Came here for happy hour on a Friday at 4pm. Happy hour is Mon- Friday 4-6pm. The place was clean, modern and had almost a nautical feel to it. There are 4- 5 high tops, 6 or so booths and a bar in the main dining area. By 4:30 the place was packed! We enjoyed a happy hour special of grill oysters at $2 a piece, beef fat frites with a garlic aioli, and bread service. The bread was a small sourdough pane with the most delicious softened salted butter ever. Omg was in fact my favorite thing there. The beef fat fries were fresh cut, crispy and tasty but nothing spectacular. The grilled oysters were plump and tasty. They were dressed in a ponzu type of sauce. I also enjoyed the Croatian white wine they had by the glass. All in all enjoyed my time there definitely a place to bookmark for happy hour rotation.
crunch6
We loved this restaurant with our friends and the food was so amazing. What is challenging is the parking.
Shaan Somani
Hip space with delicious oysters. Happy hour is a good deal but nothing special.
Emily Baumgarten
Cafe Cancale has some of the best contemporary French food in Chicago. Their $1 oyster happy hours from 4-6 is my favorite in the city. The oysters are always fresh. Also, the service is great. Cannot go wrong here.
Andy Fowler
Just incredible food and service. The grilled oysters, mussels, and duck were so good. Will definitely be back!!
Mike P.
Just go! Happy hour oysters, grilled are delicious!! Super cute, French flair! Loved wow the beef tartare, the brussels sprouts and the beet salad! Everything was beyond delicious fear!
Christine S.
We just had a great meal at Café Cancale. They have a happy hour from 4-6 so we went for that and added on dinner. So: an $8 martini (with Citadelle French gin) and an $8 Negroni plus a dozen East Coast champagne oysters $1 ea during happy hour. For the main course we shared a "petite plateau". Plus rosé. The plateau had 2 kinds of raw oysters with 3 condiments, 4 extra large steamed tender shrimp with a great sauce I have no idea what, beef tartare with multi-grain toast points, 6 littleneck clams and salmon "cru ".This tiered plateau was topped by "frites" with an aioli dipping sauce, accompanied by an outstanding baguette and some rich butter in a cup. Then the waitress brought us complimentary shots of chilled vodka to "go with the oysters". Who knew? I haven't had a plateau this good since France. Authentic, fresh, delicious Certainly no room for dessert. Cancale is a small town in Brittany. There are vintage Cancale prints in the ladies' room - showing women knitting and making fishing nets. Would love to get one of them. We were in Brittany once and I remember all the striped cabanas on the beach- the awnings over the windows are broad green and white stripes and inside is a sophisticated French feel. Service was attentive but not overbearing. Alyssa was our server and there was also a gentleman, maybe the manager, who waited on us. Noise: none. We were there from about 5:30- 7:30 (happy hour is 4-6) on a Tuesday evening. Bar was pretty full during happy hour and our table for 2 was right next to bar. I had no trouble hearing and I usually do in a busy restaurant. Maybe weekends are noisier? AND French chansons - not too loud. I thought ambience was nearly perfect
Jon E.
Incredible food and good service. Ordered the raw scallops, which were absolutely delicious. Also enjoyed the fish on the bone (although be careful of those bones, they're hard to find). Only knock was the use of the beautiful space. With such an amazing view of Milwaukee Ave , why would you pull the blinds down and restrict the view?
Joshua Buss
Our brunch food was fantastic, as was the service and atmosphere. Really couldn't ask for more.
Ezen C.
We arrived early for a Saturday dinner reservation at 4:45 PM and it was basically empty. When we left around 6:00 PM it had filled up. Stand out dishes were the - chef's choice of oysters, which comes with 6 different types to try. The 6 we got all looked and tasted really different. All were fresh and delicious! - mussels were super plump and cooked perfectly. The broth had a lot of celery and fennel. - trout was cooked perfectly and the skin was crispy. We also got the marjolaine cake for dessert and that was yummy. Overall pretty good modern French faire! We came to celebrate a birthday and they provided a free macaroon with a candle served without embarrassment. Cons - can get loud when it's busy. Our fries were oddly small and they were late sending it out, but fortunately they were aware of this and took it off our bill, so good save!
Enjoyed the scallops, Great flavor. Brussel sprouts a must try. Attentive staff. Definitely will return
Adam Shiltz
I did not enjoy the brunch Gallete at all, but that wasn't the main problem. I had 1.5 bites of a full plate of breakfast (Gallete Complete) and when my server came to ask me, I told him my thoughts on the dijon and egg and my palate...his response was, "Yeah, I it's a lot" grabbed my entire plate and left. I just figured if someone had ONE bite of their main course, you would offer something..anything..a piece of toast..a fried egg. And not 'welp, see ya later'. Did not leave a good taste in my mouth..pun intended.
Ana-Marie P.
I had high hopes for this place, but most things were just mediocre. The oysters were our favorite part of the meal. The steak tartare was chewy, it had hints of sweetness, and it was served with burnt toast. The trout was cooked well, I just wish I could have tasted more of the truffle peach olive flavor. The chicken was not memorable and neither was the majorlaine cake. They feature organic wines and we were unable to find something we liked after sampling a few wines, so we did cocktails, which seemed to be what everyone else was ordering as well.
Stefanie Wright
Excellent staff from the bartender to GM Andrew. We were under a time constraint and every dish came out at an excellent pace so we finished on time but never felt rushed. The smoked trout rillettes is a revelation. Highly recommended!
Jody B.
This place was recommended while we were drinking at The Violet Hour. I went online and made a reservation for 7:30. Once we had enough at TVH, we walked over to Cafe Cancale. They didn't have our reservation (not sure why) but they sat us at a table for two. After the chill quiet vibe at TVH, this place seemed noisy and stressful. Our table was very close to the two tables beside us, so that also added to the stress. Our waitperson was nice and efficient. The food was good, but nothing to rave about. I had salad lyonnaise and mussels. I think this might be a better place to go with a crowd and order a lot of the seafood to share. The vibe and the energy are no conducive to having a quiet date.
Came here for happy hour on a Friday at 4pm. Happy hour is Mon- Friday 4-6pm. The place was clean, modern and had almost a nautical feel to it. There are 4- 5 high tops, 6 or so booths and a bar in the main dining area. By 4:30 the place was packed! We enjoyed a happy hour special of grill oysters at $2 a piece, beef fat frites with a garlic aioli, and bread service. The bread was a small sourdough pane with the most delicious softened salted butter ever. Omg was in fact my favorite thing there. The beef fat fries were fresh cut, crispy and tasty but nothing spectacular. The grilled oysters were plump and tasty. They were dressed in a ponzu type of sauce. I also enjoyed the Croatian white wine they had by the glass. All in all enjoyed my time there definitely a place to bookmark for happy hour rotation.
We loved this restaurant with our friends and the food was so amazing. What is challenging is the parking.
Hip space with delicious oysters. Happy hour is a good deal but nothing special.
Cafe Cancale has some of the best contemporary French food in Chicago. Their $1 oyster happy hours from 4-6 is my favorite in the city. The oysters are always fresh. Also, the service is great. Cannot go wrong here.
Just incredible food and service. The grilled oysters, mussels, and duck were so good. Will definitely be back!!
Just go! Happy hour oysters, grilled are delicious!! Super cute, French flair! Loved wow the beef tartare, the brussels sprouts and the beet salad! Everything was beyond delicious fear!
We just had a great meal at Café Cancale. They have a happy hour from 4-6 so we went for that and added on dinner. So: an $8 martini (with Citadelle French gin) and an $8 Negroni plus a dozen East Coast champagne oysters $1 ea during happy hour. For the main course we shared a "petite plateau". Plus rosé. The plateau had 2 kinds of raw oysters with 3 condiments, 4 extra large steamed tender shrimp with a great sauce I have no idea what, beef tartare with multi-grain toast points, 6 littleneck clams and salmon "cru ".This tiered plateau was topped by "frites" with an aioli dipping sauce, accompanied by an outstanding baguette and some rich butter in a cup. Then the waitress brought us complimentary shots of chilled vodka to "go with the oysters". Who knew? I haven't had a plateau this good since France. Authentic, fresh, delicious Certainly no room for dessert. Cancale is a small town in Brittany. There are vintage Cancale prints in the ladies' room - showing women knitting and making fishing nets. Would love to get one of them. We were in Brittany once and I remember all the striped cabanas on the beach- the awnings over the windows are broad green and white stripes and inside is a sophisticated French feel. Service was attentive but not overbearing. Alyssa was our server and there was also a gentleman, maybe the manager, who waited on us. Noise: none. We were there from about 5:30- 7:30 (happy hour is 4-6) on a Tuesday evening. Bar was pretty full during happy hour and our table for 2 was right next to bar. I had no trouble hearing and I usually do in a busy restaurant. Maybe weekends are noisier? AND French chansons - not too loud. I thought ambience was nearly perfect
Incredible food and good service. Ordered the raw scallops, which were absolutely delicious. Also enjoyed the fish on the bone (although be careful of those bones, they're hard to find). Only knock was the use of the beautiful space. With such an amazing view of Milwaukee Ave , why would you pull the blinds down and restrict the view?
Our brunch food was fantastic, as was the service and atmosphere. Really couldn't ask for more.
We arrived early for a Saturday dinner reservation at 4:45 PM and it was basically empty. When we left around 6:00 PM it had filled up. Stand out dishes were the - chef's choice of oysters, which comes with 6 different types to try. The 6 we got all looked and tasted really different. All were fresh and delicious! - mussels were super plump and cooked perfectly. The broth had a lot of celery and fennel. - trout was cooked perfectly and the skin was crispy. We also got the marjolaine cake for dessert and that was yummy. Overall pretty good modern French faire! We came to celebrate a birthday and they provided a free macaroon with a candle served without embarrassment. Cons - can get loud when it's busy. Our fries were oddly small and they were late sending it out, but fortunately they were aware of this and took it off our bill, so good save!
Restaurantji Recommends
Enjoyed the scallops, Great flavor. Brussel sprouts a must try. Attentive staff. Definitely will return
I did not enjoy the brunch Gallete at all, but that wasn't the main problem. I had 1.5 bites of a full plate of breakfast (Gallete Complete) and when my server came to ask me, I told him my thoughts on the dijon and egg and my palate...his response was, "Yeah, I it's a lot" grabbed my entire plate and left. I just figured if someone had ONE bite of their main course, you would offer something..anything..a piece of toast..a fried egg. And not 'welp, see ya later'. Did not leave a good taste in my mouth..pun intended.
I had high hopes for this place, but most things were just mediocre. The oysters were our favorite part of the meal. The steak tartare was chewy, it had hints of sweetness, and it was served with burnt toast. The trout was cooked well, I just wish I could have tasted more of the truffle peach olive flavor. The chicken was not memorable and neither was the majorlaine cake. They feature organic wines and we were unable to find something we liked after sampling a few wines, so we did cocktails, which seemed to be what everyone else was ordering as well.
Excellent staff from the bartender to GM Andrew. We were under a time constraint and every dish came out at an excellent pace so we finished on time but never felt rushed. The smoked trout rillettes is a revelation. Highly recommended!
This place was recommended while we were drinking at The Violet Hour. I went online and made a reservation for 7:30. Once we had enough at TVH, we walked over to Cafe Cancale. They didn't have our reservation (not sure why) but they sat us at a table for two. After the chill quiet vibe at TVH, this place seemed noisy and stressful. Our table was very close to the two tables beside us, so that also added to the stress. Our waitperson was nice and efficient. The food was good, but nothing to rave about. I had salad lyonnaise and mussels. I think this might be a better place to go with a crowd and order a lot of the seafood to share. The vibe and the energy are no conducive to having a quiet date.