Hom Mali Thai on North Ave

The Thai food I enjoyed at Hom Mali was salty, buttery, and savory all at once—absolutely delicious. I really appreciate when you can try different cuisine and it stands out with its own unique flavor. Unlike some other Thai places I've tried, Hom Mali had a more homemade feel, both in taste and presentation. It was also aesthetically pleasing, which added to the experience. I did takeout for lunch and the specials were totally worth it—two full meals with drinks for under $20? No complaints here. I'm definitely looking forward to enjoying it again soon.

A delicious, but unknown Thai restaurant to us until early Nov 2024. We were the lonesome diners dining-in at the restaurant on a Friday evening at 6:15pm, but they had a relatively steady set of customers doing take-out. The seating area is very simple and clean. Their tofu Khao Soy was delicious! I would love to go back and also make use of their BYOB.

A hole in the wall. Grabbed lunch with a friend here and in that time not one other person came in to eat. I’m surprised that this place isn’t busier. We got the tom yum fried rice and the Khao soy. The tom yum had perfectly cooked shrimp on top of a generous amount of rice. The shrimp paste added a nice flavor and the mushrooms were good. Everything paired nicely together giving a very enjoyable dish. The Khao soy was tasty with a nice balance of shallots, chicken, and noodles. My only suggestion would be to add more curry as the ratio of it to the rest was off. Overall, this place was great. Good portions, good prices, and a lot to choose from. Will be back often.

Very tasty and perfect for before a Second City show. The Pad See Iew was fantastic and loved the stir fried veggies. The Penang curry lacked a bit of flavor, I think it needs more kaffir lime leaves. The service was great and I’d return.

Picked up five delicious dishes last night, for five people. Everything was very fresh and delicious and made to order. Would definitely return! Only complaint would be portions are slightly small, so no leftovers whatsoever.

One of the very few Thai places of the area. Pad kee mao is okay, there are better options.

This place is great! First time trying this place out. The positive reviews are here for a reason. Had a new (to me) dish of Khao Soy. Wonderfully spiced yellow curry with a crown of crispy noodles on top. I would definitely recommend!

Hard to call this Thai food. More like really poor quality American stir fry at best. Bad ingredients, no flavor, and certainly not Thai cuisine. There are very few decent Thai restaurants in Chicago. It’s a shame.

I can't speak to the service or ambiance because we ordered takeout. We got the classic pad thai, chor muang (purple dumplings), and thai fried rice. I really liked the thai fried rice. It wasn't too dry and had good flavor. The chicken wasn't too dry either. My boyfriend said the beef pad thai was really good. As for the chor muang, it wasn't my favorite. It was more sweet and bitter than I expected. The dough was soft and a good texture. The texture of the inside was also not what I was expecting. Maybe I didn't know what to expect, but I was intrigued by the purple color. But I am not going to take away any stars because I know I have unique food preferences.

Pretty solid Thai food in Old Town. It's off of North Ave so there is some street parking. The interior is a little unadorned with several tables. We came on the weekend for lunch and were the only people dining in. We ordered the Pad Kara Pow and Chor Muang. Each was flavorful and the egg was cooked perfectly.

Another solid "pick up/to go" order from Home Mali! Order was ready at the time stated when I ordered. Everything was hot and tasty when I returned home and ate. Pad Woon Sen with chicken was very flavorful (though no veggies which would be nicer but not part of the recipe.) noodles were thicky and chewy. My friends green curry had a zesty spice and my other friend enjoyed her chicken pad Thai. The shrimp shu mai are always a fave here too. Thanks for another good experience.

An update. A fickle Aunt in town . Requested potstickers extra crispy. Hom Mali cooked to perfection. Thanks!

I've been wanting to try this place forever after passing it multiple times a day. If you're even thinking about trying it, do it. My boyfriend has a seafood allergy and they were able to cook our food without fish sauce! I may even say this is the best Thai I've had. The restaurant is also very small and comfy. We got the Thai wings, fried rice, & pad see iew.

I waited for the restaurant to open at noon on Sunday for lunch carryout. It was delicious! We ordered chicken pad see lew, tofu pad Thai, chicken pad kee mao, and seafood woon sen. They were delicious! First time I ordered there although my daughter ordered there before. The inside looked clean and the wait time for the food was about 15 minutes. I would recommend this place. There is paid parking right in front as well just in case you are not from the area like I am.

This was my last meal in 2024 and I loved it! I called for takeout at 8:10 and the food was ready by 8:25, just in time before closing. We ordered a beef pad see ew and a chicken panag curry. I loved the curry! Great spice level and flavor. And the pad see ew was also amazing. Definitely recommend.

Ordered delivery directly from the restaurant. Prices were on the lower side compared to other Thai places nearby. Ordered the beef pad see ew and chicken khao soy. The khao soy was pretty good but I found the pad see ew salty, almost burnt, and not too fresh tasting. Delivery was timely and smooth. But probably wouldn't order again.

A hole in the wall. Grabbed lunch with a friend here and in that time not one other person came in to eat. I'm surprised that this place isn't busier. We got the tom yum fried rice and the Khao soy. The tom yum had perfectly cooked shrimp on top of a generous amount of rice. The shrimp paste added a nice flavor and the mushrooms were good. Everything paired nicely together giving a very enjoyable dish. The Khao soy was tasty with a nice balance of shallots, chicken, and noodles. My only suggestion would be to add more curry as the ratio of it to the rest was off. Overall, this place was great. Good portions, good prices, and a lot to choose from. Will be back often.

Ordered in for the first time and was impressed by everything. The flavors were great, and the Chor Muang (Purple Dumpings) was what drew me in. It's a chewy outer skin, not quite mochi, but it was unique! I'll be sure to order again and try other dishes.

I liked the Pad see-iew a lot, it was flavorful and the noodles were soft. Fried tofu wasn't anything special so I would try another app. Overall, very quick service definitely would order takeout again.

I picked up Hom Mali for takeout on a Saturday night. The inside was pretty small, but still enough tables to eat inside if you didn't want to take it home. Our food was ready very quick, it didn't take long at all. Our food was very average, I don't think I will ever go back. The purple dumplings barely had any filling in them and tasted more soggy and doughy than other dumplings I've had before - it seemed like they had been ready for hours and were just sitting for a long time. The pad thai was meh, something seemed off about the sauce. The crab rangoon and fried rice were the best tasting things we got, but nothing super notable or that I can't get anywhere else.

For the past few years Hom Mali is still our go-to Thai take out every few weeks. I like their pad see ew - kid friendly option, basil chicken, panang curry and pad prik king and the fried rice. Sometimes they lack consistency in preparation but Wednesday night, the food was delicious.

Decided to check out this hole in the wall in old town and blown away! We got the drunken noodles with tofu and the khao soi tofu and both were excellent! The spice level and flavor were just right and the tofu was cooked perfectly. I do wish the khao soi had a little more curry but otherwise it was perfect. We have been struggling to find good Thai food in Chicago and I'm so glad we stumbled upon this place! Would definitely come back!

Got takeaway from here tonight. Was good stuff. We got the Pad Kee Mao, Pad Thai and the sampler appetizer platter. All fantastic. This is my favorite Thai food in the hood now.

A delicious, but unknown Thai restaurant to us until early Nov 2024. We were the lonesome diners dining-in at the restaurant on a Friday evening at 6:15pm, but they had a relatively steady set of customers doing take-out. The seating area is very simple and clean. The server was polite, courteous and efficient. Their tofu Khao Soy was delicious! I would love to go back and also make use of their BYOB.

We ordered pickup from here and everything tasted great! Fried rice had big chicken pieces that we loved and Pad Se Ew was very tasty. we also got the tom kha soup and chicken potstickers both great apps. the only disappointment was the side of peanut sauce was a lot smaller than what we are used to and for $6 was a lot for something so small! will skip that in the future but everything else was good

Good neighborhood Thai place. I frequently walk by here but it was my first time visiting. I tried the pad see ew and crab Rangoon dinner combo. It was very solid and you could tell the Rangoon was freshly deep fried. The pad see ew wasn't too salty and the portion was reasonable. We also tried the Thai custard which tasted more like a cake. It was pretty empty for a Friday night and the service was good. I would come back again later.

Best Thai food I've had in Chicago! My husband and I were on the hunt for a Thai place since moving to Chicago and tried probably 6 other places we didn't like when a friend recommended Hom Mali. We're so happy we found this place! We order takeout from here now once a week (never been to the restaurant). We order green and panang curries with chicken, both are fantastic. We've tried a few of the apps like the dumplings and pot stickers, which we didn't love, the dumplings were an interesting texture. We've also ordered the Tom Kha soup which was pretty good. We keep coming back for the curries though. Excited to try more of their menu!

Hom Mali provides incredibly fresh Farm-to-Table Thai food. I got the purple dumplings (Chor Muang), which were the star of the show. The chewy texture of the dumpling was unlike any other. Combining that with their house sauce (which was like a hoisin/soy sauce with a little kick) made this dish something special. The Farm-to-Tableness of the restaurant came out during the stir-fry with all the veggies being vibrant and nicely cooked. Next time, I may try another dish than the Pad Woon Sen. The flavor wasn't too out there but, again, the freshness was something to talk about. The inside decor fit the whole vibe the restaurant was tying to provide. Everything was clean, put together, and peaceful. The waitress was also incredible! My friend has a peanut, tree nut, and shellfish allergy (my bad for suggesting Thai food!). Our waitress triple checked everything and made sure everything was safe to eat. The purple dumplings weren't nut free, but hey - I wasn't complaining while I was eating them all. They ended up charging us $1 per dish for being gluten-free? I'm assuming that had to do with being extra safe because of the allergy? Not too sure. Overall, very pleasant experience! I'm excited to try more of the dishes. The curries, Pad Kee Mao, and the Som Tum (papaya salad) are on my list!

I really liked this place but my husband wasn't as big of a fan. I was in the area for a doctors appointment and decided we would try this since it had been on my list for a little while. We got there on the earlier side of dinner time and they took us immediately - no one else was in the restaurant but it seems like they do a lot of takeout. I loved the purple dumplings - they had a mochi-like texture. The other dishes were also good.

Great place for takeout or dine in. The staff are very friendly. I would recommend the pad Thai and trying the appetizers.

Very good thai food. Grading thai cuisine in Chicago is difficult. If this were to be in smaller metro like Milwaukee or indy, would be 5 stars but falls just short IMO of the top tier of thai restaurants in the city. Very much enjoyed their dumplings, which are their staple. They are purple in color, steamed to perfection, and taste lovely. Thai basil stir fry made with ground chicken was solid as well. Paired alongside the dumplings made for a great meal. Also tried moo ping and larb gai which were fair overall. Service was friendly. Parking along street in front of restaurant. Menu very "typical" featuring largely standard collection of apps, noodles, rice, salads, soup, stir fries, curries and desserts. Some dishes would have liked to see would have been kao moo dang, esan sausage, authentic Tom yum noodle soup, kao mun gai, bamee moo dang (to name a few). On contrary, they feature all of the more well known selections and food enjoyable.

We are back again. My boyfriend gets his usual and can't be happier. As a non meat eater, I can never try his dishes but it looks like we both like his sticky rice mostly because of the sweet and sour sauce. I tried the pad Thai with tofu. Compared to the pad Thai with shrimp it offers a lot more of protein. The portion was packed with tofu and it was good. Or as good as tofu can be. I have never been a huge fan of it. It's a little tasteless for me. Having said that, if anyone reads this review and has a good recipe for me to try, please send it my way! I only wish that the noodles were crispier. Everything else was perfect! We will of course be back in no time to our fav Thai place! Any recommendations for another great place are more than welcomed!!

Great food! Pretty authentic I would say. Pricing is also not too pricey for Chicago. Food was not too salty nor sweet. We got the pad thai and pad woon sen and they were tasty. Service was good too. I personally prefer a more hands off service and only come when you need them and that's how it was. It wasn't busy when we visited for lunch. I hope they get more traffic because their food is worth trying! Great interior as well. A mix of modern, minimalist decor. Small space but cozy and practical. Quite perfect for a Thai place.

Yes, YEs,YES! Amazing chicken pad Thai, baby egg rolls with sweet chili sauce and fully loaded crab rangoons! Solid meal on so many levels! Protein to noodles OR sides with sauce! Or ding soon again!

Their Pad Thai is my absolute favorite in the city. They give a good amount of protein and noodles for a reasonable price compared to other pad thai options. I usually order out so I cannot speak to the restaurants ambiance but their service is usually very fast on takeout!

Food was great, I ordered takeout and it was ready right on time. Will definitely be back!

Veggie spring rolls are NOT made with rice paper but with frozen wheat pastry sheets. The dipping sauce was pretty bland and flavorless. Basil fried rice and drunken noodles were middle of the road..

I tried Hom Mali for the first time last night and it was incredible! We placed a pick up order for Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai and it was ready within 15 minutes. The noodles were perfectly cooked and very saucy. We also got crab rangoons and they were just as expected. Relatively good pricing for what we got! Will definitely be going back.

We ordered a few dishes from this place to try out. Overall, this place is a good option for quick Thai food near downtown if you are in the area. 1. Panang curry - 4/5 a little different than other Panang curries I have had, with a strong peanut flavor. 2. Massaman curry - 5/5. This one was our favorite of the bunch! The curry had a very nice lime flavor which was delicious over rice! 3. Green curry fried rice with shrimp -3.5/5. This is my favorite dish to order when I eat at Thai restaurants and I felt that this version fell just a little short. To me it tasted mostly like a fried rice, and I wish that it had more of the green curry flavor. 4. Pad kee mao with chicken - 4/5. This dish was spicier that expected, but was quite tasty! Lots of tomatoes and bell peppers inside.

I wish they gave me more food. I'm a glutton. Their food is good. I wished there were more of it. And for the price????? I mean cmon. Why do I keep ordering from yall when I know that I won't be full but it'll taste so dang good T_T Food: 4.8/5 I took off 0.2 because I wish they gave JUST A BIT more food. It feels stingy. But it's noodles and meat and veggies. If I pay $13 - 14 for pad see ew or drunken noodles or pad thai, I know for a fact that the price you're paying would not change by much if you added JUST A BIT MORE. Gosh you're so good though. They add some sort of truffle oil maybe? I don't even know. The flavor is so good and there's always a bit EXTRA hitting me that I'm not certain about but its good. Did I mention it's good? Definitely try this place out if you want to get thai food. We've gotten the Pad Thai: 4.5/5 (it could be a bitttttt more pungent with the tamarind but I like it still) Pad see ew: 5/5 (One of, if not, my favorite in the city) Bunch of curries: 5/5 all good. All good. Check it out!! Service: They're pretty relaxed and will serve you. Usually just do take away though. 4/5 Ambiance: 4/5 Not a lot of room but will seat enough when needed. Def not like...a FIRST DATE spot...but a hey we just had a hard day working on our house with 6 years of marriage and we want to get some good thai food kinda place :)

Nothing special taste wise. Got takeout from here so can't speak to service or ambiance of the restaurants but likely one can find somewhere with better quality for this price point

Yum! Review of food only from take out. Once again I was not led astray by my fellow yelpers! This food was delicious. We had crab Rangoon, pad Thai, basil fried rice and panang curry. I don't even think I can pick a favorite. I wish we had ordered more crab Rangoon, in fact most of the portions were smaller than others in my delivery radius. But the quality was excellent and the flavors lovely. Nice heat too. My main complaint is that there was not much vegetable content in the dishes that we ordered with chicken. Very heart amount of chicken though. What sets this apart from the other Thai places in the city? The flavors. Each dish was incredibly authentic tasting and exactly what I wanted it to taste like. I would definitely order again, and will have to plan a trip in person soon.

**This review is for our takeout experience** We placed an order for 7 pm pick-up, we showed up at 7:15 pm bc we got stuck in some traffic. Our order, however, wasn't ready until 7:30 pm... which sucks but isn't a deal breaker. We get home and the Pad Thai is congealed. It tastes okay but can't eat it without cutting the ball of noodles with a knife. The Kra Pow Fried Rice had a nice charred flavor to it but felt lacking in sodium. (Siam Noodle & Rice has a better version of both, imho.) The Pad See Ew and the Tod Mun were very tasty tho! The noodles weren't stuck together like the pad thai and the pork was nice and tender. The Tod Mun was crispy on the outside and the little kick of spice was perfect!

The curry was really good - we tried massaman - as was the green curry fried rice. The vermicelli noodles dish was a complete miss because it was clumpy and totally lacking in flavor. There were hardly 3-4 piece of vegetables and the tofu was not seasoned. I'd order from here again but hesitate to select the items. Order was ready quickly and packaged well.

I went here for the 2nd time! The first time was 2 days ago, the food is ok! The 2nd time I ordered green beans dish with chicken, green beans undercooked, and the sauce is salty! Won't come back!

Very clean on the inside! Not super busy when it comes to indoor dining but people were constantly in and out picking up takeout orders. Good service and didn't have to wait long for food to coming out steaming hot! Purple dumplings and fried tofu were my favorite appetizers. Pad Thai has great flavor. And the lime chicken over rice was lightly battered and fried to perfection! I live near by and will be back / getting take out often from here!

Delicious food at an affordable price! Food was bussin and service was delectable. Get the crab Rangoons if you want to change your life.

Greetings, I am on a journey to find the best pad thai in the united states. My journey has brought me to Hom Mali per the recommendation of a loyal follower, KG. KG, epic pad thai. Immaculate vibes. Please see the acronym below for a more detailed account. Thus far, this would rank as a solid 3 on my pad thai list for chicago. D- dank E- engorged by the sauce L- lovin it I- inebriated by the sauce C- can't stop eating I- inebriated by the nuts O- oh my gawd sprouts U- unbelievable noodle quality S- snatched and saucy Accepting recommendations.

Service was great! We got the lunch special - it was fresh and so good! Lots of tofu and fresh veg

The service and interior of this place is nice. The food is delicious! We had the Tom Yum soup which was made very well. The Chor Muang (purple dumplings) and sauce was yummy as was the Som Tum (Papaya Salad). We shared everything including the entree Chicken Pad Kee Mao which was also made nicely and tasted great. Those 4 items filled up the two of us. Our only disappointment was that they no longer have the Tung-Tong and the Escargot & Garlic Bread which we wanted to try badly. It is BYOB and they don't charge a corkage fee.

Ordered takeout from here based solely on reviews I had seen and was happy with the choice. Ordered the basic pad Thai with crab rangoons and both were very good. The food was also ready very quickly and prices were fair. I could see this being a good regular spot.

On the website, it says that Hom Mali is the best Thai restaurant in Gold Coast. They're lying.... because it's probably the best in all of Chicago--period. I rarely repeat my food choices in the city, but we've gotten both takeout and delivery here for a reason! The service is great, and the order has been above and beyond each time. When we order Thai, we usually go for 1 curry and 1 noodle dish. All the food is fresh and simply irresistible. I love the tofu; it always has the perfect texture and goes perfectly with any noodle dish. I love the pad kee mao because it has a ton of veggies and a super flavorful sauce. The panang curry, which I usually get with chicken, is also always flavorful, tangy, and perfectly spicy! Although it can be pricey, especially on GrubHub, I feel like it's totally worth it when you don't feel like cooking and are craving something hot and comforting!

Best Thai in chicago and boy did that take a long time to find- so many average Thai places here!!!! This place is NOT average. It's amazing! I love their pad Thai, pad see ew, and pad prick! They have authentic noodles and I love every dish. We also get the purple dumplings. So good! Thank you and please never change!

Interesting find; Dropped by accident, but we are happy that we made that accident. We were visiting Chicago for a family trip and were looking for a place to eat. Yelp showed this place close by and we decided to come. Rather small place and really clean place. We ordered the platter, pad thai and basil fried rice; all are really good. Price is very reasonable; under $10 for lunch options. Highly recommended.

Just okay. The egg rolls (or spring rolls, honestly can't remember) were very good and I wold easily down 20+ of them. But, the pad Thai was meh by the time I got home to enjoy it. I'd give this place a second chance though!

Written to "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your Thai Food No way, no way, Pad Thai gave me the runs Hey, hey, you, you, consistency was pre-chewed Hey, hey, you, you, your Green Curry is too water-y No way, no way, you know it's not a secret Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your Thai Food Not to whine, I lost my mind, food's suspicious I think about it all the time, your reviews are so conflictive You know what you should do, order from somewhere else tonight (Alright, alright, alright, alright) Don't pretend, I think you know this food lacks freshness And hell yeah, I'm so motherf'in zealous I can tell you like fresh food too and you know I'm right (I'm right, I'm right, I'm right, I'm right) Their food's like so whatever You could eat so much better I think you should go somewhere else all together now And that's what I'm talkin' about Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your Thai Food No way, no way, Pad Thai gave me the runs Hey, hey, you, you, food so mushy, you don't have to chew Hey, hey, you, you, your Green Curry is too water-y No way, no way, you know it's not a secret Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your Thai Food

really amazing and authentic thai food!! the kids really loved the purple dumpling, the skin is a bit chewy and is made from tapioca powder. the thai escagot is really good, loved the sauce and the bread that came with it papaya salad is amazing, we got thai spicy, loved the kick! you cannot go wrong with anything here, the pad thai is good, so is the pad see mao, thai fried rice The mango sticky rice is also very good, ripe mango coupled with sweet sticky rice