I make sure to visit this place at least a few times a month. Â Good food for the price.. Â The special (slushee and egg roll) is awesome. Â The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is that when I've ordered pick-up, it's hard with the communication. Â I've even taken friends/family here for a quick sit down lunch/dinner. Â Staff is nice, cash only.
Review Source:I almost gave this place a four, but gave it five because this DePaul version is better than its University Village cousin (which deserves about a four).
I've been to this place a couple of times and always dined in. It's good, simple as that. Basically everything is here is $8, and they have this special where you can add a good-tasting egg roll and fruit slushee for $2 extra. On the sign by the door it says special of the day, but you can get the "combo" everyday.
The pad thai is a good go to, like any other thai place. It's flavorful and a good helping. I however recommend trying the jade noodles. They have a distinct taste. I want to say they taste salty, but that doesn't sound complimentary. Still, they're good.
Also yes, if you have a student ID you get a discount. Two things though: 1. ANY student ID will work. I used my DePaul ID at the University Village location. So if you're a student, stop by. 2. The discount is supposed to be 10% off, but you just don't pay tax, so the price on the menu is the price you pay. An obvious point, but I didn't realize that until I got the bill and my excitement over getting a discount came crashing down.
No likey. Why in the world this place gets 4 stars is beyond me? It wasn't horrible by any means, but like the 2 stars say, I've had better. Much better. Maybe I was there on an off day? Maybe they specialize in something I am not aware of?
I ordered the daily lunch special - an egg roll, entree and what I call a slushy, but I think they refer to as a Thai ice bowl? The egg roll was excellent. The ginger chicken was ok and I was unimpressed with the ice bowl thing. I will say this - it's the hottest restaurant food I have ever had! Hot as in cooking temperature, not spice. I mean I burned my mouth on the last bite of food! I thought, oh good, I have this cold slushy thing to help the burn. Well, it is served with this enormous straw (read: fire hose) and I went from being scalded to severe brain freeze! I eventually swapped out the huge straw for a normal human straw and that helped the brain freeze situation.
I go to school nearby and live in the hood, so I most likely will give the place another chance. But like they say, fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. So listen up Thai Bowl, you have one more shot with me. Make it count! I want to like you.
Finally! There is a pad woon sen that I can believe in. Thank goodness, as I was giving up hope. Before another fab night at nearby Barrelhouse Flat, my sister and I stopped in with a Groupon Now deal. While my sister didn't jump for joy about her meal, I almost did.
PAD WOON SEN ($7.95): My taste-testing dish was awesome. The shrimp were large and cooked well. The noodles had the right combination of flavor! It was a miracle. I ordered it without the crab because that addition seemed a bit strange.
AVOCADO SMOOTHIE ($4): Kudos to Stacey P. for the recommendation. It was just lovely and slightly sweet. Perfect. I think it was the best smoothie I've enjoyed in many years.
RAMA CHICKEN ($7.95): My sister did not enjoy the peanut sauce, chicken, and rice combo. I tasted the rice and felt that the sauce was actually a step above other peanut sauces. It didn't taste like smoothed-out peanut butter. It had some kick and depth of flavor. However, I think having everything mixed together with a large amount of sauce was a bit much for her (or even me) to handle.
PINA COLADA SMOOTHIE with TAPIOCA ($4): She thought it was okay.
SHRIMP POTSTICKERS ($4.95): They were okay.
There were other smoothie flavors that weren't the run-of-the-mill, like red bean, taro, jack fruit, green tea (although they were out), and thai iced tea. Â The service was just fine and nice. The TV was positioned well and all the diners enjoyed cracking up at Animal Planet. The portion size was ample and the prices were very reasonable.
Yet if a restaurant makes pad woon sen right, that's a guaranteed repeat visit! Tack on an awesome avocado smoothie, then Thai Bowl has a new fan!
The below were notes I drafted into my phone when I was there. Â It's been a while, so I won't turn it into a real paragraph or story, hah. Â Enjoy.
Hot spicy pepper beef tasty colorful
Shrimp shumai very good too hot inside
Crab rangoon very good but too many chunky veg
Good flat entree prices
Nice staff
This is our favorite casual restaurant in Lincoln Park! It's great food, in a great location, at a great price. I absolutely agree that the special is the best with the spring roll or crab rangoon, entree, and thai bowl ice. SO awesome. We go there more than any other place, never gets old.
Review Source:Is it the best Thai? Simply put: no.
But is it the best atmosphere, food, and time for the money? For sure!
Their special can't be beat! It's an entree, spring roll (or crab rangoon!), and a Thai Ice (part of the bubble tea family) for only $9.99! A must try to any frequenters of Lincoln Avenue or DePaul Students! The staff is kind and there isn't any place like it for a great lunch or dinner with friends! Enjoy!
Stopped by this Thai Bowl since I had a craving for thai food. Really cute nice place that's close by the university and right on the street where everything's happening. I had the Thai Basil chicken which was delicious, and my friend had some pad thai. Good food, simple, and right to the point, just the way I like it!
Review Source:Pretty sweet Thai place. Stopped in with the girlfriend for lunch. Pad Thai is on par with most others id say. but portion size in relation to price make it that much better. The deal with an egg roll and smoothie for 9.99 is great .
But like others had said here on yelp. I'm not to pumped on the customer service. When the bill came, i was asked if i could pay in cash. i say i don't have any, and then she goes and runs the card with no problem. seemed odd to me especially if you have visa and MasterCard logos in the doors and at the register.
Other than that, i would still come back to this place for the portions, price and deals.
Absolutely loved this place - for their food. Â They have a great special where you can order an egg roll, entree and smoothie for $9.99.
My boyfriend and I love ordering two different entrees and splitting them. Â Its a great amount of food for the price. Â Their smoothies are delicious! Â We ate in, watched Fear Factor (which may or may not have been a good choice while eating) and enjoyed its simplicity.
The downside to the amazing food - HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!
Pushy & not friendly. Â If the food wasn't delicious and cheap there is no way in hell I would ever come back.
The best pad thai in the city so far  in my opinion.  Quite the authentic look, feel and staff.  However, that comes with a little caveat:
Whether you're ordering out or dining in, it's like a joke from a sitcom. Â I've been very frustrated in the past ordering, because they screw something up almost every time. It's like clockwork. Â However, the thai there is so good, that it keeps me coming back, even through the terrible customer service.
I once called in three orders of pad thai, and when I came in they had two ready, and one sitting in a hot bag (a bag used to keep things hot). Â They had three people scurrying around frantically, and finally I suggested to one of them I was pretty sure it was in the bag behind them. Â After another almost 10 minutes, the guy took the luke warm food out of the bag and said "ah, hereyu go."
If you enjoy good thai, this may make up for the downright terrible service.
Big fan! I notoriously order the pad thai via delivery. Â The portion is perfect b/c I always have some leftover for lunch the next day. so far this is the best pad thai i've found in chicago yet.
green onions, crushed up peanuts, bean sprouts, yum yum yum. Â I've had the crab rangoons as well and would recommend them. Sadly these are the only things I've tried but I'm sure I'll branch out someday :)
I have been coming here for a few years now and I have already posted about this place however after my experience today...I felt I should update.
The service wasn't as great it was empty when I walked in and bombarded by two different waitresses continually asking me if I was ready even though I was still looking at the menu.
I ordered something new the Ramsee something or another sorry but its the dish on the noodle section which gives you either bbq pork or chicken along w/ crab meet.
I get my bowl and while it did look appealing that was the only good thing about it. The bbq pork was horrible not bbq in any way unless coloring counts. It wasn't pleasant meat at all. My noodles were all stuck together as if they had been sitting there for a while and heated up. The crab meat was just plain awful. It came with sprouts which were hidden on the bottom and not at all cooked they tasted like roots..
So I have had much better I was very disappointed Thai Bowl. :-/
Yesterday one of the waitresses recognized me on the street. This lead to my sad revelation that I eat at thai bowl THAT much. Oh well. Really, really, good for the price. The tapioca smoothies are great, I'm especially a fan of the thai tea flavor. The noodle dishes aren't quite the best I've ever had, but definitely the best I've had at this price point. Definitely worth stopping in if you need to satisfy a pad thai craving. Or, apparently, almost daily if you're sad like me.
Review Source:My bf and I stopped here due to convenience: we were at a concert at DuPage and happened to be within walking distance. Basically, this was standard Thai food. Nothing exciting, nothing to recommend it or denigrate it either way. In fact I barely remember what we ate now. The smoothies with pearls were good.
Overall, convenient dinner dining on Lincoln, and certainly in the DuPage area.
From the suggestion from our Nori waitress, Pum, Â said they had very tasty bubble teas about 5 blocks from their restaurant. Â I don't think the 5 blocks was accurate, but her opinion on the wonderful bubble teas was on point!
I had my usual mango. It was good, made with fresh fruit, but still not as good as my favorite from Joy Yee's. Â Bestie had the red bean, and hers was better than mine. Â Probably the best red bean I've yet to try in Chicago-land area.
In addition to their fruity flavors such as mango, cantaloupe, watermelon and their traditional asian flavors of green tea and red bean, they also had oreo flavored! Yum! Â
Must come back to try their food. Â I'm sure bestie's in full agreement
This is a nice, no fuss neighborhood place to grab a bowl and a smoothie. We ordered the shrimp potstickers to start with, and they were cooked perfectly and the sauce added a nice flavor. I enjoyed my "pan fried chicken noodles" bowl.
If hungry and in the neighborhood, I would return for sure.
Years later, I update my review and bring good tidings! Â Thai bowl you have won my heart, well, most of it anyway.
I have found a few dishes here that are pretty solid. Â We're not talking authentic amazing straight from bangkok thai food, but we're talking better than most (but not all) thai places in Chicago thai food. Â I enjoy the pad woonsen because it is PACKED with delicious sea creatures (crab, shrimp, ...i can't think of others but I think they are present). Â I also like the spicy basil ground chicken ... that might not be the name of it on the menu, but that is what it is. Â So yummy!
Also, my "new" (and by new I mean a few months old) obsession here are the avocado smoothies. Â SO CREAMY AND DELICIOUS. Â Plus they make me feel strong and manly (um.. maybe that's not a good thing for me considering i'm a lady)!!! Â I get at least one a week. Â Forreal! Â I've always liked avocado smoothies but it took thai bowl's delicious rendition to push my fancy towards obsession. Â thank you thai bowl!
I really wanted to love you Thai Bowl, I really did! I had a HUGE craving for pad thai that needed to be satisfied swiftly and completely. Though I usually order pad thai from Joy's, I thought I'd give another contender a shot.
The delivery guy was so nice! You could tell he sincerely meant it when he told me to enjoy my dinner. The crab rangoon were pretty good - more akin to the larger ones Chinese restaurants make as opposed to the smaller, more dainty typical Thai take on the wonton. However, the pad thai was slightly disappointing. There was plenty of texture in there but the flavor was slightly off and a bit lackluster. The portions are huge, but I'm not exactly dying to dig into my leftovers today for lunch... definitely edible but also definitely average.
I'd be willing to give Thai Bowl another shot, but next time I'll set my sights on something other than the pad thai.
Nice staff, but unfortunately food here misses the mark. Â The crab rangoon appetizer was crispy on the outside but the filling lacked flavor. Â Green curry was average compared to other Thai joints I've visited. Â Even though we asked for mild, the curry left us panting and sweating within a few bites. Â
But the most disappointing part of all was the bubble tea. Â I love Bubble Tea and couldn't stomach the sickening sweetness of the peach-pineapple bubble tea. Â Don't get the glowing reviews here. Â Perhaps we caught them on a bad day?
I love Thai food and have missed Mama Thai (Oak Park) since moving into the city over a year ago. I tried many restaurants, but Thai Bowl is the only one I return to over and over again.
Their Pad Thai isn't my favorite but it does have my favorite Chicken Basil. They deliver quickly and are always friendly.
Good food for great prices. Very attentive staff.
The chicken noodle soup was incredibly delicious despite it's relative simplicity. Big, tender slices of white meat chicken and lots of bean sprouts and rice noodles. The broth is perfectly seasoned, not too salty and nice and garlicky--even moreso thanks to the fried garlic garnish on top. A really filling portion, too! Didn't care for the spring rolls despite my love for both spring rolls and cream cheese. Maybe it was the type of wrapper used or the sweetness of the sauce, but disappointing whatever the case. Cucumber salad was also simple and tasty. Wish the cucumbers were soaked in the dressing longer to absorb even more of that yumminess, though.
If Thai Bowl was a bit closer I'd be getting that soup quite often...
Love visiting this place. I've been here several times. Love the Lincoln Park area. Lots of young people. The last few times I visited when it was warm, Thai Bowl had outdoor seating and the front window of the restaurant open.
The service is always great and food comes out fast! Always delicious Pad Thai and they have great Crab Rangoon! Best Rangoon I've had so far. Really I think this place deserves 4 1/2 stars.
I order from Thai Bowl when I need my Pad Thai fix. Â It's inexpensive and the tastiest Pad Thai I've had in Chicago. Â This is the must order dish from the restaurant.
I have tried both the Red and Green curries and only find them average. Â
I always have a positive delivery experience with this restaurant. Â They are polite and on-time. Â I've never dined in but perhaps that's the next step!
Enjoy the Pad Thai here!
Finding myself ridiculously hungry between work in Evanston and rehearsal in Lincoln Park, I ran over to Thai Bowl in search of a delicious green curry. Â As I sat down and waited for my to-go order, I was given a cup of jasmine tea... sweet! Â
However. As I peered around the very cute restaurant, I saw a huge photo of the green curry on the wall... and alas, it was full of edamame. Â
See, I get curries, usually, because they don't have any soy in them- I have a pretty horrible soy allergy. Â Seeing this, I alerted the waitstaff about the allergy, and asked if they actually put any soy in the green curry... "no, no soy, no soy sauce" was the response (the description in the menu didn't allude to soybeans, either). Â So, I get my food a few minutes later, and book back over to school so I could eat fast and contend with a long rehearsal.
I open the curry (the packaging is adorable), it smells amazing, but OH GOD IT'S FULL OF EDAMAME! What. Seriously.
I wasn't about to just let it go, so I ran back to Thai Bowl and told them about the situation- the first response I got was "no, no soy in there! you're wrong"'. Â I opened the container and showed them, and I get "but there's no soy sauce!"
Okay. Â Seriously, guys? I understand that sometimes people don't like things and will claim allergies to keep them out of their food. Â However, going to the hospital and being unable to play a concert tonight weren't high up on my priority list. Â Soy is soy is soy, and I'm allergic to all of it :/
They remade my curry, but didn't offer any other kind of amends. Â I'm kind of wishing I'd been more pushy and angry, but I got enough bemused/bitchy looks from the waitstaff that I just didn't want to deal with it.
The curry was amazing (ate it after rehearsal). Â I won't be going back, though.
This is a 5* delivery organization all day long.
Delivery Minimum: $8!!!!
Delivery Charge: $2
Average Entree Price: $5.95 to 7.95 (so yes, dirt cheap)
Delivery Time: 40 minutes (quoted 1 hour)
Only on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgrubhub.com&s=c077f445c0f58c01f902dcc624c9eabb729cc1501e9105e88f0c900f5943d1fc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://grubhub.com</a> not on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffoodler.com&s=e8a7afb6dfb75a375d18f0865c80b797ec5397268088e6710a492a212e42e07b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://foodler.com</a>
The food was excellent! My Pad See Eew was well prepared, tasty and still piping hot when it reached me. The noodle lovers dish my friend go was AMAZING. I couldn't believe how fresh, interesting and unique it tasted. But it was the totally grease-less Crab Rangoon that sold me. Lots of filling, great dipping sauce (but it could come with a little more :D) and very fresh - this what they are supposed to taste like.
Thank you Thai Bowl for doing what you do best - awesome delivery.
I'm a huge fan of thai food...and this is the first time I have had such an AMAZING dish....so much so that I didn't have to add anything to it.
It's a joke amongst Indian people that we cannot eat any food without having to add some sort of spice or condiment to the dish.
I didn't have to add hot sauce or anything at all...it was perfect!
Here's what I ordered:
Jade Noodles
Stir fried spinach noodles with sprouts, garlic, eggs and hot chili sauce with your choice of tofu, chicken, beef or shrimp.
Price: $7.95
It was scrumptious and I had plenty enough so that I could split it into two meals. I had it delivered, so I can't speak for the location...but the food was definitely YUM.
I had take out from here yesterday, and it was pretty good! Â I had ordered the beef pad see ew and crab ragoon (because cream cheese is my weakness). Â
I used to frequent the Thai Bowl that was on Taylor street quite often because I used to live around there, and haven't had their food in a couple years, but yesterday was as if I traveled through time! Â The noodles from this place are always decent =) Â
The food is well priced and they give you a lot, enough to make it lunch and have some left overs for dinner.
If you need fast cheap thai food, this place is a can't miss....
Decent, nothing special. EXCEPT for the Crab Rangoons. Â Perfectly fried, great filling. Yum! I'll go back just to try these again and make sure it wasn't just a delicious coincidence. Â They got the 4th star just for the 'goons.
I didn't like that my red curry came already poured on top of rice instead of in a dish with rice on the side. Â It ended up being rather bland because of the rice-to-curry ratio being heavy on the rice side.
Bonus for the "$5 crab and coke" special displayed on every table. Â We had fun guessing what horrible combinations they might be offering. Â (Pro Tip: Crab rangoon and a can of soda. Â :) )
LOVE this place...and I've never actually been in the door. I've only ordered delivery and we've picked up before. Their prices are phenomenal, the food is exceptional and they are extremely nice.
Nice perk: they give you a package of crab rangoon with each order (pick up and delivery - not sure about in-house). When my husband went to pick up one time he told them to leave it off (we try to stay away from fried food) and the owner was so accommodating he actually gave us a huge order of cucumber salad instead (YUM!).
My personal fave is the basil chicken (w/ rice) - honestly, I think I'm addicted.
Here's the deal.
It was good but no very well seasoned. The delivery did not come with soy sauce so I had to put salt and pepper to bring out more flavor.
I ordered the spicy beef dish and it was not spicy at all. None of the food tasted bad, it just wasn't as tasty as you would expect thai food to be.
You've just been yelped in.
LOOOOVE their bubble tea. Fresh fruit, yummy tapioca and excellent service. What else could you possible ask for on a hot summer day?
Had one entree there as well, and it's pretty good as well! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
Everyone is always really smiley and happy.
I'm a fan for as long as I live in Chicago
I wasn't expecting much the first time I ate here, as the place that existed here before was not very good, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I ordered the Basil Chicken (with ground chicken, of course) and my wife ordered the Pad-See-Ew with Chicken. Â Both dishes were freshly made (I could tell because I walked in and ordered take out, and it took about 25 min, not to mention the taste). Â They use their fair share of oil, so be cautious, and their basil chicken can get a bit spicy...but they really do a good job of flavoring the dishes. Â I've tried to make similar dishes at home, and they don't compare...
If you are in the mood for a above average Thai place, this is it. Â I prefer it to just about every other BYOB/Take-Out/Delivery thai place in the area.
Let's get the bad out of the way first: Â I found the service to be incredibly slow with respect to having my order taken, getting my water refilled, and getting my check. Â Also, the server got my order wrong. Â (I asked for lad nah with chicken... I got rama chicken. Â I didn't complain because I figured that I would like the rama chicken.)
The good: Â Well, the rama chicken was pretty delicious, if a bit spicier than I had anticipated. Â The restaurant was clean and cheerful. Â Unlike other commenters, I didn't have any problem putting my order on my credit card despite the total not being above $10 before the tip. Â The service, while not fast, was friendly, and the food arrived pretty quickly, even though the restaurant was fairly busy at the time. Â Everyone's meals around me looked pretty good, too. Â The price was decent for a large amount of food. Â I didn't finish everything because I got full, but didn't want to bother with leftovers since it was mostly rice -- the server was very concerned that I may not have liked the food and actually checked to make sure everything was okay before he whisked away my plate.
Despite getting my order wrong, I'll be coming back here, if only to get to try the lad nah that I kind of got cheated out of this time.
We ordered some carryout from this place: shrimp pad thai, pad see ew, and fried rice, and it hit the spot! Â The pad see ew was great as was the pad thai! Â The really piled on the shrimp. Â They even threw in some appetizers on the house since we ordered over 15 bucks which was nice. Â The crab rangoon was also excellent and glistening with deliciousness. Â
I went back for some bubble tea which was good, except that the "bubbles" were a little bit lumped together... The only reason I didn't give 5 stars was because the inside was a nice dinner place. Â Eat and go is more of the word, however, they did have a flat screen on their walls which was nice. Â Thai food is easy to do well, but also easy to do poorly... Thai Bowl does nicely :)
I really like their fried rice here. Different than the fried rice I'm more accustomed to in Chinatown, but still good.
I tried their beef, chicken, and shrimp fried rice, all to go. They all come with a few slices of cucumbers, some onions, a slice of lime, and some cilantro on top.
Of the three, my favorite would be the beef fried rice. Generous portions of meat and great flavor make this very good. The shrimp fried rice was equally good, but they only included four shrimp for the rice. The chicken was kind of bland.
When I first stopped by in mid october, their credit card machine wasn't working, but it's been fixed since then. They give you tea while you wait for your food. The service was great and friendly, and they give you a 10% discount if you're a DePaul student.
I'll stop by again once school is in session.
UPDATE 1/3/08: Thai Bowl is closed; I stopped by today and was disappointed. The restaurant is completely barren and there were some guys putting the front windows in. Wonder what happened?
UPDATE 1/17: Thai Bowl is open for business!
This is like the Thai Bowl in the UIC area, but a little different. The decor is very nice and I know they are going to be doing more rennovations over there to make the place even nicer. I don't understand why people don't get the $10 minimum charge. Why wouldn't you have at least 10 dollars on you?!?
The food: There was a group of us that went and it was delicious. My girlfriend had the panang curry with big, crispy noodles and it was probably one of the best that we've had (of course had to taste too!). Not sure if the owner will put that on the menu, but if you ask for it they will prepare it. How's that for quality service! I had the jade noodles which is like pad thai except with spinach noodles instead. We also tried the chicken satay in our group and the fried tofu. Both of them were really good. Someone else remarked how succulent the chicken satay was and I wholeheartedly agree!
As far as service goes, you couldn't find nicer owners at all. The guy was very attentive and nice and the mom is very sweet. Thai Bowl - DePaul is great for what it does and what it is. It's good food fast that doesn't blow your budget. Good portions, good people.. great place!
Thank you for not accepting my credit card for an $8.75 purchase [you have a $10 minimum - it would've been over $10 with tip]. Â Your credit card merchant account probably charges 2-3% for a card-present transaction and 25 cents to process the transaction (amounting to 42-52 cents). Â Was it really worth 50 cents to alienate a first-time customer & have this posted on Yelp? Â I'll come back a month from now & if you've eliminated the minimum, I'll remove this post. Â Oh, and it's unfortunate that this posting couldn't be about how I enjoyed my meal.
UPDATE: I just went back yesterday and tried to use a credit card for a $8.00 meal. Â They still have the sign up stating the $10 minimum. Â The gentleman helping me took my card & then asked if I had cash. Â I said I'd prefer to pay with credit card & I believe one of the owners OK'ed the transaction. Â So, it seems they have some flexibility! Â Thanks Thai Bowl!
I've had both the red chicken curry & the green chicken curry -- and I enjoyed the green one more. Â I hope this place survives!
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