Chef Thai Dang is a highly recognized Vietnamese-American chef based in Chicago, known for his work at HaiSous and his past venture, Embeya. He has received multiple James Beard Award nominations for his culinary...
HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen is located in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood and offers authentic and innovative Vietnamese cuisine. It is known for its unique flavors and welcoming atmosphere.
Customer Perception
Customers generally praise HaiSous for its authentic and innovative Vietnamese dishes, unique flavors, and welcoming atmosphere. The restaurant is recognized for its elevated approach to Vietnamese cuisine.
Additional Details
HaiSous is described as Chicago's best Vietnamese restaurant in Pilsen. It is a James Beard nominated restaurant.
Vegetarian options available (e.g., Vietnamese Curry)
Best Times to Visit
The restaurant is open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday and for brunch on Sundays. Specific peak times are not detailed, but Sunday brunch is highlighted.
This has to be one of the best deals in The City!! Their Happy Hour menu at this Vietnamese resto packs massive flavors and the portions are way larger than you would expect at these prices.
Bún chá was a flavor bomb and portions wont leave you hungry. Unlike the dinner portion, the grilled pork, crispy spring roll, rice noodle, pork broth, mint & herbs are all served as a bowl, pre-mixed. But thats great cause takes out the guess-work on how to enjoy this dish. The aromatics of this dish was amazing, star anise and lemon-grass are prominent.
Their papaya salad with chopped homemade beef jerky in soy sesame vinaigrette was refreshing and light on the palate.
Lastly, their crispy chicken wings in sweet chili & fish sauce with garlic & scallions was texturally rich and much like Korean style sweet wings. The size of these wings was exceptional and ample serving.
Ill definitely be back for more of their happy hour dishes. The staff was friendly and helpful when making the food choices!!
HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen is undeniably good, which is why the hype left me somewhat confused. Every dish was enjoyable, yet nothing truly stood out as exceptional. We were in Chicago celebrating my partner's birthday weekend and decided to visit this place for a dinner date. On arrival, we had to wait about 5-ish minutes to be seated, which wasn’t bad, but it then took around 10 minutes for our server to come by and ask if we wanted water or drinks. The cocktails were good, and the ambience was lovely—well decorated, with an open kitchen and chefs’ counter that add energy to the space. The food itself was really good. Our curry was great, and overall the dishes had good portions and beautiful presentation. That said, the service unfortunately took away from the experience. When I asked if there were more veggie options or if anything could be modified, the server wasn’t particularly helpful. I completely understand that weekends can get busy during rush hours, but I wish there had been a bit more effort. One frustrating moment was with our drinks—our last cocktail arrived when we had almost finished dinner, even after reminding the staff twice. For a birthday dinner date with my husband, that was a bit disappointing. Overall, I would definitely recommend visiting for the food. Just don’t keep your expectations too high when it comes to service. It’s a good place to enjoy cocktails, food, and the vibe (depending on who your server is—hopefully they don’t kill it), and the pricing is reasonable for a date night or a casual hangout with friends.
5
This place is a must-visit for Vietnamese food in Chicago. We called ahead about 30 minutes to reserve a table, and everything went smoothly. The service was efficient, and the food came out quickly. Most importantly, the taste was absolutely amazing. Definitely a spot we’ll keep coming back to!
1
Came for Chicago Restaurant Week 2026. Dinner was $60 per person, served family style. The appetizers were nice (the chopped clams being the winner), but the main platter’s portion was so tiny, and considering that the proteins were just pork sausage and (dry) chicken, it was definitely not worth the price. The banana rice pudding dessert was also lackluster and again had the teeniest portion.
Service was good though with constant water refills and a change of plates but I don’t see myself coming back after this experience. Wished we did à la carte instead :(
5
The happy hour menu here was fantastic, the tasting menu looked great too if I would’ve had more time. All the dishes I had were complex but clean & well balanced. Beverage options were extremely complimentary to food menus.
