Sticky Rice - Downtown

We had a great visit here. The food was really good and nice sized portions. Our server was wonderful and very attentive to our needs even though the restaurant was full. The only negative part was they didn't have a kids' menu available.

My family talked me in to trying this gem! I’m not sure why I have not tried it and man, have I been missing out! We did have a party of 5 and as we were leaving, patrons were waiting for tables but it was Dad’s weekend at the U of I campus as well around 2:15pm directly following a football game. All of the food we ordered was excellent, appetizers and entrees! It is small inside with limited seating but still was able to enjoy lunch and conversation amongst other tables. Highly recommend! I will definitely be enjoying this delicious food very soon, once again!

An okay somewhat Americanized-Thai-Lao place in town. They have a variety of Thai and "Lao" food. The Mango sticky rice is very good!!. The service here is good. The staff here are very friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is nice.

I ordered the Pad Se-ew and their signature crab Rangoon. Both Dishes were a huge serving, and I believe extremely competitively priced. It’s the kind of place that you would definitely bring your visiting friends and or family to!!

Came here for dinner and had a wonderful meal! The yellow curry was very fresh, and especially delicious with the chili oil. Also ordered the egg rolls and the cucumber salad, both of which were very good. Finally, the mango sticky rice was outstanding—maybe the best I’ve ever eaten. Service was very good, and portions were quite generous.

Good service and food. The sausage is a little expensive ($15) but tasty, also love the green curry here

Always such a pleasant experience here! The service is very friendly and willing to help. The food is seasoned very well and comes in great portions. We can’t wait for another location on green!

Great atmosphere, service, and food. We had spring rolls, beef pho, and Bangkok fried rice. Everything tasted great. The beef pho was a bit saltier compared to phos we've experienced at other places, but it was still tasty.

We ordered take-out for dinner for the family and I was impressed with what a great job they did in boxing our dishes. Everything was as nicely presented as if we had dined in. Their menu is extensive and the food was wonderful. The curry dishes are spicy. "Medium" was pretty hot for my palate. The only dish that was a disappointment was the crab rangoon. These appetizers are better fresh to the table instead of cold with takeout. Reasonable prices.

Food was amazing. I didn't expect the bowl to be so big but I am not complaining. I truly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

Honestly I was so excited for this place but was disappointed by the taste, especially for the price. The basil chicken was quite dry and hard to chew and I was the most disappointed by this. The best item we had was tom kah kai soup, the flavor was great and such a comfort food! The pad see ew and red curry was pretty average. I did enjoy the shrimp in the blanket more than I expected! The restaurant vibes were cute and the service was great though!

This is some of the best Thai food that I have ever had. The spring rolls are chock full of vegetables. The Chicken Basil dish was flavorful and fresh, with the vegetables cooked just right. Good service, great ambiance. Definitely will be back!

We love it here. The staff is wonderful, helpful, and amazing. This time we went for spicy food. It was so good. I love how Thai spice is warm, but you can still taste the other flavors. We finished with coconut ice cream and mango sweet rice. The sweet removes all the heat from your mouth. It just vanishes. You bet we will be back.

I'm a nearby university student and this is my first time writing a negative review for a restaurant. I've never done so in my ENTIRE LIFE. Here's what I've went through this evening(May 18th 2025): My friends and I had an extremely terrible experience at Sticky Rice in downtown Champaign. While I want to be transparent that one friend briefly ate takeout from another restaurant during our **30-MINUTE WAIT AT THE ENTRANCE** (she only did so after being starved and ignored), this does not justify the staff's blatant discrimination and hostility. From the moment we arrived near closing time (8.20pm 40 minutes before closing hour 9pm), the waitress refused to acknowledge us, despite our polite presence. She repeatedly attended to white customers who arrived later, leaving us stranded without updates. When we finally asked for a table, her disdain was palpable. The situation worsened when she **SPILLED WATER ALL OVER ME** after we were seated and callously cleaned the floor while ignoring my soaked clothes. When we calmly addressed her behavior, she **REFUSED SERVICE** and demanded we leave--even though we had not yet eaten. The waitress later attempted to justify her behavior by citing my friend's takeout food (eaten out of hunger after being ignored), but this is irrelevant to the racial contempt we endured from the moment we entered. Bringing outside food--while inadvisable--does not warrant **spilling water on a customer, refusing to apologize, or retaliating by ejecting patrons without service**. Discrimination is not a "punishment" for minor infractions; it is a failure of basic humanity. Sticky Rice's staff chose hostility over professionalism, and management should be ashamed of both the blatant bias and the toxic service culture here.

This is truly my favorite restaurant in Champaign. Their seasoning is incredible, the flavors are so nuanced. My go to is always the Green Curry with shrimp and tofu. The crab rangoon is also legit. We have gotten pretty much every item on the menu over time and I have never been disappointed. The herbs and vegetables are always so fresh, and the service is the best! Also, they do a great job with to-go orders. The food is always still really warm (even hot) and taste amazing even if you have to wait.

Let me tell you about this little gem. Visiting the area and stopped in at SR. Fast service, tasty Pad Ke Mau and green curry. Server Tee was warm and welcoming. No frills place and reasonably priced. Don't miss out.

Sticky rice is probably the nicest Asian fusion restaurant in the CU area. wonderful stirfry, really good fried noodles, terrific noodle soups, and a nice selection of salads. They also offer curry, though I haven't tasted theirs yet. Wintertime always makes me hungry for their noodle soup! I also love their coconut custard for dessert. This place is located in the old Carmens location, so parking is easy. Cute interior. I'll be back.

Everything on the menu is amazing! I have yet to try something I didn't love. Also it's both a cozy spot for a nice bowl of hot soup on a cold day and the patio makes for a nice spot for a summer dinner. Everyone's so nice too. You can't go wrong!

Why is Thai food so hard to get right and do well? Second visit for me. First time wasn't memorable - nothing notably great or bad. So why did I come back? Because it was my daughter's bday, and she likes this place. So this second visit... Party of five. 1:30pm, not busy, not slow. Restaurant was not quite half full. First, if your familiar with the place, we were seated in that cubby with the weird wall that cuts into the dining space. Were it not for the wall, it would be plenty of room for 5-6 diners. But as it is, THERE IS A WALL. My son literally ate his whole meal with his plate on his lap; he's 10 so he thought he was at a backyard picnic. Anyway there were plenty of seats, so why? The Red Curry was full of veggies and chicken, but it was poorly seasoned and the flavors were bland because not enough curry. We added salt which helped a little. Also had the Basil Beef. If I was eating at a See-Thru-Kitchen, I'd say it was pretty good. But this is a Thai restarant, so it was just alright. The Pork Fried Pineapple Rice also would be good if being served at China Wok II, but I wasn't really getting the THAI seasoning. Maybe the pineapples screwed it up. Anyway my son loves pineapples. There is a silver lining, I always order Chicken Lard Na whenever I eat Thai, and I have to say that Sticky Rice's Lard Na is one of the top 5 Lard Nas I've ever had! Don't know what changed since my first visit because I don't even remember that one. Servers were kind, friendly, and attentive in the right amounts.

Went here while visiting my child in college. I had the beef pho and it was amazing! My daughter had the yellow curry with tofu. It was the best curry I've ever had! Yum! I'll be back! The place is cute. We sat in a little alcove which was cozy. The staff was friendly and accommodating.

It's not a bad place to get your pho fix. The crab rangoons were huge and they had an interesting sauce. It's not the typical sweat and sour sauce. A lot more tangy and citrusy. The Pad Kee Mao was decent. Not the best around Champaign but it was a decent portion, the Pho was very flavorful. Didn't even need sriracha or hoisin sauce. Overall pretty good however I would say you can find better for the price elsewhere.

Had dinner with my friend at this restaurant during the 2023 Champaign County Restaurant week. Their RW special is roll the spring roll by yourself. Great fun! It's so amazing to see that the hard, crispy spring roll wrapper becomes sticky right after it touches water. Besides, the shrimp for us to "roll" is tender and fresh. Besides this RW special, I ordered a Mussaman curry and my friend ordered a pho. We also had a papaya salad (Thai style) . The curry was nice for me, though it would be better if it had more veggies. My friend enjoyed his pho as well. The portion size of the salad was generous, but it was too oily for me. Finally, the atmosphere of the restaurant was good. The restroom was clean, and I especially like the painting at their bar. So in general, it's not a bad restaurant, but the dining experience was not perfect either.

Service is always friendly, interior is clean, and the food is fantastic! One of my favorites in Champaign.

The menu looked extremely attractive so we came for lunch. Unfortunately the food was extremely salty and the ingredients were so so. Sort of disappointing. The drinks were extremely sweet.

This is a fun spot in downtown Champaign. We went on a busy night -- it was Father's Weekend at U of I and it was packed, but they made a place for us at the bar immediately, which was great. We got pad Thai and massaman curry and shared them. The pad Thai was really good, and the curry was decent, but if I were to go back I'd probably try something different. Overall, this is a big thumbs up and a solid option for Thai food in Champaign.

Very disappointed in taste and lack of vegetables. Website is confusing and accidentally ordered food with some heat. The mild seasoning and medium seasoning were exactly the same. People were unable to eat with this level of heat. I will not return.

My husband and daughter enjoyed their Tom Kha Kai and Pineapple Fried Rice. I asked the waitress for a recommendation and had the Pumpkin Curry. It was delicious. Small, clean space. Prompt and friendly service. We'll be back.

We've here twice and I really like the place. They have a much more diverse menu than a lot of Thai restaurants I've been to before. So much so that I tried curry for the first time and it was really good. I asked for it to be mild - they have spiciness ratings up to burn your innards out. It came with just the perfect amount of heat and some coconut sweetness. I had them add duck which made it just that much better. My wife had pad Thai and she said it was excellent! The dining room is a bit small do make sure to get there before the dinner rush or you may be waiting. But, they do have a full bar, so that may help the tube pass quicker. We'll definitely be returning soon!

People of Champana are spoilt for good food from the Asian continent. Too many options for the local crowd here. However, Sticky Rice was a Laotian themed restaurant that we recently heard about and wanted to try it out. If you prefer to stay away from the university crowd and driving, this restaurant is perfectly situated in Downtown Champaign. Our dishes were Khao Moon, Pho special and Papaya salad. Khao Moon was good. Reminded us of Laksa or coconut curry based noodle dishes that you get from Singapore. Good amount of seasoning and the rice noodle was perfectly cooked. Would definitely recommend it. A bit high on the spicy side of things but nothing that would knock you out. 4/5 Pho special needed a bit more oomph. The broth was boring TBH. The meat balls and the beef slices were good but the noodle and the broth were a bit of a let down. If you need Pho, you have so many better choices in Champana. 3/5 Papaya salad was too sweet for our liking. Even though salads are better to be eaten at home and not in a restaurant, we have had an affinity towards to Thai salads. This was not really a thai salad but the sweet dressing could be what made us not really happy 2.5/5 Overall service and ambiance is great for a small restaurant that is far away from the university.

Best pad Thai on the Champaign side of town. The noodles are congealed together but springy and lush. Portions are decent but not as big as Thara Thai so it costs less here. Their other non-soup based noodle dishes are also delicious. Customer service is friendly and there is parking around the restaurant.

Don't risk the pad thai; or if you do and it's not good, ask for another dish (they messaged me to say I should've returned it; I didn't want to risk a conflict with a server, since I'd brought my friend to Thai restaurant for their first time). I've had good experiences in the past with Sticky Rice's curries. But today's really bad pad thai (tofu) makes me want never to return. For 16.50, sodden noodles and over-sweet sauce, lumped on a plate. Please step up your game given the quality of places like Lanxiang, Thara, etc in this town. Wow. Disappointed in the extreme, despite previous experiences with your khao poon.

Came here during a quick trip in town. Thai food tastes good for the area but can't really compare to those in Chicago. With that, the price is definitely steep for a college town. I order fried rice with duck - the duck costs $5 extra but only a few slices and tasted bland. Service was quick and staff are friendly.

Don't skip this small restaurant right before you hit downtown. Sticky rice is an amazingly fresh twist of Lao/Thai brought to the CU area. We stop here pretty often when it gets cold because their Pho Special is a phenomenal soup with tons of umami and fresh ingredients. We had the vegetable egg rolls with the chili sauce for an appetizer and their Thai iced tea to drink. My wife had Pad Thai and continues to order it every time we come. The meals are huge and there is always plenty leftover for the next day.

My boyfriend and I recently dined in at Sticky rice and had such a pleasant experience! We went during peak lunch hour on a weekend, but still got seated promptly (within 5 minutes). We ordered spring rolls as an appetizer, which were filled with fresh veggies and both shrimp & chicken! I got the Shrimp Pad Thai which was flavorful and the Pad Thai noodles were extremely chewy, which I really liked. My boyfriend got the curry, which he ABSOLUTELY LOVED. Lastly, we also got the mango sticky rice dessert, which was something different than what I have tried before! While it wasn't my type of dessert, my boyfriend devoured the whole dish. Service was fast and we will be returning to try their other dishes!

Pretty good spot. I have had multiple meals here and they are all good. Nothing has blown my socks off but all pretty good. The staff is very friendly and attentive. I would recommend going here I just don't have any dish that really jumps out at me.

Good service, authentic food (meaning, "medium" was actually spicy to me). The spring rolls were soooooo good.... Incredible actually. Pricing is $12-17 per entree. Nice place to go with friends and a first date, but not necessarily for a quiet romantic dinner.

Ordered Tom Yum soup and Pho to go. Both were really good but the Tom Yum was my favorite. Ordered it with medium spice and it wasn't too bad. Good balance of vegetables and protein and the broth had really goods flavor.

The prices are not updated on Yelp. The actual prices are significantly higher than what is posted on Yelp. There is no link to the website where they say the accurate prices are listed. This Pad Thai better be worth the $20 they actually charge.

Really tasty (I had a lunch special curry) in a nice place with a friendly server, all provided quickly. Lovely spot!

I went to dinner at sticky rice last night with some friends. I have a gluten allergy and I called before we went to the restaurant to ensure that there were options I could eat because I did not see any menu options online specifically noting gluten free. When I called the woman on the phone ensured me that they could make almost anything gluten free and had plenty of options. I stated to my server at the table that I had a gluten allergy and asked for suggestions. My server told me that they could substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce and make the fried rice gluten free. Unfortunately this was not the case. Upon leaving the restaurant I broke out into hives and had an allergic reaction to the food I had eaten. I will not be returning to sticky rice and would advise anyone with a gluten allergy to avoid going as well.

Key and Josh were our servers. The place was nice and cozy. And very welcoming. The food was so good and fresh.

Taste fresh, and the degree of every flavor seemed to be appropriate and balanced! I went there with my friend (a girl) , and ordered these four dishes and nearly finished them all.

Excellent Thai food, dope, relaxed vibe, family friendly but chicken pad Thai is legit. Service is fast, remember to park across the street (not behind the restaurant), they remind you at the door. As good as thai as I've had, check them out, worth the trip.

Great food, great texture on the sesame chicken, and very good salad and sticky rice. We would come back next time we were in town.

Coming from this American-who-visited-Laos-once... the Khao Poon is legit. Instantly transported me back to the streets of Luang Pabang. Except at Sticky Rice I could get it "American spicy" and not die. Would love to see more Lao dishes on the menu (khao soi or khao piak sen in particular!). If you go here, try stepping outside your Thai-food comfort zone and get one of the Lao dishes! Also, they have a nice patio with sun shades.

First time visiting and we had the best experience! Food was delicious (we had the Pad Thai with tofu, Crab Rangoon, and General Tso's Chicken - everything was amazing!). Our server was great, very attentive to our needs, and helped us with ordering. We will definitely be back!

Came on a Saturday for lunch with my boyfriend and got seated immediately. Service was nice and it was a cute family owned restaurant. I also enjoyed the interior and traditional decorations. For food, we got the Khao Poon, Pad Thai with Tofu, thai iced tea, thai iced coffee, and of course the mango sticky rice. The Khao Poon was flavorful and delicious! We really enjoyed the noodles which were cooked perfectly and bouncy. Only thing is I wish there was more meat. We both REALLY liked the pad thai. It was a perfect mix of sour, sweet, spicy, and savory. Flavor was on point and the noodles were again perfectly cooked so it wasn't sticky/starchy. I wish the tofu was crispier though! As for the drinks the thai iced tea was a bit diluted and didn't have much tea taste, but the coffee was better. Overall I've had better in this aspect. Always the get mango sticky rice to end for meal! The coconut ice cream is a nice touch of coldness amongst the warm-ish rice. It was my first time having it and I really enjoyed it!

What a pleasant surprise. Comfortable relaxing atmosphere, fantastic personable service and food that's at another level. It rarely happens , but even when food is very good you still add a little salt, pepper, soy sauce or sriracha to your liking. Every item we enjoyed was seasoned and spiced to perfection. So impressive! Can't wait to go back, so many more items I'm excited to try.

Made with frozen ingredients and cheap soy sauce. Only ate a few bites because the flavor was off - told them and they still charged me full price. I can guarantee you - I will never eat at this low-class restaurant wannabe again.

Awesome food and amazing service. Charming spot in downtown Champaign with nice outdoor seating and convent parking. Highly recommend Pad Ped, shrimp wraps and fried rice. Learned how to eat with sticky rice and it was delicious &fun. It's going to be a regular spot from now on!!!

I don't see many Lao restaurants or Lao dishes so I was so excited when we found this place, but left somewhat disappointed. This was not the amazing Lao food I had in Laos. On that tearful and over dramatic note... It's mostly Thai dishes with some Lao additions. We split the veg spring rolls, mango salad (lao style), Tom Yum Koong and Pad Kee Mao. The veg rolls were nicely fried with a good dipping sauce. The mango salad was sad. Not much flavor, a lot of spice, and the mango sticks were so hard (not ripe) that there was no real mango flavor. The Tom Yum Koong didn't have much flavor or spice. I personally liked it cuz it was all broth with some mushrooms and shrimp floating around, but I'm a sucker for just broth so I was content with it. Most people, I think, would complain. The best dish was the wide noodle Pad Kee Mao. That had good flavor and spice. Well made. Our waitress never asked what spice level we wanted now that I think of it. O'well. I have a feeling they do some things really well and others that aren't ordered as frequently maybe not so much. Either way, it was a nice, decent meal.

There are a decent amount of Thai restaurants in Champaign, IL but this place has the best mango sticky rice of them all! The Penang curry and Pad Thai are very delicious. It's a nice spot for dining in and take out. One thing I'm bummed out about is that they don't have Pra Ram which is a peanut sauce chicken entree. Most Thai places have this dish so I'm not sure why it didn't make it to their menu. Overall the food is great and staff is friendly.

We tried Sticky Rice for my birthday dinner. We ordered take out Panang Curry (left heat intensity blank so as to order the most mild curry), Thai dumplings appetiser, and Pad Thai. The Panang curry was too spicy to eat even one bite. Plus it was completely liquid, like soup. I had to throw it all down the disposal. The Pad Thai was, frankly, too disgusting to eat, and I noticed that no one else was eating it either. It tasted like old pork grease. I had to rinse my mouth out to get the nasty stale pork taste out. This Pad Thai is highly rated and I wanted to love it. It was truly terrible. Plus it came packed densely like a cake, and we were cutting it like slices of pie. It was just not good at all. We ate some and threw the rest into the trash. That left the appetisers to eat for the meal. We ate them all, but they appeared to be old, were very chewy and not pleasant to eat. Please think twice before spending money here. We thought this place would be wonderful and it was very much a waste of $45. Needless to say, we won't ever eat here again.

Went there because of review. Kind of disappointed. Food tastes okay although service is good.

Ah it was cool kind of pricey for a combo rice not sure if I'll return customer service was ok on a convenient spot in the city see a lil traffic sometimes so I tried it menu didn't have many options but hey may I'll try the rice again idk

I've been here twice and each time I brought home leftovers.... that were promptly eaten as late night snacks. On my first visit I had the Shrimp in a Blanket, Pad Se-Ew and Pad Ped with Beef. The shrimp were fried perfectly and the noodle dish had just the right kick of spice. I did not have to add additional hot sauce or spice. The Pad Ped Beef was also delicious with the most of veggies in the brown sauce. The second time I went tried the Pork Egg Rolls and the Pad Lard Nar. I'd never had the Pad Lar Nar and enjoyed the fried noodles in it. It provided a different texture and added to the dish. As a side note, it warms my heart that Sticky Rice and the previous restaurant are/were owned by minorities. Based on conversations with older citizens of CU, the original establishment did not serve people of color. It makes me happy that this space is flourishing with the current owner. My friend and I returned and remembered to take photos this time! We had the pork jerky and beef meatballs as appetizers. I probably could've had the jerky with rice and called it a night but I also ordered the panang curry with shrimp. The balance of heat and taste of coconut were delicious. My friend has the pho kai with chicken and enjoyed the plethora of noodles in her bowl.

I'm married and here with my husband right now. I told him it's not going to work out because I just met the most amazing tom kha kai. He's fine because he met the best pho in CU. Update: Have returned for a second visit - husband agreed we'll work things out as long as we can keep seeing our soups. The owner suggested getting Thai iced tea with Thai iced coffee in as well and it was transcendent - a perfect sweet and smoky complement to the tangy and earthy lemongrass, coconut milk, and mushroom that build the glorious tom kha kai. I tried his pho - he got seafood this time - and The chicken broth with the perfectly cooked seafood gave a depth to the broth that was amplified with the addition of chili oil and chopped fresh Thai chilies. The ambiance, even when busy, is serene. The interior is warm and the flow of the space is close without feeling squashed. If I'm not back once a week for the rest of my life, assume I'm dead.