Sabai Thai Cuisine

I went in here with my awsome friend,
pretty much just picked the place out randomly.
We took a train to come and check out the food for
lunch, and it did not dissapoint. The restaurant is
nicely decorated. we admired the place and she was
a dork and took alot of pictures of the nice, warm setting.
Ok well they have a packed little menu with alot of the
asian favorites. I decided to have the steamed pot stickers ‚
the Udon Tom Yup with chicken, Taro pearl, and Thai iced tea.
The pot stickers were pretty standard, average from most other
places.I really enjoyed my Udon noodle in spicy soup with
chicken​.It was cold out that day, so it made it taste ever better.
It was a tasty noodle, vegetable and chicken soup with a nice spice and
citrus taste to it. And what topped off the meal was the desser. Ive never
had Taro, and it really surprised me. You just HAVE to give it a taste.
Over all, I was with great company, in a place I will def recommend and
come back to. Great little place to come and eat and talk.
And the service, price, and atmosphere get ⁷⁄₇ thumbs up!
And the owner of the place, shes cool fsho :)

Tis sad: first they started modifying the food to taste more like every other restaurant (the kiss of death if you ask me), and now they are closed.
VERY TASTY Family owned Thai place with generous portions. If you ask they’ll make it authentic Thai taste, that’s with the spices NOT dulled down to American pallet. Unfortunately being family owned their delivery guy doesn’t always show up, so call and ask if they’re delivering today before you get your heart set on it.
Every time I’m sick I get their tom yum delivered, asking them to make it thai taste (spicy), its fabulous for those days where a stuffed nose kills most flavors.
When I’m healthy I walk over there for the duck
But seriously, if the guy has the sniffles he won’t come in and they don’t have a 2^nd guy

You know, it was the BYOB that brought us in but the Pad Thai will bring me back. I am no expert, but I thought it was delicious: crunchy peanuts, perfectly seasoned sauce and not-​slimy noodles … we brought our own wine and it was a complete meal! Next time we might bring our own lime because they «ran out» (but after a couple glasses of wine, we didn’t miss it!). I was there with four girlfriends and we were all pleased with the food and none of us got sick after. Will definitely go back for a low-​key and affordable meal. Service was awesome too.

SERIOUS HYGIENE PROBLEM. FISHY WATER!
FDA should close down this place.
I’ve heard from several people that they had food poisoning right after. It is not surprising.
My boyfriend and I went in for a quick dinner. I ordered Thai Curry and he ordered Pad See Ewe. The waitress gave us the water. My boyfriend tasted it a, smiled, and asked me to taste it. I puked right away. It was FISHY and tasted almost like Fish Guts or uncooked fish eyes. There is no word to explain how gross it was. The whole glass smelled. I called the waitress and she denied to smell it or taste it. She basically refused to admit that there is any problem. She gave us new water, but still the same problem. It was super gross and poisonous. By the time the water reach your lips, you will be nauseous. She gave us warm water, then it was ok.
The food, I had to say, was not bad. Pretty good actually, but I won’t go back because I don’t want to risk my health.

Both me and my co-​worker had the curry fried rice and had food poisoning from this place within an hour of leaving. I’d avoid this place at all costs.

«I ate it because I was starving» is the theme of this review.
After 6 weeks (and a loss of ten pounds later) of nothing but fruits, veggies, protein, and a lack of carbs and cupcakes I decided I couldn’t take another lunch of salad and yogurt. My co-​workers and I are all pretty frugal when it comes to dining out (why pay full price in this economy?) and they have often spoke of Sabai to me. Nothing out of this world, they said, but good for the money. You get what you pay for I learned.
So yesterday I ventured over to Sabai for a carbload. I was craving drunken noodles, my favorite Thai dish. I guess I’m sort of a Thai snob seeing as *the best* Thai restaurant (Zen Zero on Mass Street) calls Lawrence, Kansas home and I was lucky enough to go to school there for four blissful years. Anyways, I knew through other Unilocalers that they offered a lunch special. Wouldn’t have known that from their web site which was designed by a dyslexic four year old I’m pretty sure. Check it out if you want to go cross-​eyed.
After scanning the lunch specials (5 noodles dishes, 7 or 8 rice dishes) I was disappointed to see that drunken noodles was not an option. The waitress didn’t offer up any suggestions for something similar to my desired dish nor did she offer to let me substitute it out. I ordered the Pad Thai with tofu (I’m not a veggie, I just don’t like a lot of meat in my noodle dishes).
The lunch spcial comes with soup and an appetizer. Let’s start with the soup — a chicken based broth with a nasty piece of ground chicken, vegetables, and rice (the same one I think described on the 3÷28÷2009 review of this place). The rice was absolutely overcooked and hard and I don’t really understand why they didn’t have some sort of hot n sour or miso option but again, I was starving so I ate it.
Then came my pad thai. Where was the appetizer you ask? Oh, on my plate. It was the equivlant to Thai tortilla chips swimming in sweet and sour sauce. Lucky I was craving carbs that day but I really don’t think that counts as an appetizer. I was starving so I ate it.
The pad thai was actually pretty decent, a big enough portion that it filled me up and small enough that I ate it all. I was starving so I ate it.
The waitress really didn’t have much of a personality, barely spoke English (which normally wouldn’t be a problem since I’m not a Zenophobe or anything but she couldn’t understand the questions I was asking her), the place was empty during lunchtime (12:30ish) which shows how unpopular they must be, and it was just an overall bland experience.
It’s good enough to order when you’re starving and looking to save a buck ($ 7.70 with tax, no tip for the «lunch special») but not good enough to go out of your way and crave for when you’re looking for a culinary delight to break your diet.

*Rant*
I rarely rate businesses 1-​star, particularly Thai restaurants. I am usually forgiving because my parents are in the industry. However, Sabai Thai just became an example of poor customer service.
I will never return to Sabai Thai after last night.
I have been calling around Evanston Thai restaurants for one of my favorite vegetarian dishes, Phad Ma Keur (eggplant stir-​fry). I like the eggplant deep-​fried and crispy in this dish. Due to miscommunication over the phone, I thought Sabai Thai offered it. I went there and ordered the eggplant dish. The waitress seemed very confused when I asked for deep-​fried eggplant. Minutes later my dish arrived. No crispy eggplant. Yes, I was upset that I went all the way to Sabai Thai and the eggplant wasn’t prepared like I wanted. That wasn’t the POINT.
I informed the waitress that I did not want the dish. She explained to me that the eggplant was deep-​fried. It doesn’t matter, I was still disappointed. I spent the next few minutes looking at the food to decide whether I should eat it out of guilt. I asked my dining partner if I should ask for a remake. «It’s too late and it will cost them money», he said. The manager saw how disappointed I was and explained that I wasn’t clear when I ordered. She offered to make the dish «next time».
So why the 1-​star?
No one there tried to remedy the situation. I had to pay $ 9 for a dish that I didn’t like. Before you say, «Boohoo, cry me a river», you must understand that I wasn’t a difficult customer at all. I didn’t demand anything from them. I didn’t ask them to comp my bill or remake my dish. Heck, I shouldn’t even ask them to remake it. They saw and knew I, one of two customers in the entire restaurant, didn’t like it. Nope, they didn’t do anything or say much at all.
I can be easily pleased. Offer me a free soda, appetizer, anything. An apology might’ve sufficed! They might’ve gained $ 9, but they lost a customer forever. Ignoring customers’ needs to make profit is a very short-​sighted business strategy. Customer service IS public relations. Good public relations equates to more profit. According to a study, one dissatisfied customer will tell at least nine others about their experience. That’s nine customers they could’ve had. Unfortunately for businesses these days, there are reviews for the entire world to read on Unilocal and other websites. Might they actually try to be more accommodating, I wouldn’t have written anything negative about their business.
I’ve wondered why Sabai Thai was empty every time I pass by. Now, I’m not surprised at all. From reading Unilocal reviews and hearing from those who’ve dined here, the management needs serious improvement. If you’re in the mood for Thai, go somewhere else or order take-​out from here. That’s your best bet.

To start out on a positive note, the waitress and the décor were pleasant. You can tell that this used to be a bar, since the interior is a bit incongruous, but I think it added to the appeal.
Ordered the Pad Thai lunch special, which came with soup and appetizer. The soup just looked like leftover scraps of rice and random vegetable bits in a chicken broth (imagine a stopped-​up sink of floating food)… but it wasn’t bad in taste.
The Pad Thai was a bit too overdone in it’s sauce, which wasn’t horrible, but it lacked the authentic flavors of fish sauce, lime, and whatever other subtle flavors I usually take for granted.
When we asked for Sriracha, the waitress seemed confused, and brought out little dishes filled with a darker-​red sauce, that was much too tomatoey to be Sriracha… and possibly just Mexican hot sauce.

I guess I’m easy to please when it comes to Thai food. Oh well.
Look, I realize that this place isn’t the ***~Best Thai Restaurant in the Universe~***. But that’s okay. The food is flavorful and well prepared. The service is efficient but still friendly. They’re new in town and want to charm people, so it makes sense. I really enjoy my food whenever I go there (yay for the Thai basil dishes), even if my wallet’s a bit lighter than it should be. I’m in Evanston, after all…
This is one of the many places that I wouldn’t tell you to drive all the way to, but if you’re in the area, check it out.

Evanston already has a plethora of Thai restaurants and this place just slips quietly into the background, especially since they don’t deliver and they’re so close to the Northwestern campus.
The portions are decent and the menu is just their paper copy of the food. Basic menu — nothing terribly authentic. Their lad nar is okay, not bad but nothing impressive. They have a good lunch special for $ 5.95 for an appetizer, drink and lunch entrée. For dinner, the place was a bit deserted and food came out decently. Two of us received our dishes right away and then, ten minutes later, another person received his dish and then, another ten minutes before the last person received his dish. If we had waited for the final person to get his dish, the first two dishes would have been cold already! Luckily, we share our dishes.
Staff is friendly enough and the décor is warm and inviting.

I just ordered lunch from this place and so far I’m loving it. I ordered Pad Se-​Ew w/​chicken-it’s my favorite dish, and I’ve had it from a lot of places, and theirs is definitely one of my favorites. The portion size is just fine-​no smaller than most other places. Maybe it just depends on what you order? I’ll definitely get food here again :)

This place is not the worst thai restaurant. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only one close to campus.

This once used to be a bar and a hookah bar. The renovation and remodelling earns respect and admiration. Still a faint smell of tobacco lingers around.(Wow what a relief to be No-​smoking establishments).
The taste of the recipes is nice but the portions are small. The owner and the wait staff are really welcoming. The star which was not awarded was for the experience I had where we had to ask them twice that we’re ready to order, or maybe the waitstaff were tired. But the discussion with the Owner a Graduate from Northwestern Univ. gave me a new twist to living your dream and investing wisely. So they almost got 5 stars.
The dishes look elegant and fresco, but the portions are almost close to Tapas bar (Not that mini quantities).
Definitely try Shrimp Shumai (steamed), Sabai Garden Salad and Duck (Curry Roasted). Eggplant basil was lipsmacking too. This one is quaint, small yet elegant in its own way. Over all evening experience got them 5 stars. Way to go, hope the wait staff are attentive in the future.
Wish them the best of luck, for their business to take off.