I too am very skeptical of a Thai restaurant that also does sushi but it seems to be the norm here in Chicago.
Dib is very cute. I love the decor. It looks like an ice cream parlor from the outside but inside the ambiance is warm, friendly and chic. The waitstaff is top notch.
The food:
Their pad thai is pad thai. Nothing to shout about but done well.
Crab rangoon- I never knew that there was good crab rangoon and amazing crab rangoon. This stuff is amazing. Different from any other I've ever had.
Sushi- There are only two sushi places that completely blow my socks off. One is in East Lansing, Michigan and the other is at the Diversey stop on the brown line. Dib's sushi is not bad though. They know what they are doing.
So- if you think this is a lackluster, 4 star review, consider this: I drive from Pilsen to eat this food. I really think this restaurant is a gem. They have a nice balance- good food, enjoyable atmosphere, quality service. They must be doing something right- they always have a lot of business.
If you want to try something new but worry about being disappointed- try this place, I'm sure you'll love it.
I'm all about supporting the 'hood, so after flying back into Chicago on New Year's Day I walked to DiB to pick up some takeout food (to cure my massive hangover, and lack of sleep).
FTR: Â I am one of those people that is VERY serious about Asian cuisine. Â I'm VERY skeptical about places that serve both Thai AND Sushi - DiB is one of those places...
Again, I wanted to support the 'hood.
My takeout order: Â Green Curry Tofu and Potstickers. Â Simple enough, right?
The Potstickers were excellent - probably some of the best that I've ever had. Â These are pretty hard to mess up, though. Â The curry was spiced well, but the vegetables and tofu were cut into relatively large pieces. Â The resulting product is not very curry-ish. Â I felt as though the curry was a simple sauce poured over the large tofu and veggie pieces.
I am willing to try another appetizer and entree before leaving this place with the dreaded 2-star rating. Â Until then, cheers folks!
I love this place! I've tried a few different things from the menu here and I have yet to find a disappointing factor in any of them.
I often get delivery from Dib and the staff here is always friendly and helpful. My order comes in a timely manner, it's hot and it of course tastes delicious!
This is definitely one of my fav Thai places in uptown.
I live extremely close to dib, and it's become a takeout standby for everyone in my apartment.
Because I live so close, I've never done delivery, and I've only dined in once. The space is small and clean, nicely decorated. Trendy but not too trendy. Service is always great, and the food is awesome. My fallback is pad thai with veggies, but I've had a few of the curries and they didn't disappoint, most of the veggie maki is tasty (and I'm told that most of the other sushi is great), solid standard appetizers, affordable prices.
Whether you dine in or go with takeout, the presentation is always great (if that's a factor for you).
Got New Years hangover delivery from here. Was a little nervous that this was a Thai/Sushi place, but the food was good! We focused on the Thai side of things, got the crab rangoons (delicious, nice green onion kick to em), Tom yum and tom kai soup (close call, but I think i preferred the tom kai), pad thai and panaang curry (liked the curry slightly better). All really good. I was very impressed for the price and will be ordering next time I am couch ridden!
Review Source:Went here for dinner before Green Mill SLAM Poetry and the sushi was whack!
Mediocre is the best way to describe my meal. Edamame, egg rolls, lucky our sushi was a deal.
Service was great, waitress was amazing. Sushi filled me up but left me complaining.
Won't come back and I know why. Never had a Dragon Roll that made me want to cry.
(drops the mic)
If I could marry Thai food, I would. Â I'd make it breakfast, sing it to sleep and draw a hot bath for it at the end of a long day. Â Alas, marrying food is, for reasons unbeknownst to the world, frowned upon, and as such, there is no other choice but to feast instead.
I've never eaten in Dib, but have ordered take-out and delivery multiple times. Â When I go to pick up food, I've noticed the space to be modern and spartan in the same trendy way many Thai restaurants use the design-theme of "less is more." Â It's a clean space and the service is always very friendly.
The noodle dishes like pad thai and pad see ew are solid. Â The pad thai is properly sweet, has a good balance of sprouts and the portion is right. Â The pad see ew is maybe a little sweeter than I'd prefer, but it is still flavorful and aromatic. Â The greens in the dish are a good addition that I've noticed many Thai places omit. Â
The curry dishes are probably the biggest let down for me. Â They do not disappoint, they just don't stand out. Â I've had the green, red and panang curries. Â The flavors were too muted on all three. Â I like curries that are bold, bursting with flavor and loads of fresh veggies and meats. Â These curries just didn't have that sense of excitement and flair I was hoping for. Â
I think the standout for dib is the sushi. Â The rolls are well priced and I have always found their fish/seafood to be very fresh and of good quality. Â Even when packaging rolls for delivery/take-out, they put care into ensuring that the roll is as visually stimulating as it is delicious, and I appreciate that. Â
I'll also make a shout out to their satay. Â It's very yummy and dib has the best peanut sauce of any Thai place around. Â
Overall, dib is a very solid neighborhood addition. Â Delivery is prompt - always - and the food is fresh. Â If they could improve on their curries, I think dib would easily be one of the best, if not the best, Thai/sushi restaurant in the Chicagoland area.
In my experience, Asian restaurants that claim to specialize in more than one cuisine often disappoint. Â I'm always wary of Thai/Indian restaurants or Vietnamese/Chinese restaurants because usually they are very good at one... not so much the other. Â Dib is a fabulous exception. Â As a Japanese/Thai restaurant, I cannot honestly say which one they do better.
The sushi is not only good, but original. Â The Thai portion of the menu is extensive and authentic. I've always been impressed with efficient, personable service. Â I would highly recommend Dib as a good, convenient meal before a show at the Aragon or Riv.
When I want sushi and Thai for the same meal, Dib is the place I crave. Â I crave the chili-crab roll, the pad thai, the crab rangoons, the drunken noodles, and just about every roll that they have on the menu. Â
Oh, Dib. Â I adore you. I love to pick you up on the way home from work. Â I love to BYOB with friends before a show. Â I love that I could eat Dib every day of the week and still be within budget. Â I swoon for Dib.
For how close Dib is to me, the pricing, and the food, I think Dib is a great idea for a quick bite. Â I am within walking distance and their coupons for carry out make it worth while for me. Â Their extra crispy noodle option (has to be requested) is pretty amazing, and I love their crab rangoon. Â Would I drive across the city to come to Dib? Probably not. Â but If I'm home and hankering for some good Asian food, its a solid choice. Â Very friendly people inside as well.
Review Source:We focused more on the Thai side than on the sushi side, so I can't speak to that. But everything we had was pretty good. Very clean, good vibe inside, and the prices were great. It feels like a restaurant that could get away with a little higher prices, so it feels like a bit of a steal. But then again, the whole experience is kind of nondescript. In other words, very solid. Not spectacular.
Also, dib means "raw." Thanks, server!
Two fine, fine ladies decided to have a reunion over sushi and some BYO vino. We felt like we gorged ourselves with several rolls and several pieces with only one mis-step in the bunch (the eel roll had little to no eel, as it happened). The presentation, the service and the successful dispatch of two bottles of wine made for a great dinner.
The bill hit the table and we cracked it open with a little apprehension. What? $60 for all that and we were stuffed and buzzed? Cripes! Yeah, Dib is excellent and has officially made the list.
7 bucks for Crab Rangoons, Tom Yum Soup w Chicken, and Basil Chicken (nice portion size) You cant beat a great deal like that. Cute place to grab lunch with the girls if you are on that side of town. The people are nice and atmosphere is chill. Sushi specials are 9.00 and they give you a lot. Its fresh and good.
I have been here about 3 times now and nothing on the menu that I have tried so far has been bad.
I have to agree with Fellow Yelper the Basil Chicken is GOOOD!!!!
My wife and I both had underwhelming experiences here several years ago, but decided to give them another shot this weekend. Â I still say "Shrug." Â
It's a handsome place and service is fine, but the food still doesn't deliver. Â The basil fried rice had some big, crunchy bell peppers, but was otherwise very bland. Â I had a tom yum maki which also tasted rather plain despite its long list of ingredients inspired by the soup of the same name. Â The worst was the volcano maki, which featured four different fishes, none of which I could taste because they were drowned in a flood of some kind of slightly tangy, beige-colored sauce. Â A little sauce to highlight and/or enhance flavors is great; slathering a dish with sauce to this extent is lazy and disingenuous cooking. Â Yuck.
The ironic thing is that my wife's dish, straightforward stir-fried vegetables with rice, tasted great. Â For some reason this has been a frequent experience for me at local Thai spots recently. Â Maybe I should start ordering her go-to instead of mine.
Some of the best Sushi in the city. Actually tastes like they took the time to make it unique, fresh, and delicious.
Also the pineapple fried rice is awesome. Just in general they do stuff really cool here. Lot's of cool modern lighting and layout and the presentation for the plates is done really artistically well.
We've ordered from here about 6 times and eaten in person a couple more. I enjoy Dib more each time we have it.
Delivery- we don't live too far, but we can order from Dib and be eating in exactly 20 minutes. When you are ordering raw fish, you want to trust the delivery.
Food- still, in my opinion, a very solid choice. They do Thai, they do Sushi, and they do them both well. Not my absolute favorite, but definitely solid. Add BYOB and you've got yourself a great restaurant!
Don't bother with Dib. A couple friends and I went there last week as we didn't know what we were in the mood for. Though they do have dedicated parking which is a great amenity.
We were all hungry so I got past my knee-jerk reaction to run from any place that serves both Thai food and Sushi. People, these are not really complimentary cuisines... the flavors in sushi and thai are totally different. Anyways, the place was cute and was done up in a modern style if a bit small and cramped (too many tables for the space).
We all ordered Thai dishes and while I and my friend specifically told the waitress (twice!) to make it very spicy -- this must have been lost on them because there was barely andy spice at all. I ordered the basil chicken fried rice, my friend the massuman curry and our third the Pad See Ew. Sure the food was edible but it was bland, I tried some Chicken from the Pad See Ew and had to spit it out.
Small space, odd mix of cuisine, bland thai food and bad chicken. Needless to say I will not be going back to this restaurant -- please go elsewhere if you have the option!
PS. The waitresses were very nice though, if clueless.
Maybe everyone has something specific they look for in sushi, but Dib is really great sushi. Â Clearly fresh fish, nice presentation, good portions, and really flavorful. Â Pricing is reasonable. Â
Locationally challenged (aka scary corner), but great for delivery (which is surprisingly hard to pull off for sushi). Â And if service is a concern, they are lovely on the phone, and the delivery guy is super nice.
3 years later and still my favorite place for sushi (not my favorite for thai, but it's nice that they offer thai if you're going with a friend who doesn't like sushi).
It's BYOB (semi-shady liquor store across the street incase you forgot to bring a bottle)...and I typically start with an order of the Crab Rangoons (really good, they make them there...not some frozen icky crab rangoon stuffed with cream cheese you find at some places) and Tom Yum Soup (with Chicken). Usually I then split an order of Chicken Fried Rice because, it's simply delicious. It's not greasy, and always consistently good.
Sushi wise, here we go.
I always ALWAYS get Crunchy Shrimp. It is my favorite roll, ever. I haven't found anything else like it anywhere.
Then usually I rotate through a variety of other rolls on the menu. The Black & White, Triple Tuna & Untitle from their Specialty Roll Menu. From their Maki Roll menu, I always get the Crunchy Spicy Tuna or Salmon, Ebi, SantaFe, Spider, Sweet Potato or Asparagus Tempura roll, Rainbow or Dragon.
This place also is a great location to have an event!
When I got married I just wanted to go out to dinner with some of my favorite people at my favorite restaurant instead of having a typical bachelorette party. We had 15 people, and took up half the restaurant (they set up two long tables on the larger side). They still had room to seat other guests & everyone loved the food. The service was really great and I've gone back to have birthday parties and such as well. Love this place!
Went to Dib on a Wednesday, which meant that the special for the day was buy three rolls, get one free. Â I don't eat seafood, so I can only comment on the veggie stuff; which was great! Â It was inexpensive and the veggies were fresh. Â I have no complaints with service. Â The parking lot was kinda horrible, but we easily found a street spot. Â My other dinning companions were also happy with their food. The women's bathroom was clean. Â The ambiance was relaxed and cute. Â
My major complaint is that if you sit by the windows, you quickly realize that they are not sealed properly; I wore my coat during dinner. Â The restaurant started to fill up before we could ask for another table.
I would definitely go again, but get a seat far away from the window. Â We didn't do BYOB, so I'm not sure if there is a corkage fee. Â The BYOB option gets this place a fourth star. Â A beverage probably would've warmed me up enough to take off my coat.
Love dib, have gone there multiple times and it is always consistent and delicious. Â Sushi is always good and very reasonably priced. Hot dishes are always good too. Love the triple tuna, tuna avocado salad, nigiri, soup... And it's byob. Definitely my favorite neighborhood restaurant.
Side note to anuj s.... Funny how because the waitresses are all asian they are automatically all family members and only hire family.
I am a sushi lover and am usually satisfied with most restaurants in the area. However, Dib was absolutely horrible. Don't let the stylish awning fool you into thinking it is a quality restaurant. Hopeful after seeing it from the outside, I walked in to a complete disappointment. One of the women working was sitting at a booth and without even standing up, greeted us by saying "How many? Three?" After replying yes, she said to sit where ever.. This was a bit hard considering that there were three of us - the only ones in the restaurant, but every table that was set for more than two had old food, drinks, napkins, and rice strewn all over the place. After moving two tables together, we decided just to order since we were all extremely hungry.
Long story short, the sushi was all sub par. Very sloppy looking, and not too easy on the stomach no more than 15 minutes after our departure. Also, being the only ones in the restaurant, you would think that our food would come out in a timely and organized manner.. Instead, the six rolls we ordered came out 2 at a time with about 10 minutes in between each "course"... very strange.
Very disappointed - even for the price. I would have MUCH rather walked over to Jewel and picked up a pre-made roll from the cooler which is exactly what I'll do if I'm ever craving sushi in the area again.
Dib... Dib... Dib...
Why does this have to happen?
First the obligatory... The red curry was OK and all. Â Nothing too distinctive, but fine.
But I'm just upset about the service at this place. Â This is a big issue at family-run restaurants. Â I know you want to save money and all that, but if you're going to use family members for your wait staff, you NEED to make sure they're in to it and providing the service people expect. Â Food is not enough. Â Sorry Dib... the waitress was quite simply a "bit@$". Â Ordering me around to hand over the appetizer plate and what not. Â No water refills... really slow, rude and non-existent service.
And on their table they have this buy 2 entrees get the 3rd at 50% off. Â It only applies for Monday and Tuesday. Â Well, guess what, it's Tuesday! Â And there were three of us, so we bought 3 entrees. Â So when the receipt didn't have the discount I went up to the front and asked about it. Â The response is... "Oh, did you want to do that?" Â Umm... is there is world where in which someone just doesn't want to get a blatantly advertised discount? Â Of course I wanted to do that. Â They were just hoping to write that BS promo and never have to actually give the discount. Â No apology for forgetting to apply the discount... just a question that Oh, you wanted THAT, huh?
With a staff like that and the billing shenanigans, I say just do us all a favor and stay out of the service business.
It pains me to shoot down two stars like cans on a fence, but I gotta. Â I suggested Dib for carryout last week and let me tell you, it was not the same as my dine-in experience. Â This place might be suffering, like Sally Field in "Sybil," from multiple personalities. Â
Their pad thai was pretty atrocious - my dining companion would say (did say) inedible. Â I've seen multiple interpretations of pad thai in my day and these noodles were kind of wack. Â
The crab rangoon was 99% cream cheese, which is delightful if you are looking to spread it on a bagel. Â We were not. Â
My mixed vegetables were fine, but I'm still scratching my head over the lack of brown rice. Â
I might try again for dine-in...might.
So there's this little sushi and thai joint in the middle of Uptown. As a general rule sushi and thai food should never mix for certain purists, but I do not subscribe to such persuasions. I have tried other sushi/thai combination spots such as Hot Wok's and Thai Spice and conclude that the sushi is edible and will fit the bill.
I stopped in here at lunch today (Thursday) and the place was empty minus two other people or so. There was a TV in the corner of the room showing all of the different rolls dib had to offer and I sat by the window. As the lunch progressed more and more people kept parking their cars in the lot and rolling into dib. All of a sudden the empty restaurant was banging and booming full of academics, police officers, and hungry people wanting some lunch.
For lunch we ordered crunchy spicy tuna roll, a sashimi appetizer, one chicken teriyaki and one beef teriyaki combo. The miso soup came first but was unremarkable. The crunch spicy tuna roll fit the bill and was as delicious as it was artistic with brown eel sauce on the plate in a cute little design. The sashimi appetizer was also delicious and kept us from being hungry.
Beef teriyaki while strong in texture with a nice cute of meat sliced thinly, showing some rarenes the teriyaki sauce was very bland and not very appetizing. The teriyaki dishes came with a small bowl of rice and a side salad and a potato paste kind of side as well. The cuts of meat were tender and felt good while I ate it, but really that sauce was not very good at all. I might have done myself a favor and tried the pad thai instead.
Total cost breakdown:
Sashimi appetizer plate - $10
Crunchy Spicy Tuna - $12
Beef Teriyaki - $14
Chicken Teriyaki $12
Diet Coke - $1.25
Warm Tea - ????
All in all a $60 lunch for a nice spot that wasn't desolate on a random weekday afternoon. A bit too pricey, next time we will try sushi only or try some of the thai food, as the sushi was very good but the teriyaki does not fit the bill!
My mother wanted to take me to lunch to celebrate my birthday, which I think is nice but silly, considering *she* is the reason I have a birthday at all. However, one thing I have learned in my fifty years on Earth is that you never say "no" to my mother. Well, you can, but it has no effect. So, off to lunch we went, but where to go? I had been craving sushi since the day before when a coworker described a great sushi dinner she had; but that restaurant was too far from Mom's place. The solution? Dib! It's right in her neighborhood, but she was leery of Dib. Some woman she knows told her that it wasn't any good, so Mom had never tried it.
We each ordered a sushi entree made mostly of classic nigiri. The meal started with miso soup. It was great! We could both taste the decent dashi, the underlying stock. (By the way, can miso soup be messed up? Yes, it can. Did you know that miso soup should not be cooked or served at a boiling hot temperature? Boiling after adding the miso paste to the stock alters the taste, and not in a good way.) The fact that Dib's miso soup was hot, but not boiling, was a good sign. It was a great start.
As for the sushi: from the first bite, we knew we had found quality. The first thing we look for is good sushi meshi. Sushi meshi is the seasoned sushi rice. It is what makes sushi, sushi. It is not the raw fish, or egg, or whatever is put on or in it. Without sushi meshi it's just a plain rice ball or roll. Dib's sushi meshi is perfect. The seasoning is just right, with that hint of vinegar, sugar and salt; the texture is correct - not too hard nor too soft, not too wet nor too dry; and it's glossy as it should be. The fish that topped our nigiri was fresh as can be. Fresh, fresh, fresh. Deeeeeelicious
Service was polite, friendly and helpful. We couldn't have asked for better.
My mother ate every last piece of food on her plate, and declared it very good. As this is from a woman who knows her Japanese food, it's high praise. She was born and raised in Japan, and her family had their own chef. Oh, and that woman who had said Dib wasn't any good? My mother said, "There's something wrong with her anyway."
Having found myself with some extra time on my hands in the middle of a Saturday afternoon and craving sushi, I consulted the trusty Yelp app. for iPhone to find out what was around and open. Â I was guided to Dib...and it was exactly what I wanted in that moment (how often does THAT happen???). Â I couldn't believe they actually had parking! Â It's not much, but I lucked-out...parking is AWFUL in the neighborhood.
The place is tiny and has modern decor that seems kinda classy...then the smooth jazz kicks on and the environment takes on a decidedly cheesy spin. Â This perception is compounded during a trip to the single, rickety restroom which is oddly situated right across from a dry-goods pantry. Â I am immediately reminded of those home improvement shows where a design team revamps a single room in a terribly cluttered and outdated flat. Â The room looks great, but doesn't fit the rest of the place. Â It becomes quickly apparent that this isn't one of those new, uber-chic eateries that seem to crop up in this city like mushrooms in a cow field after a rainstorm, just a little neighborhood hole in the wall with good food at a great value. Â This makes me happy.
I am also happy to find a great selection of a la carte options at extremely reasonable prices. Â They offered some really great lunch specials, but for not much more $ I was able to create my own little combo (sashimi & veg. tempura) that was exactly what I craved. Â The special maki rolls looked fantastic...I was extremely tempted to experiment. Â I would have were I not alone. Â Dib also offers a decent selection of Thai dishes.
Finally made it over to Dib! I came here with a party of five and our total bill was $90. This is truly amazing in itself and I don't know how people can say this place is expensive. This is what we ordered: one crab Rangoon, 3 sushi rolls and we each had a Thai entree. Unbelievable right!? This place is also BYOB with no corkage fee (maybe our waiter forgot to charge us). He basically handed us a wine key to open our own bottles. I will gladly open my own wine to avoid the extra fee!
The crab Rangoon was so good! Not at all greasy and sweet & sour sauce was fantastic. We all shared 3 rolls: Dragon, Spider and a Dib special and I can't remember what was in it. We all scarfed those down so fast we weren't sure what we ate but it was awesome! For my entree, I had the Hawaiian fried rice with chicken. This is a vegan meal but I wanted some chicken so it was a $1 extra. The rice had grilled veggies and grilled mango and pineapple. This was the best fried rice I ever had! The grilled fruit reminded me of summer time.
The food and service is phenomenal here. I love the atmosphere at Dib. Very clean, modern and chic. The music is very good too. There is a parking lot and that is a bonus in a congested neighborhood with music venues nearby. Parking is difficult in this part of town! I cannot wait to go back to Dib. I am very sad that I live outside of Dib's delivery area. Dib is one of my new favorites!
Also great for dine in! I brought my brother and sister here and the service was prompt, the food was tasty, and the restaurant was very cozy and trendy. Clean bathrooms as well! We even received a lovely plate of sliced oranges with our bill - what a treat!
Come on into Dib when you're looking for some quick, last-minute pan-Asian cuisine! Mmmm Mmmmm
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