Pasteur was a pleasant rediscovery. We fell in love with this restaurant many years ago, back when it was located on Sheridan and Lawrence. Later, we admired its high-end rebirth on North Broadway, well before the neighborhood had gentrified enough to match its classy atmosphere and sophisticated menu. Then Pasteur closed again and didn't reopen until after we had moved to San Diego. Last night, more than a decade later, we found Pasteur again! The same airy and elegant French Colonial interior remains, now paired with an amazingly fitting terrace. The menu's design could use an updated look to better match the restaurant's upscale décor, but what's on the menu matters far more than how the menu looks. And the dishes are gastronomic masterpieces -- no exaggeration. Since there were four of us, we each ordered a different appetizer and shared the dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, and Saigon crêpes so we could experience a variety of flavors. They were all truly exceptional. For our main courses, we had the catch-of-the-day branzino, lemongrass chicken, basil beef, and Pasteur's signature steak. As with the appetizers, we all sampled each other's dishes. Everything came with truly fresh, crisp vegetables, amazing sauces, and wonderful flavors. No disappointments, no envy, no regrets. Finally, we ordered only the Chocolate Mousse Cake to share, since there was hardly any room left for dessert after the generous portions -- portions so delicious that we practically cleaned every plate. Just the night before, we had the chocolate mousse cake at The Publican, and there was simply no comparison: Pasteur won hands down. In fact, Pasteur surpassed the much-hyped The Publican in every category: atmosphere, service, food, noise level, value, pricing, and convenient parking. Our exceptional dinner at Pasteur cost about half as much as our meal at The Publican and many other downtown spots, while delivering a far superior dining experience. We also want to thank Lisa and her fellow server (whose name I unfortunately can't remember) for being wonderful, attentive, quick, and incredibly polite -- all while graciously and heroically putting up with my jokes thanks to their great sense of humor. If you've read this far, I cannot recommend Pasteur highly enough. It remains one of the best foodie destinations in Chicago. It is absolutely worth the quick -- and scenic -- drive north along Lake Shore Drive for one of the most memorable dining experiences you can have in Chicago, or truly anywhere else. Enjoy, see our photos, and let me know what you think! read more

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We recently visited Pasteur for the first time and loved our experience. The store front and ambiance are elegant, warm, chic, and inviting. The hostess and waitress were friendly and helpful from the moment we walked in until we left. Great service! We both tried cocktails and enjoyed their unique flavors. We tried the Lychee Martini and Pasteur Old Fashioned. Both were on the sweet side and deliciously boozy! For food, we started with the steam dumplings with chicken. The ginger dumpling sauce was so savory and scrumptious for dipping the delightful dumplings. We loved every bite! For meals we got the Basil Beef and Ginger Chicken. We tried one another's dishes and would have been happy with either meal. Both were bursting with fresh flavors and had perfect portion sizes. We loved every bite and had no leftovers. While Pasteur is on the pricier side, it is because the food is high quality and beautifully presented. Well worth the price! Pasteur has reservations, which I would recommend, especially if you want to sit outside on their gorgeous patio during warmer months. If you haven't been to Pasteur, we would recommend trying it at your earliest convenience! read more

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In a word. " Disappointing". First time here and we are Vietnamese conniseurs, having eaten at Vietnamese restaurants all over Chicago and coast to coast. Ambience of restaurant definitely gives hints to the French influence in Vietnam, however that is where positives end. Started off with spring rolls with beef. Never had it that way before . Always had it with shrimp or tofu. Came out in four pieces. As soon as you bit into the roll, it fell apart. Flavor was average. The fish sauce was spicy. Way more than normal. For entrees I had shrimp in lobster sauce. It was just average. My wife had the duck curry. We specifically asked for it to not be spicy. It came out over the top spicy. So much so, my wife called the waiter over to see what could be done to fix the situation . Being it took an hour for the main course to come out, we asked for some rice noodles to come to balance out the spice. Those noodles never came and when asked was told that the kitchen was busy and didn't have time to get it out. We were given a small 20% discount on her plate only. Unfortunately we won't be back. It is not Vietnamese nor does it have French influence outside of the decor. We will stick to Argyle for authentic Vietnamese food read more

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This is by far my favorite restaurant in Chicago. 40 years of Good Authentic Vietnamese/French cuisine that reminds me of the flavors of Vietnam. A must if you're planning a date or group setting. They have a beautiful outdoor patio and indoor dining area that would impress whoever you're bringing. The beef steak, lemongrass chicken, wide rice noodle dish is a mush with fresh spring rolls and papaya salad is a must. They book fast on the weekends so make your reservations ahead of time or dine during the week. The service is amazing with such friendly staff. DOG FRIENDLY in the outdoor patio! read more

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Was in Chicago for a conference and caught up with some friends. I must have passed it countless times when I lived in Uptown years ago. So happy our friends suggested it. The owner was amazing and so personable. Her recs were spot on. I can't even remember what we ordered But loved every single dish. Would definitely go back. And it's just beautiful inside. Too cold for the patio which was adorable as well. The drinks also fantastic! read more

Was there for Valentine's Day dinner. Mediocre, expensive food. Mediocre ambience. Horrendous service. The management was absent. Actually the manager was in the kitchen cooking. Had to ask compensation for such a terrible experience. Staff were temporary fill ins. They were completely unprepared for the number of reservations. Took 2 hours to get our food. They forgot our appetizer. Unapologetic. Avoid. read more

SO MUCH BETTER THAN ARGYLE STREET VIETNAMESE RESTAURANTS! We had a lovely meal on the back patio of Pasteur this evening. They have done alot to plant trees and beautiful flowers in the patio area and it is very serene. The music is interesting and makes conversation easy. We started with chicken dumplings, shrimp spring rolls and the Saigon crepe as appetizers. All were delicious! For our entrees we had shrimp fried rice and the Basil Beef and they did not disappoint. Wines by the glass and the specialty cocktails (especially the Ginger Pear martini) make good companions for the meal. My husband had the Cafe du Monde coffee to pair with the Bread Pudding dessert. Our server was very busy, but still took very good care of us. This is a lovely restaurant with extremely well-prepared food. It is a fine dining experience! We will definitely be back! read more

We were served entrees two hours and forty minutes after we were seated; the food tasted good ... anything would have tasted good at that point. read more

The food, ambience, and the staff were wonderful. The wait staff was courteous and friendly.But it was slooooowwww. It was on Valentine's Day and full house. We felt like the wait and kitchen staff are not fully prepared for a full house and bit all over the place. They need more structure. read more

Pasteur - Flower bouquet for Valentine's Day - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's 8PM. Online says they close at 10PM. I just called in to see if I could make a reservation, this is my first time ever trying this place after hearing so much good things... They said they are closing early because dining room is slow read more

French Vietnamese chic; one step or two below Le Colonial but great food and friendly service.

Love this spot! Lovely and friendly staff who were super helpful and kind. We showed up right at open and they told us right away they were having ole trouble with staffing that night. Because of this our food came out later than usual. When we asked why, they apologized right away and comped our whole meal! So kind. And the pho was delicious. read more

The Ambiance is terrific .it has a very Southeast Asian feel with rhattan chairs and ceiling fans. But the cream de la crème is the garden (available in the summer). The patio is large with a pergola like rooftop open to the air. There are potted trees and flowers and there is a side wall with gas fireplaces built into the wall. The food is excellent and the servers and Hostess are very friendly. The only negative is that there are not enough servers ( which can be a problem with many restaurants) and it can take a long time to be served. But if you are not in a hurry and can just sit back and enjoy the ambiance you will not be disappointed. This is one of my favorite restaurants and in my opinion the most beautiful terrace in Chicago read more

Transported to another world ... Pasteur has a wonderful patio that makes you forget where you are. Very spacious and quite lovely. The food that we had ordered was subtle but wonderfully nuanced. I had the curry chicken and my wife enjoyed the lobster bisque shrimp. The appetizers were traditional but flavorful. The service was very good. read more

Each time I pass by this spot and from the name, I always think it's a French spot for some reason. Only to discover it is actually a Vietnamese spot. Loved the ambiance of the place. It was like a fancy fine dinning experience. Customer service and the food was awesome. Shrimp spring roll and salmon in passion fruit sauce are must haves. Took off a star because the order was late ... probably took about 45mins or so. Can't wait to return to explore their menu. read more

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First off, the good-- the food was excellent. Some of the best Vietnamese food I've had in awhile. The vibe is amazing-- we were seated in the beautiful patio out back-- they've really done an awesome job creating a special atmosphere at the restaurant. Now-- the bad-- my family and I were there for a 25-person celebration for my son's wedding. We'd rented out part of the back area and were being charged $60 per person plus drinks. Here's the issue-- there were only two servers for THE ENTIRE RESTAURANT. And there was no bartender for the restaurant either, so the servers had to go back and make drinks. The owner and her husband were pitching in and helping out, but we waited over 45 minutes to get our first drinks, and the food was a long time in coming out. We were upset and offended that after committing to such a big party that the owners didn't spend a little extra cash and hire additional help for the restaurant. It was also clear that other tables at the restaurant had an issue with the service. This wasn't the case of a bunch of people calling out sick-- one of the people on staff told me that the owners are cheap and don't want to hire extra staff. This upset me to no end. Are things that rough that you think it's appropriate to have two servers in a restaurant where there's 35-50 tables? And no bartender? I wouldn't go back here for a large party, as good as the food an ambience was. read more

Wow... this place is amazing!!! Spotted this as something cute and a possibly Yelptastic dinner option close to Loyola... and was I super duper right. Soooooo right. Yum. It's been a looooong arse time since I have liked SO much of every food selection from a single place... Party of 4, and since this was a new place to everyone, I suggested we do this family style, so everyone was directed to pick an entree they wanted, and we would try and share everything. Shrimp spring rolls, good, the dark ebony peanut sauce was indescribable... and thick as molasses. I wanted to take it home to try it with everything. Shrimp and papaya salad, wanted that in a full size for myself. Like Arnold said, "I'll be back" for you. Noodles dish... with Chicken and Shrimp. Like a fancier and MUCH tastier Pad Thai, kick of flavor was so good, I'm drooling a little as I write this... we got the protein on the side, as we are mix of pescatarian, vegetarian and carnivores. Yeah the waiter was happy... chicken was quality shredded breast, the salt n pepper crispy shrimp was perfect! Salmon... on fresh asparagus and vegs with the not (yay) remotely sweet reduction sauce, AMAZING. Seared and crisp but tender and moist perfection. Claypot Catfish .. my least favorite of the lot. Previous pictures here seem to indicate it should have been in a pot, like the name would imply... came out in a platter, seemed like a thick stew. Meh... maybe they didn't want to make the effort. Not worth a repeat. Birds Nest... good, maybe being the last item out, was gorgeous, but seemed a little blander than the previous entrees... still, aesthetically adorable and fun end to this... We brought our own mini cake for the graduate, but the desserts look amazing as well... next time! read more

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Great food, great atmosphere and great price. Just visited for the second time and will go back. I love the shrimp spring rolls, green papaya and mango salad with shrimp and the signature beef entree. My faves! read more

We had a lovely dinner at Pasteur prior to seeing a show at the Edge Theatre- less than a block away. The food was delicious, fresh, beautifully presented, and the atmosphere is refined, elegant, and contemporary. A perfect place for an early dinner pre-show, and definitely a place we'll return to. read more

Not at all what I expected. Superior Vietnamese food. Excellent attentive service in a beautiful space. I had the claypot catfish while my friend had the cochinchin noodles. The catfish was so delicious I almost ordered a second one to take home. My friend raved about the noodles and refused to share so they must have been very good as well. read more

It's one of my favorite places to go to grab a drink after work with friends. The food is good, and the servers are awesome. Really enjoy the outdoor patio area, which is a hidden gem. read more

Beautiful restaurant with soft music and lighting and a lovely outdoor patio. While the food was delicious, there were multiple errors with our order and bill. We ordered Shrimp Sate and they brought Beef Steak. They took the entree but left the bowl of rice and when the correct dish was finally ready the rice was cold and not replaced. We ordered multiple drinks and each one brought to the table was wrong (alcoholic when we ordered non-alcoholic, a different white wine than ordered and the wrong martini). Our final bill was also incorrect. We will visit again and hope that the multiple errors was a fluke. read more

I love this restaurant. The food is amazing and the ambience is just as good. I have been several times with friends and family, and we always walk away with a smile on her face.our read more

This is one of the tastiest, kindest & prettiest places Chicago has to offer. I feel transported with the high ceilings, cozy stylish wicker chairs & gorgeous plants. We started with dumpling & spring rolls. The sauces are so crisp and fresh the vegetables taste like they were just picked today. We all had different variations for entrees salmon, Chicken & veggie but all felt homemade. While waiting we listened to a lovely crooner do covers over a jazz beat. This place is so special! It ALWAYS delivers. read more

Had the beef photo soup and spring rolls, which was delicious, but the steamed chicken dumplings were fantastic. The atmosphere and ambience at Pasteur is such nice balance of formal and informal dining, for just about any occassion. The owner Kim visited our table and couldn't have been a lovelier host. It was a great meal and nice experience overall. Will definitely be coming back! read more

worst service I've experienced in a while. such a shame because the food was good. staff was rude and awful. I would not come back to this restaurant and I'd recommend people to go elsewhere. food took two hours to come out and waitress came to our table twice. something needs to change in this establishment. interior is super nice and well layed out. But doesn't make up for the way we were treated. read more

Beautiful dinner with friends there tonight. Drinks and food were delicious and the ambience and service were superb.

Very good french/Vietnamese dining going on here! I came here once back in 2012 with a group of friends and I recall having the lychee/st germain martini at the time which was great but I dont recall my meal unfortunately as it was quite some time ago. Fast forward to present day as I had a recent date that lived in Edgewater and I figured I would pick something close to her and I remembered Pasteur. Showed up and grabbed a seat at the bar as I beat her 30 min late ass there. Had some really good wine while waiting...Franco Serra Rosato. Once the non- punctual one showed up we were seated by our very nice server Sarah. There were lots of goodies on the menu and Sarah swayed me the way of the Passion Fruit Salmon which came with asparagus and a passion fruit reduction sauce. It was very tasty and I enjoyed it but my date's Claypot Ctafish was just as good! Sarah recommended we start out with the shrimp papaya salad and it was well worth it. Such a good place for good food and the ambiance is really nice in addition to the service. There is a back outdoor dining area for the warmer months that is available which is always a good thing. I truly enjoy this place and will come back more often. read more

The food was perfect, a table of 4 and every dish was delicious. The waiters are very attentive but not overwhelming. Their outdoor sitting beautifully decorated and heated. I highly recommend it and will go back often for sure. read more

Pasteur was the pop up restaurant in our office building earlier this week, and what a treat it was! The smells permeating our lobby, coupled with the lovely display, made many an employee happy! And what a treat from our usual burgers, tacos, pizza, etc.! The idea of Vietnamese/French fusion is a wonderful deviation from your usual ethnic cuisine, and while it was hard to choose an entree, I decided on the Curry Chicken. It was a blend of curry chicken satay, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, onions and cilantro, over steamed rice. It was very flavorful with just the right amount of spice! They also had shrimp and vegetable noodles, lemongrass chicken, basil beef, and beef short ribs which looked to be a huge hit; along with large spring rolls, fried rice instead of steamed if you wished, and taro chips. The general manager offered 20% discount cards if we visit the north side location on Broadway, and in reading the other reviews, I definitely plan to do that! read more

Pasteur - Curry chicken to go. Yum! - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What I thought was a fancy non-restaurant establishment turned out to be an incredible restaurant with some food fare worthy of a visit. I decided to stop in and instead of trying to come up with something from the menu, I let the server do the ordering for me. That was a very good option. Spring roll. Egg rolls. Coconut soup. Calamari in pineapple. Fried banana with green tea ice cream. The restaurant is touted as catering dishes with a fusion of French and Vietnamese. Clearly, there is a stronger Vietnamese presence in the food. Perhaps the chef is French and discovered a great love for the flavours of the East. Furthermore, the dishes - that I had - were more traditional Vietnamese than expected. For example, to eat the egg rolls, I had to roll them along with carrots and cilantro in lettuce leaves and then dip them in a sauce before devouring. I didn't complain. I shall have to return to see if there is something more French on the menu. If not, the Vietnamese fare will do just fine. read more

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Love love love this place. The food is amazing - fresh and beautifully prepared. The dining room is very pleasant and the staff is very friendly and helpful. I keep coming back and I'm never disappointed. read more

So we tried the restaurant like a lot of other people through their Groupon special. We received excellent service perhaps because we were the first guests of the day. With a Groupon you get a limited menu but it is still a satisfying four-course meal. The appetizer was ridiculously small but flavorful. I notice small efforts like the lemon beef spring roll had a grilled taste and the butterfly shrimp tempura was deveined. There was one salad dish(if you're using the Groupon) but that is actually good since the shrimp papaya salad is delicious. Not overly season but noticeably crunchy in texture. Tried the Bo Luc Lac and the Salmon clay pot. My mother believed this is the most tender Bo Luc Lac she had so far. I sort of agree, definitely a higher quality of meat since it maintained a good tenderness after cooling to room temperature. Served with a watercress salad to cut the richness of the steak. Salmon Clay Pot is a simple dish that works in harmony. There are pineapple tomato and onion cooked with the salmon. The sauce is sweet and savory. A dish that I want to replicate at home. Simple and flavorful. Desert was probably my favorite part. There was ice cream on a banana bread pudding, found the bread pudding to be overwhelmingly sweet. I got the green tea with fried banana. A good balance of earthiness and sweetness. Overal feeling happy that I ate here. read more

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Pasteur's elegant dining room sets the stage for consistently delicious and authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Coconut shrimp offer a crunchy appetizer while Saigon crepe folds shrimp and chicken and mushrooms into an egg crepe. Pasteur signature beef steak, shrimp sate, and cochinchin noodles with shrimp never disappoint. Service can be slow but the chairs are comfortable and the ambience is soothing. read more

Pasteur - Elegant dining room, comfortable chairs, excellent food. - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Still one of the better high-end Thai Vietnamese restaurants to eat at, especially uptown! Prices are good, service is great, food is excellent, hostess is as kind and knowledgeable as she is beautiful. read more

I would imagine that the food is great but it's hard to find out because you cannot get service here - literally. There appeared to be only three people working and the dining room was fairly full. Anyone who got service did so by flagging down a waiter. If you sat quietly and waited politely, you were ignored. I and my dining companion left after 45 minutes of waiting. We went down the street to Burke's Public House where we got immediate service. Thank you! read more

Pasteur - Looking from bar to dining room. - Vietnamese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I am sad to say that Pasteur will not last as it is currently being managed. My husband and I have been going here for years so we made reservations for Valentine's Day last night. We arrived at 6:30 to a half empty restaurant. We were seated very quickly but everything went downhill from there. It took 20 minutes for the first waitperson to come to our table. He looked at us without saying anything. We ordered drinks and appetizers which he proceeded to write out with a Sharpie and a sheet of paper. That was the last we saw of him for another 20 minutes. In the meantime, 5 tables of people got up and walked out. We finally got our drinks and food, which were extremely underwhelming. No flavor. The spare ribs were not the ones we have had before and they were tough and bland. I've had better noodle dishes at Noodles and Company. Very sad to see this happen at one of our favorite Northside restaurants. When we finally left an hour and a half later, there were at least 15 people standing at the door waiting to be seated. The restaurant tables were more than half empty (from all the patrons who got up and left because of the horrible service) so we didn't know why there was a line at the door. We warned a number of them to not waste their time. We went for dessert somewhere else and had wonderful service which redeemed our night. It was too bad because I wanted to get dessert at Pasteur but we couldn't wait another hour. read more

Wow...I don't even know where to begin with how epically bad the service was this Valentine's Day at Pasteur. I have heard good things for years about this place. Well, it must be under new management or something because tonight was an epic sh*t show. When we got there, I thought it was strange to see that most tables didn't have their food. We sat down and waited for our server...for 20 minutes. When they finally came we ordered glasses of wine and food from an awkward waiter that stared at us then finally quizzically exclaimed "what do you want." Our drinks took a half hour (again, we only ordered wine), and our food took 45 minutes . Our table was never watered. One entree (mine) never came. My husband ordered the ravioli, which was supposed to be stuffed with chicken and mushrooms but only had a few pieces of basil in it. Basically just plan large rice noodles with nothing. As we were waiting for food, couples were leaving left and right, indignant at the lack of service and trying to pay their bills. But the cashier didn't even have pens that worked to sign the bill. We wasted $70 at this hell hole. I will never be back. read more

It was nice. I do feel the food is a little overpriced for what it is but if you want to dine in a nice environment then I guess that makes up for paying a little more. Please try their banana and raisin bread pudding for dessert! read more

Had reservations for V Day evening. Took 15 min to be greeted by host and then he responded "I guess you can sit here". Took another 15 min for water to arrive. And 15 min after that, we still weren't visited by any server we left and noticed another table left as well. For a nicer restaurant or any restaurant, this was very shocking. Luckily Broadway Cellars had a table and our evening was salvaged by a fabulous dinner with excellent service. Whew. read more