thai bowl! I always ordered the Pad Thai tofu and their tofu is the best I have had. And you can never go wrong with their smoothies( Mango smoothie =yum!)! The only problem is that the place can be cold inside. Usually I order carry out so I won't have to sit there eating with my jacket. I still make a trip from the burbs at time just for Thai Bowl! Especially because I usually have leftovers that I can take for lunch and I seriously think that their food is better reheated the next day! read more

Super cheap, average thai food. The noodle soup was just okay, the pad see ewe was okay, but pretty greasy (I guess that's status quo). The tom yum was pretty awesome, and the beef salad was great with food flavoring. No complaints, would definitely come back. It's perfect hangover food - especially the Tom Yum. read more

Non-existent service, decent food, decent prices. Ate here while visiting some friends at UIC. Walking in (and looking at the outdoor seating), it's charming in the way that it reminds me of the kind of places I would eat at growing up in Hawaii. Kind of run-down, small, but homey. We were there at sort of an off time (between lunch and dinner) so it was pretty empty. I could see this as being more of a takeout kind of place during peak hours. Once we put in our orders (a pretty painless process) I feel like our food took FOREVER to come out. Once it did, that was it as far as service went, but I guess that's all you really need in a place like this. Food was fine. I had the pad see ew and while it wasn't the best I've had in Chicago (trust me, wasn't expecting it to be), it was definitely far from the worst and the portion was huge for under $10. Paying was kind of a hassle for our group, but I guess that's what you get for trying to eat with 8+ people. I recommend just bringing cash and saving yourself some trouble! If I was in the area and looking for a cheap and filling meal, I would consider eating here again. read more

I just made a trip back here yesterday and lemme just say... it was so nostalgic. So many memories of the good old college days... broke and hungry. Thai Bowl, you were my savior at the time. Last I remember, if you were a student, you can show your id for 10% off or a free appetizer. I'm not sure if this only applies to UIC students but I'm sure nearby schools work as well? My IDs a little old and faded so I don't think I can pull off a 20 year old college student anymore. especially since you can't even see my face on the id anymore... sigh... =[ sadness. The decor has improved a lot. They even have a TV now! ::collapses in shock:: wow. times have changed. Too bad its still too damn small in there. So don't go during busy hours or else you'll wait outside in the cold! (they do have outdoor seating but since i was never in the city during summer, i haven't had the pleasure of mosquitoes biting me while i eat) i'm a creature of habit so Jade Noodles with Tofu is my choice of poison. I heard a rumor before that you get the least amount of food when you deliver, a lil more when you pickup, and the most when you dine-in. I've never actually compared but either way, it's a lot of food for about $8 a dish. Perhaps i should show my appreciation more often for this little shop of deliciousness.... i still need to refill my desire for their pad see ew and basil chicken... and curry fried rice... and spring rolls... can i just say though... i hate trying to find parking here. read more

So, I accidentally ordered from here instead of Golden Thai and I was pretty disappointed in the end. It was delivery so I can't speak to the location itself, but the food should hold its own, and it didn't. 1. It took 5 minutes to take my order over the phone because she kept setting the phone down to take care of other phones ringing. 2. She said it would take 45-60 minutes. It was delivered after 75. 3. Everything was just bland. The crab rangoon (which was complementary) was over-fried and tasteless. The Jade Noodles were just a box of spinach linguine from the corner store with a little sauce on top (also, I asked for extra spicy, and it came... tasteless). The Red Curry was decent, but nothing to write home about. 4. There were some hot sauce packets that came with it... not spicy and actually pretty gross. I'm going to stick with Golden Thai. read more

Since I used work at an Asian restaurant before, I think I can probably give some good opinion. The foods are good but overpriced. The service is alrite, won't put too much hope into their service. The restaurant is somewhat "too unclean". Serivce: 2/5 Food: 4/5 Cleaness: 2/5 Overall quality: 3/5 read more

Oooh this place brings back SOOO many memories!!! Any student who has ever gone to UIC has surely been to this place! This was my first taste of Thai food ever. Food: The food is cheap and for a restaurant that caters to poor college students, it's good enough to foot the bill. They have all your standard, typical thai dishes (pad thai, pad see ew, noodles with beef or chicken, etc.) and it's best to stick with those dishes. It doesn't get too inventive here but that's ok because they are not catering to the professional, yuppie crowd. Service: It's a hit or miss from time to time, but remember, you're here for the food. It's a hole in the wall place on Taylor, but sometimes the best finds are in these places! Also, don't forget to check if they offer discounts for UIC students! Location: Parking is a pain on Taylor. If you find a spot, nab it and walk over to Thai Bowl. read more

Food is okay... Good flavors for a good price. The reasoning for this score is because of their service. I went with a friend but I only had an hour and a half to eat and get to west campus which should be more than enough time for 2 people to eat. I ordered a rice dish and 25min later, a server comes out and tells me there's no cooked rice and I'd have to substitute it with a rice noodle. It's not that I don't like noodles but this is an Asian restaurant and they didn't have rice coked by default. It took at least another 10min to actually start eating. Also, I took another friend here for the sole purpose of getting tapioca and what happened? There was no tapioca being boiled! They do not know how to prep foods in case someone might order it. No offense, but they're the cheap kind of Asians. Never wanting to do anything until it's needed. It will take at least 20min to make. So be ready or get it delivered. read more

If this review were solely based on the food I had recently, I'd give ZERO stars. I had the very typical pad thai and chicken salad. The pad thai was greasy and not as tasty as other places down on Taylor. The chicken salad? DISASTER. The veggies were soggy and the dressing was ridiculously salty that I couldn't get past two fork bites. One star for spacious outdoor seating. One star for cheap prices (which, based on my experience, isn't worth paying for such sub-par food). Perhaps I went on an "off" night. Yet, I'm reluctant to give this place another try. read more

When you think of rama chicken you think of a peanut dish with a thicker sauce and some broccoli thrown in right? Wow, not the case at Thai Bowl! I am so enjoying a rama dish that is almost like a peanut curry...this dish is packing some heat! Thai Bowl offers brown rice too which makes this an excellent, cheapie restaurant in my book! read more

I would give this negative if possible. I went in with my 14 month old daughter and my sister for lunch. We ordered a lot of food, egg rolls, soup and rice for my daughter and two noodle stir fry dishes. Egg rolls were literally filled with greasy cabbage and specks of carrots. The soup they brought out was red and had a layer of spicy chili peppers on top. I asked our waitress why this was spicy and she said it's spicy, with a smile. I told her that it was for my daughter and she clearly cannot eat spicy food and I didn't want the soup anymore. She said that it says it's spicy on the menu, and I told her and showed her that it clearly did not indicate the soup was spicy and that's why I ordered it. She rolled her eyes and took it off the table. I told her to cancel the rice order too and she clearly didn't listen as that showed up on the table a few minutes after she gave us our noodles. I ordered the lard nar. I've had this dish a dozen times before as my aunt owns a Thai restaurant. This dish came out in a soup bowl and the "gravy/sauce" was literally ladled on top like thick gelatin soup. It literally looked like dark brown mucus. I stirred it all up and decided to give it a try and it was bland and the gravy was so gelatinous that when I pulled my chopsticks apart, it was like pulling runny snot out of my daughter's nose. The sticky strand, you know what I'm talking about. I had taken two bites and I had to call her over to my table because she was clearly avoiding me, to take this back and I told her I was dissatisfied with the dish. She argued with me that even if I don't eat it, I'll have to pay for it. I said that's ridiculous and fine as I won't be tipping or going back ever again. I don't go to restaurants to order food and send it back to be a pain in the ass customer. In fact, I usually still tip even if the food was horrible and service was slow because I used to be a waitress. I go to restaurants because I am hungry and I want to eat and feed my family. At best, they should've offered me something else off the menu to compensate for the noodle dish I sent back to the kitchen. But all they did was talk about us in their native tongue (which we could understand) and the cooks decided to peep out to the front of house to see who was "causing commotion". I do not recommend this place, the food was terrible and the service was even worst. They made me feel like the bad guy for returning a plate of food that was disgusting and I was never going to eat. If you own a small restaurant and want people to come back, first of all, make good food and believe your customers when they tell you something. Make it right and fix the problem, don't blame your patrons. read more

Pretty standard americanized thai food - pad see ew and bamee pork wonton noodles are good and the patio in the summer is great read more

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You know I been experimenting here and there with certain foods and thai food is one of them. I finally found a dish I totally can eat thanks to my good friend of mine. =) Crazy noodles! HmMm Its stir fried rice thick noodles with chicken, mixed veggies, yummy basil leaves and some hot chilli!! I love spicy food! Our waitress was horrible! When asked her a question about the menu she responded like I was stupid. Didn't appreciate that. Then I pretty much finished my dish before my friend got his. Maybe its just their personality. Who knows, but da food was good. Not a big place, but they do have outdoor seating and good prices I'd come back. read more

Everywhere I go in the country, I compare them to Thai bowl. Be sure to try the pad thai, beef curry noodles and mango bubble tea drinks (when in season). Prices are low, they offer student discounts and if you phone ahead you don't have to wait! I've eaten at this place for about 4 years and have had nothing but good experiences. read more