Was planning on coming in for a drink and small plates at the bar. Only been there once and have been waiting to go back. I called the restaurant to ask how busy the bar gets on Thursday so I could try and plan accordingly so I would be able to get a spot, but when I asked the host she laughed as if it was a stupid question and said "I can't tell you that." I was confused so I repeated "you can't tell me?" And she said "no, that's not something I would know." Didn't feel like continuing the conversation, so I said okay thank you and ended the call. I think hiring a more knowledgeable and helpful staff would be a great idea. read more

The pricing for Valentine's Day was absurd. Pre-fixed menu of $125 dollars per person gets you one appetizer, one main course, and one dinky dessert shoe-horned in to make it seem like a better value. The main course reminded me of a can of Chunky soup. You know it's subpar when the white rice was the highlight of the meal. Didn't even want to get my usual cocktail, The Old Fashioned, because it was marked up to an absurd $26. Our dinner for two cost $450 with tip, which only included the two dinners plus three total cocktails and a very basic beer. Taxes were upwards of 14% because they taxed on the 20% forced tip. I could have could have gone to my local mom and pop Vietnamese restaurant for a quarter of the price and gotten the same quality of food. Le Colonial didn't steal my heart on Valentine's Day, they stole my wallet!! read more

Food always consistently good! Elegant setting. Excellent service. A perennial fav! Try to go every couple months.

We love this restaurant. The food is amazing and the staff has always been pleasant until last night. When we arrived at 5:00 for our reservation the hostess said we were supposed to be there at 5:00 for our reservation. I told her that we had called earlier that day to increase the number to three people at 5:30 and the hostess on the phone confirmed the change. I received an email with the confirmation of the change. The hostess obviously thought the change never happened and we were just showing up late. She told me she would have to "see if we can find a table for you". The restaurant wasn't busy at that time and there were plenty of tables. It started the evening off upsetting me when it could've been handled in a pleasant way. She has a customer service job and she wasn't interested in making walking in the door a pleasant experience. read more

We got the shaking beef and the duck which was served with a bowl of porridge. The shaking beef has fantastic flavor and was served on a "salad" which I thought was a good balance. The duck was my favorite and brought back childhood memories of having the same meal prepared by my ma. The duck was the star of the show. Of course the service was top tier and the ambiance is what you'd expect of a French-Vietnamese restaurant: earthy and a homage to its roots. read more

Great place. Service always impresses here - they stand by the tables and wait for when you need them! Ambiance is unmatched - very good vibes. Food is good, in my opinion it's nothing to write home about, but for the service + ambiance and still tasting good, it's worth a trip. My favorites is the shrimp on sugarcane, green shrimp curry, and thick noodles. Get the $5 sticky mushroom rice side too!!! read more

Dined at Le Colonial with one of my good friends on a beautifully HOT Sunday afternoon. While it was a hot and humid day, this did not put a damper on our dining experience at Le Colonial. We had an amazing time and planned our return visit before the bill came. From the moment we entered and was greeted by an employee at the elevator to our departure, everything was top notch. Drinks * The mango margarita was delicious and refreshing. 5 stars! Appetizers/Small Plates * The Cha Gio (Crispy Shrimp & Pork Rolls. Gulf Shrimp, Pork, Asian Mushrooms, Mint, Cilantro, Chili Lime Dipping Sauce) is a must try small plate! This was so good we strongly considered placing a second order. 5 stars! * The Sui Cao Chien (Pan-Seared Chicken Dumplings. Miller Farms Chicken, Scallions, Ginger, Sesame Black Vinegar Sauce) was delicious. The sesame black vinegar sauce went perfectly with the dumplings. 5 stars! Entree/Large Plates * We both got the Tom Xao Sate (Spicy Shrimp Stir-Fry. Gulf Shrimp, Asparagus, Bell Peppers, Onions, Scallions, Spicy Chili Oil) and while I loved this dish, I don't think I was fully prepared for the SPICY! My second bite was really spicy and had me coughing, which no one wants to be doing outside in this current COVID-19 world we are living in. 5 stars! * We split the Com Chien (Signature Fried Rice. Ginger Poached Miller Farms Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Eggs, Scallion) and it was literally the best fried rice I've ever had. 5 stars for sure! Highly recommend dining at Le Colonial! read more

Le Colonial - Com Chien {Signature Fried Rice. Ginger Poached Miller Farms Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Eggs, Scallion} - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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It was such a horrible check in experience. My friend and I had a 1:45PM reservation for 2 people. As I was waiting, multiple people without a reservation for 2 went in. Four people with 2 reservation for 2 people at 2PM went in before us. As I mentioned this to the host and the guy seems to be the manager, not only he didn't apologize, he straight up lied to my face that all parties have to be here in order to be seated. I literally saw and told him there were 2 people went in and sat by the door, another guys came in later and joined them. Then it was just dead silence I know this is unrelated and I just wanna mentioned it here: while I was waiting, a lady came out and told the host that she already ate, no one came to her when she was at the bar. I turned to the host, she said "oh sorry" while she was on an iPad (without looking at the lady). There are way better options in this area than coming to this restaurant where people just don't care about their customers read more

Ok, let me say that the ambiance for Le Coloniel is amazing. It's located in the heart of the gold coast dining area. It's quite chic of a location and being on the second floor gives it some good views of the strip. So, this would be a great location for a date or to impress a client. Now, you go to a restaurant for food and not just the ambiance. Coming from Socal where we have Vietnamese restaurants on every corner, it's hard to imagine something that will have as much selection or flavor. The plus for LC is that there is almost no competition in the area. Their menu is small, but that generally means they do a few things well. We had some spring rolls and the chicken and beef stir fry entrees. Rice is extra (what). The food was good, but having paid less for better in Socal made this a hard decision. It wasn't the best that I have had and paying 4 times as much as I usually do wasn't great, but this is Chicago. If you're craving Vietnamese food this is a good, although expensive, option. Then again you'll be impressing your date or client with the location. I guess you've got to pay for that. I'll say that this is an option for those wanting Vietnamese food with flair. Choose wisely. read more

Great service. Beautiful restaurant. But the patrons were more mature than we hoped for. Very quiet and MUCH older people. Eeks! read more

Le Colonial - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. The tuna appetizer is something I dream about. read more

Le Colonial - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Lovely ambience, excellent service, delightful food. Best Vietnamese/French inspired restaurant you will ever find.

Sooo good ! The best PHO in town and the vegetable egg rolls to die for, martini delicious. Always the perfect spot to eat delicious food, wait staff so nice. It's a one a week place to eat never Disappoints. Delicious any time of day. read more

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I have not been to Le Colonial in a few years and was happy to find that it still holds its own among restaurants in its price class. They still have the amazing whole snapper, great small plates, luscious noodles, rice dishes, and nice drink options. The main dining room is beautiful and the veranda-styled room along Oak street is also quite special, especially during the day if you get a window table. The lounge has a great club-like feel, but the tables there are a bit dark for dining. I would recommend asking for the dining room, but you may need reservations. The service was very attentive and friendly. read more

I always enjoy Le Colonial's upscale but welcoming French Vietnamese fare. The decor and styling in the bar, main dining salon and front balcony room perfectly set the tone. I really love their Pho, the broth is the real highlight here. There's a lot to explore on the menu between appetizers and shareable plates and sides. Just save room for dessert, the crème brûlée can stand up to the best classical French restaurants in the city. read more

Three reasons not recommending this place, 1. Too busy and clouded = poor service 2. Too salty food = drink many glasses of water 3. ordered red snapper, but only half portion came out. What a disappointment! read more

Vietnamese food in a jazz bar! The chicken curry just so amazing! The beef today was kind of salty even with a side rice. A place I will visit the second time for sure read more

Le Colonial - Shaking beef and chicken curry - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food was amazing the spring rolls and shaking beef were my favorites. The banana tapioca pudding was so good as well. Everything was great! The service was all very friendly and nice. The inside is decorated nicely and the restaurant was pretty crowded and loud so it's hard to hear. Overall great experience! read more

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Le Colonial is an upscale French influenced, Vietnamese restaurant with a very relaxed ambience. The interior is vintage romantic and I especially love the upstairs balcony seating area in front of the large open windows. The dining area has tropical palms and plants throughout. For the food, I recommend starting off with the cha gio. Growing up, I loved whenever my grandma would make these and these ones remind me of hers. They are fried spring rolls filled with shrimp and pork mixed with minced mushroom and veggies. Banh cuon and banh uot are also delicious apps. They are kind of similar in that they both use steamed rice crepes. I was craving banh cuon and could not find anywhere in Chicago that had this on their menu so I was stoked to see this here! So the difference between these two at this restaurant are the meats used in each. The banh cuon uses chicken and mushroom filling with bean sprouts and the banh uot has grilled beef, cucumber and lettuce. Typically, I like banh cuon more but I like the banh uot from here better! We also got the roasted half duck with tamarind dipping sauce and it did not disappoint. This was some of the best duck I've ever had - so tender and the tamarind sauce was full of flavor! Comes with rice. Will definitely be returning to try the other dishes sometime. read more

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I did not the pho and both of my rolls. I feel like they should do a better job with the sauce Highly recommend the creme brûlée and the short rib. Omg the short rib was absolutely tasty, well cooked and so flavorful. Creme brûlée was also just on point, not too sweet and just amazing yum. read more

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Overhyped. I've been wanting to try for YEARS. I love that the restaurant is in a fancy part of town, up an elevator, and dons a dress code. My favorite dish was the sticky pork ribs appetizer, they legit fell off the bone. Also enjoyed the cooked beef entree. The cold shrimp spring roll was actually terrible: hard to swallow, flavorless, tough to chew. The chicken stir fry had great flavor but chicken seemed a bit overdone. This is a really, really, expensive dinner to be mediocre. I'd come back but try the soup, and switch up the appetizers. read more

We ordered in, the food was phenomenal. Can't imagine it being any better dine-in but I'm sure it is. The quality of the meat (beef tenderloin, chicken) in the expertly prepared and seasoned dishes we had was second to none. The Shaking Beef and the Chicken Stir Fry were are favorites but everything was delicious. read more

The food was absolutely phenomenal. The service was top notch as we sat behind the bar. Great atmosphere and unique restaurant. I will definitely be back for the scallop salad and monk fish! read more

Everything about this place is a 5 star! The food and atmosphere are so good! You can't go wrong with this choice!

It was my first time trying this restaurant. I wasn't quite impressed. Food was alright. Definitely not coming back‍

Does no one realize that this restaurant celebrates colonization? Every aspect of the "ambiance" screams of Eurocentrism and a fetishizing of the Vietnamese culture that tries to ignore the historical oppression of a people under their colonizers. It's horrific. If you refuse to believe it, I suggest asking a Vietnamese friend or read the article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Soliel Ho. The name of this place should have been my warning when I went here for a friend's birthday. As soon as you walk in, you see the waitstaff dressed in Vietnamese clothing. Most of them being white. Then you walk into what the owners would like to describe as an "oasis" but really is reflection of a colonizer's mansion in Vietnam. But if this imagery doesn't draw warning bells, shouldn't the multiple images of the colonized Vietnamese people on the walls elicit an uncomfortable feeling? If you like images of little kids in rice fields working for their colonizers, you'll like this place! The food is okay but not worth the overpricing. You can find better at authentic Vietnamese restaurants in Argyle for a reasonable price. I can't believe this many patrons are blind to this. It's 2022. The restaurant owners should ask who they are trying make comfortable in this environment. It's not people of color, like me, who would likely be serving the masters rather than enjoying the ambiance and the mediocre meal. Please do better. read more

This is a review for the takeout. I really appreciate the new takeout scene in Chicago that is still flourishing despite the city opening back up again. We are still hesitant about going out but decided recently to branch out and start trying some other restaurants via take out. Le Colonial did a great job. We had the Cha Gio (Crispy Shrimp and Pork Rolls), Com Chien (fried rice) and Vit Quay (Roast duck). All the food was packaged neatly, still piping hot, not soggy, not in a mess. The Cha Gio was nice and crisp, full of flavor, and packaged separately from the lettuce wraps so the lettuce did not come wilted. The roast duck was tender and delicious - I've really missed having duck with tamarind sauce - haven't been able to find it elsewhere in Chicago. The fried rice was a nice homey carb to pair with everything. Hopefully we can visit the restaurant soon once things are back to normal! read more

We went for happy hour and sat at the bar. Everyone was so sweet and we had amazing service. We had cocktails and a few appetizers to share. All was delicious and we can't wait to go back to dine and check out their full menu!!! The aesthetics of the place was also a whole vibe and I loved the decor! read more

Definitely need to make reservations in advance for this place but it is worth it. The food is delicious (all of the dishes have a ton of flavor) and there's something for everyone on the menu. The appetizers were the best part. It is a little bit more upscale / fancy. read more

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This place has it all! The most amazing food with authentic, signature dishes whose incredible flavors are matched with their presentation--paired with an extensive cocktail menu. The ambiance is perfect. It is literally one of Chicago's hidden gems overlooking Oak Street - if you don't try it you are definitely missing out on something special! read more

This place is full or flowers! Very beautiful environment - instagram-able ;) Food is delicious and fresh. Staff is super friendly. Love it! read more

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We came on a busy Thursday night and tables were full. Staff was great and cleared a small table in the corner for us. Ambiance was lovely and food was great too. After our meal sat the bar and had the best lychee martini I'd ever had. Would definitely return my next time in town read more

Vietnamese is one of my favorite cuisines so I was excited to visit this restaurant on my visit to Chicago. The restaurant itself is gorgeous and artfully and uniquely decorated, with an airy and romantic vibe in the first patio-style room and a darker, moodier almost tropical setting on the inside. All of the food we ordered was excellent. I am vegan and while there are only two options labeled vegan on the menu (spring rolls and salad), our server mentioned 5 things that could be made vegan. We split the crispy spring rolls (you serve them in lettuce cups with fresh herbs with dipping sauce, similar to banh xeo) and everyone at the table loved them. For my main, they made the chicken curry vegan with tofu and it was incredible. Very flavorful and rich (I couldn't even finish it). My friends got a few noodles dishes and the sea bass and enjoyed it. We got the tapioca banana pudding for dessert, and even though I don't generally enjoy tapioca, it was delicious. Service was wonderful too. read more

Le Colonial is hands down one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. I've been coming here since high school and I can say the quality has not changed. Everything is so tasty, has that elusive umami flavor that is hard to re-create at home, well-balanced, and unique! I've dined in and I've carried out and the quality remains the same. Most recently I had the Ca Bam (loved the lemongrass flavors and crispy sesame crackers it comes with), Banh Cuon (the nuoc cham sauce it is paired with is soo good), and mi xao he (garlic noodles). Everything was perfect and then some. I also love the 1920s French colonial Southeast Asia vibes you get from the decor and ambiance. Awesome times and highly recommend! read more

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Food, atmosphere, & Ambiance is stellar. We love sitting @ the bar. The bartenders r rock stars!!! Can't wait to go back. read more

Le Colonial - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Just the best, so delicious, service was exceptional So nice and beautiful and relaxing restaurant. You don't wanna leave it's so comfortable. read more

We forget to make a reservation so it is kind of a pity to just sit indoor on such a nice sunny day. Really love the decor of the restaurant and the pho is absolutely worth trying. Also I would like to highly recommend the roasted duck leg (forget about the official name). Not much service there read more

Le Colonial - Entry - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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If I could give more stars, I would. The atmosphere is unique and delightful. The food is incredible. ALL of the food is incredible, as is the presentation. The service is always top notch. If dining in the evening, I'd suggest a reservation. Even their special coffee is delicious - and I don't even like coffee! Le Colonial is a must if in downtown Chicago! read more

The service by Ella was so professional and so friendly The food is always excellent with lots of flavors Do not miss the curry chicken so tasty. Always an excellent ambiance in a superb decor This place is so charming Do not hesitate to book a long time I'm advance to have a good spot. A GEM read more

Amazing! So beautiful and amazing staff and food. I also lost my watch and they found it for me.