I feel like Jewish Santa giving this place a 2. Â Let's be honest: the Asian restaurant space is a bit overcrowded, the quality of the participants can be a bit homogeneous. Â So, if you operate an establishment that has the chutzpah (Jewish Santa's words, not mine) to charge a higher than average price for your fare, the quality of your food dern well better justify the extra money. Â Pot Pan's food does not, it's overly fried, there isn't anything interesting or new on the menu and nothing I've ever ordered there has been particularly good. Â It avoided 1 star only because it's edible and I reserve the single star Scarlet Letter for the lowest circle of Yelp Hell.
Review Source:Chicago is riddled with subpar Thai food and this place is no exception. Don't let the trendy decor fool you -- the food straight up sucks. The Pad Thai was worse than what you get at the grocery store, pour the sauce in a packet over the noodles and heat in the microwave. It was dry, sugary, bland, no veggies, no freshness or brightness. My lady got some other classic Thai dish that also sucked. Would never come back here again.
Review Source:I have had a lot of Tom Yum and frankly I keep coming back to Pot Pan for their tom yum- even though I tend to be very adamant about trying new restaurants. You live once right? But I keep coming back to Pot Pan, I think it has one of the best Tom Yum soups in the area; and on a cold winter day, it's one of my favorite things. The rice soup is pretty solid too, my boyfriend often orders that, but it doesn't pack the punch that Tom Yum does. The appetizers are okay, nothing special. The entrees are reasonably priced and solid in my book, although I was not a fan of the pad thai - it seemed a bit dry. I really liked their curries though, it was the right amount of spicy.
Anyways, the delivery service was pretty quick and the food was delivered hot - the service at the restaurant was alright. The waiter was nice enough, but not overly attentive. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for its laid back atmosphere and price, it's a place I would catch up and have a quick solid meal with friends and family.
If you're looking for good Thai food, don't come here.
First off, the service is very poor and will keep you waiting at every point in your meal. Very slow to order (about 10 minutes before someone came over to our table), forgot our drinks, and had to flag down for boxes and the check.
The food doesn't make up for the service. Everything is much too sweet, from the spring rolls to the curry. The sweetness of all three of our dishes overpowered all other flavors. As for spice and heat, neither of our dishes had any "kick" to them and lacked any depth in flavor.
What a disappointing meal!
I ordered online and it was ready promptly, so that was a plus. However, my experience began to suck once I actually started eating my food. My boyfriend got Pad Thai with Chicken and I got the Tom Yum Noodle Soup. It was basically a sugar bath. The Pad thai was super sticky and it kind of tasted like refrigerator. The sauce was terrible: pure sugar and hardly any flavor. I'd rather by an instant pad thai box from the store. My soup was a little better, but still far too sugary especially for a soup. The chicken was so bland and tough, I could hardly recognize it as chicken. We both have aching tummies.
I won't return to Pot Pan, even though it's difficult to find decent Thai in Wicker Park.
The best part about Pot Pan is their location: close enough to the heart of Wicker Park, and like a five minute walk from my apartment. The decor of their apartment comes in second, but it was empty when I walked in so I decided to order my food to go. Their food, though, is pretty average.
I ordered a basil fried rice with beef and shrimp dumplings. The shrimp dumplings were TINY (about the size of a quarter), but the basil fried rice was definitely interesting, but not as much as I had expected. It's like one of those things you order at a restaurant and think, "Wow, this is a great idea! But I can make it better at home."
And I can. Seriously. Come over. Bring alcohol. I'm so lonely.
Uninspiring. I had the vegetable soup which didn't have much taste to it other than overcooked vegetables and it smelled like seaweed for some reason. I couldn't taste any garlic in it either.
I also ordered the spicy noodles, which were not spicy at all. I doused it when I got home, but it doesn't taste as good when someone cooks it with spice in mind. Not enough basil either. It tasted like a lot of oil was used and although it was a fine enough noodle and veg dish, I was annoyed to have wasted calories on it. It could have done with more vegetables.
I was looking forward to spicy noodles while staying in and watching a movie. Now I'm just laying on my couch feeling like I should have spent the calories on some Piece pizza instead of oily and soggy noodles. Disappointed.
I picked up the food from the restaurant and it was cozy. The women at the desk were kind and made sure to tell me there was no animal products in the veg dish I ordered. I appreciated that. But I won't be back. There's so many other great Thai places around.
I feel horrible having to write a poor review, but I gave Pot Pan several chances and was more disappointed each time. Â I got pad thai last weekend and it was AWFUL. Â It didn't taste like pad thai at all and the noodles were not fully cooked. Â I ordered take-out; otherwise, I would not have paid for this item. Â I've ordered their egg rolls on a few occasions and being an egg roll connoisseur, I say they're Ok. Â They are a lot of options out there for asian food - I'd go elsewhere.
Review Source:Pot Pan is my favorite Thai restaurant in this area. Â Much better than Zin, just down the street on Milwaukee avenue.
I love thier Panang Curry so much--it's very peanuty and thick. Â Totally different from Duck Walk (Lincoln Park on Fullerton), which has a more liquidy version (which is still good, just different).
Warning: Â if you ask for spicy, they will give you SPICY. Â And it will be delicious, but you might regret it later.
Bonus: you can order takeout/delivery directly from their website. Â
If you eat there, they give you a little pretty flower-shaped carrot garnish and you get to sit in their cute dining area. Â Great place for a low-key date.
We came in on a Sunday it was empty. My husband and I were the only people there, there was a weird smell it wasn't too strong so we decided to stay and order food since they have the  best Rama broccoli I have ever had. The food was good, I remember it tasting a lot better though, service was also good. I don't think I'll ever go back, there are other thai restaurants I like better.
Review Source:This was definitely a lucky spot to stop in while on my way to the arcade and the Wicker Park fest yesterday.
Positives first:
Their Moji ice cream is delicious. At least the vanilla flavor was. They also offered green tea, chocolate, and one other flavor I cannot remember. Perhaps lychee? Also, a single serving with whip cream is only 2.00. So if its something new you have never tried, it's totally worth it.
The steamed pot stickers are also very yummy. You only get 4, and they are not very big, but they taste great for an appetizer.
The prices are totally reasonable. We ordered 1 pop, 1 chai tea (which was one of the best I ever had), 1 (large) portion of pad thai, 1 shrimp dumpling order, 1 steam pot sticker order, and 1 moji ice cream for 23$. Not bad for a pit stop of 3 people in Wicker Park. Not bad at all.
The restaurant itself was clean, fast paced, and of what waitresses can be found in the place, they are very compliant and sweet...or at least understandable.
The negatives:
Their pad thai, which seems to be everyones favorite since nobody knows or wants to try anything new with a different name at a thai/chinese restuarant, is very bland. The serving was large and proportionate, and the tofu soaked up all of the flavor , but there was no kick to it. No spice what so ever. And that's always disappointing when ordering good pad thai.
The tables are super uncomfortable. Definitely made for people shorter than 5ft 6, which I nor either of my 2 guests were.
This place is delicious and BYOB. The crab rangoon is delicious. The take out is not as good as it is when dining in, but still is so good. What can you expect? The price is very reasonable as well.
The curries and noodle dishes are all very tasty and they will make anything as spicy as you'd like it. If you try this place, I recommend dining in.
This is a very nice Thai spot at the heart of Wicker park - close enough. It has a good selection of dishes which turn out to be tasty. However, for being a Thai restaurant, they go out of their way to not set themselves apart from any other places. I go here time to time because, well, it's so close to where all the action is. Good good, great neighborhood; makes the food taste a bit better, too.
Cheers!
I am still in search of a great Thai place in the city. Â Okay, okay...I have to head north. Â Opart Thai is the best I've experienced so far in the city limits, and I do want to expand . Â However, is it wrong to think that there should be ONE Thai place in the Logan Square/Wicker/Bucktown area that serves up amazing Thai food? Â It's like everyone is just hitting sub-par. Â Pot Pan is completely included in this group. Â I ordered take out yesterday and paid $9.75 for a small portion of Pad See Ew that was completely and totally bland. Â No sauce taste at all. Â I had to take the sweet soy sauce that I requested for my veggie egg rolls and pour that on the noodles. Â Not to mention that the meal was pretty much all noodle. Â What a disappointment. Â The thai iced coffee was decent. Â The veggie egg rolls just tasted like grease. Â
I'll be taking my business elsewhere next time. Â
Will someone please blast past this race towards mediocrity?
Next....
I must say I thought everything about this place was great.  Price was very reasonable and the food quality was  good.  We went for lunch and it was 5.95 for a small portion of your choice of dish and soup was included.
We started off with the veggie egg rolls which were cooked to perfection. Â The Tom Kha soup was absolutely amazing and my entree was very good as well... I ended up getting Chicken and Mixed veggies.I am a very critical eater, and I thought this place passed my high standards
Erica and I are still looking for a go to Thai place in the hood. There are many options, or at least more than we have had time to try. We will all know when Wicker Park becomes the next Lakeview when there is a sushi/thai/noodle/byo on every corner. Thai Village wasn't our favorite so we picked up from Pot Pan the other night on a recommendation (and it's just down the street). It was our standard and simple order - chicken satay with peanut sauce, pad thai for the pad thai queen and my pad see eew.
I said we are still looking for a go to Thai place because Pot Pan was good but still missing that extra umpf (or MSG or something) than makes you want to go back and stuff more tofu in your face. The peanut sauce for the satay was great but the two noodles dishes were just so so. Erica's pad thai was much worse than my pad see but both dishes needed that extra flavor punch. I like my noodles and vegetables - both well cooked and with great texture. But my favorite part of a good thai noodle dish is the sauce, and neither had very much. The pad thai was seriously bland. We'll continue our journey for our favorite local noodle place and maybe give Pan another look. It's close, cheap and the food's decent but not awesome.
Hoping to find a solid thai joint in the area! Â Well Honestly i's hard to mess up pad see eiw, but at the sametime it's hard to find a really good one! Â This was just mediocre at best. Luckily the food did come out in 5 mins for take out, not kidding. Â If it wasn't for that then def rating would be lower. Â
The portion size was smaller n was lacking the typical Thai two portion meal. :( Â I did ask for it to be spicy and they made it with a perfect kick. Overall flavor wasn't that impressive.
Besides that when ordering take out, you have to order at the back of the store. You will notice that literally it seems like a mini hoarder lives back there. Definitely a surprise bc the ambience is rather nice but kids toys of the owner, stacks of older magazines, just mounds of paper work. It's clutter that you can see or even sit next to when waiting for food. It's completely sloppy and shouldnt be visible. Â If the owners are sloppy wouldn't want to see the kitchen! Â No way Jose....this is an one-n-done! ;-)
Meh is exactly how I would describe this place. Â I was in the mood for thai food and I was new to the area and this place seemed worth a shot.
It wasn't. Â I wouldn't say it was bad but it definitely wasn't anything special. Â Â For the record I did do take out, but just not that great.
This might have been a three star experience were it not for the green curry.
For those of you who don't know, I am a green curry FANATIC. If I go to a restaurant that serves it, you better believe that's what I'm getting. It's not that I'm not an adventurous eater, or that I dislike leaving my comfort zone. It is simply that I love green curry to the point of wishing I could publicly declare my undying devotion to it, before promising it a lifetime of care and commitment.
Oh wait. I just did.
Mooooving on. The Pot Pan is beautifully appointed, with (what I assume to be) an authentic Thai (or tourist-Thai) atmosphere. We came for a birthday dinner and the food was indeed celebration-worthy (or at least mine was).
The service, however, was a little spotty, considering we were the only large party of maybe three other tables. I won't go into detail, as it truly didn't detract from the fun of the evening, but I would recommend a little more attention to detail from staff. But once again, not a big deal on this occasion.
The food, including it's presentation, was delicious. I can't speak to the taste of everyone else's dishes, but my green curry was JUST the right kind of spicy. It can sometimes be very difficult to impress upon a restaurant that I do, indeed, want it as spicy as humanly possible. Often I end up disappointed. Not so at Pot Pan. Perfectly spicy, perfectly mouth watering and perfectly unfunky tasting chicken (which is harder to find than you would think).
I would go back. Good green curry is hard to find.
Not impressed ... We entered and the owner was sitting at a large table alone, eating. The entire restaurant was empty. He did not get up, but pointed over to the left for us to take a seat.
Many of the reviews talk about the decor - But what about the mess!?! The walls were filthy, the floor dirty and heavily scratched and the window in the lobby area I don't think has ever been cleaned. Maybe I wouldn't have noticed all of this if our service was a little more attentive.
We couldn't understand it - we were the ONLY people in the entire restaurant. Why couldn't we get better service? The food was alright, but both of us ordered spicy entrees and neither of us tasted any spice at all. It took forever for the waitress to bring our check over.
As we were leaving the man that had been eating at the large table in the center of the restaurant had now moved over to a small two top table on the right-hand side of the restaurant for his afternoon nap. Seriously? Wake up and pay more attention to your customers - just a thought.
Update!
So in my last review, I make mention of the fact that I can't comment on service or ambiance because I have only ordered out. Well, came here the other evening and absolutely adored it. The inside is very clean and appropriately decorated to make you feel as if you're in a Thai abode. The restrooms were also very tidy and super clean. Always a plus in my book.
The service was a bit slow, but I didn't mind it. It's nice not to be in a rush and to just enjoy dinner once and a while!
If Panang would deliver to my house, I wouldn't even need to be writing this review!
I've had Pot Pan multiple times while living in this neighborhood - because it's the least restrictive means of getting my Thai food fix. But if I had better options - I don't know that I'd eat here again. I'll do a rundown by dish I've sampled:
Pad Thai: it's *alright* if I'm ravenous. It mostly tastes...too sweet, almost ketchup-y. I do love the addition of the red cabbage, but since it's all covered in the ketchup-y sauce...eck!
Panang Curry: my favorite Thai dish, period. Pot Pan's is very tasty, and spicier than others I've had (which I like). I can actually find the hot peppers in the sauce, and I appreciate that. The takeout/delivery portion always seems a little small (especially in comparison to the large takeout portions of other dishes, like the Pad Thai)...but that's probably for the best.
Curry Fried Rice: it's really tasty (though not so great the next day), and I like the vegetables throughout (tomatoes in fried rice!? alright!). Unfortunately every time I eat it, I seem to get an upset stomach the next day. Not like sick, just uncomfortable. I have no idea if it's the curry or what, but I'm sure it's this dish. I'll have to leave myself a little post-it about not ordering it anymore unless I want to feel surly all the next day.
Thai tea: passable - but I've had far better.
The service is really friendly - and the delivery is like, lightning fast. The prices are also pretty reasonable comparatively. I just don't think the food is so amazing that it could stand out if there were better options in the neighborhood. Lucky for Pot Pan, they've sorta cornered the market.
For now.
Not mindblowing thai food, but Pot Pan definitely gets the job done. Â Easy for takeout if you live close by. Â The person who answers the phone is friendly, and the waitress I passed by a couple times on my way in and out was genuinely smiley and friendly. Â
I ordered the Golden Shrimp appetizer. Â It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Â Imagine really SMALL shrimp breaded and fried, then wrapped in those crispy noodles that you sometimes get in packets w/ Chinese restaurant soups. Â (See my photo) Â It was way too breaded, and crunchy, and left a lot of shrimp flavor to be desired.
My entree was the Spicy Basil with Chicken. Â This was really good! Â The sauteed onions and peppers really added to the basil and (small) bits of chicken in there. Â The gravy was yummy, but could've been a bit spicier in my opinion. Â Not to sound snotty, but Thai food is supposed to be SPICY! Â C'mon guys! Â Also, the portion was small-ish for a dinner sized entree. Â
Despite the criticisms here, I still think Pot Pan is a winner. Â It's close to me, reasonably priced and fast. Â I'll just try ordering something different next time.
"Hello. Â Welcome to Pot Pan. Â You are very attractive."
"Thank you. Â I enjoy the way you look as well."
"Would you like to touch me under my apron?"
"I would indeed, but I have to confess I'm famished. Â Would it be possible to get an amazingly well-prepared and delicious meal for under ten dollars before I blow your totally Asian mind?"
"That depends. Â Do you enjoy perfect portions and sauces of an almost exquisite consistency?"
"I will admit, I do enjoy finishing my meal without feeling overstuffed and I've always been a fan of proper sauce consistency. Â Kiss me again before answering."
"Oh, you lovely man. Â You taste like ginger and bourbon. Â I am becoming warm under my clothes. Â We have many fine dishes that fit your description, made with fresh ingredients and served with a fine eye toward presentation."
"Then bring me one, darling. Â Any one will do. Â After I'm done you can bring me your little fortune cookie and we'll see about rocking that world of yours."
"You are so funny all the times! Â Hurry up with eating so I may have you inside me."
Admittedly, this is a stylized interaction with the waitress. Â A proper retelling of how I fought off six highly trained assassins while she did an intricate fan dance would not only take too long, I feel quite a bit of the complex action and sexual tension would get lost in text. Â
Still, I think the general concept is conveyed well enough. Â
Pot Pan is delicious.
Like the Pot Pan waitress.
Hands off, she's mine.
You should go. It's cheap and the food is quite good. I sampled a few nibbles of their pork fried rice, a crab rangoon and a spring roll, and I was pleased. Â BYO with no corkage fees. Â Warm ambiance and attentive service.
We had reservations for a group of 15 on a Sat. evening. Considering that one of my male friends made the reservation, I'm reasonably sure that he didn't give the staff at Pot Pan all that much notice. So very accommodating of them.
Oh, and the staff didn't blink an eye as some of us (not me) drank their vodka straight from the bottle. What a bunch of ruffians.
Absolutely!
Like Kate Z, I'd have to say this place satisfies the desire for something cheap (very!), quick, more or less tasty and filling (that isn't a hot dog) in the Bucktown area, especially when I find myself doing heavy laundry nearby, and six twixes from the vending machine just won't cut the mustard. Â
Better than average Thai food.
Service could be friendlier.
Being a person of habit has its upsides and downsides, and missing out on the dining enjoyment that is Pot Pan definitely falls into the latter category. Â For the past several years, we've found Penny's, Papajin, Tiparos, Bob San and Bistro Pac to be the five goto (take-out/delivery) Asian spots almost exclusively . Â By this, we've unfortunately dodged one of the better Thai places Chicago has to offer...this based on our one-time experience and from the looks of other yelp reviews.
*All* was not well w our experience, but the good so far outweighed the (one) bad, that i'm willing to give them a four spot anyway....I get the feeling this place is now gonna be amongst those five other places mentioned above and become a regular.
Price: Â Basically Unbeatable, EVERYthing on the menu is under $7.25 and all starters/apps are under $5 ! Â
Quality: Excellent. Â The chicken for my Cashew Chicken and her Pad Thai was very high quality. Â My dish reminded me a lot of Bamee Noodle's version which I rate as "best ever". Pot Pan's had a little sweeter sauce and it also offered up a few more veggies so PP's might just trump Bamee....and speaking of veggies, they were incredibly fresh and tasty. Â
Apps: We went with the Baby Egg Rolls and Pot Stickers. Â Baby Egg Rolls were fantastic, (and another reminder here) reminded me of Joy's up in E Lakeview/Boystown, 5/5. Â The Pot Stickers lacked a bit and were just deep fried as opposed to "seared/pan fried on one side and steamed on the other", which would be the proper, healthy, and tastiest way to prepare them. Â Still good at a 3/5.
Entree: I covered mine above and now for the Chicken Pad Thai ...save for the chicken, which was very good, the rest of this dish completely missed the mark. Â It was way overly sweet and tangy and had zero spice. Â Frankly, it would get a 2/5 at best, tbh.
All said, even with the (one) bad Pad Thai rating, Pot Pan still rates a 4 star and i'll be sure to re-review after we try other dishes.
Whoa! Â So, this place moved from North to Milwaukee...
I was kind of hesitant, as I don't remember it being that great on North Ave..totally average, the food, the service the inside..
Then...my husband convinced me to try it the other night.
Awesome!!! Â Lately all the thai places in the are are so mediocre, don't even try, you might as well go to Penny's. Â But this place was seriously...great. Â
I have been to Thailand before, and know that real thai food has a lot more veggies, and fresh ones at that in the food...
The Panang curry was thick and loaded with all kinds of great vegetables, it wasn't so spicy that you couldn't taste all the subtle flavors and the rice -- perfectly sticky!
We also ordered the Pad Si Ew (sp!?) which was also awesome.
The salad we ordered was delicious, light and fresh.
Also...2 en trees and a salad for under $20! Â Crazy! Â It's byob, if you forget the 7-11 is right down the street.
Give this  place a chance, or a second chance if you had a bad experience in it's previous place.  Maybe it changed owners or something. Â
OH - also, it's Adorable inside!
Fuck all haters, especially Matt S and "Matt C" (not his real name).
This place is hands down, the best Thai food in the city, and I've tried just about all of them. There might be some hole in the wall in Hyde Park that I haven't come across yet, so I suppose I shouldn't make such brash claims, but this is the internet, I don't have to back shit up anyways.
They recently moved from their North Avenue location, and I was really really put out for the several months that they were closed. As has been stated, they were "opening in two weeks" for about 4 months. It really sucked. The day they were actually open (much to my surprise), I ordered Pad Woonsen with tofu, and it was probably one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. You can never go wrong with the Pad Woonsen and the Veggie Wonton soup. Add Jasimine tea and an order of Tofu Satay is pretty much the perfect meal. All for a reasonable price.
On top of that, the ambiance is great. The couple who own the place are adorable, and one of the only things that I feel was better at the old location was that they let their daughter put up paintings and drawings. She even had her own clubhouse room right off of the kitchen with "no boys allowed!" emblazoned across it in magic marker. Â Even if the food sucked, I'd still support this place for being so cool about letting their daughter scribble all over the place.
But it doesn't.
This is my go to.
Other great dishes are: Pad Khee Mao (sp? related to Chairman Mao?) served crispy, Panang Curry, and Basil Fried Rice.
I think Pot Pan is my new favorite Thai place. Â The food is fantastic and just as cheap as all the other Thai places.... entrees are all around $6, apps around $3-4. Â And they have mochi - YUM!
But what makes this place stand out is the ambiance at their new location. Â As we all know, Thai restaurants just aren't known for being chic and trendy, but this one is by far the nicest Thai restaurant I have ever been in. Â The new decor is really nice and it's still byob... makes for a cheap and wonderful dinner!
This was really good Thai. Â I didn't think the prices were too high and the delivery was quite quick.
The pork satay was delicious! Â So was the Pad See Ew. Â The shrimp tom yum lacked.... shrimp (I think there were two in there?) but it was very flavorful. Â Spicy Basil Leaves with chicken was tasty. Â
I'll be back, for sure.
Can't wait to go back there for the tofu salad! It's been closed so long I almost forgot about it. We kept calling their number only to hear a gentleman who sounded like he was at home answer and tell me "just a couple more weeks." Definitely better than Zen imo.
If you do go to Zen though, never get the crispy noodles. Always get the soft ones.
Edit (18 hours later): Went to the new location. Awesome. Get the tofu salad (steamed not fried) and panang chicken. Best $11 meal around. If you can, eat there. It's a lot better for some reason and the presentation is nice.
Edit Again (12/5/07): Went again last night. The restaurant was relatively empty. The owner (I think) came out and asked if we liked hockey. He then gave us his Blackhawks game tix for tonight. Great seats. I imagine he could have gotten something for them on craigslist, but for whatever reason he gave them to us. We'd never met him. We asked if he wanted any cash and he said no, he just wanted us to come back. If that's not a good dining experience, I don't know what is.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,610 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,971 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,315 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,911 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,986 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
