Where to Eat French Cuisine During Chicago’s Restaurant Week?

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July 10 to 23, 12 French restaurants in Chicago will be offering special prix fixe menus so that the public can sample their best dishes at affordable prices. The third edition of the city’s French Restaurant Week coincides with Bastille Day celebrations and meals will be offered for $17.89, $38, and 178.90 to echo France’s revolutionary year. Below is a list and short description of all the participating restaurants.

Bistro Voltaire

This bistro is a little bit of Paris in Chicago. Blue, white and red colors, French music and the menu’s offerings of French onion soup, escargots, and bouillabaisse all harken back to the French capital city.

226 West Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 265-0911
www.bistrovoltaire.com 

Brindille

Cousins and partners Carrie and Michael Nahabedian opened this restaurant, their second, in 2013 as a place to celebrate their favorite spots in Paris. The elegant dining room has candlelit tables with French linens. If you enjoy the food here, you can also take a cooking class from their kitchen to learn how to make the dishes yourself.

534 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 595-1616
www.brindille-chicago.com

Café des Architectes

This modern French restaurant located in Downtown Chicago features seasonal menus created by chef Greg Biggers, an Alabama native who oversees dining in Sofitel Chicago, where this café is located. The menu features fresh, local produce, French cheeses and exotic seafood from Japan.

20 East Chestnut Street
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 324-4063
www.cafedesarchitectes.com

Cyrano’s Café & Wine Bar on the River Walk

Named after French poet and dramatist Cyrano de Bergerac, this café is one of the oldest located alongside Chicago’s River Walk. French chef Didier Duran came to America in 1986 and opened the café with his wife, the café’s sommelier, in 1999 to provide an affordable alternative to typical expensive French dining.

233 East Lower Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 616-1400
www.cyranoscafeontheriver.com

Kiki’s Bistro

Named “2015 Industry Legend” by the Chicago Culinary Museum, owner Georges “Kiki” Cuisance was also inducted into Chicago Chef’s Hall of Fame. Kiki’s Bistro was opened in 1990 and has been praised by many reviewers and the street corner in front of the restaurant was officially renamed “Rue de Kiki” for the bistro’s 20th anniversary.

900 North Franklin Street
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 335-5454
www.kikisbistro.com

La Sardine

This bistro features classic French dishes such as escargots à la bourguignonne, French onion soup, house-made charcuterie, bouillabaisse, steak frites, and according to its website, “the best soufflés in the city.”

111 North Carpenter Street
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 421-2800
www.lasardine.com

Le Bouchon

This classic French bistro in Bucktown has been operating since 1993 and was voted one of the best French restaurants in America by Timeout Magazine. Favorite dishes include the onion tart, onion soup, steak frites, and the harder-to-find veal kidneys.

1958 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 862-6600
www.lebouchonofchicago.com

Mexique

Chef Carlos Gaytan opened Mexique in 2008 after working in the Chicago dining industry for nearly a decade. The restaurant, which serves dishes that blend his French cooking expertise with his roots in traditional Mexican cuisine, was awarded a star in the Michelin Guide in 2013.

1529 West Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 850-0288
www.mexiquechicago.com

Oceanique

This French-American seafood restaurant has been ranked by Zagat as the top seafood restaurant in the Chicago area since 1993. Additionally, it has been listed as having one of the best wine lists in the world by Wine Spectator Magazine. Chef and owner Mark Grosz studied under chefs in Illinois, France and Hong Kong before opening Oceanique in 1989.

505 Main Street
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 864-3435
www.oceanique.com

Pierrot Gourmet

Located inside the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, this café and bistro is street-level and faces out into the street to allow people watching and sun bathing. The décor has a farmhouse aesthetic with wood panels and iron accents.

108 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 573-6749
www.chicago.peninsula.com

Taus Authentic

This casual dining spot offers a little bit of everything, serving contemporary American dishes inspired by global flavors. Chef Michael Taus graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and began his career working in the kitchens of chef Pierre Pollin’s restaurant Le Titi de Paris.

1846 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 561-4500
www.tausauthentic.com

The Glunz Tavern

This tavern is a reincarnation of a popular neighborhood spot that was founded in 1888 by Louis Glunz I. After closing due to Prohibition, the venue was empty for 90 years before Glunz’s granddaughter and great-grandson decided to reopen the location. The menu displays a wide range of classic European-style dishes that is inspired by the team’s French-German-Alsatian-Austrian heritage.

1202 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 642-3000
www.glunztavern.com

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