My boyfriend and I came here for Valentine’s day and while we were so excited to try this restaurant out for the first time, we are sad to say it was one of the worst service experiences we have ever experienced. Our server was completely confused with what was available on the menu and many of the items on the menu were not available, even though we reserved a 5 course dinner and wine pairing (we never received wine). We aren’t even sure if we received the right amount of food given the chaos. While the food we did received was delicious, this was overshadowed by the confused server fielding upset customers, which we couldn’t help but to overhear, given the close proximity to everyone. To be honest, my boyfriend and I were a bit anxious the whole dinner and it was hard to converse given the commentary from guests all around us. Both tables next to us warned us it would take hours to get our food and the were unfortunately correct. We had high hopes for the dinner but sadly they weren’t met. I’m sure something beyond control was at play because it was a really confusing experience. Again, food was good but sadly I do not beieve the ~$180ish paid was worth it because of the service and experience. We ended up walking to jewel osco after for a bottle of prosecco and snacks…
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Miranda McCarthy
It’s unfortunate how truly horrible the service and timing were, especially because the food was amazing.
We dined on Valentine’s Day, and what should have been a special date night ended up feeling chaotic and frustrating, to put it nicely. We waited over two hours, watched multiple tables walk out, which I’ve never seen before let alone four times, and eventually received all five courses all paced incorrectly, after over TWO AND A HALF HOURS. There was little communication about delays, and the pacing felt completely out of control. We also let them know we were waiting and what was happening, which clearly didn’t help.
We had also ordered wine pairings, which never properly happened because all the confusion and food arriving at incorrect times. That completely defeated the purpose of the pairing experience.
To make matters worse, we were handed dessert “to go,” because of how long it has been and it contained mango, despite the fact that I had informed the staff I’m allergic to mango.
To add to the disappointment, we were charged full price with no acknowledgment, adjustment, or comp for the extreme delays and poor timing.
The food is great, but they seriously need to get it together because it didn’t save the bad experience. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
Daniel Kaplan
The food was amazing! So fresh and full of flavor and delicious. Will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Famous Coconut Curry with Chicken, Mango \u0026 Sweet Sticky Rice, Chicken Dumpling, Crispy Prawn, Tumeric Trio Mushroom Soup
Alia
The host was exceptionally nice. Although we were very late to our booking, when I called to check if we could still come in, she agreed and said she'll have the kitchen staff wait - despite it being after their closing time. The food was as beautiful and tasty as usual, and the servers were friendly and smiley despite it being late. I highly recommend this consistently delightful restaurant.
tofu slut knuck tats
inspired, carefully constructed dishes plated and delivered with care, leisurely pace to the tasting menu and kind service the whole night. the memory of the turmeric soup will stay with me for my lifetime
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeff S
Once you get past that initial moment, though, the experience completely transforms. Relax into it. The food is extraordinary, and when it started coming out, the pacing was actually quite good. Every dish was layered with incredible flavor, and the prawns were truly the standout—easily the highlight of the night.
What you’re trading here isn’t quality for chaos; you’re trading polished, assembly-line service for authenticity and warmth. The owner came by our table multiple times to talk about her food, her life, and to thank us personally. That kind of care and presence is rare.
This is not Americanized Thai food drowned in sweetness. It’s vibrant, thoughtful cooking—light, healthy, full of vegetables, spices, and balance. If you’re willing to accept that the service may be imperfect in favor of something real and deeply personal, you’ll be rewarded with a truly wonderful meal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Autumn Justine Miller
All the food was very flavorful, portions are not excessive, presentation was excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ginger
Amazing tasting menu, chefs special. Good was very fresh, chef came and spoke to us and was a new experience for our guests, who loved it!
Deanna Licata
Wow, Herb blew me away! My partner picked this restaurant for date night so I went in nearly blind and I’m so glad I did. Every dish was a fantastic surprise! We each did the three course meal with a different appetizer and entree. Both the duck and beef curry were flavorful and full of texture. The food felt fresh and also hearty, which is a difficult line to walk in my opinion. Service certainly took its time but the staff was warm and accommodating the entire meal so I’m overall thrilled to have dined here and will certainly be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Chris Eyo
This was one of those meals that changes your brain chemistry and opens your mind to just how good food can be. Easily my new favorite restaurant in Chicago.
We chose the 5-course tasting + wine pairing. I don’t know much about wine but each was lovely.
Course 1 - betal leaves/prawns/chive dumplings. No words. Set the tone for the entire meal. The assault of textures and flavors and the burst of the lime… wow. Like eating pure vitamins and nutrients. Delicious. That prawn was beautiful. I did not even want to eat it. It tasted so fresh and the crisp of the batter.. indescribable. The dumplings were perfectly soft and perfectly crispy. 10/10.
Course 2 - mushroom soup. I knew Herb was known for its soup. This soup was the best course of the entire evening, maybe even my favorite dish in the city/world. I have never eaten something so deep and rich in flavor. Powerful. 10000000/10. I’d go back just for 3 bowls of the soup.
Course 3 - an assortment of pork and tofu that I cannot remember fully. Both were phenomenal. The ground pork was perfect. PERFECT.
Course 4 - duck. Yall…….. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 if you’ve been to Sun Wah, turn the dial up a few notches. Insane flavor. Easily the best duck I’ve ever eaten in any setting.
Course 5 - mango sticky rice. No words. Luxurious.
Chef Patty came out to check in with us from the second we walked in the door to the end of the meal. Our waiter Chris was extremely friendly and made us feel like we were eating in someone’s house. I cannot wait to come back. I agree with other reviewers— not that it matters, but I have eaten at several fine dining restaurants and Herb easily competes, blowing many of them right out of the water. More people need to be talking about this restaurant. I cannot wait for the privilege to return.
Great food and experience. Serious attention to detail in all aspects of the dining experience, thank you!
Scott Turow
Had a wonderful meal at Herb. Every dish was a standout, although the frizzy shrimp, the dumpling and my lamb dish, (lamb was substituted for pork) were especially unusual. Chef Patti herself took our order and advised on the menu. Service was welcoming at all times, although a bit eccentric, given the Saturday night rush. The setting is not quite as elegant as it looks in the photos, but very comfortable and a clear step above your neighborhood Asian place. I very much look forward to returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Linda
This is my 4th visit to Herb, it is a place I like to share with out of town guests as a unique Chicago experience. We had some confusion with the menus this time, as our group of 5 were given menus that had different information and did not match. Also they do not communicate ahead of time when you make a reservation that everyone in the group has to do the same level of courses, which was confusing to our guests. They would have preferred to order a lesser number of courses, but were told we all needed to do the same thing. The method of ordering this time, going around the table to get everyone's app order, then 2nd app, then main, then dessert was very strange. And then the wrong app was brought to one of the people in our group, as well as a mix up with the drink order.
Scott
We had the best experience at Herb! Delicious food in a lovely atmosphere and stellar service. The chef visited our table and was so kind and gracious. We will be back!
Brian
This is a wonderful Thai restaurant experience. Great food (the duck disk was awesome), and the place is run by a very attentive restaurateur. Definitely going back.
My boyfriend and I came here for Valentine’s day and while we were so excited to try this restaurant out for the first time, we are sad to say it was one of the worst service experiences we have ever experienced. Our server was completely confused with what was available on the menu and many of the items on the menu were not available, even though we reserved a 5 course dinner and wine pairing (we never received wine). We aren’t even sure if we received the right amount of food given the chaos. While the food we did received was delicious, this was overshadowed by the confused server fielding upset customers, which we couldn’t help but to overhear, given the close proximity to everyone. To be honest, my boyfriend and I were a bit anxious the whole dinner and it was hard to converse given the commentary from guests all around us. Both tables next to us warned us it would take hours to get our food and the were unfortunately correct. We had high hopes for the dinner but sadly they weren’t met. I’m sure something beyond control was at play because it was a really confusing experience. Again, food was good but sadly I do not beieve the ~$180ish paid was worth it because of the service and experience. We ended up walking to jewel osco after for a bottle of prosecco and snacks…
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
It’s unfortunate how truly horrible the service and timing were, especially because the food was amazing.
We dined on Valentine’s Day, and what should have been a special date night ended up feeling chaotic and frustrating, to put it nicely. We waited over two hours, watched multiple tables walk out, which I’ve never seen before let alone four times, and eventually received all five courses all paced incorrectly, after over TWO AND A HALF HOURS. There was little communication about delays, and the pacing felt completely out of control. We also let them know we were waiting and what was happening, which clearly didn’t help.
We had also ordered wine pairings, which never properly happened because all the confusion and food arriving at incorrect times. That completely defeated the purpose of the pairing experience.
To make matters worse, we were handed dessert “to go,” because of how long it has been and it contained mango, despite the fact that I had informed the staff I’m allergic to mango.
To add to the disappointment, we were charged full price with no acknowledgment, adjustment, or comp for the extreme delays and poor timing.
The food is great, but they seriously need to get it together because it didn’t save the bad experience. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
The food was amazing! So fresh and full of flavor and delicious. Will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Famous Coconut Curry with Chicken, Mango \u0026 Sweet Sticky Rice, Chicken Dumpling, Crispy Prawn, Tumeric Trio Mushroom Soup
The host was exceptionally nice. Although we were very late to our booking, when I called to check if we could still come in, she agreed and said she'll have the kitchen staff wait - despite it being after their closing time. The food was as beautiful and tasty as usual, and the servers were friendly and smiley despite it being late. I highly recommend this consistently delightful restaurant.
inspired, carefully constructed dishes plated and delivered with care, leisurely pace to the tasting menu and kind service the whole night. the memory of the turmeric soup will stay with me for my lifetime
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Once you get past that initial moment, though, the experience completely transforms. Relax into it. The food is extraordinary, and when it started coming out, the pacing was actually quite good. Every dish was layered with incredible flavor, and the prawns were truly the standout—easily the highlight of the night.
What you’re trading here isn’t quality for chaos; you’re trading polished, assembly-line service for authenticity and warmth. The owner came by our table multiple times to talk about her food, her life, and to thank us personally. That kind of care and presence is rare.
This is not Americanized Thai food drowned in sweetness. It’s vibrant, thoughtful cooking—light, healthy, full of vegetables, spices, and balance. If you’re willing to accept that the service may be imperfect in favor of something real and deeply personal, you’ll be rewarded with a truly wonderful meal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
All the food was very flavorful, portions are not excessive, presentation was excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing tasting menu, chefs special. Good was very fresh, chef came and spoke to us and was a new experience for our guests, who loved it!
Wow, Herb blew me away! My partner picked this restaurant for date night so I went in nearly blind and I’m so glad I did. Every dish was a fantastic surprise! We each did the three course meal with a different appetizer and entree. Both the duck and beef curry were flavorful and full of texture. The food felt fresh and also hearty, which is a difficult line to walk in my opinion. Service certainly took its time but the staff was warm and accommodating the entire meal so I’m overall thrilled to have dined here and will certainly be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
This was one of those meals that changes your brain chemistry and opens your mind to just how good food can be. Easily my new favorite restaurant in Chicago.
We chose the 5-course tasting + wine pairing. I don’t know much about wine but each was lovely.
Course 1 - betal leaves/prawns/chive dumplings. No words. Set the tone for the entire meal. The assault of textures and flavors and the burst of the lime… wow. Like eating pure vitamins and nutrients. Delicious. That prawn was beautiful. I did not even want to eat it. It tasted so fresh and the crisp of the batter.. indescribable. The dumplings were perfectly soft and perfectly crispy. 10/10.
Course 2 - mushroom soup. I knew Herb was known for its soup. This soup was the best course of the entire evening, maybe even my favorite dish in the city/world. I have never eaten something so deep and rich in flavor. Powerful. 10000000/10. I’d go back just for 3 bowls of the soup.
Course 3 - an assortment of pork and tofu that I cannot remember fully. Both were phenomenal. The ground pork was perfect. PERFECT.
Course 4 - duck. Yall…….. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 if you’ve been to Sun Wah, turn the dial up a few notches. Insane flavor. Easily the best duck I’ve ever eaten in any setting.
Course 5 - mango sticky rice. No words. Luxurious.
Chef Patty came out to check in with us from the second we walked in the door to the end of the meal. Our waiter Chris was extremely friendly and made us feel like we were eating in someone’s house. I cannot wait to come back. I agree with other reviewers— not that it matters, but I have eaten at several fine dining restaurants and Herb easily competes, blowing many of them right out of the water. More people need to be talking about this restaurant. I cannot wait for the privilege to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mango \u0026 Sweet Sticky Rice, Betel Leaves, Papaya Salad, Tumeric Trio Mushroom Soup, Crispy Prawn, Chive Dumpling
Restaurantji Recommends
Great food and experience. Serious attention to detail in all aspects of the dining experience, thank you!
Had a wonderful meal at Herb. Every dish was a standout, although the frizzy shrimp, the dumpling and my lamb dish, (lamb was substituted for pork) were especially unusual. Chef Patti herself took our order and advised on the menu. Service was welcoming at all times, although a bit eccentric, given the Saturday night rush. The setting is not quite as elegant as it looks in the photos, but very comfortable and a clear step above your neighborhood Asian place. I very much look forward to returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
This is my 4th visit to Herb, it is a place I like to share with out of town guests as a unique Chicago experience. We had some confusion with the menus this time, as our group of 5 were given menus that had different information and did not match. Also they do not communicate ahead of time when you make a reservation that everyone in the group has to do the same level of courses, which was confusing to our guests. They would have preferred to order a lesser number of courses, but were told we all needed to do the same thing. The method of ordering this time, going around the table to get everyone's app order, then 2nd app, then main, then dessert was very strange. And then the wrong app was brought to one of the people in our group, as well as a mix up with the drink order.
We had the best experience at Herb! Delicious food in a lovely atmosphere and stellar service. The chef visited our table and was so kind and gracious. We will be back!
This is a wonderful Thai restaurant experience. Great food (the duck disk was awesome), and the place is run by a very attentive restaurateur. Definitely going back.
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