Medium spicy is really spicy. If you don't like spicy get mild and add sriracha to taste. Best pho in Champaign! Gets insanely busy there for a small staff, be prepared to be patient. They work hard and have great food. read more

Thara Thai - Thai Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Extremely overpriced. Food is ok, not great, but portion sizes are big. If you like SPICY Thai food, they will do that for you. It's cramped in there, and in winter it is drafty. There are other, better options for Thai food in CU, especially by price. read more

The food is decent, not great. Their prices...OUTRAGEOUS! They charged me $50.15 for a soup and fried rice. Service is good.

Came from Texas...and stumbled on Thara Thai...DELICIOUS and very friendly, their is only waitress and she is super awesome and courteous!!! I am for 2 months and I have been coming on the weekends...it's worth palate!!!! Enjoy... read more

Thara Thai - Thai Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This place charges $20 for green curry/red curry for reference and charges $5 for substitutions. I get inflation is high but to pay $27 for one item at this price? I would recommend another thai restaurant. They increased the price unreasonably and using inflation as an excuse. read more

I got the pineapple chicken and My wife had a dish that it forget the name of right now:( Wait staff is very friendly we had a child with us, they we're very accommodating. Nice clean restaurant big portions of food. We were just traveling through and it had the most stars on yelp for Thai food so we thought we try it we were delighted! Not the cheapest but well worth it! read more

Thara Thai - Thai Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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This is the definition of a mom and pop hole in the wall restaurant that has great food - but don't go in expecting a slick restaurant. This is the kind of place where the family does everything - including waiting tables. Service is not the reason you go to Thara Thai, although they are very friendly people; it's about THE FOOD. I haven't actually eaten in the restaurant in ages, preferring carry out, which is very efficient. As another person said, the portions here are HUGE. My most recent order of pad thai chicken was enough food for literally, three meals. One of the things about this place is that unlike some restaurants they don't skimp on carryout order portions. To the contrary. I honestly haven't tried many dishes here as I tend to rotate between the AMAZING panang curry and the chicken pad thai. The Tom Yum soup is excellent and the spring rolls are my fave in town. They often run out of spring rolls, however. If you want a Thai date night experience, go to Siam Terrace in Urbana or My Thai in Champaign. read more

Unfortunately due to the Covid situation people are not allowed to sit in the restaurant and dine. As take out the food is good. Really enjoy the ginger chicken over rice. #GoodFood read more

A little while in the wall but very tasty and reasonably priced! I lo ve how you can order any dish and tell them how spicy you want it... I'm getting hungry for Thara Thai just thinking about it! read more

Food was authentic and tasty. If you love spicy food, look no further! Friendly and attentive staff. A gem.

Great food. Started with crab Rangoon and they were really good. I got red curry with chicken and my girlfriend got the sweet and sour chicken. Red Curry was phenomenal, sweet and sour was also really good. read more

Stopped here for lunch on the way back to Chicago. Two words: spicy and delicious. I ordered Basil Spicy Noodles and my friend ordered Green Curry, both with medium spice and shrimp. The egg noodles and all the veggies combined very well in my dish, and the shrimps were pleasantly plump and cooked perfectly. The sauce was so delicious I ate too much! The Green Curry was spectacularly tasting with a delicate sweetness to it. My friend piled on more chiles the waitress provided - he was sweating bullets and loving it! We ended the meal with Mango Sticky rice. Mango was succulent and ripe, and the rice the perfect level of coconut sweetness. Definitely a must have for dessert. One con was the price - $49 before tip for a drink, two entrees, and dessert. So a little more expensive than most Thai places. But I will be coming back here if I ever come through Champaign again because the food is spectacular and is more than worth the price. read more

Thara Thai - Mango Sticky Rice. Succulent! - Thai Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Best Thai restaurant ever!!! Been going there for almost 20 years and the food has stayed deliciously consistent. Super friendly service, family owned and you feel like you are a part of the family when you dine there. read more

Celebration means happy tummy and my favorite place to celebrate any event is Thara Thai. They serve the best thai food in town. read more

Thara Thai - Forgot the name. Fried Tilapia cooked with asparagus and garnished with lemon leaves . It smells so fresh - Thai Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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This place won't disappoint in the taste or quantity department. Very good noodle dishes, highly recommend

This is easily the best Thai food in Champaign-Urbana. I've never been disappointed. The depth of flavor is everything you'd hope for. They scale the spice on a level of 1-3, but if you want it extra hot, you can ask them to make it "Thai spicy," and they'll add even more heat. The restaurant doesn't look like much on the outside (or the inside), and you might drive right past it without even noticing. That would be a mistake. The chef knows what he/she is doing. It's well above the median range for a sit-down restaurant in terms of price (most dishes in the $13-18 range). To be fair, though, these are fairly typical for quality East (or Southeast) Asian restaurants, and the portions are large. The staff are always friendly and attentive. Overall, it's an excellent restaurant! read more

"So where do you want to eat tonight, since you're the visitor?" Nathan asked as we piled into the car. "Um, I have no freaking clue," I said uncertainly. "How about Asian food?" "We could take you to the most decent Thai place in the area," Anna suggested. "Most Decent Thai? That's teh best name ever!" And so began a delightful culinary experience. Thara Thai (forever known to me as Most Decent Thai), is the best you're going to hope for in all of scenic Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. If you have scaled your expectations appropriately, you will appreciate it for the deliciosity that it is. We had panang curry, mock duck, and green curry, and all were tasty. They do make it terrifyingly spicy if you ask, so an ample warning served to keep my meal on the "hot" side rather than "San Diego Wildfire" (too soon?). The decor is a strange amalgamation between Thai restaurant and pancake house, which I am convinced it once was. Something vaguely Alpine/German lurks beneath the varnished wooden seats and gaudy Thai calendar images, I'm just saying. Well worth it for a food stop if you're in C-U, or if you end up becoming a graduate student at UIUC, which I am heavily, heavily considering doing.... read more

My biggest beef: HIGH PRICES. The price point is extremely way off. Tom Kha = $13.99 Yellow Curry = $10.99 I've never had to pay more than $5.95 for Tom Kha nor over $7.95 for yellow curry....and I live in Chicago. I'm not sure who they think they are trying to cater to....the king and queen of Thailand? I know they have a picture of them hanging up in the restaurant, but they are not fooling me. As far as taste, the food was average. Not terrible by any means, but there is definitely better, especially for what you're paying for. I'm half Thai, so I have the authority to assess this. Not a fan. read more

Solid mom and pop spot that makes their dishes SPICY! I had the red curry hot (as opposed to mild or medium) and it was perfect. Seems to attract quite the software developer crowd--what's up geeks? Now all Champaign needs is an Indian place! read more

This is probably one of the most delicious and authentic Thai restaurants I have been too! I went here 2x with my roommate! I introduced her to Thai curry and she loved it and wanted to come back here for lunch on our last day in Champaign! Our first time, we came here for dinner and ordered the pad thai, massamum curry, and the Satay Chicken appetizer! So yummy! For lunch we both ordered the red curry and I opted for the mild heat....which still caused me the sniffles! LoL. Oh and I absolutely love their milk green tea beverage! They brew their own green tea, add some sweetner, and whole milk in a cup of ice! Absolutely YUMMY! Not like that chalky Starbucks Iced Green Tea shhhcrap! Overall, I loved the food here and this was my favorite iEats spot in Champaign for sure!!! read more

I got red curry with tofu from two different places in one week! This makes my stomach very happy, of course, but the extra bonus was that I got to compare one of my favorite Thai dishes at two local restaurants. Thara Thai's red curry beats the bamboo shoots out of Basil Thai's red curry. That's not just a cute saying, either, friends. I don't know what they did to make normally-bland bamboo shoots taste so good. But whatever they did, just thinking about them makes serotonin leak out of my ears. The decor reminded me of a mix between a George Webb's and every other Thai restaurant in the world. The service was *awesome.* Our waitress had a winning smile and was taking care of the busy restaurant all by herself. The food came out promptly, water was refilled often, and we were happy. P.S. The Crab Rangoon also did not disappoint. read more

My husband and I went to Thara Thai after the recommendation from our friends. Till now we had tried only one restaurant for Thai food in Champaign and the experience was horrible as all the dishes were too sweet for our palate. So, we finally decided to give a try to Thara Thai. We went there at 4 pm and only 3 tables were filled. We got seated quickly. We ordered chicken satay, tom yum shrimp and pad Thai noodles with shrimp, all medium spicy. Chicken satay was low on spice but tasted nice with the peanut sauce. Tom yum soup had loads of shrimp and tasted really nice with juicy mushrooms. It had a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors. Pad Thai was nice. Overall my ratings are: Chicken Satay: 7/10 Tom yum soup: 9/10 Pad Thai noodles with shrimp: 7/10 I would love to go back and try papaya salad and seafood pad ped. read more

If I could marry the food at Thara Thai, I would. So many restaurants before it had trouble staying open in the same location, so what a relief that the service and food have convinced people to keep coming! The prices have gotten a bit higher since they first opened some time around 2003 or 2004, but it is worth it. There are no bad curries on the menu (Panang being my favorite), the noodle dishes are fabulous as are the pho options! And the papaya salad is such a tasty treat to be enjoyed on a hot summer day. I have lived in two metropolitan areas in my lifetime (Minneapolis and Chicago), and I maintain that Thara Thai beats out any Thai I've had in either area. read more

4 star food. Love the food. You know it's good when it's full at 3pm on a weekday, and when lots of pan-Asian people eat there! For a typical Thai menu it has some good chef specialties like Pineapple Pad Thai, and it isn't overly cheap (most dishes are between $8-13), but the food is excellent. Ambience slightly weird, but it is clean and the service is quick. read more

I had asked, medium spicy Yellow curry. Was served very spicy food. I asked server to fix the dish. Server instead of immediately taking my dish to kitchen and get it fixed, went to 4 tables served them water, took their orders, gave invoices to 3 other customers, then came to my table picked up my dish and took to kitchen after 15min. When I asked the logic of keeping me waiting for 15 mins, I was told that he has to go in order. He cannot break the order. The owner came out and said there is only one chef and that is why food got spicy, they are short of servers and that is why delay in picking my dish. I am amazed how they run their business. I would not visit again Not recommended, service is to bad. read more

I'm mad at my husband.* So I've lived in Champaign for around 4 years now, and I hadn't been to Thara Thai until recently. Every time my husband took me out for Thai, it was to My Thai or Nitaya Thai. Every time I would say, "Hey, I've never been to Thara Thai, let's try it because I don't actually like My Thai that much" he would be like "Let's not because every time I go there with 40 other people for lunch it takes a long time. Let's just go to My Thai." So I finally went to Thara Thai with a group of friends. I can't believe I've been missing out on Thara Thai for so long! GRR HUSBAND*. The pros: FOOD. The food is AMAZING. I'm a fiend for eggplant dishes, but haven't found one that has knocked me out of the park at any of the other local Thai restaurants. The eggplant basil stir fry dish is phenomenal. I ordered a mild spice level, even though I like spice, just because I was afraid of going too hot. Next time, I'll definitely get medium, since I ended up dousing my dish with sriracha. The dish clearly took time and effort to make, and the result was phenomenal. The prices are on the higher side, but not unreasonable for a date night or special outing. I had a Thai iced tea, and it was very, very good. The service was great - very prompt, water glasses were filled, super friendly. The cons: The wait time can be long. Again, I recommend it for a date, or for a dinner where you might have some extra time to spare. I don't think it would be good for a business or mid-day lunch break, as you might not get done within an hour if you go with a group. Again, price is a little steep, but considering that the food is housemade and not just scooped from a vat of prepared food, these things are worth it. *Disclaimer - not really mad. May be taking some liberties here. read more

So far every dish I've ever had here has been great but the real reason for the 5 stars is the papaya salad. I'm always on the lookout for a yummy papaya salad and it's definitely been a challenge being so far away from home. But the one at Thara Thai is everything I could want...fresh, tasty, crunchy, spicy. I've also tried the green, red, and panang curries. Delicious! The pad thai and pad see ew noodles are also delish. I've also tried their version of "pho" and it was decent but I'd rather just stick to the traditional Thai dishes at Thara Thai and get pho somewhere else (like at the new Saigon restaurant). I can't remember how fast the service is because I usually order takeout but I do know that the people that work their are extremely nice and friendly. The food can get pretty spicy...even a "medium" is sweat-inducing...so order with caution. My only complaint is that the prices are a little higher than what I'm used to back home. But you can get a great deal at lunch time. I'd still go there anyways because I think they're the best Thai food in town! read more

This place is awesome. I am half thai and this is legit. We ordered papaya salad which was awesome. Very authentic taste just be careful if you order spicy. Ordered tom kha tofu. That was one of the best soups I've had in a long time. Lad Nar tofu and Chinese brocolli were also the best I have had in a long time. Prices are around $10 and up for dishes but you get a huge portion for two. Thai lady was super nice and a thai lady in back was throwing down. Try this place out if you have a taste for thai food on your travels. This place is right off the highway. read more

Thara Thai - Thai Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Pretty good Thai restaurant in the middle of nowhere... It's literally by an highway exit, so my expectations were pretty low when I went there for dinner. They became even lower when I entered the place and saw that there were only two customers... on a Saturday night! But guess what: the food was actually pretty good. It bothers me a little bit that they have Chinese items listed on the menu when the owners are obviously Thai, but at the Thai food was good. I started with the fish cakes with sweet chili sauce: they were quite good and almost to the ones I used to have in the Bay Area. I then ordered the red curry with chicken, and it was also quite tasty. The service was also very friendly. Probably not the best Thai food I've had, but it was very decent. I do think, though, that it's a little overpriced: I think the entrees could be $1 or $2 cheaper. Still... I'll probably be back. read more

Full disclosure - I'm picky about my Thai food. Not just because I've had the real deal in Thailand but because I have a limited palette for spicy food and certain textures often found in Thai cuisine. When the server asked what level of spices (nothing, mild, medium, hot) I went with mild on my sweet and sour chicken. I didn't want anything too bland so I figured mild was a pretty safe bet. OMG, wrongo! Yeah, my lips were burning after only a couple bites. I will say, however, that it was mighty tasty and that I did my best to finish a pretty significant chunk of it. I also had a few bites of Mike's Pad Thai which he also ordered mild. His was very slightly less extreme as mine but still had a pretty powerful kick. Overall, I thought the food was great, despite their interpretation of "mild" heat. I think that by asking for no spice that I would enjoy it even more. My only other complaint would be that I had to flag down our server for water. There were only a couple tables full of people but I felt the server was MIA too often. And every second counts when your mouth is on fire! read more

I love this place even though it can be a little pricey. Super nice people, great service, and wonderful food! I generally get Tom Kha Gai there but I've never been disappointed with any of my dishes. Do keep in mind that they are serious about their spice levels. :) read more

Amazing thai place, that serves more than simply thai cuisine. My favorite dish there (to be fair, I have never tried anything other than this same dish) is the General Tso's Chicken, which isn't a traditional thai dish. I always order my food "Thai Spicy" which clears up your sinuses, but it's exactly the way I want it. They are the only Asian restaurant I've found that will actually listen when I tell them to hurt me, spicy food wise. The place is run by a family. The server during the lunch is usually the son, who is extremely nice (he left the restaurant to help a guy in a wheel chair struggling in freshly fallen snow!) and the mom is usually back in the kitchen pumping out the food orders. They're quite a team! I've moved away for school, but am back in CU a lot and always make it a point to hit this place up when I'm around. During the dinner hours, as with many Asian restaurants the food isn't the cheapest (still, very fair for what you're getting) but the lunch specials are fantastic. My favorite lunch dish runs about $7.95, which is a couple bucks off the normal price. Little hole in the wall place that you'd never guess would be as amazing as it is. read more

Been coming for years but tonight I brought my sisters from Los Angeles. Hands down the best Thai food just about anywhere. I have been to most top 20 Thai restaurants LA, Philadelphia, and Boston..... This is the best Thai food. Yes it is slightly pricier than the others in town, but when you can't even compare them you must come here!!!! Period. And you get a chocolate fortune cookie! read more

This is a tiny place next to an economy hotel. It's decor is cluttered. It doesn't feel clean but that could be because most of the tables sat full of dirty dishes. I ordered iced tea and basil chicken. The tea had that nasty old tea flavor. I specifically asked the waitress if it was freshly brewed. We waited way too long for our food after we ordered. 45 minutes. We had just discussed leaving when the food arrived. I've eaten basil chicken at various Thai places across the country. Never have I paid so much for so little. It was a small amount and when I tasted it, it tasted like any generic Chinese dish - not all all like I expected. The veggies were overcooked and soggy. And by veggies, i mean sliced onion. That's all there was. Onion and chicken. There were about 2 basil leaves, which imparted no basil flavor. I can't understand why this place has such good reviews. It was filthy and the food was bad and expensive. read more

One of my absolute favorite places to eat in CU. I've been eating there pretty much as long as it's been open and there are very few Thai places that can compare. The staff is always incredibly friendly. The owner and all her family are really friendly and always make you feel welcome. You might want to show up a little early for lunch as it can get very busy at that time. One thing you'll notice right away as you're eating are the quality ingredients which to me justifies the price of the dishes here. My favorite dish there is the Thom Kha Gai. At this point it is like comfort food for me. Whenever I'm having a down day or if I feel like I'm coming down with a cold I'll go in and order it. It has a lot of different levels of flavor that you just don't get anywhere else in town. There's just a lot more ingredients in the dish then most places and they blend perfectly. I never, ever leave anything other than an empty bowl. I usually get it about mild to medium spicy. The thing to remember when ordering here is that their spiciness levels can vary and almost always swing towards HOTTER than you might expect. So always get mild if you have any fear of getting too hot of a dish. I have yet to be disappointed by their curry, but my favorite is probably the Massaman curry. I'd also recommend their spring rolls and their pot stickers for an appetizer. Although I've never tried it, one of my friend's can't stop getting their Duck so that might be worth a try as well. I might steer clear of the Pad Thai here. Strangely it's the only thing I've never been 100% happy with, but frankly you can get a decent Pad Thai just about anywhere so it's more fun to branch out and try something new. read more

Good little spot. But service is sketchy and food can take forever. The curry is very spicy (by American standards), but the spring rolls are amazing! We have ate here a bunch of times... so it's worth the downfalls. I do wish they would keep more regular hours and clean up a bit more, so that's the 4 star instead of 5. read more

Horrific decor, terrible location, great food. Prices are a little bit higher than you would expect for fast-food Asian food, but this place's quality is higher than your standard fast-food Asian joint (though it looks no better). The Mock Duck dish is one of their best. FYI, mock duck is seasoned seitan, aka wheat gluten and is similiar to tofu in that it is a plant-based protein that is pretty flavor-neutral until it is made a part of a dish, but is different in that its texture more closely resembles meat and it seems to have more protein and fiber. I think that like many places, the takeout portions are larger. read more

Hands down my favorite Thai place in CU. This little nook of a restaurant is surprisingly authentic - I believe it's run by a Thai family. The location is a bit sketch (in a motel parking lot), but the food is amazing and worth the trip out to bufu. The menu is traditional Thai dishes (none of that fusion nonsense), and if you ask for spicy they will deliver...It's a little bit pricier than the takeout/eat in Thai places around town and a bit farther from campus, but imho it's worth the trip out if you're serious about your thai food. My faves from the menu are the pineapple fried rice, the duck dish and the mango/sticky rice for dessert. read more

It's usually a battle between the two of us as to which Thai place we get to go to on our trips back to Champaign: Golden Wok or Thara Thai. This place has the best pad see ew I've had. Period. This even includes the cao he fun in Chinese places. Also, their spicyness scale is a bit skewed to the crazy spicy side, where even Medium borders the too spicy side for me. Service is relatively slow, so if you're meeting up with some people here, expect to spend a decent amount of time there. Even though this place is a bit more expensive than the other places in the area but it's worth stopping by. read more

Sitting here since 30 mins. The guy doesn't even take a look. Told him that we are ready with the order and he doesn't even come back. Saw the reviews were good and thought of trying it out. I won't recommend this place of you have time constraint because it will be atleast 40-45 minutes before you come and get the order on your table. ---- Edited Had that experience just once. Has been a quick service there. My favorite is Basil Fried Rice! read more