Hands-down, best Thai food in the DeKalb-area. I was a DeKalb resident for nearly a decade & visited or ordered take-out from the Thai Pavilion at least once, if not twice a month. I know there were periods of time when my Thai craving got so bad that I ordered from the Thai Pavilion at least once a week! Now when I return to visit friends & family in DeKalb I ALWAYS stop off for dinner at the Thai Pavilion. Easily the most flavorful, diverse & down-right tasty place to eat in DeKalb. My best friend loves their Thai Pepper Steak entree. If you like Pad Thai, I highly recommend the Bean Thread Pad Thai (the bean thread noodles are clear & a far more healthy alternative to the regular Pad Thai noodle.) I simply am addicted to the Bean Thread Pad Thai! I always ask for it to be made with no eggs, extra crushed peanuts & I choose tofu instead of meat (they will make almost anything on their menu with tofu or vegetables for all you vegetarians out there!) Another addiction... the Thai Pavilion's green curry. If you like spice, ask for it "Thai spicy." You will not be disappointed! I just had green curry at the Thai Pavilion last weekend for the first time in a long time, & it was simply incredible. Super-fresh veggies including FRESH FIGS. Not the dried, weird figs you're used to... but fresh, delicious figs. INCREDIBLE. read more

I haven't been here for about 7 months, so I don't know how much this place has changed or if it even did, but I'm rating this 5/5 because considering it's located in Dekalb, where it's all cornfields and hardly any Asian food, it is GOOD. (If I were to compare it to other Thai restaurants I've been to, then I'd give it a 3.5 or 4) From the outside, it kind-of looks run down, but then again so does everything around it. The awning had holes, but if i remember correctly, they eventually took it down. The first things you notice when you walk in is the bomb-ass decor (lol jk.. it was pretty old and weird) and that the menus were falling apart and all taped up. However, the food is delicious. This had to be one of my favorite food places to eat when I went to NIU. Everything I've ever ordered here was just so full of flavor. read more

In the words of Austin Powers, "Yeah, baby!!!" This place doesn't skimp on flavor, food or friendly service. We ordered take out. I got the Curry Fried Rice, and my husband ordered Spicy Beef Red Curry. Both were bursting with yummi-in-your-tummi flavor. We were very pleased to see we that we were given generous portions. Like "I must be from Lilliput Island because that looks like a literal mountain of rice" size. I accepted this challenge and had really really tried to eat it all in one sitting, but alas to no avail. The Fried Rice got the better of me, and I was forced to have the leftovers for lunch. Which is pretty amazing. Because see, I can eat. My husband too, really tried, but he too called defeat. Although he called it earlier than I did. We had wanted to try the Thai Iced coffee but we're hesitant to order. The lady at the counter was super nice in offering us a sample of it to try. Always a plus in my book. It was fan-freaking-tastic!!! My husband two days later is still talking about that stuff and I wouldn't t be surprised if he went in just for that item. The dining area itself seemed nice although perhaps a little small. They serve your water in a wine glass which I think is always an elegant touch. You'll see my face is here again. read more

I'm not really into Thai, but I know some people that are, and we ate here a few times. I go easy on the basic, not spicy stuff like Ginger Chicken and pot stickers. I enjoy them. As well as their crab ragoon. Oh boy, does this place get another star just for that. You seat yourself, and most likely, Jeremy will serve you. He needs no pen and pad for he's got a memory. Gladly he'll fill up your water and not turn a stink eye when he catches how bad you smell. he's quick and overall makes this place run smoothly. Then again, how much smoother, I have no idea when every time we are here there's MAYBE another table filled here. Still, I come here and eat nicely. Plus, there's a Yelp sticker here. read more

The food is awesome, the staff are really great and this is an affordable place to eat it has a nice atmosphere. They don't skimp on the portions. Never had a bad dish when I eat here. I mostly eat spicy dishes and they seem to get it right every time and I love the consistency. It's clean it's neat and it has a relaxing atmosphere read more

A saving grace for those of us (NIU students) desperate for 1) real food or 2) somewhere to entertain visiting family members... back in the day when they were still building the Applebees and moving Wal-Mart to the SuperWalmart location. Excellent food, freshly prepared, and very nicely presented. The service can be a little slow, but I find this typical of most Thai restaurants because you should enjoy both the company and the food. I love the tofu appetizer with lime/lemon sauce, and of course, the pad thai. Their lunch specials include several dishes for a low, low price and they come with soup! Back when the owner used to know me and my mom we even used to get orange wedges every now and again. Good times. read more

Honestly... this is the best place to eat in DeKalb! This is some of the best thai food I've ever had! Great Pad Thai, great Pad Kee Mao, and great appetizers as well. The Tom Yum is honestly a cut above the rest. I might be biased because I used to have Thai every Thursday, but THIS PLACE ROCKS. read more

Oh Thai Pavilion, how my mouth waters for your curries and pad see ew. Seriously, I think this place convinced me not to transfer and run far, far away. So I suppose I owe the Thai Pavilion a lot. read more

Who knew that a good Thai restaurant was possible in DeKalb. It's barely possible to get fresh produce outside of the Farmer's Market. So the thought of good Thai food is unthinkable. But thank the lord there is. I love this place and when I went to school here I'd order from them at least once every two weeks. They have a great Lunch special, so if you haven't had Thai, that's the best time to try it. Honestly, in a town where most of the food is fast food, this is a welcomed change. read more

This is the most racist restaurant I have dined in. My friends and I came for a meal and when we kindly informed the manager that one of us was allergic to peanuts and that the rest of us simply did not enjoy the noodles, he racially profiled us by accusing us of being unable to afford the meal. I argued that the issue was not the money and that we would pay for everything else, but the noodles were disgusting and regardless we should not have been treated with that level of disrespect. He continued to say that we could not afford the meal which was clearly motivated by us being three young black girls as customers. Furthermore, my friend being allergic to peanuts should've been enough to send the food back and not have caused an argument about how we "should've read the menu" and it's "not his fault that we didn't read". I do not recommend this restaurant to anyone especially of color, and I will definitely never be returning. read more

Went to a friend's birthday and am sad to say I never went here before. When you walk up the restaurant it looks like a regular store front and can blend in with the downtown DeKalb area. The location is small but reminds me of the many restaurants in the Chicago area that are small and intimate. The waitress was very nice and friendly. We ordered the crab ragoon which as very tasty (I would think it would be hard to mess this appetizer up but have had bad experiences in the past). The Chai Tea was delicious. read more

This was my first time eating Thai from an actual Thai restaurant. All I can say is, "So *that's* what tofu should be like!" Now I understand why people try to substitute it for chicken and whatnot - because when it's cooked properly, it's really good. Not like the Jello-ish things I end up with normally. Anyway, I came in at the tail end of the lunch special (ends at 2:30), which came with miso soup and an egg roll. I got mine vegetarian, which meant tofu in the soup. Great. Tried it... and was pleased. The entree was the Pad See Ew, which according to my extensive 30 seconds of research is actually a Thai take on Chinese food. But that doesn't matter. You have your choice of meat (or tofu for vegetarians), and it came with scrambled-ish eggs, broccoli and huge flat noodles mixed together with a great soy sauce blend. Combined with a Thai iced tea and it made it the perfect lunch. Service was very quick, even given my 2:00 arrival, and the waitress was also quite friendly. If by some chance I wind up in DeKalb again, I'll come back, but if I don't, I at least have a metric to go by for Thai food now. read more

Sincerely delicious Thai food in DeKalb! They give you large portions, can make essentially anything vegetarian or vegan, and are in a great location in downtown DeKalb. Highly recommend! read more

Food - 2 stars Service - 5 stars My wife and I were in town for homecoming and popped in one evening. We ordered Crab Rangoon, Chicken Pad Thai and Massaman Curry. The only dish worth the price was the curry, which was good, but nothing special. Everything was freshly prepared and the portion sizes were fine, but the Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon had an odd taste to them. Being from Chicago we have the privilege of eating at very good Thai restaurants, so our standards may be a bit high. We do not like to write negative reviews, so I wasn't even going to make mention of this place. However, a recent series of events have prompted memories of past events and thus the review. The service we received at Thai Pavilion was excellent. Our server was a young girl with long hair. There was also another young girl who helped her from time-to-time with very short hair. They could not have been sweeter, more professional or more accommodating. The longer haired girl more so. Sorry, I wish I knew their names. Their tone, their politeness, their considerations and their general demeanor made a mediocre meal taste much better. There are so many unpleasant people in the world, it is sad. It is even worse when you spend your money at a business with employees that do not seem to value their jobs, respect their customers or care about anything. These two young ladies were the antithesis of those displaying the undesirable characteristics I just described. We will return to Thai Pavilion to sample other dishes that may be better and they have these two servers to thank. read more

Dropped in here on the way back from Chicago, this was the only near-by restaurant from the freeway. Didn't have much expectations considering my previous experience with small town restaurants. Surprised to see a relatively classy place with good food. Serving sizes were huge, we couldn't finish them up there. The remaining portions were more than enough for one more meal. Food was tasty as well and the service was quick. Do try this one if you're near by. read more

This used to be one of my favorite restaraunts, however this last time I noticed a real loss in quality. Maybe there are new owners. They no longer have a liquor license, nor do they have the delecious steamed spring rolls. Also, my wife ordered the pineapple fried rice and they brought out something totally different. When she said something we were brought out a plate of canned pineapple. My food was great, but I can't give more than 2 stars if they screw up the order and don't attempt to make it right. read more

Everything about this small, but quality Thai restaurant was fantastic. The service prompt, quick and friendly. The food was awesome. The See Ew was incredible as was the Pangnan curry. I highly recommend dining here! read more

Thai Pavilion - Thai Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

I love the Thai fried rice. They give you a lot of food to last two servings. I plan to go back and try other food items. When. I call and order over the phone, they are very friendly. The restaurant was clean and welcoming. read more

While in DeKalb on business, I visited the Thai Pavillion twice and was extremely happy with my meals. Both days I was there during the lunch rush and even when extremely busy, the service was excellent and the food comes out very fast. I had the beef and broccoli once and the chicken pad thai the other time. Both were excellent! The lunch portion is more than enough each time! I'll be back! read more

So let me start out with the food, it was extremely good, I ordered the panang curry and expected to get a small bowl like most places but this was a gigantic soup bowl I had leftovers for a midnight snack. For first time impressions it made a good one the food was really good and the wait staff was attentive. Our waiter was very good, helpful, and friendly. I will definitely come back. read more

Expensive, but nice for a splurge once in awhile. Food seems so fresh and tastes delicious. They take the extra step to serve the food in an appetizing manner. Next time I need to try one of their curries. Worth a visit ! read more

Easily the best in Dekalb. Ordered Basil rolls, Green curry fried rice with Chicken, Catfish with chili paste and iced tea. Every dish tasted exceptional. The peanut sauce(Could be mix of honey, ketchup and peanuts? ) which came along with basil rolls was great. Worth every penny. Wide range of options for vegans. This will satisfy all your taste buds every time. read more

This place has been my favorite Thai place for years. I always get lime chicken, rangoons, curry, and of course the Thai iced tea. Everything is always fresh, service is always great whether you are dining in or carrying out. One of my favorite places in Dekalb to it :) read more

Good local thai food, although it certainly will not remind you of Bangkok. Nice decor and ambiance.

Really a wonderful Thai restaurant, great food and a cozy atmosphere. I am a fan of the bean thread noodle Pad Thai. Unfortunately this is not on the lunch menu, and you can only order off the lunch menu at lunch. That's my only complaint! This is one of the better restaurants in DeKalb by far. read more

Fun place for lunch or dinner. Grab a Thai iced tea or coffee, have some basil rolls and enjoy any of the curries, fried rice or green papaya salad. Service is usually niu students. The food is great with ambient decor, and there are tables by the window for prime people watching. read more

One of, if not the best restaurant in DeKalb county. Not going to set the standard for Thai food, but it is consistently fresh and good both for meats and vegetables. Not the paragon of Thai, but if you visit DeKalb this is a good choice. Personal favorites for me and those i visit with are usually amongst the following: Lime chicken or tofu: lightly breaded, deep-fried, served with shaved-thin lime slices and sauce. Really refreshing and satisfying, not overly greasy. Chicken or tofu satays: nothing super-original, but are nice, with a good balanced peanut sauce. Curries: i prefer panang (partial to a little heat and the peanut) but massaman, green, yellow, really all varieties offered are good. Pad see ew: i prefer with beef. A little sweet, a little salty, not very strong with good fresh broccoli. Broccoli and peanut: not much to this dish, peanut sauce, broccoli, rice. A great dish to match with lime chicken. It doesn't seem like much, but that's what i'd typically order. Pavilion beef: Not recommended for takeout, crispy noodles will get soggy fast. Really, i've never had a dish i felt was prepared poorly, just some that suited my tastes more than others. Service, to put it nicely, can be a bit relaxed. Eating in is nice, but it's not a restaurant you visit for the atmosphere. The food is good, I probably get take-out the most, and recommend this to out-of-towners more than anywhere else (assuming they have any interest). read more

How can I not love the restaurant I am proud to say I named, back in 1994, it first opened it on my 14th birthday April 25th, 1994. I am so happy it's still here under new management as it's where I met wonderful people, from great professors, to talented artists who were playing across the street at Ottos, NIU students, family members and great locals too. Thank you to my father and mother who worked so hard here as I learned great work honor, respect, kindness, and many more wonderful ethical traits from seeing them work as I would go to school, and work from High School, till receiving my bachelors from NIU to masters as well. Funny story: Before we moved here from the south side of Chicago it was a ribs place and I remember craving ribs from my neighborhood in Chicago. So I found an old phone book to call 815.756.6445, but the place was always busy. Well, it turned out I was calling our place! No, this was not a blonde moment, just a food crazed craving moment where my mind is in my belly. Funny Story 2: We used to have something called Benjamas Chicken which was named after my mom by my dad, and someone went to Thailand and asked for it and never found it. That was back when we owned it but I just had to share in case that person ever googles for it :) Thai food will satisfy your taste buds because not only is it herbilicious, but it can have 5 flavors in one bite! Sweet, salty, sour, natural, and Spicy! Myth: All thai food is spicy. Fact: No, many Thais do not even like spicy so go in there and ask for Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe, make sure you ask the waitress what they like that is not spicy. Enjoy! Love you all Patrons!!! Many of you are now my friends. Thai food for life! read more

Really like the currey fried rice with chicken. The portion size is huge. It is easily enough for two people to share. My son loved the pad thai with tofu and is always pleased with the vegetarian options. The window seating is nice for people watching and service is always friendly. read more

I visited here first time with my friend. This is really good place for really delicious food. We ordered Basil Role, Tom Kha Soup, Pad Kee Mow and Spicey Basil. All were really good. Definitely once a visit place if you are around this place and you are hungry for Thai Food :-) Bon Appetite !!! read more

Thai Pavilion - Basil Roll with Tofu with tasty sauce on side with crushed peanut on sauce. - Thai Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

Truly one of the best restaurants in dekalb. I love the duck curry, the crab Rangoon, the pad Thai, the duck stir fry, and the red curry read more

It's good, but comparatively it's not the best Thai food I've had, and it was different from most Thai places I had ever eaten at. Like any other culture, foods can vary from region to region. Start with the Crab Rangoon appetizer: it looked more like dumplings than how crab Rangoon normally looks.....and looked like cole slaw inside. It tasted very different too, not bad, but I wasn't used to it. The rest of the food was good, but you may want to consider how spicy or not spicy it is. Some Thai places you order spicy and you can barely eat it. We ordered everything spicy, but it wasn't spicy at all. Ask for the spice tray so you can make it as spicy or not spicy as you want. Lastly, the mango sticky rice is really good. Definitely try it. read more

Oh my goodness! I haven't been to Thailand yet. But the beautiful country was brought TO ME at Thai Pavilion! The flavors, scents of the spices and decor all combined brought the atmosphere of Thailand to our group when we dined there. The Owner and staff made us feel like family and kept our plates full of deliciousness. I would highly recommend this tasty treat to anyone and will dine there again. For sure! Culinary foodies will not want to pass this up! read more

This was the first restaurant my fiance and I tried after moving to the area. I have been a fan of thai food for many years, specifically Pad Thai, and the Thai Pavilion did not disappoint. Over the course of a year the Pavilion has become one of our favorite places to eat, though not just because of their delicious food. All of their servers are friendly and attentive, serving your meal in a comfortable atmosphere. I highly recommend their chicken satay, pork fried rice, tom kha soup, and Thai iced tea. Located at the head of DeKalb's downtown shopping center, Thai Pavilion is also a great place to eat when out shopping. Both lunch and dinner are served in generous portions at reasonable prices, and it is all delicious. read more

Visited Thai Pavilion for the first time after a strong recommendation by a friend. I love Pad Thai and have tried it at restaurants all over Northern and Central Illinois, Wisconsin, Virginia, South Carolina and Mexico. Thai Pavilion has the best Pad Thai I have tried to date! The meal portions are huge...there is plenty to (generously) split with a friend or leftovers to take home for a second meal. The restaurant is located in downtown DeKalb so parking can be difficult at times. While the restaurant itself is on the smaller side it was clean and appropriately decorated. We had no trouble finding a table even with several large parties dining in. The wait staff was attentive, helpful and pleasant and the service was fast. Please note that Thai Pavilion does not serve alcohol. What?! A college town has a restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol? Crazy, right? My thoughts exactly! We usually enjoy a drink with our meal so this may deter us from dining in for dinner again but it definitely won't stop us from grabbing our meals to go or dining in for lunch. I would highly recommend Thai Pavilion and their Pad Thai! Yum! read more

I was blown away by how phenomenal the food and service was here. The dishes had a lovely presentation, gorgeous vegetables that were not over cooked, excellent flavor. Spicy Thai Basil rice was perfect! The service was great! Exceptional staff and owners. Everyone was attentive, but not over attentive. We were there near closing and it was so nice to observe everyone working seemed like they enjoyed being part of the team. They had good attitudes and were laughing and chatting. But also they were cleaning. Really cleaning! One girl was on her hands and knees cleaning! The place was in perfect order. The bathrooms, also clean. I had such a wonderful experience. I wonder sometimes if I am hard to please, but I realize that most businesses just suck at service. It's such a breath of fresh air to enter a business run by people who excel at what they do. To the owners: thank you! We will be back soon! read more

We have enjoyed this restaurant for several years. It is usually clean, relaxing and enjoyable. Staff is polite and efficient; however, the prices are becoming quite steep. For three people today, it cost approx $43.00. We did not order drinks except for water, no appetizers, nothing extra; just one dish per person. I had a tofu dish with wide noodles. My mother had a chicken dish with wide noodles and my fiance had a steak dish with rice. They have a great lunch deal! I am a vegetarian, so I enjoy having a place I can order just veg and noodles or add tofu instead of meat. I recommend trying this restaurant but go for their lunch specials. You receive a large portion of food for a small price. Enjoy! read more

Really had a great experience at the Thai Pavilion! To start with I ordered Thai iced tea which I've never had before. It was delicious, sweet and creamy! For the entree I ordered the Panang Currie noodles with beef (spicy) and my boyfriend got the Pad Thai with beef (Thai spicy) and they were both DELICIOUS. Not to mention the service which was wondeful. Very friendly and helpful staff. read more

Thai Pavilion - Thai Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

See all

My wife and I have been going to the Thai Pavilion for years. They have great food and its inexpensive. Up until very recently their service has been terrible, but they got some new waitstaff that's top notch. I was there on Friday, the service was great. The decor needs a lot of work, but the food is incredible. read more

Whenever I walk out of here my tummy is super happy. You just want to walk up to everyone and be all up in their face like, "I HAD THAI PAVILION FOR LUNCH AND IT WAS DELICIOUS AND I BET YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING EVEN NEAR THAT DELICIOUS!" Yes. That is how it feels. And speaking of lunch, their lunch special is super-well priced and comes with soup! It's pretty much the best time to go and helps you along with the menu. I've ordered the time-tested and typical Pad Thai. It's very flavorful and great, best Pad Thai I've ever had, but I like to be more adventurous! I also have eaten Pad See Ew many times and I've learned that I am just absolutely crazy for wide egg noodles. I've also had Lad Nar, and it was good but I wouldn't really recommend it over the Pad See Ew unless you're watching your egg intake. Their appetizers are also great, although pricier. Their soup is great too, especially their Tom Kha and Wonton soup. I'm sure all their food is great! I want to try their curry eventually, but their noodle dishes are soooo yummy. The service is friendly and quick. The last time I was there over the summer we were even offered some new free dip and vegetables! I've only gone for dinner once, but rest-assured, afternoon-eaters, it was packed. This place gets good business. read more