Chez Joël is a charming French bistro with a cozy and elegant atmosphere. The menu features authentic Southern French cuisine, and every dish feels thoughtfully prepared with rich flavors and fresh ingredients. Their wine selection is excellent, making it a perfect spot for a romantic dinner or a special evening out. Service is warm and attentive, adding to the overall experience. Prices are on the higher side, but the quality of food and ambiance justifies it. Highly recommended if you’re looking for an intimate and upscale dining experience in Chicago!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Sean Raleigh
Really cute place with extremely good duck and excellent servers. Patio is a vibe too
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Florence DiMarco
Authentic and creative French cuisine! We love everything here . We had fish of the day, soft shell crab, duck liver, salad, and almond cake. Everything was so delicious! The fish is pan seared with sea weed decoration on top of vegetables, delicious and creative! The pate was excellent with mustard seeds and fruit pickles. The almond cake has an almond crunchy shell wrapped around. The size of the cake is perfect! We enjoyed everything we ordered and will definitely come back! Our great commend to the chef at chez Joel!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
g
Outdoors quiet but indoors noisy. Romantic and cosy. Good value, excellent food, authentic. Great deserts.
Delia
We had eaten at Chez Joel many times and it was formerly a nice restaurant with good food and service. Last evening the service was rude, inattentive, and ineffective. The food was inedible and was not served based on the order placed. The fish special was tough in the middle and unable to be eaten. The rack of lamb was ordered with potato and Parisian vegetables and was served by a rude male buser with the wrong vegetables. The buser then insulted me when I pointed out that the vegetable order was incorrectly served. He claimed to be the owner's nephew which apparently made him think it was acceptable to tell us that he knew better what we ordered than we did. When I asked to speak to a manager he said the manager was his uncle and was not in the restaurant. We just wanted the food we ordered to be served. He walked off and left us with the wrong food. Some time later another woman came by after our original server never came to check on us, and she claimed to be the floor manager. We explained what had happened, she apologized, and said she would remove the inedible fish entree from the bill. My plate was taken away with the inedible fish as well as my wine glass and my nearly empty water glass remained where no one offered me anything further to drink. The potato ordered with the rack of lamb was brought in a side dish several minutes after the lamb was served. I should mention the original server gleefully told us when we both asked to have a vegetable that was available on the menu that evening substituted with our entrees that there would be an additional fee for the substitution. In all of our prior visits to Chez Joel this was never a problem or an additional fee. We declined to order dessert. The floor manager then came back by to say she had taken care of the check since the experience was so poor and unacceptable. We Appreciated that but such a poor experience is unforgettable.
Mary Anne
There's no better place to be on a lovely summer evening than outdoors at Chez Joel. David, our server, was terrific and attentive. Frog legs, endive salad, filet and butternut squash ravioli were all wonderful. The special blueberry tart was heavenly. Always a pleasure.
Dennis
Excellent experience as usual. 3 of us had steaks and everyone was highly satisfied. One had chicken which was prepared with tasty ingredients to make it special. No attitude, everyone is geared to giving you a good experience. The outdoor patio is a delight on any night, it just gets more beautiful as the evening goes on. We love this place.
Robert
Delightful experience. Nice assortment of choices. Loved the seasonal softshell crab entree and the grilled octopus appetizer. My wife enjoyed the linguine with seafood. Our waitress Joanna was a enthusiastic and knowledgeable and added greatly to our experience.Bob D
Donovan
Great overall- love the spot. Our server seems a little out of it though. For a 5 year anniversary celebration, would've expected a little more than we got.
Debbi
Such a charming restaurant Very welcoming Our waitress Giovanna was outstanding I would come back to Chicago just to come here for dinner
I cannot wait to come back to enjoy more coq au vin on their patio this summer! Delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jackie
Amazing ratatouille and completely a new take on a familiar dish. Service was spotty and felt like I needed to flag the server down constantly.
Elizabeth Martinez
Cozy spot in Little Italy with a legit French vibe. Ordered the Coq au Vin, which was hearty and flavorful, and the Pommes Frites on the side. The chicken was tender, and the wine sauce had that rich depth. Staff was friendly, and the ambiance was perfect for a relaxed dinner. Only knock was the mashed potatoes were a bit underwhelming. Still, a solid choice for classic French comfort food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Marie-Line Lewis
Inside and out the atmosphere to this french restaurant is so inviting. The food was very good from the escargot and mussels to the duck and coq au vin. The service was excellent. Everyone that we had contact with were very friendly and professional especially our waitress who was so enjoyable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jill
A gem of a restaurant with fabulous food, service, and ambiance. First time dining on the patio and it was a rare treat!
Chez Joël is a charming French bistro with a cozy and elegant atmosphere. The menu features authentic Southern French cuisine, and every dish feels thoughtfully prepared with rich flavors and fresh ingredients. Their wine selection is excellent, making it a perfect spot for a romantic dinner or a special evening out. Service is warm and attentive, adding to the overall experience. Prices are on the higher side, but the quality of food and ambiance justifies it. Highly recommended if you’re looking for an intimate and upscale dining experience in Chicago!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Really cute place with extremely good duck and excellent servers. Patio is a vibe too
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Authentic and creative French cuisine! We love everything here . We had fish of the day, soft shell crab, duck liver, salad, and almond cake. Everything was so delicious! The fish is pan seared with sea weed decoration on top of vegetables, delicious and creative! The pate was excellent with mustard seeds and fruit pickles. The almond cake has an almond crunchy shell wrapped around. The size of the cake is perfect! We enjoyed everything we ordered and will definitely come back! Our great commend to the chef at chez Joel!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Outdoors quiet but indoors noisy. Romantic and cosy. Good value, excellent food, authentic. Great deserts.
We had eaten at Chez Joel many times and it was formerly a nice restaurant with good food and service. Last evening the service was rude, inattentive, and ineffective. The food was inedible and was not served based on the order placed. The fish special was tough in the middle and unable to be eaten. The rack of lamb was ordered with potato and Parisian vegetables and was served by a rude male buser with the wrong vegetables. The buser then insulted me when I pointed out that the vegetable order was incorrectly served. He claimed to be the owner's nephew which apparently made him think it was acceptable to tell us that he knew better what we ordered than we did. When I asked to speak to a manager he said the manager was his uncle and was not in the restaurant. We just wanted the food we ordered to be served. He walked off and left us with the wrong food. Some time later another woman came by after our original server never came to check on us, and she claimed to be the floor manager. We explained what had happened, she apologized, and said she would remove the inedible fish entree from the bill. My plate was taken away with the inedible fish as well as my wine glass and my nearly empty water glass remained where no one offered me anything further to drink. The potato ordered with the rack of lamb was brought in a side dish several minutes after the lamb was served. I should mention the original server gleefully told us when we both asked to have a vegetable that was available on the menu that evening substituted with our entrees that there would be an additional fee for the substitution. In all of our prior visits to Chez Joel this was never a problem or an additional fee. We declined to order dessert. The floor manager then came back by to say she had taken care of the check since the experience was so poor and unacceptable. We Appreciated that but such a poor experience is unforgettable.
There's no better place to be on a lovely summer evening than outdoors at Chez Joel. David, our server, was terrific and attentive. Frog legs, endive salad, filet and butternut squash ravioli were all wonderful. The special blueberry tart was heavenly. Always a pleasure.
Excellent experience as usual. 3 of us had steaks and everyone was highly satisfied. One had chicken which was prepared with tasty ingredients to make it special. No attitude, everyone is geared to giving you a good experience. The outdoor patio is a delight on any night, it just gets more beautiful as the evening goes on. We love this place.
Delightful experience. Nice assortment of choices. Loved the seasonal softshell crab entree and the grilled octopus appetizer. My wife enjoyed the linguine with seafood. Our waitress Joanna was a enthusiastic and knowledgeable and added greatly to our experience.Bob D
Great overall- love the spot. Our server seems a little out of it though. For a 5 year anniversary celebration, would've expected a little more than we got.
Such a charming restaurant Very welcoming Our waitress Giovanna was outstanding I would come back to Chicago just to come here for dinner
Restaurantji Recommends
I cannot wait to come back to enjoy more coq au vin on their patio this summer! Delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing ratatouille and completely a new take on a familiar dish. Service was spotty and felt like I needed to flag the server down constantly.
Cozy spot in Little Italy with a legit French vibe. Ordered the Coq au Vin, which was hearty and flavorful, and the Pommes Frites on the side. The chicken was tender, and the wine sauce had that rich depth. Staff was friendly, and the ambiance was perfect for a relaxed dinner. Only knock was the mashed potatoes were a bit underwhelming. Still, a solid choice for classic French comfort food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Inside and out the atmosphere to this french restaurant is so inviting. The food was very good from the escargot and mussels to the duck and coq au vin. The service was excellent. Everyone that we had contact with were very friendly and professional especially our waitress who was so enjoyable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A gem of a restaurant with fabulous food, service, and ambiance. First time dining on the patio and it was a rare treat!
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