Opart Thai House Restaurant

10/29/2007 Posted by vegitoboi

To me, there are very few places in Chicago that offer "good" Thai cuisine. Some places I've seen offer you a box of noodles or rice, throw in some meat and vegetables and sauce (along with a almost a half a cup of oil), and them calling it Thai food. It's NOT the case with this place. I've been going here since 98 when I was taking class from the "Martial Arts" school down the street and the "grandmaster" took us all to lunch as part of our "training" (notice the " " around the words; I don't consider them a "Martial Arts school" anymore, but that's another review). Anyway, since then I've always considered this place to be the standard for all Thai restaurants to follow. They just recently went through some remodeling and now the place looks better than before with new tabels and decor. The food though is still the same as I had it almost 9 years ago. Everything is good here, but I usually go for my favorites (chicken satay, spring roll, Tom Yum soup, Pad Thai, and/or beef Pad Si-ew). It is convient to get to as well being right at the Western brown line station and a metered parking lot accross the street. Don't let the exterior of the place fool you; once you step into the place, be ready to experience what Thai cuisine is all about.

Pros: Service, good Thai food, convient location, not too expensive, portions are "just enough"

Cons: street parking, could use another expansion, exterior is misleading

03/27/2007 Posted by img101

Horrible food and if possible even worse service. This was not our first or second experience there ...

Pros: ambience

Cons: service, food

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

01/23/2007 Posted by pjs2780

We ordered carryout from Opart Thai House last night. The food (tofu satay, Pad Kra Praow Lard Khao with pork, and Pad Kratiam Prik Thai) were delicious, well seasoned and very flavorful. However, the entree portions were very small, the Pad Kratiam Prik Thai especially -- only about 10 shrimp in the whole container (the serving didn't even cover the bottom of the container!). And to charge extra for rice is just ridiculous. We also ordered Tom Kha Kai soup with tofu. It was flavorful, but missing the mushrooms that are a common and delicious addition to the soup; the tofu was also not very well flavored by the soup. We have been on a search for great Thai food in the city; this was by far the best we have been to so far, but still not superb. We'll keep looking. but might be back to Opart in the meantime.

Pros: well-seasoned food, extensive menu

Cons: smallish portions, have to pay for rice?, no mushrooms in tom kha kai

01/22/2007 Posted by mrolnick

Excellent food (very much enjoyed the Pad Thai Chicken) -- good service and affordable. One of the best values in the Chicago area.

Pros: food, price

Cons: difficult to find parking

12/22/2006 Posted by akgurrea

used to be good food for the money but now- they serve you haf the size portion.... not going to go back there again.

Pros: byob

Cons: small portion-

11/16/2006 Posted by morgantheorgan

I was just there last weekend after not going for a few months, and I was left wondering what happened. The food was still very tasty; however, it wasn't what it used to be. Pad Thai used to be a heaping bowl with all the different components in each corner, waiting for you to mix them all up. But now, they were sort of all smooshed together on the side of a smaller plate. Now, the portion size now isn't skimpy. It's down to "just right" versus the almost comical portion in days past. But the amount of tofu included seemed like it was far less than before, and the pieces were smaller, too. The crab rangoon was delicious as always, and I still think it's some of the best Pad Thai around... but it just felt like a little bit of a let-down from the Opart I had gotten used to.

Pros: Great food, BYOB

Cons: Not quite what it was

08/03/2006 Posted by captmojo

This was once the best Thai restaurant I had ever been to but I'm afraid it's no longer. The food has been variable over the last few months and, more recently, all of the staff seemed to have changed despite the waitress saying that the chef has been with the restaurant ever since it first opened. I suspect the restaurant may have changed hands which is a shame as, although still good, not a patch on what it used to be.

Pros: Still good food.

Cons: Not as good as it used to be and spice level is inconsistent.

05/23/2006 Posted by damlin72

Moved out of town a few years ago, and Opart is one of the first places I hit when I come back to visit.. The food is great, the people are friendly, and the prices are just right!

Pros: Great Food, Great Food , Great Food

Cons: I moved away

11/01/2005 Posted by pamela11119

although a bit far from downtown but worth the trip. we will definitely come back. the hot and sour soup was fabulous, the curry and pad thai were also great. we enjoyed eating here. The wine store 2 stores down also has a friendly owner that gives free advise on what wine to choose.

Pros: affordable, fast service, good food

Cons: location

04/28/2005 Posted by schun

Hands down the best Thai in the city, I live in river north and make the drive b/c everything in the city is subpar.

Pros: Authentic, Flavor, inexpensive

Cons: Parking