Ambiance was great - except I wish they played French music - they were playing country!
Great waitress - knew the menu, very perky, and professional.
Bussers - not great. Not sure who ordered what, bit of spillage delivering soup, didn't come pick up plates when we were done. Had to ask.
Excellent menu. The food was sensational and perfectly prepared. I had the Croque Madame with pomme frites. My mom had the Faux Filet with the same. She started with the soup of the day - roasted red pepper. Finished with the creme brulee and the apricot tart. Would order all of them again.
You get better bussers and French music and I'll give you four stars.
I have eaten here many times and its a mixed bag. Â Love the salads, the bread, the potato au gratin and the desserts are awesome. Â But I encountered a hostess with an attitude and a waiter who was too busy with another larger party. Â And when we got the bill, we were charged for two items we didn't even order. Â Really dissapointed.
Review Source:Quick summary: Â 4 stars, 4 sure. Â Left Cafe Touche wishing we had elastic pants because we were so full of yummy goodness. Â Reasonable prices, good service, great ambiance, but very very loud inside.
The story: Â I don't know what's wrong with me, but I voluntarily suggested and took the wife to a French restaurant, and frankly I'm starting to worry about myself. Â Situated in the bustling little restaurant corridor of Edison Park on Northwest Highway, I was thrilled to find street parking a few doors down from Cafe Touche on a Saturday night. Â Having never been here before, I was really struck but how inviting the decor was upon entering, and how much it really did remind me of when the wife and I were in Paris, the high ornamental ceiling, the small intimate tables (which also can be tricky to have all your food on), but what made me an instant fan was the Christmas Story "major award" lamp sitting on the bar; yes, I was sold. Â The service was very good, bringing refills, checking on us and clearing plates and.....bringing more bread!!!! Â Oh man that bread......mmmmmmmm. Â The real only negatives were that once the restaurant fills up, it is incredibly loud in there. Â The whole place goes from a romantic Parisian cafe atmosphere to you screaming at your date to see if she likes her food, or in my case me screaming at the wife "are you gonna finish that?" Â
The grub: Â The bread, the bread, the bread....did I mention the fantastic warm baguette that is brought out? Â Apps - Assiette De Fromage - that's a platter o' cheese and stuff for us non French speakers - three types of cheeses with some almonds, dried apricot, grapes, and an apricot jelly and some assorted crackers, all which was great except I could have used some more crackers for the cheese as they only gave about five crackers. Â Soup Du Jour - Split pea - flavorful, more liquid than creamy, and since I'm a dipper, that bread went right in. Â Entrees - Beef Bourguignon for the wife, and the Touche Burger for me (don't laugh too hard, yes, I got a burger). Â The wife's entree was just scrumptious, tender, juicy beef with tasty gratin potatoes. Â And the burger....was almost too big for me to finish! Â Juicy without being messy, in a lite dressing that brought out the flavor of the meat very well. Â Dessert - Apricot Almond Tart - perfect for two, the wife hit the nail on the head when she said "its like a wonderful, gooey, breakfast treat!"
Conclusion: Â The wife and I really enjoyed Cafe Touche and left a few pounds heavier, and wallet justifiably lighter, as the food was both superb quality and portion. Â Honestly I enjoyed myself more before the decibel level went waaaay up, and I can't give five stars because although it was great, it was not a complete knockout. Â But we will definitely return, probably to give lunch a try. Â And the best part, although it did remind me of being in Paris, when we left I wasn't actually there, and that's alright by me.
Went hear for a nice dinner on Wednesday, which was half-price wine night. The mussels are unbelievably good for appetizer. The food good and the reasonable prices keep me coming back. This particular night they maybe could have used another server because they seemed to be stretched thin. The bananas foster bread pudding is so good, and fortunately they don't disclose the calories in it either. If I have to take off a star it's because the espresso was awful, which was surprising given they display Illy coffee tins. It was weak with no crema. I really thought they might have just  poured coffee into the espresso cup. Similarly my wife's cappucino was more like a watery latte and was nearly undrinkable. It was just not the way to cap off a nice meal. Overall, I'll keep coming back here and enjoying the food, just not the coffee.
Review Source:Cafe Touche I miss you! Â
I was on a work project for about a year near O'Hare and was blessed enough to uncover this little area and restaurant spot. Â My girlfriend and I have been here probably 3 times. Â I love the corner restaurant, the decor, the specials, the menu and the bar! Â Hit up the bar, grab a good glass of wine and just sit and relax. Â Order a special or two and take in a great little area. Â The Beef Bourguignon is very tasty and the 1/2 chicken is moist and tender. Â
You can't go wrong with Cafe Touche.
A very lively place in a suburb area. Â Decor was great and good looking crowd. Â We arrived at 8:00 and there was a bit of a wait. Â The menu had so many selections with all the staple French dishes. Â I ordered the French onion soup, the frisee salad, and a duck confit. Â The French onion soup was ok. Â The frisee salad looked great but omg it was soooo salty. Â The poached egg was perfectly cooked though. Â The duck confit was really good. Â The duck was cooked perfectly and I loved the apricots and the mushroom. Â Would love to have tried dessert, maybe next time! Â Definitely a hidden gem.
Review Source:Our organization had a retreat for our small board, and we went to Cafe Touche for our night-on-the-town dinner. Â I was thrilled. Â This restaurant had the atmosphere, service and food of a high-class French restaurant, while charging middle-class prices.
The atmosphere was enjoyable - not quiet, but very pleasant, with views of the street that made it feel urban. Â Our server was attentive but subdued, always nearby when you needed her, but not obtrusive. Â Water glasses were always filled, and wine glasses refilled from our bottle without even thinking about it.
The food was great, but especially the appetizers - the oysters, the escargot, the goat cheese salad - simply delicious. Â The chef got a little carried away with the frilly greens in the salads (one plate had almost literally a food of greens on top of a chicken), but it was tasty, so no big deal. Â The steak was perfectly prepared, although the cut itself was underwhelming - the French dishes really seemed to be the specialty.
Our meal wasn't cheap - $220 before tip for 6 people - but honestly, for a "fine dining" experience, with alcohol, we got a great deal. Â I would highly recommend.
This is one of my favorite restaurants - I typically come on a weeknight as it is close to my office. Â Tonight was our first visit on a Saturday and we brought friends who haven't been here (and aren't big fans of "french food"). Â The food, ambiance and service was as good as ever. Â
Started with a St. Germain cocktail (my new fav and one I first had here a few months ago) and Oysters on the half shell. Â Our main courses ranged from the Sea Bass special to Tortelloni, Pappardelle with Bolognese Sauce and the Boeuf Bourguignon. Â Every dish was deliciously prepared and plentiful. Â We also enjoyed the Salad au Fromage de Chevre which could be a meal by itself. Â We saved room for dessert and tried a delightful chocolate chip and banana bread pudding - very light and so tasty.
For a lively evening of great food and drink - this place is one of the best in an area noted for good restaurants.
Needed to pick up a friend from O'hare around dinner time and thanks to yelp identified cafe touche as a potential nice French place.
We came rather early (5:30 PM) and were seated immediately.
The pluses: service was attentive, the warm French baguette with butter was really good.
The menu has a lot of different options (fish, meat, vegetarian dishes) so everyone should find something to their liking.
The wine by the glass list is adequate with some decently priced French options. The Bordeaux was a good choice.
The food was OK but that's where the 3 stars comes from. For the price given per entree ($18 to north of $20) I would expect a bit more flavor impact and originality.
We had a couple of salads that were quite boring. The étouffée was nothing special. The fish of the day was good. The highlight was the chocolate dessert which is not to be missed.
Overall solid brasserie French food with good service but nothing exceptional.
The key downside: the noise level gets extremely high when the room is packed making it impossible to carry a conversation.
Minor detail, the woman bathroom on that night was smelling quite unpleasantly with a sewage / moldy odor which quite impaired the experience.
I'm a former French major and I've been to France multiple times over the past 20 years, so I was excited to discover this restaurant when I was looking recently for a nice place to take my 'rents to dinner after they got into town. Â Edison Park is an area I haven't yet really explored, so I was hoping to have a good dinner, and we certainly did.
I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get a table, as it was 7pm on a Friday night. Â However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover when we got to the restaurant that they actually don't take reservations on Fridays and Saturdays, and we were lucky that there were a couple of tables available. Â The restaurant is on the small side, so I'm sure it can be hit or miss. Â It's a bit on the loud side, but I think that's somewhat due to the number of tables in the relatively small space. Â Luckily we didn't have the same experience as other Yelpers here who thought it was rather loud.
We mostly tried the specials - a poached pear salad, a duck (canard) salad, and frog legs. Â In addition we ordered the escargot, the potato leek soup, and the beet salad. Â As francophiles who really love the food and culture, we were impressed. Â The food was very good, the bread (very important!) was delicious, and the beer selection (mainly belgians) was well-selected and reasonably priced. Â My father was disappointed that there wasn't more garlic-butter in the escargots (for dipping after eating with the bread) but that's pretty minor. Â I thought the frog legs were a bit on the small side... If you've been to Lawrence Fisheries you expect some more meat, but in reality, in France they tend not to be very meaty, at least in our experience there.
The service was good, nothing incredible, but no complaints. Â Our server was kind and had a sense of humor, and was very attentive.
Overall we had a great meal here and I'd love to come back for a date night, because the ambiance is pretty romantic. Â We will certainly be back.
Went on a night they had live singing...place was packed to the gills and the bar was full...a more mature crowd here that enjoyed the ambiance..the atmosphere..and the singing. Prices weren't too far crazy for a place that is known more for the y ounger bar scene and the cougar bar at the other end of EP on NW Highway.....
I need to come back here when time permits.
This is one of my favorite french restaurant. Food is great and not too pricy. I love their onion soup, and beef tartare, and escargot. The steak tartare was served with a thin crispy bread of some sort...really delicious. The atmosphere is nice, but the crowd lean a bit towards the older crowd. Not really a type of place where you go to be seen, but definitely has great food.
Review Source:Went during restaurant week for the $29 deal. Â Ended up just getting a salad & entree which was cheaper. Â Food was great. Â Special squash salad was very good. Â As was the chicken entree. Â
Service was nice & accomodating. Â Even poured us some free wine. Â Really nice night in Edison Park.
Rick's "Hiking and Fun" Club, more accurately known as Rick's "Let's Eat" club, continued its tour of far northwest side restaurants this past week with its inaugual visit to Cafe Touche. Nine of us gathered to eat, drink, visit, eat, drink, eat, and maybe eat a little. And then have dessert.
Cafe Touche is a French bistro and Wine Bar located in a busy eating strip of Edison Park that features lots of Italian places and a couple Irish pubs. Cafe Touche definitely has the French market cornered. But, even if there were a few other French restaurants, I think Cafe Touche would still be busy and popular.
The atmosphere is elegant yet unpretentious. (I will try to upload a photo). The restaurant calls itself a bistro. Friends, my total familiarity with bistros consists of the late Bistro 100 in Chicago and Rick's Cafe Americain. I can't tell you if this is authentically French. I can tell you I liked it very much.
We had an excellent server named Jenny who was professional, friendly, prompt and efficient. She got everything right, and with this group, that ain't easy. She did great.
Tuesday was $5.00 Margarita night. Not very French - maybe they should have been called Marguerites - but these drinks were popular with our group. The wine list, by the glass, was more than adequate. There was a nice selection of reds and whites. I enjoyed a Spanish garnacha - again, not French, but who the hell cares? It was good.
The group has a few guys who don't eat vegetables. They were very happy with items such as Pork Calvados, the Touche Burger, chicken, and other items. Rick gave me the haricots verts that came with his dinner (green food apparently never passes his lips), and they were delicious. I also snared some "fresh frites" (also known as "French Fries"), and they were really good, too. I ordered the lentil soup (excellent) and a salad with butternut squash (also very good).
There are a few vegetarian items. My meal turned out to be vegetarian, and I ordered off the nightly special list. The specials that night also included tilapia and salmon for entreess, and appetizers such as crab ravioli and frog legs. I don't believe any of our group tried these, but at least you get an idea of the variety.
Everybody enjoyed their meals and their drinks. I think a couple people believed the prices were kind of high, but I think the prices are about what I expect to see in this sort of restaurant. Of course, I looked at the menu online ahead of time, so I didn't have any sticker shock.
Our group dinner at CafeTouche was a satisfying experience. I'd go again. So, I think, would Rick, if he can get someone to remove his vegetables quickly.
We went on a Saturday night and arrived with the early crowd. Â We found the atmosphere very friendly and more fine dining style with white table cloths etc.
Our waiter stopped by immediately and explained the menu choices and specials, and then took our drink orders. Â He was attentive yet not obtrusive. Â We had a good period to relax and contemplate the menu without being bothered.
I ordered the Pork Roast special that is always on the menu for Saturday and my wife ordered the Duck. Â Our waiter explained each ingredient in my pork dish just in case there might be an element that I would not like - good touch on his part.
I had noted in the Yelp reviews a concern about not being given any way to cut the bread. Â Well first, the French method is usually to break the bread with your hands, second at Touche each person is given a bread plate and a knife - so what's the problem? Â By the way the sea salt sprinkled on the slab of butter is delicious.
We enjoyed our drinks while we relaxed and talked. Â Although there were 10 - 12 other tables full by this time it was generally quiet (a low murmur) and the music in the background was soothing.
The food arrived and was very good. Â The sauces on both dishes were excellent and the flavors met every expectation. Â The only reason Touche didn't get 5 stars is that the duck was just slightly dry on the edges.
If you are looking for a much better than average restaurant with reasonable prices and great atmosphere - this is it!
great restaurant in Edison park....NW side of Chicago. I usually don't like to sit outside, but this place was packed and one of the only tables they had available was outside. Service was top notch and the food, which is french, but not fancy French food was soooooo good!!! Would of went back the next night. edison park is a great neighborhood to walk around after dinner. try it!!!
Review Source:This feels like a true Parisian bistro. Â Or as much as I can remember what a true Parisian bistro feels like in that it's been about twenty years since I've been to Paris. Â Suffice it to say, I loved it.
On a not too warm summer afternoon I brought a client here and it was perfect. Â The doors totally opened up onto the sidewalk. Â The room itself is transformative from the tile floor to the molded ceiling. Â Wait staff was great.
And the food was excellent. Â I had the tilapia and capers on the Special menu. Â This came with a light and refreshing bib lettuce salad that was pretty and sweet
I could have spent the whole afternoon there sipping wine with girlfriends. Â In fact, I think I will plan a trip back. Â It's the perfect place for "ladies who lunch".
I've had dinner a couple of times at Cafe Touche and have never had any problems, but unfortunately I cannot say the same for my recent brunch experience. Â
From the start our server was inattentive. Â I had asked if my meal came with potatoes and she said she thought so, but would double check and let me know. Â I never heard back from her so I assumed I was getting potatoes.....bad assumption. Â It took more then 30 minutes from the time we placed our order till the time the food arrived. Â This was excessive considering we ordered eggs, pancakes and french toast. Â Our server was MIA this entire time. Â We had to ask others for more coffee, ice tea, water, etc. Â She knew we were unhappy and instead of trying to make amends she distanced herself from us even further.
I should have spoken to management right then and there, but I didn't and that is my fault. Â
I will go back to Cafe Touche, but next time I won't hesitate to speak up.
08/10 Update: I was contacted by Cafe Touche management soon after I posted this review. Â The person that reached out to me wanted to make things right. Â I went back to Cafe Touche for dinner this past week and am happy to report that both the service and the food was great!!!
Café Touché
Café Touché is a French bistro located in Edison Park on the Northwest Highway among a cluster of restaurants and bars.  The dining room is large and pleasant and includes a long bar along one wall.  It also has an outdoor dining area adjacent its building next to a side street.  Live music is provided on Thursday nights. Â
Our party of six recently dined there on a Thursday evening with me being a first-time customer. Â We arrived before our reservation time of 6:30 and had drinks at the bar. Â Our drinks, which were moderately priced, were professionally prepared and amply poured by our bartender Rafael. Â We lingered at the bar a bit past our seating time, but the staff was very accommodating in holding our table.
Our entrées, which were all reasonably priced, included grilled sirloin steaks, white fish, mussels, and short rib meat over pasta.  The consensus was that the food was fresh, tasty, and reasonably priced.  However, as we were in the midst of enjoying our meal, a two-piece band started playing very loud music.  Now, this place normally has a moderate to fairly high level of noise, but once the music started, all conversation was severely impeded.  It actually became painful and blasted us out of the restaurant after we hurriedly concluded our dinner.
I am giving Café Touché a rating of only two stars due to the problem we encountered with the loud music that completely changed the ambiance of the restaurant from comfortable to torturous.  Despite my poor first experience with this restaurant, I would give it another try because of the good quality of the food and the fine bar service - but not on a Thursday night!
Like France, but with less fashion hanging out. Â Salad with goat cheese offers bright basic flavors. Â Crispy roast duck features a few surprising maraschino cherries to contrast against the rich duck. Â The steak frites is so covered with crispy frites that the meat is invisible. Tables sit by open windows that let you participate in street life without smelling exhaust. A small rich slice of bittersweet chocolate mousse is a fine way to end, though the profiteroles will tempt with towers of pastry and vanilla ice cream enraged in chocolate sauce. Good service. Valet was lazy, making us walk to our cars and work hard to get it out of a tight parallel parking spot.
Review Source:Great place for lunch. Nice wine menu, attentive service. Great French baguette which almost gets it the 4th star.
The beef barley soup was full of flavor. The mussels were great as a main course and it was plenty of food. My dining companion had the whitefish special which looked good but was heavy on the spinach.
Definitely worth a return visit the next time I find myself in Edison Park for lunch or dinner.
What a great place! Â This was my first time to Edison Park and I was very impressed. Â The atmosphere is so nice...French bistro style, the martinis were excellent and well mixed, the service was friendly and very efficient for a large group and the food was delicious, but entirely too big of portions. Â I enjoyed the tortelloni soup, the steak frites and a dessert sampler...yummy!
Review Source:What a find. Dare I even call it a "hidden gem"?
We were on our way to a holiday party in nearby Park Ridge and knowing ahead of time that the liquor would be flowing and the food would be sparse (well, these were Gentiles throwing the party, after all. If they were Jews, there would be too much food but likely one bottle of Manischewitz wine to share amongst 40 people), we thought it best to grab some appetizers before a long evening of imbibing.
I wasn't really sure what was in Edison Park as far as dining options. I'd been to Zia's and Don Juan, but what we wanted was somewhere to have a couple of glasses of wine and snacks, not a full-on meal. Café Touché fit the bill perfectly.
It's such a cute and charming place, and a lovely room. The menu was straight-up bistro classics, like escargots, onion soup, coquilles St. Jacques, steak frites, Lyonnaise salad, as well as a couple of pasta dishes and risotto.
Prices were shockingly reasonable. Expect to pay easily 35% less than other restaurants of this caliber. To wit: $8.95 for a half-dozen, fresh plump oysters, $5.95 for a crock of steaming French onion soup, and $8.95 for a huge portion of steak tartare. Last week we paid $2.50 PER OYSTER at a different restaurant.
Of course the reasonable prices mean nothing if the food isn't good, but oh, it was better than good. The onion soup was rich and flavorful (it could have had had a bit more bubbly cheese but there's never enough for me). Soup of the day was a chicken consommé with veal tortellini and tons of vegetables. Steak tartare was served with toast points, capers, and grainy mustard, and it was delicious. We also shared some truffled parmesan frites that were to-die-for. We didn't intend to eat so much food but we just couldn't limit ourselves to the two appetizers(and there were many more things I would have loved to have tried) we were originally going to have so it turned into a meal.
The friendly bartender poured our glasses of Cotes du Rhone with a generous hand, so major props for that. And once he told us how good the profiteroles were, all bets were off. We shared an order of three of the biggest profiteroles I've ever seen, served with a warm, bittersweet chocolate sauce. Absolutely divine.
Café Touché also offers complimentary valet parking and as an added bonus, they have heaters outside to keep you warm while you wait for them to retrieve your car.
I can't justify giving it five stars after one visit, as I didn't get the full experience, but they're well on their way to earning it.
À bientôt, Café Touché. Je t'aime.
This place is great. It's a little hidden French bistro and  I really love the romantic feel accompanied by the mood of cosy - ness. I didn't see one table without wine and no teeny bobbers in sight, so that definitely sold me on coming back! They also have unlimited $8 mimosas for Sunday brunch!
It was a Thursday night when me and my boyfriend stopped in for a quick bite before the movies. I had a salad so it's not worth really mentioning, but my boyfriend had duck leg and the escargot. He definitely gives the duck leg a 10 and the escargot an 8 Â [and that's actually a really good rating based on his criticism].
We're coming back for more dishes so stay tuned, I'll be adding more dishes! :]
Wow, what a great restaurant in Edison Park. The ambiance is wonderful - white tablecloths, rich woodwork, lots of windows and strategically placed lights that create an intimate setting. From the outside, the place almost seems to glisten. This is the perfect place for a date.
The service here is top notch. Dan was our server and he was very helpful. He even offered a bit of background on French cuisine when we said that this was our first time at Cafe Touche. He was attentive and quite funny - we enjoyed having him as our server. Even though it got busier as the night went on, we received our food timely and our water was always refilled, thanks to a great busboy that always seemed to be around to make sure that empty plates are cleared and glasses are full.
The food was great and portions generous. For the price, this place really is a steal given that the food is unpretentious and certainly not run of the mill. The wine selection is extensive and again, prices were reasonable.
I was so pleased with this restaurant that I cannot wait to be back.
This is my favorite restaurant in the Chicago area, and, as a foodie, I have been to the best: Â unpretentious, but excellent. Â The food is outstanding, as is the atmosphere, the service and the wine. Â It's easy to see that Chef Calabrese went to the Culinary Institute of America. Â I try to get there once a month. Â I'm dining there tonight! On Weds. bottles of wine are half price.
Diana
We visited Cafe Touche for dinner Saturday night (9/10/2011) for the first time. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. The food was great and Rafael, our server, did a fantastic job. We were so enamored by the place we decided to stay for an after-dinner drink. The great service just got better. So, I guess we may just have to become regulars.
Looking forward to getting back....
So it's Edison Park Restaurant Week and for several months, I have been curiously driving by Cafe Touche, so when I saw that Cafe Touche was one of the restaurants participating, I couldn't wait to make a reservation.
This was the perfect chance to try a little bit of their menu.
Well, when I say "a little bit' I am completely under estimating...the portions were HUGE!
Maura was our sever and she was fantastic! Bonus points to her because when I inquired about a certain wine (Cotes Du Rhone) she described it wonderfully but then stated "I'll bring you a taste before you order to make sure you like it"
WHEN does that happen anymore?!? By the way, I loved it and ordered it.
We started with: La Brochette de Poulet (chicken & andoullie sausage with Creole mustard & Jambalaya rice) Â and Escargots on Crocotte...both delicious. Mmmmm, garlic!
For our entrees we chose:
Porc Calvados (pork medallions with apples & mushrooms) served with the MOST delicious, creamy gratin potatoes....and...
Sirloin Steak in herb butter served with a truckload of Frites...I think I actually felt some arteries close and I just didn't care! (I took half it home for the next day's lunch)
One word of advice...you MUST save room for dessert!
We had their Creme Brulee and Profiteroles - Pate Au Choux  (Cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce.
As the back waiter poured the HOMEMADE, WARM chocolate sauce over the creme puffs...my husband looked up at him and said "I love you man"...I have to admit, I felt the same way.
My daughter wanted a European meal when she and I were visiting my mom in Chicago recently. Â I suggested French bistro-style, but I haven't lived there in awhile so I used my mobile Yelp! app to see what was nearby.
There were several options, but this one sounded the closest to what we were looking for. Â The restaurant is tucked on a corner with several other restaurants nearby, in a small business district surrounded by a park and residential neighborhood. Â Not exactly where you'd expect to find a good French restaurant, but the reviews were favorable and it was nearby, so we decided to give it a try. Â Thank you, Yelp!, for steering us toward an excellent choice. Â Definitely a find, and one that we'll take the whole family to the next time.
We left our car with the valet at the curb and walked in without a reservation at about 5:30 on a Sunday. Â No problem! Â There were lots of tables available, although by the we left they were fairly full.
The ambiance is worth noting -- lots of brick and dark wood, with a decorative tin ceiling over part of the room and a small-tile floor. Â And if the decor wasn't French enough, our waiter was even himself French. Â Perfect.
We opted for cocktails instead of ordering off the extensive wine and beer list, although there were a wide variety of choices that ran the gamut on prices. Â This is definitely not a restaurant that has to break the budget, yet it presents itself as one that would be worthy of doing so.
We were first served a couple loaves of fresh-baked French bread in small white paper sacks. Â They were different -- softer than what I'm used to and prefer -- but still very good.
We ordered a very tasty cheese tray for an appetizer (Gouda, Brié, and a mild yellow cheese whose name I didn't catch but that our waiter said was from Canada, along with a selection of crackers and wafers, salted walnuts, red grapes, fig jam, and dried apricots).  It was just the right size for the three of us to share, and everything was delicious.  My mom even ate the last little bit of fig jam with her fork since we'd already eaten all the crackers -- very uncharacteristic for her, but she said it was just too good to let go to waste.
For dinner she chose the prime rib with Yorkshire pudding (a daily special, and she had the smaller Queen cut which was still quite generous); I chose a peppercorn veal dish, a small roast partially sliced into medallions with a peppercorn crust and in a peppercorn sauce; and my teenage daughter chose the baked chicken in a light sauce with mushrooms, bacon, and pearl onions.
I tried a taste of each of the other two, and would have been happy with either of them, but was delighted with my choice. Â The waiter had warned me that the sauce was fairly spicy, and wanted to make sure this would be okay. Â Yes, definitely! Â It was just the right amount of peppery, with plenty of kick but not overpowering. Â The veal was just the tiniest bit dry, but dipping it in the sauce made that fairly inconsequential.
We all opted for the au gratin potatoes, which were served in a brick a little over an inch thick and about the size of a business card, as if they'd been pressed into and cooked in a pan then cut into individual portions.  These were quite good -- just one of several side options we could have chosen -- but the high point was definitely the entrée.  There was also a medley of french style (natch) green beans and carrots which I skipped because I'm not a green bean fan, but they added a nice touch of color to the plate.
For dessert I tried the créme brulée.  It wasn't the best I've had, but it was a very good take on a standard classic.  The other two shared a dessert that I was kicking myself for not ordering but that I did wrangle a couple tastes of, and that I'll definitely order the next time -- a generouse slice of banana chocolate chip bread pudding with a Bananas Foster topping and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Very tasty.
We looked around and noticed that most of the crowd was dressed like us -- toward the upper end of business casual. Â While I saw someone in jeans, he had on a nice sweater. Â I'm sure casual jeans and a t-shirt would have been allowed, but you might feel a bit underdressed.
Our entrée prices, with the potato and vegetable included, all hovered around the high teens and low 20s,  Adding the appetizer, drinks, and desserts our total tab was a little over $100 for three of us, definitely worth the price for an excellent impromptu meal.
Surprisingly great vegetarian options for a French restaurant! The veggie risotto was excellent; extremely cheesy and rich (I think they used brie) with lots of veggies including button and shiitake mushrooms, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, etc.
The complimentary bread was fantastic--a softer crust than usual, served nice and hot. My partner greatly enjoyed his steak tartare and duck. The apple galette dessert was alright.
Baked brie appetizer was good, but not baked in a bread crust as we expected--instead it was a few flaky layers of filo dough. Could have used more of the mango dressing too.
The service was very friendly. The ceiling fans were awesome. Â I will definitely be back to try the cheese plate and other veggie dishes.
One thing that weirded me out was the other guests. Almost everyone there late on a Saturday night seemed to be very dressed up, yet many of them were very loud, some obnoxiously so. I don't fault the restaurant for this, but hopefully the ambiance will be better on a slower night.
This used to be Nam Viet Restaurant that I loved. So when I came back to Chicago to find it had changed, I was bummed. But not for long. My friend said the chef from Zia's (one block down) opened this place and it is great.
We had the smoked salmon appetizer. Perfect. Lightly smoked, not cured or dry. Thinly sliced and sprinkled with capers, a little chopped hard boiled egg, parsley, mini (and I mean teeny) waffle shaped fried potato, and a horseradish sauce. Appetizers are a good sized portion there judging by ours and other tables around us.
They are busy, but very professional staff to turn the tables over quickly. They were busy up until closing. Bathrooms very clean, full service bar.
I had the poulet & frites. The frites are to die for. The menu has several types of frites to order as sides. How yummy would that be if you sit at the bar and have munchies. Mine were regular frites fried with fresh sage leaves and lumped over a half of a roasted chicken. Great chicken, served with pearl onions, mushrooms, and a big chunks of bacon. By the taste, I suspect this to be a natural, top quality bacon (possibly no nitrates).
The classic profiteroles are HUGE, there are 2. Two people can have each and it will be satisfying. Definately a recommend.
Very reasonbly priced. There seems to be a trend of French restaurants opening that are trying to reach the masses. It used to be that you only go to a French restaurant for a special occasion to have small expensive and tasty portions of endangered species. Cafe Touche is one of those places you can dress up or wear a t-shirt, spend a lot of money, or spend a little money. Kind a classic country French.
What is old is new again because all these dishes seemed like something Julia Child tried to teach America 40-50 years ago.
I can't believe I haven't written a review of this place. Â
I love, love, lvove, love their food! Â
The Jerk Chicken Special on Wednesdays is addictive, their  Côte de Boeuf and Steak Frites are also insanely divine! Â
But, the coupe de grace is their Sunday Brunch. Â The menu is wonderfully diverse, with quiche to an everchanging ~ yummy crepe selection. Â My favorite is the Brennan's Egg Benedict. Â
Not to mention ~ unlimited Mimosa's and make your own Bloody Mary's.
My wife and I have lived in the area all our lives and we both knew that a new restaurant was going to be swamped for a long time so we waited for the hype to die down before going to try Cafe Touche. We love Zia's, so we assumed that their sister restaurant would be very good too. I can tell you now that we were not disappointed. Authentic French food, excellent beer and wine lists, and beautiful decor make Cafe Touche an excellent addition to Edison Park.
In case you are wondering, the reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because our server was a bit lax with us. We were not sure if this was intentional in order to have a full French dining experience but it just felt weird.
Good ol' Edison Park. Â I don't venture into this neighborhood often enough. Â Cafe Touche is a lovely little surprise that I didn't expect. Â The food is great as is the service.
I came here with 7 other people for a birthday dinner. Â No one was disappointed in their dinner selection. Â I was particularly delighted with the escargot appetizer, pate appetizer and steak tartare appetizer. Â Ok, who am I kidding...I LOVE French food. Â Love, love, love it. Â But this is really good French food.
As my entree, I chose the 12 oz. NY Strip Steak with peppercorn brandy sauce and herb butter. Â My steak was cooked perfectly medium rare as requested. Â The steak melted in my mouth. Â It put me in the best food coma that I can remember in recent days. Â
We had one child with us...she was only 2 and loved her food too! Â She's being cultured early. Â Hopefully she doesn't demand escargot at her 3rd birthday party.
Went with a large group on a Saturday, but we had a reservation and didn't have to wait. This place was crowded, but, aside from the noise level, it didn't feel crowded. Our waiter was attentive and we had more than enough space for the group.
Overall the menu is excellent and there were people who had trouble choosing. A few of the standouts included the braised rib, triongole (spinach ravioli), and poulet et frites. I highly recommend checking out the menu before you go. Â
The wine list was pretty decent in scope and price. For about $30 we had a bottle of red that everyone really enjoyed. There was also a full bar.
Overall, a great french restaurant.
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