This was the longest Thai meal due to poor service! I had made a reservation for 7:30, meal ending at 11 PM. I had been here once before and had a positive experience, So when we wanted to take friends out, I thought a reservation would warrant a good table and not in the bar. Dinner for 4 where it was uncomfortable to have a LONG dinner at a high table, (with no place for women's purses). Not sure why service was so slow and awkward, with many employees (and I thought the owner present too). Our drinks were mixed up. The main courses were not brought out together, making everyone wait till all 4 meals were there. Sad banana dessert. Basically a bowl of vanilla ice cream. How come-One person had their main course alone for about 10 min., then 2 more arrived, with the last entree about 20 min. after the 1st?! We WILL N OT be back . Food was adequate. With the place almost empty at the end of the meal, YOU would think it would not take long to get the bill and THEN get it back to us when we provided a credit card.Too many other better options in Chicago.
Review Source:Just went for the special Suzy Singh/Thalia Spice fixed price Thai/Indian fusion Valentines dinner with wine pairing. Six courses. Shout out for the Pyaar (Volcano shrimp bisque with curried foam), the Lady and the Tramp (Tamarind baby back ribs on bed of spice noodles) and the Romance dessert (Fried banana, pistachio Kulfi with sugar cone fragments). The wines were very good: an iltalian pinot grigio, an australian shiraz cabernet, and a german riesling to top us off.
Service was slightly off with the wine pairings, but I somewhat expected this since fixed price dinners/wine pairing are not routine at this restaurant (we had to ask our server for our wine on one of the middle courses).
Suzy Singh would come out of the kitchen intermittently to chat with us and other guests. Besides being a great chef, she is the nicest person. Always smiling.
At 69 dollars per person (that is with the wine pairing), I think this is one of the best quality dinners with drinks that your 69 dollars can buy, but due to the mediocre service, I can not give it 5 stars and must give it 4.5 stars. Since Yelp has no fractions of stars, I had to round it up above to 5 stars.
I await the next Suzy Singh/Thalia Spice special event dinner!
ambience was decent, although seating/space was a bit cramped
service was good but not great
drinks were creative
appetizers and desserts were unique and tasted great
unfortunately main dishes were disappointing. my meat tasted very old, as if they had prepared it a day prior
price was appropriate for the food
I've been to Thalia Spice for lunch before and i thought the food was decent. So I purchased a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon to check it out again. This time, I went with my boyfriend on a random dinner date using our $25 <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon. On the coupon, it did not say anywhere that there has to be a minimum purchase but I figured I'd ask the waitress anyways just to make sure so when the bill comes, we won't be denied of using the coupon. The waitress read through the whole coupon and just said "minimum is $34". My BF and I thought that was a random amount. So we ordered an appetizer, a soup and 2 entrees. We wanted to order a sushi roll from their daily special on a separate check (b/c specials cannot be combined with our coupon) but she wouldn't let us. She said we can order the roll but it has to be from the regular menu and regular price. So we didn't order and they lost out on an extra $5 business.
The food was just decent. Their beef was not tender enough.
So we finished our meal, we asked for the check, the waitress came over and said our bill is now $36, would we like a dessert or something to go? I politely said "no, we are full now. " But she said we needed a minimum of $37 to use the coupon. Again, another RANDOM amount she threw at us! I argued with her for a little bit saying "you just told us $34 when you first saw our coupon!" She just kept saying "no, minimum is $37 to use the coupon." So we were forced to order a mochi dessert for $3.50.
When we looked at the bill, they charged extra for the meat when they didn't tell us when we were ordering and we did not see it on the menu that it didn't come with meat and would be extra. On top of that, they charge 20% gratuity!
We just paid our bill and left.
Never coming back again!!
I went here with a friend for a business lunch. Â The whole dining experience was anticlimactic so I'll keep the review short and to the point.
Service: 4 Stars. Â
-The staff was always on time with the food and drinks, but weren't extremely helpful with recommendations.
Food: 3 Stars
-Nothing jumped out at me in what I ate. The Sushi was on-par with what I expected, but nothing WOWed me.
Location: 4 Stars
-There is plenty of street parking in the area and the Chicago bus stops nearby. Â The entrance to the restaurant is kind of weird, though. Â The front door directs you to the side door, and once you enter the side door, there is a curtain that kind of blocks your entrance and makes you double-guess your decision to go through the side door. It's hard to explain, but you'll see it when you go.
All in all, I wasn't super impressed, but the food wasn't bad by any means. I enjoyed the place and would go back again for another lunch.
I went to this place over the weekend and in my opinion the rave reviews are not deserved. First it is a shabbly little place, which is quaint if, there is great customer service but, there is not. We ordered 6 entres and received only 4 after being told consistantly that the others were on the way. We received 2 entres and 30 min later 2 more. Finally we figured "I guess they only make 2 entres an hour but, the final 2 never came. We must have asked the waitress and witer 5 times and each time they told us it was not ready yet. At the end we received our bill and the tip was already included with now way to reduce it for poor service. This place is a joke and I obviousle say that because I am upset by the service. Believe me there are WAY better Thai resturaunts in the city for less money, do your homework - in this case it will pay off.
Review Source:Overall I would say I've definitely had much better experiences at much less hyped  restaurants.
I had the drunken spice noodles...way too much ginger. My cousin had the stir fry which was totally unimpressive. It was fresh I suppose considering the amount of veggies on his plate, but the sir fry itself was unrecognizable as such. his wife had the ya ya noodles which were, though not bad per se were somewhat bland and underwelming. My husband had the best dish I think, he had the green curry. Which again was not bad but I have definitely had better elsewhere.
Not only was the food disappointing, but the waitress came over about 5 mins before we got our appetizers and informed us that fire to the big  party happening on the other side of the restaurant, our food would come out a little late. Fine. 5 minds later, its going to be a bit later than before. Fine. But then one would imagine getting some sort of consideration, an extra apprise perhaps? Nope. We were told essentially that we'd had to spend more money to stay there longer so that we can eat the food we just ordered. we ultimately did get a desert on the house but we didn't have a choice inn what we got, which was double lake.
Bottom line, I think I could have lived without the experience personally.
Thalia Spice is currently my favorite Thai restaurant. There is something about the feel of the place. Â It always feels comfortable. Â All the action is happening above you and for some reason it totally works. Â The service too is always fantastic. Â The menu offers a great selection of not only Thai food, but many selections from all across asia. Â
All the dishes that I've had, I really enjoy. Â The Pad Thai is excellent as always, but they have some other great items as well. Â The Riverboad Noodles are fantasic. Â They are made in the style of the Bancock riverboats. Â If you don't feel like a soupy noodle dish for your dinner, you still must try the Tom Yum soup as a starter perhaps. Â They have a great selection of appetizers as well.
Big menu, many options - 3 stars across the board. Service, portion size, drink selection, taste - 3 stars. Not gonna be disappointed. Not going to rave about it. To be honest, I am not even sure why I am writing this review.
Simply put - Thalia Spice is * * *
Go there and have a * * * time !
Delicious noodles and sushi on repeat visits. Â Pad thai is my favorite. Â But.....dude, get your service together. Â
Yes, I'm spoiled with quality service downtown. Â That's your competition and that's the bar you're measured against. Â A bit of a language barrier, but I can hang when I'm eating Thai and sushi. Â Yet numerous visits where drink orders arrive after the edamame and waiters drop by the table just for the order and the post entre check-in knock this one down to 3 stars. Â I'll order some more basil mojitos if you ask me- they were tasty.
we were there on a saturday night and were seated immediately at the sushi bar. we ordered
kama sutra - really good, inventive and layered textures
tokyo spice roll - just right flavors
mango seared scallops - really good and fresh
penange curry - ok, needs more salt and spices
the sushi is better than the thai food. i appreciate the creativity behind the sushi.
After all the times I've driven by and saw not much going on, I knew I still had to try this place. And it was well worth it. Â Yes the location is odd and not too welcoming, but in a way it's very good. We chose a great day to stop by, with the weather not too hot and not too cool, we sat outside. Which I think might be better than the inside, since when I did go in, there was a very stuffy smell coming from within.
Anyway, the food was quite good. Quite authentic, without being too overwhelming. Except for the casserole. A little too much for us, but everything else was perfect. The signature Thalia sushi roll was delicious. Crunchy, smooth, hot and cold all in one bite. We also tried the seaweed salad like we do everywhere, and this one was pretty good. Entrees included the Malaysian Laksa soup- amazing! Hint of coconuct, spicy and filled with seafood and noodles. We added the naan bread just to see what the difference of 'Malaysian' naan was, but really not different, but still delicious. :)
Like I said, don't try the casserole that is ever so tempting. It is not your mama's casserole. It's filled with fishy seafood and covered in some kind of Asian mush. Not for the faint hearted. We actually returned it and went right to the mainstream Pad Thai- with chicken. Which was the best Idea all night. This Pad Thai was sooooo tasty. Not too oily like some.
Thee very, very best part of the night though, was... DESSERT! (as always). We tried the custard and the mango sticky rice. Both of which were absolutely great. But the custard was seriously the best Thai custard I had EVER had. Creamy and melts in your mouth!! Sticky rice was pretty good, but the custard by far went way over the top.
As for the drinkers, like me, definitely not the place to go. They try... But I would recommend the guava-tini. Everything else, eh.
All on all a GREAT place to try....
Mama's Ginger Chicken Soup.... Now THAT'S a good, hot and spicy soup! Perfect for a chilly night in Chicago and a good start to a good meal.
I ordered my typical Cashew Chicken dish, which I use as a baseline to compare Asian restaurants, mainly because I love cashews, and chicken, and veggies.... The dish was pretty good and came with a small cup/bowl size portion of white rice.
My friend ordered the Green Curry Chicken which looked great. It was kind of soupy, served in a bowl full to the top. He said he wasn't sure how to eat it with the rice since the rice was on a small plate and the Green Curry Chicken was brimming the bowl. A larger bowl may have helped. He also said he usually orders the same thing every time since it is so good. I may have to try that next time.
Not busy at all for a Thursday evening, though it looks like it can hold a good dinner crowd on weekends. Although it was kind of cold and windy outside and we were seated by a window, the heat from overhead kept me quite comfortable. Total bill for two soups, two entrees, and one alcoholic beverage came to about $40.
Holy choices, Batman! Â This "asian fusion bistro" has dishes representing India, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, am I missing anything? Â The menu is pretty 'yooj, and it took me a little while to decide what I wanted. Â I'm always a little wary of the pad thai when it comes to fusion , or any non-Thai restaurant that serves pad thai. Â I've done that enough times and regretted it. Â That being said, Thalia Spice makes one of the tastiest pad thais,from either a Thai restaurant or a fusion restaurant. Â They used the skinnier noodles , and it was chock full of chicken, and spicy as hell. Â Between the four of us at dinner, we ordered a bunch of stuff...
Starters - Shrimp rolls(they were the size of my wifes pinky finger, but good)
Coconut shrimp x 2 - (not like Red Lobster, more like shrimp fritters?) Â
Broiled octopus and kim chee - (I was the only one who loves anything about either of the things in that dish)
Mains - Asian spice fire chicken - (good amount of heat, plenty of protein content)
Yaya noodles - (stir-fried spinach noodles, it was like an Asian fettucine dish minus the alfredo, plus more veggies)
Penang Curry - (I didn't get to taste it)
They also have a well stocked bar, me and Carlo C. enjoyed their Irish whiskeys.
Those were the plus marks, here were the minuses...
For dessert my wife ordered the mochi. Â Mochi isn't hard to mess up, just open the box and serve them right? Â Well, when you break it down, mochi is just ice cream wrapped in rice dough. Â Rice dough should be slightly chewy, never brittle. Â The mochi wasn't good today. Â
The other thing that we all found very odd was that when we walked in,(we had reservations) they didn't seem to know what to do with us. Â The main dining room, which you enter when you walk in, was not quite full, and neither was the side room, but the back upstairs room was empty and so was the room with the single table. Â We almost asked for the single room, but didn't, and ended up in that back upstairs room. Â So as the night does on, the dining rooms fill, and we noticed a weird trend. Â All the brown people were seated in the back upstairs room and mostly in the side room, and the lighter-colored people were in the main and side dining rooms. Â It was just odd really. Â I didn't think there was any purpose behind it, just a very strange coincidence. Â
The dishes run on the pricier side, but I think it's a small price to pay for the chance to try the different cuisines all under one roof.
Abundant street parking, polite service, and with a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon, a great value, although I would eat here without the coupon any day of the week. Â Possibly a tie with Penny's for best pad thai....
This place is great! We had a gift card through <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurants.com&s=8b83bf0ff8b716aae84527dc95577a310f201b166dcca25c8ca3824b15703869" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurants.com</a> and it was a pleasant evening. Small can cosy atmosphere with a really good menu. They have daily specials depending on the day of the week and we went on the wine special day. Nothing special to note other than we both enjoyed the wine we chose.
We started with the "Mama's Ginger Chicken Soup. This is where they lost the 5th star because my girlfriend and I planned on splitting it but nothing in the description spoke about the spiciness and massive notes of lime and cilantro. All things she doesn't care for. I didn't mind it but I did notice it was like indulging on a pungent, warm margarita.
Aside from the soup, we ordered a bunch of maki, all being soooo good. The best roll of the night was the Tokyo Spice roll. Looked more like a mountain of panko and tobiko when it came out, but the combo of everything in that roll was absolutely amazing.
I'd recommend this to anyone. Fair prices with a great experience
Ordered carry-out for dinner tonight. Â Phone ordering was not smooth and I hoped she got my order right while I was walking over to pick it up. Â Order wasn't ready in the 15 minutes they quoted on the phone, so I waiting another 15 for them to bring it down.
The full moon maki roll was delicious, but seemed overpriced at $13 for 8 pieces of a roll that contained salmon, tuna, and tempura. Â I would recommend Yaya's noodles to a vegetarian with very mild taste. Â The variety of vegetables included in the dish was great, and it felt like a healthier option as it barely had a sauce, but it was very mild....almost to the point of being tasteless. Â Luckily, they had packed some Sriracha type sauce with a jalapeno scent in my bag, so this helped to spice it up.
I would order from here again since it is so close to my house and the food was pretty good, but maybe I would try ordering online next time...
From the time we walked in until the moment we walked out, service was inattentive to say the least and, at most times, unfriendly to boot. We entered into a room that housed the sushi bar, host stand and a few tables accommodating larger parties. The restaurant appears to be a series of rooms, and I'm glad that we were seated in a different one - the constant interruption from other patrons and likely cold breezes would've annoyed me. The room we ended up in was quiet and cozy, my only complaint was that the tables are rather tiny.
We were seated with menus and water and waited for our server. We waited and waited some more; apparently we were wearing our invisibility cloaks as she had no trouble acknowledging the table across from us. About 15 minutes passed before we were greeted with an brusque - "ready to order?!" as if we had just walked up to the counter at McDonald's. Is foreplay a lost art? You know small talk, an apology for the slow start, anything before we start spending cash at your restaurant? There were no questions about whether we'd like an appetizer or a drink to start, and if there were specials, we were none the wiser.
The menu is large, a composition of sushi and all sorts of asian fusion. I like that they denote which dishes can be made vegetarian; there seem to be a fair number of veggie-friendly dishes.
Having ample time to review the menu, we ordered everything at once - two drinks and four dishes to share. We ordered the Clay Pot Mussels, Mango Seared Scallops, Singapore Crab Rangoon, and Malaysian Roti Canai - most, if not all, of these were denoted favorites.
I can deal with poor service, to an extent, if the food warrants it; this did not. Our dishes ranged from good to mediocre and the portions didn't live up to their price tags.
Clay Pot Mussels - for approximately $10, we got 5 large mussels in a lemony coconut broth. While these were tasty and by far our favorite dish, I couldn't help but compare them to my mussels at Revolution days earlier. For $2 more, I got a heaping bowl of mussels and a side of bread - a meal on its own.
Mango Seared Scallops - for approximately $10, we got 4 medium scallops in a mango-avocado salsa. The dish was good, reminiscent of ceviche (a dish which already resides on the menu), but the mango and tartness of the salsa almost eclipses the taste of the scallops. Again this dish seemed rather skimpy.
Singapore Crab Rangoon -when I saw this on the menu, billed as spicy Singapore style crab rangoon with jalapeno, I was really excited to try it. Sadly, this was a miss. While the wrappers were light and not oil laden, the rangoons seemed light on filling and were devoid of spice. Not the worst crab rangoon ever, but even compared to regular crab rangoon they were nothing special.
I can't speak to the last dish, as I didn't try it, but my companion did note that it wasn't great compared to other Roti Canai he's had.
We were essentially ignored throughout our meal, we even refilled our own waters (we were fortunate to sit near the oddly placed refill station). We only saw our waitress again after our meal; *if* they were short-staffed, it would have behooved them to tell us so we could temper our expectations. While we were waiting to pay, the hostess attempted to step up service (busing the rest of our dishes, bringing back the check, making small talk), but frankly by that point it was too little, too late.
A pan-Asian menu is great if you can execute the various cuisines well; Thalia Spice's menu has too much variety, they could stand to pare it back and really rock those dishes. All in all, the company was great, but the food was average and the service downright sucked; with a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon the final bill seemed fair, at full price not so much. I don't foresee returning, there are too many other great eateries to visit and revisit in the city.
This is a hidden gem for the neighborhood as I had no idea this place existed before my husband took me here for my birthday. Â As a frequent yelper, I was impressed that he found such a good place completely off my radar.
Dining space both inside and out that is kept intimate while also leaving each table enough space to be independent from other diners. Â Initially I was skeptical of the length of the menu, but those feelings were brushed aside once we received our first drinks and appetizers. Â They specialize in cocktails and are very good at dreaming up something to tickle your fancy. Â I went for the Lychee Mojito.
The sushi we ordered was fantastic - great presentation, fresh flavor and unique roll selection. Â
This is the kind of place you can show up dressed to go out or a bit casual and fit in either way. The owner walked around to the tables and said hello which underlined the quality and humility of the restaurant.
I see that most of these reviews were written quite some time ago. Â Maybe the staff here has improved with time because I've been here twice and both experiences were excellent. Â
My servers were attentive and the food was really good. I just moved in around the corner so I will be going back. The outdoor seating is quaint and in less cooperative weather the indoor area is creative and stylish.
I get what Raphael is saying about comparing it to Butterfly, though. Â Butterfly has better sushi at better prices. Â I am going to move on to the thai portion of Thalia's menu and see how that fares next.
We gave Thalia Spice a second chance and were consequently let down this afternoon for lunch. The management needs to plan ahead for president's day next year because there was only 1 server for around 25-30 customers in the entire restaurant and nobody was very happy about it. Out of the two tables closest to us, one walked out and the other was disappointed  when they didn't get the soup they ordered after waiting a long time. The owners need to step up and wait tables in situations like this, instead of letting a waiter try and run the place on their own. we felt sorry for the server being set up, she seemed discombobulated.
We ordered a thai iced coffee which, unfortunately never came and then waited longer than we'd have liked for orders of pad thai and green curry to get to the table. The wait wouldn't have bothered us if they weren't blaring whiny djs and commercials for jack fm on the radio , whose speaker was located directly above our table. The pad thai was below average and the green curry was less spicy than advertised but we chowed down anyway. Some sauce would have been nice for our meals when the food came out. Â Maybe they could have it on the tables so it is there and we don't have to ask for it. It eventually came after we flagged down the server , but by that time we were halfway done.
The place is trying too hard to be too many different things. The music seemed like its from the gym, the red velvet drapes hanging everywhere-even over the windows- looked like they were purchased from a club going through bankruptcy liquidation, and the Thai food was barely so so, and overpriced at 10 per dish. I would say the pad thai and green curry were worth $5.95 each, at the very most.
I can't think of anything else to complain about except we had to have the check sent back and amended because they tried to charge us for the iced coffee we never received.
This place would be better if they lowered their prices and the management helped out the servers when busy. Thalia spice failed.
The whole place feels sloppy:
The front entryway is a wreck. There is a rickety table and remnants of what I think used to be a coat check. There is a shovel and some other crap in the corner - not a good first impression.
The space is weird. Three rooms that are kind of cobbled together with tables crammed into whatever space possible. Ramshackle decor. No attention to detail and kind of a mess. For instance, Â there was a watering can or bucket sitting on top of a shelf that was visible from the dining room. Not pleasant.
Furthermore, my soy sauce bottle was stuck to the paper table cloth with old crusty soy sauce. Gross.
The food was sloppy, too. Aside from a delicately carved carrot garnish, there was no presentation. I had the Filipino Pansit noodles and it was basically a pile of mush. It tasted fine but I have had MUCH better Thai food.
To top it all off, their was some dude playing their "Check Please" review on the t.v. while we were dining there - so passé!
Clearly I won't be dining here again.
Crossing another bookmark off my list. Geez, keeping New Year's resolutions is easier than I thought.
Both Keri H and I have been wanting to try Thalia Spice for awhile now, but there were always other places that we wanted to try first. Last night neither of us were feeling particularly creative in thinking of other options, so we finally ended up here.
The decor reminds me of a Jerry Kleiner (Vivo, Opera) restaurant. We were the only ones in there when we arrived, but eventually a few more tables were seated.
We hadn't even finished saying hello to each other and they were on us to order like flies on shit. That was a little annoying, especially since they kept doing it.
My favorite things to order in Asian restaurants are far and away the appetizers, so we decided to order a multitude of them and eat tapas-style.
Vegetarian egg rolls - could have been crisper; pretty bland
Chicken satay  - overcooked but decent; I've had better though
Tuna and avocado - generous portion of herb-marinated tuna and creamy avocado; my favorite dish of the evening
Lotus cups - phyllo dough with minced chicken, carrots, corn, peas and cilantro; tasty and light
Chicken lettuce wraps - the chicken was unidentifiable and they were oddly sweet; Keri nailed it when she said PF Chang's makes a better version
Seaweed salad - huge portion; I didn't try it but Keri said it was good. I imagine there's not a lot of variation in this dish from place to place
Chicken and ginger soup - spicy and flavorful; exactly what I was craving since I was coming down with the sniffles
All in all, the food was good. I'd come back and try the sushi instead of the appetizers. I wasn't blown away.
I liked the food here but I don't know if I liked it enough to go out of my way to come here. The area is dead and the restaurant feels cramped. But it's hard to find good Thai places here in the city so this is definitely a step up from places like Star of Siam--their menu is way more interesting and unique.
Tom Yum soup was too citrus-tasting and a bit spicy, but the Miso soup was good. The girls and I ordered the following to share: fried tilapia (delicious and my favorite dish of the night), Thai fried rice (probably the best tasting fried rice I've had), and the cashew chicken entree (meh). I was not expecting to get good dessert at a Thai place, but the chocolate cake was amazing!
My one big complaint about Thalia is the service--it was slow to non-existent. The hostess was nice and accommodating when we were waiting for our party to arrive, but the waitress took forever to come to our table to take our order, never checked in on us, and had to be flagged down for the bill and other items.
Oh, Thalia. A fabulous fall from grace...
Scene: A Thursday, 7pm.
The Company: two women seeking sushi.
Enter.
Wait.
Wait. Wait. Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait. Wait.
Me (to man behind bar): "excuse me, could we get a table?"
Him: Oh, sure. Do you have a reservation?
Us (looking around at empty tables): No, do we need one?
Him: No, you can sit right here. (points to table near the door).
Us: Ok, that's fine.
::::Why was this a hard interaction?:::::
Sit with one tiny two-top between us and another table (no biggie), except they tried to sit FOUR different couples in that seat, which was CLEARLY not large enough to accommodate them, or us, or the table next to them. Hell, call it communal dining or something...but quit trying ot smush me while I am eating!
15 minutes for water.
25 minutes for a server, and only when we flagged man down.
20 more minutes for food.
Miso soup arrived AFTER our sushi was consumed.
Aforementioned MIA soup was refused (duh), but was still put on bill.
No apologies.
Nothing.
Sorry. I'm over you, Thalia.
Oh, and the sushi? Not-so-much. The specialty rolls were pretty blah (The Kama Sutra), and the spicy tuna was average. Certainly for $40 per person, this was NOT the experience I wished to have.
With SO many other options for both sushi and thai in the area, I just can't recommend coming here. The service was so poor, and lacking apology. I just don't excuse that. Or missing miso! Or blah fish! Or...you get the point.
What can I say about Thalia that others already haven't?  There really isn't much to add in the way  of superlatives.  Except to say, whether you are ordering out from Thalia's or eating in, prepare to feast your taste buds on Southeast Asian cuisine.  Do not, however, expect traditional dishes here.  As a fusion restaurant, you will get some creative twists on almost every dish.
I introduced my twin and her adviser to this place last night. Â I'm glad we decided to come here, rather than to join one of the other residents at Pizzeria Uno. Â This place tops Uno, by a mile. Â But to each his own, right?
We started off our night with apps, darts, and some libations at the much loved DeLux (Hi Jen and clan!), where after a giant FAIL at the Shanghai game option non the dart board, we proceeded to more drinks and dinner at Thalia.
We were lead on a circuitous path to the rear, upper dining room and seated at a modified banquette. Â The low banquette bench was topped with a downy, soft-as-butter leather pillow-top. Â It invited patrons to lounge back and enjoy the atmosphere. Â Unlike last time, when our eardrums were lambasted by the sound of industrial electronica; this go-around, the mood was set with some chill world music. Huge improvement, Brad and co.!
We ordered a pitcher of tasty Thalia-gria ($24/pitcher). Â Infused with mango and Granny Smith apples, this potent cocktail kept us well supplied with its potent aroma and taste throughout dinner. Â Between the three of us, we each managed to drink two tasty, and not watered down, glasses of the Gria.
On to the food: Â We ordered three things to share. Â A salsa Latino roll to start off with (except it arrived late to the game, after we already started in on our other two dishes). Â We also ordered one lard nar and one Indonesian curry mee. Â Â The curry mee was a delicious mix of rich, spicy, and hot curry and a mixture of crunchy and soft noodles. Â the lard nar was also delicious, and bedecked with fresh, crunchy veggies.
Our disappointment came from our inability to try any desserts. Â The portion sizes were generous and we were too full to attempt to split anything. Â But there is next time, right?
Prior to my visit last night, I would've given Thalia Spice 5 stars. It's still amazing and the best bang for your buck/ date spot in the city though.
The food... ALL OF IT... is amazing.
There's not a bad thing on the menu. The sushi is big and fresh and Delicious, the soups are fresh and full of spice, and the there's plenty of FRESH options whether you're a meat lover, seafood lover, or vegetarian such as myself. *note- I had eaten here over 10 times before becoming a vegetarian so I'm very well versed in their meat and seafood options as well.
It's an Asian fusion restaurant with a fabulous mix of Thai, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian, etc. The food is intensely amazing. If you like seafood be sure to get the Thalia Ocean salad... it's truly some of the best ceviche I've ever had.
Our visit last night did not have the best service. Our server was very kind but we constantly needed water and there was always a heaping of dirty empty plates that needed to be cleared. One other thing that took the 5th stair away is that they're no longer BYOB. BYOB... I miss you and you really were the icing on the Thalia spice cake. We did get a few drinks there and they were really great but after knowing Thalia spice as BYOB for a year it's hard to move past the greatness of that.
Anyway, you MUST go there if you want a guaranteed perfect meal, date, girls night out at an affordable price.
Still on the search for that really good thai restaurant that delivers to the River North neighborhood.
Thalia Spice= not quite it.
We ordered:
Shanghai Shumai: To quote my husband "it tastes like the frozen ones we buy at Trader Joe's"
Black Sea Calamari: Both the taste and consistency of the calamari seemed a bit "off" to me
Drunken Spice Noodles & The Yaya Noodles: both bland and only edible once I dumped lots and lots of hot sauce on them.
For $36 total I can see why some people like this place, but I'll keep searching for that perfect thai restaurant that delivers. Â Any suggestions??
My friends set up my b-day party there and it was an amazing time. But about the restaurant:
It is small and we took up about half of the restaurant. We were ordering rounds and rounds of sake bombs and the staff was very efficient with getting us all we needed to do them - you know the beer, sake, chopsticks, glasses and plenty of napkins!
I don't think can go wrong with any of the food items they serve. All together we ordered a good portion of the menu and were all taking a taste. I do highly recommend the crispy tilapia, rangoons and and the lettuce cups (take 'em down like a shot!).
I wish it was closer so I could go more often.
This is my new favorite Thai place. Â As you my be able to tell, I only ordered from the Thai side of the menu, so I cannot speak about the sushi.
I was here on a Wednesday night with a party of four and the service was great. Granted, it was early and the middle of the week, but still, it was great service. They never hovered but they never neglected the table. It is also good to point out that they pour a stiff drink; My friend had to ask for more soda water, which is a rare request.
On to the food. We all ordred soup to start with, and they were very accommodating to our special requests. I, unfortunately, ordered a spicy soup and was not able to eat it, but that was my fault. I hate spicy stuff. My friends enjoyed their soup.
For the main course, we all ordered a variation of the YaYa noodles. Beef, chicken, or extra tofu. We all loved it. The meal was not too oily (like some Thai) and the portions were filling but not disgustingly large. I would really recommend this place.
We started with edamame, it was good, nothing special, but honestly, if you were to mess up edamame, it would be embarrassing.
Mmmm.. yummy! Â Came here with a large group, and everyone liked their food. Â We ordered everything from appetizers, maki rolls, soups, casseroles, fried rice, and stir-frys w/rice. Â The only disappointment was the Roti Canai (Malaysian "tortilla" that you dip in curry) - get that at Penang in Chinatown (Wentworth & Cermak), and you will love it! Â Thalia's menu focuses on sushi, curries, noodles, and rice dishes. Â Dishes range from $10-20. Â And their cheapest bottle of sake is delicious!
The interior is kind of maze-like, as you will most likely have to climb a few stairs and make a few turns before being seated at a table. Â I don't think the men's and women's restrooms have signs either (I realized this when I walked into a restroom with two men handling their business in urinals.). Â But the decor is very hip and contemporary. Â The service is also good too! Â Convenient location if you're going across the street for some comedy!
The one star is for the BYOB and the cool interior. I think this place would be great for outdoor summer drinks.
That said, the service was probably in the top 5 Worst Ever In Chicago. We arrived early for our reservation, and wanted to add a couple more people. Shouldn't be a problem.
Okay, I did accidentally start my BYOB paper bag on fire with a table candle. Ooops! Props to them for the quick service on putting that out, I have to say. And the manager was a nice guy.
The waitstaff was charming and all, but just . . . shockingly inattentive. I wanted to light that paper bag back on fire to get their attention to bring us glassware. Once our party was there, we waited a long time for them to take our appetizer order. Then after all that was cleared away, another eternity to take our entree order. We made it clear it was a birthday dinner . . . so the b'day girl's entree arrives 10 minutes after everyone else had their food? No. The people that mentioned the GIANT menu are right . . . its a bit overwhelming. Do a few things and do them RIGHT, people. This is a "hot spot"? Not for long in Chicago's cutthroat restaurant competition.
The food. Bland. Good enough, but on the level of take-out/delivery food from a cute neighborhood joint. Which . . . not bad, I just expected something a bit more . . . imaginative? Delicious? More elegantly presented? It wasn't exceptional. Not all that expensive, which is good, though.
The  interior was good, but there are many steps and floor levels. Could be tricky after a couple BYOB tipples, I'm just sayin'.
Consensus: Go there for drinks and appetizers on the patio in the summer. Go to Spoon for the same fare, at an even better price, no doubt.
This eclectic Asian Fusion restaurant sits off Chicago Av and hence easy to miss and or drive by. I was there a few weeks ago and was plesantly surprised by pretty much the entire experience....decor, food, service & price...oh, all in a good way!! :)
The restaurant has been created in a loft space and quite unique with various levels including a private room for groups of 8-10. It offers exposed brickwork on the walls which I am a new fan of.
The menu has something to cater to pretty much every ASIAN food pick including a sushi bar, Thai, Singaporean Noodles, Malaysian Roti Canai and Indian Chicken Tikka masala. Needless to say, visit the website for a complete listing.
Yay!! Thalia is still BYOB!!! I love BYOB and if you do too then visit this spot sooner than later coz they do plan to get a liquor license in the near future.
Portion sizes are small and hence makes a great way to try a bunch of different things, moreso since most appetizers are fairly inexpensive....$4-$6. Our meal (dinner) for 3 cost $75 including tip & tax. They are open for lunch and have a great 3 course selection (soup/salad, egg roll, entree) for $9.
Since its a new 'hot spot' , reservations are recommended for weekend diners.
As I am in the area for work a few nights a week, and am often hungry, I have eaten food from Thalia Spice a number of times. The best description of both the food and the service at this place is hit or miss.
I often go the take-out route, and find that they get the order right about 50% of the time. I once ordered the Cashew Chicken as a take out order. It was loaded with chicken and cashews. It was great. I ordered it again and there were no cashews and only a small amount of chicken. The sushi can be really good or it can taste and smell ultra-fishy (fish should never smell like fish as its a sure sign that the fish is old or maybe even bad).
The service can be great or horrible too. When I have eaten in, I have ended up with a server who was great. She explained different items on the menu and was quite attentive, a feat considering how busy the restaurant was at the time. I have also ended up with servers who could barely speak English, couldn't talk about anything on the menu, and weren't very attentive at all despite the restaurant not being very busy. For take out, I have waited 5 minutes or 25 minutes for the same order regardless of how busy the restaurant was.
The corkage fee for bringing in your own liquor (they don't yet have a liquor license) is pretty steep too.
You could go to this place and get great food and great service or you could go there and everything could be lousy. It's a roll of the dice.
Crab cakes are by far the best. Â I had several small plates. Â All delicious. Â Roti was flaky and delectable. Â Curry chicken just spicy enough and NOT greasy. Â The tuna is sushi quality and the avocados that came with were great. Â
The spot itself is cool, cool - quiet atmosphere, exposed brick, comfortable and fun. Â I went for the soft opening but will definitely be back for the grand opening.
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