Cafe Absinthe

Compliments to the chef! Great place. My wife and I had bought a Grupon that we decided to cash in on. The atmosphere is dark & romantic. Maybe just a little to dark. My only problem was the spacing. I didn’t like the fact that people kept bumping into my chair while I was eating. It took away from the experience. I will definitely go back but will ask to be seated elsewhere

café ABSINTHE is really amazing. I came here with a groupon the first time I tried it out, and it was so great! My mom had the salmon, I had lamb (so tender and juicy) and my dad had the seabass! The restaurant is intimate, and a real gem of a find, dim lit candles create a great atmosphere, the salads are huge and very generous portions for the price, you get complimentary bread, and the waitstaff is very generous and, attentive and kind. Great wine list as well, the chef has a wonderful blend of flavors and textures. As an advanced level sommelier I have been studying food and wine my whole life, and café absinthe is a home run! Go. and then – go again.

I’ve been to Café Absinthe twice now and have loved it both times! The first time I went we used a Groupon and it was an amazing deal! I had the Beef Tenderloin, which was great — the beef was cooked perfectly and the sauce was incredible. We also ordered the crab cake, which was enormous and flavorful, as well as the chocolate melting cake which was good, but not amazing. Overall I was very happy and definitely wanted to come back.
The restaurant itself is intimate and romantic, the perfect spot for a date; however, the entrance is a bit hard to spot. You have to enter in through the back alley.
However, the second time we came to Café Absinthe was on Valentine’s Day. While the food was equally as delicious as it was the first time, we were unaware until after the bread had been served that they were only serving a Prix Fixe menu that was EXPENSIVE. It would have been nice to know that before we were seated.

We’ve been here numerous times with a Groupon and have not had any issues using it. The atmosphere is definitely more romantic. However, we brought our kids (ages 8 and 9) here, and they love this place. I definitely would not suggest bringing kids that are not well behaved. The food is delicious. The bread is very good although I wish they would warm it up. We had the mussels which we loved, but the sauce was a bit salty. The crab cake was delicious. We also had the beef tenderloin which my 8 year old ate up completely by himself. The lobster risotto was good but way too salty. The salmon and sea scallops were delicious and just like all the other pictures. With the Groupon, this was a great value!

What a great find! decided to try a Groupon here and it was well worth it. We got $ 100 worth of food for $ 35! The steak was delicious and cooked perfectly. The Lobster Risotto was amazing. Great service from the Waiter and the Bar Tender. If you’re lucky, there is free street parking not far away. Don’t miss this wonderful gem.

While the menu looked intriguing, the food was just ok. Entrance is from the back alley which is accessed via Winchester. Kind of neat. Very dark inside. Slow night. Friendly waiter but he was the only one on a Friday night at 7:00. Decent cocktail list but we opted for a French burgundy wine. I had the duck breast which was plentiful but preparation just ok. My wife had the sea bass which also was just ok. Lobster bisque was good. We skipped dessert. Likely will not return. Had a Groupon.

OK so like to be honest here, I thought this would be a dive bar based on the exterior. Spoiler alert: it’s not. Like other Unilocalers have noted– you have to enter through the alley and it’s a very romantic setting so like hold off on breaking up with someone here or hosting your 5 year olds birthday party at this spot.
I came in on a Wednesday evening with the bf and had a grand old time. Our waiter was friendly/​helpful and directed us through what to order. He suggested the Mussels and said they were his favorite thing on the menu. Honestly, they’re my favorite thing on any menu ever. We had them leave the sauce on the table so we could dip our comp. bread in it and I used it on my scallops as well. I honestly could’ve used a spoon– but again, it’s not that kind of restaurant.
My scallops were great– a little bit rubbery but all together great. It was $ 25 for Scallops and it came with 5 so I would consider that a fairly good price point. My boyfriend’s beef tenderloin (still bitter he didn’t order the lamb) was excellent. Cooked to a perfect medium rare but would’ve paired better with something other than the spinach it came with.
Overall– expect to spend $ 35-​$ 45/​pp

You know that person that you always hear about that is cool but never have the opportunity to go their place when the party is going on? then one day someone asks you to go there and you can, and you go to their bathroom and it looks like chewbacca had the shits? that’s this place.
just don’t.

Awesome food, very nice ambiance. We had the sea bass and it was cooked to perfection. Be careful with the Absinthe it sneaks up on you lol. Great place for dinner.

I just went again last Friday. The place was busy and fun. I had the Australian Rack of Lamb which was perfectly cooked. LOVED IT!
They still have this amazing Beckman Estate Syrah so of course we got a bottle of that.
I will definitely go again!

We saw they had a Groupon deal so we snatched it up & made a reservation.
Their entrance is in an alley & there was something mysterious about entering the restaurant from the alley. Just sayin’.
Walking in, the vibe was great. We were seated right away at a table near the chefs.
We started with the mussels & heirloom tomato salad. The tomato salad was good but let me tell you about those mussels… perfectly flavored sauce & absolutely no grit. Delicious!
For my entrée I finally decided (it was a really tough decision) to get the scallops & I am glad I did! They were perfectly cooked & seasoned and also came with a sauce that was to die for. If I could bottle their sauces and bring them home, I would.
The server was great & did not blink an eye when we told her we had a Groupon. That is always a plus! Can’t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu!

Absolutely terrific place for a fancy meal. The lobster risotto with brown butter sauce is correct. The fois gras will make you come back. The staff is also very attentive and professional.

I came here last night for dinner, and I am really looking forward to my next visit here for dinner. Everything was so rich and delicious!
Initially when my boyfriend and I came in around 730pm on a Saturday night, I was surprised at how empty the restaurant was since there was only one other table of people seated. Over the course of our meal, that changed, and the place was at probably 80% seating capacity by the time we left. I liked the exposed brick, dim lighting and simple décor of this place. This restaurant is perfect for a romantic first, second, or 1000^th date. I know there were some comments on Unilocal about problems related to there only being one waiter, but we were fortunate during our visit and didn’t have any problems with service. Even after the restaurant filled up, the waiter still stopped by to ask how the food was and promptly brought our bill when we were ready.
The cocktail and wine menu offered a lot of wonderful choices. I opted for one of their absinthe cocktails that was mixed with Grand Mariner and bitters. My boyfriend had the absinthe cocktail with gin called the Green Fairy. Both were good choices, and some of their other non absinthe cocktails from the menu sounded unique and tasty as well.
As an appetizer I ended up getting the butternut squash soup. The butternut squash soup was mind blowing. It was so thick, creamy, and flavorful. I couldn’t get enough of this soup, and believe it is the best butternut squash soup I have ever had.. Jack Daniels was mixed into it, but the addition of that was not overpowering at all. The serving of the soup was also very generous for $ 6.
The risotto special was lobster and asparagus risotto, so I ended up picking that as my main dish. I was once again wowed by another part of my meal once I took a bite of my risotto. The risotto had more pieces of asparagus than lobster in it (like most places), but I could taste the lobster juices within the creamy risotto sauce. This taste of the lobster within the risotto was not in an overly fishy way though, it was a very balanced flavor. I tried my boyfriends duck breast, and it tasted good, but a little on the tough side. The knife they provided to cut the duck breast was only a slight step up from a butter knife, and was hard to cut with. Hopefully in the future they consider bringing a steak knife for the duck breast instead.
Unfortunately, we were too stuffed from our meals (and delicious complimentary bread) to even consider dessert, but next time I’m going to have to save room for their bread pudding.

We were very excited to checkout this speak easy place. It had a nice touch, the entrance is in the back alley, which contributes to the theme of this restaurant. However, the food was terrible and the manager less than helpful. The quality of the fish was low, it was chewy and tasteless. The scallops were fishy and way over salted. If you take a look at the aesthetic you will find that the owner tries to keep the cost low, while offering low quality food at a high price. It’s unfortunate that there is not a rating less than 1 star.

So, my husband and I finally had an evening that we could set aside to celebrate our first anniversary together and we chose to celebrate here. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect since this place isn’t exactly fine dining, but it’s not cheap either, and seeing as they call themselves an absinthe bar, we at least had high expectations for the cocktails, if nothing else.
First things first — the entryway is through a back alleyway which gives it this sort of cool speakeasy vibe, but that coolness factor quickly wears off when you actually get inside the space. It’s attached to a sports bar, which definitely contributes to the loss of appeal, but it is pretty entertaining to watch the chef switch back and forth between making foie gras to frying chicken wings.
The first thing we noticed when we got here was that the place was practically empty. It quickly became clear that making reservations for a weeknight was not at all necessary. It was a completely different dining experience from the one we had just had down the street at Trencherman for my husband’s birthday, where even the hostess wished my husband a happy birthday. No one asked us if we were celebrating anything special at Café Absinthe, probably because this isn’t the kind of place where people celebrate things and I’m not going to hold that against them. I just found it rather revealing since I had wrongly assumed that this was a more upscale restaurant, based on the pricing. Even in business casual we felt overdressed.
Our server and the other server/​bartender working seemed extremely young and inexperienced. I was concerned that he seemed nervous from the get go and had no recommendations for us. When we ordered the cheese plate to start, the expo who brought it didn’t even tell us what the cheeses were. Neither did the server. They just seemed… indifferent.
All of the cocktails were decent but nothing mind-​blowing and certainly not up to the level I would expect from a place that calls themselves «Café Absinthe». They only have like 6 cocktails on the menu, only a couple of which are absinthe based, which would be understandable if these were cocktails that they had really perfected.
Also, my husband’s first cocktail had a fly in it. Not sure how the bartender failed to notice it as he was stirring it and explaining in this scripted/​patronizing manner to my husband (who is well versed in absinthe and all things liquor) how absinthe is served… as if this was the first time we had ever had it. Why assume something like that? Just ask!
I should have prefaced this by saying that my husband is the kind of customer who HATES complaining. It makes him uncomfortable and he will eat whatever you put in front of him, even if he didn’t order it. Well, that’s exactly what happened. I ordered the lobster risotto and he ordered the sea bass. What they brought out was chicken and salmon. Not sure how those things sound anything alike, but there you have it. The server apologized and said that he entered our orders into the system incorrectly, but what I’m pretty sure happened is that they gave us someone else’s food. Kind of an odd thing to happen in a restaurant that isn’t even a quarter full, but mistakes happen.
Anyway, as soon as the expo sat down the chicken that looked nothing like risotto, I told him the order was incorrect and he quickly whisked both of the plates away without a chance for my husband to even see if his order was right or not. About 5 min later (I’m pretty sure it takes WAY longer than 5 min to make risotto, so like I said, I think the server got our orders mixed up with someone else’s) they bring risotto and SALMON… again. At this point, my husband is too hungry and too nice to say anything to the kid for a second time after his sheepish apology about the risotto mistake. His exact words were, «I don’t want to get the kid fired over it.» Maybe it was this guy’s first day. Who knows.
Overall, this wasn’t exactly the experience I was hoping for on our anniversary, but you live and you learn. Even though our meals were tasty, they didn’t make up for the subpar service. If you’re looking to spend in the $ 100-​$ 200 range in Wicker Park, I’d suggest another place on North Ave, if ya catch my drift.

What a fantastic find! I have passed this place LOTS of times, and it is really a hidden gem and great escape from a hectic and busy intersection. Very dark and romantic. The mussels were super… a thick, rich, and hypnotizing sauce. Yummy. The sea bass was delightful… loved the preparation, and it was nicely complemented with soft mashed potatoes. My husband had the steak, which was prepared a bit above medium rare. Tasty. The wine was very affordable by the bottle and a nice treat. Our server was friendly.

Wow, this place is great!
I came here on a Friday night with a groupon, and the value, food, service, and ambiance were all amazing!
My SO and I got the crab cake to share, and it was delicious– served on a small bed of greens with a delicious sauce, all the flavors mixed really well. Then I had the lobster risotto and my SO got the beef tenderloin, and both were amazing. Even though the portions were generous, we both ended up finishing our plates and scraping them clean! We ended the night with the chocolate melting cake even though we were stuffed, and that was tasty as well.
After going on a dozen or so «Groupon dates» around Chicago with my SO, we both agree that Café Absinthe has been the best one so far!

In a word: sensational. The ambiance in itself is highly desirable. It’s a dimly lit, very well put together and relaxing atmosphere.
Now the food — FUGGEDABBOUTIT! My cream of spinach soup was excellent. The Chilean sea bass was DYNAMITE and even the bread selection was impressive. Having said that, and I’m not BSing at all here, the blackened salmon was the best piece of salmon I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I just don’t understand how the chef managed to make it PERFECTLY crispy on the outside, while keeping it the most buttery piece of cooked fish I’ve ever had. I didn’t even have to use my teeth to eat it. Sadly, it was my friend who ordered it so I only got a bite or two, but he’s lucky I didn’t smash him over the head and steal it! Go here!

Comfortable food in an affordable romantic fine dining venue. Each dish is shareable from 1^st course, main dish to dessert. Good pricing and portion.
HUDSON VALLEY FOIE GRAS ($ 12) — it’s rich, good for 2. I love seared foie gras. The champagne apricot purée and champagne apricot reduction adds oomph. Sophisticated Toasted Brioche is a nice change to the ordinary toasted French bread. Worthy. Addictive. A perfect dish for a newbie diner.
PERNOD MUSSELS ($ 11) — share as the cream can get overwhelming. Perfectly cooked. Best to dip croûton disguised as a crunchy bread into the cream with mussel on top (voila! The perfect bite. *wink*)
POLAR VORTEX ($ 11) — I was rooting for the torched thyme that was MIA (missing in action). :-o The coveted organic vodka. It’s a balanced drink.
CREME BRÛLÉE ($ 7) — standard. Hearty coconut macadamia cookies. I’m ecstatic about the $ 7 pricing on all desserts that serves 2+.
COFFEE — surprisingly generic Columbian espresso.
SERVICE — excellent. Rachel is new but eager to answer any questions. Plus, she introduced herself that shows impeccable manners. Quick cleanup. Staff automatically handles brown bag for you with efforts to grant additional request.

Summary: Good quality ingredients cooked well in a common setting. Service was adequate, but not memorable. We met friends, another couple, for dinner for 4. We came in not especially hungry so we did not do an appetizer, only drinks & main course. So I have only three points for this review.
In a city with some good French cafes, Café Absinthe is good, but not memorable. I get the feeling that it may like to be «more», but it is just average. The setting is comfortable, but a common, loft-​like setting with plywood panels covering exposed brick walls. The lighting was VERY dim, mood lighting I’m sure is the intent, but I could not clearly see what I was eating and I have pretty good night sight. My feeling is that the room would be pretty noisy later on into the regular dinner time as the place filled up, we had reservations right at opening time, 5:30p.
Limited menu in three sections: Appetizers, Soups/​Salads & Mains. Reasonable number of selections in each, but not overwhelming. Bar was limited, they had to run next store to grab a new bottle of gin. Bartender had to look up how to make a cosmopolitan. That being said, the cosmo was nicely done, per my wife. I had a bourbon, neat, but they didn’t stock Woodford Reserve.
For my main, I waffled between the Chilean Sea Bass & the Lamb Chops, but I ended up ordering the lamb, rare. And It came rare. This may sound redundant, but I find that it is half the battle getting meat done the way that it is ordered. The chops were not raw and they were not «just pink», they were fully rare. My wife had the «Sea Scallops», again, quality ingredients, and they were cooked well. The sides were on the plate.
The accompanying sauce was not what I would call «au jus», but the «Sauce Absinthe» (my quotes) was very tasty and complemented the meat quite well. The chops were of very high quality, no gristle.
The side dishes were «Manchego Au Gratin» potatoes & «Garlic Spinach» but these seemed to be an afterthought. The spinach was well cooked, not stewed to death, but bland with respect to the garlic. The potatoes likewise weren’t notable — they had a little cheese layer on top, but were pretty blasé.
After reviewing the desert menu, we decided to pass on ordering anything.
In conclusion, while I enjoyed dinner, I don’t imagine that I would make an effort to return for another. With at least two other French café/​bistros just down the street that I long to revisit, Café Absinthe is just «OK».

Me and 2 friends recently stopped by on a nice, mild Friday evening.
I like the fact that you have to enter this place through the alley behind Tavern on that North/​Milwaukee/​Damen NE corner. Really a pretty attractive place on the inside as its pretty dim with a sort of romantic, intimate vibe. No one was there as we showed up exactly when they opened @ 5:30. We started out with a round of french martinis which were as good as any I’ve had before. Our server was cool with keeping the drinks coming as we wound up having 3 each.
I decided to go with the roasted beet salad for my starter and it was pretty good… I’m not a big beet salad guy but it sounded really good at the time. I followed that with the Chilean Sea Bass as my entrée and it was good as well. Very flavorful and melted in my mouth. Not a huge menu but some really good stuff on there. One of my buddies went with the Beef tenderloin and he said it was pretty good as well.

I got a Groupon and decided to try this luxury French place. It was not very French per se but the food is definitely great.
I especially liked the lamb and the desserts – cream brûlée and bread pudding. Our waiter Eric was attentive and helpful.
Great place!

Felt like groupon was on a roll with back-​to-​back restaurant deals to places I’ve been meaning to try. I jumped on a deal for Café Absinthe since I’ve been staring at this building for years on a daily basis in Wicker Park.
The entrance is a little weird since you have to walk in an alley to get to the building. Maybe it’s trying to have that Brooklyn kind of charm. We had resos and were seated immediately in a table that was randomly placed where I felt was a walkway. My purse and my elbow got nudged a bunch of times throughout the night but I tried to make the most of it.
We ordered mussels to share, scallops for me and lamb for him. We got a bunch of empty mussels that left me feeling slightly jipped for the price. Scallops were just ok. The sauce was very synthetic tasting with very few veggies were on the side. He loved his lamb so at least this wasn’t a total waste of time.
Server was nice but he smelled like he smoked 10 packs of cigs right before and had the tendency to touch my and hubby’s shoulder on a regular basis. I’m Hispanic and used to being rubbed regularly (we’re very touchy) but this was a little odd. I just made it a point to finish my food and gtfo out of there.
Between the touching, the nudging, and lack of impressive food, I felt this is one of those one-​and-​done type of places. You are curious about it, try it and don’t really come back. Slightly jipped can pretty much encompass how I felt during my time at CA.

First I would like to say, perhaps I came at a bad time. I am a little surprised at all the higher reviews. I had a Groupon, and if the out the door price was the price I paid with the Groupon then I would give it a 3. But if you are paying full price, this place is a 2 in my book.
So my wife and I came in, and even though there were plenty of open tables they sat us right next to another couple (as well as right next to the kitchen. This is an open kitchen where there isn’t even a full pice of glass from floor to ceiling to block out some of the cooking noise. So after looking over the apps, we settle on soft shell crabs (with the servers recommendation). I’m not sure what is French about fried soft shell crab… and this was decent at best.
We also had a set of mains, the scallops and the salmon. The salmon, which my wife ordred, was good from what I can recall. The scallops on the other hand could have been fixed by one easy step, clean the scallops. They were gritty on the outside. They should either use diver scallops or learn to properly clean sea scallops if they choose to serve them (
OR
).
I hope that it was just a bad night for the cooks and this is not their norm.