Dao Thai Restaurant

We were in town Nov 21-23, 2008, due to the Christmas lighting ceremony/parade it was packed downtown. After a cold morning of fighting the crowds on Michigan Ave this restaurant was the perfe3ct resting place. The food was very good! The vietnamese spring roll was excellent with a terrific mix of flavors. The shrimp Tom Yum soup was a surprise. The light citrusy broth was perfect. My wife enjoyed her cashew chicken. The service was spot on and we enjoyed all the authentic decorations. Highly recommend.

Pros: Great food, service and atmosphere

Cons: none

Posted 11/23/08

I knew nothing of this place until my boyfriend recommended it one day. He works downtown and I come down to have lunch with him, so needless to say it needs to be close and fast. Well Dao is both of these, and to boot, delicious! We usually get the chicken fried rice, and have yet to be disappointed. The service is quick and friendly. We are in and out in about 45mins. Im always wanting to go back and can't recommend them enough!!

Pros: Good food,fast,and cheap

Cons: Kinda hard to find if driving

Posted 05/18/08

This place is fantastic. My favorite downtown food for cheap. Sometimes dine-in service takes 30-40 minutes, but I always get my take out in less than 15 minutes. The Almond Beef and Panang Curry Beef are my favorites. I eat a lot of Thai, and this is my favorite $10 and under place I ever been to. I can't recommend this enough!

Posted 02/13/08

I wish we had read the reviews before we ordered. Last week we had a craving for spring rolls and pad thai, we chose Dao for delivery. We were dismayed before we even put the food on our plate. The delivery took an hour and a half and we live in the same block. The spring rolls were a mush of what tasted like bean sprouts and wet tortilla. Our Penang Curry had chicken, no vegetables, and seemed to have more oil than peanut curry sauce. Very unappetizing. Always wary of new places, we had ordered fried rice, just in case . . . The rice was tight and grainy as if they used day old rice to prepare it. The chicken in this dish was so dried out it was almost unedible. They have a great location and all of Streeterville needs a good Thai restaurant. Are the owners really Thai? Very discouraging.

Posted 08/11/07

We went to this restaurant on Saturday night hoping for some good Pad Thai, after having a horrible experience at the Star of Siam (not too far from Dao).

In short, it was the worst experience we have ever had in a Thai Restaurant. We waited for more than 10 minutes after we were seated for someone to take our order. We could not customize our orders, such as asking for Woon Sen noodles in our Pad Thai, not adding cilantro, or putting broth on the side (all of which are very easy things to do). This is the first time we have had these "customizations" refused in a Thai Restaurant. They also forgot to bring our Crab Rangoon, because the waiter forgot to write it down while we were ordering (even though he looked like he was writing something down). It took another 15 minutes to get the check.

To top it all off, at the very end of our dining experience we saw an "exotic-looking" flying insect on the condiments. . .we will not be back.

Pros: Ambience, Location

Cons: Horrible Service, Exotic Flying Insects

Posted 07/06/07

I came to this place on a whim. Ordered a Pad Thai, a chicken curry dish, and a tom yum soup to start it off. I ordered it spicy but to take it easy on the bell peppers. They put tons of bell peppers and made everything bland. VERY bland. The Tom Yum soup was diluted and without much flavor. Seemed like the ingredients were just tossed in there and the mushroom, well, tasted too much like mushroom. The pad thai noodles were soggy, and completely broken. I like the noodles to be a little on the drier side. And the most promising dish, the curry dish which was composed of thin bamboo shoots mixed with chicken in a red curry sauce had not much flavor. Great composition though. Too bad it tasted so bland. For a restaurant in such a location and with a decent ambience, this is such a waste of time and money.
Customer service is not up to par either. Prices are ok
Worst Thai food in years.
Good points: Thai iced tea was good

Posted 07/18/06

Very disappointed with the food - no flavor, uses canned vegetables - (baby corn, mushrooms, bean sprouts). The pad thai was bland at best. The curry had no kick, and the chicken dishes had dry white meat chicken with little flavor.

cute set up and atmosphere, convenient location - but really not worth the money. Yeah the price is not bad but you get what you pay for.

Pros: convenient location, price

Cons: food, flavor, freshness

Posted 07/20/05

This restaurant is amazing... the food is exceptional- very authentic and affordable. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and the wait staff was friendly. Also a great location for dinner and a movie (next door) or going out afterwards!

Posted 09/16/04

Thai food is usually a safe bet for Vegetarian diners. The staff seemed very put out and unaware of vegetarian options. The prices on the menu outside are not the same as what you will find on the menu once inside.

Pros: Decor, Ambiance

Cons: , Slow staff

Posted 06/13/04

With amazingly quick service and great food, this place is great! Some really authentic Thai food, along with unbelievable prices (most expensive dish was $11). I really appreciated the speedy service and courtesy. The decor was attractive and overall, a nice place to dine.

Pros: FAST service, Great food

Posted 06/08/04

this place is a nice inexpensive thai restaurant right off of michigan avenue in downtown chicago. food is very good and service is efficient. curries are good as are standbys such as pad thai. how they keep prices low at this location is impressive.

Posted 04/10/03

I have walked by this place for years, without ever trying it. I was pleasantly suprised by how charming it was! The food and ambience were great. The service was prompt and friendly. They even have a very cute outdoor area that is up and off of the sidewalk. I highly recomend it.

Pros: great patio, good location

Posted 07/04/02

Just had lunch here this week for the first time. I was very pleased with the Pad See Ewe. It's a funky looking place too.

Pros: food

Posted 06/26/02