I'd heard about Sticky Rice for years from friends, but never tried it until this past New Year's Eve. I'm really sorry that I didn't go there sooner. Their menu is extensive, and has lots of interesting dishes on it.
My recommendation: go with a small group of people who like to eat and try new things, and share everything. I don't recommend going here if you want pad Thai or pad woon sen; branch out and try some of the Northern Thai dishes. You'll be glad you did. I've enjoyed everything I've tried during my three visits there, but I've been dreaming about and craving the pad squash with ground pork since I tried it a few weeks ago. I only wish I lived within their delivery area.
Service was excellent. Â Our server was a really pretty girl and was happy to give suggestions for dishes. Â We ordered everything at once and just had her bring it out as it was ready. Â No set order for soup, appetizers, main dishes. Â Just a a table full of all kinds of dishes split amongst 3 friends.
Thai Egg Rolls- light, flavorful, crispy
Fried Stuffed Calamari - stuffed with chicken and served on a stick. Â Delicous.
Tod Mun - little street food fried fish cakes served with a cucumber salad. Â Excellent.
Tom Yum soup with chicken - I've never had Tom Yum with such a rich, thick broth and big pieces of chicken. Â I could eat this alone as a meal with some rice.
Somtum salad - delicious tangy, sweet flavor mixes well with some hot spices.
Yum Neur salad - I love the idea of a beef salad.
Pad Kee Mow with shrimp - Vegis and noodles were cooked well in a rich sauce and big shrimp. Â Not too many shrimp though. Â I added spices to it to give it more kick.
Northern Thai Sausage - A bold, tangy flavor like I've never tasted before in my life. Â I'm still craving it.
Panang Curry with beef - Spicy thick broth and big chunks of beef. Â Excellent over white rice.
Tom Yum Chilli Paste Fried Rice with pork - Big chunks of pork and egg.
a side of Fried Pork Skin - like crunch bacon popcorn
Thai Iced Coffee - Sweet and yummy.
Everything was absolutely delicious. Â I have never been to Thailand, but one of our friends at the table lived there for a couple years and said Sticky Rice was on par with the food he ate in Northern Thailand. Â Best Thai food I've eaten in Chicago. Â
We weren't drinking, but I guess it's BYOB, which is another plus. Â Can't say enough great things about sticky rice.
This isn't your run-of-the-mill standard Thai joint. Â You don't come here to order Pad Thai. Â This is authentic northern Thai food, true to the gourmet region of Thailand. Â Just pick something off the menu you haven't had before, come with a few friends to share, and have fun. Â The egg and squash dish gets better with every bite, the tom kha gai is perfection, and the eggplant with chicken in spicy lime sauce just divine. Â The prices are so cheap it's practically criminal. Â BYOB!
Review Source:We had a som tum, duck curry, boat noodle soup & issan-style sausage. The Issan style sausage was fine, not particularly good, but not awful. The som tum tasted stale and a bit yuck, like they used a very old bottle of fish sauce when making it. The biggest disappointment was the boat noodle soup. The whole thing was so bland & tasted as if someone had dumped a few extra cups of water into it. Perhaps I was here on an "off" night, but this is not the sort of food that I'd return for.
Review Source:Oh gosh, just have to update since I've eaten here about 5 more times since my last yelp review. Â AMAZING FOOD!! Â Delivery is super fast!!!! Â I called in the order, and poof!!! Â Delivery at my door with piping hot food in about 15 minutes. Â Great food, great service. Â Highly recommend.
Review Source:Sticky Rice is my favorite Thai place in the city. Prices are very fair, they rarely get mobbed with crowds, all the staff is super friendly, and street parking is easy.
Oh yeah, and the food is f-ing awesome.
I find the more "authentic" dishes tend to be better here. I like Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon as much as the next guy, but this is not the place to order them. I suspect the chef doesn't find those types of items particularly inspiring, and it shows.
But no matter, you didn't come here for some Ameri-Thai junk, did you? Well, did you?
No, I thought not.
This place has a way with pork, so a lot of what I tend to order is full or porky goodness. Some favorites include Nam Prik Ong, Gang Hung Lay, Northern Style Sausage, Isaan (fermented) Sausage, and Pad Prik Khing. Any of these dishes are complimented by their AMAZING sticky rice. If you think you've had real sticky rice when you've eaten at a chinese restaurant, you'd be mistaken.
Some non-pork items I like include Chicken Larb, Nam Tok, Tom Kha, and the Sticky Rice with Mango desert.
This place is also BYOB and has a pretty generous delivery range.
What's not to love?
I love Thai food, therefore I eat a lot of it! No other place compares to Sticky Rice in terms of quality and price. You can't go wrong with popular dishes like Pad Thai and Pad see ew, where most places don't care how they prepare it because often times, the customer will eat it anyways. Stick Rice's popular dishes and other dishes (the curries, vegetable meals, and meats like duck) ALL taste awesome!
I'll never forget my first time here. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular. I thought  "maybe I just ordered something good this time" or "maybe the chef cooking today is good compared to the one that usually cooks" etc. Nope. I kept coming back and the flavors of the dishes were consistent.  I love this place, especially during the summer when my friends and explore the city for good food -- Sticky Rice is the only place we come to for authentic Thai food.
I told a recent friend about this place and she mentioned that they have a secret menu! We plan on going in a few weeks so I can try the exotic dishes.
This is the place to go for Thai!! I was first introduced to Sticky Rice about 5 years ago and I'm still very much in love with this place! I used to work down street and sometimes would go there for lunch multiple times a week. Â I have since then moved out of state but I make sure to stop here every time I go back home! My favorite is the Panang Beef Curry but I have tried several other dishes and have never been disappointed! (also, when you do get the chance to try it, don't take it for granted because I have been to over 10 Thai places in NOVA looking for something similar, and nothing compares to Sticky Rice!)
Review Source:Sticky Rice is my go-to for Thai delivery. In fact, it was the first establishment I ordered from after having moved into the neighborhood. We've been quite friendly ever since and I don't see the love affair ending any time soon.
I've enjoyed the cashew chicken, Mussamun chicken curry, pad see ewe, Northern Thai Sausage (w/their infamous sticky rice), pot stickers, soups, crab rangoon... you get the idea. I am particularly fond of the Northern Thai sausage served with shredded veggies and sticky rice, it packs a nice punch of heat. The pad see ewe is some of the best of I've had; sweet but not too sweet, perfectly cooked noodles and the right amount of veg.
I know there are some who have experienced rude phone service when placing a delivery order (ahem, Deb E). I personally have never had this happen to me. As with most Asian eateries, English is a second language. So just be patient, speak clearly and remember that Asians sound angry in general. This is coming from someone with an old school Korean Mom. Sticky Rice is always SUPER fast with delivery too. My food always arrives in under the quoted delivery time - always.
Affordable, delicious, efficient. What more could you ask for? I know, drinks and dishes served in pineapple boats. Some things just don't translate to take-out dining. I feel a dine-in trip in the near future.
Every once in awhile I get an email from my friends with Sticky Rice in the title. Â That is enough to usually get me giddy with excitement. Â I almost always go with my Thai friend who orders from the Thai menu. Â Service is always on point and have never had any issues. Â I haven't been disappointed yet and always leave with a happy belly. Â Â
My recommendation is to explore the menu and to not be afraid of ordering non Thai American dishes.
i am torn between three and four stars since i didn't absolutely love my food, but this place is good! Â the menu is huge and has a ton of options that most other thai restaruants don't. Â with that said, i went first with something tried and true, the tom yum soup. Â the flavor was there but the button mushrooms were not (my favorite!)! Â to be a little more adventurous, i tried the pad ped tofu (which i have had before but years ago) and it didn't disappoint. Â i got it mild and it was definitely way too spicy for my tastes, but it is also made with curry so i can't deduct for that.. the flavor was nice, the veggies seemed fresh, and the tofu was okay.
we wanted the fried bananas, alas, they were out. Â (how can you be out of bananas and spring roll wrappers?)
nothing blew me away but i am willing to come back and try some more dishes!
After reading a Yahoo article about the best unique cuisine in Chicago and seeing this place highly suggested, my fiancee' and I had to try the place. We were not disappointed. Nor were we disappointed the second time we went there, this time dragging along a friend of ours *lol*
All the dishes we had were excellent, although their fried bananas in eggroll wraps were a bit bland for me, I was expecting something sweeter. And they were out of the fried Bamboo grubs when I was there (oh well *lol*).
The BBQ pork fried rice was awesome, as is the stuffed calamari. The sticky rice (the restaurants namesake) is exceptional of course (their sticky rice in banana leaves is pretty good as well!).
The waitstaff was friendly and pretty good (although they did get my fiancee's order wrong the first time, but she loved what they did bring her *lol*), and for authentic Thai food, this place has some of the most unique and interesting dishes I have see (their menu is a small novel), and you CAN'T beat the price for value of the place!!
Highly recommended and look forward to going there again and again!
YUM!
A friend of mine just got back from the Peace Corps. After spending 2 1/2 years in Africa- she was excited to be back in Chicago for its food! After debating between Chinese, Mexican and Thai- we ended up choosing Sticky Rice based on another friends recommendation!
We ordered the Spring Rolls, Mango Chicken and I had the Green Curry. The spring rolls were tasty, smothered in a plum sauce; they were light and an appropriate start to our meal. My friend had the mango chicken. It was served in the mango shells- beautiful presentation. Based on how quickly my friend devoured the meal, I am pretty sure it was a winner. However, I did not taste it--mostly out of fear of getting stabbed by my friends fork! The green curry was also awesome! Curry, particularly green curry, is my favorite- however some places really f it up by using what taste like caned or frozen mixed vegetables. Sticky Rice uses all fresh veggies and delicious basil which really deepen the flavor! The creamy  coconut milk is amazing and it has the right amount of spice!  Highly highly recommend!  Additionally the service was great- the right amount of attention but not hovering!!
OH and its byob- so how can you go wrong!
Really love this place - and its SO cheap!
My friend and I ordered the fried bananas and the green curry tofu to share. Â We asked them to make it hot but it really wasn't all THAT hot. Â So that was my only issue, but otherwise this place was great and I'd go back again.
The only thing I would suggest is that they get more servers. Â This place was packed and they only had two waitresses serving and manning the cash registers for people picking up their food to go.
One of my favorite thai places to visit, especially with a big group since they are BYOB. The place gets packed but the wait isn't too bad. Make sure to make reservations if you have a big party.
Some of my favorites are their spicy basil chicken, basil beef, pad see ewe, and lard nar. Their tom yum soup is also good but all the spices are at the bottom and it gets a bit too sour for my liking.
Their service is always good. Water cups are filled in a timely manner. They always bring ice buckets and wine openers.
Only complaint and reason why I'm giving a 4 star is because the seating area in the back by the restrooms always smell like pee. I prefer to sit by the window for that reason but it isn't always open.
I would come here more often if it wasn't so far from my house.
I heard Sticky Rice has the best Northern Thai cuisine in Chicago. That wasn't why we came here, though, but we did order a Northern Thai sausage that was good!
Fave entrees:
- tofu pad Thai
- pineapple fried rice served in a halved pineapple with cashews and raisins - aunique touch that I much appreciated
- rote gang kare chicken (a curry with chicken, potatoes, fried rice, and roti - if you like roti canai, this is a Thai version that also comes with rice
- sticky rice dessert with mango (dessert)
The dishes are super affordable (entrees average $8), and there's a nice variety in the menu, although it's carb intense! Â Also, if you are adventurous, they have insects on the menu! Â I'll definitely be back but not for the insects.
Very good Thai food at good prices. I like this place because they focus on Thai food unlike many of the "Asian" restaurants in Chicago that lump everything onto the menu. If I go for Thai I don't want to see sushi, chow mein or goi cuon (fresh spring roll) on the menu. Master your craft and do it well. Sticky Rice does this perfectly. Flavorful and always leaves me satisfied.
Review Source:Acclaimed as being the best Thai restaurant in Chicago, I put Sticky Rice to the test. Being Thai myself and having been to Thailand three times, I wanted to see what Sticky Rice was all about.
Sticky Rice receives five stars for having traditional Thai dishes that you won't find at other restaurants like the mussel fritter (hoi taud), kao soi, and stir fried insects. Â Their portions are smaller and the prices are cheap so you can try several dishes on the menu. They also don't hold back on the heat - the flavor tastes 100% authentic.
Their menu is kind of like the Joy Yee's in Chinatown for Thai food where you can easily get lost since there are over 100 items. Like Joy Yee's, some dishes can be highlights where others can be forgettable. Try the items that they are known for rather than what you would normally get at a Thai restaurant. They specialize in northern Thai cuisine which are dishes that go well with sticky rice hence the name. I recommend the Northern style sausage with papaya salad and sticky rice.
For a true northern Thai experience, eat the sticky rice with your hands.
Although not the best Thai food that I've had in the Chicagoland area, the meal was still really good. For those in Chicago, this is definitely one of the city's best.
I've traveled to Thailand twice, and I've eaten Thai food throughout the US. My appreciation for Thai cooking leads me to be very critical of Thai restaurants, and my disdain for weak or lazy cooking can be evidenced in many of my other Yelp reviews.
So hear this: whenever I come to Chicago, I always visit Sticky Rice because it is my favorite Thai restaurant in all of America. These folks offer us authentic dishes and authentic flavors in a casual setting at very reasonable prices ... what's not to love?
I especially like their kao soi -- a thick coconut soup with noodles, chicken and a gentle fire for your belly. I've had kao soi in Chiang Mai many times, and I can happily say that Sticky Rice's reminds me of Thailand as much as any I've ever had -- right down to the touch of perspiration that forms on my brow.
Sticky Rice prepares Thai food with Thai ingredients and with a Thai palate. They do not pander to neophytes as so many American restaurants do, and I love them for that. There are fancier and more expensive Thai restaurants in the US, yes -- but I don't eat that way in Thailand, and I don't roll that way here. Great honest food that is passionately made, well seasoned, and accessible to us regular folks is what Thai cooking is all about, and these guys have nailed it.
Love it!
Easily the best Thai food I have ever had and extra points for being so reasonably priced! You can get a ton of food and not break the bank.
Be adventurous and try some of more interesting options- the menu is vast and I haven't had a bad thing yet. Favorites are the nam tok, the banana blossom app, papaya salad app, the green curry shrimp, the panang... seriously it's all delicious and service is prompt and friendly. Don't be afraid to ask your server for suggestions- we've had good luck trying new things with some direction from our servers!
If it was walking distance, my husband and I would EASILY eat here once a week. As it is, we are happy that it's only a 10 minute drive and easy parking.
The worst thing about this place is that there are dozens of yummy options on the menu
I had the mango chicken. It's sweet and flavorful and the chicken is moist and tender. MmmM
My friends all loved their choices and you can't really beat the price. Best of all..drumroll please...BYOB no corkage fee! Best 3 words in the dining language.
I don't give out 5 stars often but after multiple trips I honestly would rate it a 4.5. For simplicity sake, let's round to 5 stars.
Anyways - the food here is great and priced right. The curries are excellent and the papaya salad Som Tom is perfect. I love the Kow Soi and the boat noodles were awesome. I don't know the Thai name.
The service has been very accommodating and the place is comfortable. Parking on Western can be a pain.
My wife, a native of Thailand, loves this place but says she can taste the difference in cooks on different days.
This review is based on dining in only. We have ordered to go and been very disappointed.
My travel companion and I made the trek out to this side of Chicago to try Hot Doug's, but were disappointed to find that the owner had taken a random vacation. Thus, we quickly yelped a nearby alternative and found Sticky Rice. The menu here is EXTENSIVE. It was a bit overwhelming seeing all of the different options. I'm sure that not everything on the menu could possibly be 4 star worthy, but solely based on what I had, I give it 4 stars.
Interior:
Bright and colorful, a bit on the tacky side.
Service:
There were not many customers at the time that we arrived to dine so service was very quick and attentive.
Food:
-Northern thai sausage appetizer- at just 2$, this was a great appetizer to start off with. It was SUPER spicy, but I enjoyed every bite through the tears.
-Tom Yum Soup- I worked at one of the best Thai restaurants in the Atlanta area, so I'm a bit picky when it comes to tom yum. This version was far too sweet. Knocked my meal down a star.
-Gang Hung Lay- Pork curry. OMG I DIE. so good. The pork was so tender, and the curry itself was mouth-watering goodness. I ordered sticky rice to go with my entree and it was a great combination.
- Friend ordered some type of barbeque pork noodle dish with soup, which was alright, not great. The soup was great for her massive hangover, however.
What really puts this place over the top is the prices. Definitely was a great alternative to the pricier restaurants in the Chicago area. We paid 21 dollars total for all of the food listed above. Not bad at all.
I'm a northern Thai food snob, and I can easily say there are some great dishes at Sticky Rice! I went with an Adventurous eating group, and we were not disappointed. If you're into eating funky stuff, they've got fried caterpillar worms (crunchy & nice flavor), jellyfish salad (quite good!), stingray with coconut curry sauce. I'd order those again. Sadly, they were out of the ant egg omelet when we went.
Kow Soi is a signature dish of northern Thailand, and their version is great! Egg noodles, fried noodles on top in a creamy coconut sauce. Pure yum. Som Tum is their papaya salad, and it's well done. HIGHLY recommend both of these dishes here!
Looking forward to going back, and bringing my Thai friends to try it.
This place is excellent. The usual suspects are all top-tier (pad thai, pad see ewe, spring rolls, etc), but the main attractions are the new items: the crazy new Thai dishes that you've never seen or heard of before! My sister's favorite is the pineapple curry dish. IT COMES IN A PINEAPPLE, 'nuff said.
It's cheap, quick, easy to get to and find parking for, and it's really great food.
Make sure to order the restaurant's namesake "sticky rice". If you've never had, it you'll never NOT order it again.
By far my go-to Thai place in Chicago, and I am happy to say so! After my average first trip here, I have been here many times and have only had great dishes. The Kua Kae is absolutely a must (veggies and your choice of meat stir fried in a fiery sauce) and the sticky rice is addicting. Â I always order Thai iced tea or coffee here. They seem to get the coffee and iced tea mixed up a lot, but they are good and correct my order if it's wrong without making a big deal out of it.
The green onion pancake appetizer (forgot the name) is amazing, and the larb is interesting (although not my favorite). Their menu list is big, and if you want to eat ant eggs I guess this is your spot! Their green curry is good, their pad Thai is delicious, and basically you will want to come here every day until you try everything on the menu.
I love Sticky Rice! It is such a gem of a restaurant that I don't want other people to know about it because I want to keep it all to myself. :)
I used to live in the area and happen to stumble upon this place. I was expecting average Thai food since there are plenty of other Thai restaurants around, like the Thai restaurant right next door. The food was so amazing that it was love at first bite. Since then, I have moved further way from Stick Rice, but I still make the drive for their amazing food, great service, and inviting ambiance.
This place is by far my favorite Thai place in the city- hands down.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
If you've ever been to Thailand, the tastes at this place will bring back memories of food you didn't know existed. This place fucking rocks.
I've never had noodles here, but as I learned, noodles are not true Thai food and why waste valuable stomach room on rice noodles and tamarind sauce when there's FLAVOR to be had!
You can't go wrong, but I think no trip should be complete without trying:
Tom Yum Soup: Some of the best I've had ever.
Fried Chicken: So. Fucking. Good. I know, you're probably thinking "fried chicken, how good can it be at a thai place?" Well sir, I challenge you to pay a whopping $4.25 for a hearty sampling fit for two and tell me it is not the BEST fried chicken you've ever had in your life. Reminds me of shit I had from a stall in Bangkok. Mmmmmmmm.
Pad Prik Khing Moo Krob: Really awesome. The pork is crispy, if that doesn't have you sold it has keffir leaves. Tasting this makes me forget where I am.
Go. GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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