Sura

I miss this place. This place was trying to be like Miami beach but just couldn’t pull it off. However, the all you could eat sushi deal was pretty awesome. They changed it so many times though and I wasn’t shocked when an out of business sign appeared. Too bad, although Frog and Snail seems to be killing it in their old location. Gone but not forgotten.

Ugh… I started this review in early September but here goes!—
«what’s wrong with not wearing underwear? I’m not wearing any right now.» I wish I could explain it but I cannot. I cannot come to this place without having that kind of experience. Sura never let’s me down.
My first experience was for a friends birthday party on a Saturday night. They were very accommodating to a group of nearly 15. Service was a little on the slow side. I had the pad see eiw with chicken. It’s one of my favorite Thai dishes and it was yummy! I also had a random beer special for that night and it was also good. If I hadn’t been on a budget I would have had more.
Fast forward to a girls night here… also a great time! $ 9 sangria definitely makes for an interesting night! Sushi was delicious! I had the Godzilla roll and a spicy tuna roll. Yum! The lettuce wraps and peanut sauce are also really good! It’s fun to watch them make the rolls in the middle of the restaurant.
I love the décor here. The chairs suck! Or it’s because my ass doesn’t fit, either way I hate them! I feel instantly transported into another neighborhood when I come here. I forget I’m in lakeview. Definitely give Sura a chance!
$ 5 pad Thai Thursday’s kids!

This is an absolute find on this strip of Broadway. The fish is always fresh, the service is excellent, and the atmosphere is perfect for a date.
My husband and I always end up getting the same server, who – whether it’s been one month or four – always remembers our favorite drink order. She is a doll, and the rest of the staff is fantastic as well.
We always order something different, but you can count on the super white sashimi being perfect. It’s really great for a relaxed evening or before heading to a club.
And my favorite part – I haven’t ever needed to use my reservation. It’s big enough to have tons of space, yet seem intimate.

Went here last night on a couple date fortunately as I was able to try several of the dishes. Everything from pad thai, and seared tuna, to a couple of different sushi rolls. Everything was very good. I will have to say that service was pretty slow for not having many customers, but our waitress was still nice. The pad thai was fantastic, and the crunchy flying shrimp roll (probably not the right name) was phenomenal. The garlic dish was ok, but needed some heat or some other element to it other then garlic.
I will also point out that, if you are thinking of visiting Sura, there are coupons on
and other sites to give a little extra incentive to go and try a few different items. Cheers.

This is one of my favorite places to eat at in Chicago!
My friend and I came here after leaving the Taste of Chicago for appetizers.
I had the Chicken and Shrimp Dumplings. They were good and well seasoned. My friend ordered the Coin Purse Fritters, there is a filling inside a crispy, edible golden pouch and it is served on a slice of eggplant.
The drinks are good here also!
We also noticed that the décor also changed; the last time we were there was in November ’10.
Parking: On the street however, there is a parking garage on Broadway.

I really liked the atmosphere. Modern and large but still felt intimate enough. Loved the playlist which included the Mountain Goats, Postal Service, and Interpol.
I got the Pad Thai, which I don’t usually do because, not to toot my own horn but I make it excellent at home. There’s was REALLY sweet. My friend said the green curry was very good. The spicy tuna roll was sort of small and plain.
You must try the Hitachino Nest ginger beer. Very nice.

I enjoyed this place but it has been just ok the two times I have been there. Sura is a thai restaurant with a swanky, modern feel which is what first enticed me in (its just down the block from my apartment so that always helps as well).
We ate there on a Friday night and we were one of 5 tables at 9:00, which isn’t the best sign for a larger sized establishment. We ordered a mix of thai and sushi including:
* Egg rolls– nice plating with hot sauce and duck sauce and pretty tasty, not too greasy
* Chicken pad thai– just ok
* Spicy shrimp– this did not have much spice and the shrimp was not delivered in large enough pieces and got lost in the rice
* The virgin roll– this was a pretty good roll. Filled with white tuna, jalapenos, avocado, and served with white tuna and mango on top.
Sura has an interesting vibe, the service was very friendly and inviting, but I cant justify any more than 3 stars. I would recommend sticking with the thai entrees if you decide to dine in. I want to see this place succeed, so with a few more interesting menu options and more consistency, I think Sura would really shine.

My girl Nicole V. had purchased a
coupon for Sura and she asked me to join her for a meal. Of course, I responded with «Sure-​a!» We stepped in to the modern, whimsical space of floating spheres and abnormal shapes. The lovely hostess took our coats, sat us down and asked if we were here for the TravelZoo deal. We looked at her in confusion yet with curiosity. I guess TZ is website that joined the flagship of «groupon-​like» sites. When we heard $ 15 for a 3-​course meal, we was sure to check it out.
First off, I loved that the entire menu was sorted by a key indicating which items were vegetarian, pescatarians (vegetarians who also eat seafood), and spicy. Second, our waiter Taylor was a young, artistic lad that knew what he was talking about when it came to every item on the menu. He was full of recommendations and tips, which were much appreciated by us indecisive foodies. He recommended the first sushi appetizer that sounded unappetizing but due to his assurance that the description doesn’t do it justice, we ordered it. I was weary since I’m not huge on chewy seafood but it took me by surprise. An octopus salad of cucumbers, shiitake mushroom, peanuts and a vinegar sauce. Delicious! We also ordered a crab/​beef/​shrimp fried dumpling on top of a tempura sweet potato slice. The presentation was nice but the flavors were just ok. Honestly, I could come here just to eat appetizers since they are reasonably priced ($ 5 – 9) and good sizes.
When it came to the entrees, it seemed like every table but ours ordered the Volcanic Chicken which comes full of flames on a plate. We passed it up for the Panang Curry (pleasantly sweet), Massaman (moderately spicy) and Black & White Tuna (another great recommendation from the waiter). All the dishes were tasty and something unique about them. I’ll be sure to come back… especially for their tasty house cocktail Asian Pear is one of my favorite cocktails in the city and goes right down, the $ 5 Pad Thai Thursdays, and Friday-​Sunday Tapas from 4 – 7 pm («Happy Hour» on the weekend, count me in!!).

Ill be honest. The only reason i had initially gone here was that it was close to my place and had an interesting décor. I wasn’t really expecting much from the food.
Boy was i wrong. If you plan to go there expecting great sushi, you will be disappointed. But they do Thai food really really well, and it is supposed to be a Thai Restaurant.
Their Panang Curry is hands down the best curry i have ever eaten at a Thai place. Along with that, they do the noodles and rice really good as well.
If you are feeling adventurous, you can also try the Volcanic Chicken. I am not going to spoil the surprise but the presentation is very unique.
Needless to say, Sura has become one of my regular spots.

Made the mistake of going to another bi-​ethnic restaurant again… I could’ve swore I would never do it again after the last bad restaurant we visited. As a golden rule, the sushi will never be good at a Thai restaurant.
My wife bought the special deal thru Travelzoo, so off we went tonight with a good friend of our’s. The three of us were not impressed with the décor right off the bat. It’s got a retro, London-​club feel to the whole place. As one reviewer said, it felt cool for a split second, but the longer we sat there, the more the place felt like a technicolor mental hospital. However, I agree with our friend that the jazz music was pretty good though.
Before we get to the food, let’s talk about the service. Our waiter gives off a very strong Euro EMO feel, and we honestly questioned how long he has been in the restaurant business. He didn’t offer a tasting for the bottle of wine we ordered, made us re-​arrange the table plates to help him put the entrees down, and generally just didn’t come off as very seasoned.
However, the food is the real disappointment here. For the Travelzoo deal, we get to order off a prefix menu. The tuna tar tar was overly spicy to cover up the fact that the tuna isn’t fresh. The tako sunomono was was overly drenched with dressing. The fried tuna roll tasted and felt more like a pizza puff. All of this is «ok»…but the real crime against the whole culinary world is the sashimi platter.
The fish here just isn’t fresh at all. Not-​at-​all. The waiter actually had the audacity to tell us that there is a 50 cents surcharge for each piece of sushi, and a $ 2.50 surcharge for the sashimi platter due to the Japan Tsunami situation. When asked if they get their fish from Japan, the waiter said he thinks they get their fish from Sweden. WTF? Sweden? A little hard to believe… and I fail to see how this relates to the Japan crisis.
At any rate, the worst piece of sashimi was the salmon. When somebody says a piece of fish melts in your mouth, that’s generally a good thing. Well, this salmon definitely melted in our mouths… but it melted in what felt like a decomposed sort of way. Let me explain. The sashimi rests on a huge bed of ice. Of course, this made the fish taste frozen… and that’s the exact trick you would use to cover up the fish that is not fresh. So imagine this — the fish is sort of frozen when it first enters your mouth, so it’s pretty much tasteless. As it gets warmed up with the heat in your mouth, the ice melts away, and you’re left with tasting a decomposing flavor. All of this take place within seconds… it’s quite a weird sensation I hope I will never repeat again.
All in all, this place should get a 1.5 star, but I rounded up since Unilocal doesn’t allow half stars. If you have any standard for sushi at all, stay away.

Good food, poor service.
I visited Sura on a Thursday evening for a late dinner. The restaurant is quite large and is certainly modern in design. I had a
certificate, so I figured I cannot go wrong.
Here is the food tried:
Miso Soup — Good, but a bit saltier than other Misos I have had.
Fire Dragon Roll — Could have been good, but the maki roll was warm.
Heaven Beef — Ok, but not great
Pad See Ew — Delicious, but no need for the giant lettuce decoration.
Overall, the food what pretty good, earning 3 stars.
On the other hand, the service dropped the ball. Our server was obnoxiously over attentive, made snide remarks about the time it took us to eat the Fire Dragon, and held on to the lip of our glasses to refill them. I have been a server, and I probably would have let it slide a bit at that point. However, the rest of the servers/​bartenders were very unprofessional… yelling across the restaurant is not good for business. Finally, we received some serious looks and attitude when using the
certificate. Yeah, that is stupid since they get to add 18% gratuity off the original amount. Get over it!
Too many good Thai restaurants in Chicago for me to every return.

Food very good, everything else, not so good.
1) It looks weird inside. They have oddly shaped tables, like I am on the Jetsons and I felt very awkward in the seat I was in b/​c the portion of my table was only about 6 inches wide.
2) They don’t have iced tea?! I suppose that’s not a requirement, but I was still disappointed.
3) The food was quite good. Better than your average thai restaurant. The lettuce wraps were really good but that was b/​c the sauce served with them was tasty. The actual chicken was pretty bland. I ordered pad thai with shrimp. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, and the noodles and sauce of the pad thai were delicious. I tasted the items my friends ordered and it was all good. The pad see ew was yummy and so were the virgin sushi rolls.
3) The temperature of the restaurant must have been below freezing. All 3 of us were so cold. I had to take my food home because it got cold so quick. When you are in a restaurant and it is too cold, then it is not comfortable to sit there and enjoy your food.
I would go back because the food was so good and I want to try other items. However, if it’s freezing again, I’m walking out. It almost made the dinner painful.

The bubble chairs have gone but the food is still as delicious-​I got something simple this visit the Nikki fried rice and I was expecting a basic ‘everything’ fried rice but got way more than that. A nice, huge mound of deliciously balanced greasy/​fresh rice with a lot of seafood and meat-​usually with these types of combination fried rices you just get a lot of mixed veggies. Sura definitely goes against the grain here and in a great way. It was served in a banana leaf which made the rice moist despite the stir-​fry.
I also ordered the Asian pear martini which was pretty strong despite all the foo-​foo fruit liqueurs in there, a definite plus. Still a great plus despite the absence of the bubble chairs.

my friends and I went to Sura Thai Bistro for my birthday this past weekend.
I am from Indianapolis, but decided to hang out in Chicago with friends, as 3 of us have birthdays around the same time. We originally were going to try Sushi Samba because it was recommended, but we found out via Unilocal that their service apparently sucked, and the food came in small portions yet were highly priced.
Sura Thai Bistro was highly rated, the atmosphere seemed amazing via the pics and above all the food looked tasty and affordable. We were NOT disappointed!!!
The décor was even better to experience in person, our waitress was very accommodating (though she had some problems splitting the bills), but the food… was AMAZING. The place itself is quaint yet phenomenal.
Please make sure you try the Crab Rangoon for an appetizer! I had the Coconut Soft Shelled Crab and it couldn’t have been better. The DRINKS! OMG… the drinks were wonderful!!!
I will definitely be coming BACK to Sura Thai Bistro — no question, they made my birthday dinner one of the best ever.

I went here 2+ years ago, for a Unilocal event and got completely hammered on cucumber Martinis. Um, yeah.
I went here last week, not the least bit hammered, with my seven star companion. I noticed the interior was different. No more hanging chairs, and it doesn’t look so «futuristic» anymore. It just looks kind of dingy and smeared. I was unsure how this white, shiny interior was going to age if it wasn’t scrupulously maintained, and I’m thinking I was kind of right. It’s starting to look worn out.
I ask for a raspberry vodka and tonic. Much giggling and three trips back and forth by the waitress until she determines, that yeah, they have Stoli. Thought so, since I can see it sitting right at the bar. This wasn’t problematic, as she was friendly and happy and attentive.
The sushi was fresh and delicious. The rolls were good, except one had a biiiit too much mayo. A little too creamy.
Overall, it was just solidly average. Though it was pleasant sitting near the open front on a beautiful day, I’m not sure I’d hustle back here. Unless I was in the area. Even then. .. meh.

Went here for a friend’s birthday dinner with 7 others on a Saturday night, but I’ve been here a few times before with smaller groups. The service is always very so-​so… nothing spectacular, but they’re always nice so I give props for that. They are indeed still BYOB, but for wine only, and be prepared to pay a $ 6 corkage fee.
This time, I decided to try the Cherry Pink maki… which I really liked (though the birthday boy had to stop himself from spitting it out when he tasted it), so to each their own. I’m not a big fan of their crab rangoon, it’s got some weird flavors going on that make it taste like mozzarella cheese sticks, and I’m not diggin’ it.
I want to like Sura more than I do… the Jetson’s-esque décor, the fusion aspect, the nice presentation they do… but I’m just not there yet.
PS. everyone raves about their AYCE sushi for $ 22, but that’s one thing I’m not willing to partake in… when Anthony Bourdain tells me to not eat sushi on a Monday or Tuesday when it’s cheap, I’m going to listen.

So… it took me 4 years to try out and this place… and I probably could’ve waited another 4.
No, really.
I remember when this place used to be packed like ALL the time. But, last Sunday, dinnertime-​ish, the place was practically empty. The interior always looked ‘cold’ to me. I mean, I get that you’re going for the whole ‘modern’ ‘minimalist’ deal, but come on. Get some personality.
My friends all liked their meals, so maybe I’m being too harsh in my judgment. They had some fancy-​ish looking curries and soups. However, I attempted to stick to the staple soup of Tom Yum… and was disappointed. How do you mess THAT up? Their version of the soup was thicker — due to coconut milk, what? I’ve had that soup a bunch of times and I like it because of the light, yet spicy, broth. This ish was just a fail. And, it was bright red. Fluorescent even.
Effed. I’ll stick with Bamee or Joy’s in the ‘hood, thanks.

I was a bit skeptical trying this place since most fusion places I’ve been to did not live up to my expectations. However, this place definitely met them! The ambiance and decorations are pretty good. The chairs, on the other hand, are awful and very uncomfortable. We got seated right away. The service is okay. The menu was simple and easy to read.
I tried the duck crepes, oceanic basil, and the spicy salmon maki. Presentation was amazing, the flavor and taste EVEN BETTER!!! There was just a burst of flavor in every single bite. The prices are a little pricier than some of the other more authentic Thai restaurants but it’s well worth it.
TIP: Get their gift certificate on
and you can knock $ 25 off your total bill. The gift certificates are worth $ 25 but only sold for $ 10 (and with coupon codes, you can get 40%-80% of the $ 10).

Love the atmosphere, very kind service, great food, decent prices. While a bit more than my typical tiny Thai spots, I will def be back soon.
The mojitos were a little too sweet… but the steamed dumplings and ginger shrimp were excellent. We slurped up all the sauce. We were a bit annoyed, however, that it was 2 bucks for a teeny plate of brown rice.
Excited to visit again!

Price: Reasonably Priced
Atmosphere: Asian, Modern, Cool vibe
Food: Loved it
Service: Excellent
I think I finally found my new local Thai Restaurant, I’ve been searching since I left San Francisco.
Sake Salmon Nigiri just OK, Spicy Tuna Hand Roll Excellent, Green Curry with Chicken Excellent. Rice needs a little work.
Service was near perfect, Tim our waiter was great and everyone else that stopped by to lend an assist.
One small suggestion, I asked a number of friends about this place and all of them said the same thing, the place always looks empty, which could not be further from the truth. I think if you put dining tables up front in the window and seat those tables first it will accurately reflect your success.

I’m sad to say that I found Sura Thai Bistro to be solidly average.
Came here with a friend for dinner on Sat. night, and was warmly greeted by the amicable staff and then escorted to our table. Extremely futuristic and blazing white, the setting is definitely a fun one. From the get go, I thought the techno music was a bit too loud and overdone, but I’m not a fusser.
Cocktail menu is impressive– a good selection of drinks and relatively inexpensive (everything from champagne and pomegranate to a coconut mojito for $ 6 to $ 9). Our super friendly server from New Orleans made a few suggestions and our libations delivered on his promise: delicious and strong, just the way we like ‘em. My drink, the «Dark Knight», tasted like boysenberry syrup!
Their menu is stacked with offerings. We ordered the soft shell crab, papaya salad and gyoza as appetizers. The crab was prepared simply, not much to it, but was still good. The papaya salad satisfied for the most part but we both agreed the accompanying shrimp fell flat. The gyoza? Mhm. Just okay.
We ordered maki for our main courses. Mine, the fried spicy tuna roll, was a bit anemic and lacked the flavor I anticipated. I also tried my friend’s dragon roll. I enjoyed these much more than my own but still found them mediocre.
We may have just made some poor choices– after all, Sura Thai doesn’t specialize in Japanese fare– so I’ll come back and give the pad thai a try. Sura Thai is also an Open Table restaurant… love racking up those diner points! Oh, and I finally nabbed my bubble chair picture!