Ruby of Siam Skokie

Decent food, decent prices, friendly staff. A colleague and I went there when another place wasn’t available; quite happy we were here.

Not impressed at all. And I have had some pretty mediocre Thai, but this one takes the cake. I ordered Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp. What I got was a flavorless dish with lukewarm shrimp that tasted like they were made for a cocktail and then heated up to make my dish. Not going back at all. Plus I spent over $ 20 for my food! Yikes!

The place is less than 15min away from my place.
It took over an hour an a half to get my two dishes.
And… don’t tell me the delivery guy is en route when I can clearly hear someone shouting «15min» in the background.
This will be the last time I order delivery from here.
Delivery guy was very apologetic.
Food was okay.

Thai places are ubiquitous and most are run of the mill. Not this place. A bright spacious dining area with friendly service, a deep variety, and fair prices make Ruby’s a keeper. I just wish it were close to the house. We started with excellent won ton soup, another potentially pedestrian choice, and enjoyed pad Thai that was lighter and more flavorful than others, and shrimp green curry with BIG shrimp and lots of Thai eggplant and other veggies. I liked the rice service in the faux steel cauldron too. Very attentive service as evidenced by constant water refills. A gem of a restaurant.

I stopped here for lunch today and opted for their lunch buffet to be able to sample a variety of items. It was ok, but nothing was particularly exciting. My favorite thing was the tofu pad thai. I ordered some chicken pad thai to take home and although the food was tasty, the chicken was very dry.
The service was ok, but not very inviting. If I’m in the area, I may try it again some day.

A-​OK for decent Thai food if you’re near the Old Orchard-​Skokie area. I honestly prefer the Evanston location (on Ridge) over this one.
Order:
–I ordered carryout and my experience was okay. My order was not messed up in any way and my Thai iced tea (which I highly recommend if you like sweet drinks) was perfect. It was all ready for me to pick up within the time they told me over the phone: 15 minutes. The Thai iced tea is also fitted with a plastic handle so it’s not likely to spill over in your car! YAY!
Food:
–The food was decent but not the best Thai food that I’ve had. The tom kha soup (which is my all time favorite thing to order) was kind of off. The good news is that they loaded it up with protein! YAY– but I’ve had better tom kha soup in other places in the area that I liked a lot more.
–The MUST HAVE (which is a Ruby of Siam must) is their coconut rice! It’s so delicious and I have not been able to find it at any other Thai restaurant in the North Shore area! It’s sweet and delicious but the portions here were tiny! Sad face.
–I also tried the green curry with seafood. The seafood was cool– there were actually squid pieces and oysters and «actual seafood» which I liked. The flavors were decent but I prefer the red curry from another Thai place if I’m in the mood for Thai curry.
Notes:
–Parking is plentiful as there is a HUGE LOT!
–They also sell Thai snacks in a small fridge near checkout.
–They have cute décor in the restaurant– like pillows with Thai elephants.

This was the second time that I’ve visited Ruby of Siam, and I think it should stop there. I can’t express anything good about the food. I ordered Pad Paak Roum in search of vegetables, meat, and flavor; I did get vegetables. I ordered the dish with beef, but it bad; the beef was dry and hard to chew and didn’t taste all that fresh. I am not an expert by any means, but this was not prime meat. The sauce smelled off; I wish there was a better explanation for «off,» but I don’t think there is… I’ve had Thai many times and generally enjoy it, but this place costs too much for the lack of quality. It’s best skipped.