This is a great place to take your significant other and has a romantic feel about it. Â Mussels were really delicious and service was great! Â I had a yummy steak sandwich here as well. Â The Groupon I had for this place made an excellent meal very inexpensive and I would encourage others to come here especially if you are on a date because they capture that classy Bistrot vibe without being rude.
Review Source:I haven't tried many authentic french restaurants in Chicago but I do have some sense of the taste. Hubby and I were going to Second City for his birthday so I wanted to have dinner nearby. I made reservations here a week before and luckily found a groupon for this place a night before his b-day.
We went on a Saturday night and it wasn't over crowded and there was no wait. I ordered MOULES MARINIERES Â Mussels (pretty good) and French onion (soso, have had better) for starters and for main course ordered the POISSON BLANC AMANDINE Pan-seared Whitefish ( it was Ahh-okkay).
Although their food was great, their service really needs some revamping.
The hostess was really nice but our service (a petite Asian woman) was very indifferent towards us (my fiance and me). We sat at the bar for a good 10-15 minutes before we were even acknowledged by the bartender. Then when we were seated at our table, our server seemed surprised that a younger Hispanic couple was seated there. Now, I am not the type of person to pull the race card but I did notice that we were the only ones in the restaurant other than the bus boys that were Hispanic. It just seemed odd that she was so hesitant to serve us. Almost like she was afraid. It was really disappointing.
Like I said, they food was wonderful! We had the escargot as our appetizer, my fiance had the steak frites and I had the blanc de poulet au moutarde. So good!
I'm undecided whether we would dine their again because of the service (or lack thereof). We'll see.
Its just an a-ok for now but its entirely possible that we ordered wrong. Â I'm basing that on how very busy it go early in the evening and on how many of those people seemed to be regulars. Â The food for me was just ok and the service was borderline not good - at least our waiter was not great but the people clearing, pouring water and whatnot were great.
The space is very cute. Â Like old timey Paris. Â Very cozy too. Â It was a cold and rainy day so I think we were here at the right time. Â We both ordered cocktails which was a mistake. Â They were bourbon drinks. Â Not the worst bourbon cocktail I've ever had but it was up there. Â It took me a long time to drink it. Â I had to ask myself why was I not ordering wine in a French place! Â I got the pear salad and onion soup. Â They both arrived at the same time which is annoying. Â So I let my soup cool off while I enjoy the slightly overdressed salad. Â My boyfriend got the roasted chicken. Â He said it was mundane. Â The fries looked good! Â His cocktail was also not enjoyable. Â It was bourbon with orange perfume. Â The strange thing was that if you drank it through the cocktail straws it was much better! Â My soup was good although by this time almost too cool. Â I was looking for the bread. Â Probably b/c it had soaked up all of the soup! Â
During this time our waiter didn't check in on us. Â He came back to ask about dessert which we did not have.
I suspect the great reviews are from regulars? Â Just a guess. Â Due to the difficulty to park I suspect we won't be back unless we happen to be in the area. Â I would go back just not out of my way.
Seating by the stairs is never the best place to be but at BM it has a certain ambiance when you look up and see great legs and butts ascend and descend. To that add the privacy implicit on being "on the rails" as it were, and you'll find that particular table for two to be more interesting than may appear at first sight.
If having an appetizer, I always order the mussels. They are just amazing and highly recommended. For the main course, I ordered flank steak, medium (pink, no blood). And yet again, the chef decided to under cook the steak. Not just mine but my friend's, which was ordered medium-rare and came out rare. I sent mine back but asked for a new steak, as recooking a steak ruins the taste. The second one came out undercooked (medium-rare) and was sent back again, this time it came back medium to medium-well, which was as close to my request as I was likely to get; yes, I know it wasn't a new steak the third time but the lesson was learned. Fries were tasty. Chef or cooks at BM are no different than those at L2O or many other restaurants, they blissfully ignore both what is ordered and the fact that I am paying for what I want to eat, not what they want to serve, and if they don't want to cook food to certain temperatures, say so, those of us who want different will dine elsewhere.
Yes, I go back because overall the food and service are good and it has a great atmosphere, just keep sending your steak back until they get it right. Eventually, they will get tired of the carousel and cook it right the first time.
A quaint, kind of old style restaurant.....a bit intimidating to walk in. The service was great, very attentive. The good was...ok. I had the mussels and they were all right, some were not opened...also offered the white fish, it lacked flavor. Overall, I think the restaurant can do better with their food. Their menu was out dated and just.....old. eh, so so.the dessert was just completely disappointing. I always finish my dessert.this is the first time I didn't.
Review Source:Something happened to this place. Â I've had some great dinners at Bistrot Margot, but prior to my dinner there recently, I had not been to BM in about a year. Â This experience left me underwhelmed. Â My reservation was early (5:30) on a Friday night and they tried to seat us in the main dining room, right near the kitchen. Â The place was empty enough that we didn't think it would be a big deal to move away from the kitchen. Â Other users have commented on the hostess' blank stare. Â Yup, saw that. Â It took them a few mins to regroup but they brought us upstairs to a nearly empty dining room where there was only one other table occupied.
The french onion soup was as good as I remembered. Â My entree had a healthy portion of veal (2 cutlets), but after 2 bites of the first cutlet, I sliced open the second and noticed it was undercooked. Â My fatal flaw was sending the entire plate back instead of just the raw meat. Â What came back was one (new) cutlet one a new plate with new sides. Â So I lost half of my dinner?! Â The waiter was nowhere to be found so I sucked it up.
Which brings me to my next point - service was super slow, I think there was one waiter for the entire room. Â On a Friday night! Â The table next to us thought they would miss their show and we thought we would never get out of there. Â
I have a groupon to use so I will be back, but I'm not looking forward to it.
i love this area and have had good luck thus far with the restaurants here. Bistro Margot is a nice place to sit and eat with a small group of friends. def not a place to have a romantic quite dinner. loud talkers, loud servers and music as well.
i ordered a whiskey neat (from a respectable list) and my girl had some martini, both good.
we passed on appetizers.
i odered a steak n frites cooked medium rare. My girlfriend had a different steak. both meats were cooked as ordered, great frites and sauces enhanced not over powered the meat.
overall good food, decent priced, just a lil noisey and parking is a drag. def would go back.
I wanted to love it--I was on a date with my boyfriend who was in from LA...it could have been the romantic meal we were so hoping for.
Everything about the place was really odd...we felt sort of like a burden rather than welcome. We approached the hostess stand where 3 girls were standing and they just kind of stared back at us. I *think* they were training 1 or more new employees but it was unclear so they just seemed scattered and odd. They suggested we use the coat check (which is hangers  heading down a stairwell) yet there was no attendant. We sat and the waiter asked us what we would like to drink and handed us the wine menu. We replied back with soda and he just turned and walked away. After that moment I felt like he wrote us off completely. Considering we had appetizers, higher end entrees and dessert...there was no reason to write off the table for not drinking. He barely checked on us, spoke to us or said goodbye. However he adored the table of 6 that also ordered several bottles of wine.
I didn't want to say anything to my boyfriend because i didnt want to taint one of the few nice times we can manage to have with eachother but he later remarked that the waiter was really odd.
I don't know--there's french food everywhere so nothing particularly is sending me back.
We went to Bistro Margot before a Second City show. The wait staff was friendly (although the hostess came off as a bit rude), the atmosphere was very lively and the prices reasonable. Exactly what we wanted for a casual Saturday night.
PATE MAISON - Country Style Pate was good, but the Chicken Liver Mousse was great!! I would definitely order this again.
ESCARGOT PERSILLADE - Pretty standard, nothing special.
TARTE AU BRIE - Holy moly, this was delicious!! I would gladly order this instead of a dessert.
CANARD ROTI, SAUCE BIGARADE - Good, but not great compared to some other restaurants. That being said, the duck was juicy and seasoned well... it could just be a matter of preference.
House specialities are great. Â Mussels were some of the best I've had in the city. Interior is nice and atmosphere is casual, not too crowded or stuffy.
It's very good, precisely what you'd want if you were in the mood for French and not looking for a formal place. Â Are there better French restaurants in the city? Â Yes, but it gets points for offering all of the French faire you might want without being pretentious.
Really was surprised about the great food at this hole in the wall restaurant in Old Town! It was delicious. We went on a weekday so the place was pretty empty but our food came out piping hot and extremely fresh. The bread was okay (kind of hard) but the entrees were great. I ordered the Flounder with Orzo & Sautéed Spinach -- The flounder was really, really good (breaded and pan fried) and the orzo rice was pretty good too (maybe a little bland, the sauce was a chive-butter compound but it still tasted great), and it tasted really fresh! My boyfriend got the Sautéed Whitefish with Potatoes and Lemon-Caper sauce, which again was amazing and fresh! Definitely would recommend either of those dishes.  Reasonable prices as well (~$20 each) but we did come using a Groupon which made it inexpensive. Great place to go to for a nice, quiet meal!
Review Source:I like this place, it's very french-esque. Maybe because its a french restaurant. Came here alone so I could splurge on my groupon.
 I ordered a drink, which I rarely do, something soleil. It was $12 and came in a small champagne glass. Wasn't to happy about that. I still got a little buzz from it so I won't complain.
Had the escargot as an appetizer. Not enough garlic but to much parsley. Parsley almost gave it a spinach flavor. Or maybe they purposely make it taste like that. I wouldn't know.
Then I had the caesar salad which was good. I'm one of those people who love lettuce with their salad dressing. Its almost impossible for it to be to much. They didn't dowse/douse/doss/, however you spell it, it with dressing, but I will say it was tossed in the perfect amount of dressing for you normal people out there.
Last but not least, I hate sweets and never order desert, was the entree. The rack of lamb. It was excellent. Very tender. The mashed potatoes it came with was also good, and so was the ratatouille and I hate veggies.
Excellent waiter service, decor is a lil old, but in the words of General MacCarthur/McCarthur, whatever, I shall return.
We dined here on a Thursday night before a Second City show, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the ambiance.
The only thing I wasn't crazy about was how the hostess originally sat us beneath the stairs, which felt like a very undesirable location. The decor is lovely  with red paint and mirrors lining the wall, so it felt a bit like we wouldn't get to experience all that Bistrot Margot had to offer by being seated there. It was especially odd because the dining room was far from full, considering how early we were there (our reservation was at 6:00 to be sure to make the show) and that it was a week night.
Nevertheless, I requested to be moved and from then on, the meal was great.
We started with the escargot and a special appetizer of grilled shrimp and sausage. Both were lovely. For our entrees, I had the duck over risotto with asparagus, and my boyfriend had escalope de veal with gnocchi and asparagus. The risotto was a bit of a surprise for me. It wascrunchy and almost seemed like it'd been formed into a patty and then pan fried. This wasn't a bad thing (in fact, I liked it a lot) but not at all what I was expecting for risotto. The duck and veal were both excellent.
For dessert, we split the profiteroles, which felt like a bargain at $5.95. There were three of them, and they were smothered in chocolate sauce.
For two appetizers, two entrees, one dessert, two glasses of wine (me), and one soda (my boyfriend doesn't drink), the price tag was around $125, including tax and gratuity. It's a bit of a splurge for a pre-show meal, but we greatly enjoyed it.
I hate being negative, and I want to like Bistro Margot with it's quaint French atmosphere and friendly staff, but unfortunately it didn't deliver.
We went for lunch and waited an excessive amount of time to get served. Â I had an acceptable, but not very good bloody mary, then a very subpar french onion soup. Â After again waiting way too long for our entrees, our order came out wrong, well mine was right, my dinning companion's was wrong. Â 15 minutes later they finally came out with our correct order, and clearly my croque monsieur had just been thrown under a warming lamp. Â The fries were limp and soggy, and the sandwich was just ok. Â
I feel kind of bad giving only 2 stars because the staff was very friendly and apologetic for the mistake, but the bad service and sub-par food was really unfortunate and disappointing.
Solid Three Stars.
Bistrot Margot was everything that you would expect for a French restaurant in the city. The atmosphere was quaint and charming, fitting in nicely with the upscale vibe of Old Town. I came with a large party (10 females) on a Wednesday night and the restaurant was incredibly accommodating to our group, which is a major plus in my book.
Bistrot Margot offers a wide range of French food that appeals to a wide range of tastes and preferences. Luckily for our group, we decided to come on a Wednesday night where they offer any appetizer, any entree, and any dessert from the menu for the low price of $26. This is a huge deal as many of their entrees are in the mid $20 range, so you come out ahead by partaking in this deal in terms of value and food (seriously, I had two full dinners worth of food from their portion sizes).
After hemming and hawing over the menu, I decided to stray a bit from the classic French fare of escargot and steak frites by choosing the following:
1) Risotto Special: Onions, peppers, and mushrooms as a base topped with a balsamic reduction and hearty globs of goat cheese. This dish was rich and flavorful, making it a great way to start of the meal. I had to force myself to stop as I could have easily made myself full from this large appetizer for one.
2) Scalope De Veau: Thin-Pounded Parmesan-Crusted Veal, Pate a Choux Gnocchi, Grilled Asparagus, Capered Citrus Butter, Cherry Tomatoes. I can't decide how I feel about this dish--there were parts I loved and parts I could have done without. The veal was a bit overcooked and lacked any flavor on its own, with parts a bit chewy and almost gristly. Luckily, the veal was saved by the parmesan crust and the citrus butter, which kicked up the dish in terms of flavor. The gnocchi had a weird texture and tasted solely of flour and water. The grilled asparagus was overcooked and shriveled up, which was incredibly disappointing. Had I not filled up a bit on the risotto I would have been incredibly disappointed with this choice.
3) Apple Tart: This tart was oddly reminiscent of a croissant, which was a nice surprise. The dough had a nice crisp to it and was filled with five to six large apple slices that were seasoned with plenty of cinnamon. The vanilla ice cream and caramel were a perfect balance to the tartness of the apples, and the warm-cold contrast is always enjoyable.
There were definite pros and cons to the meal, but I enjoyed my experience here. As I said before, the service was great for our large group and we never felt like we were being rushed or "putting out" the restaurant for dealing with our group. Although the menu states otherwise, our waiter offered to break up the check for each of us individually which was greatly received by all of us.
I probably won't be back anytime in the near future considering all of the other restaurant options in the city, but I'd recommend checking out their daily specials (ie the prefixe or the Wednesday special) so that you can get a wider sampling of the menu as many items appear to be hit or miss.
The mussels were phenomenal, reasonably priced, and largely portioned! I also rather enjoyed an inexpensive caesar salad, and I ventured to try escargot for the very first time. I was not disappointed! Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I had a few bites of my boyfriend's meal, and I wasn't quite as impressed with his steak. If you want to try this place on a budget, keep an eye on groupon. They have had numerous deals. Moreover, they have $26.95 Prix Fixe Wednesdays:
Any Appetizer, Any Entrée, and Any Dessert!
Had an event held here on the second floor recently. Very nice little room overlooking Wells street. Perfect for a small cozy gathering. Staff was very accomodating and made sure we had eeverything we asked for. They were also very attentive at our tables and did what they do very well.
The Bistro Salad was very good but a bit surprised at how big the bacon chunks were. It was a little uncomfortable trying to chew two pieces of it while trying to make conversation. But overall people were happy with it. I ordered the roasted chicken which was quite tender. The sauce was a bit overly salty and i truly didn't think that fries/frites matched well with this dish. I would have much rather have some sort of vegetable or even roasted potatoes or something to go with it. But Ah well. I heard the white fish entre which came with green beans (I think) was very good.
My only little complaint is that we had 3 left over meals and so we asked to take them as takeouts. i received 2 of them and asked that the 3rd one be given to the lady that was paying the bill. She never got it. I just hope that someone from our group at least was given the order but i guess I'll never find out. One of my two takeout box lids was not secured completely, so when my car swerved, the lid popped off and much of the marinara sauce sloshed all over the thin bag which then tore open when I tried to carry it out. I suppose it's not really the restaurants fault that this happened, but if that lid had been secured there was a lower chance of this happenning.
Recommend overall.
Edit: Forgot to comment on the profiteroles dessert. the pastry portion was a bit on the hard side. Cutting into one and trying to have it not slide off the plate while having a conversation was a bit tough. We all concluded afterwards that they must of had these made beforehand with the icecream scooped in and then stuck the entire thing into the freezer until they were served. I would pick something else if given the chance again.
French onion soup took the cake.
Steak frites was OK, as was pork tenderloin.
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This Old Town spot has great food and even better service. Â They are open for breakfast on the weekends and the bar section on weekend evenings is a great place to grab a bite. Â I had the best Steak Tartare of my life here, recently. Â The Baked Onion Soup, on the other hand, is just ok. Â It's a little sweet for my taste. Â Croque Monsieur is another of their specialties.
Review Source:First Try here, very nice decor, very good food, a bit pricey but in this area for a good evening its priced comparatively. Â
I sat in the bar and watched new years patrons come and go while enjoying a very good dinner, the bartender was a nice quite guy and the new years eve miniskirts even here were present in the bar area.
I ordered the Bistro salad which was very well done, but be warned it has very large cut peices of bacon, thick and a little tough but they added to the waltnut dressing nicely.
The Chicken Cordon Blue had a nice twist: it was well breaded and made with prosciutto as you would expect, but they then added a very soft goat cheese that had the consistancy of ricotta and topped it off with a very lite tomato mustard sauce that tasted great and nothing like either a tomato or a mustard sauce separately. Â It was very unexpectedly savory and not a heavy sauce at all despite looking as it it would have an overbearing flavor. Â A must try even with some good looking steak cuts on the menu.
The dessert menu was loaded with amazing choices, apple tart, Chocolate mouse with rasberry sauce, crem broule, ice cream filled chocolate sauce eclairs, berries whipped cream ice cream seemed a topping choice on everything, and i was too stuffed from the stuffed chicken to take advantage, but this is a note to self moment, go here just for dessert one night and induldge in the choices.
Impress a date and make a fav new spot all in 1 night. Â In a city full of choices, dont let this one go untried.
This place is a mainstay for my family that can be either hit or miss on some nights and some options on the menu. Whenever they do have braised lamb shank on the specials menu, I can guarantee your taste buds a good time.
My GF and I were there very recently to dispose of a Groupon and we each started out with their trademark French Onion Soup. They really did not disappoint here... rich, creamy and just with the right spice!
Our entrees are what they missed. I went with the roasted oven amish chicken and the GF settled upon their Risotto of the day. The chicken was a little dry and didn't have much taste where as the risotto was bathing in pure cream. I know cream is a component to risottos but this certainly had a little much.
This give and take scenario that they do puts them right in the middle at 2.5 to 3 stars.
Bistrot Margot has been a pleasure on most past visits, but this time it was not much fun at all. Admittedly, maybe a weeknight in the week before Xmas is not the best time to expect a pleasant meal, what with all the folks out and about, but still...
To start with, the place was packed. The staff seemed a bit overloaded, and the place was NOISY. To say that our server lacked grace & polish commensurate with the venue would be an understatement. The entrées were slow in coming, but I didn't much mind that on this occasion. Worst of all, the cooking was not up to par. Our entrées were too salty (especially the lamb), the veggies were overdone, and the plates seemed like they were cooked and slapped together in haste.
Hopefully, this is a holiday aberration and not a sign of diminished standards...
I had a fabulous meal at Bistrot Margot earlier this week. Â My date and I took advantage of the $26.95 Prix Fixe special on Wednesday. Â With this special, you can choose any appetizer, main course, and dessert from the menu. Â It cannot be combined with any other specials.
For starters, we shared the Tarte au Brie and Escargot. Â The Brie was amazing; it was cooked in puff pastry and topped with balsamic, toasted walnuts, and asparagus. Â It was a unique combination of flavors and not too heavy - the highlight of my meal. Â The Escargot was nice too. Â
For entrees, I had the Steak Frites and he had the Fillet. Â Both were cooked exactly how we ordered them. Â The French Fries with the Steak Frites were cooked just the way that I like them - thin and crispy. Â
For dessert, I had the Chocolate Mousse and he had a peach dish. Â I love peaches but wasn't a big fan of his dessert. Â The Chocolate Mousse was fine, but nothing overly special.
Service is good. Â The wine list is varied with plenty of affordable options. Â This is probably my favorite French restaurant in the City, though I'm generally not a huge fan of French food.
This Oldtown standby is a real treasure.
Our favorites include the Escalope de Veau (complex flavors and generous portion), Croque Monsieur (best in the City), Carre d'agneau and generally all the fish entrees. The atmosphere is unpretentious, charming and very romantic (if you reserve an out of the way table, many are in the path of traffic and feel too open).
We went here for Thanksgiving for their prix fixe meal. Perhaps they don't handle holidays well-- they certainly had a full house, but our experience was so bad we'll definitely never go back here again.
Although we had a reservation, we had to wait quite a while before being seated, and although there's a bar, we were not encouraged to wait there, so we clustered at the hostess stand with everyone else waiting for a table. We had brought a bottle of white wine which the waiter had said he would bring us a cooler for, but he never did. The food was a huge disappointed-- it mostly tasted like "prepared" food: like a slightly dressed up version of the frozen food that cafeterias heat up and serve. The mashed potatoes tasted like they came out of a tub, the cranberry sauce was clearly canned with a little orange zest thrown in on top, the rolls came from a grocery store bakery, and my dessert tasted like something I could have ordered at Applebee's. The one saving grace is that our waiter was pretty friendly, and kept refilling my wine glass. We've eaten out for Thanksgiving for the past three years, and this is the worst experience I've ever had-- I wished I had cooked myself, since I could do a better job. I will not be going here again.
I have only been here once, but I instantly fell head over heels in love with this place! I went in the summer time, and they had their patio open, flowers blooming, and I felt like I had just walked into a time warp and was in France! Beautiful!! :)
Everything on the lunch menu sounded so delicious, but I finally settled and picked the Croque Monsieur. It came with some creme brulee, and some salad. The dressing on the salad was a bit bitter, and I was never a fan of creme brulee, but lemme tell ya, the second I bit into that croque, it was as if I were born again and all my senses were awakened. Like true love, fire works going off, the meaning of life..it was THAT delicious.
Our waiter wasn't the friendliest, and didn't really have much to say or many smiles to give :( same with the hostess's at the front, they didn't even welcome us when we walked in or bid us adieu when we left. Sad! But it's okay, the food made up for all of that. Heavenly. I am dying to go back!!
To be fair..I think the food would be worthy of 4 stars, but the service knocked it down a little bit.
We came here for dinner with another couple before going to Second City. We made reservations for 8:30pm with the intention of getting to Second City a little early to get seats. My boyfriend and I arrived early and sat the bar until our friends showed up. We were immediately seated once they arrived.
And then we waited. And waited. And waited.
About 20 minutes went by before we were able to flag down someone who worked there to ask us who our waiter was. They had no idea.
We waited another 10 minutes until our waiter come over to ask us if we were ready to order, despite not even having drinks yet. He apologized. Took our drink order, and the rest of the night went off without a hitch.
The lamb was really good. I'd definitely recommend it. It was moist and delicious. Not too fatty. My boyfriend got the steak frites with the peppercorn sauce. The first few bites were delicious, but the whole thing was very salty and got boring after a while.
I'd liklely try other French restaurants before returning here, but if I was out in Old Town looking for a bite to eat, I'd come back
I stopped at this place on a visit to Chicago and fell in love! Â Not far from Lincoln Park on Wells Street it offers outdoor seating and great people watching. I noticed a majority of the patrons were actually speaking French, so this place must be good, right?
Bistrol Margot does not disappoint.
I had their quiche of the day, which was ham, asparagus, and cheese. Â It came with a huge salad and warm bread and butter. Â
Service was pretty quick and friendly.
Would go back for sure.
Their Wednesday prix-fixe is ridiculous. $26 3-course of your choice of the menu, when some of the entrees are at least that much!
They had some tasty-looking apps but we opted for the escargot and risotto du jour (asparagus/pancetta). Escargot was simple but delicious, well done! Risotto was a HUMONGOUS bowl of creamy rice with bits of asparagus and pancetta. Didn't taste like much, was very disappointed. Should have gotten my beloved tarte au brie!! Took almost all of it home to hopefully rescue with some additions.
Lamb chops were tasty with buttery mashed potatoes and very savory ratatouille.. just a little too fatty but nicely cooked. NY strip was obviously delicious, can't go wrong with that. Steak + peppercorn + fries = no-brainer. We actually took home half of the lamb dish home since the portions were so generous here.
Dessert! The apple tart for sure, and it was heavenly.. crispy and creamy and tart and sweet and hot and cold... you get the point. Unfortunately my boyfriend ate the creme brulee we brought home, all by himself... so I can't review that.
Service was nice and even though we walked in late and were there after closing, we didn't feel rushed at all. Would definitely come back and try more of their dishes.. especially that tarte au brie!
My friend and I came here on a Wednesday evening when we both really felt like treating ourselves to something nicer than your average weeknight dinner. Â We snagged the last outside table at around 7 pm, and enjoyed the beautiful weather and people watching throughout our meal. Â Our waiter told us that we could order any appetizer, entree, and dessert for $26 - gotta love a good prix-fixe! Â It changed our whole dining plan! Â Wednesday is clearly the day to go here!
We split a bottle of pinot noir for $34 - they have a few bottles in the low $30s - but I didn't think it was a super great wine. Â Our waiter refilled our glasses for us throughout the meal. Â He brought us some baguette slices and butter, before our appetizers came. Â We shared the french onion soup and salade de poir, a pear salad with pistachios, cranberries, blue cheese, and beet vinaigrette. Â The salad was tasty and fresh, and would be great for sharing as it was fairly sizeable. Â I expected great things from the onion soup based on other reviews, but frankly wasn't hugely impressed. Â The broth did not taste homemade (not saying it wasn't, but it didn't taste it), and didn't have much depth of flavor. Â It was salty as well - if you're eating french onion soup with all that cheese you want it to be worth the fat and calories and this was not. Â Made me wish I'd ordered a different appetizer!
For my entree, I got the filet mignon - and why not, since I could pick any entree for the same price! Â It came with Yukon gold potatoes, grilled asparagus, and bordelaise sauce. Â It was a pleasant dish - steak was pretty well cooked, potatoes a bit crispy on the outside, asparagus providing a fresh component....but the overall impact was still a bit underwhelming. Â It wasn't inspired, and I wanted more richness, deeper flavors. Â It was a fine dish, but I've had far far finer steaks elsewhere. Â The potatoes and asparagus were very simple, which isn't necessarily bad, but the plate was very simple overall. Â I think they could've done more with the dish to make it more exciting. Â I tasted my friends tilapia which I also found "okay," though the vegetables underneath were very good.
My dessert was creme brulee, and they did a nice, if again simple and uninspired job. Â Really, start to finish, from wine to food to service, everything was fine or good, but none of the components were a step above average. Â I've had French food in this city that makes me close my eyes and sigh, French food I don't even want to swallow because then the moment is over. Â This wasn't it. Â I'd seek French elsewhere in the city. Â Many of the French restaurants I've loved have closed (for WHY!?!) but I'd return to Mon Ami Gabi or Bistro Campagne before returning here.
I headed to Bistrot Margot with a friend at her suggestion. We had just finished a workout at the Piper's Alley XSport and decided to put it to good use!
Even though I am an Old Town regular I had never eaten there before. I had the Crepes Americane aka pancakes, and instead of sausage I substituted scrambled eggs. On this not so hot summer morning (the first time I could say that this year in Chicago) I enjoyed the out door seating, and nice breeze while I drank my coffee.
The coffee was good, not great, not mind blowing ala Kingsbury Cafe but a solid B. My pancakes were tasty, and I appreciated that they were NORMAL sized pancakes, not the size of a dinner plate. I did not feel guilty eating my entire portion. I have to say that the presentation was lovely (which inspired me to take a photo).
I have to state that we are on a time crunch but they had us in and out in under an hour, and my water glass stayed full, thus the service was a-ok in my book. I am eager to head back to try the french toast which everyone raves about.
First foray into French cuisine, and wasn't disappointed! A group of friends and I sat on the patio (great for Old Town people watching) and had a grand ole' time!
Tried everyone's meals, and here were some highlights:
Apps: mussels were lovely. Pate was alright, not my fav, but then again, pate is not my fave...I had the scallops (PETONCLES POELEES) with Spinach, Breaded Artichokes, Nicoise Olive Butter....they were divine...just enough salt/brine to keep the palate excited!
Entree: My entree was the best one (in my opinion) -- ESCALOPE DE VEAU--
Thin-Pounded Parmesan-Crusted Veal, Pate a Choux Gnocchi, Grilled Asparagus, Capered Citrus Butter, Cherry Tomatoes...the veal with the citrus butter...yummy. The gnocchi was delicious and unexpected. So recommended.
Dessert: Chocolate Mousse...very light and delicious, nice compliment to the meal.
I would recommend going on Wednesdays for the Prix Fixe of any app, entree and dessert for $26.95...in my opinion, that is a steal, esp since some entree dishes start at $26.95!!!
All in all, great intro to french food. Recommended for the seafood and veal. Kinda pricey, Â but you can't beat an outdoor patio (which you cannot reserve, so get there early!).
Oui, Oui, Oui! The food was tasty, the atmosphere warm, and the service was fast and friendly.
Great place to take anyone; it is perfect for a group, the family or a date. The interior is comfortable with velvet curtains and cherry wood finishes composing the decor. The food is simple and flavorful, fresh and well prepared. Definitely try it out!
I had a great experience here. Â I love the dining room, I think it is so cute. Â Here is what we ordered:
Cocktails: Â Perfection
Wine: Â Nice bordeaux at $40
Appetizer: Escargot.... really good. Â No cheese, which is awesome.
Salad: Endive salad...probably one of the best salads I have ever eaten.... so good!
Soup: French onion of course. Â Could have been served piping hot. Â Somehow wasn't that hot.
Dinner: Â Flounder with mushroom duxelle and beurre blanc served over a bed of spinach and Steak Au Poivre avec frites. Â Both dishes were delicious. The steak was served with a peppercorn cream sauce that was awesome.
Dessert: Â Warm apple tarte with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream. Â This was like heaven in my mouth. Â
The service was attentive and prompt. Â I would definitely go back and sit on their cute little patio this summer.
Meh....
I LOVE French food. Â This didn't strike me as French food. Â The portions are COLLOSAL, but I would have foregone quantity over quality. Â My specifics are the pork tenderloin might have a been a bit overdone, the sauce wasn't anything special and actually sort of took away from the dish. Â Pasta gratin is just fettucini alfredo that is lightly baked. Â Nothing special.
Service wasn't that fantastic either. Â Definitely won't hurry back.
I am giving this place two starts because service was very friendly. Â But that doesn't make up for food...sorry guys.
We went here for our traditional french VD dinner. Every year we try a new french place... but this one, UGH! :(
I know that when you order orange duck or whatever it's called, you have to expect orange "notes" all over the dish... but come on... eating that dish was the same that eating a very bitter orange. Â I am no chef, but I believe i know a little bit about citrus dishes and this one was way too bitter. Â I felt terrible after the first bite - seriously sick of my stomach - and i tried to clean the duck meat a little so i could enjoy it...still, didn't work.
On the positive side, the Oysters Rockefeller were terrific, and the Bistro salad very good too. Maybe you should go there only for appetizers.
Plus, I hate crowded places with tables too close to each other. Â It was more than uncomfortable to listen my neighbors entire conversation about who cheats in her office. I am still intrigued by the fact that she knew the entire story and never told Janet about a thing! Crude!
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