The Bento Box

Consistently good food and service. A bit pricey, but fair for stellar preparation and quality.

It’s a disgrace that I am just now getting to review this place because it’s seemingly becoming an integral part of my weekly diet.
You need to know a few things up front: it’s a small storefront, BYOB, cash only, and just a completely casual dining experience with high-​end food. I love all of these things about Bento Box. My style is shorts, shirt, and flip-​flops coupled with wine and orgasmic food flavors. You can do that here.
If it’s a first time visit, I recommend the bargain tasting menu at $ 35/​person.
Now that I’m something of a regular, my usual order includes the pork/​cabbage egg rolls, sometimes the mussels, and any of these: the Singapore chili noodles, the bi bim bop, and lately, the pork belly vindaloo.
The menu changes daily, but there are usually a few staples. It really depends on the availability of ingredients.
They also have carry out if you’re tired of the usual pizza, sushi, or Thai showing up at your doorstep.
Do yourself a favor and go here; it’s definitely in the top 5 of Bucktown’s best food spots… probably even top 3.

We had the five course dinner. Everything was superb! Started with cabbage and pork egg rolls — very good, but I don’t expect too much from egg rolls, they just take the edge off. Then we had the mussels in green curry sauce. They were big, juicy and tasty. I got to devour Nancy’s portion too, because she is cautious around shell fish. We then were treated to chicken wings that were in a marvelous sauce. The pork belly dish was wonderful — with the meat being just juicy enough. We finished with a noodle dish that I can’t remember what chef Rick calls, but it was oh so good. The noodles were slightly crunchy and delightful. I can’t visit Chicago without visiting the Bento Box!

Hole fecal matter, Bento Box rules! Discontinued in for the very first time today. I got the Bulgogi and the Cucumber Salad. Greatest Bulgogi I Have ever eaten, hands down. The location is cool enough and the chef Rick (I believe) was pleasant and helpful. I will be back for sure!

This small place in Bucktown is fantastic!
–Food was excellent
–Great BYOB
–Don’t let the term «tasting menu» fool you. Portions are not small (not too big either)
–An amazing menu that changes often
–Service is the best, very attentive and friendly
–Remember cash only (no worries, two ATM’s near the restaurant)
–I noticed that they have cooking classes
–The place is cozy and seats a total of 22 +/​-​
–I asked about renting the entire restaurant for a dinner party.. .Yes they do!

We went back to Bento Box after quite a while and we were sorely disappointed. We’ve been a big fan and a cheerleader of this place for several years – even hosting birthday parties here and booking out most of the space. I’m sad to say this was a letdown. The menu was fine – slightly less inspired than what we’ve had before, but fine. The service (a lady we’ve had many times before) left much to be desired and she gave us a hard time when we didn’t know they no longer take credit cards.
We wanted a stroll down memory lane when we headed over to BB, but instead we just left realizing it’s not one of our spots anymore.

This place is great You must have the Red Chili Chicken Singapore Noodles with Thai Basil, as well as the short rib beef tacos. From service to the food, absolutely everything is great.

The most incredible restaurant I’ve been to in Chicago. I brought a group of 8 friends visiting town and everyone LOVED it. And it was so good, I made another reservation for next weekend. They’re also super accommodating if you’re gluten free — just give them 24 hours notice and they’ll make gluten free! Such an awesome place.

I’ve been to Singapore twice and have had the all star food treatment there. Bento Box had one of the better dishes i’ve had outside of Singapore. Very authentic taste and flavor that’s rare to find. Although I ordered takeout… I would have liked to see the presentation in person.

I cannot say enough good things about this place. Hands down the best Asian food, dare I say just food in general, that I’ve ever had. The red chili chicken noodles are fantastic, the egg rolls are insane and the bi bim bop will rock your world. They are also really accommodating if you don’t like the protein they have selected for the night or you want more vegetarian options. Just fantastic people overall. Cash only, but I’ve since gotten over it, it’s worth it!

Most excellent meal, well balanced and thoughtful. Delicious mussels and curry. Nice body buzz that one gets after many courses of delicious entrees that compliment each other. Awesome!

The best restaurant I have been to in Chicago. $ 35 for a 5 course tasting menu. Nothing tasting size about it. We are talking huge portions. Note I also do not subscribe to the Chicago belief that huge portions automatically gets credit for being good food. But in this case it was both outstanding food and massive portions. Everything is homemade and cooked to order. The waitress/​hostess was extremely friendly and genuinely wanted to ensure that everyone was happy with each thing that are. Great for either a date night or a small group hoping to Byob and relax.
The meal– everything was a 5
Pork egg rolls
Green curry mussels
Pork belly and potatoes in spicy peanut sauce with rice
Crab and shrimp sushi roll
Singapore noodles with chicken

Amazing! Singapore noodle dish was a hit as well as the green lipped mussels appetizer. Oh I can taste it now!! Be sure to grab $$
as its cash only. BYOB too!

Myself and 2 friends were able to sneak in last night (Friday) around 7, though everyone else had a reservation. This place is not near any other restaurants and is very small with room for only 20 or so guests. Every night is a new menu and we decided to do the tasting menu. Started with amazing pork egg rolls, then mussels that were so good, my friend Elliot drank the juice from the bowl. Then we had pork belly and rice tacos which I ate in all of 15 seconds. Then a steak dish that I wish were bigger and finally a Singapore noodle and chicken dish. It was also great and came with some signature hot sauce to compliment the already spicy dish.
The food is amazing on its own and for $ 35 is one of the best values out there. I love the setting and interaction with the staff who are all very knowledgable and friendly. Can’t say enough about this hidden gem in northwest Bucktown.

I have tried to order delivery twice via GrubHub. First time it never showed up. Had to call 90 min later and redo the order. Second time it was eventually canceled because nobody from the restaurant would confirm the order. Not sure if it is GrubHub or them, but I don’t seem to have this issue with other restaurants and I use GrubHub all the time. I hope they figure it out.

Phenomenal.
Came for an 8:30 date night with husband. We both had heard a lot of great things about The Bento Box, so we opted for the chef’s tasting menu to get a better feel for the dishes they currently offer. Portion sizes were HUGE making the tasting menu’s $ 35 price tag beyond fair. We were stuffed and still took home leftovers.
Included in our tasting menu (the menu changes):
— Pork & Cabbage Egg Rolls
— Mussels in Lime Leaf Curry with Thai Basil Garlic Bread
— Spicy Beef Bulgogi Tacos
— Thai Red Curry with Pork Belly and Pineapple
— Red Chili Chicken Singapore Noodles with Thai Basil
There were no weak dishes of the group and it’s tough to pick a favorite. For me, the highlights were the mussels (perfectly cooked) and red curry (delightfully spicy).
In contrast to other reviews, our service was excellent — attentive and friendly by our waitress and busser lady — and it never felt as though they were helicoptering or rushing us out the door. Our 8:30 reservation was the last of the evening and there was not a private party scheduled after, which likely helped.
The restaurant is smaller in size and does fill up; would recommend for a date night or small group.
Assuming future service and food quality are on par with last night’s experience, The Bento Box has favorite neighborhood restaurant potential. We’ll be back. And soon!

Dope food– just had it grub hubbed. It’s a must hub. I’m totally going to go there. Or maybe just order the noodles once a week. The egg rolls are bomb. The mussels were dope as hell. Get it? Got it? Good food.

The food: ⁴⁄₅. We ordered pork spring rolls, Red Chili Chicken Singapore Noodles with Thai Basil and Grilled Scottish Salmon with Tempura Mushrooms. Pork spring rolls came as a set of 2 and were very flavorful, albeit a little greasy. The Scottish salmon was cooked to perfection, but the fillet was on the smaller side and the tempura mushrooms were mediocre. The red chilli chicken Singapore noodles was the most disappointing dish. It came as a huge portion, but it was all noodles and barely any chicken. The little chicken in it was tender and flavorful, but had skin on and was very fatty. We took left over noodles which lasted us another 2 meals, but would I pay $ 22 again for basic noodles and little chicken? I think not.
The service: 2.5÷5. When we made the reservations, they said we only had an hour and a half because they were closing for a private party. On the off chance we showed up 40 minutes earlier and were seated right away. Although we finished our meal in an hour, there was an entire bottle of sake for us to finish, but we were getting dirty looks from the hostess waiting for us to leave. We also got zero explanation of the menu when ordering. The first greeting we got was the question «what would you like to order?».
Overall: 3.5÷5. It’s a more contemporary spin on East Asian food, but there is absolutely nothing Japanese about the Bento Box. A little overpriced, but the food is enjoyable, even though it’s not on my short list of places to go back to.

Another flawless and delicious visit to Bento Box leaves me wondering if there is anything they can’t do. This was my husband’s first visit and he was as blown away as I was. We called an hour ahead and easily got reservations for two on a Friday evening.
I was too pregnant but my husband took advantage of the BYOB and no corkage fee. The two of us shared the pork & cabbage egg rolls, the fried oyster bahn mi, and the red chili chicken Singapore noodles. The noodles were just as amazing and delicious as my previous visit, but the real surprise was how amazing the other 2 dishes were. The food was plentiful and we ended up bringing a portion of the noodles home with us. Both of us were satisfyingly stuffed and all for only $ 42.
In two trips to Bento Box, I’ve now experienced the best noodle dish I’ve ever had, the best green curry mussels I’ve ever had, the best egg roll I’ve ever had, and the best bahn mi I’ve ever had. I’ve had many meals I have been blown away by in Chicago, but Bento Box is one of the few places who has delivered a perfect meal each time.
We already plan to come back next time both appetizers are on the menu and just get an order of the egg rolls and two bahn mi sandwiches.

First off, let me say I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. But here’s what you need to know about this place before going.
–Very small. Seats about 22. Best to call ahead to see if there’s a wait.
–BYOB with no corkage fee!
–Changing menu with probably about 4 entrees and 2 appetizers listed at a time. They do run out of items.
–There is no bento box at this place! Apparently, they tried it and it didn’t work, but the owner kept the name. Also when we went, there were no dishes that were Japanese which is also deceiving. Items listed when we were there were korean bi bim bop, korean beef bulgogi, tandoori chicken, green curry mussels, and egg rolls.
–CASH ONLY!
–Price: entrees are $ 20 – 25 dollars.