(312) 951-1888

60 E Ohio St (Rush Street)
Chicago, IL 60611 41.8926 -87.6262

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Neighborhoods: Near North Side, Central

BIGBOWL.COM

Hours:

Mon-Thu 11am-10pm

Fri 11am-11pm

Sat 11:30am-11pm

Sun 11:30am-10pm

Price:

$

Last updated 8.07.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Cash, Visa, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Family-Friendly Dining, Lunch Spot, Date Spot, Group Dining, Dine At The Bar

General Info:

Open 7 Days

Cuisine:

Asian

Smoking Permitted:

Yes

What People Are Saying About Big Bowl

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

Intimate lighting and an open, casual atmosphere draw diners of all ages to this friendly Asian spot. Customers design their own stir-fry from a wide selection of veggies, meats and sauces, then wait while it's cooked and delivered to their table. The lengthy menu also offers a variety of Thai, Cantonese and Szechuan items, from shrimp rolls and teriyaki chicken to kung pao beef served with roasted peanuts.

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
Worried about feeding the young ones? The special kids' menu features chicken pot stickers, a stir-fry bar, egg noodles with peanut sauce and more; finicky palates can opt for mac and cheese or grilled chicken sticks.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. Nice atmosphere with a very friendly staff.
  2. would definitely recommend this place if you are looking for somewhere after work, or if you are looking for a place to unwind with a fun group of friends.
  3. Wonderful atmosphere, food was awesome.
  4. Great place for a fun, casual meal
  5. If that wasn't enough to keep me coming in, the bonuses are great ambience, great service and really reasonable prices.
  6. Food was very fresh, had a little bit of spice(I like it hot, but not overly hot), and the atmosphere of the place in general was a lot of fun.
  7. At first glance, Big Bowl seemed like a really nice, intimate-casual dining place with redish oriental decor that will caught your eye.
  8. The atmosphere and presentation is wonderful but the food needs improvement.
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. The food is great, and the ginger tea is so good it is worth the long trip we take to get there.
food quality
90.20000457763672% positive
  1. So savory and delicious that I order two sets to eat with my chicken soup.
  2. Service was good and the food was better than we expected.
  3. Presenation of the food is wonderful.
  4. The flavors are nice and the vegetables are crispy fresh but the noodles aren't very good - too soft and oily.
  5. Otherwise, the food was worth checking out, and despite the raw chicken fiasco, we'd go again -- but I'll order tofu or vegetables.
  6. The food was excellent, the ligh.
  7. The food was fantastic!
  8. Kind of expensive for asian style food, but it is Chicago.
  9. Fun, place with really good Chinese food!
  10. Big Bowl is a nice place a bit pricey for Asian food.
  11. Good food here.
  12. Great food, service and kid friendly, fresh asian cooking at it's best.
  13. The crispy lemon chicken is always a big hit as well.
  14. Wonderful atmosphere, food was awesome.
  15. think the people who thinks the food is good here needs some experience dining somewhere else too.
  16. am still thinking about the nasty dishes and the yucky clump of dirt up to this day.
  17. think the food was American Cuisine with peanuts and hearbs even though they make a good effort in interiors and using better looking dinnerwares comparing to some chinese restaurants.
  18. Great place for a fun, casual meal
  19. Soup wasn't good, stir-fry dish was uninteresting.
  20. My girlfriend had some sort of spicy basil chicken dish, which was quite tasty, very fresh, etc.
  21. The atmosphere and presentation is wonderful but the food needs improvement.
  22. The big chopsticks on the big bowl sign need to be removed because no Asian person can call the food Asian cuisine.
  23. Food is extremely fresh.
  24. Pretty good (but order chicken well done!)
  25. The ginger ale is tasty but I've yet to find an entree that I really enjoy.
  26. Wait staff was nice, food came quickly (but not too quickly).
  27. Great food, huge servings.
  28. The food is great, and the ginger tea is so good it is worth the long trip we take to get there.
  29. good food
  30. You'll get a decent size portion of rice or noodles, but will pay almost twice the price and there is much better quality out there to be had.
  31. the big bowl has amazing asian food.
  32. Food was very fresh, had a little bit of spice(I like it hot, but not overly hot), and the atmosphere of the place in general was a lot of fun.
  33. haven't even had a chance to try anything else because the soup and potstickers are so good.
  34. And everything tasted fresh and didn't have that weird flavor some Asian take out gets.
menu variety
0.0% positive
  1. They serve a full menu there.
overall
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. Big Bowl is a nice place a bit pricey for Asian food.
  2. Big Bowl is a great place
  3. At first glance, Big Bowl seemed like a really nice, intimate-casual dining place with redish oriental decor that will caught your eye.
service
85.71000099182129% positive
  1. Nice atmosphere with a very friendly staff.
  2. If that wasn't enough to keep me coming in, the bonuses are great ambience, great service and really reasonable prices.
  3. Wait staff was nice, food came quickly (but not too quickly).
  4. think the people who thinks the food is good here needs some experience dining somewhere else too.
  5. Great food, service and kid friendly, fresh asian cooking at it's best.
  6. The service was a little slow but it was worth it.
  7. The people are friendly and know what to recommend for you
value
75.0% positive
  1. but great portions.
  2. Great food, huge servings.
  3. Otherwise, the food was worth checking out, and despite the raw chicken fiasco, we'd go again -- but I'll order tofu or vegetables.
  4. Big Bowl is a nice place a bit pricey for Asian food.
  5. If that wasn't enough to keep me coming in, the bonuses are great ambience, great service and really reasonable prices.
  6. You'll get a decent size portion of rice or noodles, but will pay almost twice the price and there is much better quality out there to be had.
  7. Kind of expensive for asian style food, but it is Chicago.
  8. The food is great, and the ginger tea is so good it is worth the long trip we take to get there.
  9. The service was a little slow but it was worth it.
  10. The portions were huge, even the kids meals.
wait time
50.0% positive
  1. The food is great, and the ginger tea is so good it is worth the long trip we take to get there.
  2. The service was a little slow but it was worth it.
4 Star Rating: Recommended

01/20/09

I like that hot noodle

by BigJim56 at Citysearch

I ate here the other day. I got this noodle with peanuts and chicken. It was spicy! I loved it. I also ordered their homemade ginger ale. That was good stuff. I recommend it. The service was a little slow but it was worth it.

  • Pros: good food
  • Cons: slow service
4 Star Rating: Recommended

06/05/08

Great place for a fun, casual meal

by emerana at Citysearch

Granted, I wouldn't call it Asian food...it's American food with Asian inspiration. But we were looking for a place we could go with the kids, where we wouldn't get glared at if they cried or threw their silverware on the floor, but still have a grown up evening out. Big Bowl fit the bill perfectly. We were seated promptly, it was right before 8pm on a Tuesday night. It was busy, but I felt comfortable because there was room between the tables. They had highchairs and seemed very welcoming of our children. We ordered the dumplings. They were ok, nothing too exciting. Then my husband got a curry dish, I got Kung Pow Noodles, one child got the BBQ Pork Cow Fun and the other teh Chicken Pad Thai. I have to say they were all good (got to taste them all) but the BBQ Pork Chow Fun was the winner. Only one issue, they all seemed more oily then I care for, but not so much that it really bothered me. The Pad Thai was very flavorful. Wait staff was nice, food came quickly (but not too quickly). Parking was easy above. The portions were huge, even the kids meals. For toddlers or smaller children, you could just get one and split it. And everything tasted fresh and didn't have that weird flavor some Asian take out gets. So overall we were quite happy.

  • Pros: easy parking, service, child-friendly, tastey food, comfortable, good selection
  • Cons: a bit oily when I went
3 Star Rating: Average

05/11/08

Pretty good (but order chicken well done!)

by psnchckn at Citysearch

Went here with my girlfriend after a day of shopping and browsing the library. Service was pretty good, no complaints there. My girlfriend had some sort of spicy basil chicken dish, which was quite tasty, very fresh, etc.

Problems arose with my Panang Curry Chicken; after a couple of bites, I noticed that the majority of the chicken was just barely cooked through, and a few pieces were seared on the outside, and just about raw on the inside.

I sent it back immediately, and the server and the manager greatly apologetic. I always feel like a jack when I send dishes back, but I wasn't about to eat possibly-raw chicken swimming in curry sauce. They took the dish off the bill, offered me a new one, and a free dessert. Though, I declined both, I thought they handled it well.

Otherwise, the food was worth checking out, and despite the raw chicken fiasco, we'd go again -- but I'll order tofu or vegetables...or well-done chicken next time!

  • Pros: Tasty food, good service, quick service...possibly too quick, because...
  • Cons: Chicken, on this one occasion, was either near raw, or barely cooked through
4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/30/07

Fun, place with really good Chinese food!

by james1970 at Citysearch

Ended up at Big Bowl with a party from work. The place was busy, so we had a few at the bar. Nice atmosphere with a very friendly staff. No rush attitude. After a short while, we were led to our table.

We ended up ordering a number of appetizers for the group. Waitress was very accomodating to us. Our appetizers ranged from chicken satay to lettuce wraps to something akin to a Chinese dumpling. All was excellent!! After about three rounds of appetizers we were definitely full.

I would definitely recommend this place if you are looking for somewhere after work, or if you are looking for a place to unwind with a fun group of friends.

Food was very fresh, had a little bit of spice(I like it hot, but not overly hot), and the atmosphere of the place in general was a lot of fun.

Get a seat at teh Big Bowl and prepare for a good time.

3 Star Rating: Average

12/28/06

Icky Utensils

by xb4darkx at Citysearch

Not a great experience. At first glance, Big Bowl seemed like a really nice, intimate-casual dining place with redish oriental decor that will caught your eye. When you sit down, they will make an effort to offer you some sort of gingerale. Service took longer than usual. They seemed to be short on staff that day. The first thing I notice was how dirty the plates appeared, as if there were lots of soap residue. I check my friend's plate and it was the same. Then I look at the utensils and cups and felt disgusted. I ordered a customized stir-fry dish: spicy panang curry on beef and chow-fun noodle. I get to pick my own vegetables which sounded awesome until I stumble upon a clump of dirt hidden in the bok choy. Yuck! My friend ordered barbeque pork bow. It looks exactly like Wow Bow's down the street down to the wrapping paper. It must have been one the frozen one they bought from Wow Bow. Soup wasn't good, stir-fry dish was uninteresting. Overall, the experience wasn't great! I am still thinking about the nasty dishes and the yucky clump of dirt up to this day.... It deserve a "B" rating!

  • Pros: Ehhh...go maybe once in a blue moon
  • Cons: Dirty dishes and utensils

The Details on Big Bowl

Place Categories:

  • good asian food
  • outstanding service
  • wonderful atmosphere
  • great place
  • good soup
  • great portions
  • nice wait staff
  • not great experience
  • crispy fresh vegetables
  • nice flavor
  • good ginger tea
  • big chopsticks
  • very flavorful pad thai
  • big bowl
  • good potstickers
  • good effort
  • tasty ginger ale
  • yucky clump
  • like hot noodle
  • order tofu
  • pricey nice place
  • order sets
  • great friendly
  • good pretty
  • not very good noodles

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