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Tue-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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This is a great Thai place, unexpected for the location, it's right on the edge of the "wrong side of the tracks" in Oak Park. Everything I've had here is wonderful, but it is a little bit on the pricey side for Thai food. If it's busy, expect to wait a little bit for your food, but at least it'll be hot and freshly made.
We usually get the chicken satay to start, and they are about as good as anywhere else. The chicken is a little firmer than other places, you really have to tear it off the skewer. Peanut sauce is really good.
Their chicken pad thai is awesome, some of the best I've had. But my hands down favorite is the beef pad see ewe - OMG it's sooo good, I could eat the whole thing myself. We usually get like a coconut chicken curry dish - and while it's good, the potatoes are never cooked enough for me, but I find that at all thai restaurants.
One of the best things they have is their Thai iced coffee - WOW is it good. Apparently they use real coffee (and not Thai coffee) so it's stronger than most places, and they use condensed milk and regular milk - it's both strong and sweet at the same time - YUM. If you go during lunch, order one afterwards to bring back to the office with you to keep you up, b/c you'll be falling asleep otherwise from all the food.
A tip - if you're a regular, you can place your order ahead of time and they'll have it ready for you shortly after you sit down. Street parking in the area during lunchtime is pretty easy, but I cannot comment about during the evenings.
Of the picKs, this has the best atmosphere inside. I have not been inside to eat in awhile, tho.
Just put in an order for PICKup shumai and pad woonsen - $17. A sm appetizer and noodles? I can't afford to eat MEDIOCRE FOOD here anymore.
Great Food. Great Service. Great Atmosphere. I feel as if a tiny bit on the pricey side, but maybe that's just me. Really, it's an all around Great Thai Place. Great restaurant experience, great for a date, or before/after a movie.
like everything else I really like in oak park, i wish this place were open later, like til 1 a.m. - that would be awesome.
The only thing that keeps it from a 5 is that just while all of it's attributes are great, none of them are so unbelieveable as to leave you stunned.
Go here and you won't be dissapointed, you'll be very happy.
Long Live Mama Thai.
Been dining and ordering out for years. Love their fresh shrimp vegetable rolls. Yummy menu. And yes a bit more pricey. Good service.
This is a FABULOUS restaurant! The service is wonderful and the food is excellent! I've been going to this restaurant for at least 5
Mama Thai is the second Thai place we have visited since moving to Oak Park. This one is WAYYYYYY better then the first. The food was good. If I was rating on food alone I would probably give it 4 stars. The service on the other hand is lacking. Our waitress only brought out 3 of the 4 meals and walked away without saying a word. I flagged her down a couple minutes later and she said the fourth meal was on its way. Aghh. Would have been nice to know that originally. We will be visiting Mama Thai's again though. Good Curry.
Mama Thai was my 1st experience with Thai food. Growing up in a small town in central Illinois, the closest thing to exotic cuisine was the Chinese delivery restaurant.
My first time there, I ordered Pad Thai since I heard it is the classic dish and most people like it. I loved it (with extra limes). Additional tries would be their: mild curry, pangang curry, woonsen pad thai (for lower carbs), chicken basil, golden grab, cucumber salad and many more.
I took my best friend here, because she was a Thai virgin. She loved it, too! The service is very quick & friendly. I think the food reflects the love from the kitchen and the wait staff. Amazing!
Very good food and service everytime I've been. The Lard Nar is a bit bland, but the Spicy Basil - yummy! Cute interior and pleasant atmosphere - never too loud.
I am gonna go ahead and say that I pretty much love Thai food and I've tried a lot of different restaurants. That being said, I was not super impressed with the quality of the food at Mama Thai. It was mediocre at best and I probably won't go back. Parking is also kind of tricky around there.
Mama Thai thinks that crushed nuts are a condiment, and that is O.K. by me.
The decor is quaint. Oak Park is also quaint. So, that checks out.
My basil duck was exceptional, really a cut above the rest. It seemed as though everything was diced, cut and prepared to order as opposed to that "clump 'o food" you get at a basic lunch-special style Thai restuarant. Prices are also a cut above the standard $7/Pad Thai houses, so everybody wins, I suppose.
That font on the front sign is hard for me to look at. I'll close my eyes next time.
I am so disappointed to be taking a star away.
I have always been here for dinner, and we decided to stop in for lunch a couple of days ago. Ordered the same things we always get that we usually LOVE.
MEDIOCRE. At best.
Possibly a different chef during the day?
BEST Pad Thai... ever... hands down. And I've had quite a few. Every time I try other Thai… Read more »
This place has some really interesting Thai specials like whole roasted fish or duck in a curry sauce. The restaurant is clean and the service is prompt. Try the shrimp wonton soup.
The only negative thing about this place is a caucasian teen server with a ridiculously dramatic attitude. My husband and I both ordered a Singha and he felt the need to yell across the restaurant for someone to check our IDs.
Been eating here since it opened and really love their food. May not be the most authentic Thai restaurant but their Pad Thai is some of the best around.
Only complaint is that they use to have a BYOB policy and since they now have a liquor license they have discouraged bringing in your own brew.
Mama, please forgive me.
I've been an awful girl. I ran away to chase greener pastures, to explore what other pleasures the world had to offer, but I know I've been too rebellious, too hasty. You've always been good to me. Not only have you nourished me when I was hungry, but you made it so that each bite was loving and delicious. You've taken excellent care of me always, making sure I had a comfortable place to be, that I had everything I needed. You've warmly welcomed all of my friends and extended the same care, feeding them as if they were your own. You've made promises to me that you've always kept; you've never let me down. Yet, I still left you. I'm sorry I've abandoned you for so, so long.
I'm grown up now (whatever that means), and life still takes me in all sorts of directions, but now that you've welcomed me back, the Prodigal Daughter, I promise I will visit you more often. I suppose you've always had the door open. There really is no place like home. Thank you, Mama.
I normally don't eat the food at the restaurant, we bring it home as take out. I love the great flavorful food here, and we always end up ordering too much. We get the Kao Soy, which is pasta and chicken is a spicy peanut-like sauce. We also get the beef salad, which is spicy beef, cucumbers, shredded carrots, lettuce, and sauce. I love this place, and will be ordering from it soon!
Decent. But just doesn't even compare to the thai I've had in the city. I ordered the pad see ew, which was rather bland.
Go to Chicago and try Aroy Thai and Thai Linda. If you like Mama Thai, then you'll LOVE those places.
After a few friends talked it up as one of their favourite Thai places, I figured I'd have to give it a shot.
The first time I had Mama Thai, I was less than impressed. Granted, it was take-out and it sat for quite a while before we dug in, but what we got was uninspiring. The packaging for the take-out didn't keep the food hot for long, the flavour was minimal, the noodles were overcooked, and the tasters were greasy. I was set in thinking that was it, no second chance needed.
The friends that talked up the place were surprised by this experience, but couldn't say much since they had only ever eaten in the restaurant. I was talked into giving Mama Thai another chance and I'm very glad I did!
The restaurant is open and cozy with a minimalist feel, the staff is friendly and helpful and the food was served fast! My friend and I split an order of the Golden Crab (which was delicious and nicely seasoned), the Pad See Eiw (lots of meat and a generous serving of chinese broccoli) and the Roast Duck Noodle (not up to par with the rest of the meal, it was lacking in flavour and was cold).
I'll gladly be back and try other dishes off the menu, the plus being it's close by and parking is easy.
Delicious.
My friend and I went here one night because we were steadfast in finding a good a nice place to eat in Oak Park that wouldn't make us absurdly poor.
This was it.
We both went full out and did appetizer, soup, entree. All were delicious and all we could talk about how great it was. I want to come back more often but never get the chance. Depending on what you get it can be pretty pricey, but everything is worth a try.
Definitely some of the best Thai food I've ever had!!! I spent a whole lot of time at Mama Thai when I lived down the street for 3 years! It was at least a twice monthly trip for dine-in and a few carryout visits too.
The pad se woon is my favorite - basically pad thai but with glass noodles instead - sooo yummy. The peanut sauce here is delicious! Try the chicken satay with peanut sauce or the rama chicken. The Thai iced tea - sweet and thick and just tasty! The soups, especially the tom kha, are fresh and spicy!
I haven't lived near Mama Thai in over a year, but still sometimes stop in when I'm in Oak Park. It is one of the best restaurants in Oak Park, and I honestly haven't found better Thai food in the city yet either. I always get hit by the nostalgia from my really fun years in Oak Park when I dine here.
Service is good. The restaurant is clean, cute, quaint.... and take out is pretty fast and sometimes more convenient as the restaurant can get pretty crowded.
I was surprised this place wasnt more crowded on a Saturday night because it is fantastic! The hours stink (open til 10) but that's OK. We shared Mongolian beef and pad woonsen with chicken. Both were flavorful and the meat was tender. I only wish it was a little more spicy. All the noodle or rice dishes come with your choice of meat, tofu or more veggies so anyone can find something they like. The portions are decent and the prices are awesome. I will definitely go back.
This is a great place for a relaxed dinner. The food is great, the staff is nice, and the ambiance is great.
Mama Thai is delicious Thai food in authentic surroundings.
Get the spicy basil chicken---so good!
Best Thai place I've ever been to including the places in the city.
Bring the whole fam! Only the pickiest eaters will object.
Went to Mama Thai for dinner in April (dine in) and I wasn't impressed with the Talapia, I hated how it was prepared (BAKED) and thought that the description in the menu was misleading; also, it was bland and had no character. However, I did enjoy the shrimp won ton soup.
I'll mention that my husby loves the place. Had him bring me a large order of the shrimp won ton soup (carry out) last week and to my surprise, I hated it. The texture of the noodles were ugh, I believe overall, it was cooked too long!
I'll probably give this place one more try, I think, only because I love spicy/hot; I was in the mood for talapia that 1st visit. I have a girlfriend who loves the place also, I'll ask her opinion on what to order....
Mama Thai isn't the best Thai I've had, but it's not bad. The Thai iced tea is great, and I like their Tom Yum... and the Pad Woon Sen is quite delicious. I wish they were open on Monday, though... I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have called to order Thai on a Monday (go figure) only to remember they are closed.
Overall, I'm not super impressed with the food--but I'm also not super disappointed. It's good Thai at a fair price. The real deal is lunch... they have (I think they still do) a really great lunch special that is a very good value.
Outstanding - I've been there twice recently, and come away both times with a full belly and a smile on my face!
Excellent service.
Great atmosphere - homey feel.
Delicious veggie soup - awesome clear, lite broth.
Marvelous Chicken Basil - ground chicken, basil, etc. in a perfect garlic sauce.
Yummy fried tofu - peanut sauce was right on the money!
Cucumber salad was just the right balance of sweet and sour.
Really fair prices.
Modest wine list.
I've eaten here a few times and the service and food has been okay. Of late, I've mainly ordered delivery and my experience with it has been awful and I just refuse to frequent this place anymore. I have just had too many bad and questionable experiences here. One time, I ordered through an online delivery service and was charged one price through the website and when the person showed up, he charged me a higher bill. When I called them, they won't refund me the difference; they just blamed the website. Another time, I ordered through their website which was what they recommended for me to do to avoid problems and this time, there was a credit card problem on their end and this made me really weary of the trustworthiness of their website. The response I got was that I should never trust any website with my credit card information. Why do they allow credit cards if they think it's not safe? I've had other problems with them too like super long delivery times and cancellations of my delivery. It has just been one too many problems. Their food is not spectacular, just average but I would rather spend my money at a slightly below average place that offers better customer service.
Let's just say there is something fishy going on with their pricing. The pricing listed on http://grubhub.com has a $1.00-$2.00 difference based on their in-house menu and an additional $1 more than King and I (that's about 3 more dollars on average for a meal, that's not as nearly good as King and I). Their food is decent and fresh. More than anything I go there for the ambiance -- wooden booths and relaxing lighting.
Best Thai food in the Chicago area. We eat here and get delivery regularly. Favorites include Kao Soy, fried tofu, and Panang Curry. When it's in season, their mango sticky rice is absolutely delicious. Cozy space that can get crowded on weekends. Delivery is always prompt and food warm upon arrival. Limited alcohol selection, but that's not why you go here. Closed Mondays.
Someone mentioned the King and I had better food; yet I think the quality is about the same.
The difference between the two spots is that Mama Thai is more contemporary aesthetically and a nicer place to take a date. Their crab rangoon rocks and the shrimp and crabmeat stuffed shell is tasty but you'll be disappointed in the quantity if its a shared appetizer. The mongolian beef was spicy and tasty. Top it off with a Tsingtao japanese beer and you're set. Service is fast and friendly, though you don't feel rushed to leave.
Well, well, well. Looks like I've found a new Thai restaurant outside of the city limits to frequent on a regular basis. I've been there probably 5 or 6 times and 'tis delicious each time. The first time, the significant other and I made it just in time for the lunch special which was uh, an appetizer, soup and an "entree" I believe... Yummy potstickers (CHICKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!) with delish plum sauce... tasty soup (and I'm not usually a fan of soup), FABULOUS pad thai. The egg rolls were absolutely FABS! Superb sauce.
I just have to make sure I ask for the little tray of sauces because the crushed peanuts are among the array of goodies which I LOVE because I can put as much peanut on it as I damn well please.
I was pleasantly surprised by this place! The food was very good and very reasonably priced. Service was quick and efficient as well. The restaurant is actually bigger than you'd think it would be from the outside. We had the pot stickers (very tasty), pad thai (also very tasty), and pad see ew (I know I spelled that wrong, but again, tasty).
Small beer and wine list, and strangely Heineken is the same price as MGD. I'm not complaining though. They also have a couple of appropriate imports (Tsing Tao and something else that escapes me). And Sake, though we didn't try it. We'll be sure to do that next time.
Parking is nonexistent, though it's usually not terribly hard to find something on Madison. It's a seat-yourself kind of place, or at least it seemed to be. If not, I guess we were a bit gauche.
Almost 5 stars.
Great appetizers! I recommend the sampler platter to give you a couple bites of everything. As far as the entrees go, I've had the green curry, pad Thai and some sort of seafood noodle dish - all were wonderful. Last but not least, the coconut soup is wonderful! And the cucumber salad is yummy too. The prices are good, service is good, atmosphere is good, etc.
no compliants, just more of a 4.75 than a 5.
This is just some great tasting Pad Thai! Love it!
Lordy, Lordy - Some of these reviewers don't know a darn thang about Thai food!
We went into Mama Thai for a casual, late-night dinner. The restaurant claimed that they closed at 9:30pm, yet when we walked in at 8:10pm they told us that the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes. Hmmm.
For appetizers we ordered the vegetable egg rolls and vegetable tempura. The egg rolls? Not bad. The tempura? I'm not quite sure what it was. All I know is that it was so deeply fried with so much oil that I almost felt pimples popping out of my face with every single bite. You couldn't taste the carrots or broccoli - instead you felt droplets of oil dripping from your pores. It was disgusting and almost gave me a case of the runs at the table. But if that weren't enough!
For our entrees we ordered one Pepper and Garlic Beef in addition to one Vegetable Panang Curry. The second our waiter put my beef in front of me, I took one look at it and immediately began to comment on how cheap the meat was...Without even tasting it! And when I put the first bite into my mouth? Yep - VILE. I'm not even sure that this was really beef, to be quite honest with you. None of the grocery stores in my area, not even the little hole-in-the-wall stores, sell beef of such a poor quality. Pieces of tendon and fat were hanging off of my slices of beef to the point where I almost vomited what I couldn't chew...Right there at the table. When I lifted most of the beef off of my plate so that I could eat my plain white rice for dinner? That's right! The bottom of my plate was covered in so much liquified fat that it surrounded my rice.
So I thought that the Vegetable Panang Curry would be much better. WRONG AGAIN! At first bite, the panang sauce had a pretty interesting flavor but you could immediately tell that the vegetables weren't cooked fully. Shortly after swallowing this sauce, your stomach and esophagus agreed to disagree...
But I didn't even begin to tell you about the service, now did I?
Well, I mentioned that they informed us that the kitchen was closing 15 minutes after we arrived...Which was over an hour before the restaurant was due to close. As we were picking through our appetizers, the employees began to discuss when they could leave the store - including our waiter, who kept pacing back and forth in front of our table. At one point he had our check in his hand which I'm assuming he was intending on delivering. Thankfully he chose not to do so. We hadn't even gotten our entrees yet and chances are, I would've walked out of the restaurant at that point and risked the Oak Park Police Department coming after me for non-payment of inedible food.
As we signed our credit card slip and stood up from the booth, all of the employees within the restaurant (including the chefs) came walking towards the door. We weren't even on the sidewalk and the lights were off! Ridiculous. Purely ridiculous.
And the worst part about the whole thing?
Under no circumstance should you be suffering from a burning anus, nausea and terrible heartburn when you ate no more than two bites of your food. And when you're chewing raspberry mint gum, yet the taste of Panang continues to fill your mouth, there's a problem.
All in all? The end of our night was spent looking into the toilet and seeing a mirror image of what we ate...And that would be pure shit.
I've just moved back to Oak Park for the third time (what can I say, I like the place!) and I've known about Mama Thai since the first few weeks of my very first move several years ago. Back in the day it was the best Thai food in the village - delish and large portions and no more expensive than anyplace else.
However - that's simply not the case any more. About 6 months ago I ordered from there while visiting a friend here. I was less than impressed with the quality of the food, and the prices seemed to have jumped up quite a bit. Last weekend the DH, my girlfriend and I ordered dinner and all three of us have simply decided that we just aren't going to ever order from there again. I ordered Pad Thai with extra Tofu - and what I got was mildly-flavored noodles and some bean-sprouts. Okay, there *was* a lot of tofu, but they charged me SIX DOLLARS for it! You can order *plain* Pad Thai for $8.95 - but to add any meat or tofu is an additional $3 - since I asked for "extra" - I got charged a total of $14.95 for a small-sized entree without any actual ingredients - there were no crushed peanuts, no shredded veggies - the sauce was minimal and a bit bland. Girlfriend's Pad Thai Chicken was pretty much the same. The only thing that was *more* disappointing was DH's BBQ Pork Noodle - it was if the noodles came from a package of ramen (not much flavor other than SALT) and the BBQ pork was a few chips of rather flavorless dry meat. He didn't even want to finish the meal (which is absolutely not his SOP), so we gave him the rest of the appetizers - Chicken Potstickers and Golden Crab - which were at least better than the entrees. I do love chicken potstickers :)
The cost of this sub-par meal? FIFTY DOLLARS. Seriously. I knew I was going to miss some of the takeaway/delivery options when we left the city to come back to OP, but this is ridiculous! When has anyone *ever* paid $50 for Thai - unless you were ordering a TON of food???
But I do love my Pad Thai Tofu - so we'll now go through all the other places in the OP area and find someplace else to order from. If we can't find anything good, I'll have DH pick up from some of the great places in Chicago on his way home from work. We WILL NOT order from Mama Thai again.
Overall a disappointing experience for my friend and I.
First impression when we walked in: warm lighting, cozy ambiance, and an army of waitresses.
The night started out strong: the Todmun (fish cake with sweet sauce and peanut) was delicious. The portion was right for its price (~8 pcs, $6.25).
Then things went downhill from there. We ordered soup: Tom Yum and Tom Kha (coconut-based). The Tom Kha was quite good. The Tom Yum, forget it okay. It was one of the worst Tom Yum I've ever had in my life. They might have replaced lemon grass and tamarind with Splenda. Eerily sweet!
Then came the entree. We had the house specials: roasted duck breast and stir-fried red snapper. The presentations were nice: flower made from tomato rind, duck breast all sliced up and stacked like fallen dominoes. But I couldn't really describe the tastes - or the lack thereof. Nothing went coherently in either of these dishes. They're like a couple of pretty actors trying to make it on Broadway but somehow lost their way and ended up in Vegas instead. The saddest part is, my friend and I paid a hefty sum for it ($14 each).
This further confirms my theory on asian food: the prettier it is, the crappier it tastes.
We decided they deserved a chance so we ordered a dessert. Settled on this coconut-egg-custard mini cup. It's served in three cute little ceramic cups that's been heated to 1000 F so, no delicate fingers on the cups okay. To our surprise it actually tasted good. Its glue-like texture was interesting and strangely delectable. We even get to keep the cups, says the menu.
But that wasn't enough to save it from the two stars. Damage's been done. Luckily, Poor Phil's was close by so we went and got ourselves Guinnesses and oysters in an attempt to wash down, and away, the memory of Mama Thai.
i only had take-out from here one time, but i was VERY pleased. i was told the order would be ready in 20 minutes. i showed up 7 minutes early, and it was just coming out of the kitchen. perfect.
i sampled the spring rolls, chicken satay, BBQ pork, and the spicy basil chicken (forgive me for not remembering the name). All were excellent-- not greasy, piping hot (except the spring rolls, of course), and seasoned perfectly. i was happy-- and i didn't feel that "i should never thai food again" feeling in my stomach the next day. very important.
i will definitely go back here if i'm ever in oak park. definitely.
This is a great place for Pad Thai. I've tried a couple other dishes there, but I'm most impressed with their Pad Thai. it's not too oily with the right about of flavor, it's the best Pad Thai I've had lately.
This is the best thai I've had in the Chicago area. Hands down. I've only been there for lunch, when they have a super-cheap lunch special. I think you get soup and an appetizer and an entree for under $10. Their tom kha soup rocks the house... i'd go back just for that. The spicy basil chicken, pad thai, EVERYTHING... good good good. I love this place and wish it were closer to where I live, as I'd be there all the time.
Based on what other Yelpers had written I thought this place would be a great for a casual Saturday dinner. Overall we were under whelmed. The decor was very cute and inviting. There were lots of wooden booths and tables close together. But the service was basically non existent. The server won't come until we closed our menus and just took our order all at once. We had the eggs rolls which were fine, nothing to write home about. My husband had the Pad Thai - which I will say was very good and bumped the review from 2 to 3 stars. It had a nice flavor and texture, much better than Penny's. I had the BBQ Pork Noodle which was disappointing. The pork and noodles had little flavor and just struck me as very plain. The specials did look interesting, and if we go back I would probably go that route.
Forest Park, IL
Category: Thai
Oak Park, IL
Category: Asian Fusion
Oak Park, IL
Category: Thai
Forest Park, IL
Category: Thai
Oak Park, IL
Category: Thai
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