Ex-Opart Thai Chef Opens Her Own Restaurant Inside Shuttered Lincoln Square Space

The familiar Lincoln Square space where Opart Thai House served customers for 34 years is once more serving tiger cry, pad Thai, and a few new menu items as Green Leaf Thai Cuisine opened its doors on Monday. Many of Opart’s menu items remain at Green Leaf; its chef worked at Opart for decades. The artwork’s been swapped out but the furniture remains the same at 4658 N. Western Avenue.

Opart closed in May and its owners sold to the family of Rattiya Udompaichitkul. She worked for years at Opart and her family ran Java Thai, an Old Irving Park restaurant that closed in 2015. Udompaichitkul’s son, Deer, is helping his 65-year-old mother out with the business including setting up an Instagram page for the restaurant.

Green Leaf’s menu has a few new items that Udompaichitkul always wanted to serve at Opart. That includes stir-fried meekrati, which is made with pink noodles. A new restaurant specialty section also touts “Basilly Pearfectly Lemonade.” The pun explains the drink. Other new items include sai oua, a Northeastern Thai sausage, and garlic black pepper chicken wings.

After more than three decades, the owners of Opart left Lincoln Square where it served some of the better Thai food in Chicago. Despite the success — they’ve since opened in South Loop and West Town — the end of the run in Lincoln Square wasn’t the happiest thanks, in part, to problems with the health inspector. Green Leaf has a chance to give the space a fresh start. Locals are keeping their eye on this one, as Lincoln Square has no shortage of Thai options.

Browse through the menu below. Green Leaf Thai Cuisine is now open.

Green Leaf Thai Cuisine, 4659 N. Western Avenue, (773) 989-8517, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.