Maybe I'm not a huge fan of Canadian-French cuisine, but it was pretty meh. Food was good but nothing too outstanding. It was also a little on the pricier side as well. The scallops were a little too over cooked and dry, so I didn't enjoy them as much as I thought it would. Pomme Frites we're nice and crispy. Delicious. Heirloom tomatoes were nice and plump! Fried sweetbreads were just ok. It kind of tasted like a popcorn chicken, but softer. We also got a little charcuterie board and I didn't like how they charged us for butter and bread. The baguette was $1 more and tasted worse than the one that came with the plate. The cavatelli was actually refreshing! It's not a saucy pasta, so if you're into that, skip this one. Overall, not entirely impressed read more

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I stumbled upon this hidden gem during our three-day visit to Chicago. After dining at both three and one Michelin-starred restaurants on the previous two nights, we saved Dear Margaret for our final evening. And let me tell you, the Michelin-starred establishments in Chicago could certainly learn a thing or two from Dear Margaret. This cozy and unassuming restaurant completely surpassed the renowned Michelin offerings. Every dish we sampled was simply divine, leaving us wishing we could indulge in seconds of each. From start to finish, Dear Margaret delivered an unforgettable culinary experience that exceeded all expectations. No pictures to post - the food just disappeared so fast! read more

Charming with amazing farm to table French flair local eatery. Service is friendly and prompt. We were welcomed by Terry and walking French wine aficionado. French wine list solid and great value. read more

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Experience was IMMACULATE. Service was fantastic and the food was just as good as it looks. They are BYO for the time being. Recommend getting there right at 5 if you do not have reservations. Food: started with the house-smoked trout, afterglow (goat cheese), and baguette. Moved to the pomme frites. Got the truffle agnolotti and aged duck breast for appetizers. Finished with the Nanaimo bars for dessert. Show stoppers: pomme frites - will never go back to any other type of fry. They have this crunch to them and it does not taste mushy or dense. They achieve this texture by using this potato hybrid - it is BOMB. The duck breast - the crispy skin reminds me of Peking Duck. The meat was a tad tough, but it can attribute to not cutting the portions smaller. The agnolotti had a GENEROUS amount of truffles (drooool). Unassuming and locally sourced ingredients. Left satiated and can find ourselves coming back to try more. 10000000/10 and you need to try this place!!! read more

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We had a great time at Dear Margaret on a Wednesday night. Front start to finish everything was excellent. We started with Sparkling wine to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Followed by some blue Urdina cheese and smoked meats. For dinner we had the delicious squash and striped sea bass. Ending the night with the amazing pear tart. Chad our server was knowledgeable and personable. I highly recommend you make reservations soon for their creative and thoughtful food and ambience. read more

Fantastic! Chad provided great service. He knew our dietary restrictions from our reservation and was prepared with suggestions. The space is warm and inviting. The rigatoni was phenomenal as well as the sturgeon. Would highly recommend the pickled beat lox (I wish they sold this in bulk so I could have it every morning on my bagels.) read more

Probably one of the best places I've been this year thus far. Not loud or too quiet, not too posh or too casual. Starting with a tip, make sure to ask if they have the baguette for the charcuterie board. The menu with toast instead so it's important that you ask. Great service! Friendly, attentive, not too fast or too slow. We were 4 people and we were told with the charcuterie board you should get 1 small and 1 large plate per person. We got 5 dishes in total and I this we made the right choice. The lamb, rabbit liver, fries, whey braised carrots, and the asparagus. I can recommend them all actually. read more

This place is a true gem! Outstanding service, wildly delicious food, cozy atmosphere...what more can you ask for? Oh, I know...ask for the madeinhousedaily sourdough bread. You won't be disappointed read more

Charcuterie platter with duck liver mousse with gooseberry aigre-doux, lamb sausage, some local cheeses and honeycomb. Escargot that was roasted with rosemary and compound butter, an amazing beet salad with burrata cheese served pommes dauphines; some kind of lightly breaded potato stuffed with oyster mousse topped with caviar, and house-made French baguette & grilled 9-grain whole wheat bread and fries fried in beef tallow. Then we had 22-day dry-aged bavette beef with escargot butter and a silky demi-glace, and tubetti and pistou. And then for dessert, we had sweet and sour cherry clafoutis with whipped crème fraîche, butterscotch maple pudding with butter brittle, and a brown butter financier with rhubarb and orange blossom yogurt and lemon. The staff is amazing as is the atmosphere. Not an open table all night. Thank you Terry and Shannon; we had a fabulous dining experience! read more

I heard about this place after seeing it on the NY Times best 50 restaurants in the US list and had to try it since I had an upcoming trip to Chicago scheduled... It did NOT disappoint! Everything was so perfectly curated, so fresh and creative! Each plate had a lovely balance of flavors for the star ingredients. The service was also part of the magic - Jill was absolutely wonderful. The price point was great and the atmosphere was charming. Overall a spectacular dining experience! read more

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Lovely rustic French food with attention to details in dishes. The restaurant felt like getting a country meal in France.

As a Canadian, I was super excited when I heard this place was opening and reviewed their menu. I grew up eating tortiere almost every holiday and Dear Margaret's version certainly didn't disappoint. It had all the spices and flavor I would expect with a perfectly flakey crust. Not to be outdone, the Nanaimo bars were absolutely fantastic and a perfect reminder of being home. Thank-you SO much to the crew at DM, you have done a great job! read more

Dear Margaret - Tortiere with fries. - French Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here for a tasting collective event. The vibes of this place are charming but nothing fancy. Decor is very average. Place is very small also. Started with the butter gigante beans. This was probably my favorite dish of the night. Had a pickled sauce which made the dish. Next we had a rye Parisian gnocchi. It had a walnut and brown butter sauce with some blackberries and mushrooms on top. Very interesting flavors. It was a lot to take in but overall very good. Next we had some roasted surgeon. I actually really enjoyed this dish a lot. The star of this dish was the brown butter mustard vinegarette served with artichokes on the side. Ended with a refreshing lavender honey cheesecake with roasted almonds on top. Overall the service was great. Has a great wine selection as well! Very interesting food! Would not recommend for a picky eater. Cute date night spot! read more

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It's a little magical: the heirloom tomato tucked into the horseradish cream, sprinkled with steak seasoning and more horseradish, is wonderfully savory, so much so that you wonder if it's too much, but it isn't. This salad and the fries (beef tallow!) would've made my day. But there was also a duck liver mousse, the pork belly across the table from me, and a plate of bright green - note to self: buy nigella seeds. Dear Margaret is intimate, delicate, and incredibly delicious. If not before, I'll be back on a snowy winter day: early darkness outside, impeccably prepared, imaginative plates inside. read more

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Delicious buttery goodness! We sat outside in a perfect Chicago night and enjoyed cheese (Sunny Ridge), House cultured butter, Duck Liver Mousse, Hanger Steak with Frites (of course!!!), Pheasant and Pan Roasted Sablefish (personal fav). Everything was delicious and indulgent read more

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French place where the food is all fancily prepared, fresh, and varies a bit with the seasons. Instead of having multiple parts like appetizers vs salads etc, all food dishes are simply listed in one section from smallest to biggest. All the choices fit on one side of a menu page - so not huge numbers of options; yet everything was really good. Would have liked a few more wine choices. Service was fantastic. read more

Visited many months ago. Very charming setting. Food was good. Don't remember anything else to note. read more

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We came here for the restaurant week. We were really surprised that their restaurant week menu is the same as their regular menu. This already tells you that it has a good value. Our favorite dish is definitely definitely the fried quail. The batter is really flavorful and the quail is moist and tender. It is very well cooked. The cole slaw is not too acidic. As an excellent supporter, it does not overwhelm the quail and refreshes your palate. The gnocchi is not traditional gnocchi in the sense that it is very fluffy and it does not use potatoes. It exceeds my expectation (from a person who doesn't gnocchi). We like the braised goat in our main dish. The root vegetables and (slightly pickled) mushroom had a nice balance with the goat. The herb also adds some complexity to the dish. We like the bread pudding for the dessert. It has fig Inside which is very unique. It is a bit overly sweet for me but I like the fig flavor. The crème brûlée goes well with the shortbread. Their service is very impressive. I think he is the owner of the restaurant. He offered us five tastings for the wine. He explained the concept of the restaurant and the details of almost every dish really well. It is a farm-to-table restaurant so they changed their menus regularly. We will definitely come back to try more dishes. read more

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After hearing so much praise, finally I got to try @dearmargaretchi! We started with The oyster mousse and smelt fish frites which were a hit even tho the smelt fish was a bit salty but surprisingly good. Striped Bass with crispy sunchoke was a delight, and the Tenderloin was perfectly cooked! But let me tell you, the butter tart dessert stole the show - hands down my favorite of the night! read more

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We went here during restaurant week and WOW! During our visit we enjoyed the Steamed Asparagus, Wild Rice & Roasted Mushrooms, Warm Duck Confit Salad, Braised Goat, Nanaimo Bars, and Maple Vanilla Crème Brûlèe but the highlights were the asparagus and duck! The only detriment to the meal was that the goat was a little bit gamier than expected and could have been trimmed better! The service was top notch along with the ambience. read more

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great service, great atmosphere, great food, definitely worth a visit. The theme of Grabdma's places carries throughout the brand, very impressive. the pheasant is a really cool dish to try, a bit on the salty side, but kind of balanced out by the vinaigrette dressing on the cauliflower. the duck live is a must, so delicious, pairs very well with the goat cheese. read more

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We went for an engagement dinner celebration. Starters are probably the best thing we had all night. The smoked carrots, the French lentils and the winter salad were all very tasty and quite different in their flavor profiles. The sable fish with Portuguese sausage and fava beans was very light and tasty, not sure how the rabbit with gnocchi was but we do know that two of our folks ordered the pork chop with mushroom cream sauce and it was not good at all. Unfortunately neither of them complained about the fact that it came out relatively cold and it was just ugly and lacked flavor and the texture was just not good. It was like a warmed over cool piece of meat with a gray sauce that didn't have a lot of flavor. It needed to be grilled I have more textural interest and some browning/grill marks on the meat itself. Desserts were OK. They brought a free piece of carrot cake for the celebration which was very nice and it was OK but it lacked flavor and it was way too cold, restaurants need to keep in mind that tastes best warmed up slightly. The nanaimo bars were OK not great, and the lemon mousse was light and had good flavor. At this point I would say go for the appetizers but I'm not so sure you should stay past that. We probably will not return. read more

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We ate here for restaurant week but the menu we were told was pretty identical to the usual menu. Aside from the fries and risotto I was not impressed by the food. I had the rigatoni that was both overcooked and had a bland and pasty sauce. I also wish we were served bread with our meal. Overall, the menu could be expanded and there should be hot bread and a few additional dessert options. read more

Been waiting to finally come, as it has been very hyped - great time, met the expected quality for sure! What I really loved were a few major areas. 1. The small space was very cozy, welcoming, and spread out. I thought we would be jammed into tables 2 inches apart. Instead we had plenty of space 2. They didn't rush us one bit. Again I expected to be, but we were there 2 hours and the courses came out perfectly timed, but spaced out apart. 3. The servers were 100% on point. We had a guy for the wine specifically, our main server, and the people bringing out plates. It felt like that "Michelin" star experience on how the described each plate and knew the ins/outs of the wines. *If you're into wine - I could tell they really hand pick their selections, know about them, and put extra time into it. Dishes: 1. The bread board selections were maybe my favorite in town. The baguette was like fresh from the oven, delicious. We got the salmon, ham, honey, and butter. All were pretty large portions and unique. 2. Pomme Dauphines - these small dumplings were filled with a dense, savory mousse. So good, and different than food I've tried before. 3. Tomato salad - larger than expected, and great. 4. Beets - also large for what I thought, and a good spin on beet-preparation. 5. Pheasent: this was meh for me. I apprecaited the dish, but it was not very tender. 6. Sablefish - it was amazing. No clue what this even was, but a great and unique dish I'd come back for 7. Cavatelli - really really awesome. Its pasta, but it was creamy, juicy noodles. *Dessert was fine. I'm never big on it, and we got a couple to share. Nothing to highlight. I hope to see them continue to impress, and keep changing up the menu with great new plates. Maybe a tasting option one day? read more

I went here for my friend's birthday. The dining experience was exceptional. Our waiter was Terry, and he was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and wine. The other staff we interacted with were so friendly and sweet. I loved all the food and drinks. I appreciated how the staff seemed to truly enjoy their job, which I don't see much evidence of at other places. Would 10/10 recommend!!! read more

I want to give a shout out to our server Jill! My friend and I reunited after Covid and we had a great time here because of Jill. Jill is super nice and friendly went extra miles to explain the menu and we ordered the right selection of food. Also, she let us to try out different wine before we ordered and we ended up having more glasses coz her recommendation. All the other staff there are friendly and attentive. It is a great place for friends and family gathering. read more

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An intimate, cozy French Canadian restaurant with high-end comfort food. I had a really nice weeknight dinner here. To start, I got the duck liver mousse, lake breeze cheese with honey, butter, and a baguette. The duck liver mousse had a wonderfully creamy texture with walnuts and other toppings for crunch and a very strong flavor (obviously duck liver but also lots of rosemary). I thought it was good, but the star of the show was the lake breeze cheese. Something about goat cheese and honey comb is *chef's kiss*. Really can't be beat. The baguette was crunchy and warm and had a wonderful airy crumb. A really good start to the meal. Next up was the fried smelts, and to be honest, they were a little disappointing. They weren't the crispiest, and the fried pickles they came with (pickled carrots in my case) were a bit too salty. It wasn't bad, just not as good as they could have been. I got the walleye for my main course, and again, I thought it was good but not great. It had a great texture, crisp outside with a tender inside, but it was a bit lacking in flavor. The sauce it comes in is really light, and unless you ate it with the greens that came on top, the fish didn't taste like much. For dessert, I got the carrot cake, which was massive and absolutely delicious. It's like your standard steakhouse carrot cake but with a hint of roasted tea flavor and sprinkled with raisins. I ate the whole thing, and that's saying something because I had already eaten a full meal before and it really is quite big. Overall, it was a lovely meal. Some standouts and some near misses, but I had a great time. read more

One of the the BEST French restaurants(along with the french laundry by Thomas Keller) in my opinion. The food is amazing: escargot, dessert, and the branzino they served was the best ever had, period. Interestingly alter the single flavor by adding different herbs on top, so the diner would have whole another flavor bite after bite. read more

Dear Margaret is easily one of the best restaurants I've tried recently in Chicago. Came here for my birthday and it was a wonderful experience from the moment we were greeted by the cozy ambience to our last bite of the thoughtfully crafted, delicious dishes. Our personal favorites were the sunchokes (bright and unique in flavor), fresh baguettes with selection of duck liver mousse and cheese, and the perfectly prepared steak & crispy frites. Jill was also a delightful server with great recommendations and thorough explanation of the dishes. The only downside is that we didn't have big enough stomachs to try more, so we'll certainly be back soon! read more

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This was our fifth time dining at Dear Margaret As usual, the food was outstanding. Service was top notch, and the wine suggestions were perfect for the food. It continues to serve a high quality meal and experience. read more

This is one of the best meals I've had in some time. We went all out. So to start we got the quail and brussel sprouts which were both amazing. The quail was like tiny fried chicken. The batter was TO DIE FOR and the meat was rich and flavorful. The brussel sprouts were cooked perfectly with a beautiful blue cheese and a variety of herbs. Both were incredible. For our entrees we had the goat, the duck, and monkfish. I did not try the monkfish but the person who did LOVED IT. I split the duck and goat. The goat was cool like a braised beef or pot roast; rich, filling, meaty, hearty and warm. The duck was served as like an arugula salad which was very lovely coming with navy beans, carrots, and other vegetables. Both were excellent. Dessert we ordered the creme brûlée and the bread pudding. The creme brûlée had a caramelized maple syrup shell and a vanilla bean custard. Possibly one of the best creme brûlées I've had. The bread pudding was almost like a skillet cookie or lava cake, that had figs and a really unique flavor. Again both were excellent. This was dinner for 3 and we ordered the right amount of food. If you came alone get: quail, goat, and creme brûlée which I think were my favs but really you cannot go wrong here. Everything was truly excellent and most importantly unique. It was also PACKED on a Sunday night so make sure to get your reservation in early. read more

The food was delicious but to enjoy the experience I chewed real slow because the portions are very small. We had the charcuterie board, the scallops, the duck, and dessert. The cheese offering portion and duck portion were particularly small. All tasted very good but not satisfying. read more

Ambiance: The interior is unassuming, only a few tables with a bar in the back. There are small framed art pieces on the wall in soft, easy colors. You're greeted by a server who offers to take your coat, but is also perfectly fine with you hanging it on your chair. During the meal, they constantly take empty plates, replace dirty ones, and and replenish water jugs. The waiter is knowledgeable about the menu and recommends one small and one big plate per person, but everything is to share. It really does feel like it could be a French grandmother's kitchen. We ordered: - charcuterie (duck rillettes, gravlax) with a baguette and homemade butter, came with char-grilled 9 grain toast - duck was heavy on the mayo, gravlax was standard smoked salmon - Pomme dauphine - an amuse-bouche oyster-flavored cream puff - didn't have a strong oyster flavor - Fries - cooked in beef tallow, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside - Carrots - tasted like they were plucked from the ground that morning - Fried smelt - don't skip this! It's like a take on fish and chips (according to the waiter, it's the only thing that hasn't been taken off the ever-rotating menu) - Sweetbreads - look, sweetbreads are weird. These were less weird than normal which, to me, is a victory - Sea bass - cooked to perfection, topped with lemony veggies - Scallops - also cooked to perfection - Lamb shank for 2 - maybe a bit over done for my taste. I'd maybe try the CDK steak instead - Crème brûlée - not too sweet custard with a thin yet crackable torched sugar crust - Nanaimo bars - a triple layered crunchy bar with graham cracker on the bottom, then custard in the middle and chocolate ganache on top Summary: It's very accessible French food, in the best way. Some may be put off by unconventional flavors (oyster, smelt, sweetbreads, scallops, lamb), but Dear Margaret combines cooking methods and sauces in a successful attempt to introduce unique flavors into everyone's palette. read more

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The food here is amazing! Loved the smelts. Service is lovely and so friendly. Ambiance is cozy and welcoming.

GREAT food. Really warm service. The fries were marketed to me by the server as the best fries I would ever had - and honestly, I HAVE TO AGREE. I would definitely come back again if I can get a table - I enjoyed the really cozy vibe and good food, combined with a lack of pretentiousness. read more

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Sad to report that the hype did not live up in this restaurant. Started with the Pommes Dauphine which was literally the size of a small chocolate truffle at $6 a piece. Melts quickly in your mouth so not much time to really savor the flavors. Pommes Frites even though fried in beef tallow was nothing special. It arrived at the table cold. Couldn't taste the vinegar glaze on the carrots. Disappointing! Striped Bass and Beef Steak both over salted. Fish entree had crispy skin but the flesh was a tad dry - expensive for a small piece of fish and some garnish. Heavy handed seasoning did not help highlight the flavors. The only thing everyone agreed on that was the best part of the meal were the desserts of creme brulee and Nanaimo bars. Not oversalted at all! Expensive for what it is. Needless to say we won't be back. read more

We had a great meal at Dear Margaret. Food, service and wine all excellent. Terry was great about proactively suggesting and letting us taste wines similar to what we were looking at ordering. We ended up with a dry riesling we probably wouldn't have ordered - and it was great. We will definitely come back! read more

A lot of my firends had great things to say about this restaurant, so maybe my expectations were too high. For one thing I thought the decor would be cozy, but it was cold. There was almost nothing on the walls and the shelves had a few items that I think I saw at the brown elephant. The service was prompt but weird. The waiter kept standing between the tables. So when he was talking to the other table his back end was on our table. This is not the way you take orders. Maybe you go between the tables if you are dropping off something hot, but you get in and get out. The food was good, but it was expensive and very a'la carte. A piece of fish was $40, and if you wanted some salad with that, wait no, there was no salad on the menu. If you wanted some beets with that it is another $15. For one person if you wanted an entre, a side, and some bread, never mind a drink, you are almost at $100 with tax and tip - for a mediocre experience. Also the food all seemed like it was missing a bit of spice. You may say it is French, this is what it is supposed to taste like. Well, I spent a lot of time in France, and usually didnt feel that way. read more

So glad we tried this place! I had heard wonderful things about it so tried to get a reservation unsuccessfully. I decided to get on the waitlist just in case. It's a very small restaurant, maybe 10 tables and 4 seats at the bar (available for reservations). Due to the unseasonably nice night, they also had a few tables outside. With the extra outdoor seating, I was notified a few days ago a table has become available. The menu is quite small. A few charcuterie options, a few small plates, and a few entrees. They only serve wine and beer and have a relatively small list, but we'll appointed with options from multiple countries so you're sure to find something you like! We went with a Spanish wine that was a great choice. We started with the duck liver mousse with a blueberry compote that was very good along with the house made baguette and butter and the Massimo Magaya de Sidra cheese. The two paired very well together and it was all very good. For the mains we went with the chèvre dumplings- that were more like a longer crispy yet pillowy gnocchi with a delicious creamy beet pure sauce. I got the duck breast. It came with some shaved Brussel sprouts and a chestnut purée that was so good I wanted more of it to have with each bite. The menu says there is a hot honey, but I was missing that, the sauce itself was underwhelming, which would be my only complaints (the fat/skin could have been rendered a tad more as well). The restaurant itself is so cute, unpretentious and very homey. It is French Canadian and made me want to go back to Montreal (we're we enjoyed many great meals!). I did not feel rushed at all. We were there for nearly 21/2 hours and only split 1 bottle of wine for 2 of us (so we weren't racking up a huge bill) and even after paying they were fine with us just sitting and chatting while we finished up the wine. The server was attentive without being overwhelming, water was always filled, etc. the spacing time of the meal was very good as well. We finished with the maple vanilla crème brûlée that comes with little shortbread cookies that was so delicious!!! My dining companion had a caffe moka aperitif that she enjoyed- definitely had a kick to it but was tasty if you like coffee flavor. There were many older diners that appeared to be regulars (servers knew them, they knew each other) which just added to the homeyness of the place. The later diners brought down the average age. I definitely recommend checking it out! Make reservations early or get on the waitlist! read more

I very much wanted to like this place more than I did! We tried the fried smelts (liked the pickled veggies more than the smelts themselves), sunchokes (possibly my favorite from the night, would recommend), duck cassoulet (this was underwhelming, I thought it was bland and the duck was tough), and the chocolate mousse (a perfectly fine and rich chocolate mousse, just not all that memorable). A highlight: Their pheasant mortadella was awesome! If I came back I would want to try more of their charcuterie and cheeses. And service was great - our original toasts were burned, but our waitress kindly brought out another serving so we could enjoy the charcuterie/cheese that we ordered. read more