Paula's Thai Kitchen
Bill · 849 Google reviewsPaula's Thai Kitchen — dependable thai in Lincoln Park. The recipes feel handed down, not invented. BYOB. [$, patio]
What 341 diners keep saying
What 341 diners keep saying
verbatim, from Google
“Nothing fancy inside but food is outstanding. Had the shrimp red curry at medium heat level and it was quite spicy but delicious! Pad Thai chicken and beef Pad Seeyu was fresh and has a good amount of meat! The outside patio area was not open yet - that is nicer TBH.”
“The food was amazing. Paula is the actual owner and the food was phenomenal.”
“Juicy, smoky, and perfectly marinated — these grilled pork skewers are a must-try!”
“2nd time here, went for lunch. Their lunch specials are about $10 which is great. Good was delicious food. I had the drunken noodles.”
“Paula was our server today and she was amazing. The food is always fresh, hot and very tasteful. It’s paid parking, nice small outdoor space where I ate. Try the Thai noodle soup medium spicy, help me feel better from a cold. Thanks for the wonderful service.”
“Overall great experience! First time coming in, amazing service, extremely kind staff, DELICIOUS food! The atmosphere was super comfortable- came in on a slower quiet night but still! Highly Recommend”
“Amazing neighborhood gem! I have to believe the bad reviews are either used to more Americanized-Thai (pad thai/whatever) or maybe hit off hours? We had a fantastic experience eating at Paula's last night. Our wonderful, friendly server helped recommend local Thai favorites, cute/cozy setting (not fancy Mich-star vibes, more homey, family cooking), delicious and flavorful dishes. We had the papaya salad, beef boat noodles, panang curry, and mango sticky rice and all of them were excellent. We will definitely be back :)”
“The creamy chicken soup was full of many types of flavor. I enjoyed shrimp appetizer. Also , the chicken curry hit the spot and helped warm up a cold night. Nice friendly staff.”
“As a Thai, I think this place is underrated. I kind of understand that their food can be too strange of you never try local Thai dishes besides pad thai before. I brought korean and dutch friends there. We ordered papaya salad with crispy pork, tom yam hotpot seafood, grilled squid, and blue crab spicy salad. The korean was very happy because our cuisines are similar. The dutch was confused even he was in thailand before because he was only at tourist spots and ordered only padthai. So no wonders why the score is lower than it supposed to be. I love every dishes we ordered. The blue crab spicy salad is difficult to find in Europe ( I moved to the Netherlands), so I was so happy when I saw it in the menu and they nailed it 5/5. Papaya salad was delicious; my dutch friend loved it 5/5. Tom yam seafood is more like poh tak(โป๊ะแตก) that put holy basil in it, good for cold days 5/5. The squid is a bit chewy tho, perhaps we should have eat it right away when served 4/5. Btw, it can be very spicy that you need to specify the level of your spicy tolerant. I asked two chillies for papaya salad and normal level for tom yam and blue crab salad. It turned out spiciness of papaya salad was right for me and the rest were a bit too spicy (I’m weak in this as a Thai, lol). The ambience was also awesome. It reminded me of Thai street food that its charm is from little details in decorations and lights. It was not as perfect as 5-stars hotel but it gave a homy atmosphere in which I love it very much 5/5. Service is very friendly and helpful. The staff kept checking on us. They gave us only forks as well even though they knew I’m thai. So, don’t get offended if they give you only fork. If you want chopsticks or spoon, you can ask them. I would recommend this place if you love authentic thai food, especially thai or asian people who miss their home. We commuted from the city center, it was like 15 min driving, and it was so worth it. Thank you very much for your food and service! ❤️”
“Paula Thai Kitchen offers good Thai dishes with a varied menu and quick, friendly service. The restaurant is small but comfortable, creating a pleasant atmosphere for a casual meal”
“Food was delicious, I ordered the shrimp pad see ew but i recommend getting it with beef instead. Thai milk tea and passion fruit soda were delicious. Service was great but the inside of the store was very hot so I opted to sit outside which had a glass roof and a fence around it which was nice but didn’t allow that much airflow so it was very hot and sunny. Besides that I would definitely come again!”
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