Decent french cafe food, but nothing special. Brunch menu was kind of limited. It seemed understaffed and many tables in the dining room lacked ambiance and seemed like it was on the way to be a little run down.
spbm
Service was great. And our waitperson was very friendly! French onion soup was good but a tad too salty. My steak au poivre was over peppered big time to Tabatha my mouth burned - a little l ss heavy handed with that and the salt in the soup and It would be perfect. My husband's “tart” was more like a flatbread but it was tasty, as was his trout. Deserts were good. Truly the best dish of the evening was the lemon poppyseed soufflé - really delicious! For reference we did the prix fix menu as we were going to a performance after. So value wise it was great. Have had many good brunches here in the past - so I will come back.
Claire
From the host's friendly greeting to the delicious and well presented food and attentive service, we had a lovely experience at Ventaux! We took advantage of the Tuesday oyster special (and other happy hour deals), which we greatly enjoyed. Andrea, our server, made us feel well cared for. She brought my friend wine tastings when she had trouble deciding between two wines and helped us clean up a spill later on (I swear we hadn't overimbibed!). Overall, we had a wonderful time, and we plan to come back!
djwess
Our service was just terrible, and inexplicably so. We were there pre-theater, which we explained. We each ordered a drink, which were brought, and then we ordered a baguette, an appetizer each, and a salad each. We waited a moderately long time before any food came -- why didn't the bread come out at this time? Then, my companion's oysters came out. Still no bread (server said she'd have to go see if it was ready??) & still nothing for me. We asked where my steak tartare was - she seemed mystified. Then, the 2 salads came out with the bread. Finally my appetizer came. The baguette came on a big plate but we were not given bread & butter plates each. Also, we had no silverware on our table and had to point that out 2x when the oysters came out. Also, my companion had to ask for an oyster fork as that didn't come out either. Rather odd mistake for a place that supposedly specializes in oysters! Lastly, our bill was extremely messed up. By this point we were really stressed about making our show, but we asked to get this resolved: pointed out to them that my companion was charged twice, separately, for half the bill each, instead of half on each of our credit cards as we asked. The server, again, had no concept, & had to call the manager over who insisted that wasn't the case! At which point we gave up because we had to go. Just bad service from beginning to end. Won't be returning despite the food being tasty.
Service was great and we really appreciated the reserve set up the host placed for us. We had the Baked Brie, Steak Frites, and the Salmon. Everything was great, though the salmon might have been undercooked, it made me ill almost immediately after leaving. That was the only upset of our night
Isha T.
Amazing! A must go place. I will go again. We were around 20 people. This was a team outing. The servers did fabulous job. Everything was excellent, food was so tasty, wine and other liquors, just loved it. The main dish, side dish and dessert everything excellent. Good seating arrangement. It had a great view. Clean restaurant with amazing tasty food. This should be in your go to list!
Saadia P.
Located on a convenient spot down town. Cute cafe. Good sitting capacity but we sat in the front area as it was bright. Ordered sandwich and a french toast. French toast was ok but the sandwich was very tasty. Had latte which was nice and hot. Service was good too. Good to try once or twice.
Food is average. We didn't have a waiter. Bartender helped us but had to flag someone down anytime we needed anything. Frustrating. Food is average. Not a good experience today.
Samara R.
French onion soup and breakfast croissant. Soup was just average - cheese not melted on top. Croissant was luke-warm - think it should have been served hot. Taste was unremarkable. Service and atmosphere were about average for a chain operation such as this.
Linda Y.
Stopped in on a Monday for happy hour (4-7pm) since they seemed to have a pretty good HH menu. Their front space which you can see from outside is a cafe, however, when you're inside, the vibe is very different in the dining room. We got the oysters and the mussels with a side of fries and a baguette. The oysters were great - they were large and for the price, you can't complain! The mussels were pretty disappointing, unfortunately. They were good but nearly all of the mussels were as small as a nickel. Not sure if they give you a batch with smaller mussels for the HH deal but it would definitely suck if it was the same one on the dinner menu. The baguette was a great pairing to soak up all the juice in the mussels though! I'll probably give the cafe a try next time but would probably pass on the main restaurant! The service was good and our server was nice and made sure we were comfortable and good throughout our time there so that was nice!
Luxury dining should not mean snooty...apparently the memo did not make it to the Sunday morning hostess. Since 1st impressions matter, I suggest some smile training...just a little. The food, for being well crafted was "Meh" at best. My wife's scrambled eggs were beautiful looking. The potatoes were roasted new potatoes...poorly seasoned and rated bland. The brioche was obviously French toast cut as it was very thick. The eggs fluffy looking, perhaps made with cream. Again, meh tasting. I ordered Duck and Waffles. (I know, right!) Sounded unique and indeed it was. Presented beautifully. Tasted, Meh! I pushed away the duck because it was over breaded and the meat, mushy and flavorless. The waffle was just waffle...no big deal. Our server was nice enough but could barely muster a smile. Maybe I'm too simple for this luxurious place but if it were me, I'd "Wow" my guests who were willing to pay upscale prices for breakfast. I'd start by hiring and training happy people.
MLag
Waitress was very good. Ambience terrible. We were seated in a booth inf front of the giant TV---ugly, totally non French! Music was constant distraction of thumping bass--play something charming of you call yourself a French brasserie. The oysters are delicious, but very small and ridiculously expensive. ... so was the wine. We could hardly hear the people at our table.
ChiDoug47
Good experience overall - a few specifics: I had the fixed-price menu, the one on Thursday night. 2 of the 3 dishes were excellent (brie and financier), the lobster dish not so much - it was OK but not what I expected from the menu. Service was excellent; waiter was very helpful and attentive. One negative was the table itself - it was sticky - like, the whole horizontal surface. Not sure why and it seemed like the tables next to us were sticky also. Could we have asked to be moved to another table? Possibly, though there weren't a lot of empty tables so we didn't want to be disruptive. It definitely didn't give a good impression however - maybe the veneer on the table was old? It wasn't a spill or anything like that. Regardless, I'd highly recommend taking a look at and addressing this.
Bibliofil
This was one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. This time, it was extremely loud and two requests to turn down the music had no result. The table was sticky. My dining companion had a nut allergy, which I communicated through Open Table. That was not carried over and nuts were served.
Tom M.
Outstanding food and service, one of the best salads I've ever had, creative "raw cocktails", amazing main course. This will become a regular treat when visiting Chicago again. Andrew over delivered amazing service. Made my whole trip special.
Decent french cafe food, but nothing special. Brunch menu was kind of limited. It seemed understaffed and many tables in the dining room lacked ambiance and seemed like it was on the way to be a little run down.
Service was great. And our waitperson was very friendly! French onion soup was good but a tad too salty. My steak au poivre was over peppered big time to Tabatha my mouth burned - a little l ss heavy handed with that and the salt in the soup and It would be perfect. My husband's “tart” was more like a flatbread but it was tasty, as was his trout. Deserts were good. Truly the best dish of the evening was the lemon poppyseed soufflé - really delicious! For reference we did the prix fix menu as we were going to a performance after. So value wise it was great. Have had many good brunches here in the past - so I will come back.
From the host's friendly greeting to the delicious and well presented food and attentive service, we had a lovely experience at Ventaux! We took advantage of the Tuesday oyster special (and other happy hour deals), which we greatly enjoyed. Andrea, our server, made us feel well cared for. She brought my friend wine tastings when she had trouble deciding between two wines and helped us clean up a spill later on (I swear we hadn't overimbibed!). Overall, we had a wonderful time, and we plan to come back!
Our service was just terrible, and inexplicably so. We were there pre-theater, which we explained. We each ordered a drink, which were brought, and then we ordered a baguette, an appetizer each, and a salad each. We waited a moderately long time before any food came -- why didn't the bread come out at this time? Then, my companion's oysters came out. Still no bread (server said she'd have to go see if it was ready??) & still nothing for me. We asked where my steak tartare was - she seemed mystified. Then, the 2 salads came out with the bread. Finally my appetizer came. The baguette came on a big plate but we were not given bread & butter plates each. Also, we had no silverware on our table and had to point that out 2x when the oysters came out. Also, my companion had to ask for an oyster fork as that didn't come out either. Rather odd mistake for a place that supposedly specializes in oysters! Lastly, our bill was extremely messed up. By this point we were really stressed about making our show, but we asked to get this resolved: pointed out to them that my companion was charged twice, separately, for half the bill each, instead of half on each of our credit cards as we asked. The server, again, had no concept, & had to call the manager over who insisted that wasn't the case! At which point we gave up because we had to go. Just bad service from beginning to end. Won't be returning despite the food being tasty.
Service was great and we really appreciated the reserve set up the host placed for us. We had the Baked Brie, Steak Frites, and the Salmon. Everything was great, though the salmon might have been undercooked, it made me ill almost immediately after leaving. That was the only upset of our night
Amazing! A must go place. I will go again. We were around 20 people. This was a team outing. The servers did fabulous job. Everything was excellent, food was so tasty, wine and other liquors, just loved it. The main dish, side dish and dessert everything excellent. Good seating arrangement. It had a great view. Clean restaurant with amazing tasty food. This should be in your go to list!
Located on a convenient spot down town. Cute cafe. Good sitting capacity but we sat in the front area as it was bright. Ordered sandwich and a french toast. French toast was ok but the sandwich was very tasty. Had latte which was nice and hot. Service was good too. Good to try once or twice.
Food is average. We didn't have a waiter. Bartender helped us but had to flag someone down anytime we needed anything. Frustrating. Food is average. Not a good experience today.
French onion soup and breakfast croissant. Soup was just average - cheese not melted on top. Croissant was luke-warm - think it should have been served hot. Taste was unremarkable. Service and atmosphere were about average for a chain operation such as this.
Stopped in on a Monday for happy hour (4-7pm) since they seemed to have a pretty good HH menu. Their front space which you can see from outside is a cafe, however, when you're inside, the vibe is very different in the dining room. We got the oysters and the mussels with a side of fries and a baguette. The oysters were great - they were large and for the price, you can't complain! The mussels were pretty disappointing, unfortunately. They were good but nearly all of the mussels were as small as a nickel. Not sure if they give you a batch with smaller mussels for the HH deal but it would definitely suck if it was the same one on the dinner menu. The baguette was a great pairing to soak up all the juice in the mussels though! I'll probably give the cafe a try next time but would probably pass on the main restaurant! The service was good and our server was nice and made sure we were comfortable and good throughout our time there so that was nice!
Restaurantji Recommends
Luxury dining should not mean snooty...apparently the memo did not make it to the Sunday morning hostess. Since 1st impressions matter, I suggest some smile training...just a little. The food, for being well crafted was "Meh" at best. My wife's scrambled eggs were beautiful looking. The potatoes were roasted new potatoes...poorly seasoned and rated bland. The brioche was obviously French toast cut as it was very thick. The eggs fluffy looking, perhaps made with cream. Again, meh tasting. I ordered Duck and Waffles. (I know, right!) Sounded unique and indeed it was. Presented beautifully. Tasted, Meh! I pushed away the duck because it was over breaded and the meat, mushy and flavorless. The waffle was just waffle...no big deal. Our server was nice enough but could barely muster a smile. Maybe I'm too simple for this luxurious place but if it were me, I'd "Wow" my guests who were willing to pay upscale prices for breakfast. I'd start by hiring and training happy people.
Waitress was very good. Ambience terrible. We were seated in a booth inf front of the giant TV---ugly, totally non French! Music was constant distraction of thumping bass--play something charming of you call yourself a French brasserie. The oysters are delicious, but very small and ridiculously expensive. ... so was the wine. We could hardly hear the people at our table.
Good experience overall - a few specifics: I had the fixed-price menu, the one on Thursday night. 2 of the 3 dishes were excellent (brie and financier), the lobster dish not so much - it was OK but not what I expected from the menu. Service was excellent; waiter was very helpful and attentive. One negative was the table itself - it was sticky - like, the whole horizontal surface. Not sure why and it seemed like the tables next to us were sticky also. Could we have asked to be moved to another table? Possibly, though there weren't a lot of empty tables so we didn't want to be disruptive. It definitely didn't give a good impression however - maybe the veneer on the table was old? It wasn't a spill or anything like that. Regardless, I'd highly recommend taking a look at and addressing this.
This was one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. This time, it was extremely loud and two requests to turn down the music had no result. The table was sticky. My dining companion had a nut allergy, which I communicated through Open Table. That was not carried over and nuts were served.
Outstanding food and service, one of the best salads I've ever had, creative "raw cocktails", amazing main course. This will become a regular treat when visiting Chicago again. Andrew over delivered amazing service. Made my whole trip special.