Enjoy the website at: Le Colonial
"Je Reviens" I come back... Background music at Le Colonial's website.
"Je Reviens" I come back... Background music at Le Colonial's website.
A French Vietnamese restaurant, "Le Colonial" pays tribute to the French colonial era of Southeast Asia...offering a dining experience faithful to Vietnamese culinary traditions.
The restaurant has me, at its scrolling promotional descriptions:
A sultry, seductive destination.
An escapist's paradise.
We left our cell phones in the car, thus I borrow liberally from the restaurant's website to post about our dinner last evening. Able to maintain my determination to approach food as proper fuel, dessert could have been the only exception. However, it was sweetened with coconut milk and bananas, not sugar, and the truth is Harold ate his and most of mine anyway!
Dinner to celebrate love in a setting like this where each spoonful or bite on your fork blesses your mouth and inspires a feeling of deep satisfaction, creates such a good feeling that I know every morsel was also good for me.
My choices:
Bo Luc Lac
Salad of warm, seared filet mignon over watercress with red wine
vinaigrette
Ca Hap
Appropriately enough for its tiny Oak Street environs, Le Colonial has one of the loveliest dining rooms in the city -- and the second-floor lounge is a sultry, seductive destination for cocktails. An escapist's paradise, the restaurant is a cleverly crafted re-creation of the exotic world of 1920s Saigon, with bamboo shutters, rattan chairs, potted palms and banana trees, fringed lampshades and ceiling fans, and evocative period photography to set the mood.
While the ambiance certainly merits a visit, the flavorful cuisine is a draw on its own. Start with the hearty oxtail soup or the light and refreshing beef-and-watercress salad. Entrees include grilled lime-glazed sea scallops with garlic noodle salad; sautéed jumbo shrimp in curried coconut sauce; and roasted chicken with lemon-grass-and-lime dipping sauce. Refresh with the orange-mint iced tea, and finish with banana tapioca pudding, a gooey Le Colonial macaroon, or an after-dinner drink upstairs. Le Colonial offers outdoor seating in warm weather; try to reserve one of the coveted, romantic mezzanine terrace tables.
Steamed fillets of Chilean sea bass, with cellophane noodles,
oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, scallions, & fried ginger in a light ginger
broth
Banana Tapioca
Warm Tapioca, coconut milk & bananas, topped with toasted sesame seeds.
If my words haven't tempted you, read the following review and jot this down on a list of places to go when you visit Chicago!
Frommer's Review
Appropriately enough for its tiny Oak Street environs, Le Colonial has one of the loveliest dining rooms in the city -- and the second-floor lounge is a sultry, seductive destination for cocktails. An escapist's paradise, the restaurant is a cleverly crafted re-creation of the exotic world of 1920s Saigon, with bamboo shutters, rattan chairs, potted palms and banana trees, fringed lampshades and ceiling fans, and evocative period photography to set the mood.
While the ambiance certainly merits a visit, the flavorful cuisine is a draw on its own. Start with the hearty oxtail soup or the light and refreshing beef-and-watercress salad. Entrees include grilled lime-glazed sea scallops with garlic noodle salad; sautéed jumbo shrimp in curried coconut sauce; and roasted chicken with lemon-grass-and-lime dipping sauce. Refresh with the orange-mint iced tea, and finish with banana tapioca pudding, a gooey Le Colonial macaroon, or an after-dinner drink upstairs. Le Colonial offers outdoor seating in warm weather; try to reserve one of the coveted, romantic mezzanine terrace tables.
Thank you Harold.
...and Melinda for your tip!
...and Melinda for your tip!
I was in Chicago in October and wish that I had known about this restaurant. Its location is convenient to downtown and Michigan Ave. I love knowing about a place with delicious cuisine that will not blow the calorie budget!
ReplyDeleteGlad that it was romantic, too!
Bises,
Genie
Well now you can tuck it away for your next visit. The service was a bit slow, but friendly. It hardly mattered in the midst of the romantic setting and great food.
ReplyDelete