Thai Aree House

I found this Thai Spot in Irving Park thanks to Unilocal,and it saved the day! I had an evening work appointment nearby and was in desperate need of some fuel after a long day. Thai Aree House fit the bill.
I came in around 5:30PM on a Wednesday to an empty restaurant. Not to worry– a very friendly male server greeted me and gave me their biggest table «to spread out» along with the newspaper to read while I waited. I ordered the pad thai, which came out 5 – 10 minutes later. Service was speedy here (as it should be when you’re the only one dining in the restaurant!)
The pad thai was great– served with plenty of peanuts, just the right amount of sauce, bamboo shoots, egg, and lime for the top. At $ 8.95, the portion was just right and plenty filling for one meal.
At the end of my meal, they gave me a free dessert of water mellon along with a stick of gum. Funny but nice touch. I will say, the restaurant isn’t the prettiest place. I would recommend for take-​out, which seems to be the bulk of their business anyhow.

My husband and I randomly selected this place to have dinner one night. It, by far, exceeded our expectations. Their customer service was the best we’ve seen in a while. So great, that I am actually write a review about it. We were warmly greeted when we arrived, and we were always treated with kindness and with a genuine smile by the waiter. These are things that should just happen naturally with customer service but unfortunately that is not always the case, at least in our experience. On top of their great service, their food was delicious. We ordered the pad Thai with BBQ Pork. Our waiter even brought us slices of watermelon for dessert, which I thought was a nice touch. Needless to say we will be going back for more. My five stars go to Thai Aree.

Wouldn’t change anything.
Small place but definitely the best in Thai food.
Eddie is he best when it comes to customer service.

Just tried this place after soooo many years of seeing it. The main reason I never tried this place was because of its hours.
Well I loved it cause when you order a dish HOT it comes HOT! I goto other thai restaurants and most of them make it mild when I want it spicy hot. It’s spicy but still has great flavor. The people working there are extremely nice as well. I would love to give them 5 stars but I can’t always leave work to pick up the food. I wish they would deliver to me and open when I have the crave for Thai food. Great place! I would definitely order from here again!!!

While visiting Chicago, we had to try a Thai place. Based on our location, we chose Thai Aree because of it’s reviews. This place is a humble little place with impeccable service and great food. Don’t be deceived by its décor. It’s the food and service that really matters. We had our usual Pad Thai and Tom Yung Koon soup. For me, this is the true test of how good the food is. We also had red curry and the papaya salad. Sure enough, the dishes were seasoned perfectly, satiating my palate after trying many Thai places. The waitress who appeared to be family related to the owners of the restaurant was charming, perceptive, helpful, and courteous. She made our dining experience even better.

The owner is what makes this place special. He was so enthusiastic and really wanted us to enjoy our visit. Aside from answering our questions about the menu, he wanted to make sure our 4 yr old was comfy and eating well too. He brought out a smaller plate, a smaller cup and made sure he was sitting close enough to the table to eat well – he acted like any doting grandfather would and he so kind to do all this. He even gave my son two tangerines while we were leaving… my son loved it «Snacks for school tomorrow Mommy!» is what he said.
The food was good. I love Thai spring rolls – the tiny ones with glass noodles – and they were very good here. I could just eat an order of them myself. The Pad Thai was just OK. the noodles were a bit mushed, but the flavor was there. I really liked the Basil with Beef. I asked for it Medium spice which the owner said was already spicy, but I could have gone another notch and been ok. The chicken with red curry was also very good. Tender chicken in a spicy broth. My husband wanted it very spicy but the owner was hesitant to let us get it that hot so we compromised on a medium to high spice and he brought a side of thai chili peppers my husband could add if he wanted. I thought the spice was great and I wouldn’t want it any spicier. And my husband? loved the Thai Chili peppers too. Fire!
Complimentary slices of watermelon for dessert – a very sweet touch.
We were happy enough that we do plan return visits to try other items.

Excellent food and service. The owners really care about your experience and are very friendly.
Food is fresh and some of the best Thai, I have ever had.
The soup portions are huge and perfect for sharing. I’m so glad this place is in my neighborhood. Couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

My favorite Thai restaurant outside of New York City (and Thailand, of course, hah!). I love ALL the foods I have had there. They are extremely hospitable, quick, friendly, helpful, and amenable. And it’s byob… need I say more?
I took some friends here one night and they said they got sick (from it). I refuse to believe it was my beloved Thai Aree. It had to be something else. Crab rangoons. Oh yum!

Came here on a Friday evening. Every seat was filled and there was only one person working the whole restaurant. She was so busy. After around 25 minutes of waiting we were seated and ordered as quickly as possible.
Chicken Satay– Nice tender pieces of chicken breast skewered and charred with a nice peanuty sauce.
Spicy Basil Minced Chicken– pretty average in taste, was a on the saltier side.
Chicken Panang Curry– the most mediocre dish of them all, flavors weren’t balanced and it was on the sweeter side.
Overall I had expected more from this restaurant, it felt pretty authentic but the food just didn’t deliver. I think it may have been that we were seated 30 minutes prior to closing. I could potentially give this place another shot, but definitely have had better at other Thai restaurants.

So, so, SO good – But rarely open! The family travels for random months of the year kind of unannounced.

This spot rules. Fantastic food, great service, and BYO. Loved the green curry and basil chicken.

Very friendly place with great Thai food! We moved to Chicago from Michigan a year ago and were pretty disappointed with the quality of Thai food we’ve had here so far. This place has good food, but be aware of the spicy levels! We were warned before ordering even medium spice level, but went for it anyway. One of our dishes was very spicy.

I’ve lived right by them for years and this the first I’ve tried this place. The owners are sweet hearts for one. The food is really good. I ordered their fried rice basil but spicy and it is really good. It is different from most places. I also got the appetizer shrimp rolls with their home made sweet and sour sauces which is good as well. I have yet to try more from their menu. Recommend place.

If your looking for Thai food, then look no further. Best food! Sarah the waitress is awesome and always remembers our order. Go with any suggestion Sarah makes.
Also don’t forget to bring your favorite beer or wine!

I really enjoy this restaurant a lot. My husband and I go here when we want Thai food. Its not to far from our house so we go here a lot. We have been bringing everyone that we know to the restaurant. The waitress here is fabulous and if you don’t know what to order she will direct you to the right entrée. She is just a great waitress. We really enjoy her.
The food here is also delicious and always the right amount. Most of the time we always have leftovers. Its a great surprise to eat it again the next day.

I stopped in here for like two seconds to order their Panag curry togo. Super friendly owner, fast service, more than reasonably priced.
Final Verdict:
The Panag curry was delicious and a must order!

I very seldom write a review but I feel this place def deserves it. I’m a tough critic and possibly a little boojie when it comes to food. I’ve tried dozens of thai spots all over the city and this has to be the freshest, absolute best thai food in all of Chicago.
I ordered the noodle kee mow with chicken and my friend ordered the shrimp pad thai. We shared both dishes and both were amazing. I must say when you ask for spicy, expect to sweat. Aside from the amazing food, the owner is so incredibly kind. After I paid for my take out he says hold on one second and slices me up some delicious watermelon to go. The food won me over but that was just icing on the cake. Been looking for a great thai spot for over a year and I think I finally found it.

It is hard for me to eat Thai these days, with a little one at home with a peanut allergy. As such, I often try to get a Thai Fix while on travel.
I stopped at Thai Aree with a coworker and his family. The service was exceptional, the food was better.
We started with a Thai Pancake/​shrimp appetizer — tasty, awesome.
We moved on to Pad Thai (great example), a basil beef (served with fried eggs. .), a Papaya salad, and a green curry. All of these items were excellent examples of Thai food. Dishes were slightly spicy (but spiced to taste) and were served with plenty of rice.
The meal ended with a palate cleansing watermelon.. .i’m not sure how Thai Aree can acquire such flavorful watermelon in october — but they did.
the next time i’m in Chicago, I will be back

The owner is super duper nice here! I love that he really wants you to have a good experience. He is attentive and kind and is there to help you with anything regarding the menu or your food. My friend was late to dinner so I was sitting there by my lonesome for a while. I guess he felt bad for me sitting by myself, so he brought out some complimentary tea! Seriously, such a nice guy…
As much as I like the service here… Why can’t I find a Thai place with good Tom Yum soup? This place is on the sweet side… I wonder if I can ask to add more lemongrass and spice to fit my taste buds? I don’t know…

Owners are super super nice — nice enough to warn me that even though I love love love hot food… BEWARE ordering it HOT! Whooo Weeee… That’s some spicy Thai Food!
Green Curry was awesome and Pad Thai was really good. Can’t comment on anything else as it was a simple pickup for the Mrs. and me, but it might become my goto spot. Take a look at the photos of the menu here as it’s nowhere online. But this is a sweet little spot run by good folks that will go out of their way to please you.