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Bamee Noodle Shop
Category: Restaurants Thai Thai [Edit]
3120 N Broadway St(between Barry Ave & Briar Pl)
Chicago, IL 60657
Neighborhood: Lakeview
(773) 525-2742
- Nearest Transit:
-
Belmont (Brown Line, Purple Line, Red Line)
Wellington (Brown Line, Purple Line)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
163 reviews for Bamee Noodle Shop
Review Highlights
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163 reviews in English
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Review from Sunshine A.
Chicago, IL
Everyone knows Thai food is one of my top 5. This is probably in my top 5 Thai places in Chicago.
The best crab ragoon and Thai iced tea Ive had in the city.
I'm always here. -
Review from Melanie V.
Chicago, IL
Laziness usually brings me to order from here. As in, it's literally at the end of my block and sometimes I just don't have it in me to walk farther than that, ya know?
However, I feel like the food quality/portion size has definitely declined in recent years. For instance, I ordered the mini-eggrolls yesterday (8 for $4) and they were INCREDIBLY mini! Total rip-off as you could have ordered 2 full sized eggrolls for that price and actually be satisfied. The tom yum soup was not that flavorful and had random pieces of mushrooms, straw mushrooms and chicken floating around. Odd combination. As a main dish, I ordered the pad woo sen (clear glass noodles, chicken, broccoli, peapods, carrots). This was the highlight of the meal, but overpriced compared to other places in the area.Listed in: That's EAST Lakeview, thank…
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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2/5/2009
On a budget? You can get their amazing rice soup and steamed shrimp shumai for under $10. The soup… Read more »
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2/5/2009
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Review from Annie N.
Nooo this is not what Asia tastes like.... Trust me, I've been there, well, I lived there. Heck, I was born and raised there.
The food was very average. I had the crazy noodles and my friend had a pad thai. Wanted to try Crab Rangoon but waitress forgot to put our order in. My crazy noodle was small in portion (well, small compared to other places with the same price) and lack of flavor. I am usually pleasantly overwhelmed my the Thai basil in this dish but today, I could barely tasted it... It was salty but not saucy enough. Eh!
I can say I have definitely experienced lots better, NOT in Asia, but here in Chicago. They are pretty big inside so I hope their food get better if it might soon be a waste of space! Services was ok - she did forget our order but she was friendly enough!
Cheap food - it definitely comes to under 10 bucks/person (with just a main dish). But honestly - I'd pay a bit more for better food! -
Review from Dave S.
My wife and I were just walking around the neighborhood looking for someplace new to eat. From the look of the outdoor patio we thought there would be a wait. We were fooled because the inside was completely empty! Score one for us!
Our server did a good job and te food was solid here too. We ordered an appetizer combo which was somewhat disappointing. It seemed liek everything almost tasted the same. However, the similar flavor was not a bad flavor so I was not really too displeased. The Pad Thai was solid. It had a very good blend of flavors and was one was not more dominant than the other. It was well prepared and very good. The price we paid was an excellent value for what we received. This place was just added to our thumbs up list! -
Review from Lady G.
Chicago, IL
Tried their "famous" Pad Bamee and was terribly disappointed to receive a plate of spaghetti with some weird sugary brown sauce on it. It was the worst "Thai" I've ever had. Also did not appreciate the atmosphere--no music, just two flat screen tvs playing some bad Tim Allen movie. It was not a very fun dining experience. Skip.
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Review from Pamela P.
Really cute to sit outside in their patio but everything else plainly stinks.
The waitresses have no idea what you ordered. They bring you wrong dishes. The food, when it's finally correct, is warm and bland. The service is dreadfully slow. If you drink your water, you're on your own until you can flag someone down who can understand English and then consent to giving you more water. This gets far more complicated if your mouth is on fire and you can barely get a word out.
I don't think I'd ever come here again. Strange vibe. Bad food. Terrible service. -
Review from Cassie L.
Chicago, IL
Really good food, really good prices.
I've had the green curry as well as the pad thai, and they always cater to me by making it extra extra spicy.
They are really polite there, and will remember you after you go there only once or twice. -
Review from Hillary K.
Chicago, IL
I beg anyone who is skeptical to go to this place to try it! It's deceptively delicious.
From the outside, it looks like one of those dive Thai places where you go to get a greasy meal after one too many drinks. But I went here with my mother and godmother a year ago and was pleasantly surprised by the cozy atmosphere and attentive service.
This place is BYOB and we had two bottles of wine (no cork fee) and then chowed down on pad thai. Everything on the menu looked good and very edible. Bonus: the prices are VERY reasonable for the portions you get. I believe mine was $6.95, so very affordable.
The only downside to this place is it's hard to get to. The 36 and 22 buses take too long to get there and it's a hike from the Belmont Red Line. -
Review from Dennis L.
Bamee Noodle Shop impressed me.
From the moment we walked in, we received great service. I started out with the Chicken Rice soup while was delicious. For my entree, I went with the Chicken Drunk Noodles. Excellent.
Overall, a wonderful experience. I would certainly return to Bamee. -
Review from Roxy A.
Randomly stopped in here last week for take-out. I was hoping that it would be good, but it wasn't really anything special. We ordered the spring rolls, Pad See Ew & Thai Fried Rice.
The spring rolls were really weird...it was like this uncooked doughy wrap around tofu & veggies. The portions were a little strange too b/c the spring rolls were cut into 12 tiny sushi sized pieces.
Pad See Ew the noodles were all short & there was waaay too much lime squeezed onto it. We got the Thai Fried Rice w/ shrimp and they were pretty shiesty w/ the shrimp too. Sorry Bamee... but I've had better Thai food. -
Review from Chris S.
Chicago, IL
Headline: Outstanding egg rolls and pineapple fried rice, funny decor
This is the kind of restaurant you could walk by a thousand times and never consider going in. The outside looks like a retrofitted 7-Eleven which is a bit unsettling and doesn't exactly scream quality cuisine.
That being said, I did decide to dine here one day because the front patio looked comfortable on a warm summer day, and since I've been back 3 or 4 additional times.
The food is actually quite good. Every time I order the vegetable egg rolls and some pineapple fried rice, both of which are outstanding and highly recommended.
The inside (and outside) of this restaurant need to be redecorated. The outside just0 looks too much like a convenience store, but the inside is even worse. The huge flat screen TV playing shows without sound is just strange (not that I recommend turning the sound on), but just get rid of the TV.
This place could be something special if they tried to class it up a little bit. -
Review from Kylie H.
Chicago, IL
We wandered into this place on a random Saturday night and thought the food was halfway decent. We had the Vietnamese spring rolls, the Tom Yum soup and split the Drunken Noodle with chicken. The rolls were sloppily thrown together, but not bad. The soup had good flavor, but not a ton going on; lots of mushrooms. The drunken noodle was a little soupy for my taste. They skimped a little with the veggies, and used ground chicken. But that said, everything tasted fine, we left full and only paid $20 with tip. Did I mention it's BYOB (aka: my favorite thing about Chicago restaurants)?
Not my first choice for good Thai food, but I'd go back for a super cheap and easy meal. From the other reviews it sounds like maybe the curry is the way to go at this joint. -
Review from Kayu T.
Chicago, IL
This place gotz its curry right. I love the their Panang curry with tofu. The curry has a depth of flavors and aroma that some place just lacks/skim out on.
The price is definitely reasonable, plus... they are listed on http://restaurant.com
for extra discounts :P
One thing i WOULD skip here are their brown rice. It super sucks. -
Review from Stormy D.
Chicago, IL
Good for the price. They do the satay correctly unlike Joy's down the street that everybody raves about. But we know the M.O. of Joy's clientele, right?
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Review from LK P.
Chicagoland, IL
Decent place to grab a bite if you're in the neighborhood, and I can see this being a great value for those on a budget. Liked the food ok enough. Service was ok. Pineapple fried rice was good, Panang chicken was good, drunken noodles swimming in too much sauce, but ok. Thai iced tea was good.
Overall, ok. -
Review from Sher Y.
Morgantown, WV
The prices were very fair in my opinion and service was excellent. The Tom Yum soup and ap trio was great my Bamme noodle soup was ok.
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Review from Michael N.
San Antonio, TX
yet another Thai place. Their panang curry is great and the patio seating is where to be. BYOB!! Great Service even when they were super busy.
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Review from Melinda K.
Chicago, IL
Food was just OK. But I guess if you are paying a smaller price, you get a little less quality.
Had a little trouble getting my order right with the wait staff. However, I cannot complain too much because they were very friendly.
Overall, it's a good place to try at least once... I might go again if
I'm in the area, but there a lot of better places around.
I have yet to try their Panang Curry, and it seems a lot of people on here love it... so I will give this little noodle shop another try. -
Review from Damian C.
Repeat after me: Fried Sweet Potatoes.
Yes. Fried sweet potatoes. And not "fried" like sweet potato french fries; we're talking someone took a mandolin slicer, cut up some sweet potato disks, threw them in batter, deep fried them, and sent them out with a side of sweet and sour heaven. It's as if McDonald's made sweet potato nuggets. THAT GOOD.
Aside from that, this place was pretty standard. Quite a bit on the menu to choose from, and all the staples that a normal Asian-type restaurant would have. I was torn between the sesame chicken and the spicy beef, and ended up going with the latter. The sauce was great, but the beef was a bit too chewy for me, so I left a good amount of it behind.
I think I was just hung up on the amazingness of the fried sweet potatoes.
The place is huge, has ample outdoor seating, and is definitely worth a second try.Listed in: My Lil Asian Sensations!
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Review from Duong P.
Chicago, IL
Oh, it's the restaurant with 2 names! (or is it suffering from an identity crisis?) Ok, so the hanging sign out front says Bamee Noodles, but the sign on the building says Taste of Asia. At least we know it's Asian food.
This place has a cute and spacious front patio, which would be lovely in the summertime. We, unfortunately, came in January, so we opted to sit indoor. There was only 1 main waitress and you can tell she was frazzled. At one point she was handling 7 tables AND a few carryout orders. It took her a while to come to pick up the check and she even forgot to get my friend's her leftover box.
Now on to the food...
I had the ground basil chicken and I asked for it to be spicy. It didn't come spicy. Instead it was sweet with the chicken swimming in sauce. The chicken was on the bland side and didn't absorb the flavor of the sauce very well.
My friends had the yakisoba and fried rice. They finished some of it, but I'm not sure if any of us were all that impressed. -
Review from Adrien B.
Chicago, IL
.....if you are trying to get rid of a friend ( for good) then take them to Bamee Noodle Shop. I gave this place two chances--- and I'm not that demanding-- and they failed each time.If you do visit, please look at your food carefully, prior to consuming. Trust me....human hair ( at least I hope it was human hair , yuck!) is not an intended ingredient.
Beware! Beware! Beware! -
Review from Lisa H.
Chicago, IL
Why is it that the photo on Bamee's website look NOTHING like the actual restaurant? Pff, 1 star off for false advertisement!
I actually like Bamee's take of Thai food, the Tom Yum soup has a great-kick to it (ask the servers for the REAL stuff, and they will kick the spices up a few notches) and I love their coconut curries! I've tried both the red & green curry so far, and left with a nice, big, round full belly after my meal! You can smell the sweetness of the coconut milk from the kitchen way before your meal is served, and you can tell that their ingredients are fresh because the vegetables retained their color after stewing in the curry!
Bamee's Chinese food though? Not so hot on those. I ordered a take-out for the Spicy Beef rice dish, and was saddened by the lonely strips of beef swimming in broth & steamed veggies in my takeout box. Not to mention how stiff the rice was! But hey, you get what you pay for when you are only folking $7over for dinner!
Did I mentioned how much I love their Thai Iced Tea with Cream? Oh yea, that's a must-try when you eat at Bamee! Make sure you grab a copy of their Delivery menu as your enter the restaurant, Bamee offers sweet discounts for dine-in that they won't tell ya on the menu! -
Review from Caitlin G.
Chicago, IL
Is it Bamee? Is it Taste of Asia? How long does their Grand Opening last? Months? These are the questions I cannot answer.
The question I can answer is, 'Caitlin, how delicious is the panang curry at Bamee?' To which I would respond, 'It is so, so delicious. Your taste buds will thank you for ordering it, and you will find yourself stuffing your mouth full of it even when you are full, and you will be back--probably later that week. It is THAT delicious.'
The price is right, and the portions are big enough to make for more than one meal. The staff is the friendliest around, prompt and precise--all with big smiles on their faces.
If panang isn't your thing, try the massaman curry or the pad thai, which has seriously improved since Bamee transitioned over to being Taste of Asia...
I usually opt for take-out, but there is indeed BYOB if you stick around. -
Review from Laura D.
Chicago, IL
I've been a regular at Bamee Noodle for about four years now, and in that time, nothing about this restaurant has gotten worse. It's fabulously inexpensive, has great food that you remember for days to come (and can eat as leftovers, yay), and is just incredibly charming and un-pretentious for a restaurant in boystown.
The dining room is huge and usually pretty quiet on weeknights. You can go, relax, bring your own wine or beer, and just eat a calm and delicious meal. The waitstaff is excellent; totally adorable and prompt, and as helpful as they can possibly be. The food arrives quickly. The crab rangoons are delicious. The chicken with rice soup is delicious. The curries are delicious. Everything is so tasty there!
The only problem with this place is that people are apparently starting to find out about my secret gem of a restaurant and going there more, which in turn means the service is a little bit slower than it used to be. And, really, I'm fine with sharing the joy. -
Review from Jax R.
Chicago, IL
The quality of food was poor for their prices. Pho&i is about a block south of here and I've been pleased with every dish I've ordered from there. Also, they specify on their menu the amount of each item you will be getting and this is the second time they have given me one less chicken satay. Could be better!
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Review from Amy Z.
Chicago, IL
DO NOT GET THE CRAB RANGOONS! They are literally fried batter filled with ONLY cream cheese.
Curry was pretty good (think I got to coconut curry).
On a side note, it took me FOREVER to find this place on yelp... I swear it was called Taste of Asia Noodle House. -
Review from Rocky B.
You know I'm really not big into Thai food. Maybe the flavors are too clean or it just isn't greasy enough for me. Whatever it is I just never find myself craving the stuff...unless i'm sick. When I'm sick I'm all about the spicy soup. I go to Big Bowl for the Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup and as of this past weekend I go to Bamee for the Tom Yum Chicken Soup. Ooo tasty, spicy lemongrass soup...it's like mothers milk...except it doesn't produce phlegm.
Oo I also loved the Thai Iced Coffee at Bamee Noodle. Good stuff. Great, friendly service and a nice atmosphere.
Bamee, whenever I start getting that itchy throat I'm totally hitting you up. -
Review from Kyle H.
Bamee was just what I needed for a quick bite before meeting people at the Lakeshore Theater. Service is attentive and polite and my meal came out quickly. It was also super inexpensive, so it's good for those non-special "grab a bite during the weekday" days.
Yet, as much as I liked it for it's "on the cheap" vibe in a clean environment, it was empty on a Friday night and seemed like they could use some changes. Pumping in 80's music on "the Mix" certainly didn't create much atmosphere, the booths in the corner looked cozy but wouldn't full length cushions give them some luxe factor? The whole place could be more of a destination date place by upgrading decor. It just felt like since the whole family works there, and everyone was waiting around for business, this place could use the old Chef Gordon Ramsey "KN" upgrade touch.
Still, the Spicy Basil was a good dish and the family made my visit enjoyable. A solid three stars. -
Review from Natalie R.
Chicago, IL
After shoving a piece of broken concrete under the table to fix the uneven tilt, we settled around the table and placed our order within five minutes. It arrived about ten minutes later. The service was really good and that is what the fourth star is for. I really appreciate it when my glass stays full.
Anyone who was sitting in the cafe or walking down the street yesterday evening, I am so sorry for my loudmouthed drunk friend stopping by and loudly making an ass of himself.
Anyway, I had the bbq pork bamee, my (quiet, sober) friend had crab rangoon, and my other (quiet, sober) friend had pad seeouw (sp?). The food was decent for a quick bite. The location is, I think, what probably keeps Bamee Noodle Shop going when there are more enticing Thai options available in the neighborhood.
There is another Thai restaurant getting ready to open up right next door. I just don't think this place would be hard to put out of business. -
Review from Travis P.
Chicago, IL
I went here for a quick bite maybe two months ago. I had the Pad Khee Mao with Tofu (not sure about the spelling) and it was awesome. As someone who enjoys spicy food, I have a pet peeve when restaurants say something is hot and/or spicy and it's not. This is especially true for cuisine that's known to be hot, e.g., Indian or Thai (My Thai at Presidential Towers is one of these places--even what I ask for "extra spicy" it's tame). This dish delivered. Great flavors, great heat.
It was pretty dead in the place, so service was crazy fast; I think my food came up in under ten minutes. I'm moving closer to here in the next couple months, and I suspect that this will become my new local Thai joint...though I've heard good things about Joy's. We'll see! -
Review from Amanda D.
Eugene, OR
I'll make it short and sweet since i'm lucky number 99.
This place was cute, quick, and friendly.
The wait staff was polite and efficent. They let me and my date talk but still came around to full up the waters and asked if we needed anything else. We sat outside so that was nice because we ended up both enjoying people watching; nice Sunday spot.
The prices are great. $15 for 2 people :)
The choices are great, you can either have it regular or spicy. I normally would have opted for spicy but I was drinking the night before so I didn't know how I would feel afterwards, as I was still recovering.
I will defintely come back !!! -
Review from sylvia r.
Long Beach, CA
This place is so cheap and so consistently good that it is hard to pass it up whenever I am in Lakeview. There are so many other places that are on my list to try in this area, but i keep getting drawn back...
I am not normally a pad thai person, but theirs is perfectly made.Their 1$ cucumber salad is a great start to a meal, and I always fear I'll eat all the crab rangoon by myself. -
Review from Annie P.
Best. Crab Rangoons. EVER.
Came in here for a late lunch on a Saturday to find the place completely empty, but from what my gal said, it was very unusual since this place is generally packed from what she had experienced.
We ordered:
- Thai Iced tea (VERY good)
- chicken panag (yellow curry just spicy enough but not inferno hot)
- crab rangoons (quite possibly the best fried wantons Ive ever had)
- some veggie thing (couldn't pay attention to my girlfriends food since i was so wrapped up in what i was eating. It was too good to look away)
All for less than $30!!
I was so impressed, amazing Thai food for super super cheap.
We plowed thru our meal, well, I did anyways, my girlfriend has manners. I even ordered a second round of fried wantons. They were THAT good. We will certainly be coming back from more the next time I'm in town!!Listed in: When I go Chicago
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Review from Kitty L.
The places started badly when I sat down and found a piece of old crusty piece of rice stuck between two of the prong of my fork. When I told the waitress, she took it and put it in her apron - hopefully, it went to the kitchen sink and not some poor unsuspecting schmuck's table later that day!
The pad see yew was probably the worst I've ever had. Temperature was not hot enough and I swear they must have just plopped some noodles on a plate (ready to go to speed up service) and only cook the brown sauce with the chicken and throw it on top of the noodles (i.e., not even stir frying the noodles). The sauce was watery and tasteless and the noodles were really short and stuck together.
If you're in the area, you've got so many other food choices....keep walking and try something else. -
Review from Ryan J.
Chicago, IL
This place is fantastic. Came here once for lunch, ordering a cucumber salad and the pad thai with chicken, while my dining partner ordered the crab rangoon. Both were heavenly, and perhaps more importantly, CHEAP!
On our return visit, we brought a third guest, who was equally impressed with the dining. It was also a nice evening to sit in the restaurant's outdoor dining area, so that was enjoyable. Again, lots of good, decent quality food for cheap. One of my favorite spots in Lakeview, by far. -
Review from Samantha M.
Chicago, IL
Yep...I like this place.
I went yesterday afternoon for the first time. to start, let me say that it is simple, quiet, cozy. The waitstaff was friendly but didn't hover.
I ordered some jasmine tea, a small size of the tom ka soup (with chicken), and pad thai shrimp. The portions were very sizable for one, definitely leaving me with leftovers. The soup was good; nice and hot, the right flavor...not too milky. The pad thai was yummy, shrimp was cooked perfectly.
No complaints whatsoever. And the best part of all? it was only $11 total. I mean...you really can't beat that. A big full meal, start to finish, with leftovers. Awesome!
I'll definitely be going back.
EDIT: 11/9/10
I went back here the other day and ordered the Bamee noodle soup. It was really tasty! The broth was yummy, the noodles were well cooked, and the portion/price ratio was awesome. Another great meal! -
Review from Olivia L.
Chicago, IL
I love thai, and I really had high hopes for this place as it's definitely the closest walk and conveniently located on Broadway. I walked by it a few times and it always seemed a little slow, although people generally seem to be enjoying the large outside patio. I went inside to place a takeaway order and was impressed with the clean and airy space and the friendliness of the staff.
Unfortunately, the food didn't match the service.
I ordered the Vietnamese Spring Rolls without BBQ pork, and while they seemed very fresh, they were a bit uninspiring. The dipping sauce was also intensely hot, especailly for a plum sauce. I also ordered panang, and while it again tasted fresh and wasn't "bad," it was definitely not the panang I was used to. Instead of a delicate balance of peanut, coconut, and spice, it was overwhelmingly peanuty, overwhelmingly spicy, and really lacked the complexities of flavours that I'm used to in panang. As I was eating it, I thought how it tasted like what panang might taste like if I tried to make it at home, using a jar of peanut butter and far too many chilies. I really like spicy food, but the intense chili in both the appetizer and entree really seemed to overshadow the great flavours of my usual thai dishes. -
Review from Brian D.
Brooklyn, NY
This place is great if you want an above average Thai meal brought out to you at the speed of light. Myself and a few friends were heading to the Lakeshore Theater and had an hour for dinner before the show, so we opted to try Bamee (thanks Urbanspoon!)
We started with some potstickers and golden shrimp. They came out almost immediately. The potstickers were small but tasty. The golden shrimp are wrapped in yellow noodles and deep fried. I would say they over did it with the noodles. I felt like I was biting into a cookie with a shrimp in the middle. The sweet and sour sauce that came with it made up for it though.
I had a very standard chicken pad thai. Also ordered by the others were Pad Nar, Pad See Kew, and some curry. Everyone seemed happy with their choices and the portions were plentiful. It all came out super fast too.
One thing to note : While walking by we noticed that there were people drinking a bottle of wine at their table and assumed that it was BYOB. While it's not technically, you can still carry in your own drinks, they just charge you $5.
All that and we were in and out in 40 minutes. I would totally go back if I was in the area. -
Review from Amanda Z.
I love this place. Yes, I've had better Thai food (see my review for Joy's--amazing) but it was at Bamee that I learned to love Thai food.
When I lived in the neighborhood, I used to eat here at least once a week. And it was my comfort food my second year in law school when I'd spend entire weekends doing cite checks for the law review.
They have decent rama (the peanut sauce is a little runny and not quite rich enough), their pad thai is fine, and I used to love this dish called "sliced beef"...it was slightly spicy, soupy dish that always hit the spot! And their spring rolls are generally pretty good.
There are better options, but they are friendly, super-cheap, and a good location. And the patio is lovely for a hot summer day!Listed in: Thai me to a chair and feed me…
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Review from Agnes M.
Chicago, IL
I loved this place when it was Bamee but just ordered for the first time since they've changed their name.
Wow, was I underwhelmed. I ordered delivery and it was super speedy, so I'll give them that. However, they did not give me any rice for the panang curry I ordered!
The crab rangoon was just cream cheese. No crab flavor. Very bland. Not delicious.
The egg rolls had some kind of meat in there, I could see it, but there was no flavor. The sauces were all right but I didn't pay $20 for a little thing of sauce.
I will admit the prices are low but seriously, the food was not worth even these low prices.
