This review is based on customer service only.
I frequently order from the Opart Thai on State St. However, in a hurry to order some of their delicious food, I accidently called the Lincoln Square location. Some guy answers the phone, I tell him I want to place an order for carryout, and he proceeds to take my order. He then asks, "would you like rice with that?" I say "well, doesn't it come with it?" He then proceeds to tell me that rice is a $1.50 and it has always been like that for the last 36 years.
Now, seriously people, do you think I care to pay $1.50 more for rice? No! What I did not care for was the smart a** response and his attitude. Needless to say, I quickly realized I called the wrong Opart Thai and said I would call back.
It's times like this I am glad to live in the South Loop (which is a huge compliment since there is squat on this side, other than Opart Thai)!
I don't think I've eaten at any other Thai restaurant since I came here in 2009. Seeing it as the Review of the Day today reminded me how much I love this place.
I still love the Tiger Cry but now I'm also used to ordering the Fried Wontons (the sauce is so delicious!) and the Chicken Fried Rice.
True love, I'm serious.
Uninspired and extremely average. The yellow curry didn't have any flavor. The pad Seelew (their spelling) was greasy and only had two pieces of broccoli in the whole dish. The spring rolls were a little soggy. The fried tofu appetizer was very good and was definitely the highlight of the meal. I would not go back here and can not recommend it. Ben's Noodles and Rice in Edgewater has much better Thai food..
Review Source:After moving to the Lincoln Square area almost a year ago, many people highly recommended venturing to Opart to get our Thai fix. Luckily my boyfriend and I had a random Monday off together, so we decided to venture over to Opart for a late lunch. I was happy to see that they are open every day of the week for lunch and dinner, unlike many Asian restaurants in the city that are closed on Mondays and/or Tuesdays.
We arrived around 2:30pm to a mostly deserted restaurant and we were promptly seated by the hostess and given menus to look over. We were mighty hungry so we decided to put in two of the appetizers while we reviewed their extensive menu of Thai offerings. One minor complaint about this restaurant is the general lack of description of their menu items. We had trouble discerning what some of the entrees actually were as they only had one or two different ingredients from the items above or below them. Regardless, here's what we feasted on for our mid-day meal:
1) Crab Rangoon: When this order of *eight* rangoons was placed in front of us, I questioned the decision that we made for two appetizers. Even though I had that shred of doubt, it was quickly forgotten as we inhaled the cream cheese fried goodness. The mixture was mostly cream cheese based, but it was well flavored with green onions and small bits of crab. The sauce was exactly what you would expect, sweet and tangy and perfectly complimentary to the rangoons.
2) Tiger's Cry (Tender beef charbroiled to perfection, served with homemade sauce): Amazing--a must for Opart. The beef was perfectly cooked and flavored with a nice char taste that permeated the meat. All the pieces were tender and easily could be cut with a fork. Â The homemade sauce is also worth noting--it was sweet and spicy with what appeared to be pickled red onions and green onions. I can't rave enough about this dish, and I'm already craving more.
3) Gaeng Pet Ped (Red curry, roasted duck, pineapple and tomatoes sauteed in coconut milk): I really enjoyed this curry and the portion size wasn't ridiculous, which was nice in contrast to the very generous appetizers. The duck was tender, plentiful, and not chewy which set it above other Thai establishments that I've frequented. My only criticism about the duck was that they left the skin on and gave you rather large chunks of duck which made for a messy meal when trying to cut it into bite sized pieces with my spoon or fork. The skin was pretty soggy so it wasn't crispy which is the only way I like to eat duck/chicken skin. That aside, I was impressed that they used real tomatoes and pineapple versus canned. The curry itself was also very flavorful and was actually hot on the spicy scale (evidenced both in taste and with the abundance of red pepper flakes). Delicious.
4) Pad Ped Paak (Sauteed mixed vegetables and hot peppers with pork): My boyfriend got this dish so I can't comment too extensively on it. He seemed to enjoy it and also remarked that they cooked it to a hot temperature, as requested. The mixed vegetables ended up being broccoli, onions, pea pods, and a few other random bits. The pork was a bit overdone and the dish overall appeared to be quite oily. He remarked that the appetizers outshone his entree, and he'd be interested in trying something different next time.
The service was prompt and quick and the restaurant was clean. I can't wait to come back and try some of the other offerings on their menu. It's a gem for the Lincoln Square neighborhood and would satisfy any Thai craving.
Atmosphere, very cool. Customer service, average. Pad thai (hot), decent and plentiful. Curry fried rice (hot), good and plentiful. Tofu was less than the best, but we still managed to enjoy every last bite. That said, it was a great Friday night out for the value and we'll put it on our list of places to return...and we'll BYOB as the sign suggest - no corkage fee!
Review Source:Honestly, it is nothing spectacular. It is like any other Thai restaurant in the city and I can say, I have had better. There was way too much sweet and sour sauce on my spring rolls and the salad was very soggy too. The male waiter was soooo nice and polite, but the girl was a little rude. She kept taking away my dishes, didn't even smile, and just had a terrible frown.
I guess people like this place because its a BYOB.
This is the best Thai in the City of Chicago. Â It was my first visit and I waited about 40 minutes but it was so worth the wait. Â The Spring Rolls in Peanut Sauce was great, Rangoon was perfect and the Tiger Cry was amazing I can eat that alone and not just as an appetizer!!!!!! Â For this visit I opted for a soup dish and with mixed seafood and it was so delicious. Â Ended the night with Coconut custard and it was so delicious. Â The people are great, the service was wonderful and the ambiance is super friendly. Â Great for a date night or for a family night. Great experience and looking forward to going back!
Review Source:In my opinion, this is one of the best Thai restaurants in the city. I've only been here for takeout, but each time has been consistent and that's the most important part.
The first time I came here, I came for the cheap crab rangoon and Khao Soy (I loved this dish back home called Chiang Mai noodles which is another name for Khao Soy). It wasn't as good as what I was used to, which is why I haven't ordered it since. I usually get a crab rangoon craving every few months and it's always a good choice here being that it's pretty consistent each time. I've tried the drunken noodles which are alright. By the time I got home, they were pretty soggy and gross, which is probably my fault because I did get take out. I bet they taste much better in the restaurant. The Pad Thai is alright, but I'm not a big Pad Thai person so I can't judge.
My most recent order included the crab rangoon (like I said: consistency), an order of "tiger cry," chicken satay, and chicken basil. The tiger cry is marinated beef with a special sauce. The menu said the beef was tender, but mine was more like beef jerky, but delicious nonetheless. I loved the spice marinade and the sauce was surprisingly really spicy. I highly recommend this dish as it will be on my order every time now. The chicken satay were pretty big pieces of chicken skewered and rubbed with curry powered. Opart's have a special taste which makes them stand out again the run of the mill Thai shack. However, this is where the happiness ended. I had a huge problem with my chicken basil. I'm a huge fan of this dish at any other Thai place because it is spicy, yet sweet and generally loaded with vegetables and basil. Opart's version was basically ground up chicken in a basil sauce. I looked online later and on the menu and it's called Pad Kra Praow. When I called up to order, I just asked if they made chicken basil because I didn't see it on the menu so I guess if I read the menu and description I would have known. My go to Thai dish used to be Panang curry until I had a bad encounter with it ending up all over my apartment (I think Satay on Diversey tried poisoning me). Opart Thai always had really good Panang and it was always loaded with veggies and was even spicy enough for my taste.
For quick and yummy Thai this is my go to in Chicago. The staff is always super friendly and the food is done pretty quickly. The first time I came here, I actually got lost and Opart called me asking if I was going to pick up my food. When I told them what happened, they actually offered to stay a little after closing to save it for when I got there. I thought this was an extremely generous act and something that really exemplified how great their service really is.
This place is amazing. I've been coming here for years. I recommend all of the soups, and I've tried an array of their noodle dishes and have never been disappointed. I order the Pad Thai most frequently. Their delivery service always arrives quickly and the food is always pipping hot when I open it up!
It loses one star based on the service for a sit-down restaurant. However, it is BYOB so that kind of makes up for it.
Very good Thai food here. Â Most dishes are above average with a few standouts. Â Penang curry with shrimp was amazing. Â Perfectly creamy with just the rice amount of spice. Â The appetizer sampler which came with crab rangoon, egg and spring rolls, and fried shumai was good too with the crab rangoon being the best of the bunch. Â
As for the negatives, the fried rice was okay. Â Both the curry and regular versions needed more flavor. Â Be warned, the Tom Yom soup served in the traditional pot is enough to feed a family. Â I found theirs a little too sour and not as good as the ones I've had at other Thai restaurants. Â Iced coffee was good, but consisted mostly of ice cubes and little coffee.
Good ambiance, friendly service. Â For some reason, the food never tastes as good when carrying out so I recommend dining in.
As most of you can imagine I've been to a LOT of restaurants in my life, and this one takes the cake. Â However, it's not for anything good, it's for the worst service EVER! Â Our waitress was downright rude and totally unattentive. Â After we were seated at our table for 10 minutes my friend asked for wine glasses and the server rudely replied, "You just sat down." Â However, at least she did finally bring them. Â When she brought our plates and silverware to the table she just through them in front of one person and wAlked away instead of delivering them to everyone. Â When we waited a long time before ordering one of the members of our nine person party finally seemed our server out she did eventually come over, but got mad at some of the people when we didn't order fast enough for her liking. Â These are just a few examples, the service really was abysmal.
To eat I tried a bunch of the apps the best was the crab Rangoon. Â For an entree I had the chicken and basil, which I ordered medium-spicy, but it was extremely bland. Â Overall, the prices were reasonable and the food wasn't terrible. Â However, based on the service I will absolutely not be back.
I used to love this place,  I feel over the years the quality has gone down.  There are so many other great Thai places in the area that I do not feel the need to go back here.  Do not order the pepper steak,  it could potentially  be one of the worst pepper steak dishes in the city!   The pot stickers are all breading, barely any meat and the combination fried rice is quite flavorless.  The only semi good dish I have ordered is the pad se ewe and I have still had better.   Again, way too many better options in the area to stop here.  Sorry Opart, you have fallen way down on my list of favorite Thai places.
Review Source:Obsessed with the food at this place. Â FINALLY a Thai place that actually LISTENS when I say I want my food hot!
My friends and I got the veggie spring rolls, egg rolls, thai fried rice, chicken and broccoli, and the green curry tofu (HOT).
Everything was delicious and my dish, the green curry tofu, was amazing! I like my food so spicy that its borderline painful and this dish delivered. Â Not to mention they gave me so much of the curry that I had enough leftovers for two more meals thereafter. Â Not complaining about that.
We've been here a few times now - mostly eating the noodle dishes or curries. The Panang curry was especially amazing! Â Everything has been full of flavor and delicious - although the spiciness is a bit hard to nail down and often seems to have slightly too much (need water!) or too little spice.
We looked for a Thai restaurant in the city for two years before finding one to live up to our expectations! Â So happy we finally found one with reasonable prices. Â And of course, yay for BYOB!
I am going through my Yelp today updating restaurants I feel that are worth it. Opart Thai is one of them FOR SURE. There food is amazing, and affordable. Date night, movie night, any night it is awesome.
Some recommendations: Crab Rangoon if that is your thing, all of the currys, the ramen soup, and the stir fried veggies with any protein. They also make delish meats that are grilled. Moo Ping = YUMMY. If you're into peanut sauce definitely get something with it, I hear it is amazing.
I stopped here to get some takeout while hanging out with my cousin and his family just a few blocks away. I had been traveling the entire day and didn't want to eat all of their food because I was just that hungry and needed my own big, warm meal. Turns out I picked a really good place for some takeout!
I was surprised at the spring rolls - not a style I was used to. Definitely different. But they were good!
I really liked the pad si yew. I found it to be authentic and a decent-sized serving. It wasn't too sweet and had enough meat and vegetables, too.
I had expected to wait a while for my takeout, but I hardly waited at all. They cranked out my dish in what seemed like only a few minutes. I was back at my cousin's house in no time. Oh, and the service was great; the young man who took my order answered my questions quite easily and was very friendly.
Furthermore, the prices were fair. I will definitely be back as it's very conveniently located and I really enjoyed the food.
Pretty good food at decent prices. I started with the crab rangoon which was definitely one of the best I've ever had (and came with a bunch so we could all share). Also tried the pork pot stickers which were pretty good. For my entree I got the panang curry with shrimp. Even though I ordered it medium it was still very spicy (not sure there is a spice option lower than medium but that might be nice for those that can't take the spice). The curry had nice flavor, but the spiciness definitely overpowered the dish so much so that my lips and mouth were burning. As for the service, its less than desirable. Our waitress was friendly enough, when she would appear, which I believe was three times throughout the entire meal. I'd probably prefer take out next time so as to avoid the slow and painful service...
Review Source:The place was quite packed, only one person was handling all the tables, needless to say, service was slow.
Food came out surprisingly fast - hmm.
Their green curry and papaya salad were quite good. Their pad see ewe wasn't - 3 of us left our dishes less than half-eaten, and shared the green curry the 4th person ordered.
There are some outstanding Thai restaurants on Western/ Lincoln Square, How really can you pick? From first glance it may seem as if every thai restaurant is the same, had to check it out for my self. First on the list of Thai on Lincoln....
Opart Thai had some great reviews so I decided to try it! Whenever I go to Thai places I always end up getting Pad Thai. Tonight was different! What made it so different?, CURRY!
*AMAZING CURRY!! Gaeng Panang/ Brown Rice w/ tofu
* BYOB ( Superb)!
*App Peanut Sauce Spring Rolls- So delicious!
*Go for medium on all dishes, I love spicy but medium was spicy enough for me, whenever something is tooooo SPICY you can't really enjoy it if you can't taste it:)!
* Yummy jasmin tea, my favorite part the small cups make you feel as if your at a cute tea party!
WIll be back, though I think I will check out some more of Chicago Thai first!
Do not get carry out from here unless you are going straight home, or happen to carry a large bowl around with you to mix ingredients in.
I ordered pad lard nar, which is a single noodle dish right? Wrong. Apparently it is actually a cardboard box STUFFED with broccoli and completely plain unflavored noodles, and a separate, overflowing container of gravy and tofu.
Good luck! (Especially since you won't be given a fork or chopsticks.)
That being said, once I was finally able to assemble and eat the dish, it was pretty delicious.
I LOVE THAI FOOD, especially when it comes from Opart Thai! I literally haven't had a dish yet that has disappointed me!
I'm a big fan of their curry. My favorite is the Gaeng Keow Waan (green curry, Thai eggplant and green beans in coconut milk with choice of meat). It's especially good over their brown rice! If you have to get anything GET THE CURRY! You will go home happy.
All of their food to made to order spiciness level - meaning you can get it as mild or hot as you want! Just let them know. If it comes out too hot they are willing to remake the entree for you (just make sure you tip them well).
I recently was featured on Check, Please! because I wanted to review this restaurant and both the other guests loved this place as much as I did! Although the service cannot always be 100% (you have to risk that when you're at a place as busy as this), the food definitely makes up for it.
**THINGS TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE**
Peanut Sauce Spring Rolls
Tom Yum Pla (Fish) soup
Gaeng Keow Waan
Fried Banana
Excellent Thai food here. Authentic food but made a bit sweeter for the western customers.
Pad Thai is good, but tends to be wet. I prefer more dry, which requires longer cooking time to evaporate the excess moisture in the noodles.
Minced pork with basil - they make very good and authentic here. A favorite
Gang Keo Wan - great dish, tasty and authentic. one of my favorites.
Masamun, panang, etc. - pretty good dishes, but sweeter and less authentic.
Fried banana - this desert dish is great.
Portions are a bit small. Portionwise, pricing it a bit more expensive than your average Thai restaurant.
For consistent quality, nice clean ambiance and great service. I am rating this restaurant a 4.
Have I not written a review for this place yet? Â Seriously? Â Wow.
Opart is my family's favorite Thai restaurant. Â My aunt is friendly with the owners and has been coming here for at least 20 years. Â I have been coming for about 10 and can't think of a better BYOB Thai place in the city. Â It can get busy on a weekend so make a reservation. Â There is no area to wait (you end up standing over people's tables smelling their delicious food- maddening) so plan ahead. Â They deliver to a pretty wide radius in the city but take-out is always an option too. Â The food is extrememly reasonably priced for what you get.
Family favorites include:
Thai iced-coffee
Tiger Cry appetizer- you MUST order this if you like meat
Crab Rangoon (best ever)
Som Tum papaya salad- so refreshing
Khao Soy
Kuay Tiew Kee Mao
ANY curry dish
Goong Nam Prik Paow- shrimp
I have tried a lot of other dishes and they are all great, these are just the one I most love.
I love this place! My boyfriend and I have been loyal customers for the past three years and it never, ever disappoints!
First off, the service is always wonderful! The host and all of the servers are always very nice and give great recommendations. Even the guys who deliver are great... and the food always gets to our apartment really fast.
Because of one of those recommendations, I found my beloved Neu Num Tok beef salad. It is by far my favorite thing on the menu. It's charbroiled beef sliced really thinly over lettuce and onions with lime juice. SO GOOD. They ask how spicy you want it and I always go with "medium." I did "hot" once and even though it was tasty, I struggled through it.
Other delicious options: for starters, I always get the crab meat rangoons. I dream about those things. I don't know what kind of sauce they give you to dip it in... but it's awesome!
All of the curries are excellent... the Gaeng Panang being my favorite. We also get these little cucumber salads that only cost sixty cents and are a perfect little side dish.
As expected, the pad thai is also great. Everything I've had there is good... and I try to pick out something different each time.
Dessert and beverage wise? The Thai iced tea. Get it. It's delicious. It also really helps if you get something a little spicier than you expected.
Also, the banana in warm coconut milk. I would eat/ drink that stuff by the gallons.
All in all, don't believe any of the bad reviews about this place. Yes, "there are so many Thai places to choose from... blah blah blah..." but there is a reason why Opart has been around so long.
It's because it's amazing.
This place is awesome!!! Came here this past weekend and realized that I've been here before many years ago with the whole family. The place is quite large for a thai place I would think, lots of tables and we got here at like 6pm on a Saturday and it was pretty busy which is always a good thing.
The food was absolutely delicious, you have to get the crab ragoons, they are super yummy and fresh, my grandpa even wanted a separate order to go for the next day because he liked them that much! And if gramps approves, I approve :) Next we got the tiger cry beef appetizer, very very tasty, the seasoning was perfect and the flavor was the perfect combo of sweet and spicy, definitely a must have. Then came our entree and of course, I always get my chicken pad thai, which was delicious, it wasn't overly big in terms of size, but I left very full. I guess I'm just used to eating half and taking the rest home, but nope, I had to finish my entire entree :) and if the pad thai is good at a thai place, then I will definitely be back.
Another bonus is that it's a cozy place with BYOB so we broke out those yummy ciders. The only negative I would say was that our server seemed out of it, she didn't mess up our order and everything came out pretty fast, it's just I had to ask for more water, I had to ask for our check, stuff she should be paying attention to, but oh well, won't stop us from liking this place :)
I love Thai food! I crave it like a fat kid craves for ice cream! But on this particular visit at Opart Thai, my heart just couldn't commit.
My boyfriend and I ordered the Tiger Cry appetizer and he loved it. I thought it was too salty, so we asked the waitress for white rice to neutralize the taste. The white rice never came, and by the time the waitress came around again, my boyfriend had already inhaled the rest of the food. We also had the wonton soup, which we both thought was too salty, but who orders wonton soup at a Thai restaurant anyway? Finally, we decided to share an order of basil chicken. I love that they use ground chicken by the way. However we asked for medium spicy and I believe we got extra extra spicy instead. My tongue was numb by the end of dinner.
Overall, I thought the place was okay. I'd definitely give it another chance. It's cheap, quick and did I mention byob?
I've only been here once, but have always heard rave reviews from friends about how good the food is here. Well, they were certainly right!
I had the white pepper garlic chicken over jasmine rice and I was in heaven.
The thing that made them lose a star was the fact that when they are busy you are certainly going to wait for your food. They only split checks two ways (not good for a party of 3 or more), and they skimp out on the thai iced tea. It's too small for the price.
All in all, I will be back though. I believe they have Vegan friendly options too.
I have been going to Opart for about 16 years. This is the best Thai in the city. I usually get the Spicy Basil Chicken, Tiger Cry and Veg Egg Rolls. All of those dishes are terrific. The Basil Chicken dish can be very very spicy if you like it, but if you don't like overly spicy, just let them know. The Tiger Cry is just marinated beef with this tangy sauce to dip the meat in, so frickn good.
The service is great, most of the servers have been there for a very long time. It's also BYOB which is awesome.
If you like Thai and/or spicy food, get here asap.
I have mixed feelings towards Opart Thai. We went there for dinner, before a movie at The Davis on a Friday night.
On the one hand, the Green Curry was quite spicy, which is always appreciated. On the other hand, my stomach (which is made of iron and survives third world street food) was NOT a fan. I spent the entirety of "The Avengers" in a state of much discomfort and that is highly unusual.
Also I generally prefer a little more variety in the vegetables used in my curry as opposed to just eggplant and green beans. Also not a fan of having to pay extra for rice. It always just seems a little stingy on the part of a restaurant.
Date's Pad See Euw was tasty. Service was fast, which is always appreciated. I loved the interior although it does seem as if they might be fitting a few too many tables in (although given how busy they were, I understand).
I'll give them another try at some point, but I think that, for the first time, I may NOT get Green Curry at a Thai restaurant.
Which, let's face it Opart, says a lot.
That had to be the worst delivery meal I've ever had! Maybe we choose the wrong dishes.
We ordered pot stickers, wonton soup, Tom Ka Kai soup and Kuay Tiew Neau Sub.
My dining companion had the Tom Ka Kai soup and pot stickers that he said tasted great but brought a whole new meaning to the term "ethnic cleansing" when it went right through him and had him racing to the bathroom.
I had the Wonton soup that's filled with chicken but it tasted oddly fishy. It was revolting!
The only good thing is that it beat the expected delivery time. I had such high hopes based on the great reviews.
These days I feel like Thai food is like your typical Chinese take-out; greasy, fattening, and largely uninspiring food that you regret eating once you're done. Don't get me wrong, I like Thai food, but I think that most places miss the mark. After eating at Opart Thai, I can gladly say that there are still some places that serve up good Thai food without making me regret it.
I've visited both locations, and I'm a big fan of the curries. I REALLY enjoyed the Basil Chicken, and various noodle dishes (particularly the Kuay Tiew Kee Mao) are delicious. Easy to get into, quick and friendly service, and above all else, really good food. Opart is my new go to Thai place in the city!
I was napping (at home) when my neighbor stopped by to say hello. Â So, after an house of chatting, we realized that neither of us had plans for dinner. It was a toss up between Indian and Thai. Â The Thai's had it..
My neighbors recommended Opart. Â This place is in a great location at Lincoln/Western. Â For me, very easy to get to. Â
After arriving, I see that my neighbors were correct in that this place is always busy. In total, there were five of us and we were seated quickly on a Friday evening (8p).
We ordered a few appetizers and our own main course. Â Everyone loved their dishes. I ordered my dish hot and I still needed the chili sauce to spice it up.
Service was fast and good (even though it was very busy).
Would definitely go back.!!
Damnit, foiled again! Â I am still searching for that go-to Thai restaurant within pickup distance of my home. Â I've tried nearly a dozen but they're all so mediocre. Â Opart was one of my last few hopes but their bland performance has narrowed the field even further.
I tried several dishes but none were standouts. Â The pad thai in particular was the lamest version of this dish that I have had in years. Â The spring rolls barely register, the tom yum koong soup is satisfying but standard, and the yum plamuk squid salad has no flavor other than heat. Â Probably the best dish was the one that my wife always orders--in Opart parlance, pad paak roum mit, a.k.a. stir-fried vegetables with tofu. Â So, the plainest dish was the tastiest, which says everything that you need to know about Opart.
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