Big Bowl

Sad to see that they will close shortly.
Love the food and the atmosphere. The wait staff is friendly.
‘Twas s great place for a healthy lunch.

Horrible service. Food is ok but I had a terrible experience and will never go back. So many other places in this area that are better

This veteran Lettuce Entertain You restaurant does a solid job of delivering faux-​Asian fusion food. My family and I have been going to Big Bowl for 20 years and while it’s changed over the years, it’s still a reliable place, especially the original Cedar St. locale. It’s good for take out and now that it’s no longer trendy, it’s easy to just walk up and grab a table. For a while their rice was horrible; chalky, undercooked and like Uncle Ben’s. Big Bowl has gone through up and down cycles. Right now, they’re right in the middle.

The service and ambiance were really good, the food just average per me. I ordered the Thai shrimps and it was nothing out of the ordinary, above average definitely, authentic in taste, but not excellent.
The good thing about the place though is there are a lot of other options around you that may be better.

Well colour me happy cos I like coming here. Ive been a bunch of times, and yes, the food isn’t super authentic, but it is tasty. And I give credit to the wait staff and the managers, they always try and make efforts to get you what you need. The place is good to grab a quick meal– think upscale fast casual.
It is rather dark inside, and has lots of seating, especially for big parties. The food is consistently good, I have some go to dishes, I like the yellow curry, the spicy Sichuan beef, the ahi tuna, the build your bowl and the calamari. I also always upgrade to fried rice, its worth it and is delicious. I love love the potstickers too. They also don’t stint on the alcohol in the drinks, though I wouldn’t really recommend the cold sangrias, they don’t have much of a taste and the alcohol gets very watered down with all the ice.
I had come here for a friends bday and got her a cake — they were really helpful, they kept it in the fridge till it was time to serve and made arrangements and preparations for it to be a surprise, with candles and everything. Very accommodating, they get 5 stars for that.

I only like the service but not the food. It is pretty close to my temporary job so I barely have a choice but to eat here. Trying out their food for 3 times has really gotten me to dislike this place. I am not sure how they get their recipe, but their dishes are not really a par and not tasting what they should. My vegeterian pad thai, for example, is waaayyy too crunchy!
But I really like their service and I want to try out their happy hour — ½ priced pitcher of sangria? How can I say no to that? This is why I end up giving this place 3 stars even though their food only deserve 1 star.

This was my first time at this location been countless times @ the Ohio street. We were a group of 5 adults and 4 kids, our server was kinda a slow but got his act together with all our orders. We ordered the sezhewan string beans, veggie and chicken potstickers, kids got butter noodles, 2 bowls of stir fry and one orange chicken. All of the adults got stirfry with different options. Will go back again!
PS: The orange ginger ale is very refereshing

The service I have been getting at the bar has been great. My food has been consistent, and Big Bowl is one of my favorite healthy option spots in this area.
I love their ginger ale and the shrimp & scallop dish is one of my favorites. I love their brownie cake ice cream dessert

Whether you are into Asian fare or just breaking plates dropped from a high top table like me, this restaurant offers something special for you. I like the fortune cookies. But you have to ask for them. They don’t always bring them with the piece of paper at the end of the meal. Just yell «COOOOKIE! I WANT COOOOOKIE.» My mommy likes the yellow wine here.
Long waits at the door are the norm but can be circumvented by showing up in costume. Batman attire seems to work well for me. I am 2. I like chicken. And internets.

Big Bowl tries to be a Pan-​Asian jack of all trades and they sacrifice deliciousness and authenticity in the process. I periodically need Asian flavors and Big Bowl offers it. Enough said.

Okay… I’m a creature of habit. After a long day at work, I decided to I needed some Thai food so here I am…
My recent trip to Big Bowl, I had my usual, Calamari for an appetizer and the Beef and Broccoli for the main course, which is always consistent.
Peter, was my server, was great. I would highly recommend this neighborhood gem.

We always get lunch from here! People in my office live this place and I guess it’s okay. Kinda a Asian fusion fast food place. The food is good and pretty decent sized portions but it’s a little pricy.

Big Bowl is a very spacious and happening restaurant located in the neighborhood of Rush & Division Street, close to Michigan Ave, and one of the best touristic centers of Downtown Chicago.
What I like the most about this restaurant is «Stir Fry Bar» where the customer has the option of filling up a bowl from 50 different fresh vegetables, choosing the choice of meat or other proteins, and have it stir fried with the choice of over ten different sauces such as Kung Pao and Yellow Curry, and have it mixed or served with fresh noodle or choice of the rice on the side. You have the choice to concoct whatever you crave and the food would be exactly as you want it.
The service is great too. They follow every single detail and they will dance with any music you play.
The tea is freshly brewed in a ceramic tea pot and even give you a 3 minute glass timer to let you know when your tea is brewed.
I always stop by here when I visit Chicago and I always enjoy it.

Decent Americanized Asian food in a seemingly Lettuce Entertain You style. You can expect consistency.
We came here in a group to entertain a friend from out of town. This place has some vegetarian options too so it can cater to anyone.
we had:
–the beef with string beans — usually a crowd pleaser
–spicy chicken and noodles — very tasty and actually well spiced.
–pork dumplings — blah but fine — good to share
They have great cocktails.
After we got home though, stomach churned a bit… no not food poisoning at all… but didn’t settle well.

Went here with my parents for my birthday lunch. The potstickers were good to start. Parents each liked their food a lot — grilled chicken satay salad and Kung pao chicken. Basically compared it to Pei Wei.
However, I got orange chicken with brown rice that had a long hair stuck in the sauce of my chicken. Lost my appetite after that, and the manager comped our meal. Might try again at some point, but a hair isn’t my idea of a great birthday present.

Anyone ever been to Pei Wei? Big Bowl is Pei Wei with the local-​sourcing and organic aspect to it + 30% more expensive + a bar.
And… hm… yea that’s all I have to say.

I had a lunch date for one and sat at the bar. 2:30pm on a Thursday and the place was fairly empty except for the tall bar tables. The Mai Tai was so refreshing and had a beautiful presentation. The bartender was friendly and asked how everything was several times during my lunch.
I ate the Shrimp Chow Fun off of their regular menu, I didn’t want anything off their lunch menu. It was a huge portion and had a lot of shrimp. The noodles were cooked well, and it came with asparagus and small red chili peppers.
Good place to stop if you’re in the area and want something low key.

Big Bowl is a kid favorite in my house. Our young kids love it, our teens love it, and the adults don’t mind it. Honestly, it could be so much worse! I’m just happy that my kids never demand Rainforest Café! ;) My husband gets the stir fry bar and I almost always get the salmon and brown rice. My kids ALL love the orange chicken. –Too bad it’s fried; I have to restrain myself from eating their leftovers. ;) They especially love the kids’ chopsticks bound at the end so that they can use them like the adults. Without fail, we get a few of their fresh ginger ales to share. –I am not a big soda drinker, but I even love them.
Now, onto the biggest reason our family frequents Big Bowl on occasion. –My bro has celiac. A trace of gluten will cause severe intestinal reactions. He had all but given up on eating Asian cuisine. He came to visit us in Chicago and we took him to Big Bowl because we saw that they had a gluten free menu. It made him SO happy to eat Kung pao chicken. –He hasn’t had it in years! Eating Kung Pao was a highlight of his trip here.
The service has always been great, which is no small feat for our family. It’s very kid friendly, yet is clearly not a kiddy restaurant. One of the very few places that my kids will pick that I don’t mind going to.

Overall: Good chain restaurant with a lot of options, big portions, and friendly service. Great presentation as well.
The good: A ton of options: Ramen, salads, entrees, build-​your-​own stirfry, drinks, starters, and desserts. Huge portions as well, and you can get it nice and spicy. Great service and a good clean atmosphere.
The bad: The main dishes and the shu mai app were extremely salty. A tad overpriced.
Atmosphere: ⁹⁄₁₀
Service: ⁹⁄₁₀
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀

I came here after dinner with a friend for some drinks and dessert
Dessert:
Seasonal cheesecake ($ 5.95): it tasted ok, not the greatest selection… and they don’t have many options for dessert…
Customer Service: the bartender was friendly, but busy…
my review is from just the cheesecake alone…