NaKorn Urban Thai (Evanston) — Restaurant in Evanston Township

First time here for my son's birthday, came because the reviews seemed pretty good but definitely overrated. We ordered two appetizers, the chicken wraps and the poached prawns. Let's start with the prawns they were in a tom yum broth that had good flavor but nothing can ruin a dish more han having it served to you barely lukewarm, I even asked the waiter if this dish should be hot and he said it's supposed to be, he did ask if we wanted to send it back, but honestly I've given up on sending dishes back anymore, it seems like it's the norm anymore, we just ate it anyway. We also ordered the chicken lettuce wrap, which left a lot to be desired. The chicken was dry and could have use a side of some kind of dipping sauce, which most lettuce wraps come with at most restaurants, but can someone please tell me why you would put the chicken mostly over the lettuce? They should be put on the side having to carefully pull out the lettuce from under the chicken, having to be careful so you didnt have chicken flying around when you pulled a piece out from under the chicken is crazy, placing the lettuce this way only left us with mostly soggy lettuce leaves NOT GOOD. We also did not care for the flavor profile of the chicken, definitely had better elsewhere..my son did enjoy his coconut curry braised chicken and it had good flavor, I had the sauteed tiger prawns with thin noodles, my dish was extremely sweet, all you could taste was the sweetness not savory at all, which totally ruined this dish for me it was also very dry too, there's should have at least been a little more sauce on this dish so it wasn't so dry while eating. Over all, my son wasn't excited for this birthday dinner, looks like I'll owe him redo someplace else. Don't think we'll be...

UPDATE: I went to this restaurant in 2020, and many things had changed. The portion sizes were larger, and the flavor was much better. It has actually become one of my favorite restaurants to go to over the last year. It is not 5 starts yet (more flavorful food needed), but it is getting there.

Pros: Presentation, fresh ingredients Cons: Taste/flavor, price, portions

When it comes to food, for me, it is simple. Does the food taste good, is it worth the price, and am I full after I eat? The food tastes OK. It is not as good as the average Thai restaurant. The flavors are bland, and some dishes don't taste like Thai food (tofu steak, for example, tastes like a Japanese dish). The price is ridiculously high for the portion sizes. This place is trying to be an upscale Thai restaurant without delivering on the taste, which is, to me, the most important part of a meal. It doesn't deliver. For the portion sizes - it doesn't deliver. And if the price were average, maybe I can take the small portion sizes and the below average taste in exchange for fresh ingredients and a nice ambiance. But with the price, it also doesn't deliver. Simply put, I won't be back here soon. And if this place is still here in a year, I will try it again only because they only way they must have survived is by significantly improving the flavor...

Why hasn’t NaKorn Thai restaurant won awards for the whimsy and beauty of its interior design? It deserves them. Pass through the cerulean curtains into the dining room and you’re greeted by a portrait of Thailand’s King Rama IX rendered in the style of Mao-era propaganda posters. It’s stunning.

The bar is made of antique abacuses, yes, the calculating instrument that uses beads on rods to represent decimal places. And abacuses appear elsewhere in the dining room, too. The table bases are the legs and treadles of vintage sewing machines. A flock of bird cages turned into chandeliers lights the dining room. If you’re a design buff, this is a destination restaurant just to take in the decor.

Our meal was delicious. The whole fried branzino was so fresh that I ate every part of it, the eyes, the cheeks, the tongue, reducing the head to a pile of splinters. My favorite dish was the turmeric-coconut blue crab curry noodles.

Each team member who visited our table shared stories about the origin of each dish and the inspiration behind the decor. Service was extraordinary.

NaKorn Thai restaurant 1622 Orrington...