My girlfriend and I wanted to try something new.
Java Thai, it was.
Arriving, we liked the atmosphere. There was music, pretty quiet, not too many people.. & we shortly figured out why.
No one greeted us when we came in, we figured because there was only one or two waiters, they may be caught up in a few things. No biggie.
We sat, water was served to us shortly after, and menus were given.
After figuring out what we wanted, our server walked past us about 3 times, refilling drinks, writing on receipts, refilling more drinks. Then finally, he asks us if we are ready.
We order Coffee, and our meals.
About 20 minutes go by, and we realize, we still have not received our coffees. And he is STILL walking around refilling drinks. So we ask another server if we can get our coffees..To which we can physically SEE him walk to the back, conversate, and about 3 minutes later, our server brings us our coffees, without an apology. Not one single word. We try to be polite & Thank him in which he returns to the back..
Now, in the midst of all this, we couldnt help but to notice a group of people who came in, sat by us.. and quickly left before being served, We're assuming because service is so slow.. We start thinking, maybe we should join the party and leave as well.
another 20 minutes go by, we're looking at the clock, and we notice we've been there damn near an hour. So, we figure, hell, they cant even bring us our food or drinks in a timely manner, why should we stick around any longer?
My girlfriend and I are pretty angry and this point, and we just figure, we will eat somewhere else. I stood up to find the server to tell him we no longer want to eat their food
Then i thought, why should i even pay for the coffee? Let alone pay for meals we have not eaten or received. We walked out. I assume its not considered Dine & Dash if we didnt even get the chance to DINE.
With that said. this place sucks!!!!!
I've lived across the street from here for almost two years. I never came in and ignorantly passed Java Thai every day while carrying Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts to the train.
Until this weekend. I had guests in from out of town, and one really wanted to try it. I was pleasantly surprised; the coffee drinks were delicious. We went back several times.
Thai iced tea. Keeps you up all night. So good from Java Thai.
Totally unpretentious little restaurant. Much more than just a cafe, it has a complete menu of delicious meals. I have had several different omelets, appetizers, and the pad Thai and everything is DELICIOUS. Not much to look at, decor wise, but great food at good prices. Highly recommended.
Review Source:I want to give them business, but I don't want it to get crowded when I come in for a quiet feast and some great jazz.
Just the coziest atmosphere.
Servers are just wonderful. Â Just attentive enough and always refill your water at the perfect time.
Never have I had anything from them in which I was disappointed. Â I've tried just about everything on their weekend special menu and the lox plate, crab rangoon, the omelettes, their baked goods (I recommend the turtle bar-before the meal). Â Yeah, I've been here a few times. Â The fruit salad is incredibly fresh and has a really nice mix of fruits: grapes, strawberries, blueberries, melons-not your typical "fruit on the side" situation.
The price is ridiculously reasonable. Â I leave there feeling so full and still healthy for around $10 every time. Â
You won't want to recommend this to anyone else either because you'll want to keep this place to yourself. Â But go here. Â I'll share if you will.
A friend of mine just moved into the area and we were looking for some great Thai restaurants. The reviews for this place were mixed so I decided to give it a try. I placed the order over the phone for pick-up. Â Since they didn't have a menu on-line I just ordered the typical Pad Thai dish. They said the order would be ready in 15 minutes and didn't ask for my name or number. I know everyone these days has caller ID but kind of odd not to even take a name. Â I am assuming many orders were not being placed. Â I would not recommend the Pad Thai at all. Â It lacked flavor and the ingredients were lacking as well - peanuts, bean sprouts, etc. I cannot comment on the other food at this restaurant but I will not be going back for a second time.
Review Source:I have been going to this place for years!! I really like how friendly the staff is and consistent the food is.
If you want a light sandwich/salad or some good Thai food, this is great place and is still kinda under the radar. Â
I love the jive salad and the cream of spinach soup for lunch and for dinner the pad lar nar. Â YUM
Java Thai is a cute neighborhood eatery that serves American in addition to Thai dishes. Â I live nearby and have wanted to go here for some time. Â I really wanted to like the place, as it has a warm feeling and is definitely "mom and pop"ish. Â The specialized neon light sign used to work up until a few months ago. Â This adds to the appeal even though its broken. Â Each week there is a Sunday Jazz Brunch offered where two or three musicians play to a decent sized crowd.
My first time here I ordered the Pad Thai dinner. Â It was good, but tasted just like any other Pad Thai I've had; wasn't really anything to brag about. Â The portion was large enough to have leftovers.
The next time, I ordered the hummus and pita bread appetizer and was not impressed with neither the hummus nor bread. Â The hummus was not very substantial in thickness. Â I've had better tasting from the grocery store. Â The celery and carrots were fresh though. Â For my main dish I had a simple salad with all very fresh ingredients. Â My boyfriend got the chicken sateh appetizer: chicken seasoned with a delicious sauce served on shish kabob sticks. Â It was served with peanut sauce.
Our waiter was friendly and attentive. Â I will definitely be going back to try some different dishes.
"A true hidden gem" says my wife. And I agree. We've been coming here for years and so glad that we live close by now. It has the offering of any great brunch place in the city without the trendy atmosphere or long wait. Try the Thai coffee and their specialty...the Thai omelet. Â It's an omelet served filled with home-made ground pork in a really unique red sauce with served with white rice. Really flavorful and yet light brunch option.
The rest of their menu is excellent too and for that, I give then 5 stars.
This was my first time to Java Thai. Â I had passed it a million times driving up and down Irving Park Rd. Â I met a friend here and there wasn't a lot of people here, although there were a few people who came in and out-mainly couples, but I am guessing this was due to the snow and freezing weather. Â I ordered a chai tea and not only did it cost less at Starbucks or any similar place (paid $3.03 for a nice big cup), it was really, really good. Â The interior isn't fancy. Â It's just your independence neighborhood coffee shop. Â The service was friendly and I learned they also have a menu full of items so maybe I'll check out that next time I stop by. Â Interestingly enough, there is a Starbucks very close across the street to this place that's always crowded. Â Folks should really give this one a try. Â It's nice and quiet for a conversation and there was plenty of parking on the street.
Review Source:We've been meaning to hit up Java Thai since we moved to Old Irving Park since my fiance is Thai. We were lucky enough to go on a Sunday at Noon where we could choose from all three of their menus. There is quite a selection and lots of goodies for veggie heads.
I settled on a Frittata since I wasn't in the mood for sweets (otherwise I was going for the blueberry pancake thingy). My companions both ordered the Thai Omelette and really liked it. The thai iced tea was yum. The wait was a little long, but manageable.
We got to hear part of the Jazz band which was really nice, though it was a little loud for conversation. Our server was very nice.
I did feel a little greasy after taking out my nephews rice (comes with omelette), but it was still good.
I use to live a close walk from this little Thai place.
It's a good place to go to if you live in the neighborhood & feel too lazy to cook or drive anywhere for some decent & reasonably priced food.
Oh and they have good crab rangoon (not like other places where it's cream cheese and celery-grr!)
Word of advice:
Don't come here with high expectations. The food here is mediocre.
So I had very high hopes for this place since they have gotten a lot of great reviews...sorry they were not fulfilled.
I ordered breakfast this morning. Â I was the only customer in the restaurant. Â I ordered a waffle with a side of bacon. Â It took over 30 minutes for the food to arrive and it was warm. Â The waffle looked like the type of waffle that I would make with my waffle iron, if I had one. Â The bacon..was tasty but warm...just warm. Â
I was just so dang disappointed!!!
I am open to trying it again but I will not have high expectations at all!!
WARM!!!!!
Given the scarcity of Thai places of any kind on the NW side of Chicago I really wanted Java Thai to be a decent place. Unfortunately, it's not. My wife and I went there a few years back looking forward to some tasty Thai food. The waitress seemed like she'd rather have been doing anything other than taking our order at the time. Our food was served after a looong wait. Then, as we were just starting to dig in, we were horrified to see a cockroach walking across the dining room floor, with the carcass of another large insect in tow. We called the waitress over and pointed this out. Her reaction? She said "eww", walked back to her seat, sat down, and proceeded to watch the roach head toward the kitchen. My wife and I sat there, watched the critter go into the kitchen, watched the waitress turn back to her book, then pushed our plates away, paid our bill and left, never to return.
I'm not surprised to read the other reviews that have indicated the place has been shut down for health code violations. Most I'd be willing to forgive if they were corrected, but I just cannot bring myself to try this place again.
Looks are definitely deceiving... From the outside it doesn't look like much, but I was completely impressed! Â Great portions and even better prices. Â The amount of food you can get for less than $15 is unbelievable.
Yes, it was a little on the toasty side and the food took a bit longer to arrive, but I had been advised that they make everything fresh and the wait was worth it.
The Sunday jazz breakfast was a welcome change from the usual trip to Golden Nugget and McNamara's.
I think I'm being gracious with the one star. Â For starters, who makes bubble tea without real fruit?! Â I saw the kid making my drink reach for a dusty bowl that has been around since before he was born! Â he lobbed in a couple scoops, threw in some water and bubbles and that was it. Â anti-climactic to say the least. Â
I figured, no worries. Â Enjoy the drink and that's that. Â That wasn't it. Â There was an incredibly creepy guy that would not stop staring at me. Â Then, when I thought I couldn't be creeped out anymore, a ginormous ant crawled onto my table. Â I thought, I can handle this...just enjoy your drink, read your book and stop being high maintenance. Â Just then, a huge bug of some sort landed on my arm!!!!!! Â OMG!!!! Â That is it! Â I will never step foot in this place again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On a sunny weekend morning, a walk to Java Thai can be a delightful stroll. I try to make the walk exceptionally delightful in order to compensate for the awkward and often sweaty experience I will undoubtedly have as I sit in the corner and stare at the broken Bird Clock -- pretending that it IS accurate in that 'TIME HAS STOPPED -- and THAT is why it is taking an ETERNITY to cook me a grilled cheese'. My roomies and friends rave about this place and the Avocado Jive (ala Dann) as well as the iced tea...therefore, I won't knock it too hard...Jazz on Sunday's (a dude in the window playing the guitar or sax) and re-up on your Cock Sauce 'cause they keep it behind the counter for sale. All in all, stop in if your up here in Irving Park to see what the fuss is about.
Review Source:This is one of my go-to hang outs, which is what I would recommend it for. Â Not necessarily the quickest of service so attend with leisure in mind. Â Good breakfast, Great lunch, great dinner. Â Best Iced Tea in the city or BYOB. Â Live music Sunday afternoons. Â My personal fave is the Avocado Jive, you won't find it anywhere else. Â This place is far from perfect but it's home.
p.s. Â Somebody should fix that bird clock
I've never ordered food from here, but I have on three separate occasions over three years ordered coffee drinks from here. Â I assumed based on the front window with "cappuccino, espresso, thai coffee" written on it that they would serve different coffee drinks. Â First off, they never have skim milk on hand, which for me is a big no-no for a place that serves coffee. Â And the last and final time I was there I ordered a small mocha. Â What I got was a cup of steamed 2% milk. Â No espresso. Â No chocolate. Â
The food might be good, but I won't waste my time trying it.
I really used to love this place. Sure, it was a bit grimy and you might be the only table there at times, but it I thought the crab "langoon" was very tasty and the prices were decent. I never understood how they kept in business, but I wasn't complaining. Well, until you throw a price increase into the equation and some new uncaring wait-staff.
Be wary of their two menus - just because the menu that was on the table says a certain price, doesn't mean that is the price they are going to charge you. Hey Java Thai, if you don't want to piss off some good customers, don't be lazy and only change the prices on half of your menus and then act rudely when said customers are confused by the situation.
My BF and I frequent this place many times. Always enjoyed the food and the iced coffee here. But last week was not a good experience. We were waited on by a newer staff member. Took FOREVER to get the check. We were, as usual the only couple in the place. We ended up having to go up to the counter.
We had noticed earlier two different prices on the iced coffee. So when we got to the counter she had charged us the higher price. We pointed out on the other menu the price difference. We wanted to be billed for the lower price, since we saw that one first. She said, they were updating some menus and must have forgotten some. Instead of discounting us for the difference she shrug it off and proceeded to charge my credit card. I brought to her attention and she said nothing. Sure, it was a 50 cent difference, times two. Sure, maybe I am bitching about a lousy 50 cents, actually a dollar. But the point is, she shrugged it all off like it was nothing. These days some of us are trying to save some money when eating out! Well. I guess I should have picked up that extra dollar I left for her on the table for tip!
People I know rave about this place, but I'm not sure I get it. Â I've been there twice and I'm still not getting it. Â The first time was to get a pick up order, and they said 30minutes, but what they meant to say was an hour. Â So, I sat there for 30 minutes past the quoted time. Â The second time I went they got my order wrong, and honestly, is tofu pad thai all that difficult. Â
However, the first time I went I had a triple cheese sandwich and it was delicious. Â So, maybe I just need to order the triple cheese everytime I go. Â I don't know....it's a good place to hit up if you're in the area and need something semi-healthy.
So, here's the deal about Java Thai...
They're my neighbors. Literally. If I look out my little floor level apartment, there's Java Thai. Right there. Everyday. In the same exact building as me. Looking straight back at me...
And that little guy is wondering why I've only been there once. He is sad that our relationship has been so, well, frigid.
Java Thai, let me explain why...
First of all, I gave your restaurant a try back in the Fall of 2006, only to find a massive neon green sticker on your front door telling me you had been shut down because of health code violations. 'Cool,' I thought. 'It happens to the best of us.'
To be honest, Java, I felt a little disgusted. I needed a year to recover and regain trust in your little establishment. So, one year later, I took the fifteen foot walk over to your front door and what did I find but another health code violation sticker. This time it was neon orange. I almost wept, except that I didn't. I laughed.
The second you guys re-opened, I had to try your place because I really do like persistence. I was cut from my Jr. High basketball team like 4 times. So we have that in common.
However, what I found was that your food was O.K. and thank God it contained about half as many bugs as I thought it would. What I didn't like was smelling like a used wok after I left. Especially since I sat through a two and a half hour long movie afterwards.
I'd rather not have to take a shower after dinner. Unless it's the meat sweats from Fogo.
I have to say, I'm not a fan. Â I've been here a few times as a matter of circumstance but at this point, I would rather eat at the Golden Nugget down the block--and that's saying something. Â
I've had a variety of both the Thai food and the non-Thai food. Â The thing is: sometimes it's decent, but often it just falls short. Â Ultimately, the food is really inconsistent--stale chips accompanying the guacamole, very remarkably bland fried rice. Â A ham sandwich made barely edible because the bread is soggy as a result of water draining off of the ham and the excessive amount of salad dressing used as a sauce. Â Again, sometimes it's fine, sometimes not. Â I've had enough bad experiences to not want to go back.
Plus (and I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but...) it just feels dirty in there.
After reading the reviews I had to check this place out. They don't have a menu on the web so we were content to place our take-out order at the restaurant. The menus were dirty and moldy, like the restaurant. The waitress was impatient with us while we decided. We asked if we could pay extra to substitute fried rice for the white rice and they refused.
Despite the fact that the restaurant was dead, our take-out order took 45 minutes; I'm not sure why because the Thai food we ordered was nasty! The ingredients were of poor quality, the mushrooms had gone bad, the chicken was dry, and the sauce tasted like overcooked sugar solution. I would use the excuse that you get what you pay for but the bill was typical for casual Thai cuisine - $28 for two.
The young waitress had a couple of friends stop by about a half an hour after we'd ordered and she was complaining about the other customers in the restaurant to them. Her friends' food arrived at the same time our order did even though we'd ordered it 30 minutes before they had. WOW. By the time this had all transpired, I regretted putting money into the tip jar.
Have only been here for breakfast but it is really good and really cheap! Sunday mornings a small jazz group comes in and plays nice background music. The place is tiny but the service is fast and have I mentioned how inexpensive it is? Breakfast for two is around $10, same cost as breakfast at McDonald's.
Come in and support small business!
Went here for lunch... had a really great turkey sandwich and veggie chili. Â Normally wouldn't have gone for the veggie chili, but it was great.
The breakfast is supposed to be fantastic and a really great value.
The coffee drink I had was good.
Their menu is mixed... there's a page of thai food, then or two a page of american food... Â I think grandma is in back cooking or something. Â Everything is very reasonably priced.
They seem to have a good dessert selection that looked pretty good.
Who knows how I'll feel after I try the lunch and dinner menu but there's no question breakfast kicks ass here. Â 3 eggs, toast, tasty potatoes (yum): $2.95. Â Cooked perfectly, no issues. Â Order this for two, add two great cups of coffee (free refills), a half order of biscuits and gravy (with turkey sausage - delicious): $11 and change. Â
Great food CHEAP. I'm in.
I adore this place! Â I've only ever had the carry-out and it's been excellent. Â They are vegetarian friendly for sure and their veggie chili is awesome! Â Anything with tofu and noodles that they produce, I'm signing up for. Â I've substituted ingredients without problem here and the staff is always very nice. Â The atmosphere is laid-back, with plenty of stuff to read while you wait for your take-out. Â Also, I've heard their Sunday stuffed French Toast is excellent, though I've never had it myself.
Review Source:I love Java Thai! I work at a resturant down the street and we order from there at least once a week. I love the fruit salad, for some reason fruit always tastes better when someone else cuts it up. And the chicken salad on pita is great too, I like it with fresh avocado. The vanilla latte is good, and just sweet enough. I've heard they have awesome thai, I've never had the pad thai but I have had the spring rolls w/the peanut sauce and they were super good. And a friend of mine says they have the best crab rangoon, which are homemade.
Review Source:i love this lil' place. Â i always get their chicken salad sandwich or their jack and avocado sandwich. Â yummy in my tummy! Â
i also like their thai ice coffee. Â
they have many vegetarian dishes so non meat eaters will find something they are able to eat. Â
they have live jazz bands on sunday during brunch which makes for a cute brunch date.
Interesting, eclectic. Â Those are the two words that come to mind when I think about Java Thai. Â It's a tiny coffeehouse/restaurant that is pretty limited in what they serve, but you will find some unique items in a quirky kind of atmosphere. Â This kind of reminds me of the place where Jack Kerouac and his Beat pals would have enjoyed hanging out. They offer Thai appetizers and entrees, American sandwiches, coffee and sweets.
I really enjoy the shrimp pad thai, fried rice and crab rangoon. Â A tip: don't go here for dinner if you're in a hurry - they make most everything from scratch, so you have to allow some extra time. Â Also, the service is efficient, but not really "warm and fuzzy." Â
They also showcase local talent. Â Depending on the day and time, you may find a guitarist strumming away in their window or hear a jazz trio playing for the patrons.
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