Le Bouchon
Chicago, IL 60647-4570
Phone: (773) 862-6600
- Price:
- $$
- Cross Street:
- Armitage Avenue
- Directions:
- Bus: 50 to Armitage Ave; 73 to Damen Ave
- Best of Citysearch:
- Romantic Dining 2006
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 5:30pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-12am
Editorial Review for Le Bouchon – by J.P. Anderson
The Scene
Cozy little Le Bouchon is crowded just about every night, and it's not hard to see why. With its tile floor, tightly packed tables, and yellowing framed photographs on the walls, this place feels like it was plucked from a Parisian side street. Add gracious service and great prices, and voila--you've got the ultimate neighborhood date place.
The Food
Serving simple French classics at great prices, Le Bouchon teems with regulars. They come back for steamed mussels and French onion soup, ragout of duck and sauteed frog legs. Snails Burgundy arrive bubbling hot, with nothing but fragrant garlic and parsley coming between you and the tender, meaty morsels. Steak is tenderly, perfectly grilled, with tangy house butter and crispy frites. Juicy rabbit loin pleases with a hearty accompaniment of bowtie pasta, mushrooms and vegetables in white wine sauce. And profiteroles--the perfect French dessert--are worth the guilt: vanilla ice cream between pastry shells and showered in chocolate sauce.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Know Before You GoThe room is small and fills up quickly, so be sure to make reservations or avoid going during peak hours, unless you don't mind waiting up to an hour for a table.
Save MoneyOn Monday nights, all bottles of wine are half-price; and on Tuesdays, get a three-course dinner for $22.
User Reviews for Le Bouchon
11/09/2007 Posted by bvasilios
I have to say that this was one of the worst restaurant experiences I have had in quite some time. The waitress was a humorless and pretentious snob and the rest of the staff was not far off. I am not sure who manages the restaurant but they are doing a terrible job of maintaining a friendly and welcoming environment. Serving french style food does not mean one must fall into the stereotypical rudeness of french waiters. Any good restaurant pays very close attention to the details when service is involved. Now the food was not much better than the service. We ordered escargot and sent them back because they were criminally underseasoned (for waitresses, that means undersalted) and received another seafood appetizer in exchange and found it also terribly undersalted. We are talking about day one in culinary school. Salt your food!! The entrees were also terribly seasoned. Maybe it was a bad day there but there are plenty of fantastic restaurants in this city that you need not waste your time with rude servers and uncreative badly executed food.
Pros: Ok room
Cons: Everything else
10/24/2007 Posted by david94
I went there on a friday night at 7PM with my girlfriend. We knew it was going to be crowded but we were still expecting some kind of romantic setting. Actually, this restaurant is like a low cost tavern as far as ambiance. It is just impossible for people to hear you unless you shout. It is so noisy you dont even want to talk with your partner. And service was very slow too. The staff was astonishingly not nice at all, like they don't care about their job, so we gave 10% tip only (wanted to give even less though). Oh when they fill your glass with water and ice cubes, you end up having water splashing all over the place, which is not professional at all. The food was OK but not as good as Mon Ami Gabi. Appetizers and Desserts were excellent but entrees were cooked the american way and not the french way, some ingredients were tasteless. In the end, I would NOT recommend this place...
Pros: excellent desserts and appetizers
Cons: Noise, narrow, not friendly, average entrees
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