Used to work in the area and finally made it back to Thai Bowl after 10+ years. Still the same as I remembered! Ordered take out in a Sunday as there is no dining in and cash only that day. I ordered the pad Thai, egg rolls, and orange chicken. All reasonably priced too. Bag weighed more than me when I picked it up. You just wait by the front door and pay then they bring the food to you. Not a lot going on inside. Couldn't wait to eat when I got back. The pad Thai was a huge portion and the tamarind was on point. Sprouts, lime, and plenty of noodles to go around. The orange chicken was nice and crispy and I enjoyed how the sweet and sour sauce is on the side not mixing the chicken to keep it crispy. The egg rolls were meh not much filling. Overall, forgot how great of a spot Thai Bowl is. Def make the trip in! read more

Thai Bowl - Chicken Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great food! Been coming here for years ever since going to UIC. Still good as I remember and worth traveling up to an hour. Highly recommend and worth traveling up to an hour read more

Thai Bowl - Crab Ragoon - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great restaurant. Very satisfied with everything. Next time I'm in the area I will definitely be stopping and placing an order. Very friendly staff. read more

SUPERB food, to the point where I crave Thai Bowl specifically. The service is really fast, the workers are nice, and the prices are really reasonable. I highly recommend going! read more

The Thai iced tea and crab rangoon were delicious and the lady taking our order was so sweet she even gave us a free egg roll! Thai Bowl is a place with great food in a really nice area that keeps me coming back. read more

Very good take out (take out only). The kids loved the pad Thai and I dug the pad see ew. They toss in free appetizer for orders over 15.

The best take out Thai food in Chicago. Super fast. Always friendly. Big portions. Great prices. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Pad se ew, panang curry and fried rice are delicious. read more

I've been coming here since I was an undergrad at UIC way back 2003. It was good then and even after 20plus years and moving away and coming back, i still will order when i am around UIC area. It's cheap and good! read more

I got the red curry with chicken to go from here and it honestly tasted so bad I had to throw it away. I never throw food away. There was some sort of rotten smell and taste to the food and it was simply inedible. Curry is usually one of the safest things to get at a Thai place so I was shocked. I don't think I would come here again. read more

This was my first time visiting/ trying this place as a carry out order. When I visited the restaurant the entrance door was blocked off and you were unable to even enter the restaurant (not sure what that was about); however, the Pad Thai was pretty good and definitely was a nice portion for the price. read more

Thai Bowl - Outside - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Had a craving for Thai and this was the closest place near me so being new to the area decided to try it out. It is a small shop, and there is street parking in the nearby streets. Wasn't very busy on the inside but they seem to have had a decent amount of delivery orders. Was a bit confused by the set up as it doesn't immediately tell you to sit down and then order OR order and then sit down, but cashier/server was helpful in clarifying my confusion. They have lunch combos and special drinks that aren't listed on the menu, which is good to consider for next lunch time. However, I really wanted curry. Got myself the panang curry with tofu and one of the special drinks, the horchata Thai iced tea. The prices are good for the amount of food, but I also don't think the food is that spectacular. It's not bad, but it's just okay. A bit shocked that they don't ask for a spicy level preference, which didn't bother me at first cause the spice level was perfect for me, but had I wanted it spicier that wasn't provided for me. Good peanut taste for the curry though! I love horchata. I love Thai iced tea, so I was really looking forward to this fusion drink. I think that the horchata overwhelms the Thai tea that it doesn't have that wow-ness that I was expecting. Still, gotta admire the creativity. Might come again and try the pad Thai, and the regular Thai tea. read more

Thai Bowl - Panang Curry with Tofu Horchata Thai Tea - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food was good but , u could go in & order. Gentlemen at the door taking orders. I had to walk back to car & wait 20 min.

Only available for takeout now, but the portions and service are great! They also have a nice seating area with tables outside and some lights at night. read more

Thai Bowl - Pad Thai with chicken - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Seriously the best Thai food around! The portions are great. The flavor is amazing and unbeatable. Just know it is only takeout now, no more dine in. By far the best Thai food around (both Chicago proper and nearby suburbs). Amazing! read more

There was a small wait. They set up a table to separate the staff from you and it's to prevent entry. They had a bell to alert someone. It took a short while, but the food was still hot when we got home. The bag was pretty heavy and I was so full from the pad thai. The serving size was pretty big for the pad thai and it was very saucy with a decent amount of chicken. For the red curry, it was smaller than some places but it'll keep you full. I tipped a little more and they added crab rangoons. (2/3 were gone by the time I took a photo.) They were so crispy and the sauce that comes with it was delicious. read more

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DANG! I can't believe I didn't rate my old college stomping grounds joints. Guess I didn't yelp back then. This place is BOMB! Huge portions, and it may not be the best but when you're a starving student you defintitely love it! Good pad thai, huge bowl. Guess that's why they call it Thai BOWL! read more

Fantastic food, well priced, very kind staff! Highly recommend trying the pad thai. I will definitely be back!

Been coming here since I was in my teens, It seems like they need to do more cleaning or something. Seems like food quality went down, or I grew out from them. Chicken dish smelled like old chicken. Plus accepting cash only...? Tax issue? I dunno. Pretty sure owners don't even care. read more

Thai Bowl - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Best Thai in Chicago - 10/10 for 20+ years and counting! The green curry, pad thai and thai iced tea is unmatched.

I recently tried this place as a large group order for delivery/pick-up. It was good but nothing truly caught my attention. With that said the 2 best items are the curry noodles (a little spicy) and their fried rice (has some sweet flavor notes). read more

Some of the best noodles and rice in the city with excellent prices . This establishment has been here for long time . Food never disappoints. read more

2 hours for carryout order! But they keep you dangling by saying "5 more minutes" then "coming soon"

Thai Bowl is one place that any UIC student or staff will most certainly recall as a place of memories. My department has ordered many bulk meals from them, and I've only recently been able to actually try some of their options myself. Based upon that, I have to say that Thai Bowl gets the job done in delivering pretty good Thai, but it certainly isn't the best I've had here on Taylor. We usually order large portions of Pad Thai (both chicken and tofu) and their Garlic Chicken Broccoli. Their Pad Thai is good and gets the job done, although nothing mind blowing. They do take care to not sprinkle peanuts right on top, which is good for those that are vegetarians. The chicken platter we get is pretty good too- comes in very generous portions but tastes Chinese more than anything. The one time I ordered myself was when I selected the Curry Noodles. It was my attempt at recreating laksa for my stomach, and it was pretty good. Plenty of thick egg noodles and a heavy coconut curry soup with your choice of protein. I definitely scarfed that sucker down after getting the bowl. Overall, good to quench your Thai thirst with some good prices. Parking is available on the street. read more

Thai Bowl - Curry Noodle to-go; tastes better than it looks - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Do your self a favor don't waste your money. The first time we had the fried rice it was overcooked. My family wanted to give it another chance and it was a repeat of the first experience. Will not go back read more

Walking in... apparently there are street people that come in and use the restrooms... signage on notebook paper says it's a no go. Place is pretty Mom n Pop. So sketchy on the tables which are vaguely sticky, uneven, unmatched hard plastic or metal chairs... so ambiance could defo be better. Ordered Pad Khee Mao with no tomatoes or onions... asked specifically for more vegs... pics on Yelp showed more vegetables, at least basil and bell peppers... in addition to the sprouts and single chunk of eggplant. Noodles are.soggy, sauce is bland, red sauce seems really watery. Hmm... not a fan... despite being $8.50... There are WAY better Thai options around. P.S. I asked for more vegs and the waitress.brought me 5 leaves of basil. read more

Thai Bowl - Crazy Noodles with Tofu (aka Pad Khee Mao) - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Although it looks like a sus place, those are usually the ones with the best food. The lady who works there is super nice. The food is really really good I find myself craving it from time to time. My favorites are Crab Rangoon, Pin Noodles Duck, and this one drink I forgot what it's called I believe is the Thai iced tea. The amount of food is worth the price read more

Pros: delicious, full flavor noodles, super affordable, fast service, best pad Thai and pad see ew in the planet!!! Cons: if you're looking for ambiance, this is not the place. It's more hole in the wall. People come to Thai Bowl for the food, not the ambiance. Must have: fish balls, crab Rangoon, pad see ew (beef is the best), pad Thai (tofu or chicken is the best choice) read more

Thai Bowl - Pad see ew - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love Thai Bowl always and forever! I just can't get enough & it always bring back good college memories. I went this past week and switched it up a bit by not getting my usual and going for the Chicken Pad Thai. Really tasty pad thai and they had no issue accommodating my special requests of no chili, no bean sprouts, no peanuts----which is super annoying ordering, I realize. Chicken was moist, the dish had the perfect amount of fish sauce for flavor, very solid. We also got the fried tofu appetizer which came with my favorite sweet & sour sauce they have here. With a little kick and so much tofu in the app, it was a great deal! Thai Bowl has the flippin' fastest service ever. Also, it seems to be a cop hot spot! Four tables of the 6 in there were full of cops in different types of copy uniforms. I felt a bit uneasy even though I was just sitting there peacefully eating my noodle yum! read more

Thai Bowl - Chicken Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If you go to a restaurant one day and then return a few days later, said restaurant has to be doing something correct. Some may say that you might return to complain. That is not the case here. Day 1: tom yum goong, panang curry chicken, and Thai ice tea. The first visit was all the more reason why I continue to fall deeper in love with holes in the wall. The tom yum goong was spicy the way I like it and the panang curry chicken blew my mind. The gravy was thick, exactly the way I love it and it the chicken was fresh - not as in it had been "taken care of" in the back. I wrapped it all up with a Thai ice tea. Day 2: tom kha goong, basil chicken, and another Thai ice tea. I can say officially that I have had the best tom kha goong ever. It wasn't just chicken and vegetables swimming around in coconut milk, but there was some sweet curry added. That made all the difference in the world. While the basil chicken was not as spicy as I would have liked it, I chalk it up to me not specifying that. The flavour was there. However, I can devour spicy food without having a fit. Next time I will request spicy. There is a constant flow of students from University of Illinois Circle Centre and locals coming through for carry-out, so the restaurant must be doing something very correct. There is also a constant tide of customers who come for dining at Thai Bowl. Even better because that's more of an indication that they're good. Can't say that I will edit my post to put up Day 3, but there will be a Day 3, 4, and so on. read more

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Yummy, affordable, and good location! Pretty fast too. I believe currently they only do takeout, but it's worth it to support a small business, especially if you live in the area!! read more

My all time favorite place when I was a UIC Student back in 2000's! Best Chicken Pad Thai read more

Thai Bowl - a laptop and a plate of food - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If you're not the type of person who appreciate hole in the wall, mom and pop shops that looks sketchy, then this place is not for you. Now that I consider myself a person who loves and have a passion for smaller old school shops, this place is awesome. It was between 11 and 11:50AM when I swung by and the place was decently packed. There was only one person taking orders and on cash, so that's a lot. I was impressed by the woman maintaining her cool and saw her doing her best to keep everyone happy. I had the pad thai which I believe is their most popular food item on the menu and OH MY GOODNESS. Super tasty, noodles, veggies, and chicken were insane, and a big bowl too! I was super hungry so I ate the whole thing in like 5 minutes I'm looking forward on coming back and trying other stuff from their menu. read more

Thai Bowl - Thai Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Good PadThai but a bit $ Spring rolls are good!! Worth checking out ... No eating inside right now so take out or seat outside patio. read more

The chicken pad Thai is da bomb, phenomenal, absolutely amazing. Best in town in my opinion

ive tried Phad Thia all over, and nothing compares to this It's a must have when I get back to the city

Been coming here for years. Solid consistent good when good service. My go-to is their beef noodle soup. Great broth. read more

A yummy hidden gem! Been coming here since my undergrad years at uic & 3 years later, still tastes great! I tried most Thai places around Taylor street and i would have to say, Thai Bowl is still the best! I ordered a pinang curry (tofu) and chicken pad Thai to go, got home 15 minutes later, and the food was still hot and yummy! It definitely has the right amount of spice and kick to it and the curry has a very creamy consistency! The crab Rangoon also was fried to the right of crisp and the sweet and sour sauce was also a little spicy but still good! This business has been around for many years and it's cooked authentically :) So; if anyone is looking for a Thai place that has a spicy kick, Thai bowl is the place! read more

Had a terrible experience here!! It was like a comedy of errors (bad service). I've been eating here for like 10 years, and it sucks bc after the awful and rude service I received I can NEVER eat here again Here's what happened: My friend was in town from DC. I LOVED this restaurant and I suggested that we eat there. 1. When we arrived the credit card machine was down. (No problem! I walked down to Chase and got cash.) 2. By the time I got back my friend and I asked the cashier (the older woman) if we could pay our bills in advance so that we could save time. At first she said, no. We kind of insisted so she allowed it, but was visibly upset by this. 3. At this point, the service begins to take a turn towards hell. That cashier doesn't bring us water. When we ask for it, she refuses to look at us and she just plopped it on the table. (Weird) 4. When she brings our food, it's clear that she's incredibly angry. She's frowning, silent and won't make eye contact with us - when we asked for soy/hot sauce, she rolled her eyes. (Kinda' unbelievable; why is she even mad!?) 5. At this point I was so frustrated (and embarrassed) bc I brought my friend to a restaurant with such awful service. The restaurant was completely empty so it wasn't like they were busy. We literally did NOTHING to warrant this. Before leaving I decided to level with her and ask her what caused this attitude, while reminding her that I had been eating there for YEARS. She was very dismissive and took a "if you don't like it, leave" attitude. So I did! The food is fine, but not good enough to get abused over. (Shrug) Because this woman seemed so comfortable behaving rudely I imagine that this was not her first time, or that I am the only one who experienced this. I would highly discourage anyone from eating here! read more

Fast service, polite staff, good food. Portions are big for the price. Would recommend the tom kha!!

Having gotten take out once a week since starting working at UIC in 2005 and having tried everything on the menu, I've focused my orders on three dishes in rotation: - pin noodles duck: duck pad thai using slices of roast duck and pin noodles. Great when duck is fresh and not too heavy on the sauce. Bonus one time, when I got a whole duck drumstick in my order. - crazy noodles/drunken noodles/pad kee mao: flat rice noodles, with a variety of vegetables, with a little kick - better with a light touch on the sauce. - basil chicken rice - a little out of rotation these days, but not out of consideration. basil and ground chicken and rice. Green peppers mixed in, gives you a little more vegetables for nutritional value but at the cost of taking away from the basil as the star of the dish. I guess you could ask for no green peppers or set them aside to be eaten separately. Order two or more entrees to go and you'll get an appetizer thrown in. Their printed menu has remained consistent through the years with only expected price increases. There are specials that are posted above the cashier counter at the restaurant that I admit I have not tried. read more