Le Colonial
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: (312) 255-0088
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Walton Place
- Directions:
- El: Red Line to Chicago; 22 to Dearborn St/Walton Ave; 36 to Oak St; 145, 146, 147, 151 to Delaware Pl/Michigan Ave
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 5pm-11pm , Sat 12pm-2:30pm, 5pm-12am, Sun 12pm-2:30pm, 5pm-10pm
Message from Le Colonial
An escapists paradise in the heart of the Gold Coast
- Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine
- Private Space Available
- Lunch and Dinner 7 Days/wk
Paid advertisement by Le Colonial.
Editorial Review for Le Colonial – by Citysearch Staff
The Scene
Recline beneath a palm tree in a cushy rattan chair and take in the luxurious surroundings, as fringed green lampshades glow with amber light and ceiling fans swirl in slow motion. The crowd is Gold Coast well-to-do downstairs, hip and young at the lively upstairs bar.
The Food
Perfectly seared sea scallops are served over julienned green beans, bean sprouts and a nest of rice noodles, while wok-seared monkfish, a plate of tender morsels in green curry with lemon grass and peanuts, is one of Chicago's best appetizers. Filet mignon might surprise you--the menu doesn't mention that the steak's been diced into little pieces and stir-fried with yams and green beans. Wonderful. For dessert, the Vietnamese tapioca isn't like the American version, and that's just fine. It arrives in a bowl, deliciously warm and soupy, with chunks of banana and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Look GoodSkip the quiet downstairs dining room and scoot to the upstairs lounge, one of the sexiest bars in town. You can order from the full menu and exotic specialty cocktail list, and smoking is allowed.
User Reviews for Le Colonial
02/09/2008 Posted by fallingbeam
This place is just more proof that you can't get good, finely prepared asian food in Chicago. I'm Singaporean, and I've eaten Asian cuisine prepared by excellect chefs from Hong Kong, China, Shanghai, Thailand, etc. often in fine dining situations. To me it's blatantly clear that the stuff that we got at Le Colonial is food that any self-respecting Chinese restaurant would be ashamed to serve. I ordered the Sea Bass - and while I have to admit that the ingredients were of good quality, the execution was just absolutely uninspired, not to mention lackadaisical. The way they deployed the sauce just lacked any kind of fine touch, and so what should have been a clean, happily savoury dish turned out to be just over-salted and overly rich. An absolute waste of a nice piece of fish and some otherwise lovely tomatoes. My partner ordered a kind of broth with tofu. That was absolutely mystifying. It was basically just a tomato base that tasted like it came from a can, with what seemed to be cooked-from-frozen vegetables (the kind that come pre-cubed etc.), and some otherwise unremarkable tofu. Fine the tofu was egg-ish tofu, so it was smooth and not tough, but the combination of it just made for an over-salted soup that (and I'm not exaggerating) you could have poured out of a can. Whoever let that leave the kitchen, much less get on the menu, must have testicles of pure steel. My appetizer was barbequed pork ribs, which were okay. She got what were supposed to be "popiah", which, to be fair, we know has many many variations. But these again were nothing that you couldn't get from a half-way decent takeout place. Basically it's just a not-even-that-fancy spring roll. For dessert I had the fried banana wanton, which to anyone else is a variation on pisang goreng. Not bad, but someone seemed to have found a new toy when it came to the powdered sugar. Still not as good as some of the well made versions back in Singapore. As a last note, the decor is embarassing.
Pros: I could get a reservation on a Friday night
Cons: Mystifying food. Decor put together by a drunken sailor with no taste.
01/06/2008 Posted by ja897
I was very impressed with the service and atmosphere here. They seated our party of 10 on time and the service was great throughout the night. The food was so YUMMY! We all loved it! They really made my birthday last October a meaninful one. Since then I have been back a few times and have continued to be happy with their service level and the food. I highly recommend LC for a nice evening out!
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