Herb

Phenomenal food in a very pretty space. We’ve eaten there twice and took a friend with us last night — now he’s hooked, too. Herb does beautifully layered, nuanced flavors in a thoughtful mix of textures — everything is gorgeously presented and the sizes are just right, not too much. Very friendly staff, too, and the chef-​owner, Patty, is delightful. Try the three-​course prix fixe menu (a very good deal at $ 35), and don’t forget to finish with the superb lemongrass-​ginger tea.

I had dinner at Herb last evening and
was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the experience. The presentation, the aroma, the explosion of various flavors blended together with such grace and artistry made for a diner’s Thai food dream come true.
We forgot to bring a bottle of wine and found that the food stood perfectly well on its own. In future I would bring along a bottle of sancerre or a dry champagne.
The owner and the staff could not have been more gracious.

Delicious, unassuming, and a great value.
We’ve visited for a number of seasonal menus, and everything has been delicious. The fish dishes in particular are incredibly delicate and nuanced. Even though we’ve come to expect outstanding flavors, it is still a wonderful experience every time with no disappointment. Even the chicken dumpling, which I typically think of as a blend of starchy and soggy– Patty created a zucchini-​wrapped chicken tapioca ball that is the most elegant dumpling I’ve ever tasted. I could say something similar about everything I’ve tried– everything has an element of creativity and flavors that are both comforting and new.
I hope Herb never loses the quiet neighborhood feel, but I would not be surprised if people get the clue and start trekking up to this section of Broadway. Herb is probably our favorite restaurant in Chicago, certainly top 3.

Delicious, Michelin-​quality Thai food at an unpretentious Edgewater location.
It’s incredibly flavorful, beautifully plated, with an intimate feel. A perfect date night. They’ve split the seating into two halves of the restaurant. Every bite is more of a journey — the flavor profiles continue to morph and adapt as you chew, bringing out new sensations. It was magical.
My girlfriend can’t handle spicy food, so I was a little apprehensive about bringing her here. They offered to tone everything down, but with that said, almost every dish still has some heat (real heat, not Wisconsin spicy mayo). Their single-​bite apps were generally fine for her — still had some heat to them — but the toned-​down salmon entrée was too spicy (the herbal chicken was fine though). For the fairer tongued, I think it would be helpful to include a guide of spiciness, especially one geared for the midwestern palate with some alternate options.
Overall, a $ 35 tasting menu, which included 3 courses, an amuse-​bouche, and an amuse-​dessert? Really a must try.

What a treat! We went with a large group and were positively overwhelmed by the food, the service, the feel of the place. Our menu was pre-​selected, so we can’t comment on the specific entrees. Can only say that all was well spiced and balanced… and beautifully presented. Nothing disappointed: everything delighted. We will return.

Innovative Thai cuisine as a hidden gem in Edgewater neighborhood.
Food is presented well with great use of Asian flavors.
Service is impeccable.

What an eye opening dining experience we had at Herb! I had never believed in expensive Thai food but this place pleasantly humbled my perception and made it become so irrelevant.
Start out with the restaurant décor, it is inviting, modern yet unpretentious and not over the top. The menu showed so much effort in redefining creativity and thought process of how these exquisite well-​selected dishes are put together, according to their seasonal menus. Their summer prix fixe menu took us on an absolute smooth & well-​balance journey of Thai cuisine redefined. We were blown away by these tantalizing layer upon layer of aromas & flavors symphony. You may be able to find similar items and dishes elsewhere with more affordable prices but I guarantee you that it would be incomparable with what Herb has to offer, and the way they are put together and presented.
In addition to the restaurant and the food, we had the privilege to chat with the owner, Patty. She is such a wonderful lady, ambitious yet humble in what she has accomplished. She shared with us about the long journey of having this restaurant, making her dream come true. it is such a true display of pure ambition & hard working of one truly gifted young lady. This is a Must-​Try restaurant. I vote for a few Michelin stars for this one.

Had the good fortune to sample the 3 course fall menu last Sunday. This was my 3^rd and most thoroughly satisfying visit to this hidden gem. The chef has always been one of the most talented I’ve ever encountered — however the service (in past) has been a bit hit or miss. I’m delighted to say that last weekend’s experience was flawless from beginning to end. Seating was prompt, introduction warm, our wines were properly handled, and menu recommendations were absolutely on point. Bravo for knocking this one out of the park! I look forward to tasting every seasonal menu henceforth!

Came to this delightful spot this evening for the first time. From start to finish, the food was delicate, sexy, spicy and beautifully presented. I started with the purple rose, which tasted as amazing as it looked. The pumpkin soup was smooth and yet packed just the right punch of spice. And my main course of chicken in an amazing sauce topped with an edible flower was scrumptious. In addition to all of the wonderful food we ordered, the server brought out an amuse bouche at the top and two other smaller plates in the middle and at the end of the meal. These complimentary dishes served as little bursts of joy throughout the dinner. I highly recommend Herb and will make this a regular place for me.

When I first passed by this restaurant the first thing that came to mind was pretentious. And then I went for my first dining experience. Wow. I have not had Thai food as good as at Herb. I actually went back again the following week. The food was just as good if not better than the first time.
The chef does things with the flavours that you may experience at high-​end restaurants. However, you don’t get high-​end prices. One big surprise was a lamb dish. Lamb is not one of the meats you find common in Thai dishes and I swear Greeks could learn from how they prepare this lamb dish.
Love the atmosphere. Love the service. And I can’t say enough about how much I love their take on Thai food.

If I could give a 7 star I would.
Before going into the superlatives — I want to make a plea to people who feel passionate about restaurants — give this place a try. They are quite worth it. I haven’t had such flavorful Thai food in Chicago. I would go so far as to say it is the best Thai I have had.
They compare to the standards of Takashi /​Senza (if anyone remembers — both Michelin starred and yet both closed last year). Good restaurants go out of business all the time — not because the food is bad — but because the economics don’t support the establishment. Higher prices come from better ingredients and/​or simply better food. The number of people who would pay happily twice the amount in downtown for less than satisfactory food sadly don’t take the time to visit these smaller establishments — and that is a shame.
I went tonight — Friday night — and the restaurant was empty almost. It should be brimming with people.
Service — it was prompt. I am sure Unilocal reviews have helped them improve upon the service.
Food — we had the following —
— chicken walnut dumplings — morsels wrapped in a thin slice of zucchini — slightly sweet and chewy on the outsie — very well prepared.
— beef appetizer — small pockets of chilli beef — damn it was good. lemongrass flavored with strong hints of thai chilli.
— the turmeric soup — heavenly — coconut galangal lemongrass — light yellow creamy broth with mushrooms.
— salmon — it was ok — not the best of the lot — i can skip it.
— chicken in curry — squash, peppers and chicken in mild coconut yellow curry with hints of thai chilli
and then came the real fire — the mango sticky rice dessert — a slab of mildly savory sticky rice surrounded by thinly sliced mango topped with shredded mango and sesame… it was pure bliss.
they are already on the michelin bib gourmand list — i would be so pleased to see them move to the michelin star status… it is that good.
Give them a try. We need these restaurants to survive.

Herb was an amazing dining experience. We loved the food courses, nice music and most of all the friendly staff. We will be coming back for more delicious Thai.

We had an amazing dinner with a 6 course tasting menu. Each dish had so much flavor, different textures and lots of taste. The progression was also great!
Will definitely return

My husband and I tried their Summer dinner menu on Friday night. The food couldn’t have been more flavorful. I loved how it tasted light and healthy yet incredibly delicious. We were so impressed.
The service on the other hand was truly disappointing. We were very hungry so having to wait about 20+ minutes between each course was beyond annoying. The servers were so nice and eager to explain the menu but it was clear that they didn’t have that much knowledge about the dishes. For example, when I asked for a lighter main course they recommended the pork belly. Hmmm. They were so nice though, I think they just lacked training and coordination. At one point we were given new plates and silverware and then they were promptly taken away by another waiter. Also, no one came by to check on us or ask us how everything was or if we needed anything throughout our dinner.
At the end of the night when we were waiting for the bill I mentioned that we loved the food and ambience beyond words and one tip would be to try to speed up everything. They were very nice about it and agreed, yet after saying that we waited so long for the bill that I ended up walking our credit card to the bar to speed things up.
I hope they work on the front of the house service because this restaurant is one of the most delicious and beautiful in Edgewater!!!

Looking at the positive reviews (and some negative) I would just say that it’s so impressive when an owner/​chef takes the time to respond directly. I generally will not review until I’ve been to a restaurant three times. I personally think you should let an establishment know privately if the first or second visits were subpar and then consider a negative public review. I know that some folks will disagree and that’s fine.
Anyway… After three visits, I have to give Herb 5 stars across the board! If you read many of the earlier 5 star reviews, I agree with those! It was also a special treat to know that the owner comes from an area which we have visited in Thailand (Khanom). Certainly her unique take on this amazing cuisine would be appreciated back home as well. This place is a gem!

I called to make a reservation not realizing they are closed on Sundays. But the owner was so friendly and accommodating she said she’ll create a special menu and open it up to others given it was Thai New Year. The place is designed very clean and contemporary, the service was solid, but of course, the highlight was the amazing 7-​course meal we tasted!
«On Sunday, April 19^th, we will be hosting a special Thai New Years event from 6 p.m. — 9 p.m. Chef Patty will be demonstrating the cooking process of several of her most popular items (which will be served); Lemongrass Chicken, Pomelo Salad, Salmon, Pork Tapioca Dumplings, Turmeric Trio Mushroom Soup, Beef/​Chicken Massaman Curry, and the Chef’s Whim Dessert!»
We loved the flavors of every thing we tried — it was so varied in each bite and so rich to enjoy! She also created vegetarian and gluten-​free options for me in each course. It was wonderful to see Chef Patty’s passion as she described her own background, the dishes, and made the meal atmosphere very homey. The courses were spaced out because she was likely the only one cooking each thing, and the full dinner took us 3 – 3.5 hours, but besides that, every ounce of experience was wonderful!
P. S. It is BYOB!

Very unassuming entry. I’ve lived in this area for a while and I think this place is new, so maybe some of that is because I’ve seen this building so many times. But I had no idea where it was and it needs an awning or something. When we walked up, the hours said open but the sign said closed. They were open. I think we were their first customers of the night. It took a bit to get menus and to order. It’s also BYOB. Oh, and our cucumber water was never empty.
The owner came and greeted us. She is lovely, and send an amuse-​bouche to the table! It was bitter leaf and very tasty.
We decided on the three-​course, fixed-​price option from the spring menu. I order salmon starter, beef and tamarind soup, and pork belly entrée.
The starter was delicious, but I couldn’t taste any salmon. The grapefruit completely overpowered it.
The soup? I licked the bowl. That broth! Those mushrooms! That beef! Nomnomnom.
The pork belly? *angels singing* The meal got better and better and I’m for sure coming back.
4 stars — 5 for food (the best thai I’ve ever had, no exaggeration), 3 each for ambiance and service.
Edit: surprise dessert at the end! Coconut sticky rice and mango!

Ambience was sophisticated but underwhelming at the same time.
The Amuse-​bouche was a nice surprise and definitely cleaned the palate. I went with the 3 course prix fixe… Curried rice croquette salad for my starter; quite good, first time experiencing fermented pork. For the soup Beef and Tamarind was screaming my name. Except for the mushroom part, they weren’t. They don’t like me and I don’t like them. Well I taught them a lesson this 27^th day of March in the year of our Lord 2015; I ate the heck out of them. They were actually really good, an awesome addition to the soup. Next up was my entrée, simply titled «Chicken.» It lived up to it. It was well spiced, crumbled chicken.
Overall absolutely delicious food. Service could have been better. The most amazing company possible.

I must say, I had to change my review after my second experience here at herb. The first time we were not able to eat there on Valentine’s Day because it ended up being overbooked, even though we made the reservations a month in advance. But what the owner, chefs, and staff did for our second time there really was amazing. It truly shows good business and that they really care about their customers and their overalls dining experience at Herb.
We came back and did the 7 prix fixe service. Every dish had its own unique flavor. All were phenomenal. I loved the lotus root and banana blossom root. For the entrees I did the pork belly, and my boyfriend did the chilean sea bass, both were amazing. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone to try! Thank you Patty and to the rest of your staff for the wonderful experience. We will be back! :)

I look forward to having dinner here again…
The FOOD: a feast for the eyes and palate
The INTERIOR: elegant, casual, minimal, comfy
The CHEF (Patty): creative, gracious, happy
The STAFF: friendly, descriptive, attentive