Duck Walk

**THIS LOCATION IS CLOSED!!** THE OTHER LOCATION ON FULLERTON AND SOUTHPORT IS STILL OPEN, TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
Food is excellent quality, service was fast. Both this location and the one on Fullerton are family-​owned and operated, so there is a very genuine, authentic feel to both the service and the food. Recommended!

Has been my «go-​to» Thai place since I moved to Chicago several years ago. I don’t even live in Lakeview anymore and I will go out of my way to go to Duck Walk.
Ambiance is decent. Nicer than most places that do a brisk take-​out business. They have nice art on the wall and the dining room is usually always filled. However, I think it’s weird that they A.) have a tv, and B.) play bizarre things on it, like 1980s Ninja Turtles.
Their food is great. Their basic Chicken Pad Thai is one of my favorites in the city. Their Pineapple Fried Rice is excellent. Pot stickers are pretty good; but skip the crab rangoon. It’s not bad, just meh. Their entrees are very large and I always have quite a bit to take home. Essentially I can get two meals out of it. Or at least one meal and a late-​night snack.

Duck Walk has been one of my favorite thai restaurants since my college days at DePaul. It is a quite small place, but that doesn’t affect business. It is sometimes awkward sitting so close to strangers, but you forget that quickly once your food comes out.
Great food at an even greater price. I recently discovered the deliciousness of their bubble tea. Fantastic. My faves are the cucumber salad, pot stickers, tofu pad thai, drunken noodles, and the green curry.
Yum.

«spicy» is a word on a menu that always makes me nervous as definitions can vary. If you like spicy food, as I do, this is most definitely a middle America definition of spicy. Meaning, it’s not.
The food is inexpensive and the portions are generous. Sadly nothing new or innovative on the menu.
Staff is very attentive.
Very small place, in fact the couple next to us was asked to move so their table could be pushed with the adjoining, open table to seat a larger group. Ambiance can get quite loud for such a small place.

This place has by far the best Thai food I have ever had. Everything I have ordered here is so good and the prices are so cheap. When I lived downtown I would eat here on a weekly basis… if you don’t eat at Duck Walk you’re crazy!

WHA? 3.5 for Duck Walk? Whos cray cray?
DW is sooo consistently great and yums and goodness etc etc etc
I’ve had a LOT of Thai here in the city — and no one is as consistent as my little ducky. EVERYTHING is good. Its so fresh and saucy and etc etc etc.
I work around the corner and after 4 years I can’t seem to stop. Its an addiction. I’ve got a duck problem.
Small. Quaint. Perfect friend, friend get together place. Even if you have no friends like me, you can still eat here!
Date night? Eh maybe a little casual, but BYOB if you want to cheaply get your lady friend Bizzoinked. You shameful man.
Eat here.

Headline: Food was better this time; service was a bit funny.
I’m glad to report the Christmas decorations have finally been taken down. I’m also glad to report that this experience at Duck Walk was better than the last and their getting pretty close to 4 stars.
We had the vegetable eggs rolls again (a winner) and some tofu pineapple fried rice (much better than last time – not too salty). In addition we started with a couple Thai tea bubble lattes; these were sooo good except the pearls were far under cooked – too hard. Along with the app and fried rice, we tried some sweet and sour chicken which wasn’t half bad.
While Duck Walk’s food was a much better experience than a couple months ago, I must say that I’m a little concerned with their staff. Everyone was very nice, but I had a lot of difficulty communicating with them since they didn’t speak very much English. They still got my order right, but it took us a while to submit our order and we had an issue with the bill at the end that was tricky to sort out. This doesn’t bother me much since I’m very patient, but I could see that some customers might be turned off by it.
Anyway, I definitely recommend Duck Walk!

This is your typical, run-​of-​the-​mill Thai place. It was actually much smaller than I was expecting (dining capacity around 24 people). The only thing special here is the Tom Kha soup. I’m sad to report that it rivals that of Satay. The bonus is that it’s only $ 3.95! Gosh, I wish I lived closer to this Tom Kha.
We also ordered:
Combo Platter w/​Crab Rangoon, Pot Stickers, and Baby Eggrolls ($ 6.50)
Yellow Curry Chicken ($ 7.75)
Thai Fried Rice ($ 8.25)
Mayo Shrimp ($ 8.50)
All were decent, but didn’t hold a candle to the Tom Kha. The service was really good — our waters were constantly refilled. I think I’m going to stick with Spoon for now for my Thai cravings…

I came here with a friend for dinner (on a Groupon) and I have to say I was dissapointed with the food. The service was great but the food was average.
My friend and I ordered pot stickers and fried ham and cheese rolls for our appetizers and I ordered sweet and sour chicken and my friend ordered cashew chicken. The food was good but it was average, I love Thai food and I hope to give this place another shot but I probably won’t be choosing Duck Walk as my first choice… Again, the food was NOT bad, I just wasn’t impressed.
As always, give this place a shot and see what it does for you!
*BYOB and yummy bubble tea.

I’ve ordered food from here before and its decent at best. Today 19APR2011 I tried to place an order over the phone and I kept being sent to their voicemail which was full (probably from angry customers trying to order food). When I finally got through the guy that took my order was EXCEPTIONALLY RUDE I had to repeat my order countless times and when I asked for the total of my order he kept asking me for my credit card number, he did this twice before he let out a loud sigh and told me to hold for a total. Once he came back and gave me a total I tried to ask him a question about my order. Twice he cut me off and then he said «Thank You» and hung up on me. In conclusion the food at DUCK WALK is NOT THAT GOOD to put up with HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE I will not be ordering from here EVER AGAIN!!!
UPDATE:
It is now 9:55 pm a whole HOUR and 32 minutes since I placed my order on 19APR2011. The EXCEPTIONALLY RUDE guy that took my order wrote down my address INCORRECTLY. Therefore the delivery guy had no clue as to where to deliver my food. When I called DUCK WALK to cancel my order and get my money refunded they offered me 20% off my bill. I kindly refused their offer and asked for a full refund back on my credit card. I was then placed on hold by the EXCEPTIONALLY RUDE guy yet again. He came back 3 minutes later and offered me 50% off my bill, once again I refused and asked for a full refund. Once again I was put on hold for about 5 minutes this time and a lady picked up the phone apologized and offered me another discount which I turned down… Finally she said that she would refund my credit card in full and hung up…

Average thai food, nothing too special.
The combo appetizer platter was pretty good. You get 3 pieces of each: dumplings, crab rangoons, and spring rolls.
The pad thai was so-​so, the beef was too chewy. friend got the tofu, same thing… but a decent portion of food.
A plus is that we had a big group and they were able to accomodate us in a small restaurant AND split our bill for us (that took awhile but saved me the trouble of doing it!!).
Food: 5
Décor: 5
Service: 5
*ratings out of 10

With the right company it’s a nice time and with a window seat it’s a people watchers delight. Actually, with the food and great company, there aren’t many reasons to look outside. But then again, there are very many characters that go by on Belmont and you just can’t help but look or gawk at. I could also note that it was «Speak like a Pirate day» so there were a few people walking about in pirate’s wear.
We were catching a Sunday night showing of Octavarius «So Nefarious» at Comedysportz, so it was convenient to have a quick bite here. An order of their Madness noodles with shrimp and an appetizer (combo) platter was food enough for two. The menu states that the madness noodles are spicy and you might think it could be serious since it’s got chili sauce in it. Wasn’t so bad, had just the right amount of heat and the noodles and shrimp were tasty. Combo platter consisted of baby egg rolls, pot stickers and crab Rangoon. All three were delicious, I would’ve liked another crab Rangoon, but. well, if she wants it, you gotta let her have it. Right.
With tax and tip, total was under twenty dollars. I’d definitely check them out again. My only gripe, was that there were a number of counter gals coming and going but not paying much attention to us that sat next to the window.
If management is paying attention; love the website. Hover the mouse over food photos or entrée names and watch the image bounce like its riding a waterbed. Kinda funny. I’m in between projects at work, so I’m bouncing them. they all bounce separately of each other and keep going a number of times. Ha.

Keep on walkin’. Yeesh. What happened here? I hadn’t been to Duck Walk in years, but I remember it being a whole lot better than my most recent experience.
Like most people, I have a go-​to dish when it comes to certain restaurants. Get that right and I’m pretty sure that I’ll like you. With Thai food, it’s Pad Thai. Easy. Basic. Tasty. Good standard. I ordered the Lunch Box Special with Spring Rolls and Pad Thai. I ordered by go-​to drink, Thai Iced Tea, to sip on. It was all a mess. The spring rolls had very little taste. They weren’t offensive they just… weren’t anything. The dipping sauce had too much fish sauce and not nearly enough garlic and lime. I didn’t get through much of it. When I went to jump into the Pad Thai, again, I was knocked over by the smell of fish sauce. I was beginning to wonder if some got knocked into the pot and the chef was all, «Eh. Whatevs. My show’s about to come on» and didn’t feel like making any more. It was fairly dry with little peanut or egg. But that fish sauce was too much too bear. I like fish sauce in moderation. I created a curry recipe (and egg recipe) that calls for fish sauce as a secret weapon. I like it. I eat it. This? This was way too much and it wasn’t satisfying. Unfortunately, it was pretty unappetizing. Thinking I could rely on my drink to save the day, I was disappointed to see that they gave me Thai tea bubble tea, rather than Thai Iced Tea. Perhaps not surprisingly, the bubble tea was more expensive than regular Thai Iced Tea. It was also packed with those ‘rabbit present’ tapioca balls I loathe so much.
Step up your game, people. You can’t swing a [redacted] in this city without hitting a Thai restaurant. With excellent options throughout the city (including a classic selection just a few steps up the street), you can’t afford to rest on your laurels. Luckily for me, I have discovered a Thai place that (almost) erased this awful experience from my memory. Review forthcoming but (preview!) ME like a lot (there; not here)!

Went to Duck Walk on a Wed night… Walked in, the place was empty… About 20 minutes later, slammed…
Had the chicken satay (good), potstickers (ehhh, not a fan of deep fried food), Pad Khee Mao (really good), and Thai Pepper Steak (kinda bland, but the sauce was good).
This place is BYOB, so that’s a bonus… A couple that was sitting at the next table had homemade sangria, and they were kind enough to share… We shared too :)
I liked Duck Walk and would go back and order the Pad Khee Mao again.

My piece and I ducked (wacka wacka) in here for dinner just in time to avoid a torrential down pour not too long ago.
Grabbed the window for two and perused the menu. While we were deciding, a young lady came for our drink orders. We each ordered a bubble tea. We also wanted water but our server was gone by the time we spit out the flavors we wanted. She came back with our tapioca bubble laden teas to take our orders. Drunken noodles w chicken for him. Curry noodles for me. Fresh spring rolls to start. Oh, and water please. All of the food was great.
As mentioned, this place is tiny. A typical biproduct of tiny places is how loud they can be. Especially when a table of 8 chads/​trixies, complete with their John Barleycorn voices, hunker down right next to you. I know I sound old lady-​ish whining about a ruckus, but seriously, it’s a Sunday man — simma down!
Overall, this place is a great value, BYOB, and the service is quick (maybe too quick). If you don’t care for the noise, get delivery.

I had one of their lunch specials last week and wished there was a similar place by my home in LA. There was a great selection of appetizers and main courses to choose from during lunch hours for a very reasonable price.
I went with the crab Rangoon and the shrimp pad thai, and I found the crab wontons to be delightful (though very bad for you), dipped in the provided sweet and sour sauce. The pad thai was not the best I’ve had — the noodles were a bit too soft and it was a bit heavy on the bean sprouts. But I enjoyed the shrimp a lot and was satisfied by the end of my meal. Several others ordered the Thai iced tea and were surprised to find that it was not a normal Thai iced tea but a frozen slushie variety with boba. I didn’t get a chance to taste them, but make sure to specify what kind of tea you want when you order there.
I visited the store to pick up the order and found the space to be clean and cheery and the employees to be friendly and professional. They were blasting a lot of dance music, which I found a bit odd, but the place was still nearly empty when we were in there at 12:30 or so, so maybe the ladies were just getting their groove on before the lunch rush.

Yum Yum and… Yum.
I live right around the corner from this place so it’s a nice place to go because
A)It’s close
B) It’s cheap
and
C) It’s delicious
Large portions (always take a doggy bag home)
Lots of options (tons of fun noodle dishes — excellent pad thai)
Fresh ingredients
And if you like dumplings… well… eat these… they’re amazing.
They have bubble tea which is always a fun after dinner treat — the coconut is mmm mmm good.
So in other words… you should probably go sometime.

Very small space here and right off of the Red Line.
The Crab Ragoon was excellent as well as the Thai Iced Tea
The Basil Fried Rice was decent
Waitresses were really pleasant

Which of the following sacrifices are you willing to make to receive fast service and cheap, tasty Thai food?
a) sit at a relatively small table in a small, borderline cramped restaurant
b) have 3 – 4 hosts/​employees behind the host stand seemingly watching you eat as if you’re in a zoo exhibit
c) being served your favorite dish, pad see eiw with beef, only to find a black hair on the plate 3 bites from polishing off the order
d) having to endure going to a grungy, unisex bathroom barely bigger than the size of the ones on airplanes
Unfortunately, I had to experience all of the above. The waitress did give me coconut custard on the house as compensation for the nasty shred of extra «protein» served to me on my plate, but these sacrifices will keep me duck walking to other Thai spots in the area.

The «crack» rangoon (as recommended by the infamous Julia W) did not disappoint. Cheap, well portioned, pipin’ hot, full of fat, fried, refried and served quickly. I actually think I have a minor burn on my finger from spurting cream cheese that landed there… VERY HOT. Or «hawt.» Whatever you prefer ;)
As for the rest, fairly standard Thai. Potstickers and veggie rolls, very greasy. I know, deep fried food=greasy? Expected. However, flavor was sort of bland.
I had the chicken pad thai, and strangley… it was runny. Like gloppy. Not enough bean sprouts… or flavor, for that matter. Non-​existent eggy pieces and nary a green onion or carrot. Sigh, just not that good.
Service was slow at best, and we were the only table in there for half of our meal (lunch). They were just sitting behind the counter, not paying attention. They wouldn’t let us order the lunch special at 215, because it was over at 230. Well last time I checked 15 minutes to get mini-​portions of Thai food was fairly adequte!
I actually had to walk up to order the bubble tea, to which she said «it’s just powder, not real fruit.» Well… yeah. I know, most places are like that! I just want some bubble tea and black tapioca balls to survive me through the meeting I have to attend… so please, serve it to me! She did, and it was good (mango).
Beth P and I noted the ninja-​style techniques of their menu delivery people. We live quite far apart but have both gotten menus UNDER our doors. Which means, they somehow get all the way into buildings. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but it would seem they do have quite a wide delivery area…
Good, decent little BYOB Thai place… but there are better options in the immediate area. I suggest giving Tamarind a try (newer).