Sweet Rice Chicago — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Overall Thoughts: Located right off the Western Blue Line stop, Sweet Rice is a casual Thai restaurant with ample indoor and outdoor seating, friendly staff, and reasonable prices. I especially enjoyed the Basil Duck Rice entree and Sweet Rice Durian dessert. The menu is quite expansive though, and I’d be happy to come back to try more dishes!

Food I tried: Chicken Satay: A solid appetizer! Peanut sauce was creamy, and the chicken was tender and flavorful.

Gui Chai: These made good appetizers too with a well-fried, crispy exterior and soft interior.

Basil Duck Rice: This was super delicious; I’d definitely get it again. It was sautéed perfectly with deep pockets of flavor— the duck is tender and juicy, the fried egg is crispy, the rice is soft and flavorful.

Vegan Duck Noodle: This was my least favorite dish out of everything we ordered. The noodles weren’t very flavorful, and the vegan duck was a let down— It’s made differently than the ones typical of NYC Thai restaurants, so it just didn’t hit as much.

Sweet Rice Durian: As a durian fanatic, I loved this dessert— it’s a unique one that you won’t find on most other Thai menus in Chicago (other than at Sticky Rice, which is owned by the same family). It was quite soupy, and the combination of the warm coconut sauce, the creamy durian, and the sticky rice that instantly soaked up all the coconut and durian flavors was just perfect.

Split between 3 people, the price was ~$25/pp including tax/tip, which was good for the amount of food we got. —

Price (relative to peers): 4.4/5 Food: 4.4/5 Ambience: 4.7/5 Service: 5/5 Overall...

Update: so I've eaten here two more times and had problems with the food. I asked if they could make me a gluten free meal. The waitress said the larb chicken was GF. I enjoyed the food, it was tasty, it was a generous portion but later I got diarrhea. Not good. If you are looking for gluten free food my advice is look elsewhere.

I've been here twice only, so I don't have a wide perspective on the food. Also, I opted for take out. Lastly I write all my reviews as if I were speaking to a friend who also has Celiac disease.

That said: The first time I ate there I tried the Larb. They asked me if I wanted it spicy, I said yes but then some other customer warned me that they make it REALLY spicy. After that she said she would put the spice on the side.

I liked it but honestly I won't back down about the spice level next time because it wasn't spicy at all. Even adding the powdered spice she gave me wasn't really that intense.

With this in mind I ordered my next dish spice. It was the Panang curry with beef. It was also not very spicy even when I added all of the sambal.

As far as food safety, I was perfectly happy. They told me it was gluten free and it was.

I'm definitely going back to continue sampling the gluten free options on the menu. I'm thinking that with the cooler weather coming the Tom Yum soup is my next order.

Check it out for a slightly different take on Thai street food. It's reasonably priced, they have a little outdoor patio, and an...

I hate to make bad reviews because I’ve been a loyal customer to this place since I’ve moved here, three years ago. For the last couple of weeks I noticed that there’s a new server by the name of “Fon”. In the beginning I really just thought she was having a bad day but then her rude demeanor just became consistent. My husband and I just come here for a quick meal and we’re usually in and out. Every time we sit down she NEVER comes to our table to take our order. I always have to get her attention. When she does finally take our order her whole demeanor says she doesn’t want to be here or take our order. My husband and I no longer felt comfortable coming here as much as we used to so we only come in once in a while now. Today we came in and sat ourselves down as usual. After about 15 minutes she doesn’t come to our table to service us (as we expected). I push the “call for service” button. After several minutes she comes from behind the counter and attends another family that came in after us. We got up and left. I no longer feel welcomed here. I refuse to be anywhere where there is weird animosity and hostility for no reason. The previous servers were always so sweet and very attentive. They knew my husband and I very well. Sadly, this place has lost...