Siam pasta is just all around a gastronomically delectable place to swing in to when in the mood for Thai food. There Is just a great consistency of delicious Thai food that is pleasing to the palate and the wallet. As remarked on by other reviewers, the outdoor patio is an amazing asset to have when the weather is nice. Being able to sit outside, and enjoy a meal is always great. Paired with the fact that everything on the menu is delicious, one can never go wrong with whatever they order. The pad Thai is unreal, pad-see-eww delicious, and the lychee fruit desert is a great cleanser to Finnish off your meal. You could honestly close your eyes and flip through the menu and pick something at random, and your meal would be great. If you love Thai food, you'll love siam pasta.
(4)
Hayley S.
An okay Thai restaurant. Nothing blew me out of the water. Ordered the shrimp spring rolls and they were tasty. Also ordered chicken pad Thai (best way to tell if a Thai restaurant is worth your money, eh?) and it was ehhhhh. Could've used spice and more of a peanut flavor. I couldn't tell the difference between the egg and the chicken, which kind of freaked me out. Also got chicken fried rice and I would get that again. Very good and had a lot of chicken. Service was also average. We wanted to sit in the outdoor patio but it was wet from rain earlier in the day, kind of a bummer.
(3)
Gabriella B.
Panang curry = peanut sauce served on a plate with some thawed vegetables thrown in for the heck of it. Also...am I the only one who noticed dust all over this restaurant? And no hot water in women's restroom. Save your money and go elsewhere. Unless you enjoy watching your server eat their meal at a table next to you.
(1)
Jason G.
awesome food, fresh ingredients and very quick delivery! i've never eaten in the dining room, but it's a favorite of my girlfriend & her mom. you definitely won't find anything fresher or tastier in Evanston.
(4)
Kelly R.
Just moved to the area and wanted to try since it's so close to my house. Ordered a variety of things and nothing was impressive. It was like terrible fast food Thai. My roommate and I will not be eating here again.
(1)
A B.
This is a horrible restaurant. The wait staff is rude. The waitress threw menus on the table and did not even say hello. When we were seated I asked to switch tables and the waitress gave some snippy reply that made no sense. My family and I just walked out without ordering. I have gone there quite a bit in the past, and I will NEVER go back. The food is okay and close by, but that's no longer a good enough reason to go to this place. Never again.
(1)
Monica E.
I ordered the Spicy Crazy Noodles during my last visit. The noodle came without any spice. I asked for chilli and fish sauce, they said they had fish sauce but couldnt bring me any cos they use it for cooking the noodles. I settled for their regular chilli sauce. The noodle was so greasy, it was difficult to eat as famish as I was. I feedback about the greasiness of the dish to the waitress, instead of trying to make it right, she just said to me, OH that is how flat rice noodle cook. I'm asian, I grew up on flat rice noodles, I've had this dish in other thai restaurants in Chicago too. None were unedibly greasy like this. I give both service and food 1 star and no I will definitely not be back there again.
(1)
Christopher B.
People in evanston probably take this place for granted. But coming from the crap western suburbs where all the thai restaurants are awful and a ripoff, this restaurant is outstanding. I wished I lived here just to eat here more often. Always FRESH, and delicious, and good size portions! The people that work here are kind and professional. Again, you will not find anything like this in the wastelands called Elmhurst, Schaumburg, elk grove, oak brook, Downers, etc, etc.
(5)
Nina B.
I took my children out for a quick supper after they joined me for an event at my school. I've been to this place in the past and was pleased with my meal, however this time - given the variety of what we ordered you'd think we would have a great time of feasting - but not at all. The only thing that was memorable for me was the shrimp in a blanket appetizer. The other appetizers were simply not tasteful or satisfying. The squid - left much to be desired; and the rolls of fresh vegetables, (I thought I was ordering spring rolls), tasted blah. I ordered the chicken and shrimp "macaroni", thinking that surely it would NOT be real macaroni - but it was. It reminded me of a skillet meal and there were only TWO shrimp among all that chicken that was actually rather chewy. The seasonings seemed off - maybe because I saw macaroni and thought bland. I was really disappointed. My children said that their soups were find- but nothing to write home about. The entire experience made me wonder who was cooking that night - not the folks who have been there the other times I've been there. Our server was pleasant, but not majorly attentive - in fact - hardly at all. Ho-hum. :-(
(2)
Anya A.
This place gets two and a half stars for food, four for having an open air patio on top of the restaurant but one star for service. To start, the food is decently priced. Basically you pay for what you get. To start I ordered the spring rolls. The paper wrappers were very odd and left a flour like taste in my mouth. They were also drenched in a plum sauce, so I was hard to taste the veggies and tofu that resided inside the roll. For my entree I went with the Pad Thai. I always like to get to know a Thai restaurant by their Pad Thai so I can compare. The Pa Thai is fine, nothing special. Definitely better options are nearby. The rooftop patio is great on a warm summer night. I enjoyed looking down on Dempster through the foliage and feeling the breeze in my hair. The waitstaff is unprofessional. My boyfriend had a groupon for this place on his phone and the waitress actually took his phone away from the table and to the cash register! We went over and told her that it is a huge security risk to do so, but it ended the meal on a negative note. Don't think I'll be coming back.
(2)
Amy K.
The food was eh and the service was terrible. The two girls played on their phones. We ate things off of the dirty appetizer plates. It's also not clean feeling inside. Not what I remembered from a few years ago.
(1)
Czarina S.
Ordered for delivery on the phone, Thai Tea and Mussaman Curry was amazing! Gave good-sized portions (even had leftovers to save for later). Overall, pretty good experience!
(4)
Erica B.
Went here b/c I found a groupon and i have been on the search to find decent thai food in the suburbs. This place was pretty good. Id come back with another groupon for sure. I ordered pad thai with tofu AND vegetables and i really enjoyed it. We sat outside on the roof deck thing and that was really nice. We also had a cucumber alad which was delicious.
(3)
Seth T.
We enjoy their food, but the delivery service they use is completely unreasonable. They wouldn't deliver to North Evanston, even though they deliver to Kenilworth, which is much further away. They had delivered to us two weeks ago with no problem. The manager was unable to assist us. Very frustrating experience. Bonsai Cafe, here we come.
(2)
Meredith C.
Perfect service. Perfect atmosphere. Best Asian food I have ever eaten. We sat alone on the outdoor deck for an early Saturday dinner. Polite staff. A little short on alcohol selection is only reservation of fifth star, but a very enjoyable experience. Highly recommended the Emerald Chicken. Pot stickers were insanely unique and tasty.Pad Thai was pretty good. Very Nice night.
Lovely decor however.....my food tasted like Lard Nar flavored cardboard. Descent flavor but dry dry dry! Service S.U.C.K.E.D. A better way of saying this could be, what service. Steve, on purpose slurped his empty glass. The male glanced up, caught me eye. I nodded & he returned to intently focus on the female who was lost in her phone. A bit later, the male & I locked eyes & after a few seconds, looked out the window then back to the girl & her phone. I don't recall how the female happened to look up & then came over. The male got up off his ass & came over as well. We were the ONLY customers in the restaurant. We chose to go to the Evanston location because it's closer to our home than the Western location. Well, now we know. I'll never come back here again. Western isn't that much further. Over there they'll check on us & bring us more beverages without having to do triple time steps to get their attention. Ok, I've said enough.
(2)
M Y.
Was shopping and hungry - came across this place. I decided to order carry-out. I was impressed with their photos on the menu so I ordered a few options: spring rolls, baby egg rolls and vegetable fried rice. It was really good! Authentic and not too overwhelming. They included the sauces - plenty of it and coupons for the next round. Not too sure how their dine in service is but just walking in, they were attentive, helpful and quick.
(4)
Steve O.
Food was excellent. The decor was great the service on the other hand was non existent. We were the only ones in the place and we never saw are wait staff until my girlfriend stared at them. The one on western is better.
(2)
Jane W.
Ever since I saw another Yelper mention that Siam Pasta had an asian version of mac and cheese, I've been really curious as to what this would taste like. So a couple days ago, decided to give it a go and had food delivered. I obviously ordered the mac and cheese and my food buddy ordered some kind of duck curry. The mac and cheese was good - didn't blow me away in terms of taste, and it was disappointing in the end because I realized that had they used any other "conventional" asian style noodles instead of the elbow pasta used for mac and cheese, there would have been nothing interesting about this dish. I guess I was expecting some kind of awesome asian-fusion type of pasta, but maybe I was asking for too much. I was also a little disappointed because the description said it came with shrimp and chicken, but I got two somewhat small pieces of shrimp and mounds of chicken - so much that I actually wished I got more pasta and less chicken. My food buddy however, enjoyed his curry a LOT. In fact, he told me he craved the same dish the next day. I had a little taste and I also thought it was delicious, although I usually am not a huge fan of thai style curries. Fast delivery, polite service, and decent prices. Maybe I'll try something else on their menu next time!
(3)
Das T.
Walking into this place, I thought it was gonna be excellent. Loved the decor and the balcony. The food, however, was an entirely different story. We ordered the Tom Yum soup and some spring rolls to start. While the spring rolls were pretty good, the soup was way too sweet and not spicy enough compared to most other Thai restaurants I've eaten at. I kind of consider Tom Yum to be a measure of any great Thai restaurant, so since this did not measure up, I was concerned... The main course consisted of a ginger chicken dish and mussaman curry. The curry had decent flavor but was very chalky and left a strange taste. The ginger chicken had a very bland flavor with occasional bursts of ginger, and waaayyyy too much unseasoned chicken and not nearly enough veggies to make the dish more colorful and interesting. On top of all this, the service was slow. Just kind of seems like one of those places where nobody cares all that much about the operation. I hardly ever write reviews, but will absolutely not be returning here.
(2)
George R.
They have an upper level outdoor deck for seating, which is honestly, the main reason I wanted to come here. The restaurant is on a part of Dempster that wasn't super busy, making for a peacful and relaxing dining experience. I ordered the basil baby eggplant and tofu with red curry spice, which was delicious, came with a ton of tofu, and was just the right amount of spicy. My only complaint is the portion could have been a little bigger, especially for the price. I ended up asking our waiter a lot of questions, which made him think it was the first time I tried Thai food. It wasn't. I was just quizzical that evening, but our waiter was super nice and patient.
(3)
Alice K.
I can't speak for the dine-in experience, but I've ordered delivery from Siam Pasta many times. My order is always accurate and delivered very quickly. The food is tasty and prices reasonable. The delivery person is always very polite. I especially love the duck curry. Just be sure to make sure you are located within their delivery range. It is a small business so they aren't able to reach a big radius.
(5)
Stephen T.
This restaurant is a hidden treasure of sorts. I live less than five minutes from this place but only recently have I grown to appreciate this place. Since another Thai/Pan-Asian restaurant is closer to me I have always gone to that place when I need my Thai fix. This all changed after I had their Duck Noodles. Siam Pasta is one of the only places you can get fresh duck for under ten dollars. Even with its low prices, the quality of the food is not compromised. The duck was well marinaded and complemented the noodles perfectly. As great as the duck was, the noodles made the dish worthy of the four star review. These noodles are equivalent to those yummy alkaline noodles found at Japanese ramen places at half the price. The meal includes a bowl of soup that you can either add to the noodles or drink it stand-alone. Overall this place is great and it is sad to be the only customer there most of the times I go. Although this means much quicker service and I can get my noodles in less than 10 minutes, more people need to have their lives changed by Siam Pasta's Duck Noodles.
(4)
Andrew S.
Cheap, quick, delicious and well portioned, Siam Pasta was for years my go-to Thai delivery spot until it was unseated recently by Cozy. Its dethronement has nothing to do with the restaurant itself, and more to do with proximity. Their Mussaman Curry is a must, and I still regard it as one of the most outright tasty dishes ive eaten, although it leaves a person feeling weighed down and lethargic. The veggie rolls for $4.95 may seem prices but what you get is a pleasant surprise with some delectable peanut sauce on the side, highly recommended. This place was built to deliver but eating there is never the worst thing, there is a nice rooftop patio that overlooks dempster, if only anything ever happened other than construction on dempster.
(5)
Coco M.
I've been here three times. It was never outstanding, and the appetizers were generally better than the entrees. Service is a problem if you're on the second floor. The outdoor area is packed on weekends and I've only ever seen one (fairly weak) server working the area, which means you end up waiting a long time for everything, and that stuff is cold by the time it gets to you. All of this would normally add up to maybe a 3 or 4 star review. But the last time I went there will truly be the last. To start with, the sauce for the crab lagoon (rangoon) had a weird off taste to it, like a standing-water kind of spoilt taste, which I've never experienced in a sauce before. Then the chicken in at least one of our dishes (Siam macaroni, ordered with our two little kids in mind) was straight-up rancid. I got a definitely bad piece and so did my wife. We didn't eat any more of that dish, told the waitress, and they did remove it from the bill. This was not an issue of our not being familiar with the flavors: If you've ever had chicken that has gone bad, it's unmistakeable. I thought I got another hit of that same taste in another chicken dish, but can't be sure I wasn't just paranoid by that point. Still, two, and possibly three, rancid items in a single meal makes me very leery of their food handling practices, and it's not good enough that I'm willing to take the chance. Never again.
(1)
Victoria W.
Ok, this place is by no means memorable, but it deserves a review because it is one of the cheaper Asian places in Evanston. Most of the noodle items are around $7-8 which is a good $1-1.5 cheaper than other places. Their lunch special is $7 which also comes with a spring roll...cheeyah! Now to the experience, I have to use the word "ghetto". I walked in to get a take out and the lady at the cashier did not have enough change. She called someone else from the back out and they were counting cash in front of me, in front of me not in the cashier machine while at the same time with their back turned against me, at the same time speaking Thai and brushing their hair with their fingers. The food, well kinda resembles any other cheap Asian food places to be honest. Nothing memorable, but the food is actually not like dirt cheap price wise you know? I guess if you come here you will get your Asian cravings fixed, but that's about it. If you want better service and a cleaner more professional environment, walk up the street a bit on dempster and try dozika. Not the most watering Asian food either but 5 star service and much neater food presentation! this place does have a cool rooftop seating, but to be honest, would it really matter because their service kind of sucks? cool seating is only cool when paired with an overall great experience. i'd recommend only coming here if you want to take a dip on their $7 lunch special.
(3)
Cynthia W.
One of the best Thai food places that I've been to. I always stick to the typical pad see ewe and pad thai, which are always awesome. (then again, if a Thai place messes that up, then you know you're in a bad place - thank god, Siam Pasta does a good job!) For the atmosphere and seating areas, there are multiple levels, including an outdoor patio area - definitely recommend eating out there when it's a nice summer evening.
(4)
Rob F.
This is my local go to Thai place. Typically get take out but they do have a nice roof top patio. The food is always well prepared and fresh -- a good value for the price. The Tom Kha soup with chicken is one if my favorites along with the various curries.
(4)
Bridget K.
I love the location of Siam Pasta. It is really close to the Dempster purple line stop. They also have a great deck on the second more like third floor. Sitting on the deck in the summertime makes you feel like you're on vacation, which is a nice escape from the busy summer days in Chicago. The food was decent. The pad thai was average. There are some better places in Chicago, this is one of the better places in Evanston. The service is good. They also have some good deals in there flyer.
(4)
Rick R.
I ordered delivery for the first time here and will NEVER again. I called for delivery and the girl on the other end was nice and the food came pretty fast. I know why now.... coz its OLD!! I ordered fried tofu, Tom Ka soup, pad Thai and green curry beef. The food was just GOD awful and had no depth of flavor whatsoever. The fried tofu was ok but it's hard to F up anything fried. The soup tasted funky like it sat for days, the green curry was bland and the pad Thai (which to me is a true test of Thai cuisine) tasted like the kind you'd buy at the ethnic aisle at Jewel. Come to think of it the gal that took my order never even asked how spicy I wanted my curry. Well it came extra bland thank you. Most Thai places also use Jasmine rice. I definitely got Chinese short grain rice left over from the night before. I've eaten Thai food like this before. It was in a little town in Thailand called Sahmahnella. (South of Bangkok)
(1)
Lauren P.
Come here for lunch! $6.95 for an entree and appetizer. The portions are enough to share! I must say this location has better pad see ew than their other location on western. Rama chicken is flavorful! Their kanomjeep is steamed and served with a very flavorful sauce. This restaurant has 3 levels. On the third level there is a balcony which is very lovely to sit in on a nice spring day!
(4)
Kyle H.
Evanston! This cute Thai restaurant has a nice outdoor seating area, and the inside has all sorts of nice nooks and crannies with nice wood carved accents. They run a nice lunch special for $6.95 but the entree items are limited. So I ordered off of the regular menu. The Red Curry, served with a side of jasmine rice, was heavenly and spicy too! The tofu was cooked to perfection and the curry was one of the best I've ever tasted. Since I order red and yellow curries everywhere, trust me on this one! The Thai iced coffee was strong and sweet. Great place to stop in for a cheap movie and dinner date, or when you're shopping the cute shops of downtown Evanston.
(4)
Emily F.
I wish I could give this place a 5-star review but I just can't. My review is more of a 3.5 stars. There is one female server (might be manager) that deserves a 5-star all on her own. Super sweet, attentive, knows the menu inside and out, and has remembered me since the first time I visited!! The only thing hurting is the food. The service is great and the food comes out really fast. The food just isn't what I hoped. I eat there all the time still and the food has just never wowed me. I ask for it spicy and it really still comes out bland sometimes. She'll give me the red pepper sauce which I don't love to add... I wish it would just come out with a good Thai flavored spice. The pad thai is pretty decent and my boyfriend loves their kung pau fried rice. It is really the entrees/sautes that just keep letting me down. They have a GREAT little patio on the second floor when its warm out and their wine is really inexpensive. So my boyfriend and I will absolutely continue to visit and order take-out/delivery, I just hope I am able to write a follow up review to say the food has improved!
(3)
William G.
First time there, and will definitely return again. My GF and I rolled up on our bikes, and chained them to a parking meter outside the restaurant. Great outdoor seating on a rooftop nonetheless, very good service, and an expansive Thai menu with decent pricing. We had the spring rolls which were Jumbo, and in my opnion a little heavy on the sauce. I prefer just a light drizzle of the sweet brown sauce on my spring rolls. We also had the cucumber salad. It was basic, and refreshing, not too tangy. Then we had the Panang noodle with chicken which are crispy wide noodles topped in a curry flavored chili paste. The noodles were actually crispy and not soggy as I had experienced at Vong's Thai Kitchen in Chicago, but that's a whole other review. I would normally avoid neighborhood restaurants in Evanston south of Grove avenue, but this Dempster location is understated, and quiet which makes it that much more of a find. Not over crowded, not trendy and not pretentious; opened my eyes to Evanston dining outside the campus area. Authentic Thai staff, authentic Thai food, Authentic Thai experience.
(4)
Shradha A.
When you walk in at 1:30pm and only one other table has guests, the other 3 tables have restaurant staff sitting individually enjoying their own meal, you know their business doesn't do too well (isn't too busy usually). We got the lunch deal, which is a good price for sure - $6.95 for an appetizer and an entree. The food was so saucy and absolutely not freshly prepared - but my concern is how many days old!? they didn't even bother to heat it up - it was just poured with tons of sauce (even pad thai). the siam macaroni was just ketchup + macaroni! highly disappointed in my meal here. also as a vegetarian, their food smelled -- maybe they don't use separate dishes from their meat food!
(2)
Jenny F.
2 things going for this place: a) decent to good food with authentic offerings on their menu and b) a very nice 2nd floor outdoor deck space. Their take on beef and broccoli is pretty authentic - laden with ginger sauce just like the old country. The garlic chicken was delicately flavored. They have Mee Krob on the menu which is rare to find on Thai restaurants - it was just ok. I could have given this restaurant a 4 star rating however, their service left me dry and dry! First of all, the appetizer I ordered came last. Huh?! The staff obviously needs to attend restaurant service sequencing 101! Then, I had to remind our server about the beer I ordered when I sat down and when I did, he asked "huh, what is it you ordered again?" Bad service negates good food at restaurants.
(3)
Tricia D.
I have a confession to make. I strayed from my tried-and-true order of pad see ewe with beef on my latest visit to a Thai restaurant. ... And I may not do that again. My chicken lard nar didn't live up to my dining companion's pad see ewe with beef. The rice noodle to gravy ratio was out of whack: too much gravy, not enough noodles! For $5.95, I got this entree with an appetizer of choice. Pretty good bargain. The crab lagoon was good. On a side note, the decor of this place is unique. It's reminiscent of some sort of temple with a lot of stairways on the inside, but there's not a lot of room for tables. I wonder what it's like to dine on the rooftop in the warmer seasons.
(3)
Plenty F.
2 stars. Had the Pad See Ew with Beef and a Shrimp Egg Roll - lunch special - now $8. Earlier reviews have it at 6.95... not any more! I knew I wasn't in for anything spectacular when I was quoted 15 minutes and my food was ready in 3 minutes. Not an exaggeration. Ate the egg roll in the car - it was definitely good, but I didn't taste or see any signs of shrimp. Got back to the office and was not impressed by my entree. The juxtaposition of the overcooked noodles and the under-steamed chinese broccoli was unpleasant. The sauce was flavorful and the portion was plentiful. I like my thai a lil spicy, so I'll have to ask for that next time. This was suitable for feeding to my ankle-biters. It was decent enough that I will give them another shot one of these days, I guess.
(2)
Yanyao N.
A former Thai delivery staple has now become one of the N family's favorite walking lunch/dinner destinations for 2 reasons: - Fried Chive Pancake: Did someone say CHIVE?! In Evanston?! Yes, I am all over it! A glorious fried chive stuffed pancake with crispy dough skin and sweet/salty dipping sauce. Who knew Thai people liked chives too? - Siam Macaroni: Hold the shrimp and you have a delicious smokey, sweet, salty orange macaroni concoction with chicken. I like to think of this as pretty much as comforting as mac&cheese but without the cheese and with more flavor. Everybody wins! Their other items are also most excellent: a not-too-sweet pad thai (hooray!), roast duck noodles, crab rangoon, grilled pork with sticky rice, yum woonsen (extra spicy please!)... and the service is great. If you live in Evanston be on the lookout for the Valpak coupon mailer featuring a Buy 1 Entree Get 1 Free coupon for SP! The lunch deals are also terrific. $6.95? I'll take 2!
(5)
Neha N.
Considering there are several Thai places in Evanston, you would think that Siam Pasta would attempt to be competitive.....sadly not. I've been here a couple times and would call the place average. Anyways, I usually go to Cozy or one of the several other Asian food places in Evanston, but went to Siam Pasta recently because I got a groupon. Talk about let down. We ordered Tom Kha soup which was awesome! I think the awesomeness came from the insane amount of coconut milk in the soup. Next I got green curry.... Now I haven't gotten green curry here before because I was told by two different people that fish sauce is used in it. The waitress here assured me that the people before were wrong. Slightly concerning. I got the green curry which was super watery. I think because of the business that groupon generated, they decided to cut corners on their meal preparation. So whatever, I'm not a snob... I'll eat watery green curry, but what I won't eat is a HAIR that is not mine in the curry. I told the waitress who was just like oh sorry, we'll tell someone or something... Anyways, after asking that the green curry get removed off my tab, we had desert which was fruit with simple syrup. I mean it was good cause you can't go wrong with fruit. Overall, not impressed by the wait staff not being consistent on ingredients or apologetic about the hair incident. So long Siam Pasta, I know there's better out there!
(2)
Daphne L.
Crispy pork with Chinese Broccoli is divine. The deck is lovely and inviting. Quick delivery, too.
(4)
Ju L.
Okay, I lied. Was too lazy to cook and came here recently with the boyfriend, armed with a buy-one-get-one-entree-free coupon (or, more accurately, a $6.95-off coupon, since few entrees are under $7.50). It was around 4pm on a weekend and the whole place was deserted. We asked to sit on the upper patio even though it was nippy out. Being on the patio is a whole different experience. There are residential houses on either side of you, and Dempster beyond the trees. There's something very pleasantly removed about it. The boyfriend's Pad Thai was pretty good, and not nearly as boring as last time's. I got the Spicy Crazy Noodles (ugh, what a name!) and it was still on the oily side, but chock full of veggies and even had shrimp, which the menu neglects to mention. The wide flat rice noodles could have used some work-- they seemed to be in small pieces. But the shrimp was great: very fresh, and the shell had been removed up to the tail fan. !!! I mean, that makes any shrimp a notch more awesome. Bill came out to around $12 with tax and tip. The waiter manning the deck (ha, ha) was kind and attentive. (The girls downstairs, on the other hand, were still standing around chatting glumly with each other.) I guess if you dine outdoors, everything is just nicer across the board. I'm averaging a would-be 4-star review with last time's unimpressive experience: Cozy Noodles is still closer, but Siam Pasta earned their extra star. :)
(3)
Elisabeth C.
In a word, bland. While delivery was fairly quick and the food was warm- it lacked flavor. I ordered pad thai which tasted of nothing- it was also super overcooked so the noodles fell apart when touched with a fork. I expect pad thai to at least taste faintly of tamarind or fish sauce, but it tasted like plain rice noodles- very disappointing- I ended up throwing it out since it wasn't worth the calories. The cucumber salad was equally flavorless- hardly a hint of vinegar- they tasted as if they'd been marinated in water and sugar. Gross. The baby egg rolls, while crispy, were simply stuffed with dry, unseasoned chicken. Boyfriend ordered the cashew chicken and beef fried rice, both of which had fairly good flavor, but weren't anything to write home about. He was disappointed with the portion sizes, though he's a much bigger eater than I. I am still searching for the elusive good Thai takeout in Evanston. I miss living in the city- and within delivery distance from Thai Classic. I won't order from Siam Pasta again.
(2)
Ehow C.
Came back for a second visit on a Groupon and ordered a Seafood of Paradise dish. Really, really disappointed with how the seafood was prepared. A lot of the clams and shrimp were overcooked, and the (tiny) scallops just melted in the mouth, in a bad, mushy way. It seemed like it was all steamed separately and then put on top of the curry puddle, which was not what I was expecting. At least the curry was good, but it did not make up for the rest of the dish, by far. One star down, Siam Pasta.
(3)
Janis M.
I used to love this place and their food was consistently good, not anymore. I wanted to try something new, so I ordered the Pad Ped & it was awful. It was oily & over the top spicy (I know Thai is spicy, but this was throat searing) I decided to give them another try, thinking the last experience was an isolated incident. I ordered Panang Curry with shrimp, it was even worse that the previous meal. The noodles were formed in one solid, hard mass in the center of the dish & it was inedible. The waiter apologized & offered to bring something else out, but I took a pass. Never again.....
(1)
Tom R.
Dating an asian girl usually means you have to start eating asian food. Even though said girl isn't Thai, she still dragged me to this place. I've dabbled in the basics of asian food and I still don't stray too much from that, but I've found that I really like this place, and if you catch the lunch special for $6.95 you can't beat it. There is a nice rooftop patio for those of you that like to sit outside (this is usually where we sit) and we've always had quick, friendly service. The food is as good as I've ever had, as far as Thai food, and everyone we've ever taken there has also enjoyed it. Between friendly service, good food and a great spot to eat outside, this place is one of our favorite places to eat in Evanston. You can't go wrong when the prices are great and the food is better. Do yourself a favor and at least give it a try even if you're not an "adventurous" asian food eater I'm sure there's still something basic enough for you to enjoy.
(4)
Sofia J.
Way to tell me that there's a delivery surcharge.... Otherwise, my delivery experience was pretty good! Tom Kha Ga totally hit the spot, and the cashew chicken really lives up to its "healthy menu" option, no thick sauces here. The portions are big, so this is enough for 2 medium meals... oh and ask for hot sauce :D Delivery charge is a measly 2 bucks, but they didn't tell me this even when I asked if there's a minimum for delivery. From order time to delivery, it took about half an hour, so not too bad.
(4)
Michelle A.
I am not a fan of Thai food. Yet, I highly recommend this restaurant for two reasons. The food and location. The hot and sour soup is pungent. Primo soup, I will be back for the soup again or order it for takeout. Satay was juicy, with the peanut sauce on the side. The small cup of cucumbers that came with it was outstanding and ascetically pleasing to the eye. The chicken rice stir was only average, the chicken was dry. Our daughter loved the noodle dish, large flat sweet pasta with vegetables. The service was quick and terse without being curt. The atmosphere was causal. Tables are close together. Located two blocks west of the purple line Dempster stop and Metra stop. Parking was metered parking, you need to bring your quarters. We did find parking in the neighborhood around the corner. The brief glimpse into the kitchen showed it to be clean and tidy. We went to use our groupon and we will go again.
(4)
Keiko S.
May/June 2007 UPDATES: While we still don't think the food's authentic Thai, I'm starting to like this place a bit more. Also, we now ask our orders (chicken basil and garlic egg noodles) to be prepared "more lightly", and they come out perfectly well. I still think it tastes more Chinese than Thai (could be the ingredients), but the prices are reasonable so I'm going to stop complaining. The "1/2 of your second entree" coupon comes in handy, too. Also, the service is much better these days, granted we go during the less busy hours. ************************************************ I've been here a few times, yet still I'm not too sure about the overall quality and service...so I'd give it 3.5 stars. Last time we went, we were seated upstairs and were frustrated by the single server covering the entire floor...we ended up serving our own water. But rest assured, the food is rich and tasty. Certain dishes are a bit too greasy for me (reminds me a lot of chinese food, actually), and some are strangely pungent. Over all, they're decent, but not outstanding enough to tempt us to walk all the way down there. Of all things, I love the decor. It's arguably more authentic than the food.
(4)
Scott K.
This place is 4 stars IF you order the right food. What is the right food you ask? Thai food. Not their version of Chinese dishes such as Crab Rangoon and others but actual Thai dishes - ask the waitress if your not sure; you won't regret it. 'Mussaman' is a favorite if you like a little bit of spice or the mango - sticky rice for dessert - awesome! Sitting outside during the spring or summer is a wonderful touch. If you order the Thai food, you'll enjoy.
(4)
Stevie G.
It was a beautiful summer night which as perfect for the upstairs balcony. We tried many new things and all were very tasty. You will find me returning to Siam Pasta when I am again in the area.
(4)
Henry S.
Had the chicken curry spaghetti. Good mix of veggies and the curry taste was strong but not too strong. Not the best curry I've had, but decent. Id like to try the red or panang curry next time, if there ever is a next time. The outdoor area is nice and scenic but got bitten up by mosquitoes when i went
(3)
Melissa A.
The food is very good and inexpensive. Good for grown ups and adults. Don't care for eating indoors, but in the summer when it's nice out, the deck is outta sight! The service kinda stinks. We always have to get someone to fill our water. But the food comes fast and exactly how you want it.
(4)
Matthew C.
Meh. I live right around the block and went there for their lunch special. No one was there and it took a bit longer than expected to get our food. When we finally got our order, it was just ok. Past history with Thai: I've come to never expect much from a Thai place and this is no different. Everyone keeps talking about how great Thai is as this ultra-hip liberal healthy place to eat, but I don't buy the hype. I still have yet to encounter a Thai place that really knocks my socks off. If you're looking for a deal on a cheap lunch though and just want something to fill you up, this is one place to go.
(2)
Kammie G.
Disappointed in the place. The inside didn't have air conditionining it seemed, because it was just as humid and hot inside as it was outside. We ended up sitting at an upstairs outdoor patio, which is probably the only positive thing about the place. Our waiter didn't seem to speak English, but somehow we communicated and ordered, although my order got screwed up either way. I ordered the Veggie Pad Thai and I got the Tofu. How? I don't know. The food itself was below average that I've experienced for thai food. It was definitely one of the worst thai food I've had. The noodles tasted odd for rice noodles.. also the vegetables were not even cooked all the way through - they were too crispy. I guess you get what you pay for. Lower price - Lower Quality meal. Not coming back there.
(2)
Dee W.
This is still one of my favorite Thai places in the Chicagoland area. They have this fabulous rooftop deck to have dinner and we try to stick to the more authentic Thai dishes instead of the usual. They also have a pretty decent selection of wine (including plum wine) and beer, as well. Some of our fav appetizers include their fried tofu, clay pot mussels, and fried chive pancakes. Their Thai Beef salad definitely has a kick to it. By going off of their Specialities menu, their catfish, duck, ans basil mussels are delicious. Otherwise, their typical dishes are pretty good, too (we usually ask for the sauce to be lighter so it doesn't drown in it). Overall, good service, yummy food and LOVE the rooftop deck.
(4)
Marla P.
We had gone to this restaurant on several occasions and this one time it was horrible...in addtion to waiting 45 minutes for our order, several customers were served before we were...was it because we were not drinking...pick up and carry out were done immediately....we finally gave up and left without eating...the manager was not even apologetic.....needless to say, we will NEVER go back there...there are many Thai places in our area, and certainly this one will not be missed...
(1)
Xriz H.
Hello Heartburn! The Lime Fried Chicken is a winner! Lunch special is pretty good and if your sodium level is critically low order just about anything. The staff is very sweet and pleasant and if your ever there when INS rolls up they will help hide you in the alley with the cooks. I really like this place as I must of eatin lunch there hundreds of times. Keep up the good work gang! 4 stars!!!!!
(4)
Green G.
Rating - 3.9 Stars I get 4 and only 4 dishes at Siam Pasta and I'm giving it 3.9 stars based only on these 3, THREE, dishes... Crag Lagoon/Rangoon - Good, decent sauce but nothing special. However, I haven't had better anywhere else so I'm not quite so whether or not to rave about this. It is funny though to say Rangoon instead of Lagoon and see the confused look on the waiters face. Pad See Ew - Order this with less oil and less salt and this dish is spectacular. I have not had any better at any other Thai restaurant. Most places either give too much of the sauce (sweet soy sauce or something) or the noodles come out too well cooked and a tad too chewy. 90% of the time, Siam Pasta makes the Pad See Ew right. Panang Curry - They make the curry thick, with a sweeter taste that I have never encountered at any Thai place anywhere in Chicago (or Milwaukee). I don't know if this means the Panang is less authentic or whatever but its what I like and I crave it all the time. Can someone explain to me why other places make Panang that is water in consistency and not thick like I like it? I have ordered this dining in and take-out probably more than 20-30 times in my 4+ years of living in Evanston and in the Midwest. Basil Chicken - Most recently my GF ordered this dish and its good, albeit probably really simple to make so its not that hard to mess up. The Bad...They charge extra for more rice, which is ridiculous since you don't get that much rice to begin with. I like the mango sticky rice for desert but its way overpriced. Its not that much different than other places that serve Mango Sticky Rice. The Service - The first year I frequented this joint, the service was friendly and the waiters recognized me and my GF as regulars. However, the past 3 years the service has gotten worse with meaner waiters/waittresses who don't smile or say anything when you say thank you. They make it seem like they don't want to be serving you, which for a restaurant is NEVER a good thing. Also, prices, while not high, seem to be rising. Someone said the lunch special was 5.95 in another review, it's actually 6.95 (I just ate there yesterday). Yes, that's not going to break my bank, but you know it does make a difference. Summary - Decor is average, nothing special. Outdoor seating on a warmer day/night is pretty cool since its on a 2nd story patio. Judging from the other reviews, people aren't enamored with Siam Pasta but me personally, the 4 dishes I reviewed, and which I only order for the past 4+ years is worth going back...again and again.
(4)
Anthony M.
I would probably give this place more of 3.5 but willing to give it a four here! Stumbled into there this evening and was suprised on the decor of the place. The selection was vast, the food was excellent, and the prices were suprisingly cheap. The only downside was our server was iffy and they charged $1.50 for a small amount of rice, and gave little amount of rice in the first place. Anyway, it was very good with about $10 a person for some excellent Thai food! Try the baby eggrolls!
(4)
Ngoc H.
The food here is good but what worries me is how quick it comes out. Am I a weirdo or having your food 5 minutes after you order it a little worrisome? Either they work very, very diligently, the ingredients are pre made and have been sitting there (not fresh), or they are psychics and know what you want when you sit down. Either way, staff is really nice and the food is pretty decent. There is a patio upstairs if you like outdoor seeing but I've seen webs the couple times I've been up there. Not saying it's their fault there are spiders out there, c'mon it's outdoor seating! Staff is really nice and accommodating. There is always parking outside, and prices are very very reasonable for the portions.
(4)
Diablo L.
The Thai shrimp egg rolls are really good , also had the fish cakes and for the main dish had the cashew chicken, full of flavor and very fresh vegetables....
(3)
Emily R.
Evanston has a ton of Thai restaurants; unfortunately, Siam Pasta is not one of the better ones, food-wise. They make passable versions of every standard Thai dish (yellow curry, pad thai, etc etc), but there are a ton of better places in town. There is one reason to go, though - the second-floor patio is beautiful, and if you get there on a nice, warm night, the food is totally forgivable. If you're looking for good Thai food instead of atmosphere, though, head over to Cozy Noodle on Davis.
(3)
Jade T.
OH BOLLUCKS!! Their Pad Thai sauce contains fish sauce. (It's one of the main ingredients.) Sigh. I must start weaning off one of my favorite dishes ever. A note to fellow vegetarians: Ask the server at any Thai restaurant if the dish contains fish sauce, oyster sauce, or chicken broth. Hopefully they will be straight up with you.
(3)
Christine N.
lunch special is really cheap. appetizer and entree for 6.95. i got the spring roll, which had too much sauce on top, but it was decent. then i got the spicy basil chicken, which comes with a side of rice. chicken wasn't too dry, but i definitely wish it was "spicy". why call it spicy if it aint gonna be spicy?!
(3)
Leon D.
I absolutely love this place. The staff is super friendly and the food is delicious. I recommend the following dishes: Tiger Cry, Baby Egg Rolls, Spicy Crispy Duck and Crispy Pork w/ Chinese Broccoli. Ok I am salivating now so I better go place an order!
(5)
Mandy G.
I've been going to Siam Pasta for about 3 years now. The food is always good; the service is usually bad. I usually get take-out or delivery, but rarely dine in any more. If I do ever go in, it's usually because I know the food will be good and I don't need really good service. I will make it a point to get there in the summer though, as the other Yelpers pointed out... the outdoor seating is absolutely picturesque on a lovely day. All in all, I suggest going to near by Thai Sookdee for an indoor Thai dining experience in Evanston. If you want to sit outside on a lovely summer day or order delivery, Siam Pasta is your place.
(3)
Joe F.
Best Thai home cookin' I've had in Evanston.
(5)
Brian G.
Like Thai Kite Flying competitions and the mind-boggling aplomb of Thai English-language Scrabble players, Siam Pasta is intriguing. The name alone sparks a mystery worthy of Mary Higgins Clark's quill: Is it really--gulp--pasta with, like, peanut sauce, shrimp, and so forth? Thankfully, and maybe a tad disappointingly for thrill seekers, the answer is no. Siam Pasta is a pedestrian Thai spot in a city with no fewer than a bajillion Thai restaurants. The setting of Siam Pasta is where it hangs its Muay Thai trucker cap. Housed in a labyrinthine two-story building on Dempster, Siam has a bizarre layout that is more than made up for by the outdoor seating on the second level. Oh, another mysterious feature of Siam Pasta: In an odd super-liminal dessert ad campaign, printouts saying "Mango and Sticky Rice" haphazardly paper the walls. FTW? I mean I'll eat it if you ask. I swear. I really will! Unfortunately, suggesting dishes ain't in the cards here as service isn't a strong suit of Siam Pasta. Our server seemed dyspeptic at times which was disappointing. Regardless of the foul 'tude on our server, my food was delicious, and my comrades also cleaned their plates. I had the chicken pad thai--billed as a "Thai famous Thai noodle dish" in the menu--and it came out promptly. While I could've used a touch more chicken, the dish overall tasted great. Alas, our server didn't give us a chance to request the much ballyhooed mango and sticky rice. Fiddlesticks. Update: I've docked Siam Pasta two stars because of the day-after intestinal distress I'm experiencing. Oi.
(2)
Bridget V.
I absolutely LOVE thai food and get it all the time, and this is hands down the best place to go in Evanston for thai. It's very nice inside and has amazing food. One time, my boyfriend lost his debit card and didn't realize it until after we had eaten and I didn't have any money. The owner actually let us paypal him from my boyfriend's phone. They are always friendly and give fast service and is relatively cheap compared to other thai places in the area.
(4)
Liz P.
I REALLY wanted to like Siam--looking at the menu online made my mouth water. And the baby eggrolls were delicious (though they aren't too hard to screw up). The roast duck noodles, however, left much to be desired. I greatly dislike it when I need to use a lot of soy to enhance the flavor: shouldn't it be flavorful enough on it's own? It also came with "soup" which was actually warm water with essence of chicken. Needless to say, it wasn't very good. The taste and the portion just weren't there. I would be willing to give it a second chance, however, but would definitely go for an entree. The patrons on either side of my table got entrees and they looked huge and delicious. Siam, I want to like you!!
(2)
A.J. M.
Yikes. I was expecting so much better. The baby egg rolls were certainly tasty, but everything else fell flat. The roast duck noodles entree was under portioned, they need to put more food in there. Next, they give you this soup with it. Am I supposed to mix it or something? Hard to tell, because the service wasn't interested in explaining anything. Regardless, the soup tasted like hot water with a few chicken bullion cubes, so yea, it was pretty bad. I don't think I'll be coming back.
(2)
Craig S.
Food is good and cheap but the portions are tiny.
(3)
April W.
Started to hate on our usual thai place so we gave this place a shot and it was pretty darn good. Had the pad se ew and the pop beef and bother were better than average. Wasnt a huge fan of the flavor of the crab rangoon but how can cream cheese deep fried be bad. Defiantely will order from here again.
(3)
David B.
One of my favorite Thai places in the area. Evanston is bursting with Thai places and I love how this one stands out. Good prices, good service and probably the best interior of any of the Thai restaurants in the area. Its particularly great during the warm months as they have an outdoor patio on top their restaurant. Very cool.
(4)
Alison E.
Two words: Lunch Special. It's cheap, it's good, and there's enough food. I am partial to the spring roll/pad thai combination. While it's not the best pad thai I've ever had, it's pretty decent. and THE PRICE (I think it's 6.95...but I have since moved to California and the sun could be getting to my brain). Also, the rooftop tables will make your heart swell on a sunny day. The ambiance is calming and relaxing, perfect for a lunch break from the office. Service is quick. And, if you are a jewelry-phile like myself, with the quick service and scrumptious food, you'll have time to hit up the Mexican shop a couple stores down.
(4)
Scott H.
Great place for great Thai that's often so cheap that I feel a little guilty. There are always coupons around for this place and the take-out menu will get you a free spring roll app with each order. The rooftop deck is a wonderful place to enjoy a nice day or evening. The liquor selection is a bit lacking, but we've still enjoyed some of the wine and beer. Better to stick with the Thai iced tea! My faves are Pad See Ew Beef and Pepper and Garlic chicken. Chicken satay is very nice as a starter.
(4)
David R.
I agree with other reviewers--the food and service here are middle-of-the-road. However, I love the rooftop seating area. It's shaded by the trees around the building, so you're not exposed to the sun or much wind. On a warm day, this is a great place to spend part of your afternoon, in whatever company you happen to find yourself.
(3)
Stevey P.
I ordered the some spicy macaroni dish and chicken satay, and thought it was just ok. Prices are reasonable here, so there's one upside We were the only diners here on a Tuesday evening - which doesn't explain why service was so slow. Had it not just rained I would have liked to sit on the cool outdoor deck (second upside). Not sure if the spicy macaroni dish was fusion or what, but it wasn't anything to write home about. I thought the food at Vong's Thai Kitchen tasted much better. I'm sure there are better Thai places in the area to choose from.
(3)
Dallas F.
Siam Pasta was decent at best. I give it a 2.5. I ordered the tofu pad thai, which I feel is pretty hard to mess up and they didn't, it just wasnt great pad thai. My friend ordered the garlic chicken and asked for noodles to substitute the rice that came with the dish. There was a 2.50 substitution cost to do that. When he got the noodles they looked like ramen noodles and every noodle clumped and lifted out of the bowl when he went to eat them. When I tasted them, they tasted like ramen noodles too. 2.50 for that ?!
(2)
Erin S.
I'm sad to only be giving this place 3 stars because this was my go to place when we first moved to Evanston. It must be a family establishment because a lot of the same faces have been there the past 3 years or so and I do want to give them better praise because it's a local establishment but I feel that they've been cutting corners a lot lately. The two dishes I order the most are the pad thai and pad si ew. Lately, I've made it a point to order extra of their house sauce (usually comes with the khanom jeep) because those two dishes have really needed something more. Also, I'm sure their apps - specifically the khanom jeep (like a shrimp shumai) and the crab lagoons (not sure why they aren't "rangoons" here) are pre-packaged. Oh well. I still think they're good. They increased the price of the lunch special a while back... I know it's still a good deal - entree and app for $6.95 a person - but if you're going to raises the prices, make sure you either keep or raise the standards of your food. Don't take the profit and turn it into new menus. I don't care what your menu looks like - I care what your food tastes like. Please take me back to the days where I was willing to fall off the healthy--eating wagon for you! I love eating on your beautiful roof-top patio in the summer time...
(3)
Stephanie D.
LOVE this place!!!! We eat here on a regular basis. We have one issue with a phone order and the delivery driver was back within 10 minutes with the corrected meal. Will be having the lunch special here on Saturday!
(4)
Colleen B.
I am a HUGE fan of thai food and decided it was time to try a new place. The design was lovely and as others mentioned, the outdoor patio looks great for a sunny day. I admit, I really wanted to like this place but was a little disappointed. FIrst the food, not bad but not great either. I got Pad Thai and it seemed heavy. The meat was greasy and it didn't have the fresh taste from sprouts and lime as it should have. Cozy Noodles is only a few block away and their pad thai is SO much better. I came in around 2:00 on a Thursday so I understand it was going to be quiet but because I was the only customer I expected my server to come over more often and maybe smile or something. It's not like she was exhausted. All in all, I'll give this place any try when I can sit outside with a friend and we'll see how they do with green curry.
(3)
Scott B.
First off, this has one of the best patios in all of Chicago/Evanston. It's a second floor patio, it's spacious, and it's great to hear the trees rustling in the wind 5 feet from your head as you eat. Second, the service is great. Food is always there in 10 minutes or less. Third, the food is reasonably priced, fresh, and REALLY tasty. I ordered the Pad See Ew dish w/ chicken and my fiancee ordered the mixed veggies w/ Tofu. Both were amazing. We also got an appetizer...steamed dumplings, that were DELICIOUS (I Believe it was number 107 on the menu). We usually have the same server and he is always nice, orderly, and right on time with everything. Great place to have a good, cheap dinner out!
(4)
Nancy V.
The best Thai food I've had in ages! Their panang curry is as good as it gets. I'm very picky about my panang curry and there's only one other restaurant (out in Naperville) that I have found to compare. Chicken satay awesome! Excellent service, excellent food, good prices. Highly recommend and we will be back!
(5)
Jeff C.
Siam Pasta is a staple at work. Admitted, they win due to location, but other nearby restaurants do not get nearly as much love. They offer a decent lunch special: a greater variety of appetizer than most (your choice of six) with a comparable selection of entrees (your choice of fourteen) for a similar price to other restaurant's lunch specials. Some dishes are better than others, but I've yet to regret a meal. Dine-in or carry-out, you get the same meal (which isn't true of some competitors). If you dine in, their menu has pictures of most of their entrees, so you know what it is you're ordering (important when no two restaurants prepare the same dish the same way).
(4)
Jodi F.
We have never actually eaten in the restaurant, but we order the food for delivery and carry-out on a regular basis. I was a little spoiled by Penny's Noodles in Chicago, but Siam is a good value for the money. Our family's favorite dishes are the cashew chicken, pad thai (usually with beef), pad see ew (request American broccoli in place of the Chinese broccoli), and various appetizers. Delivery is fast and considerate.
(4)
Sasha R.
I struggled between giving Siam Pasta two or three stars. I decided on three because the rooftop seating is lovely in the warmer months. The service is usually slow and inattentive. For the most basic of Thai food (the curries, soups, Pad Thai) I don't mind going here. It's cheap and they taste the same as pretty much anywhere else. However, I never stray from those few menu items, because when I have, I've seriously regretted it. One time I regretted it all night, but I won't get into the icky details..
(3)
Julia M.
If I could give it more stars I would! We have never been disappointed with the food at Siam Pasta and it's, hands down, our favorite restaurant in Evanston. The food is abundant, fresh, flavorful and the wait staff is courteous and attentive. The patio is especially nice during the summer! My favorites: The Tom Kha soup is rejuvenating and the Rama Chicken is more than satisfying, with a bed of fresh brocolli as a foundation for an appetizing layer of chicken and peanut sauce. If you're a student on a tight budget, this is the place for you. If you enjoy Thai cuisine and wish to dine in a down to earth setting, this is the place for you. If you enjoy great tasting food at very reasonable prices, this is the place for you!
(5)
Melissa M.
The rooftop balcony here is a great place to eat when the weather is nice. There are beautiful trees and the lighting is lovely. The food is pretty Americanized overall, but satisfying. The lime chicken is my family's favorite, though it's about as Thai as I am. If you are hankering for the spicy stuff there is a small list of "extra" dishes on the back of the menu without descriptions. Recently I ate the crispy pork with Chinese broccoli (Ka-Na-Moo-Krob) and it had a great smoky spiciness... though there was much more broccoli than pork. But if they can make broccoli taste that good then they are doing something right.
(3)
Jesster A.
This has quickly become our favorite old/new standby. Quality, fresh tasting, modestly priced chow, good variety and love sitting on the upper outdoor deck. We love the special Lime Chicken appetizer ($5.95 - like tempura fried chicken strips) with zesty lime sauce and "kale confetti?" - one order is enough to split. For a buck or two, you can add extra veggies, meat, chix, tofu or shrimp to any dish. Food too bland? Ask for spicy condiments to add heat. We've enjoyed everything we've tried, but especially Spicy Crazy Noodles, Siam Pasta, Ginger Chicken and Rama Chicken and definitely try the Curries. Located less than a block west of Dempster Street "L" stop and just down the street from "Wiener and Still ..." where, as Katsuyuki W. notes you can find the best Belgian Fries (found so far) in the Chicago area... BTW - today is my first day Yelping and this is my first review. UPDATE 10/12006 As sake b. notes - service can be way off and I've had to "serve" myself on occasion as well. I think they are well intentioned but under-staffed - sometimes one server is working the whole place. And yes, if you want chopsticks you have to ask.
(4)
Clif B.
I've been a satisfied customer of Siam Pasta for many years but my latest visit, yesterday, was disappointing. There were two waitpersons, each sitting glued to her own laptop watching videos. Occasionally, they would look up to see if customers needed attention. I can't believe management allows this. Presumably the waiters are paid, so can we at least expect them to attend to their work? I ordered Exotic Duck, one of the more expensive items on the menu (all prices are low). It was bland to the point that I wondered if there were any spices used. Yes, the summer outdoor seating is nice but a restaurant should first have something good to eat. I'll give this place a rest for a couple of years.
(2)
Rich C.
Love their lunch special! Great deal. Even available on weekends! Was a little sad that just because mango is out of season that that makes their sticky rice not available. (because it is the best sticky rice I have had)
(4)
Casia J.
This food is just plain strange. It's not Thai, not even bad in a Big Bowl kind of way, just weird and not good. My green curry tasted JUST like Juicy Fruit gum. Identical. I went back, with a coupon. The Pad Thai was made out of something similar to spaghetti. Again, ultra weird. Edible, but barely. Went back again, because it's close and cheap. Had Pad See Euw, it was alright. The best thing I'd tried I suppose but also the easiest to prepare, so there ya go. Each time, my husband had a fried rice dish and they were good. But everything else we've tried was marginal at best.
(2)
Wendy K.
Nice outdoor patio on second floor on summer nights. Our favorites are tofu pad thai, spicy basil chicken or shrimp (pay for the extra vegetables and it is a dynamite healthy dish, spicy but not too). Chicken satay is pretty good too, with its thick nutty sauce and side of yummy sweet/tangy cucumber salad. Great neighborhood take out.
(4)
Matt B.
I've only been here once, so perhaps take this with a grain of salt. However, I was not very satisfied with my experience at Siam. First the positive: atmosphere and price. Tucked away on a mostly residential street just south of downtown Evanston, the building has a very nice look about it - old storefront on 1st floor with a large 2nd story outdoor deck nestled in between several large trees. As JB mentioned, the outdoor deck is very nice - I felt like I was in a tree hose: quite romantic actually. Price was comparable to many Thai restuarants - in the $7-9 range for most meals. There are also coupons to be found on their website: siampasta.com (under specialties). With coupon, this place is as cheap a sit down restaurant as you'll ever find. Now the negative: service & food. As a budget diner, I do not expect a lot from the service staff. But I was a little disappointed here. There seemed to be only 1 person working all 10 tables on the rooftop, and he was stretched thin. We had to wave him down to order drinks, wave him down to order food, and wave him down for the check. We also never received any utensils (forks or chopsticks) or napkins. Eventually I got up and found where the forks and such were kept and nabbed a few for our table. Still I wouldn't have really cared about the below average service if the food had been good. Maybe I'm spoiled by Cozy Noodle (Davis St, Evanston), but the food just wasn't that good. I ordered the panang curry with chicken and my friend ordered pad see ewe. Both dishes came out only luke warm and appeared to have been sitting out for some time. The chicken was of lower quality than Cozy and the panang curry tasted like it had some flour mixed in to thicken it. The pad see ewe had the same issue with the chicken and the vegetables did not look fresh. Both of us got the feeling there was the possibility our food had spoiled in some way. I give the atmosphere and the price 5 stars. The service was a 3 and the food a 2.5. Would I go back? I guess I'd give it another shot - but then again why go anywhere but Cozy Noodle?
(3)
Eryn S.
I like the pad thai and the mussaman curry dish. My husband is partial to the pineapple rice. Yes, the service is just ok; yes there are weird signs saying "Mango and Sticky Rice" everywhere; yes, there's a scene from a page in the kama sutra in the men's room while the women's is an underwater theme (no fair!)... these are all part of the wacky ambiance and cheap prices that make Siam such a treasure in Evanston. We get coupons in the mail EVERY week for buy one get one half off, my husband and I can both eat for like $9!! They may not have table cloths or servers who are passionate about customer service (though they are really really sweet people) but all in all they are hard to beat for quick, cheap, yummy eats. And as everyone else has remarked... upstairs balcony = wicked awesome.
(4)
ann s.
I was torn between three and four stars, but hey: Yay. I'm a fan. I'm mostly a fan of the summer outdoor seating on the rooftop balcony. The food is usually fine and sometimes good--I've had better Thai and worse. The lunchtime special is pretty good, with quite a few choices even for the appetizer, and the prices are attractive. The inside rooms on the first floor are kind of pretty, but I've never eaten in them. I am definitely a fair-weather fan when it comes to this place.
(4)
Laura P.
Yes, it's true the rooftop seating is nice. Very nice. But lets pretend its cold or the rooftop is full, then the restaurant is terrible. Why bother? There are other lovely places to eat. The service and the food are all just ok. I've had better Thai food in a food court.
(2)
Irene J.
the thai food is pretty authentic and flavorful. of all the places i've tried in evanston, this is one of the top thai restaurants. don't expect great service! although the servers are nice, they're a bit scatterbrained when it comes to remembering details (drinks, sauces, etc.). they're really apologetic and sweet people, so don't go in expecting five star service--go for the food!
(4)
Jaclyn C.
It may not have a name that invites ideas of creative and tasty Thai food, but Siam Pasta - relatively new on the Evanston dining scene - is anything but bland. A selection of dishes ranging from various curries to pot stickers and pad thai, the ingredients taste fresh and the flavors are well blended. Not to mention that it's very very reasonably priced. The Mussaman Curry is the best Thai dish I have ever had - making converts out of my friends as well. The "Crazy Noodles" unfortunately aren't as crazy as they sound, and some of the appetizers are lacking. Still, the curry dishes hold the menu, with some other creative and staple Thai dishes to complement. Within walking distance of the Northwestern University campus, and under a minute from the Dempster Red Line L stop, Siam Pasta's outdoor deck makes the establishment feel far from the student hangouts and trendy Evanston eateries. I highly recommend it easily as my favorite Evanston restaurant. Bonus: They deliver.
(5)
Adrienne L.
My favorite Thai restaurant in Evanston...and I've tried them all. Tasty, authentic food in generous portions. Certainly tastier than Thai Sookdee and much larger portions than Cozy Noodle. In the noodle/rice dishes (best pineapple fried rice I've ever tried), there are lots of meat and other ingredients. Good ambience with 2nd floor outdoor patio and friendly service. Prices are very reasonable and on the low end of the range for Thai restaurants in Evanston. Even cheaper lunch specials as well. Highly recommended!
(5)
Jamie F.
I was visiting from Seattle, and it was my first night here in Chicago, 16 degrees, and I had that terrible feeling you get from spending all day in an airport. My friend took me here, and it was the most comforting, delicious Thai food. I ordered the Tom Kha soup which is coconut milk/lime/tofu/onions and is spicy and warm and perfect. I also ordered the Mussaman curry which is a curry with peanut sauce blended in with veggies and tofu over rice. This also was exactly what I needed. The atmosphere is great; it's a bi-level restaurant with beautiful wooden walls and cosy seating. Also, really great service!
(5)
David M.
This was the second restuarant my wife and I ever went to in Evanston. They have a great patio, perfect for enjoying the evenings in the summer and fall. That covers the ambience, now for the food, I wouldn't call this a Thai restuarant as they seem to cover most of Southeast Asia. The food was good, coming very close to the real thing and the quantity was more than adequate for the price. On a whole, very good food, and excellent service. They also do BYOB for 4 dollars. I would recommend this to a friend without reservation.
(4)
Rick V.
One more time, Crab Rangoon (not lagoon) is NOT authentic south-east Asian cuisine - it was invented by some faux-Polynesian restaurants in the US back in the 1950s.
(1)
jason h.
pretty good thai noodle dishes and appetizzers. I would suggest the cyrries but i like spicy food so be warned. the crab lagoon is also defintely worth trying
(4)
Lina S.
Consistently great cooking. The best tasting Thai food, in my humble opinion. I have eaten here since the restaurant first opened. The service is a bit muddled at times. The Lunch Specials are tremendous values.
(4)
Linda S.
The prices here are so reasonable that you could try as much and not feel so guilty. The food is surpringly amazing here. One of their best dishes here are the duck noodles which comes with roasted duck over thin egg noodles and chinese broccoli served with chicken stock soup on the side. They also have excellent appetizers, especially the larger spring rolls with plum sauce, and they have a special menu for anyone who wants to try more authentic dishes such as Tiger Cry. Go on their website or ask for coupons at the restaurant for a "buy one entree, get the second one free" deal.
(4)
kate w.
really yummy. really cheap. awesome roof deck, perfect for a summer evening. a great lunch special avalible 7 days a week. one of my faves for meeting a freind on a weekend afternoon or an easy place for takeout after a stressful day.
(5)
sarah s.
this place is nothing to write home about. the food was edible, but not good. the service was bad. they brought our food and i asked for some spoons so we could eat family style and would have reminded our server that she had forgot had we seen her again. the roof top deck was nice and the check was cheap, but you can eat just as cheap and enjoy it at other thai joints.
(2)
Kat W.
solid food, very nice interior, and awesome pattio in the summertime. the staff is a bit unfriendly, but everything else makes up for it.
(4)
Anum A.
Personally, I never really liked Thai food too much but after eating here, I fell in love with it. Siam's has amazing food with amazing prices. The servers are really friendly too. Also, the restaraunt is set up so nicely and it is really comfortable.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Ethan L.
Siam pasta is just all around a gastronomically delectable place to swing in to when in the mood for Thai food. There Is just a great consistency of delicious Thai food that is pleasing to the palate and the wallet. As remarked on by other reviewers, the outdoor patio is an amazing asset to have when the weather is nice. Being able to sit outside, and enjoy a meal is always great. Paired with the fact that everything on the menu is delicious, one can never go wrong with whatever they order. The pad Thai is unreal, pad-see-eww delicious, and the lychee fruit desert is a great cleanser to Finnish off your meal. You could honestly close your eyes and flip through the menu and pick something at random, and your meal would be great. If you love Thai food, you'll love siam pasta.
(4)Hayley S.
An okay Thai restaurant. Nothing blew me out of the water. Ordered the shrimp spring rolls and they were tasty. Also ordered chicken pad Thai (best way to tell if a Thai restaurant is worth your money, eh?) and it was ehhhhh. Could've used spice and more of a peanut flavor. I couldn't tell the difference between the egg and the chicken, which kind of freaked me out. Also got chicken fried rice and I would get that again. Very good and had a lot of chicken. Service was also average. We wanted to sit in the outdoor patio but it was wet from rain earlier in the day, kind of a bummer.
(3)Gabriella B.
Panang curry = peanut sauce served on a plate with some thawed vegetables thrown in for the heck of it. Also...am I the only one who noticed dust all over this restaurant? And no hot water in women's restroom. Save your money and go elsewhere. Unless you enjoy watching your server eat their meal at a table next to you.
(1)Jason G.
awesome food, fresh ingredients and very quick delivery! i've never eaten in the dining room, but it's a favorite of my girlfriend & her mom. you definitely won't find anything fresher or tastier in Evanston.
(4)Kelly R.
Just moved to the area and wanted to try since it's so close to my house. Ordered a variety of things and nothing was impressive. It was like terrible fast food Thai. My roommate and I will not be eating here again.
(1)A B.
This is a horrible restaurant. The wait staff is rude. The waitress threw menus on the table and did not even say hello. When we were seated I asked to switch tables and the waitress gave some snippy reply that made no sense. My family and I just walked out without ordering. I have gone there quite a bit in the past, and I will NEVER go back. The food is okay and close by, but that's no longer a good enough reason to go to this place. Never again.
(1)Monica E.
I ordered the Spicy Crazy Noodles during my last visit. The noodle came without any spice. I asked for chilli and fish sauce, they said they had fish sauce but couldnt bring me any cos they use it for cooking the noodles. I settled for their regular chilli sauce. The noodle was so greasy, it was difficult to eat as famish as I was. I feedback about the greasiness of the dish to the waitress, instead of trying to make it right, she just said to me, OH that is how flat rice noodle cook. I'm asian, I grew up on flat rice noodles, I've had this dish in other thai restaurants in Chicago too. None were unedibly greasy like this. I give both service and food 1 star and no I will definitely not be back there again.
(1)Christopher B.
People in evanston probably take this place for granted. But coming from the crap western suburbs where all the thai restaurants are awful and a ripoff, this restaurant is outstanding. I wished I lived here just to eat here more often. Always FRESH, and delicious, and good size portions! The people that work here are kind and professional. Again, you will not find anything like this in the wastelands called Elmhurst, Schaumburg, elk grove, oak brook, Downers, etc, etc.
(5)Nina B.
I took my children out for a quick supper after they joined me for an event at my school. I've been to this place in the past and was pleased with my meal, however this time - given the variety of what we ordered you'd think we would have a great time of feasting - but not at all. The only thing that was memorable for me was the shrimp in a blanket appetizer. The other appetizers were simply not tasteful or satisfying. The squid - left much to be desired; and the rolls of fresh vegetables, (I thought I was ordering spring rolls), tasted blah. I ordered the chicken and shrimp "macaroni", thinking that surely it would NOT be real macaroni - but it was. It reminded me of a skillet meal and there were only TWO shrimp among all that chicken that was actually rather chewy. The seasonings seemed off - maybe because I saw macaroni and thought bland. I was really disappointed. My children said that their soups were find- but nothing to write home about. The entire experience made me wonder who was cooking that night - not the folks who have been there the other times I've been there. Our server was pleasant, but not majorly attentive - in fact - hardly at all. Ho-hum. :-(
(2)Anya A.
This place gets two and a half stars for food, four for having an open air patio on top of the restaurant but one star for service. To start, the food is decently priced. Basically you pay for what you get. To start I ordered the spring rolls. The paper wrappers were very odd and left a flour like taste in my mouth. They were also drenched in a plum sauce, so I was hard to taste the veggies and tofu that resided inside the roll. For my entree I went with the Pad Thai. I always like to get to know a Thai restaurant by their Pad Thai so I can compare. The Pa Thai is fine, nothing special. Definitely better options are nearby. The rooftop patio is great on a warm summer night. I enjoyed looking down on Dempster through the foliage and feeling the breeze in my hair. The waitstaff is unprofessional. My boyfriend had a groupon for this place on his phone and the waitress actually took his phone away from the table and to the cash register! We went over and told her that it is a huge security risk to do so, but it ended the meal on a negative note. Don't think I'll be coming back.
(2)Amy K.
The food was eh and the service was terrible. The two girls played on their phones. We ate things off of the dirty appetizer plates. It's also not clean feeling inside. Not what I remembered from a few years ago.
(1)Czarina S.
Ordered for delivery on the phone, Thai Tea and Mussaman Curry was amazing! Gave good-sized portions (even had leftovers to save for later). Overall, pretty good experience!
(4)Erica B.
Went here b/c I found a groupon and i have been on the search to find decent thai food in the suburbs. This place was pretty good. Id come back with another groupon for sure. I ordered pad thai with tofu AND vegetables and i really enjoyed it. We sat outside on the roof deck thing and that was really nice. We also had a cucumber alad which was delicious.
(3)Seth T.
We enjoy their food, but the delivery service they use is completely unreasonable. They wouldn't deliver to North Evanston, even though they deliver to Kenilworth, which is much further away. They had delivered to us two weeks ago with no problem. The manager was unable to assist us. Very frustrating experience. Bonsai Cafe, here we come.
(2)Meredith C.
Perfect service. Perfect atmosphere. Best Asian food I have ever eaten. We sat alone on the outdoor deck for an early Saturday dinner. Polite staff. A little short on alcohol selection is only reservation of fifth star, but a very enjoyable experience. Highly recommended the Emerald Chicken. Pot stickers were insanely unique and tasty.Pad Thai was pretty good. Very Nice night.
(4)Carmen M.
So I just left this lovey establishment.i ordered chicken pad sie eww as I normally do from here but today I had a lovely treat in my entrée there was a big ass roach in my meal after I had been inhaling most of it. I was so disgusted by what I Saw I threw the entire thing out and will never be coming back here again. So if I drop dead you know what it's from
(1)Annette Q.
Lovely decor however.....my food tasted like Lard Nar flavored cardboard. Descent flavor but dry dry dry! Service S.U.C.K.E.D. A better way of saying this could be, what service. Steve, on purpose slurped his empty glass. The male glanced up, caught me eye. I nodded & he returned to intently focus on the female who was lost in her phone. A bit later, the male & I locked eyes & after a few seconds, looked out the window then back to the girl & her phone. I don't recall how the female happened to look up & then came over. The male got up off his ass & came over as well. We were the ONLY customers in the restaurant. We chose to go to the Evanston location because it's closer to our home than the Western location. Well, now we know. I'll never come back here again. Western isn't that much further. Over there they'll check on us & bring us more beverages without having to do triple time steps to get their attention. Ok, I've said enough.
(2)M Y.
Was shopping and hungry - came across this place. I decided to order carry-out. I was impressed with their photos on the menu so I ordered a few options: spring rolls, baby egg rolls and vegetable fried rice. It was really good! Authentic and not too overwhelming. They included the sauces - plenty of it and coupons for the next round. Not too sure how their dine in service is but just walking in, they were attentive, helpful and quick.
(4)Steve O.
Food was excellent. The decor was great the service on the other hand was non existent. We were the only ones in the place and we never saw are wait staff until my girlfriend stared at them. The one on western is better.
(2)Jane W.
Ever since I saw another Yelper mention that Siam Pasta had an asian version of mac and cheese, I've been really curious as to what this would taste like. So a couple days ago, decided to give it a go and had food delivered. I obviously ordered the mac and cheese and my food buddy ordered some kind of duck curry. The mac and cheese was good - didn't blow me away in terms of taste, and it was disappointing in the end because I realized that had they used any other "conventional" asian style noodles instead of the elbow pasta used for mac and cheese, there would have been nothing interesting about this dish. I guess I was expecting some kind of awesome asian-fusion type of pasta, but maybe I was asking for too much. I was also a little disappointed because the description said it came with shrimp and chicken, but I got two somewhat small pieces of shrimp and mounds of chicken - so much that I actually wished I got more pasta and less chicken. My food buddy however, enjoyed his curry a LOT. In fact, he told me he craved the same dish the next day. I had a little taste and I also thought it was delicious, although I usually am not a huge fan of thai style curries. Fast delivery, polite service, and decent prices. Maybe I'll try something else on their menu next time!
(3)Das T.
Walking into this place, I thought it was gonna be excellent. Loved the decor and the balcony. The food, however, was an entirely different story. We ordered the Tom Yum soup and some spring rolls to start. While the spring rolls were pretty good, the soup was way too sweet and not spicy enough compared to most other Thai restaurants I've eaten at. I kind of consider Tom Yum to be a measure of any great Thai restaurant, so since this did not measure up, I was concerned... The main course consisted of a ginger chicken dish and mussaman curry. The curry had decent flavor but was very chalky and left a strange taste. The ginger chicken had a very bland flavor with occasional bursts of ginger, and waaayyyy too much unseasoned chicken and not nearly enough veggies to make the dish more colorful and interesting. On top of all this, the service was slow. Just kind of seems like one of those places where nobody cares all that much about the operation. I hardly ever write reviews, but will absolutely not be returning here.
(2)George R.
They have an upper level outdoor deck for seating, which is honestly, the main reason I wanted to come here. The restaurant is on a part of Dempster that wasn't super busy, making for a peacful and relaxing dining experience. I ordered the basil baby eggplant and tofu with red curry spice, which was delicious, came with a ton of tofu, and was just the right amount of spicy. My only complaint is the portion could have been a little bigger, especially for the price. I ended up asking our waiter a lot of questions, which made him think it was the first time I tried Thai food. It wasn't. I was just quizzical that evening, but our waiter was super nice and patient.
(3)Alice K.
I can't speak for the dine-in experience, but I've ordered delivery from Siam Pasta many times. My order is always accurate and delivered very quickly. The food is tasty and prices reasonable. The delivery person is always very polite. I especially love the duck curry. Just be sure to make sure you are located within their delivery range. It is a small business so they aren't able to reach a big radius.
(5)Stephen T.
This restaurant is a hidden treasure of sorts. I live less than five minutes from this place but only recently have I grown to appreciate this place. Since another Thai/Pan-Asian restaurant is closer to me I have always gone to that place when I need my Thai fix. This all changed after I had their Duck Noodles. Siam Pasta is one of the only places you can get fresh duck for under ten dollars. Even with its low prices, the quality of the food is not compromised. The duck was well marinaded and complemented the noodles perfectly. As great as the duck was, the noodles made the dish worthy of the four star review. These noodles are equivalent to those yummy alkaline noodles found at Japanese ramen places at half the price. The meal includes a bowl of soup that you can either add to the noodles or drink it stand-alone. Overall this place is great and it is sad to be the only customer there most of the times I go. Although this means much quicker service and I can get my noodles in less than 10 minutes, more people need to have their lives changed by Siam Pasta's Duck Noodles.
(4)Andrew S.
Cheap, quick, delicious and well portioned, Siam Pasta was for years my go-to Thai delivery spot until it was unseated recently by Cozy. Its dethronement has nothing to do with the restaurant itself, and more to do with proximity. Their Mussaman Curry is a must, and I still regard it as one of the most outright tasty dishes ive eaten, although it leaves a person feeling weighed down and lethargic. The veggie rolls for $4.95 may seem prices but what you get is a pleasant surprise with some delectable peanut sauce on the side, highly recommended. This place was built to deliver but eating there is never the worst thing, there is a nice rooftop patio that overlooks dempster, if only anything ever happened other than construction on dempster.
(5)Coco M.
I've been here three times. It was never outstanding, and the appetizers were generally better than the entrees. Service is a problem if you're on the second floor. The outdoor area is packed on weekends and I've only ever seen one (fairly weak) server working the area, which means you end up waiting a long time for everything, and that stuff is cold by the time it gets to you. All of this would normally add up to maybe a 3 or 4 star review. But the last time I went there will truly be the last. To start with, the sauce for the crab lagoon (rangoon) had a weird off taste to it, like a standing-water kind of spoilt taste, which I've never experienced in a sauce before. Then the chicken in at least one of our dishes (Siam macaroni, ordered with our two little kids in mind) was straight-up rancid. I got a definitely bad piece and so did my wife. We didn't eat any more of that dish, told the waitress, and they did remove it from the bill. This was not an issue of our not being familiar with the flavors: If you've ever had chicken that has gone bad, it's unmistakeable. I thought I got another hit of that same taste in another chicken dish, but can't be sure I wasn't just paranoid by that point. Still, two, and possibly three, rancid items in a single meal makes me very leery of their food handling practices, and it's not good enough that I'm willing to take the chance. Never again.
(1)Victoria W.
Ok, this place is by no means memorable, but it deserves a review because it is one of the cheaper Asian places in Evanston. Most of the noodle items are around $7-8 which is a good $1-1.5 cheaper than other places. Their lunch special is $7 which also comes with a spring roll...cheeyah! Now to the experience, I have to use the word "ghetto". I walked in to get a take out and the lady at the cashier did not have enough change. She called someone else from the back out and they were counting cash in front of me, in front of me not in the cashier machine while at the same time with their back turned against me, at the same time speaking Thai and brushing their hair with their fingers. The food, well kinda resembles any other cheap Asian food places to be honest. Nothing memorable, but the food is actually not like dirt cheap price wise you know? I guess if you come here you will get your Asian cravings fixed, but that's about it. If you want better service and a cleaner more professional environment, walk up the street a bit on dempster and try dozika. Not the most watering Asian food either but 5 star service and much neater food presentation! this place does have a cool rooftop seating, but to be honest, would it really matter because their service kind of sucks? cool seating is only cool when paired with an overall great experience. i'd recommend only coming here if you want to take a dip on their $7 lunch special.
(3)Cynthia W.
One of the best Thai food places that I've been to. I always stick to the typical pad see ewe and pad thai, which are always awesome. (then again, if a Thai place messes that up, then you know you're in a bad place - thank god, Siam Pasta does a good job!) For the atmosphere and seating areas, there are multiple levels, including an outdoor patio area - definitely recommend eating out there when it's a nice summer evening.
(4)Rob F.
This is my local go to Thai place. Typically get take out but they do have a nice roof top patio. The food is always well prepared and fresh -- a good value for the price. The Tom Kha soup with chicken is one if my favorites along with the various curries.
(4)Bridget K.
I love the location of Siam Pasta. It is really close to the Dempster purple line stop. They also have a great deck on the second more like third floor. Sitting on the deck in the summertime makes you feel like you're on vacation, which is a nice escape from the busy summer days in Chicago. The food was decent. The pad thai was average. There are some better places in Chicago, this is one of the better places in Evanston. The service is good. They also have some good deals in there flyer.
(4)Rick R.
I ordered delivery for the first time here and will NEVER again. I called for delivery and the girl on the other end was nice and the food came pretty fast. I know why now.... coz its OLD!! I ordered fried tofu, Tom Ka soup, pad Thai and green curry beef. The food was just GOD awful and had no depth of flavor whatsoever. The fried tofu was ok but it's hard to F up anything fried. The soup tasted funky like it sat for days, the green curry was bland and the pad Thai (which to me is a true test of Thai cuisine) tasted like the kind you'd buy at the ethnic aisle at Jewel. Come to think of it the gal that took my order never even asked how spicy I wanted my curry. Well it came extra bland thank you. Most Thai places also use Jasmine rice. I definitely got Chinese short grain rice left over from the night before. I've eaten Thai food like this before. It was in a little town in Thailand called Sahmahnella. (South of Bangkok)
(1)Lauren P.
Come here for lunch! $6.95 for an entree and appetizer. The portions are enough to share! I must say this location has better pad see ew than their other location on western. Rama chicken is flavorful! Their kanomjeep is steamed and served with a very flavorful sauce. This restaurant has 3 levels. On the third level there is a balcony which is very lovely to sit in on a nice spring day!
(4)Kyle H.
Evanston! This cute Thai restaurant has a nice outdoor seating area, and the inside has all sorts of nice nooks and crannies with nice wood carved accents. They run a nice lunch special for $6.95 but the entree items are limited. So I ordered off of the regular menu. The Red Curry, served with a side of jasmine rice, was heavenly and spicy too! The tofu was cooked to perfection and the curry was one of the best I've ever tasted. Since I order red and yellow curries everywhere, trust me on this one! The Thai iced coffee was strong and sweet. Great place to stop in for a cheap movie and dinner date, or when you're shopping the cute shops of downtown Evanston.
(4)Emily F.
I wish I could give this place a 5-star review but I just can't. My review is more of a 3.5 stars. There is one female server (might be manager) that deserves a 5-star all on her own. Super sweet, attentive, knows the menu inside and out, and has remembered me since the first time I visited!! The only thing hurting is the food. The service is great and the food comes out really fast. The food just isn't what I hoped. I eat there all the time still and the food has just never wowed me. I ask for it spicy and it really still comes out bland sometimes. She'll give me the red pepper sauce which I don't love to add... I wish it would just come out with a good Thai flavored spice. The pad thai is pretty decent and my boyfriend loves their kung pau fried rice. It is really the entrees/sautes that just keep letting me down. They have a GREAT little patio on the second floor when its warm out and their wine is really inexpensive. So my boyfriend and I will absolutely continue to visit and order take-out/delivery, I just hope I am able to write a follow up review to say the food has improved!
(3)William G.
First time there, and will definitely return again. My GF and I rolled up on our bikes, and chained them to a parking meter outside the restaurant. Great outdoor seating on a rooftop nonetheless, very good service, and an expansive Thai menu with decent pricing. We had the spring rolls which were Jumbo, and in my opnion a little heavy on the sauce. I prefer just a light drizzle of the sweet brown sauce on my spring rolls. We also had the cucumber salad. It was basic, and refreshing, not too tangy. Then we had the Panang noodle with chicken which are crispy wide noodles topped in a curry flavored chili paste. The noodles were actually crispy and not soggy as I had experienced at Vong's Thai Kitchen in Chicago, but that's a whole other review. I would normally avoid neighborhood restaurants in Evanston south of Grove avenue, but this Dempster location is understated, and quiet which makes it that much more of a find. Not over crowded, not trendy and not pretentious; opened my eyes to Evanston dining outside the campus area. Authentic Thai staff, authentic Thai food, Authentic Thai experience.
(4)Shradha A.
When you walk in at 1:30pm and only one other table has guests, the other 3 tables have restaurant staff sitting individually enjoying their own meal, you know their business doesn't do too well (isn't too busy usually). We got the lunch deal, which is a good price for sure - $6.95 for an appetizer and an entree. The food was so saucy and absolutely not freshly prepared - but my concern is how many days old!? they didn't even bother to heat it up - it was just poured with tons of sauce (even pad thai). the siam macaroni was just ketchup + macaroni! highly disappointed in my meal here. also as a vegetarian, their food smelled -- maybe they don't use separate dishes from their meat food!
(2)Jenny F.
2 things going for this place: a) decent to good food with authentic offerings on their menu and b) a very nice 2nd floor outdoor deck space. Their take on beef and broccoli is pretty authentic - laden with ginger sauce just like the old country. The garlic chicken was delicately flavored. They have Mee Krob on the menu which is rare to find on Thai restaurants - it was just ok. I could have given this restaurant a 4 star rating however, their service left me dry and dry! First of all, the appetizer I ordered came last. Huh?! The staff obviously needs to attend restaurant service sequencing 101! Then, I had to remind our server about the beer I ordered when I sat down and when I did, he asked "huh, what is it you ordered again?" Bad service negates good food at restaurants.
(3)Tricia D.
I have a confession to make. I strayed from my tried-and-true order of pad see ewe with beef on my latest visit to a Thai restaurant. ... And I may not do that again. My chicken lard nar didn't live up to my dining companion's pad see ewe with beef. The rice noodle to gravy ratio was out of whack: too much gravy, not enough noodles! For $5.95, I got this entree with an appetizer of choice. Pretty good bargain. The crab lagoon was good. On a side note, the decor of this place is unique. It's reminiscent of some sort of temple with a lot of stairways on the inside, but there's not a lot of room for tables. I wonder what it's like to dine on the rooftop in the warmer seasons.
(3)Plenty F.
2 stars. Had the Pad See Ew with Beef and a Shrimp Egg Roll - lunch special - now $8. Earlier reviews have it at 6.95... not any more! I knew I wasn't in for anything spectacular when I was quoted 15 minutes and my food was ready in 3 minutes. Not an exaggeration. Ate the egg roll in the car - it was definitely good, but I didn't taste or see any signs of shrimp. Got back to the office and was not impressed by my entree. The juxtaposition of the overcooked noodles and the under-steamed chinese broccoli was unpleasant. The sauce was flavorful and the portion was plentiful. I like my thai a lil spicy, so I'll have to ask for that next time. This was suitable for feeding to my ankle-biters. It was decent enough that I will give them another shot one of these days, I guess.
(2)Yanyao N.
A former Thai delivery staple has now become one of the N family's favorite walking lunch/dinner destinations for 2 reasons: - Fried Chive Pancake: Did someone say CHIVE?! In Evanston?! Yes, I am all over it! A glorious fried chive stuffed pancake with crispy dough skin and sweet/salty dipping sauce. Who knew Thai people liked chives too? - Siam Macaroni: Hold the shrimp and you have a delicious smokey, sweet, salty orange macaroni concoction with chicken. I like to think of this as pretty much as comforting as mac&cheese but without the cheese and with more flavor. Everybody wins! Their other items are also most excellent: a not-too-sweet pad thai (hooray!), roast duck noodles, crab rangoon, grilled pork with sticky rice, yum woonsen (extra spicy please!)... and the service is great. If you live in Evanston be on the lookout for the Valpak coupon mailer featuring a Buy 1 Entree Get 1 Free coupon for SP! The lunch deals are also terrific. $6.95? I'll take 2!
(5)Neha N.
Considering there are several Thai places in Evanston, you would think that Siam Pasta would attempt to be competitive.....sadly not. I've been here a couple times and would call the place average. Anyways, I usually go to Cozy or one of the several other Asian food places in Evanston, but went to Siam Pasta recently because I got a groupon. Talk about let down. We ordered Tom Kha soup which was awesome! I think the awesomeness came from the insane amount of coconut milk in the soup. Next I got green curry.... Now I haven't gotten green curry here before because I was told by two different people that fish sauce is used in it. The waitress here assured me that the people before were wrong. Slightly concerning. I got the green curry which was super watery. I think because of the business that groupon generated, they decided to cut corners on their meal preparation. So whatever, I'm not a snob... I'll eat watery green curry, but what I won't eat is a HAIR that is not mine in the curry. I told the waitress who was just like oh sorry, we'll tell someone or something... Anyways, after asking that the green curry get removed off my tab, we had desert which was fruit with simple syrup. I mean it was good cause you can't go wrong with fruit. Overall, not impressed by the wait staff not being consistent on ingredients or apologetic about the hair incident. So long Siam Pasta, I know there's better out there!
(2)Daphne L.
Crispy pork with Chinese Broccoli is divine. The deck is lovely and inviting. Quick delivery, too.
(4)Ju L.
Okay, I lied. Was too lazy to cook and came here recently with the boyfriend, armed with a buy-one-get-one-entree-free coupon (or, more accurately, a $6.95-off coupon, since few entrees are under $7.50). It was around 4pm on a weekend and the whole place was deserted. We asked to sit on the upper patio even though it was nippy out. Being on the patio is a whole different experience. There are residential houses on either side of you, and Dempster beyond the trees. There's something very pleasantly removed about it. The boyfriend's Pad Thai was pretty good, and not nearly as boring as last time's. I got the Spicy Crazy Noodles (ugh, what a name!) and it was still on the oily side, but chock full of veggies and even had shrimp, which the menu neglects to mention. The wide flat rice noodles could have used some work-- they seemed to be in small pieces. But the shrimp was great: very fresh, and the shell had been removed up to the tail fan. !!! I mean, that makes any shrimp a notch more awesome. Bill came out to around $12 with tax and tip. The waiter manning the deck (ha, ha) was kind and attentive. (The girls downstairs, on the other hand, were still standing around chatting glumly with each other.) I guess if you dine outdoors, everything is just nicer across the board. I'm averaging a would-be 4-star review with last time's unimpressive experience: Cozy Noodles is still closer, but Siam Pasta earned their extra star. :)
(3)Elisabeth C.
In a word, bland. While delivery was fairly quick and the food was warm- it lacked flavor. I ordered pad thai which tasted of nothing- it was also super overcooked so the noodles fell apart when touched with a fork. I expect pad thai to at least taste faintly of tamarind or fish sauce, but it tasted like plain rice noodles- very disappointing- I ended up throwing it out since it wasn't worth the calories. The cucumber salad was equally flavorless- hardly a hint of vinegar- they tasted as if they'd been marinated in water and sugar. Gross. The baby egg rolls, while crispy, were simply stuffed with dry, unseasoned chicken. Boyfriend ordered the cashew chicken and beef fried rice, both of which had fairly good flavor, but weren't anything to write home about. He was disappointed with the portion sizes, though he's a much bigger eater than I. I am still searching for the elusive good Thai takeout in Evanston. I miss living in the city- and within delivery distance from Thai Classic. I won't order from Siam Pasta again.
(2)Ehow C.
Came back for a second visit on a Groupon and ordered a Seafood of Paradise dish. Really, really disappointed with how the seafood was prepared. A lot of the clams and shrimp were overcooked, and the (tiny) scallops just melted in the mouth, in a bad, mushy way. It seemed like it was all steamed separately and then put on top of the curry puddle, which was not what I was expecting. At least the curry was good, but it did not make up for the rest of the dish, by far. One star down, Siam Pasta.
(3)Janis M.
I used to love this place and their food was consistently good, not anymore. I wanted to try something new, so I ordered the Pad Ped & it was awful. It was oily & over the top spicy (I know Thai is spicy, but this was throat searing) I decided to give them another try, thinking the last experience was an isolated incident. I ordered Panang Curry with shrimp, it was even worse that the previous meal. The noodles were formed in one solid, hard mass in the center of the dish & it was inedible. The waiter apologized & offered to bring something else out, but I took a pass. Never again.....
(1)Tom R.
Dating an asian girl usually means you have to start eating asian food. Even though said girl isn't Thai, she still dragged me to this place. I've dabbled in the basics of asian food and I still don't stray too much from that, but I've found that I really like this place, and if you catch the lunch special for $6.95 you can't beat it. There is a nice rooftop patio for those of you that like to sit outside (this is usually where we sit) and we've always had quick, friendly service. The food is as good as I've ever had, as far as Thai food, and everyone we've ever taken there has also enjoyed it. Between friendly service, good food and a great spot to eat outside, this place is one of our favorite places to eat in Evanston. You can't go wrong when the prices are great and the food is better. Do yourself a favor and at least give it a try even if you're not an "adventurous" asian food eater I'm sure there's still something basic enough for you to enjoy.
(4)Sofia J.
Way to tell me that there's a delivery surcharge.... Otherwise, my delivery experience was pretty good! Tom Kha Ga totally hit the spot, and the cashew chicken really lives up to its "healthy menu" option, no thick sauces here. The portions are big, so this is enough for 2 medium meals... oh and ask for hot sauce :D Delivery charge is a measly 2 bucks, but they didn't tell me this even when I asked if there's a minimum for delivery. From order time to delivery, it took about half an hour, so not too bad.
(4)Michelle A.
I am not a fan of Thai food. Yet, I highly recommend this restaurant for two reasons. The food and location. The hot and sour soup is pungent. Primo soup, I will be back for the soup again or order it for takeout. Satay was juicy, with the peanut sauce on the side. The small cup of cucumbers that came with it was outstanding and ascetically pleasing to the eye. The chicken rice stir was only average, the chicken was dry. Our daughter loved the noodle dish, large flat sweet pasta with vegetables. The service was quick and terse without being curt. The atmosphere was causal. Tables are close together. Located two blocks west of the purple line Dempster stop and Metra stop. Parking was metered parking, you need to bring your quarters. We did find parking in the neighborhood around the corner. The brief glimpse into the kitchen showed it to be clean and tidy. We went to use our groupon and we will go again.
(4)Keiko S.
May/June 2007 UPDATES: While we still don't think the food's authentic Thai, I'm starting to like this place a bit more. Also, we now ask our orders (chicken basil and garlic egg noodles) to be prepared "more lightly", and they come out perfectly well. I still think it tastes more Chinese than Thai (could be the ingredients), but the prices are reasonable so I'm going to stop complaining. The "1/2 of your second entree" coupon comes in handy, too. Also, the service is much better these days, granted we go during the less busy hours. ************************************************ I've been here a few times, yet still I'm not too sure about the overall quality and service...so I'd give it 3.5 stars. Last time we went, we were seated upstairs and were frustrated by the single server covering the entire floor...we ended up serving our own water. But rest assured, the food is rich and tasty. Certain dishes are a bit too greasy for me (reminds me a lot of chinese food, actually), and some are strangely pungent. Over all, they're decent, but not outstanding enough to tempt us to walk all the way down there. Of all things, I love the decor. It's arguably more authentic than the food.
(4)Scott K.
This place is 4 stars IF you order the right food. What is the right food you ask? Thai food. Not their version of Chinese dishes such as Crab Rangoon and others but actual Thai dishes - ask the waitress if your not sure; you won't regret it. 'Mussaman' is a favorite if you like a little bit of spice or the mango - sticky rice for dessert - awesome! Sitting outside during the spring or summer is a wonderful touch. If you order the Thai food, you'll enjoy.
(4)Stevie G.
It was a beautiful summer night which as perfect for the upstairs balcony. We tried many new things and all were very tasty. You will find me returning to Siam Pasta when I am again in the area.
(4)Henry S.
Had the chicken curry spaghetti. Good mix of veggies and the curry taste was strong but not too strong. Not the best curry I've had, but decent. Id like to try the red or panang curry next time, if there ever is a next time. The outdoor area is nice and scenic but got bitten up by mosquitoes when i went
(3)Melissa A.
The food is very good and inexpensive. Good for grown ups and adults. Don't care for eating indoors, but in the summer when it's nice out, the deck is outta sight! The service kinda stinks. We always have to get someone to fill our water. But the food comes fast and exactly how you want it.
(4)Matthew C.
Meh. I live right around the block and went there for their lunch special. No one was there and it took a bit longer than expected to get our food. When we finally got our order, it was just ok. Past history with Thai: I've come to never expect much from a Thai place and this is no different. Everyone keeps talking about how great Thai is as this ultra-hip liberal healthy place to eat, but I don't buy the hype. I still have yet to encounter a Thai place that really knocks my socks off. If you're looking for a deal on a cheap lunch though and just want something to fill you up, this is one place to go.
(2)Kammie G.
Disappointed in the place. The inside didn't have air conditionining it seemed, because it was just as humid and hot inside as it was outside. We ended up sitting at an upstairs outdoor patio, which is probably the only positive thing about the place. Our waiter didn't seem to speak English, but somehow we communicated and ordered, although my order got screwed up either way. I ordered the Veggie Pad Thai and I got the Tofu. How? I don't know. The food itself was below average that I've experienced for thai food. It was definitely one of the worst thai food I've had. The noodles tasted odd for rice noodles.. also the vegetables were not even cooked all the way through - they were too crispy. I guess you get what you pay for. Lower price - Lower Quality meal. Not coming back there.
(2)Dee W.
This is still one of my favorite Thai places in the Chicagoland area. They have this fabulous rooftop deck to have dinner and we try to stick to the more authentic Thai dishes instead of the usual. They also have a pretty decent selection of wine (including plum wine) and beer, as well. Some of our fav appetizers include their fried tofu, clay pot mussels, and fried chive pancakes. Their Thai Beef salad definitely has a kick to it. By going off of their Specialities menu, their catfish, duck, ans basil mussels are delicious. Otherwise, their typical dishes are pretty good, too (we usually ask for the sauce to be lighter so it doesn't drown in it). Overall, good service, yummy food and LOVE the rooftop deck.
(4)Marla P.
We had gone to this restaurant on several occasions and this one time it was horrible...in addtion to waiting 45 minutes for our order, several customers were served before we were...was it because we were not drinking...pick up and carry out were done immediately....we finally gave up and left without eating...the manager was not even apologetic.....needless to say, we will NEVER go back there...there are many Thai places in our area, and certainly this one will not be missed...
(1)Xriz H.
Hello Heartburn! The Lime Fried Chicken is a winner! Lunch special is pretty good and if your sodium level is critically low order just about anything. The staff is very sweet and pleasant and if your ever there when INS rolls up they will help hide you in the alley with the cooks. I really like this place as I must of eatin lunch there hundreds of times. Keep up the good work gang! 4 stars!!!!!
(4)Green G.
Rating - 3.9 Stars I get 4 and only 4 dishes at Siam Pasta and I'm giving it 3.9 stars based only on these 3, THREE, dishes... Crag Lagoon/Rangoon - Good, decent sauce but nothing special. However, I haven't had better anywhere else so I'm not quite so whether or not to rave about this. It is funny though to say Rangoon instead of Lagoon and see the confused look on the waiters face. Pad See Ew - Order this with less oil and less salt and this dish is spectacular. I have not had any better at any other Thai restaurant. Most places either give too much of the sauce (sweet soy sauce or something) or the noodles come out too well cooked and a tad too chewy. 90% of the time, Siam Pasta makes the Pad See Ew right. Panang Curry - They make the curry thick, with a sweeter taste that I have never encountered at any Thai place anywhere in Chicago (or Milwaukee). I don't know if this means the Panang is less authentic or whatever but its what I like and I crave it all the time. Can someone explain to me why other places make Panang that is water in consistency and not thick like I like it? I have ordered this dining in and take-out probably more than 20-30 times in my 4+ years of living in Evanston and in the Midwest. Basil Chicken - Most recently my GF ordered this dish and its good, albeit probably really simple to make so its not that hard to mess up. The Bad...They charge extra for more rice, which is ridiculous since you don't get that much rice to begin with. I like the mango sticky rice for desert but its way overpriced. Its not that much different than other places that serve Mango Sticky Rice. The Service - The first year I frequented this joint, the service was friendly and the waiters recognized me and my GF as regulars. However, the past 3 years the service has gotten worse with meaner waiters/waittresses who don't smile or say anything when you say thank you. They make it seem like they don't want to be serving you, which for a restaurant is NEVER a good thing. Also, prices, while not high, seem to be rising. Someone said the lunch special was 5.95 in another review, it's actually 6.95 (I just ate there yesterday). Yes, that's not going to break my bank, but you know it does make a difference. Summary - Decor is average, nothing special. Outdoor seating on a warmer day/night is pretty cool since its on a 2nd story patio. Judging from the other reviews, people aren't enamored with Siam Pasta but me personally, the 4 dishes I reviewed, and which I only order for the past 4+ years is worth going back...again and again.
(4)Anthony M.
I would probably give this place more of 3.5 but willing to give it a four here! Stumbled into there this evening and was suprised on the decor of the place. The selection was vast, the food was excellent, and the prices were suprisingly cheap. The only downside was our server was iffy and they charged $1.50 for a small amount of rice, and gave little amount of rice in the first place. Anyway, it was very good with about $10 a person for some excellent Thai food! Try the baby eggrolls!
(4)Ngoc H.
The food here is good but what worries me is how quick it comes out. Am I a weirdo or having your food 5 minutes after you order it a little worrisome? Either they work very, very diligently, the ingredients are pre made and have been sitting there (not fresh), or they are psychics and know what you want when you sit down. Either way, staff is really nice and the food is pretty decent. There is a patio upstairs if you like outdoor seeing but I've seen webs the couple times I've been up there. Not saying it's their fault there are spiders out there, c'mon it's outdoor seating! Staff is really nice and accommodating. There is always parking outside, and prices are very very reasonable for the portions.
(4)Diablo L.
The Thai shrimp egg rolls are really good , also had the fish cakes and for the main dish had the cashew chicken, full of flavor and very fresh vegetables....
(3)Emily R.
Evanston has a ton of Thai restaurants; unfortunately, Siam Pasta is not one of the better ones, food-wise. They make passable versions of every standard Thai dish (yellow curry, pad thai, etc etc), but there are a ton of better places in town. There is one reason to go, though - the second-floor patio is beautiful, and if you get there on a nice, warm night, the food is totally forgivable. If you're looking for good Thai food instead of atmosphere, though, head over to Cozy Noodle on Davis.
(3)Jade T.
OH BOLLUCKS!! Their Pad Thai sauce contains fish sauce. (It's one of the main ingredients.) Sigh. I must start weaning off one of my favorite dishes ever. A note to fellow vegetarians: Ask the server at any Thai restaurant if the dish contains fish sauce, oyster sauce, or chicken broth. Hopefully they will be straight up with you.
(3)Christine N.
lunch special is really cheap. appetizer and entree for 6.95. i got the spring roll, which had too much sauce on top, but it was decent. then i got the spicy basil chicken, which comes with a side of rice. chicken wasn't too dry, but i definitely wish it was "spicy". why call it spicy if it aint gonna be spicy?!
(3)Leon D.
I absolutely love this place. The staff is super friendly and the food is delicious. I recommend the following dishes: Tiger Cry, Baby Egg Rolls, Spicy Crispy Duck and Crispy Pork w/ Chinese Broccoli. Ok I am salivating now so I better go place an order!
(5)Mandy G.
I've been going to Siam Pasta for about 3 years now. The food is always good; the service is usually bad. I usually get take-out or delivery, but rarely dine in any more. If I do ever go in, it's usually because I know the food will be good and I don't need really good service. I will make it a point to get there in the summer though, as the other Yelpers pointed out... the outdoor seating is absolutely picturesque on a lovely day. All in all, I suggest going to near by Thai Sookdee for an indoor Thai dining experience in Evanston. If you want to sit outside on a lovely summer day or order delivery, Siam Pasta is your place.
(3)Joe F.
Best Thai home cookin' I've had in Evanston.
(5)Brian G.
Like Thai Kite Flying competitions and the mind-boggling aplomb of Thai English-language Scrabble players, Siam Pasta is intriguing. The name alone sparks a mystery worthy of Mary Higgins Clark's quill: Is it really--gulp--pasta with, like, peanut sauce, shrimp, and so forth? Thankfully, and maybe a tad disappointingly for thrill seekers, the answer is no. Siam Pasta is a pedestrian Thai spot in a city with no fewer than a bajillion Thai restaurants. The setting of Siam Pasta is where it hangs its Muay Thai trucker cap. Housed in a labyrinthine two-story building on Dempster, Siam has a bizarre layout that is more than made up for by the outdoor seating on the second level. Oh, another mysterious feature of Siam Pasta: In an odd super-liminal dessert ad campaign, printouts saying "Mango and Sticky Rice" haphazardly paper the walls. FTW? I mean I'll eat it if you ask. I swear. I really will! Unfortunately, suggesting dishes ain't in the cards here as service isn't a strong suit of Siam Pasta. Our server seemed dyspeptic at times which was disappointing. Regardless of the foul 'tude on our server, my food was delicious, and my comrades also cleaned their plates. I had the chicken pad thai--billed as a "Thai famous Thai noodle dish" in the menu--and it came out promptly. While I could've used a touch more chicken, the dish overall tasted great. Alas, our server didn't give us a chance to request the much ballyhooed mango and sticky rice. Fiddlesticks. Update: I've docked Siam Pasta two stars because of the day-after intestinal distress I'm experiencing. Oi.
(2)Bridget V.
I absolutely LOVE thai food and get it all the time, and this is hands down the best place to go in Evanston for thai. It's very nice inside and has amazing food. One time, my boyfriend lost his debit card and didn't realize it until after we had eaten and I didn't have any money. The owner actually let us paypal him from my boyfriend's phone. They are always friendly and give fast service and is relatively cheap compared to other thai places in the area.
(4)Liz P.
I REALLY wanted to like Siam--looking at the menu online made my mouth water. And the baby eggrolls were delicious (though they aren't too hard to screw up). The roast duck noodles, however, left much to be desired. I greatly dislike it when I need to use a lot of soy to enhance the flavor: shouldn't it be flavorful enough on it's own? It also came with "soup" which was actually warm water with essence of chicken. Needless to say, it wasn't very good. The taste and the portion just weren't there. I would be willing to give it a second chance, however, but would definitely go for an entree. The patrons on either side of my table got entrees and they looked huge and delicious. Siam, I want to like you!!
(2)A.J. M.
Yikes. I was expecting so much better. The baby egg rolls were certainly tasty, but everything else fell flat. The roast duck noodles entree was under portioned, they need to put more food in there. Next, they give you this soup with it. Am I supposed to mix it or something? Hard to tell, because the service wasn't interested in explaining anything. Regardless, the soup tasted like hot water with a few chicken bullion cubes, so yea, it was pretty bad. I don't think I'll be coming back.
(2)Craig S.
Food is good and cheap but the portions are tiny.
(3)April W.
Started to hate on our usual thai place so we gave this place a shot and it was pretty darn good. Had the pad se ew and the pop beef and bother were better than average. Wasnt a huge fan of the flavor of the crab rangoon but how can cream cheese deep fried be bad. Defiantely will order from here again.
(3)David B.
One of my favorite Thai places in the area. Evanston is bursting with Thai places and I love how this one stands out. Good prices, good service and probably the best interior of any of the Thai restaurants in the area. Its particularly great during the warm months as they have an outdoor patio on top their restaurant. Very cool.
(4)Alison E.
Two words: Lunch Special. It's cheap, it's good, and there's enough food. I am partial to the spring roll/pad thai combination. While it's not the best pad thai I've ever had, it's pretty decent. and THE PRICE (I think it's 6.95...but I have since moved to California and the sun could be getting to my brain). Also, the rooftop tables will make your heart swell on a sunny day. The ambiance is calming and relaxing, perfect for a lunch break from the office. Service is quick. And, if you are a jewelry-phile like myself, with the quick service and scrumptious food, you'll have time to hit up the Mexican shop a couple stores down.
(4)Scott H.
Great place for great Thai that's often so cheap that I feel a little guilty. There are always coupons around for this place and the take-out menu will get you a free spring roll app with each order. The rooftop deck is a wonderful place to enjoy a nice day or evening. The liquor selection is a bit lacking, but we've still enjoyed some of the wine and beer. Better to stick with the Thai iced tea! My faves are Pad See Ew Beef and Pepper and Garlic chicken. Chicken satay is very nice as a starter.
(4)David R.
I agree with other reviewers--the food and service here are middle-of-the-road. However, I love the rooftop seating area. It's shaded by the trees around the building, so you're not exposed to the sun or much wind. On a warm day, this is a great place to spend part of your afternoon, in whatever company you happen to find yourself.
(3)Stevey P.
I ordered the some spicy macaroni dish and chicken satay, and thought it was just ok. Prices are reasonable here, so there's one upside We were the only diners here on a Tuesday evening - which doesn't explain why service was so slow. Had it not just rained I would have liked to sit on the cool outdoor deck (second upside). Not sure if the spicy macaroni dish was fusion or what, but it wasn't anything to write home about. I thought the food at Vong's Thai Kitchen tasted much better. I'm sure there are better Thai places in the area to choose from.
(3)Dallas F.
Siam Pasta was decent at best. I give it a 2.5. I ordered the tofu pad thai, which I feel is pretty hard to mess up and they didn't, it just wasnt great pad thai. My friend ordered the garlic chicken and asked for noodles to substitute the rice that came with the dish. There was a 2.50 substitution cost to do that. When he got the noodles they looked like ramen noodles and every noodle clumped and lifted out of the bowl when he went to eat them. When I tasted them, they tasted like ramen noodles too. 2.50 for that ?!
(2)Erin S.
I'm sad to only be giving this place 3 stars because this was my go to place when we first moved to Evanston. It must be a family establishment because a lot of the same faces have been there the past 3 years or so and I do want to give them better praise because it's a local establishment but I feel that they've been cutting corners a lot lately. The two dishes I order the most are the pad thai and pad si ew. Lately, I've made it a point to order extra of their house sauce (usually comes with the khanom jeep) because those two dishes have really needed something more. Also, I'm sure their apps - specifically the khanom jeep (like a shrimp shumai) and the crab lagoons (not sure why they aren't "rangoons" here) are pre-packaged. Oh well. I still think they're good. They increased the price of the lunch special a while back... I know it's still a good deal - entree and app for $6.95 a person - but if you're going to raises the prices, make sure you either keep or raise the standards of your food. Don't take the profit and turn it into new menus. I don't care what your menu looks like - I care what your food tastes like. Please take me back to the days where I was willing to fall off the healthy--eating wagon for you! I love eating on your beautiful roof-top patio in the summer time...
(3)Stephanie D.
LOVE this place!!!! We eat here on a regular basis. We have one issue with a phone order and the delivery driver was back within 10 minutes with the corrected meal. Will be having the lunch special here on Saturday!
(4)Colleen B.
I am a HUGE fan of thai food and decided it was time to try a new place. The design was lovely and as others mentioned, the outdoor patio looks great for a sunny day. I admit, I really wanted to like this place but was a little disappointed. FIrst the food, not bad but not great either. I got Pad Thai and it seemed heavy. The meat was greasy and it didn't have the fresh taste from sprouts and lime as it should have. Cozy Noodles is only a few block away and their pad thai is SO much better. I came in around 2:00 on a Thursday so I understand it was going to be quiet but because I was the only customer I expected my server to come over more often and maybe smile or something. It's not like she was exhausted. All in all, I'll give this place any try when I can sit outside with a friend and we'll see how they do with green curry.
(3)Scott B.
First off, this has one of the best patios in all of Chicago/Evanston. It's a second floor patio, it's spacious, and it's great to hear the trees rustling in the wind 5 feet from your head as you eat. Second, the service is great. Food is always there in 10 minutes or less. Third, the food is reasonably priced, fresh, and REALLY tasty. I ordered the Pad See Ew dish w/ chicken and my fiancee ordered the mixed veggies w/ Tofu. Both were amazing. We also got an appetizer...steamed dumplings, that were DELICIOUS (I Believe it was number 107 on the menu). We usually have the same server and he is always nice, orderly, and right on time with everything. Great place to have a good, cheap dinner out!
(4)Nancy V.
The best Thai food I've had in ages! Their panang curry is as good as it gets. I'm very picky about my panang curry and there's only one other restaurant (out in Naperville) that I have found to compare. Chicken satay awesome! Excellent service, excellent food, good prices. Highly recommend and we will be back!
(5)Jeff C.
Siam Pasta is a staple at work. Admitted, they win due to location, but other nearby restaurants do not get nearly as much love. They offer a decent lunch special: a greater variety of appetizer than most (your choice of six) with a comparable selection of entrees (your choice of fourteen) for a similar price to other restaurant's lunch specials. Some dishes are better than others, but I've yet to regret a meal. Dine-in or carry-out, you get the same meal (which isn't true of some competitors). If you dine in, their menu has pictures of most of their entrees, so you know what it is you're ordering (important when no two restaurants prepare the same dish the same way).
(4)Jodi F.
We have never actually eaten in the restaurant, but we order the food for delivery and carry-out on a regular basis. I was a little spoiled by Penny's Noodles in Chicago, but Siam is a good value for the money. Our family's favorite dishes are the cashew chicken, pad thai (usually with beef), pad see ew (request American broccoli in place of the Chinese broccoli), and various appetizers. Delivery is fast and considerate.
(4)Sasha R.
I struggled between giving Siam Pasta two or three stars. I decided on three because the rooftop seating is lovely in the warmer months. The service is usually slow and inattentive. For the most basic of Thai food (the curries, soups, Pad Thai) I don't mind going here. It's cheap and they taste the same as pretty much anywhere else. However, I never stray from those few menu items, because when I have, I've seriously regretted it. One time I regretted it all night, but I won't get into the icky details..
(3)Julia M.
If I could give it more stars I would! We have never been disappointed with the food at Siam Pasta and it's, hands down, our favorite restaurant in Evanston. The food is abundant, fresh, flavorful and the wait staff is courteous and attentive. The patio is especially nice during the summer! My favorites: The Tom Kha soup is rejuvenating and the Rama Chicken is more than satisfying, with a bed of fresh brocolli as a foundation for an appetizing layer of chicken and peanut sauce. If you're a student on a tight budget, this is the place for you. If you enjoy Thai cuisine and wish to dine in a down to earth setting, this is the place for you. If you enjoy great tasting food at very reasonable prices, this is the place for you!
(5)Melissa M.
The rooftop balcony here is a great place to eat when the weather is nice. There are beautiful trees and the lighting is lovely. The food is pretty Americanized overall, but satisfying. The lime chicken is my family's favorite, though it's about as Thai as I am. If you are hankering for the spicy stuff there is a small list of "extra" dishes on the back of the menu without descriptions. Recently I ate the crispy pork with Chinese broccoli (Ka-Na-Moo-Krob) and it had a great smoky spiciness... though there was much more broccoli than pork. But if they can make broccoli taste that good then they are doing something right.
(3)Jesster A.
This has quickly become our favorite old/new standby. Quality, fresh tasting, modestly priced chow, good variety and love sitting on the upper outdoor deck. We love the special Lime Chicken appetizer ($5.95 - like tempura fried chicken strips) with zesty lime sauce and "kale confetti?" - one order is enough to split. For a buck or two, you can add extra veggies, meat, chix, tofu or shrimp to any dish. Food too bland? Ask for spicy condiments to add heat. We've enjoyed everything we've tried, but especially Spicy Crazy Noodles, Siam Pasta, Ginger Chicken and Rama Chicken and definitely try the Curries. Located less than a block west of Dempster Street "L" stop and just down the street from "Wiener and Still ..." where, as Katsuyuki W. notes you can find the best Belgian Fries (found so far) in the Chicago area... BTW - today is my first day Yelping and this is my first review. UPDATE 10/12006 As sake b. notes - service can be way off and I've had to "serve" myself on occasion as well. I think they are well intentioned but under-staffed - sometimes one server is working the whole place. And yes, if you want chopsticks you have to ask.
(4)Clif B.
I've been a satisfied customer of Siam Pasta for many years but my latest visit, yesterday, was disappointing. There were two waitpersons, each sitting glued to her own laptop watching videos. Occasionally, they would look up to see if customers needed attention. I can't believe management allows this. Presumably the waiters are paid, so can we at least expect them to attend to their work? I ordered Exotic Duck, one of the more expensive items on the menu (all prices are low). It was bland to the point that I wondered if there were any spices used. Yes, the summer outdoor seating is nice but a restaurant should first have something good to eat. I'll give this place a rest for a couple of years.
(2)Rich C.
Love their lunch special! Great deal. Even available on weekends! Was a little sad that just because mango is out of season that that makes their sticky rice not available. (because it is the best sticky rice I have had)
(4)Casia J.
This food is just plain strange. It's not Thai, not even bad in a Big Bowl kind of way, just weird and not good. My green curry tasted JUST like Juicy Fruit gum. Identical. I went back, with a coupon. The Pad Thai was made out of something similar to spaghetti. Again, ultra weird. Edible, but barely. Went back again, because it's close and cheap. Had Pad See Euw, it was alright. The best thing I'd tried I suppose but also the easiest to prepare, so there ya go. Each time, my husband had a fried rice dish and they were good. But everything else we've tried was marginal at best.
(2)Wendy K.
Nice outdoor patio on second floor on summer nights. Our favorites are tofu pad thai, spicy basil chicken or shrimp (pay for the extra vegetables and it is a dynamite healthy dish, spicy but not too). Chicken satay is pretty good too, with its thick nutty sauce and side of yummy sweet/tangy cucumber salad. Great neighborhood take out.
(4)Matt B.
I've only been here once, so perhaps take this with a grain of salt. However, I was not very satisfied with my experience at Siam. First the positive: atmosphere and price. Tucked away on a mostly residential street just south of downtown Evanston, the building has a very nice look about it - old storefront on 1st floor with a large 2nd story outdoor deck nestled in between several large trees. As JB mentioned, the outdoor deck is very nice - I felt like I was in a tree hose: quite romantic actually. Price was comparable to many Thai restuarants - in the $7-9 range for most meals. There are also coupons to be found on their website: siampasta.com (under specialties). With coupon, this place is as cheap a sit down restaurant as you'll ever find. Now the negative: service & food. As a budget diner, I do not expect a lot from the service staff. But I was a little disappointed here. There seemed to be only 1 person working all 10 tables on the rooftop, and he was stretched thin. We had to wave him down to order drinks, wave him down to order food, and wave him down for the check. We also never received any utensils (forks or chopsticks) or napkins. Eventually I got up and found where the forks and such were kept and nabbed a few for our table. Still I wouldn't have really cared about the below average service if the food had been good. Maybe I'm spoiled by Cozy Noodle (Davis St, Evanston), but the food just wasn't that good. I ordered the panang curry with chicken and my friend ordered pad see ewe. Both dishes came out only luke warm and appeared to have been sitting out for some time. The chicken was of lower quality than Cozy and the panang curry tasted like it had some flour mixed in to thicken it. The pad see ewe had the same issue with the chicken and the vegetables did not look fresh. Both of us got the feeling there was the possibility our food had spoiled in some way. I give the atmosphere and the price 5 stars. The service was a 3 and the food a 2.5. Would I go back? I guess I'd give it another shot - but then again why go anywhere but Cozy Noodle?
(3)Eryn S.
I like the pad thai and the mussaman curry dish. My husband is partial to the pineapple rice. Yes, the service is just ok; yes there are weird signs saying "Mango and Sticky Rice" everywhere; yes, there's a scene from a page in the kama sutra in the men's room while the women's is an underwater theme (no fair!)... these are all part of the wacky ambiance and cheap prices that make Siam such a treasure in Evanston. We get coupons in the mail EVERY week for buy one get one half off, my husband and I can both eat for like $9!! They may not have table cloths or servers who are passionate about customer service (though they are really really sweet people) but all in all they are hard to beat for quick, cheap, yummy eats. And as everyone else has remarked... upstairs balcony = wicked awesome.
(4)ann s.
I was torn between three and four stars, but hey: Yay. I'm a fan. I'm mostly a fan of the summer outdoor seating on the rooftop balcony. The food is usually fine and sometimes good--I've had better Thai and worse. The lunchtime special is pretty good, with quite a few choices even for the appetizer, and the prices are attractive. The inside rooms on the first floor are kind of pretty, but I've never eaten in them. I am definitely a fair-weather fan when it comes to this place.
(4)Laura P.
Yes, it's true the rooftop seating is nice. Very nice. But lets pretend its cold or the rooftop is full, then the restaurant is terrible. Why bother? There are other lovely places to eat. The service and the food are all just ok. I've had better Thai food in a food court.
(2)Irene J.
the thai food is pretty authentic and flavorful. of all the places i've tried in evanston, this is one of the top thai restaurants. don't expect great service! although the servers are nice, they're a bit scatterbrained when it comes to remembering details (drinks, sauces, etc.). they're really apologetic and sweet people, so don't go in expecting five star service--go for the food!
(4)Jaclyn C.
It may not have a name that invites ideas of creative and tasty Thai food, but Siam Pasta - relatively new on the Evanston dining scene - is anything but bland. A selection of dishes ranging from various curries to pot stickers and pad thai, the ingredients taste fresh and the flavors are well blended. Not to mention that it's very very reasonably priced. The Mussaman Curry is the best Thai dish I have ever had - making converts out of my friends as well. The "Crazy Noodles" unfortunately aren't as crazy as they sound, and some of the appetizers are lacking. Still, the curry dishes hold the menu, with some other creative and staple Thai dishes to complement. Within walking distance of the Northwestern University campus, and under a minute from the Dempster Red Line L stop, Siam Pasta's outdoor deck makes the establishment feel far from the student hangouts and trendy Evanston eateries. I highly recommend it easily as my favorite Evanston restaurant. Bonus: They deliver.
(5)Adrienne L.
My favorite Thai restaurant in Evanston...and I've tried them all. Tasty, authentic food in generous portions. Certainly tastier than Thai Sookdee and much larger portions than Cozy Noodle. In the noodle/rice dishes (best pineapple fried rice I've ever tried), there are lots of meat and other ingredients. Good ambience with 2nd floor outdoor patio and friendly service. Prices are very reasonable and on the low end of the range for Thai restaurants in Evanston. Even cheaper lunch specials as well. Highly recommended!
(5)Jamie F.
I was visiting from Seattle, and it was my first night here in Chicago, 16 degrees, and I had that terrible feeling you get from spending all day in an airport. My friend took me here, and it was the most comforting, delicious Thai food. I ordered the Tom Kha soup which is coconut milk/lime/tofu/onions and is spicy and warm and perfect. I also ordered the Mussaman curry which is a curry with peanut sauce blended in with veggies and tofu over rice. This also was exactly what I needed. The atmosphere is great; it's a bi-level restaurant with beautiful wooden walls and cosy seating. Also, really great service!
(5)David M.
This was the second restuarant my wife and I ever went to in Evanston. They have a great patio, perfect for enjoying the evenings in the summer and fall. That covers the ambience, now for the food, I wouldn't call this a Thai restuarant as they seem to cover most of Southeast Asia. The food was good, coming very close to the real thing and the quantity was more than adequate for the price. On a whole, very good food, and excellent service. They also do BYOB for 4 dollars. I would recommend this to a friend without reservation.
(4)Rick V.
One more time, Crab Rangoon (not lagoon) is NOT authentic south-east Asian cuisine - it was invented by some faux-Polynesian restaurants in the US back in the 1950s.
(1)jason h.
pretty good thai noodle dishes and appetizzers. I would suggest the cyrries but i like spicy food so be warned. the crab lagoon is also defintely worth trying
(4)Lina S.
Consistently great cooking. The best tasting Thai food, in my humble opinion. I have eaten here since the restaurant first opened. The service is a bit muddled at times. The Lunch Specials are tremendous values.
(4)Linda S.
The prices here are so reasonable that you could try as much and not feel so guilty. The food is surpringly amazing here. One of their best dishes here are the duck noodles which comes with roasted duck over thin egg noodles and chinese broccoli served with chicken stock soup on the side. They also have excellent appetizers, especially the larger spring rolls with plum sauce, and they have a special menu for anyone who wants to try more authentic dishes such as Tiger Cry. Go on their website or ask for coupons at the restaurant for a "buy one entree, get the second one free" deal.
(4)kate w.
really yummy. really cheap. awesome roof deck, perfect for a summer evening. a great lunch special avalible 7 days a week. one of my faves for meeting a freind on a weekend afternoon or an easy place for takeout after a stressful day.
(5)sarah s.
this place is nothing to write home about. the food was edible, but not good. the service was bad. they brought our food and i asked for some spoons so we could eat family style and would have reminded our server that she had forgot had we seen her again. the roof top deck was nice and the check was cheap, but you can eat just as cheap and enjoy it at other thai joints.
(2)Kat W.
solid food, very nice interior, and awesome pattio in the summertime. the staff is a bit unfriendly, but everything else makes up for it.
(4)Anum A.
Personally, I never really liked Thai food too much but after eating here, I fell in love with it. Siam's has amazing food with amazing prices. The servers are really friendly too. Also, the restaraunt is set up so nicely and it is really comfortable.
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