Real Thai Restaurant

such a hidden gem! on my list for top thai restaurants in chicagoall the food was super flavorful and we loved all three dishes.the papaya salad with crab paste was very authentic and strong in flavor that we loved. the pad kee mao and three flavor deep fried fish were super tasty in its own way. we got a spice 3 and thought it was perfect if you like spicier food. i think any higher would've been overkill for us. overall, it might be on the saltier side, but i didn't mind too muchservice was good and for a thursday night it was packed. truly so excited to come back next time to try other dishes and get the papaya salad again!

We came here for an early weekday dinner after arriving from O'hare Airport. The drive wasn't as quick as we hoped because of a lot of traffic and red lights on the local roads on the way. Service was good as the waitress was attentive and helpful with suggestions. We ordered vegetarian spring rolls, Pad See Ew and Northeastern curry. The first two items were excellent. The curry, however, was more like a soup (with a lot of broth) and packed with fresh dill that overpowered the dish. My wife hated it and I wouldn't get it again.The dining room was pleasant but not terribly exciting and the rack of maneki-neko were a bit much. I got tired of watching the gold things waving at me. Prices were comparable to other restaurants in the area as were portion sizes. I would definitely come here again and avoid sitting near the cats.

Just try the small sections of authentic Thai dishes in the menu. It's pretty good for authenticity. Seems to be food on point now after many times I have eaten here since they open. I think I trust papaya salad with crab or with fermented fish in this restaurant the most. Elements of flavors are just right. Sweet, spicy, salty, sour, and not too overwhelming fermented flavor. Pair with sticky rice that makes this salad top shelf. Mussel Cake is pretty good as well. Not much of the mussels but pancake really crispy and flavorful. Still BYOB

My love and I were in the area to take care of business, and we decided to have an early midweek dinner at Real Thai Restaurant on Irving Park Road. I immediately did not notice the déjà vu, but later I realize that we had dined at this location a few years ago when it was Caponie's serving Italian food. Now we came here to enjoy some Thai food. Service was pleasant, and we had plenty of water to drink. The water came in handy when I was gasping from swallowing a pungent peppercorn from my Pad Kee Mao dish. You can choose your level of spiciness, so I went with mild as our server mentioned that medium was still pretty spicy. Indeed my dish with chicken, bell peppers, green beans and baby corn had a nearly sweet flavor which I liked, and I avoided one pepper that looked spicy though the peppercorn tricked me. I decided to ask for crispy noodles for a dollar upcharge - I have never had these large flat noodles served crispy at any Thai restaurant. Alas the noodles came out extra crunchy, almost like hard tortilla chips. The flavor was good overall, but I won't do crispy style flat noodles again. My love ordered crab fried rice, and she had enough for lunch the next day. She thought the crab was a bit light, but the cucumber slices were good. The Real Thai menu has a "secret" section of special Thai dishes, but they may be a bit too "real" for our taste buds.

Finally tried this place out. Opted for a to-go order of Chicken Pad Thai and Fish Cakes (tod mun).Five fishcakes to the order - larger than most I've seen - maybe a little pricier than what I've experienced on average. Nicely cooked - the cucumber sauce that came with them was pretty good too.I asked for a medium spicy chicken pad thai order and it was about right. I've come to learn thatwhen I order "medium spicy" at most Thai places, it comes out with heat that pushes the envelope for me. Just barely tolerable, but not so hot that I couldn't enjoy the dish and everything else within it.Was told 15 minute wait - I'd say it was less than 10 minutes, so they scored on that front! I'll go back again at some point!

A friend suggested this place since our "regular" Thai spot closed last year. The staff are very friendly, the restaurant is clean and the food was very good and nicely presented. We had the vegetable rolls and chicken satay for appetizers. The satay was a bit different than what I've had in the past. It almost seemed like it had been dipped in a flour mixture before being seared. The wonton soup was delicious. The wontons were much lighter than you'd typically get. I ordered the spicy basil for my main entree and my husband had the Jungle Curry. I liked that they asked from 1 to 5, how spicy we'd like our entrees. Everything was very fresh and we really enjoyed it. Want to come back and taste the Pad Thai. Overall we really enjoyed it.

authentic spot near hip mall for thai food! we ordered the pad thai with tofu and the papaya salad with salty crab. the noodles in the pad thai had great texture and wasn't too soft. i do wish it was a bit more sweet and had more peanuts but that's my preference. the papaya salad was refreshing and well-sauced. we got level one spice for both and it was a good choice. the papaya salad got spicier every time you took a bite but we could've gone higher for the pad thai. we ordered for takeout and everything was wrapped nicely! they wrapped the salad by itself to ensure that it wouldn't spill. the interior was clean and pick up was easy. if you order directly on their website, they have a coupon code for 10% off. a solid spot for thai food and i would come again to try other items!

This is my go to Thai restaurant! I love their salted crab papaya salad, Tom yum and pad khee Mao. Just be mindful that their spicy level is no joke!

Our favorite is the Thai chicken basil & pho! A bit pricey but def worth it. I would recommend to anyone

We went here for a late lunch (around 2pm) so there was only one other family was eating. Service was fast. We got the papaya salad, panang chicken curry and chicken pad see ew. The papaya salad was not as tart as I liked so we requested some extra lime which they were really nice to accommodate. After the extra lime, it was perfect! The pad see ew was delicious. The noodles had a perfect chewiness. The curry was a bit watery but still good.