I love this place, the big open window and fresh food is great quality. Â I've had their soups, thai tea, tuna salad and mussaman curry. Â Nothing disappoints, but they do tend to be a little light on deep, authentic thai flavors. Â For the location and price, this place definitely deserves 4 stars!
Review Source:Service is always good here. Â The Thai food is ok but not as ethnically prepared as I would like. Â The sushi is very solid for a Thai restaurant. Â Nothing will blow you away but the value is there in their portions and value. Â The decor is really nice if you are looking to feel like you went out to dinner but are looking to save some money.
Review Source:My friends and I tried this restaurant for a chill New Year's Eve dinner before we went out. Â The service was so lovely, friendly and gracious that I'd be remiss not to review the restaurant positively. Â We enjoyed the food- Teriyaki Chicken (delish), Masaman curry, Pad Thai and a couple of sushi rolls. Â Overall this was a wonderful place for a group with delicious, affordable food.
Review Source:I was really disappointed with our delivery order from here. Food arrived cold. Pad Thai was dry, and had very little flavor. The only distinctive flavor in the Crab Rangoon was celery...I just wasn't a fan.
There are so many Thai places in Chicago that I wouldn't even bother with this one.
this review is from a thai food snob....
pros: it is close to the red line. the seafood with green curry was a nice dish. food looked and tasted good.
cons: it's not authentic.... the food tasted okay becuase it was diluted with cream and coconut. never had a creamy thick penang curry before. glad i didnt order more dishes...i may just be disappointed.
I think this is my new favorite Thai place in the South Loop. The restaurant has your typical Thai staples - and one that I always recommend trying is the Namtok Salad. We also ordered the chicken satay, along with a couple rolls: sumo and house crunch - all good, and no complaints. Thai iced tea (no ice) also good. Great service as we were seated by the window - great al fresco dining option!
Review Source:JUst moved here from NY....This place is cozy, good music, like the open window seating, staff was attentive and nice. The food was ok - I def had better.
It is close to my home so that is why I tried it out; however I won't be going back due to the roaches in the restroom that I noticed before leaving. The restroom is seperate from the actual restaurant - it's down the hallway but still same building close to the kitchen.
Chicago's health dept. should rate their restaurants like NYC so I can be sure that I am not getting more than just great food! No roaches please!
My husband and I either go to or order from Ma&I about every two weeks. Â It's our go-to comfort food in the South Loop. Â We have never had a problem with the service. They are particularly attentive with the water, which we love. Â I usually order the Pad Woon Sen or the Pad Thai and my husband orders the Panang Curry or Red Curry. Â The Tom Yum soup and Summer Rolls are also really yummy.
Review Source:Atmosphere: Dimly lit, quiet, clean, comfortable, cozy- 4 stars
Service: Nice, polite and attentive. Can't complain.- 5 stars
Food:
Chicken Pad-See-Ew- Â 5 stars
Thai Iced Tea- 5 stars
Conclusion: This is the best Thai restaurant I've tried in Chicago thus far. (I've only tried three so this might not be saying very much) The chicken was moist and the entire meal was well cooked and perfectly seasoned. I recommend this place for any pad-see-ew fan. =)
Update: My previous rating gave this venue 5 stars however after two more visits I've discovered that this place is a bit inconsistent. The chicken is sometimes dry and the panang curry wasn't very good. The pad thai was also a bit too sweet. I would still return but I just wouldn't be as excited next time so I'm re-rating this venue 3 stars.
Passed by this place on our way to the Planetarium. The large open window invited us in as we walked by. Japanese + Thai food fare.
- Crab Rangoon - delish!
- Sunomono - really good!
- Summer roll - not as good as everyone else is saying - weird greens that give it an odd taste. They also stick out on two ends
- Seared tuna salad $13 - the ginger dressing looked unappetizing, and I ended up just eating the tuna - alright. I wouldn't order it again
Overall, I would eat here again. Nice, clean atmosphere. Service is ok - could use more smiles.
Hooray for Thai food!
Finally there is a good place to order in some Thai food in the south loop.  My fiance and I have only ever gotten delivery so I can't speak to the restaurant itself, but the food always arrives correctly, quickly, and hot.  We've tried 3 or 4 of the noodle dishes and they're all great.  I agree with other Yelpers that the crab rangoons are  a must-have. Â
This place is a much-welcomed upgrade over Tamarind on Wabash and I look forward to my future orders from Ma & I.
I'm down with a good deal for lunch. Â Really, aren't we all?
My homie Erin P. wanted to lunch and suggested Ma & I due to their righteous lunch deal (more on that soon). Â I'm down, so I tell her I'll meet her at 12:30. Â Let's do this.
Surprisingly, Ma & I was DEAD at 12:30 on a Friday. Â I didn't know if I should take it as a sign that the food would suck or that it's just simply a hidden gem. Â But I trust Erin, so we grabbed a table at the front by the windows. Â It took quite some time for a waitress to approach our table. Â Honestly, there was one other table in the entire restaurant. Â I would have thought service would have been a bit more prompt. Â If I were in a hurry, I'd be annoyed.
Ma & I offers a lunch special that's tough to beat. Â 6 pieces of maki roll (a mix of california and plain tuna), 4 pieces of sushi or sashimi, 2 goya, miso soup and a salad. Â Granted the maki and sushi/sashimi are Chef's Choice, so it's a bit of a roll of the dice, but if you're feeling adventurous, it's a great deal.
The miso rocks. Â Sometimes for me miso soup equals me tummy not so happy, however, I feel good after the miso at Ma & I. Â The dressing on the salad is gingery, spicy and awesome. Â Most excellent starters.
I loved the maki roll mix. Â The goya were great, too. Â I was served shrimp, eel, tuna and salmon for my 4 pieces of sushi. Â I only ate the shrimp because I just wasn't that hungry, but my lovely dining companion gobbled up my leftovers and proclaimed them delicious.
Good food.
While service was kind of slow, it's great to have a solid spot you can go to during the lunch rush that's pretty much guaranteed to be no-wait.
Penny Pinching at it's finest.
Cute setting, close to the red line, delicious food (try the Dragon or Millennium Maki, both are tasty and subtle; but you may want to avoid the Susie-Q. The Susie-Q has so many flavors going on, its almost overwhelming.) and they also make a wonderful martini.
So.. why would I give this restaurant one star?....Well, they LOST MY CREDIT CARD!!!
Unbelievable. While the panicked and extremely apologetic waitress searched for my card, the supervisor decided then would be a good time to leave the restaurant to make a delivery, instead of having to deal with a very grumpy customer. That is what really set me off.
My recommendation for this restaurant... go only if you intend on paying your bill with cash.
My boyfriend and I love Thai food, but have been less-than-impressed with the selection in the South Loop neighborhood. We decided to try Ma and I and have already gone back two more times since first trying it last week. The Thai food is exceptional, all so fresh and flavorful, and they also have an equally impressive selection of Japanese entree's and Sushi.
Their Thai Summer Rolls are out of this world. So fresh, with just the right amount of shrimp, with fresh, mixed greens and carrots. The sauce is delicious and packed with peanuts for an extra crunch. We also love their Pad Thai, we've gotten it with tofu each time and the tofu is just cooked perfectly. Other dishes to try would be the Spicy Fried Basil with tofu and the curries.
The decor is sophisticated and modern, the service is always prompt. Try Ma & I, and you won't be disappointed!
A few days ago I was at my therapist's office at about 5:30pm, screaming about how my mother is a godamn zealot who will never consider anyone else's opinion. Then therapy got out, and I was wandering down irving park road, looking for some good food that would be both filling, vegetarian, and byob. I hadn't bought any booze yet, but i was planning to go to 7/11 to get some steel reserve, cause you know - what's classier than drinking steel reserve with your dinner? I'll tell you what - Nothing. So, I found the 7/11 and i got two 24oz cans of SR as well as a 24oz can of pbr, and then i left and still couldn't find any decent food that met my dining specifications.
So, i ended up getting on the irving park bus, and i took that to the brown line station, and I got on the brown line, content with simply going back to bridgeport to get some family style tofu at ed's potsticker house, cause i always remember that they're byob, cause they were my first byob dining experience ever.
So i got that awesome seat in the back of the train car where you don't have to look at anybody, and nobody can really see you, and the car was nearly empty anyways, so i pulled a can of steel reserve out of my backpack (alcoholism), drank it down, started to feel really really good, and then decided to open another, and I drank that one down as well. Keep in mind, these cans were aproximately 12% ABV (official beer of hobos).
So it's like 7:30pm at this point, and i've somehow found myself on the orange line heading back around the loop when i realize that my bike has been sitting in my work's parking garage for like 8 days now, so i'm like "well i better go get that", and so i jumped off of the train at roosevelt and start walking down michigan avenue, but then my stomach is growling. So, i open my phone, go to the yelp app, type in 'byob', and find that ma & i was reportedly byob. Then I discover that it's like 10 feet from where i'm waiting for the bus, so i look around and notice this restaurant that i initially feel to hobo-like to enter, but i do anyways because i'm a vegetarian and therefor a better person than any of these meat eating mofos.
So I walk in with my olive green peacoat, smelly hat, and my never-been-washed backpack that has two empty SR cans & 1 full pbr can, get greeted by some guy, and he politely leads me to the table where I sit down. He then gives me a menu, asks me what I want to drink, and I tell him that I want some thai ice tea. Then he's like 'okay, we will be right back', and as he's walking away I ask if their restaurant is byob, and he tells me that they lost the license for that, so they are no longer byob. I'm half drunk anyways, so who cares if I won't enter level 6/10.
I look at the menu, and picked out the massaman curry with tofu. It was served in like 10 minutes. The thai ice tea came out after like 5 minutes. They were both absolutely delicious. I've never had curry tofu that was cooked this well before. I'm normally accustom to the curry tofu from jim ching (which is still delicious), but this place really outdid itself.
I ate the food, it was all great. The waiter wasn't too condescending, and I left him a good tip to prove i'm not homeless. Then i left, got my bike, went home to bridgeport, and then went to wriggleyville to fix my friend's computer.
Let me start off by saying Thai food is one of my favorites, so I was excited when I discovered ma&I right across the street from my boyfriend's apartment. Though he's been living there for several months, we hadn't tried ma&I although we had talked about it many times. We finally tried it and it is going to be a new favorite of ours!
The decor is very nice and slightly upscale. The space is midsized but well laid out so it seems larger, and has very large windows which let in a lot of natural light. I had a hard time choosing at first since they have both Japanese and Thai options, but ultimately settled on the red curry (my boyfriend ordered pah Thai).
I love the fact that you have so many options for protein/additions to your meal. Chicken, beef, seafood, tofu, calamari (my choice)... I've never seen a restaurant offer that many choices. When the food came the aromas were fantastic and I couldn't wait to dig in- It was love at first bite.
My curry was spiced excellently; not so hot as to burn your mouth but spicy enough to lend all those wonderful exotic flavors to the dish. The calamari was cooked nicely, and they were nice and tender. I kept eating and eating until I was practically scraping the bowl to get the last drops out! The pad Thai was also excellent and may have been one of the best I've ever had.
I would have loved to try the sushi, the table next to us ordered some and it looked delicious! I suppose I'll just have to make my boyfriend take me back so I can try it!
The strengths: the decor and the price.
The weaknesses: everything else. Â The service was pretty bad. Â Not only were they not very friendly, but they made rookie mistakes: spilling a drink on a few members of my party then not offering to pay the dry cleaning bill unless they produced a receipt, giving me a dirty napkin when I asked for an extra, neglecting to give singles so I could leave a tip.
The food was low quality. Â For an app, I ordered the chicken satay and it was dry and tough. Â For an entree I ordered broccoli and beef. Â The meat didn't look fresh, and I think they use msg. Â For the price, i shouldn't have been surprised.
While the decor in the restaurant was decent, the restaurant is in a building that shares a bathroom down the hall. Â The bathroom looked like something out of the HBO series, Oz..
This is a south loop place, that is close to where we live. It is a small, cute place with impressive interiors and ambiance. It has a very cool, modern spa space kinda feel which is intimate and also good for groups.
There are quite a few options for vegetarians. We ordered the massaman curry with tofu and spicy basil with tofu and vegetables. Both the dishes were flavorful and tasty and we enjoyed it. The portion sizes were good and the service was pretty good too.
This is a pretty good Japanese/Thai spot. Â One of the few spots along Michigan with the open front window/wall thing (what's that called?). Â Didn't get a chance to try the Tom Yum soup b/c they don't let you do substitutes and I didn't really feel like getting more food. Â Guess that just means I'll have to head back there.
The asparagus beef rolls won't disappoint as a starter and there are plenty bite size pieces to go around. Â I went with the chicken pad thai lunch special with the crab rangoon. Â Both were pretty good but nothing spectacular. Â Prices are too bad either. Â The service is a little slow but they are nice when they do come around.
I really like this place. The look and feel of the space is very nice. Kind of serene and spa like and kinda swanky - good stuff. The food is great. The portions are not too big, so don't expect leftovers, but sometimes it's nice to go out to eat and not feel stuffed to the brim!
I really like their curry noodles and the Dragon Salad. The salad has crispy soft-shell crab and is very fresh and satisfying. They have a small sushi bar that actually has some pretty inventive rolls - worth a try as an appetizer for sure. Also, the Chicken Satay shouldn't be missed - the chicken is very juicy and the peanut sauce is just right!
A great neighborhood spot in the South Loop that I visit at least once a month :-)
Just ordered some red curry from this place for delivery. Â The curry was kind of meh... not bad, but not really flavorful. Â They did provide some hot sauce on the side, but that didn't help much.
The quantity was really good though. Â I was stuffed after eating just half of what they gave me.
Also, their setup is a bit confusing. Â They're on grub hub, but you can't order on grub hub? Â I'm not sure what's going on with that. Â When I called them they said they wouldn't accept grub hub orders. Â Minor overall comment.
I think that this restaurant has a bit of an identity problem. Â If they picked Thai OR Japanese, then maybe they would do one of them well enough to justify their prices, but by trying to do both, well, it falls a little flat. Â It's definitely not bad, but "Meh. I've experienced better" is the perfect description. Â I've had better Thai food, better Japanese food, and WAY better prices for both.
I do, however, very much appreciate the option to add brown rice instead of jasmine to any Thai dish (though $2 for the substitution seems a little steep to me).
Msister and I regularly meet here for lunch. Â The have an amazing deal. Your choice of sashimi or nigiri +6 pieces of sushi, + gyoza + salad +miso soup= $12! Â My sister is a fan of their wasabi shumai. Â With their large dining room and open windows, this is a nice place to lunch during the warm months (good in the winter too, just without open windows)
I recently took them up on their offer to use brown rice in a sushi roll for $1 surcharge. Â I was pleasantly surprised. Â My only other brown rice sushi has been from Whole Foods and I couldnt really get into it. Â Although it makes your meal pricier its good to know for the health conscious people.
It is great to have Ma & I close to my work, considering the few south of Roosevelt lunch options.
After seeing a play @ Columbia my play pal (No Matthew, not that kind of "play") and I were withering away from hunger. I had a plan to go to Ma & I since it seems like nothing else in the area is really open after 9 even on a Friday night. Unfortunately our performance ran a little longer then I expected and we got to Ma & I about 5 minutes before closing. Even worse their sign said that they shut down the kitchen 10 minutes before they close up. I don't know if the hostess took pity on us or the look of starvation on our faces won her over but they sat us, providing that we didn't order sushi or take all night to eat. No seriously they actually said you must eat fast.
So this is a quick review for eating everything super fast
Service -super quick
Egg rolls -yum
Miso soup -yum yum
Thai Chicken Fried Rice -hot!! and yum (that's temperature hot!!) Â
Play Pal
Spicy Basil Chicken -not a peep out of her so I guessing yum
Ok you get out now!!!!
Thanks Ma & I for a quick meal that didn't taste quick or like leftovers! I'd go back just for those front bay windows in the summer!
Update and upgrade: I have fallen in love with this place again.
I stayed away for a long time as a result of the aforementioned service and delivery issues. I've started ordering takeout from here again in recent weeks, and I actually sat down for a meal there last night with a friend. First time in at least a year that I've actually eaten in the restaurant.
So glad I did! The menu has now expanded to include sushi, which doesn't always translate well in Thai restaurants, but works for Ma & I. I started out with the House Crunch maki, essentially shrimp maki wrapped in the crunchy stuff, and it was heavenly.
My entree was my old standby -- Panang curry with tofu and extra vegetables. Oh man. The vegetables were perfectly steamed and the curry itself was the perfect balance of flavors and texture -- not too thick or too runny, not too spicy or totally bland. They got it just right.
My friend had Crab Rangoon -- delish! And she finished up with Spicy Basil and brown rice. Spiced to perfection.
I just enjoyed having a great, fresh Thai meal from beginning to end in my own neighborhood. Even my green tea was fresh and delicious, and the server did not fail to keep my mug full and steaming hot. Our server actually remembered me just from my panang curry order and from my voice, which I thought was funny. On this night, and in my recent take out orders, the service, delivery and quality of the food were spot on.
I'm extremely happy about that, because I missed you, Ma & I! Keep up the great work!
I've eaten here several times and it is consistently good food. Â The dinning room isn't big but it has a quiet intimate atmosphere. The service was generally good and the servers were pretty helpful and attentive.
The food is good! I love their spring rolls and the plum-type sauce that somes with it. It tastes so fresh. I am also a big fan of their pad thai (without peanuts, see comment on that below) - they got the sauce down right. The veggies are awlays cirspy and it is good, lean chicken. Â Their seafood also has gone over well along with the Crab Rangoon.
A plus, they deliver! Â The food is normally quick and hot! Another plus, you can order online to at least ensure your order is taken right. Â The downside is somehow any special requests or instructions are not always followed (a knock down rating-wise). I do not like peanuts and too many times have they messed up and put peanuts on something. Â That is frustrating. Â Other than that, this place is great!
I've lived right down the street from this restaurant for the past two years and decided to finally check it out!
We had a great experience! The service was exceptional! Our waitress stopped by our table about 4-5 times to make sure we were ok. Our water was refilled multiple times. Our food came approximately 10 minutes after we had ordered it. And we grabbed our check and went on our way almost immediately after we had finished our food!
The quality of the food was great as well. We ordered the pad thai and pad see eiw. Â The pad see eiw was stir fried to perfection! Lots of flavor and not overly greasy. Â We also ordered the goma ae which tasted delicious as well. Prices here are pretty reasonable as well.
I think this is one of those places that tries to do too much, and doesn't really do anything too well as a result. I was in town on business with a group of seven people who couldn't decide what to do for dinner. This place was near the hotel and had immediate seating for seven.
I had the sushi supreme and three vodka tonics, which is a lot, I know, but I was hungry. The sushi was Ok, but didn't really have much flavor beyond the generous heaps of wasabi I was using to distract myself from the sub par dinner conversation provided by my companions.
The service was pretty bad. Our server messed up the bill, and we didn't even ask her to split it up. It took a long time to figure it out, and I was going to need another drink if I was going to spend another second with these fools.
I doubt I would eat here again, but it was a nice compromise for seven people who had no idea what they wanted for dinner. When no one complained, I was surprised and it earned this place another 1/2 star.
My boss is amazing, and randomly decided to order in Thai for lunch. Ma & I is her usual go-to for Thai food, and I can definitely see why that is!
Crab. Rangoon. Oh. My. It's delicious, especially with the hot sauce instead of the sweet.
The cucumber salad is super refreshing. It's a must-get if you order anything spicy. My entree was the panang curry with chicken. It's delicious! Not the hottest curry I've had, but it was great for lunch.
The entrees are filling, but the portions aren't ginormous, they're just right. Make your friends order something different so you can share plates and try different things.
Just make sure to get your own order of crab rangoon. You probably won't want to share it.
I live right across from Ma&I, yet I've only been there 3-4 times. Why you ask? I'm not quite sure. I'm generally a fan of Thai food and the food here is delicious, well presented (unlike most hole in the wall Thai joints), and the atmosphere is exotic and comfortable. But I think I feel that the prices are just not worth it. I can get a pad thai for $6 at say My Thai, but here it would cost almost $9. Their curry noodle is out of the world and I'm always a fan of regular mussaman curry. But with a bill of over $25 for 2 people, I think I'll take a pass.
But if you need a place to bring your special lady friend and don't want to blow hundreds of dollars at a fancy place, try Ma&I!
The biggest thing that this place has going for it is the fact that it's in a ridiculously convenient location. Â I'm not really adding anything new in that I typically base Thai places on pad thai, pad seeew, and curries, and none of them were particularly good. Â However, the service and atmosphere is nice.
If I lived in the area, I would probably come here more often just because it's close, but because I'm only here every once in a while, I don't think this place is really worth going to.
That, and there's a Jimmy Johns next door now.
We had been wanting to try Ma & I ever since we moved to the area, finally we went with some friends of ours on a Friday evening at about 9pm. People were still at several tables and 2 groups came in after us. We brought a bottle of wine, because they are BYO, and they took it back to open it when we sat down. Brought it out a few minutes later opened and poured it for us....good attempt, but they should have brought the cork out, if it had been an expensive bottle I probably would have asked.
Decor is contemporary and well done, very cozy feel. Staff was friendly.
On to food, we ordered the standard Spring rolls, which were fine, and also the spicy tang shrimp....which were the largest shrimp I have ever seen...they were straightened and propped up on a bed of lettuce with a fried pastry type thing supporting them....interesting I must say, though there were only 3 pieces....luckily 2 of us wanted the spring rolls more.
Main entrees were typical Thai dishes, pad Thai, pad se eiw, a mixed vegetable/chicken stir fry. Mushrooms on one dish were said to have tasted a little off. My pad thai had very thin noodles, but plenty large size dish. Nothing above average.
Overall - I will be back for sure, as I love to eat Thai regularly. One complaint is all of the food is about $2 more per dish than it costs at most Thai places in the city, even though the quality is the same. This is typical of most South Loop places....gotta pay the rent somehow.
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