Jitlada Restaurant
3715 N Halsted St
(between Bradley Pl & Waveland Ave)
Chicago, IL 60613 (773) 388-9988
- Nearest Transit:
Addison (Red)
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
24 reviews
Neighborhood: Lakeview
"What a fabulous spot to spend a crappy, rainy, snowy, Saturday night. The owner greeted us and was very friendly and chatty. Upon learning…" read more »
41 Reviews for Jitlada Restaurant
best pad thai in the city and very good iced coffee with an interesting reddish tint no less! staff is nice, i used to live nearby and would order pickup, they always did a nice job wrapping things up.
this is a great very simple Thai restaurant. I go there mostley for take out a lot !
Real thai food - freshly ingredients only - a nice family business !
Ask for mild if you are not into spicy stuff otherwise you will suffer like I did....
Love this place - I feel you do eat healthy there.
The basics:
cleanliness = excellent
air = well vented
service = good
noise level = nicely quiet
scene = mixed crowd
I stopped by Jitlada over the Cinco De Mayo weekend for a quick Thai Fix and found out that the City Health Department had closed the restaurant due to cleanliness and insect problems. I wasn't sure what they found but I went to a web site called everyblock chicago that has all inspection reports for every restaurant in Chicago. And below is the list of violations.
JITLADA THAT HOUSE RESTAURANT failed inspection
Restaurant inspection detailsLocation 3715 N HALSTED
Inspection date May 2, 2008
Name JITLADA THAI HOUSE RESTAURANT
Doing business as JITLADA THAT HOUSE RESTAURANT
Also known as JITLADA THAI HOUSE
Result Fail
Violations V1: Critical: Regarding safe food sources
V13: Critical: Regarding vermin/insect infestations
V32: Minor: Regarding state of equipment and utensils
V33: Minor: Regarding cleanliness and sanitization
V35: Minor: Regarding walls and ceilings
V36: Minor: Regarding lighting
V38: Minor: Regarding airflow and plumbing
V41: Minor: Regarding cleanliness of establishment
Notes The V1 violation was corrected during the inspection.
For more info checkout the website: http://chicago.everybl...
I hope that clean up their act soon cause the food is not to bad.
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Oh Jitlada, how I long for your fourth star. If only your service weren't so shoddy, and restaurant layout so bizarre. I mean, what's up with the giant television? Couldn't we just come in and eat in peace without big brother watching?
But don't worry folks, the food is good here, and at lunchtime the mammoth TV isn't on. Then again, neither are the employees all that tuned in, but hey, it's lunch time in the nether regions of Boystown, so really what do you expect. I'm usually the only or one of a few customers in the place during the lunch hours.
Their pad thai here, especially with the rice noodles instead of the regular pad that noodles, is perfect. Also their soups are pretty phenomenal. Check out the Napa Cabbage soup, or the Tom Kha. Also, a surprise goodie for me here was the Orange Chicken, which I hesitated on ordering because it seems like more of a Chinese selection, but the dish came out glistening, and the chicken was fried more thinly and crisply, almost like tempura. Anyone who loves a good Orange Chicken should check this out here. (Make sure to mention you want it extra crispy because sometimes I get it and it's not as crispy as that first time I fell in love with it. Kind of like marriage.)
UPDATE 5/14/08: Well I'm giving Jitlada the extra star after all. I've been going back to this place almost weekly for their lunch special. The food here is just really good. I don't care if the atmosphere sucks.
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Oh Jitlada... I love thee so! This may be the best thai food ever!!! I should say best Pad See Ewe, as that is my favorite dish there. SO YUMMICIOUS!!! And the staff is SO friendly! EAT HERE! You won't regret it!
Very yummy and spicy thai food. I'm glad they're in my neighborhood. Their soups are darn spicy, the way I love them. The red curry and glass pad thai were good also. It's BYOB and the service is usually fast.
My favorite thai restaurant. I cannot get Pad Thai like that anywere else. Crab Ragoon is great too. Yellow Curry is good.
The best pad thai around. Just ridiculously fresh and tasty and exactly the way pad thai should be made. The fruit freezes are great too, and being able to get them there can save a long trip to Joy Yee's.
Jitlada is what you hope a neighborhood Thai restaurant would be. It's poorly decorated, the staff is friendly, but most importantly, the food is great.
Star of Siam is my favorite Thai in the downtown/Loop/River North area but when I'm near Wrigley, I like to stop by Jitlada for their fiercly spicy curries. I'm a big fan of the green and red curry here - I have yet to try their panang so that's the next one on the list.
If you're in the area and looking for something laid back, go to Jitlada. If you're looking to go fancy (and not much more expensive), try out Ping Pong which is just a few blocks down the road.
Last tip - if you can't find street parking, there is a parking lot behind it in the strip mall type area. Just go further north on Halsted and turn right to get to it.
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I am a curry lover, and this place rocks it. I've made curries from scratch and from those lovely curry pastes you can buy at you local Asian store. Curry pastes are nice when you don't have the time to make a nice, lively Thai curry.
Many local Thai restaurant use pastes pre-made. You can't blame them, it does cut costs on labor and time. But this place doesn't cut corners. I love their curries. They are so alive. Their green, red, yellow, and mussaman all have their own personality. I've been to Arun's, and on their tasting menu had Beef Mussaman. Jitlada's kicked their ass. Arun's had no personality, no layers. Arun's was wonderful with their other dishes, but for curries, I recommend Jitlada's when you can't make your own curry. I really like their Tom Kha, just the right balance!
we wandered over to jitlada thai for an early dinner after a cubs afternoon game. i was with a group of 7, and so we opted to order a few dishes and share, to try everything out. We shared tom- kha- kai, pad thai (rice noodles), pineapple fried rice, panang curry, shrimp with glass noodles, and the fried tofu appetizer. i highly recommend each of these items, especially including the tom-kha-kai, pad thai, and panang curry. we ordered everything to be medium-spicy, and it was the perfect amount of spice for me.everything came out quickly, and the waitstaff was extremely attentive, and patient. i look forward to coming back!
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Jitlada has very good food. Nothing is too greasy and all ingredients taste very fresh. I love the crab rangoon and Pad Thai. Some dishes can be very spicy, so beware. Can be difficult to order over the phone, but a nice quiet dining area, so I prefer going there.
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It use to be ma favourite restaurant until I found some seaweed in a wonton soup it seems like noodle but in fact it's totally not i put that thing in my mouth but "OH MY GOD" ITS NOT A SEAWEED BUT I WAS REALLY A FEW OF SOME ONE HAIR! ; i just felt like hang in the air after they should've gotten me a new one as i expect but they didn't work in that way instead got me the same bowl ,same portion of soup.I couldn't believe it that they just took my soup away and pick it up and return that shit to me, well SO LONG
I used to think I was a sassy spice lady. I could handle heat in my food. Spicy peppers? Not a problem! Spicy spices? Bring 'em on, I love flavor!
Well. That was until I met Jitlada.
Turns out I am a big, fat sissy-pants when it comes to heat at Jitlada. First time around I ordered my standard: crab rangoon and green curry, medium spicy. The rangoons were tasty--not spectacular, but definitely good. The green curry looked and smelled delicious. The green curry BURNED THE HELL out of my mouth. I knew that somewhere in there it tasted really good, but it was so hard to get past the flaming heat. My brilliant remedy was to eat it faster, thinking if I got the curry in my mouth, did a quick chew and swallowed in record time, that would mean less searing pain. Here's a tip--when something burns the hell out of your mouth, you might not want to shovel it all in as fast as possible. It hurts both the mouth and the tummy. Owie.
Fast forward to my most recent trip to Jitlada. I was nervous. A little twitchy. If I asked for mild, would they laugh at me? Would it be too tame? I had the crab rangoon (still tasty) and the green curry, mild this time. It was definitely a blow to the spice ego to request mild, but my mouth thanked me for the delicious treat it got. I could actually taste everything! And it was good.
Now I know I can't knock a place for having food that's not suited to my wussy palate, but I think I can deduct some starage for the craptastic service we had last time around. There were only like, three tables occupied, but it was rrrrrough getting served and the folks just weren't friendly like my other go-to Thai joints. I wouldn't turn down an offer to head to Jitlada, but it's just not #1 on my list. 3.5 stars.
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I have only done lunch at this storefront restaurant. The lunch specials are an amazing deal, as long as the waitstaff remembers to give the orderer everything - appetizer, soup and the entree. There were a couple of visits where a waitperson was new and only gave me the entree.
The Pad Thai Chicken was good, and spicy enough for me. The pad kee mao was even better. Decor is good, with lots of windows. There is a parking lot devoted to the strip of stores behind off of Broadway.
no no...no no.....nnnnnno. Hate it hate it hate it. I use to live across the street from this place and the food is awful. I even went back like a fool two and three times. When it comes to Thai food I always go for the pad Thai. I keep thinking that maybe they just were having a bad day, maybe there was a blue flu in the kitchen and they hired the disgruntled cta workers from the depot next store, but no. It was the same every time. The noodles are always over cooked and the sauce has no flavor just a ton of spice. I've tried it with no spice, med spice, and somewhere inbtw but it always is the same....an inferno in my mouth. The service is nice though. While I've never eaten in the counter people are always cheery and understanding. Come to think of it...I've also tried the crab Rangoon and it was like a fried cream cheese disaster....blah...just not good.
Hot, fresh, well-portioned, efficient, semi-quirky Thai.
The restaurant itself is fun, complete with the cat with swinging arm thing. I like those.
Lots of seating, comfy booths.
Takeout always has hit the spot. Friendly and super fast.
Private parking! ;)
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i am madly in love with Jitlada curry!!! (green,red,panang, whatever) our relationship has become pretty serious, and my torrid love affair all began when i moved next door and walked into this seemingly dumpy thai dive. it's been magic ever since. the service can border on satisfactory if youre lucky and is down right terrible other times, but like an abused house wife on lifetime tv, i keep coming back, because i cant seem to squelch my love/lust for this divey little slice of siamese heaven.
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I went here with my buddy Stephen last night. We are spice freaks, always looking to sample the hottest of hot foods. We told Jitlada to make it as hot as possible, but I don't think they stood up to the test. By the way, does anyone know of a Thai place that has really HOT dishes? Even Thai Aroma has a scale of 1-6 for hotness, but the 6 still doesn't totally do it for me.
Anyway, we had Crab Rangoon, which was really really good, and not greasy as heck like most other places. The fried rice is exactly like Thai Aroma's, and the pad Thai did have an assortment of crushed peanuts, sugar, and hot chili's hanging out on the side of the dish. This was kind of weird to me, but turned out to be pretty good.
All and all, there wasn't anything that blew me away. Although, I will say that the ingredients were very fresh, particularly the veggies. That's always a good sign, and to me, worthy of another trip there since I live pretty close.
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This is a tasty, fresh restaurant. Nothing exceptional, although I had a Pad Thai which was better than average. Not sure what was up with the granulated white sugar on the side, though...
Really cheap, friendly fast service, and tasty food - sounds like a winner to me!
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We order Jitalda's for takeout a lot, and the food is scrumptious. The yellow curry is my personal favorite, and the fried rice, tofu pad thai, and basil chicken are all really good. About 25 percent of the time, they get our order wrong, though. The people taking the order don't speak English very well, to the point where it's kind of hard to order. We've ordered with a credit card a couple of times, and they've had to call us back because they got the number wrong. The last time we ordered, they gave us tofu fried rice instead of tofu pad thai. We called them to ask them to bring us the right order, and we got an answering machine. We left a message, but they never called us back.
So...maybe takeout isn't the best option.
Very good Thai food that's fast and priced right. I've eaten in and carried out and it's always fast and deeelish. I think the crab rangoon's a little funky but I think that's just because it's the thai way of making it. Who knows. Waitstaff and the people at the front counter are really nice. I've never seen the place empty.
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I have eaten there and also gotten delivery from Jitlada. I must say their food is mighty tasty. Didn't know about the kitchen, that is quite a disappointment but the staff was real friendly, courteous, and prompt. I love the curry dishes and pad Thai which you can wash down with one of the many smoothies they make there. I definitely recommend going there to eat...
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This is really a great Thai place. I've been coming here since 2004 and although it's been through many changes, the food has, overall remained fresh and yummy.
The spiciness level here is high, so get your things mild if you can't stand the heat. If you like soup, try the Tom Kah Kai soup to begin. The Basil Pork (or Chicken or Beef) is a great entree. For a while, the ONLY thing I would order would be the Roasted Duck Curry. It's the BEST curry dish, really, and Mrs. Toi makes it VERY WELL. And get a glass of Thai Iced tea, or bring your own BEER!
When I started coming here, the servers, a few cute young Thai guys, gave some of the best service in town. What happened to them? I stopped going for a few months and they vanished! The current fat old lady server is rude, and not a very good server.
Oh, and I'd say you should probably go when it's not too busy for better tasting food. I think that when they're in a rush, the quality can go down a bit.
Mrs. Toi, keep on rockin', but fire that fat old lady server!
**UPDATE** Seems like they did fire that fat old lady server! YAY!
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Went here this past weekend. Decided to try it after getting a coupon from restaurant.com. Not exactly what I expected--the place ended up to be pretty dumpy--dirty spoons, returned with 2 more dirty spoons, flies hovering. Food was ok. Like other reviewers said, this place can actually crank out a spice level.
We ordered tom yum (decent), pad thai (decent, but not the best I've had), garlic pepper with beef (not too bad), and fresh rolls (once again, decent). I would pass on the drinks-strawberry smoothie was icey, and thai iced coffee was very smokey.
All in all, the coupon did not make things worth it, and I wouldn't go back.
Yum, Yum!
I found a new place I'll be ordering my Tofu Pad Thai from. This pad thai is very comparable to Thai Aroma's. I like pad thai that comes out dark orange, not that weird soggy yellow kind. And I like plenty of cabbage, sprouts and limes on the side. That is what I love, and that ia what Jitlada delivered. It wasn't too spicy. I loved the sugar clump "side", although I only used a tiny taste. The crab rangoon was good too.
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BYOB alert! I was out late on a sunday so as i am sure you know it can be tough finding good food (picking up a pizza at the BP on the corner doesn't count as good). I actually wasn't even going to go here but we couldn't find a place close by that sold sake to accompany our sushi so boddington's and thai food it is. Glad it worked out that way, doesn't get much better than crab rangoon (is that an authentic delicacy??) and panang curry with a 16.9 (they're metric) of bodds! They claim on the menu that everything is 100% natural, homemade, and fresh (which all things equal doesn't mean much) but all the boasting was not unfounded. Have a seat at the comfy window booth and receive gawks from the passer-bys.
Above average Thai food, nice and spicy, Wait staff is always nice. No complaints, just nothing that blows me away. Better that PSBangkok for sure, and Duck Walk. Fairly ordinary storefront restaurant. Someday Chicago will have an upscale Thai restaurant with the food to match.
I think I ordered my pad thai here a little too spicy- wow! The burn must have lasted at least 2 hours. Everything was pretty tasty besides it being a little spicy- and that side of MSG is really just sugar. It helps tone down the spicy if you get it too hot! I was also very impressed with the crab wontons- they were stuffed!
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Not bad, not the best. I am still searching for a great Thai place and this is not it. I would still eat here again though.
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I ama big fan of authentic cuisine regardless of the cuisine. Thai happens to be one of my favorites and always in search of a restaraunt that delivers the flavors, spicies and foods which are as authentic as posible. Jitlada by far maintains its true roots to home thai cuisine.
I cannot list any bad dishes they are all excellent. For those who find americanized thai dishes flavorful may want to venture outside their comfort zone and taste true thai- One warning though medium is considered spicy to the average joe, but if you are in want of a true flavor ful and aromatic experience that will have you coming back for more this is the place. It is also very reasonably priced.
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The food is five stars. I have tried so many appetizers and entrees and haven't been disappointed yet. Their pad thai is my favorite in the city (and believe me, I have been on a pad thai hunt to find a spot that can make it better than Jitlada). Other favorites include any fried rice dish (chili paste is my favorite), garlic chicken, crab rangoon, orange chicken, chili paste entree, and the list goes on. The food is always fresh which is why we go back. The service is slow and watch out when it's busy. We are addicted to the flavors which you have got to try. Their medium spice is comparable to what other restaurants consider hot.
jitlada is AWESOME. from the crispy/creamy crab rangoon, to the incredibly tasty/spicy tom yum noodle soup, to the amazingness of its BYOB policy, jitlada is the perfect neighborhood joint. my girfriend is mildly obsessed with their crazy spicy noodle, and their warm and flavorful curries are the perfect solution on those horribly cold chicago nights.
as a few other reviewers noted, they're not messing around when they say spicy. i can order it spicy because i'm a total badass when it comes to handling the heat, but average humans ought to order with caution. i once saw a guy take a bite of spicy massamun curry and instantly burst into flames. true story.
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Great little place I happened upon one night a few years ago. I fell in love with the curry with pineapple and shrimp but keep coming back for the basil chicken (medium spice). The thai spice is definitely hotter than what you are use too so I don't recommend going hotter than medium if you love spicy food like me. I also recently tried a new tofu satay app that is great. Big portions and very fast for take-out and for sit down. Totally nothing fancy and BYOB but it will soon be a favorite if you live in the neighborhood. I even love the Thai coffee candies... one young lady there even told me where to find them up on Argyle street for cheap.
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I'd heard such great things about this place, but all the hype led to disappointment. The food is overdone--it tastes like the most extreme version of every element in the dish--and I think there was something like a side of M.S.G. with my pad thai. I hope I'm wrong about that. Interestingly, I asked for my dish extra-spicy, which I think they understood as extra-salty. Another bead on a string of mediocre Thai restaurants in Chicago.
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While it is just a small storefront location, this is the best Thai restaurant in Chicago. All of the food is fresh and homemade. On the menu it even says, "No canned food-100% fresh". Jitlada is not particularly fancy, but what it lacks in ambiance, it makes up in food quality. While the standards like Pad Thai are excellent, you can't go wrong with one of their 9 curry dishes. All of them are quite different and amazing. The food is great, and the prices match. Nothing on the menu is over $10, with most entrees checking in between $6-$8.
If you like Thai, you must try Jitlada before you can say you've had the best!
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The food is very good here. The portions for a Thai place are big as well and the price is definitely right.
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One of the best Thai restaurants in Chicago (well, more on the Americanized Thai side) - the inside decor isn't all that but the food is so tasty and fresh! I love their pad thai and lad nar - the customer service is great & they deliver, too.
I read some of the other reviews saying this was some of the best Thai in Chicago. I was thinking, "Yeah, right." In reality, it truly is the best I've had. The Pad Thai was amazing, as was the panang curry and crab rangoon. So good, in fact, that we went back later in the same week for more. That time we had the orange chicken, which was also the best I've ever had. The ingredients are high quality, meaning the food is well above the standards of other take-out places.
You can order online, and they offer a discount on your first online order. I had a strange problem though, I wanted to pick up the food, clearly chose that option on the web, and they still delivered it. Wasn't a big deal, the food arrive fast, hot and fresh.
UPDATE 12/9/07: This was one of the first Yelp reviews I wrote, and I'm dropping them two stars. I've had some bizarre occurrences there the last few times we've dined in, and I'm not as enamored with the food as I once was. Bizarre occurrences? Thanks for asking. There was the time they were experimenting with a karaoke machine, but the waitstaff was doing the singing... badly, to bad songs. It got weird. This next one may sound xenophobic, but it's not. Not enough language was spoken among the staff present to clarify that they'd overcharged my credit card by a dollar or two, so I was trying to explain what had happened and that I wanted the extra amount to go toward the tip I was leaving. The waitress said okay, but then talked to the guy who was at the counter, who stopped us to ask if everything was okay as we left, pointing to the low tip. I explained it to him twice, and my girlfriend tried as well. We pointed at the difference between what was on the check and what was on the charge slip... I'm still not sure it was understood or not, and I felt terrible about the whole thing.
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Great food for carry out. Good price and plenty of food. I wouldn't dine there though as it was kind of dirty when we were there.
I still order there every week though for the delicious Pad Thai.
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