Our own private niche: great place for conversation. Wonderful food, creative and delicious. Service was abundant and professional. Presentation of each dish: very special- just look at my photo: the carrot ‘basket’ of spring ‘flowers’.

We have been to Arun's several times over the years and had enjoyed it. It closed for a while for "remodeling" however none was evident.

We had a 6:45 pm reservation on Friday, March 23. The website says that they open at 5. We arrived at about 6:15 for a pre-dinner drink in the lounge. There were buckets and mops scattered about, and they said they really weren't prepared for us, but that we could have a drink in the lounge. Fine, had the drink, seated at 6:45.

Course after course came out barely warm - There was no sense that there was any cooking going on in the restaurant. In fact, there was our party of 5 and one other table of 2, and we felt that it was likely that they chose not to hire a chef for the evening but rather to warm up some leftovers. The scallops and lobster were fishy and not fresh. The duck was inedible. The wait staff was unable to answer several questions about the food, although one did manage to tell us how tired he was after his day at his first job.

Bottom line - our bill was $1400 for five people for food that was not freshly prepared. We will not return.

We had a lovely time! Fine dining on Thai cuisine with impeccable service. Thank you Paul & George for making our evening so memorable! Thank you Chef Arun for painting the mountain scene on the birthday boy's dessert plate- what a treat!

Food was good and interesting but experience overall (service, ambience, etc) did not merit the prices.

George and Paul were amazing hosts. Thank you kindly!

Outstanding service and beautiful presentation

Spectacular as always!

Food and service excellent as usual. The presentation is artistic.

Excellent! The carved garnishes were worth the price of dinner themselves! And such an array of wonderful dishes in the 13-course tasting menu!

We chose the 10 course pre-fixed menu and it was delicious. One of the people in our party did not eat seafood, so they substituted anything from the sea with meat and they were very accommodating. It ended up being around $200 per person after drinks and a tip, and it was completely worth it!

Very special place... everyone should experience Arun’s

Cocktail were the highlight! Meal was pretty but flavors were extremely unremarkable. Wine pairings were poorly coordinated both in flavor and amount (one ~3oz pour to accompany between 2 and 4 courses). Staff seemed uncoordinated and confused throughout the evening.

This was our third visit. The Pre-fixe menu we chose had 10 courses, with lots of seafood, beef and vegetarian samplings. The presentation was gorgeous and of course delicious, though they were almost too pretty to eat. We especially love the carved carrot decorations that accompany several of the dishes. This is splurge for us, but we feel for a special occasion we get our money's worth.

superb presentation, service and variety with creative twists on Thai staples and other gourmet dishes. Room got cold for a while but was near 0 degrees outside.

Arun's defines perfection. This was our third time, and it just keeps getting better. We brought the New York relatives, who were similarly impressed. Arun's reimagines Thai cuisine in a way I have never seen anywhere else. You have to go.

Always an extremely special and delicious dining experience!

Amazing experience. Absolutely one of the most amazing dining experiences ever.

Fantastic food ,great service . Expensive quality experience.

Great, but expensive

The food was lovely and well-presented. The wait staff was not 5 star at all. I have been to restaurants like this in Europe and in the US and there is an expectation of wine suggestions and pairings which wasn't offered, the waiters constantly reached across me to put in new silverware...which happened 8 times, and the conversation with us felt like a chat you might have with a stranger on a bus..ugh. I was truly disappointed by this and felt that it made the experience average. Arun you need to take note.

Second visit, although our last visit was over a decade earlier. This was a memorable meal, from beginning to end. Arun had to accommodate our dietary restrictions (pescaterian and no shellfish) and even so, every course was remarkable in its presentation and its flavor. We loved it. Highly recommend for a fun or special night out.

A culinary high for foodies. Not like anything else.

It is rare for me to write a review, but Arun's was quite a wonderful experience from top to bottom. From the moment we arrived we were greeted with genuine warmth. You could feel the staff was all about making the guests comfortable with annticipation of the delicious meal to come, and it certainly lived up to that. Each small plate dish was not only delectable, but exquisitely presented. (see photos) Understand before you go that the dining is prix fixe with a choice of 10 or 12 course meals and in my opinion was just the right way to go--a beautiful melding of flavors. The staff briefly explained each dish with Arun's recommendation for getting the most out of the flavors. This is not a place that you would want to take young children or even teenagers, as it is pricey and unless your child can sit quietly and has an evolved palate it is best left for adults.

Let me just say I stopped everything I was doing to take time and write a review about this excellent restaurant. I travel for work and have had the good fortune to eat at many superb restaurants across the country as well as Chicago and none surpass Arun's. For me, Arun's is the foodie experience of all experiences. Beautifully plated, excellent flavors and superior service. We were treated like royalty.
We had a group of 4 for "sweetest day" on Saturday night. Our open table reservation was confirmed by the restaurant and food allergies and preferences were screened ahead of arrival. The women in our group had the 10-course banquet and the men chose the 12-course. The cocktails were mixed to our special requests and the courses were served, described in detail and brought with just the right interval between courses. The attention to detail in the carved carrot baskets and goldfish decoration on the plates added to the fun and festivity of the evening. I would tell you what my favorites were, but honestly we are still talking about the delicious meal 4 days later, so let's just say this. Save for your special occasion, this is an expensive evening, but well-worth every penny. We all commented on the fact that although the restaurant was fully booked, we noticed that you can have an easy conversation without raising voices because it isn't too loud. That in itself is underrated. Parking was easy without the hassle of the downtown traffic. There is a lot across the street and parking curbside if you have an early reservation. We all highly recommend Arun's, this Chicago Thai gem, and will be back again.

Did not live up to the hype...

Great service, fantastic food. Everything was beautifully presented.

This place should be packed nightly. Amazing food, wine, cocktails, ambiance, service, everything. The paintings done by Arun's brother were incredible visions. Cannot wait to return.

We first ate at Arun’s 25 years ago. This was our 3rd time. This is a special, one of a kind place still run by a run himself. Eac tim we visit has been memorable and unique . The night we were there recently Arun said hello and was happy to take a picture with us. The food is amazing and interesting. Be warned, it is pricey. But worth every penny. Love this place.

Aruns is a great restaurant. The twelve course tasting menu was worth every penny. We also opted for the wine pairings with each course. The wait staff was extremely knowledgeable about the food and wine. My husband and I found were introduced to a fantastic sparkling rose that we went out and purchased a case of the next day. This is defiantly a great place for a special occasion. Be prepared to spend 2-3 hours getting through the 10 or 12 course menu.

We had a SENSATIONAL time at Arun's celebrating a special birthday. Every dish was so fresh, flavorful, and imaginative! Every dish on the tasting menu was a delight for all of the senses. I cannot wait to go back. Thank you for making this meal such a memorable and meaningful experience!

Menu limited to 10 or 12 course chef selection and very pricey but the experience is worth an occasional visit. Some of the dishes were a bit too spicy for my wife's taste but overall a very good time.

They spend a lot of time making pretty plates, but the food was not very good.
It is horrendously expensive and very disappointing for a special occasion.
Believe me, our waiter tried, but the value and taste are just not there.
I ate here 20 years ago, and at that time, I remember thinking it was great!
Not so now. In addition, we were two of maybe 6 people in the whole bloody
place. Located way out of the city, so our rides plus, champagne and the meal
totaled nearly $500. Way BAD!!!!!!

Food was excellent. One of my favorite tasting menus ive had. Only odd thing was that we were the only ones there on a Thursday night. Flavors were fantastic, and waiter was extremely knowledgeable of the dishes. Overall was a great experience, only negative was its pricey so be ready to pay up.

One of the most memorable meals of my life. Food, service, and ambiance was superb. Thank you for accomodating my short time frame and allowing me to get to the airport on time. This was a must during my 24 hours in Chicago.

I don't write these on a regular basis so I will leave you with some bulletpoint highlights -
- Visited for a special occasion - Wife's birthday
- Our reservation was for 5PM so it was early and very quiet since we were the only patrons in the restaurant (it started to pick up around 630)
- Getting there early allowed us time to chat with Paul, the Managing Partner/Director who seems like a great guy
- Started with a couple drinks off the cocktail menu - Delicious - we ended up having a couple more and they were all great. Im no oenophile but the wine list seemed like there was a good amount of options at various price points
- We went with the 10 course menu and the food was amazing (presentation and taste) from start to finish
- The server was good but a little slow on the descriptions of the food which I feel should just roll off the tongue at a high-end restaurant like this - maybe he was new. It clearly didn't affect the food or getting it to the table quickly but the descriptions weren't as crisp as everything else for the evening, thus, the four stars for service.
- They served my wife a birthday cupcake which she loved, and they comped us each a nice glass of Pinot Gris toward the end of our meal which was a really nice touch and gave us a little more time to talk to Paul.
- It was an amazing night and we are planning to return for my birthday in December

It is an amazing restaurant. The decoration is great, the personnel is outstanding, all of it without exception, and the food is simply delicious.

We have been coming here for special occasions for years. We live the food and the ambiance. The original Thai artwork is fantastic, too. We will definitely be back.

The meal was the best one we've had in years! Service was great, wine pairings were spot on and the 13 course meal and presentation was outstanding.

This will be a meal that I remember for a lifetime. A friend and I have been wanting to go for years and we decided Friday night was the night. We both felt like the staff became our close friends by the end of the night. The Chef served us two of the 12 courses and spoke to us. We found new wines that we loved. Each course was beautifully plated and tasted spectacular! There was so much thought and detail put into each plate. I am positive I have never had lobster prepared correctly as the lobster tail at Arun's was so delicate that I can't even describe it. Beautiful!

Fantastic meal and service a very special place in Chicago.