Ben Pao Restaurant
(312) 222-1888
52 W Illinois St
Chicago,
IL
60610
41.8909
-87.6301
Neighborhoods: Near North Side, Central
Reviews & Ratings for Ben Pao Restaurant
30 reviews
What users are saying:
Showing 1-10 of 30 reviews
Where's the spice?
by frequentcitations
June 16, 2006
I don't know if they fired their chef, or lost the garlic, or what -- but the food was not good. We had been there a couple of years ago and it was great. However, they've reduced the menu options, the alcohol is exceedingly pricy even for a Chicago restaurant, and worst of all: the food was incredibly bland. The chicken, in fact, tasted slightly burned. There are many great restaurants in Chicago, this is no longer one of them. The sauce for the coconut patay tasted distinctly like mayonaise with a dash of toasted coconut and a bit of sherry or something. The sauce for the pot stickers was limited to one shaker of bland sweet sauce, unlike the previous tasty selections.
The service was excellent, but the food was not worth eating.
- Pros: ambiance, service
- Cons: food
bad headache
by capitalgroup
January 23, 2009
have been a fan in the past and have recommended to others, not likely to go back. although totally get chinese new year, this evening it was too loud and had drums that would cause a headache to anyone. after a long week had a table of adults, the drum was stopped at the table, all had their heads down with fingers in ears to stop the level and asked that the drums move slightly forward, the staff, with arms crossed over chessed, dismissed the request, asked for manager who also didnt seem to get it. too bad. after that, the food that had been good in the past didn't seem to compensate for what was an unnecessarily bad evening.
Perfect night out! by Anita A. at InsiderPages
Contributor
June 09, 2008
This is a place for food, atmosphere and great service. I have been there many times since it opened and always devoured the chief creations. The food is light and full of flavor. One of the many gems of chitown!
ambiance by linda B. at InsiderPages
Contributor
April 14, 2008
This is another restaurant that is just great to be in; the decor is lovely! The food is pretty good too, but I didn't think it was as amazing as the previous reviewer.
Great customer service and superb food
by fl_doc
January 02, 2008
We just happened upon this place one Friday and decided to try it out. It looks like PF Chang's meets The Big Bowl, but the food and service surpassed them both. Our waitress was knowledge about the menu and made great recommendations throughout our meal - she even suggested a wine that turned out to be perfect. Since it was our first time in the restaurant the manager brought over an appetizer - what a pleasant surprise. This place is perfect for a date or to hang out with a group of friends. Great food, atmosphere, and prices!
Great Service
by skimmetry
May 24, 2007
My husband and I were in Chicago this past weekend visiting and we were roaming around downtown hungry and looking for a good restaurant. We stumbled about Ben Pao and decided to check it out. I have to admit, upon first glance, it seems like a typical PF Chang's type restaurant: very Americanized Chinese fare with caucasian waiters wearing chi paos (a la the first few scenes of Zach Braff in Garden State). All this did make me initally wary, however, the experience turned out to be great. Our waitress immediately introduced herself and was attentive throughout the night without being overbearing. We ordered a large bowl of hot and sour soup to start (which was good but not amazing) but a few minutes later a gentleman showed up at our table delivering chicken and shrimp fried spring rolls. I started to correct him on our order, but it turned out he was the manager and that the waitress had told him that we were out of towners from Houston. The manager simply wanted to welcome us to the restaurant personally and give us a complimentary appetizer.
My husband and I went to a lot of good restaurants during our stay in Chicago, but this was the only restaurant that made such an effort to make us feel welcome and to extend such hospitality. It wasn't so much the spring rolls (although they were very very good, and we usually don't eat fried food) but the subtle graciousness of the waitress and the manager that we were so impressed with. I highly recommend that people try to this place. It's amazing what an impact great service can have on your dining out experience. I've noticed recently that even at the nice restaurants, the waitstaff often seem nonchalant and flippant, distracted, and not too interested. This was a nice breath of fresh air.
By the way, we had the special beef with shitake mushrooms and the spicy eggplant and tofu-both were which were great.
- Pros: Very reasonably priced, Impeccable service
- Cons: Great Chinese food, but not truly authentic
Allways a good meal
by timmymc3
February 09, 2007
Ben Pao may be often overlooked for smaller, more traditional Chinese restaurants but it certainly shouldn't be. The food is always well prepared, tasty and presented nicely. I have never had a bad meal there and would recommend it to anyone looking to enjoy a good Chinese dinner. P.S. Try the Spring Rolls
- Pros: Always solid, great service
- Cons: Sometimes the wait is too long
Great Chinese in River North
by ndgravy
January 15, 2007
My wife and I went to Ben Pao and found the food to be very good. We had egg rolls and chicken satay's as starters, and then I had the 7 Flavor Chicken while my wife had the Kung Pao Chicken. Both of us were impressed with both the quality of the food and the attentiveness of the service. We definitely would refer any one we know to try out the great food at Ben Pao's.
- Pros: Food, Price
My girl loves their fish
by rickyta
September 21, 2006
My boo and I have gone to this place MANY times. It always puts her in a good mood and she's hard to please. I rec this place ALWAYS to my buds that want to impress.
- Pros: cool atmosphere
Great atmosphere.
by jkdaves
June 16, 2006
Love the large menu selection. Great for large groups and sharing. good food and service. very reasonably priced.
