Top 10 Most Famous Thai Restaurants In Chicago
The Most Famous Thai Restaurants In Chicago
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A flight from Chicago to Southeast Asia will take the better part of a day (and likely several thousand dollars). Fortunately, the city is teeming with excellent Thai restaurants that provide a taste of the region with far less effort. You'll embark on a culinary journey, sampling dishes such as crying tiger beef, tom yum soup, and everyone's favorite—pad Thai.

Those dishes, however, only scratch the surface of the Thai cuisine, and there's a lot more to try for adventurous eaters. Intriguing bites abound on the following menus, from funky green papaya salad with preserved crab and fish to Northern Thai-style larb made of ground pork and intestines. Many of these establishments also serve as the best vegetarian restaurants in town.

Here are the 10 best and most famous Thai restaurants in Chicago voted and recommended by KnowInsiders.com:

Top 7 Spiciest Foods in Thailand Top 7 Spiciest Foods in Thailand

Top 10 Most Famous Thai Restaurants In Chicago

1. Spoon Thai

Website: http://www.spoonthai.com/

Location: 4608 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Spoon, a Chicago institution, is responsible for introducing many Chicagoans to Thai cuisine. Salads include papaya salad with preserved crab and pickled fish, as well as yum talay with a spicy lime dressing and chicken larb. The Thai boat noodle soup should not be missed, but the secret menu for some special northern Thai dishes should be requested and perused. Call, fax, or place your order online.

READ MORE: Top 5 Best Dishes in Thailand

2. Andy's Thai Kitchen

Website: https://andysthaikitchen.com/

Location: 950 W Diversey Pkwy, Chicago, IL 60614

Andy Aroonrasameruang left TAC Quick Thai Kitchen to open Andy's Thai Kitchen, where he makes his own funky pork-and-rice sausages, spoons his spicy eggplant-studded green curry over omelettes, makes a silky tom kha soup, pairs Chinese broccoli with crispy bites of fried pork belly, and tosses together a fiery and cool minced chicken salad. Thai food should taste like this.

3. Immm Rice & Beyond

https://immmchicago.com/

Location: 4949 N Broadway St, Chicago

This Thai treasure is hidden among the many pho shops on West Argyle Street Historic District. The kitchen prepares foods found at street stalls and carts in Thailand, so while the pad see eiw is required, we recommend exploring the entire chalkboard menu.Som tum puu plah rah takes the traditional green papaya salad and amps it up with preserved crab and fish.Another must-order item is Moo grob (fried pork belly). Stop in between 11:30am and 3pm for a fantastic lunch deal: You can get up to three proteins and rice for $12 or less.

READ MORE: Top 7 Most Popular Foods You Must Try in Thailand

4. In-On Thai

Website: https://www.inonthaichicago.com/

Location: 4641 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640

This Thai restaurant, a longtime Lakeview favorite, reopened in Uptown earlier in 2020. This is a small menu with dishes from Central Thailand. The crunchy fried chicken (Larb moo tod) will entice newcomers. The salad section is eye-catching, with a green bean salad in a spicy and sour sauce flanked by hardboiled eggs, ground pork, and a few tender shrimp pieces. Also noteworthy are the grilled pork and eggplant salads. It's cool and refreshing, but doesn't skimp on the heat. One of Chicago's most distinctive Thai restaurants. Order for pickup or delivery online.

5. Rainbow Thai Cuisine

Website: https://rainbowthaichicago.com/7072

Location: 4825 N Western Ave A, Chicago

Rainbow Thai Cuisine, a Ravenswood favorite for BYOB and takeout, excels at traditional Thai dishes. The menu caters a little more to Western tastes, with items like crab rangoon, which appears to be a rite of passage for many Asian restaurants in America. However, if you look deeper — and ask for the Thai menu — you'll find dishes like spicy papaya salad and funky nam kao tod. Only takeout is available.

6. Herb

Website: https://www.herbrestaurant.com/

Location: 5424 N Broadway St, Chicago

Patty Neumson, the restaurant's owner and chef, aims to reinvent Thai cuisine at her upscale Edgewater location. Instead of a lengthy menu, guests can choose between a three- or five-course prix fixe meal. Elevated dishes with familiar flavor profiles include seared scallops in spicy chili lime sauce, fried prawn with sweet and sour mango sauce, and beef or tofu with green curry. The menu is also seasonal, highlighting the freshest ingredients. The entire menu is available for takeout online.

7. Tuk Tuk Thai Isan Street Food

Website: https://www.tuktukthai-isan.com/

Location: 2852 N Clark St, Chicago

Tuk Tuk is a small, BYOB Lakeview restaurant that specializes in Isan Thai dishes and serves delicious food packed with chilies and herbs. Aside from being a great takeout option for favorites like pad kee mao and green curry, getting a table on a weeknight isn't too difficult—and will get you a front-row seat to dishes like the fried whole red snapper smothered in dried red chilies. Even as tables fill up, the restaurant manages to maintain a low-key atmosphere, but you may have to wait a while for dishes to arrive. That just gives you more time to persuade the table to include the ka prow moo krob in the meal.

8. Same Same

Website: https://www.samesamechicago.com/

Location: 2022 W Roscoe St, Chicago, IL 60618

This small Roscoe Village restaurant serves exceptional southern Thai-style fried chicken with chili honey, drawing inspiration from the streets of Bangkok. There are also housemade curries (the green curry with chicken is our favorite), stir fried noodles, and rice plates. Of course, such savory bites call for a tropical cocktail, such as the My Thai slushy or the Monkey Business (gin, banana Combier, honey, lime).

9. J.J. Thai Street Food

Website: https://www.instagram.com/jjthaistreetfood/

Location: 1715 W Chicago Ave, Chicago

J.J.'s, as the name suggests, specializes in delectable street food from chef-owner Jiranya Thosatheppitak. Most nights of the week, the 28-seat, BYOB-friendly West Town storefront fills up quickly, but their carryout business is strong. Save more delicate dishes, especially rice dishes like khao mun gai tod, which consists of breaded fried chicken draped over ginger-garlic rice with sweet chili sauce on the side. More delicate dishes, such as the tender pla muk yang, grilled squid doused in spicy seafood sauce, are available.

10. Ghin Khao Eat Rice

Website: https://www.herbrestaurant.com/

Location: 5424 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640

Nova and Kami Sasi, siblings, are the driving force behind this small Pilsen restaurant that serves Northern Thai street snacks and home-style cooking. Tod man pla, crispy fish cakes served with sweet chili, cucumber, cilantro, and ground peanuts, should be your first course. And, while you won't find pad Thai on the menu, do order Grandma's Pork Belly. Thinly sliced marinated pork is fried and served with a sweet-and-spicy Jaew dipping sauce. It'll make you wish you could have dinner every night with the Sasi matriarch. Because it's BYOB, drinkers should bring a six-pack.

Bottom Line

Ending up reading here, are you mouth watering with various Thai dishes offered by the most famous Thai restaurants in Chicago? Come to enjoy the best food served by excellent chefs from Thailand!

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