Zaab E Lee
★ 4.5 · 191 reviews Chicago Opened Opening date unknown
Thai street food behind a blank concrete front
The concrete exterior on West Lawrence gives away nothing. That's part of why Zaab E Lee stayed a local secret longer than the food deserved. Inside, it's a small owner-run Thai street-food kitchen, often with just one person working the floor.
Heat levels are taken seriously here, not dialled down for anyone, and the som tam gets pounded properly in the mortar. Grilled pork belly and the noodle dishes are what regulars order. Nobody has pinned down the exact opening date.
What guests say
Reviews by Google-
Danny 83 reviews · Local Guide 21 July 2026
From the outside, this place is so unsuspecting but it was SO GOOD! The decor inside is really bright and colorful. We had the pot stickers for an appetizer and for our entrees we had the Pad Kee Mao with chicken and the Pad Ka Prow Moo Krob and everything was perfectly cooked, so well seasoned, and delicious. Definitely recommend and will be back
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Christina 691 reviews · Local Guide 13 July 2026
When I got take out at Zaab-E-LEE 8 months ago, they did not mess around when it comes to heat. Som tum Thai was also great: spicy, tangy, savory, and subtly sweet. Nam tok was a fiery flavorbomb but the beef was quite dry and didn't have any smokiness to it. However, my recent visit to dine in fell short. We requested for our food to be Thai spicy but they were much less spicy than the takeout, which were at a lower spice level. I was also not a big fan of the use of arugula as garnish for Thai food. Nam tok was quite juicy and smoky this time but the cut was so sinewy and fatty it ruined the dish. Tum zaab was unremarkable.
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Brett Bergen 52 reviews · Local Guide 15 June 2026
Our first experience at this wonderful place. The waitstaff are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We love Thai food, but have never been to a place like Zaab-E-LEE so I had our waiter make recommendations all over the menu so we could try primarily items that we've never had before. We loved how fresh and colorful every dish was. Everything we ordered were hits. We definitely will be back to this neighborhood gem. It is BYOB if you are looking to have an alcoholic beverage with your meal. Otherwise, they have coke products along with Thai coffee and Thai tea.
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Maurice Friedman 60 reviews · Local Guide 15 June 2026
This place is the real deal. Super cute decor. Papaya salad was great although on the white boy spicy side. The Pra Sam Rod pictured was sweet and savory fish. And the best thing I've eaten this year. And BYO
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Bee A 58 reviews · Local Guide 25 May 2026
Food was Ah-mazing! We had the beef salad, drunken noodles and the three flavor fish. It was delicious, fresh, and flavorful. Service was friendly and great but they definitely need to get more servers. Our guy was hustling all over the place. Atmosphere was fun and vibrant really gives you the vibe that you were in the streets of Thailand.
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