Cozy Noodles & Rice
Sarah Coley · 27 Google reviewsCozy Noodles & Rice — thai in Evanston. Hospitality you can feel from the door, and BYOB. "Food is incredible the duck is so tender and juicy recommend it 100%" — Swap [$]
What 619 diners keep saying
What 619 diners keep saying
verbatim, from Google
“A really fun place decorated with a huge collection of memorabilia and offering great food. 👍”
“This place is so charming and delicious. The staff are LOVELY and the food is incredible. Almost every time I go to see a movie, we add time to make sure to eat here. Beautiful presentation and wonderful flavor. I cannot recommend enough”
“I was absolutely thrilled to be able to get into this wonderful place the other night before it closed. It was a regular place to visit when my children were younger because of the fun decor. All the walls are lined with toys, license plates, and a variety of other things to discover while you wait for your food. The food is always delicious, great value, and the service is always very prompt. I’m not sure how to spell the name of the wonderful host, but I do believe it is B. Go soon and enjoy! This is an update on my previous review. Cozy moved from its long time Home to a new spot a few doors down from the movie theatre in Evanston. They’ve done a wonderful job of keeping the original fun vibe of the original place. I happen to be taking a look at some of the other reviews and was so surprised to find any negative reviews at all. However, while I was waiting for my food at my last visit, a guy came storming in and not a particularly young chap and walked up to collect his order. He was told it was only gonna be another minute or two before it was ready and he immediately starts getting all bent out of shape because he had ordered his food 20 minutes ago and expected to walk right out with him. It’s such an utterly unreasonable behaviour and I think it reflects on some of the other reviews which are not very positive. It is a lovely place. The food is excellent and good value and the host is always very welcoming and accommodating. I would ignore any reviews by these crabby impatient people.”
“We came here thanks to the recommendation of someone who LOVES Cozy Thai! And we are now hooked as well! The vibe/atmosphere is really fun and low-key. The decor is engaging, nostalgic, and made for wonderful dinner conversation with my son! It was fun to swap stories about things he recognized and things that were from my childhood! The staff were fantastic! So kind and continually checking if we needed anything. And the food.... The food was some of the best Thai we have ever eaten (and we are Thai food snobs)! Apologies for not recalling the exact names of everything we ate, but we had the appetizer sampler (everything was delicious), the spicy chicken with vegetables (also delicious), and the salmon with vegetables and rice (very, very good). We also ordered Strawberry Mango and Mango Lemonade mocktails and they were beautiful and tasted divine! We will definitely be back on our next trip!”
“Food was great, but service was super awkward and uncomfortable. My partner and I took our nine year old and her friend to eat here. The woman who was serving was constantly hovering over us. She took the light fixture on the table off because we turned it on, and she said it was too fragile for that. She told my daughter not to play with the flower that came out on the plate of food. She took my daughter's bowl out of her hands because she thought my daughter would break it. We felt uncomfortable just being in there as people with kids. It was super weird. I would order takeout, but I will not be back in person.”
“I truly wanted to love this adorable Thai restaurant especially because of how conveniently close it is to where I currently work however the bad vibes from the owner is a turn off. The first time I visited I didn't realize they close at 8:30 pm so I arrived at 8ish and the server/owner snapped at me that they will be closing their doors by 8:30 pm so I hurriedly ordered a delicious chicken satay appetizer with peanut sauce presented beautifully in a tiny goblet and a crispy curry puff which was extremely good too. I loved the thai iced tea even though it was served in a small glass with lots of ice. The reason I am leaving a two is because the owner made me feel like I was not welcomed and an inconvenience because I arrived half an hour before closing. It was hard for me to savor the food based on the fact that the owner who is also a server to cut costs made it clear she needed me to leave when they start the closing process so I rushed through my first ever dining experience there. Today was my second and admittedly will be my last. The owner gave me the same icy indifferent attitude as if I wasn't genuinely welcomed. The first time I dined there I had a feeling she was the owner so I didn't tip and this time the owner lied to me when I mentioned I knew she was the owner when she practically DEMANDED a tip after my disappointing dining experience. She said she works there as s server and doesn't have a clue who the owner was completely lying to me so I would be quilted into leaving her a tip. First of all I arrived here at 1:30 and she coldly stated they close at 2pm no exception. There was no separate lunch menu and she let me decide what I wanted and didn't even take my order till 1:40pm I chose the crazy noodles with beef and you either get a tiny portion of cucumber salad or an egg roll appetizer. When my food arrived there were no chopsticks just forks and the plate was very decorative but the portions were extremely small. The egg rolls were good but each eaggroll was the size of your pinky finger and you get 3 tiny pieces. I ate quickly and when I got up to pay she asked me how id like to tip. I knew she was the owner so I felt it was HIGHLY inappropriate to hustle a guest for tips especially if you own your own restaurant and you're serving to cut costs by not hiring a server to work for you. Again I thought it was a tacky move on her part to insist on a tip and then lie to me and say she doesn't know who the owner is in real life. I don't like the owner's lack of business ethics so I will not be returning here especially because the lunch deal is extremely overpriced and doesn't include a side of salad or rice or beverage. She never once smiled at me nor made me feel like a welcomed guest so I don't feel like returning to support a business that treats their customers with such disdain and genuine unkindness.”
“The lady was rude and there was a bug on the dish and when we talked to her, she said just leave”
“They charge service fees( 20%) without telling guests so they get double tips. This receipt with service fee was given by request after we felt something wrong. This is fraud! P1 is the receipt we were given at first. P2 is what we asked later.”
“Had the Dragon Ball, iced Thai coffee and chicken fried rice. Interior is fun and nostalgic, with lots of comic books and toys lining the walls. Service was left to be desired. Waited to be seated for a long time, and did not feel welcomed. Very awkward and confusing. Would not recommend.”
“Had a welcome dinner party 🎉 🥳 recently and it was great! The owner Bea did such an awesome job. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves. The set-up was great and we couldn't have chosen a better spot with a better host. The food was great as always.”
“Loved this restaurant! Food was delicious, waiter was so patient and sweet, the bathroom was clean, all the decor was the awesome! Coming back next time I'm in Evanston!”
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