Haisous Vietnamese Kitchen

Found this restaurant from the Michelin Guide as a Bib Gourmand restaurant. Meaning it a good quality, good value cooking restaurant. It is a bit on the pricey end, but you get what you pay for. The service was great. The staff were knowledgeable and attentive. They gave good recommendations and accommodating to our party's dietary restrictions. The Vietnamese vegetable curry was sooooo good. There wasn't enough rice to eat with it. Creamy and flavorful. The chicken wings were also pretty good, nice starter to share with the table. Definitely worth trying. As I was leaving, saw another table eating a fish that looked good. I'll be back to try the other things on the menu.

Pleasantly surprised by HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen and their menu. I did not expect this type of service in Pilsen. We enjoyed Happy Hour at our table... Drink and app specials are 4-6 pm and had the opportunity to try a bunch of dishes before dining into the main menu. Papaya salad, Crispy Chicken Wings, octopus salad and grilled eggplant are to die for. Accompanied by the Fig Spritz and Old Fashioned really sets a nice balance of sweet flavors with salt and spicy food. I do highly recommend the Grilled Meat platter to share amongst 3-4 people with a great mixture of meats and sausages. The pace of the courses are well planned, just a bit hard to wrap up and get the bill. I would recommend coming early and avoiding weekends as the area is difficult to find parking. otherwise high marks for HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen.

Tasty, authentic, and delicious. The location is a bit out of the way from the crowds and is well worth a journey to reach this well crafted restaurant. The drinks are well made and innovative. The chicken wings were crispy and strongly flavored. The papaya salad was crisp and packed a punch. The bun cha broth was amazing and the pork was tender. The biggest surprise was the vegetarian curry with daikon and bamboo which had much more flavor than expected.

HaiSous has one of the more affordable prix-fixe tasting menus in Chicago at $68/pp for 3 courses (8 dishes) without any beverage pairing (though I think it’s $70 now). The menu rotates seasonally. My partner and I went on a Sunday night with a reservation and it wasn’t very crowded. The ambience was elegant, but not overly fancy. The service was quick and friendly, and each of the dishes came very quickly. Overall, the sauces in each of the dishes really stood out to me— they were simultaneously strong and delicate in flavor and made the dishes pop out. The first “for fun” course came with banana blossom salad, pork sausage summer rolls, and Arctic Char crudo. The summer rolls weren’t too impressive and I’ve definitely had better ones at restaurants in Argyle, but the other 2 dishes were fantastic. The crudo tasted light and fresh, and paired well with the fish sauce flavor and garnishes. The banana blossom salad was my favorite, with tons of unique flavors and textures, both crunchy and chewy. The main course came with a braised beef dish, roasted sea bass, Chinese broccoli, and rice. The braised beef was incredibly tender and flavorful, especially when marinated in the savory broth. The Chinese broccoli was cooked to a perfect softness and topped with fried garlic pieces that added a nice crunch and flavor. The sea bass was also good— it could have been more tender, but the tomato sauce it came in was delicious. The dessert was a Banana Cookie Crust Cream Puff, which was pretty good and not too sweet. Overall, it was a fun and pleasant experience, and it was a good amount of food for 2 people too! — Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5 Food: 4.8/5 Ambience: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Overall Value: 4.8/5

Lovely service. We did the tasting menu and the service was incredibly attentive and informative about each dish. We felt very well taken care of.