Le Bouchon Reviews
Submitted by Robert Burns on 06/05/2022
Robert Burns 5 stars rating.
Super good French Bistro. We had the Terrine, Onion Soup, Ham Sandwich, and Quiche. All were prepared perfectly and were as authentically French as you're going to find. The wine list was also full of uncommon choices from several regions in France. Definitely check this place out if you're looking for a legit taste of France!
Dani H 5 stars rating.
Absolutely delicious. Celebrated my anniversary here with my partner. Had a half-priced bottle of wine, three appetizer plates, two main plates & two desserts. Ate every single one to the last spoonful. Amazing flavors and excellent service!
Submitted by Dani H on 08/23/2022
Juan-Arturo Herrera 5 stars rating.
One of the best French restaurants in Chicago, service was so on point, acknowledgeable of every single dish, ingredients and wine pairing. We were here for a casual dinner during our visit and ended the best dinner of our trip, we visit Chicago every year for 2 weekends so we get to go around selecting new exciting restaurants, this is definitely a hidden gem!
Submitted by Juan-arturo Herrera on 07/09/2022
Leah K 5 stars rating.
Edit: Came to Le Bouchon again last night and had an incredible time! Was with a bigger group so we got to experience more of the menu which is a plus. I was blown away by the tarte l’oignon and the trout! Highly recommend this place. Everything from my previous review still rings true.
Review from Winter 2021:
Cute and quant little restaurant! Truly feels like a Parisian cafe. The classic French food was fantastic: the table bread, oysters, escargot, and the French onion soup (do not skip on this). We also really enjoyed the beet salad which had lots of fresh and unique flavors. For our entree we were too full to get the duck for two, so instead we got the Cassoulet with white beans, duck, duck sausage, and lamb. It was HEAVY but very good. I almost feel sick from how rich the food is but that’s to be expected!
My only complaint is that since there are so few tables, many of them are by the door and it’s very cold when people come in/out. Great experience overall!
Submitted by Leah K on 06/23/2022
Eric Benoit 5 stars rating.
My wife and I went here for her birthday. The staff was very friendly and were fantastic throughout the experience.
We ordered oysters as an appetizer , and for our main entrees steak frites and lapin en croute. The steak was cooked to perfection and seasoned very well. The Lapin en Croute was OUTSTANDING. The duck fat really elevated the flavor. For desert we ordered creme brulee, which was also very good.
It reminded me very much of a traditional french restaurant in Paris. We live close by and will be back!
Submitted by Eric Benoit on 04/19/2022
Gwynne Rowe 5 stars rating.
Phenomenal meal! The French onion soup and foie gras pierogis are not to be missed. The venison tartare and onion tart was also amazing. Cozy, intimate vibe and excellent service. They have half off wine bottles on Monday! Definitely check it out.
Submitted by Gwynne Rowe on 03/15/2022
Bessy Tam 5 stars rating.
Had the BEST FRENCH MEAL @bouchonchicago ???? Bucktown, Chicago
Got the Escargot, venison tartar, onion soup, mussels
They were in the area since 1993 and had the apple tart since they launched! Apple tart was a bit dry imo, could've used some custard or layered with filling
Overall I LOVEd this spot, and really missed french food. Glad that this is around the area :)
@midwestmunching on Instagram
Submitted by Bessy Tam on 03/08/2022
David Trevino 5 stars rating.
Went for a dinner with a friend, and the dinner food was all sensational. Our server Marcel provided beyond excellent service, she was fun and very engaging with our menu questions!
Submitted by David Trevino on 02/13/2022
Rod 5 stars rating.
Their whole duck was amazing. After failing to find a good French duck in my city, I was delighted to stop here during my trip to Chicago.
Holy buckets, what a meal. I started with a French onion soup that sent my tastebuds flying with flavor, and snacked on some freshly baked bread as I awaited my avian feast.
The whole duck came carved and served on an actual silver platter, with some delicious sides. We then ended the meal with some creme Brule and banana cream pudding. Amazing.
The flavor made me want to study cooking in France for a while just to be able to have the means to recreate such a great dinner if I ever lose access to this place. Worth the wait, drive, whatever it may be - if you're looking for French cuisine in Chicago, this is the best spot.
Submitted by Rod on 02/02/2022
M Montejano 3 stars rating.
My overall grade for Le Bouchon is: C+
Some foundational stuff - I love French bistros, France, French food, both fancy and rustic. Which is why we chose to visit Le Bouchon for the first time.
The restaurant is VERY popular. We made reservations via OpenTable and the best "lunch" reservation I could get was 1:30 - a little later than we would've preferred, but so be it. At 12:30, we were done with our errands, so I called the restaurant to see if they could get us in earlier than our 1:30 rezo. No dice. No problem: we went to a local bar to wait out the hour.
The restaurant hits the vibe of a French bistro very nicely. It's small, crowded, popular and many of the customers seemed to know each other. Very good news for the neighborhood folks.
Both the menu and the wine list are very nice and we couldn't wait to order our lunch, also received recommendations from the clients at the local bar.
Server was very nice and prompt and provided good service. She did however, fail to mention the rabbit pot-pie and other specials. Hmm. Ok.
We wanted the burger & the mussels for lunch and then, they're out of both the mussels & the burger. Ok - they were packed and it was 1:30 after all - so, ok.
Started with the duck pate & the onion soup followed by the trout in pastry and a croq madame with frites. Yum.
The soup was great, but the duck pate, was maybe a bit too "rustic" versus our expectation - looking for a bit more smooth version - still no worries.
The trout came out and was beautiful and very nicely executed. The croq madame came out and looked great - couldn't wait to dig into the fries.
The trout proved to be disappointing due to the "heavy-handed" salt in the sauce - and my frites proved to be in the same situation. Not just a little over-salted, but quite a bit. To the point that the taste in my mouth on the way home, was the same taste you have after snorkeling in the ocean and you're on your way back to shore on the shuttle boat, only to just taste the salt of the ocean in your mouth the entire way back.
The wine list was great - had a nice 2013 CDP at 1/2 off - on Monday's it's 1/2 off wine prices - yay!!
We skipped dessert because we couldn't get over the over salted meal and just finished our wine and left.
It's obviously a successful neighborhood joint where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came....
But for us that don't go into the city too much anymore (not the fault of the restaurants), we really will probably go back to our old favorites and maybe one day come back to see if this was just an anomaly.
The locals seem to love this place. But for me, I'll head elsewhere next time I'm looking for some French comfort food.
Submitted by M Montejano on 01/19/2022
Aar Sep 5 stars rating.
Went here my my anniversary dinner and it was amazing. I loved the small dining room, the window into the kitchen, watching the chefs and expo do their thing. The food was better than I could have imagined. It was my first time having frog legs and escargots and both of them were amazing. The frog legs were actually my favorite dish of the night. We also had steak tartare, which was better than so many other places in Chicago. Finally we finished with our entrees of Croquette de Canard, and Steak Fries because they were out of the dessert that we wanted. I guess we will just have to go back! We ordered the cocktail at the top of the menu, I can't remember its name, but it was strong! Whew. I have to say that the bread that they continually replenish really makes the meal because it gives you something to soak up all of the butter and leftover bits with.
Submitted by Aar Sep on 08/03/2021
Hanna Romero Molina 5 stars rating.
My husband and I went there to celebrate 1 month of being married. We had the best experience. The place was extremely busy on Monday evening and the table for two was small, but it didn't affect the taste of dishes we had.
We ordered 2 baked oysters, 2 canapés with duck liver mousse, a baby beet salad, a steak with a serving of fries and a trout.
Were too full to get a dessert, but planning to return for a creme brulee
Submitted by Hanna Romero Molina on 07/18/2021
