Simply Fantastic!! I had not been to Aruba for a while and that was a mistake. 20 years ago Charlie Trotter told he that Aruns was the only other restaurant he would suggest other than his own. He had a very good point!

We went on a Sunday night and had a quiet dinner with impeccable service. Waiter was very knowledgeable about the dishes and paired wines. Each dish was a small piece of art. Waiter generous with his pours and allowed us to enjoy our wine in between courses so we didn’t feel rushed.

It was delicious! Would definitely recommend! The service was outstanding

Incredible take on Thai cuisine! The service was outstanding, each dish in the 12 course tasting menu was a revelation. Highly recommend the experience.

The food was nice, but it does not justify the price level due to a bad atmosphere (very “unclassy”) and bad location.

Everyday Thai meals with some fancy garnish carving at 10x the price. The waiter tried his hardest to glamorize dishes which are very common in Thai food fairs / kitchens. Nothing glamorous about it. We gasped at the $300.00 tab for two- w/o alcohol!

Perfect place if money doesn't matter and you enjoy empty restaurants on weekends.

This place is special. They have taken Thai food to a new level. Not only was the food good it was beautiful. Its not cheep but you pay for what you get. Keep in mind when you do a 8,10 or 12 course tasting menu you might not like everything but I would guess you will like most things. Also don't be in a big hurry. A meal like this will take a couple of hours. They also have wine pairings which we did not do.

Tried the 12 course, it was good, some items inconsistent.

The service was impeccable and the ambience perfect for a romantic or celebratory experience, and the cocktail and wine pairings were a highlight, but the food was underwhelming! Where was the heat? Where was the spice? Or if not that, then where was the flavor? There were maybe two exceptional dishes, but otherwise unmemorable food. We indulged in the lobster course, which was very expensive, but was neither a traditional buttery version, or a Thai version (which is what we were hoping for), plus it was chewy and unimpressive displayed.

If it wasn't so expensive, I wouldn't write a harsh review, but the $600 bill for two should have left me feeling completely impressed and blown away by deliciousness and unique flavors. I'm OK with spending good money for an exceptional experience, but the presentation (of food and service) at Arun's seemed a greater concern than the taste.

Overall excellent but felt that we were a bit rushed when our server poured our wine and served our first course while we were still sipping cocktails

Always a wonderful experience. I enjoy hosting friends who have not experienced Arun's before; it is magical!

Wonderful food. Really terrific. Great Service. But it all comes at a price. Not for the fiscally faint-of-heart.

Great quality and very flavorful. One of the best tasting menu experiences we've had in Chicago. They even gave us a special treat at the end to help us celebrate our special occassion, and were very attentive to my wife's dietary restrictions with flavorful and unique substitutions (not just removing items from the dish).

I would caution anyone who is thinking about dining at Arun's. For a prix fixe restaurant that promises an elevated dining experience, this restaurant fell well short. The food was mediocre, and the price was one of the highest I've paid in this genre. Food was served lukewarm, the quality of the ingredients was low, and I've had tastier thai food at my corner thai restaurant. I actually doubt whether a chef was on staff when we went, or whether they had a waiter assembling pre-cooked food before each course was brought out. At one point I was served a gristly piece of wagu beef. When I mentioned it to the waiter, I was not offered another piece of meat or anything to make up for the fact that one of the most pricey dishes on the menu was inedible. The staff was friendly, but the food was unacceptable. For an experience that is costly for almost anyone, this felt like a robbery.

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.