Love Urban Belly! Had the tofu and pea shoots rice and husband had the pork belly and pineapple. Both were delicious. Especially love their housemade soy sauce. Sad to see their west loop location go as this was closer to our house. read more

The Urbanbelly Phat Bowl is exactly what you are looking for if you want a homemade noodle Asian dish. Filled with delicious flavors and super fresh homemade noodles, the Phat Bowl along with the Thai style fried chicken are out of this world good. The sweet and spicy sauce for the chicken is from another planet delicious. Get these two entrees and you will be leaving happy & full!! read more

Solid stop in while walking around the neighborhood. There's nothing gimmicky about the place just some solid food at a clean place. The noodle bowl was on point and the chicken Katsu bowl was great. We will be back. read more

the fries are good if u ask for just salted. so so so much chili on the fries and in the curry mayonnaise. i got the shrimp veggie and rice bowl. wow. very underwhelming. the shrimp has almost 0 flavor, it looks like they popped them in a pot of boiling water and put them on a plate. came with rice, a plain soft boiled egg, some sort of spicy sauce, kimchi, pickled cucumbers, edamame and arugula. very strange combo that unfortunately, didn't work well together. the flavor was as present as the support from my mother when i came out as gay.... overall wouldn't come back. read more

Urbanbelly - sad sad Shrimp - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Got the thai fried chicken, ramen and stir fry pork belly udon and they were all pretty salty to my taste. The sauce for the thai fried chicken is a bit too sour. Overall I would not come back again as the food was not so great and you have much better option in the area. read more

Surprised the reviews are so average for this place! Went here Friday night with a friend. You order at the counter and they bring your food to you. I love the huge windows they have - great views of Big Star and people walking by on Damen. I ordered a udon noodle bowl with chicken katsu plus sides of kimchi and the fries (forget the name). The noodle bowl isn't huge but it's more filling than you think. Noodles are really thick and tasty. Kimchi was pretty spicy and the fries with the curry seasoning were delicious. Highly recommend splitting those for two. Everything was quite cheap too! I thought the staff was also super friendly here which definitely bumps the review up to 5 stars. Very impressed by everyything and would gladly go back! read more

Surprised this place has average reviews. Definitely don't pass over this place. The flavors are phenomenal and very different from the other Asian restaurants in the neighborhood. A friend of ours always orders from here when she's visiting and it's in one of our regular "what do you want to eat" rotation of restaurants. Recommendations: lemongrass chicken, the katsu rice cake soup, phat style rice or noodle bowl. read more

3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 for nice decor and fast food service. My girlfriend and I ordered the phat noodles (~11 dollars) with lemongrass chicken, and the belly burrito with lemongrass chicken (8 dollars). The phat noodles are inherently somewhat spicy, even when choosing a mild level, so the worker added pineapples in the noodles since my gf doesn't like super spicy food. The phat noodles are similar to udon noodles, which I really like, so I enjoyed those. There was also chicken and egg on top, and we had more of that left over since we ate all the noodles. I wasn't a huge fan of having egg in there, but it wasn't a deal breaker. The belly burrito included your choice of protein (of which I got the lemongrass chicken) fried rice, and veggies. The rice was chewy and wasn't hard like I thought it was going to be, which was good. The burrito quickly got bland after awhile though, since there's no sauce they put inside. It does come with a side of sauce, which is somewhat spicy but I didn't think added too much flavor to the burrito. Overall, the meal wasn't bad and wasn't expensive either ($18), but we weren't blown away by what we ordered. There was nothing else that really appealed to me on the menu either, so I'm not sure if I'll be returning. read more

We really wanted to love this a lot more than we did. My boyfriend and I had heard from a few people to come and try it out, but we were definitely underwhelmed. Maybe it was what we chose(pork belly pineapple bowl& lemongrass chicken veggie bowl) but it was bland and we didn't even want to finish it. Service was nice and place has cool decor, we will try once more and maybe get the ramen next time. read more

It was very good. The food was tasty and also the ambience was great and awesome. I would recommend this to everyone.

Wonderful service and great suggestions by the waitstaff. Bill Kim has knocked it out of the park with his wide array of cutting edge Asian fusion cuisine. From the choice of dumplings to the Udon and Rice dishes and their toppings, you cannot go wrong. Dont forget the soft serve peanut butter and jelly. read more

Urbanbelly - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As a substitute for Penny's, UB comes up short in a few key areas. 1) dishes are $3-4 pricier on average 2) aforementioned price increases come with less service 3) "fusion" needs a little less fusin' and more focus on simply making tasty food 4) icy head on beer is not something i ever want to taste again, never ever never To expand a bit on each. Yes, I didn't expect UB to be as cheap as Penny's, but for smaller portions and not much of a pop in ambience, service, nor selection, i'm struggling to find the reasons for the level of the price hike. The service follows one of the dreaded fast-casual models which I've quickly come to abhor due to the confusion which it inevitably brings about. Call me an old codger if you must, but "What items (water, silverware, condiments) do patrons get on their own, who does the bussing, if i leave tip with the cashier, does that go to the server/potential busser or do I need to tip more" are all questions that I prefer be answered immediately and clearly one way or the other. With regard to the meal, the pork dumplings are solid but unremarkable, the pad thai is an ill-conceived mess, and the phat rice was the best dish we tried but for goodness sakes, would it kill restaurants to put in actual beef instead of purely gristle? Finally, what in god's name is the rationale behind freezing the head of a beer? if the intent is to create a diluted beer flavored ice barrier to prevent the flow of actual liquid beer to your mouth, then they have succeeded with flying colors. Why anyone would want to make the physical act of drinking more difficult for the consumer is gimmick gone horribly awry. In conclusion, rising commercial rents continue to drain the lifeblood of bucktown/wicker park, and I'm none too happy about it. read more

Hip, casual spot about a mile from the 606. Good food and service with a small outdoor seating area. I had the pork belly ramen which was slightly spicy for me, but I'm not big on spicy food in general. The shrimp/pork shumai were also good. A good place to stop at when you're in the area and want something casual. read more

Delivery Coconut Curry Chicken Pho was fresh and flavorful with just the rick kick and delicious noodles. The portion is enough for two meals easy. My coworker ordered the Phat Rice and was really enjoying the variety of flavors. Delivery was prompt and food was properly wrapped and warm. read more

Ok sums it up. We ordered the dumplings, pad thai, shrimp and each got a drink. The dumplings were delicious and were probably our favorite. We split the pad thai and shrimp for the main. The pad thai was not what I was expecting (round rice cake noodles) which was a nice change. The shrimp and pad thai were fine but not particularly memorable. What was memorable was how small everything was for the price. read more

Re: PB&J Pretty Cool Ice Cream - Highly Recommend; Extraordinarily High-Quality Product; One of Best Ice Creams. Packaging well designed and insulated to keep cool for transit. Delicious raspberry shell accentuates the savory peanut butter ice cream. High-quality w first ingredients milk, cream, and sugar and real delicious creamy peanut butter. LOVE LOVE read more

TRUST ME. Don't go here it's truly disgusting and has zero flavor and we couldn't even finish half of our bowls. We all left feeling sick. Not even close to being Asian food. Don't be fooled by the cool names and design. Top 5 worst restaurant in Chicago. read more

My curry bowl w tofu just about beat me to my table and it was great. It had a nice flavor and delish veggies and rice. The side sauces were also tasty. The place had a good vibe and the staff was super friendly, helpful and efficient. read more

First off, this restaurant is structured like Panera in that you order at a register and then they deliver your food to the table. The tables are mostly long tables that don't provide much privacy if you're only with one or two friends and the restaurant is busy. However, I really enjoyed the way the restaurant was designed as it was interesting. It was also clean, the food got out quickly, and the employees were nice. The reason why I didn't really enjoy the restaurant was solely because of the food. I got Phat Rice and Urbanbelly Ramen. Both seemed to mix different Asian tastes including Indian curry. I wasn't expecting that and while I enjoy all Asian foods including Indian curry, having it all mixed together wasn't enjoyable. I by no means hated the food, I just wouldn't go there on my own. However, if somebody I wanted to eat there really badly I would go along. In regards to the Ramen, there are definitely better places to get ramen. I do prefer more traditional ramen though, so do take that into consideration when deciding whether to go to Urbanbelly. read more

Had fried rice and frozen rosé here on a 90-degree day. It totally hit the spot. The service was fast and the staff was friendly. I come here whenever I'm in Chicago! read more

Never fails! Love them. Now on Damen, have been going here ever since they were in Avondale.

After having been to the West Loop location, we were skeptical about trying the new location but gave it a go. Things are tasty, but like my original post, lack an identity. It really messes with your ability to have a satisfying meal. The Urban Belly Ramen has a nice pork belly, but portions are small and lacking the variety of ingredients you find in most ramen bowls. The Phat Udon was tasty, but had three distinct portions - lemongrass chicken, pork belly, and a bulgogi-type meat; the three meats were so distinct in flavors that it was like eating three mini meals that didn't flow together. Also had the Phat Rice on a separate occasion and it has the exact same curry flavors as the lemongrass chicken of the Phat Udon. Now that I see they have the same name, that makes sense, but it was literally the same dish just on a bed of noodles instead of rice - it wasn't interesting to the palette. I wouldn't come back unless I had a desperate taste for Asian food (and I mean "Asian" food). But then again, there's a lot of other Asian cuisine in the area to pick from. read more

This place has been disappointing for the past year or so. Today in particular. Cold unseasoned tofu in a curry bowl? Yuck. My son's ramen was just off and "lame." $35 for two entrees, side of kimchee, and two tiny dumplings is just insulting. And now I got me a real urbanbelly ache. Ouch. read more

Asian fusion is kind of getting old, and this place is no exception. I ordered the chicken katsu plate and the rice was clearly old or bottom of the bowl- chewy and hard. For the price, I was a little miffed, but the chicken was good enough. Employees are super nice and the mixed drinks are cute and clever. I'd give this place a go again, but with all the other moderately cheap eats in the area, I doubt I will. read more

As sad as it is to see Penny's go, especially for two transplants who have a particular affinity for cheap Thai food, we (specifically my fiance) are happy to welcome to the neighborhood its replacement Urban Belly! The Friday dinner crowd, its first weekend service, was at the newly remodeled space to celebrate the opening. Having not been to the West Loop location or its sister restaurant Belly Shack under the "Western" L, I had very little to expect other than I knew they had reasonably priced ramen, noodles, and rice dishes. The Phat Rice and Pad Thai here are stellar. The Phat Rice included pork belly, lemongrass chicken, AND bibimbap beef. All great. The Pad Thai came with some rather non-traditional noodles and shrimp. I would certainly recommend both dishes. Customer service was attentive and friendly, and the waiters were quick with the dishes and any requests we had. While it is not bang-for-your-buck as Penny's, this is a fine option to have a few blocks away. I am eager to try some more dishes and hopefully have an opportunity to enjoy one of the in-house cocktails. read more

Urban belly is so good!!!! Super casual place-- you walk in and order/pay at the counter. The menu is simple and reasonably priced. I got some dumplings (they're only a dollar a piece at the start of the month) and an urban bowl (fried rice with tofu). The food came out super fast. It does come out as it's ready, so you may not be eating at the exact same time as your friends. For instance, someone in my group got some sort of katsu soup bowl and his came out last because it takes longer to make the katsu. The dumplings were really delicious and came out the fastest. My fried rice was cooked perfectly and had amazing flavor. I paid about 10 dollars for my meals and had tons of leftovers. Someone else in the group got fries with dipping sauce and it was SOOOO good! The service was absolutely amazing. The woman who helped us at the front counter gave us fantastic suggestions since we said it was our first time there. She was kind, friendly, and patient. Our server and busser, I believe her name was Norma, was AMAZING and truly accommodating of our group. She was kind, funny, and very easy to talk to. We chatted with her and found out that Urban Belly is the flagship restaurant of BellyQ too! I love BellyQ, and this restaurant is right up there with it. Great overall experience! Definitely going back again! read more

Urbanbelly - Dumplings! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I'm an Urbanbelly fan. Id often order dinner and the next day's lunch from their first location so when I saw the wicker park location opening I was stoked to be even closer! I stopped in on their opening week knowing opening weeks can be tough. Well, it was busy and service was still great. Ordered quickly, sat down by the window and my beer and food came right out. Yum, the food was just as good as always. Here are a few key recommendations of what to order.... Everything. read more

Urbanbelly - Phat Rice and Kirin Ichiban - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Very good quality food this location doesn't get as much love as the others but the quality is just as good ! Very clean and well mannered staff that will help you if this is your first experience! Nice ambiance with open seating which is nice of your willing to strike up a convo with your neighbors! Good beer selection and the food is on point ! read more

Lemon grass bowl -6/10 Spicy chicken miso soup - 3/10 not enough dumplings or veggies...stay away Coconut Curry Pho -8/10 read more

I'm a bit hesitant to give the 3 star rating, as it's only a recent visit that knocked them down a notch for me. I've tried Urbanbelly a few times and have loved it each time, but my last visit not so much. Most recent order: Phat Noodles. This dish was a salt bomb. I ate about a third of it and gave up as my taste buds were begging for water. The flavors themselves had the potential to shine, between the pork belly, the curry, and the udon. I tried eating just the udon, and the savoriness of the dish balanced out. I think the the ratio of meat and udon noodles were different this dish would be a hit. However, as is, it got painful to eat. Past favorites: Pork & Cilantro buns. YUM! These were fantastic. Everything you expect in a bun. I also LOVE cilantro. Jr. Ramen. This order is the perfect portion for getting your ramen fix without feeling super guilty. However, the portion size is probably its best feature. If you were to order a full sized ramen, and wanted only ramen, It falls a little low on the priority list, especially when you have a couple other ramen shops in the area that are staples. read more

I'm usually a fan of fusion places but this was definitely lacking. My friend got one of the rice bowls and I got the ramen, one of their specialties. There wasn't that much meat in her bowl and the ramen was pretty sad and salty. Their drinks are probably much better and we will perhaps come back for happy hour but definitely go elsewhere for the food. They have a very loose interpretation of what "Asian" fusion is and it's simply not worth for what you get. read more

Love this place and will definitely be back. The food is excellent and the service was top notch. Norma was the best to us!! That's probably why I love it even more. Also their match mint Ice tea.. delicious. Would highly recommend. read more

In love this place! Every time I visit my friend I make sure to stop here for the coconut pho, it's delicious! The staff are always friendly and helpful, Norma is great! My friend got one of the current specials and was very happy with her meal as well. read more

Came here on a Friday night with my friend. The place wasn't packed but it was pretty full with a constant stream of people coming in and out. The place is modern and sleek in the design and there are high seats near the windows or benches for seating. It's in a convenient location located right next to the Damen blue line stop. It's one of those​ restaurants where you order first, get a number, then seat yourself and receive your food. I ordered the phat noodle and mint matcha tea. Ordering was nice and quick. The moment I was seated, my drink came out. My friend and I were sitting for less than 5 minutes before our meal came out. The portion looked small but it was filling. The flavors were tasty. My friend said the flavors tasted like Thai food. Tasted like slightly varied asian stir fry to me. The noodles were nice and gummy and I enjoyed the textures of the different meats and scrambled eggs. The best part of the dish was that the taste did not get tiring. The mint match tea wasn't anything spectacular. Tasted as it sounds. Now that I look back, $3 for it seemed a bit pricey. I would want to try the cocktails. They seemed to have a few that looked relatively inexpensive. If I was in the area and needed a quick to-go meal, I would definitely choose this over a chain restaurant like Chipotle which operates the same way. The prices are a bit higher than a chain, but the quality is proportionally better as well. read more

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First time here on the first of June.It was a little bit of serendipity finding out they had a $1 dumpling special. Great service by Norma (and everybody else of course) along with great food from the kitchen. You must try the pork and cilantro dumplings and some of the pb&j soft serve on your way out. read more

Great food, and superb service. Make sure to ask for Norma. She rocks! The sweet potato dumplings were phenomenal with a sweet maple taste to it. Also, highly recommend the beer read more

Really excellent ramen (get the diced pork belly). Service was outstanding. Our server Norma provided thoughtful suggestions and made the experience fun. Great choice for something unique and different but not pretentious. read more

What took me so long. Great vibe, under the blue line and more importantly Fascinating home noodles and kimichi. I got the coconut Pho w chicken. It's so huge. The philosophy behind Chef Bill Kim fused and easy going atmosphere with fine food. I've lived in NYC, LA and Chicago, this is my favorite Noodle shop of the three cities. read more

Urbanbelly - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very pleasant Cinco de Mayo here. Got to sit on the patio, ordered rice w/ chicken katsu. Super crispy chicken and great fried rice. Real friendly staff. Gf got a frozae with a cardboard straw, they take a lot of notice to the little things. Damen and Division is where it's happening. read more

I ate here like 4 months ago and am still thinking about that green coconut curry crab rangoon soup...at least that's how I remember it. Dude gotta get back here soon, i liked the vibe and the price and I'm still thinking about it months later so that's saying something. read more