La Petite Folie

Had an amazing experience here. Our server, Sara, was super charming and helpful, the food was perfect, and they had space for a Saturday night walk-​in. Will be coming back.

my husband and i went last night. the service and food were fabulous! we would definitely go back.

It seems like almost every restaurant however good or bad, falls in the 3 – 4 star category on Unilocal; if you want to make any sense of it you need to drill down on the review and reviewers.
My 5 star rating is based on what this restaurant aims for and accomplishes: unpretentious yet serious Bistro style French food.
We had lunch here before a visit to the Oriental Museum; with the exception of two women who brought an older child who was allowed to run around the restaurant, the diners (and atmosphere) was relatively quiet.
Meals are accompanied by good bread and butter; service was efficient and knowledgeable; wine by the glass, including several Rhones and Bordeaux were very good and relatively reasonable ($ 8 to $ 11/​glass).
A spinach salad with smoked duck, pears, blue cheese, grapes and toasted hazel nuts was tasty and generous with 5 or 6 slices of rare duck breast. My wife enjoyed a salad of mixed field greens (see on line menu) requested and received lightly dressed. An Omelet with wild mushrooms and gruyère cheese was vey nice, the mushroom flavor was not overwhelmded by the gruyère. It was accompanied by some pretty tasty potatoes («galette»). A pâté was well accompanied by sweet onion confit, cornichons, mustard and a pretty perfect brioche toast.
All in all a very enjoyable if slightly extravagant lunch (prices were reasonable, but they do add up). We plan to be back for a dinner, perhaps for the lamb Navarin or Quail — the wine list looks very interesting and relatively well priced.

Probably the best French food I have had! Reminds me of the type of cuisine you will find in Montréal. My girlfriend took me here for a celebration dinner and am happy she picked this place. It has a quiet and sophisticated sred ambience. The service was great and our waiter definitely did a good job explaining the menu options since French food descriptions may be difficult to understand at times. The food was great. My girlfriend had chicken served with vegetables which had a nice smooth seared sauce to it. I myself had the steak tenderloins with asparagus and roasted potatoes. The steak was cooked to perfection with a nice crust, with a tasty oil based sauce. Definitely a top rated French restaurant in chicago,.

I tried the duck here. It was really good. It has a good texture to it and the flavor is prefect.

The food was pretentious but mediocre and unoriginal. The ambience was lackluster (Who opens an «upscale» french restaurant in a strip mall?), and the waitstaff, though attentive, was not particularly polite or competent. Oh, and don’t go here expecting a quick meal. I dined here with a group, and from soups/​salads to desserts, dinner took 2.5 hours! I realize this is the French style, but there is a difference between relaxing and enjoying dinner and waiting 20 minutes between each course.

The old-​guard of hyde park fine dining. The French dining is probably right on par, and if you’re into that it’s the best you can get in the area. Its menu is surprisingly expansive, with exotic meats and foie gras, but as with all restaurants of its kind, the food comes in frustratingly limited portions. While not really my kind of place, it is a surprising find in Hyde Park, so 4 stars.

This restaurant catered a party for me, and it was outstanding. Everything was perfectly packaged for me, and loaded into my car. Food could not have been better, and everyone raved all night about how good it was. They also do a lovely dinner. Great value, too.

The table was well appointed, The chamber music sets the climate, the floral arrangements were place, and the food is very consistent
The soup (potato leek), the duck salad, the veggie main course was great.
The apple tart was on point.
We were headed to bible class at Apostolic Church of God.
Next time we will have seconds on the apple tart.
They could use a large coop for the vanilla ice cream.
Shalom
Shalom

We went there two weeks ago and the food is good and everybody likes their dishes and the price is reasonable. Our only complain is the service. The waiter seems gloomy and slow. Is he underpaid?

This used to be the only up-​scale restaurant in Hyde Park and it was very pleasant. Competitors have been added and contrary to normal business practices, the food has gotten worse. And the service as well which was always casual and helpful. My «medium rare» duck was so overcooked that it tasted like pot roast. Our server was absolutely hostile as he looked at the brown pieces of meat with some vague spots of pink as he absolutely insisted that that was medium rare while my guests looked on appalled, He took it away, with anger. (No offer to try again or apology. I was just being a pain in the ass, was his message). One guest said her steak tasted terrible.
The other said her fish was fine.
All of us were made uncomfortable at what supposed to be a celebratory event.
The evening was an attempt to return to an old tried and true where I had brought many for departmental events. That’s the last time in Hyde Park.

We rented out La Petite Folie for the post-​wedding brunch for the next day after our wedding. We had about 60 guests.
Mary created an amazing customized menu for our party that was delicious. The food was yummy, super fresh, and very-​well presented.
Mary was very easy to deal with, worked with our budget, and provided stellar service.
We are extremely pleased with our experience and would highly recommend using La Petite Folie for a large event.

A lovely, lovely French restaurant in Hyde Park. We were there for lunch. When we arrived, we were welcomed by the friendly servers. The restaurant itself is beautiful and cozy. The service was exemplary — great attention to detail. The wine list was wonderful — many options by the glass. The food is awesome!!! The fresh pea soup was very tasty, and my shrimp crepes were outstanding. We will be back for dinner.
I only have one suggestion: Please open a similar restaurant in Lake Forest — we desperately need a fine French restaurant in our town.

I came here for lunch on a Wednesday. I was the only one there when I arrived, but by the time I was done with the meal, the restaurant was halfway full. I ordered the tarte Provencale and it was delicious. It was like a thin-​slice pizza. The crust was amazing. My friend ordered the tarte Touraine which was equally as good. The atmosphere and service was excellent. This will quickly become one of my Hyde Park favorites.

In «American» we joke and jibe at how rude the French are, and how snobby they can be, so wow. I was almost laughing at how rude and snobby our waiter was treating us. We were one of only three seated tables, yet our food took forever. But of course, once we were served, they kept trying to rush us out.
Ça me fait chier

I’ve eaten here several times and this is my favorite restaurant in Hyde Park. The food is delicious and I’ve never been disappointed. The quiet, restful atmosphere makes it very conversation-​friendly. The white tablecloths with tasteful small vases with flowers are simple and elegant. The service was good. La Petite Folie won the Bib Gourmand award.
For those concerned about price, the price fixe menu is a good choice. There are several choices. I’ve always ordered it. I think it was $ 32 the last time I was there.

For the years that I lived in Hyde Park and passed by La Petite Folie, I never went in. Part of it was being in constant motion. Part was relying on other people’s input. Sometimes you have to just follow the Nike motto and «Just Do It!»
Sancere. Crutide salad. Sturgeon with spinach and potatoes. Gelato.
Because I was having seafood for my entrée, my server recommended a glass of white wine: Sancere. Good choice. The crutide salad was like the staple salad I had in Chalon, France, albeit the carrots and celery were diced rather than chopped. The sturgeon over spinach was good in the provincial sense, but the potatoes detracted from that because they were overcooked. As to the gelato, the white peach, dark chocolate, and hazelnut were rather authentically Italian, as I remember during my most recent visit to Florence.
The menu appears to be provincial, which means the dishes aren’t creamy and highlighted with rich sauces. The service was very good. And the price was nothing close to what I’ve paid at high-​end French restaurants. Overall, La Petite Folie will be on my blog site.

I am usually a big fan of La Petite Folie, and i have given this place four stars before. This second review is in response to a particular waiter that I have gotten consistently bad service from– once for lunch and once for dinner. He was extremely inattentive to our needs, and had a horrible attitude. He never asked us how our food is or whether we need anything. Also, a smile wouldn’t hurt. I don’t think I have given such a bad rating for a restaurant’s service.
Having said that, the food here is still amazing. I come to this restaurant pretty often and the two waitresses i have frequently been served by are incredible.

We had been to La Petite Folie many years ago, and were pleased to have a chance to try it again when we were in the area recently. It is a charming place with serene décor, good music at an appropriate level, and gracious service. The food was about as we recalled, enjoyable, «A-​OK.»
The bread service, a good baguette, was very tasty. For starters, my onion tart was flavorful — but disappointingly limp, with no crispiness at all. The evening’s soup, an artichoke purée, was well-​executed, but one-​dimensional. My sirloin tips were not really tips as I’ve known them, but rather slices; really OK, but not distinguished. My companion’s fish of the day was fresh and nicely done. For dessert, I liked a chocolate tart: good flavor, nice texture, appealing presentation; an apple tart was somewhat of a clumped-​up affair, but passable, according to my companion. Cappuccino was excellent. The all-​French wine list is admirable, with many choices from each appellation.
There were enough misfires that I can’t say it’s outstanding, but La Petite Folie has a lot to recommend it. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back, especially given the bleak dining scene in Hyde Park.

I’ve always been scared of restaurants like this where they provide 2 forks. I am so out of my element. I’d walk past the french sounding name. I was sure it would be too expensive, the portions sizes small, the Garçon rude! But i still wanted to experience what people who don’t buy their clothes at thrift stores experience!
Yesterday I did. It was a Christmas gift so I could not pass it up. And I realized that one should not judge a restaurant by it giving you two forks.
I had the magret de canard (aka duck breast). I half expected a tiny piece of meat and a pretty lil garnish. WRONG. It was plated beautifully but it was meaty enough for a linebacker of the Chicago Bears… I had to take half of it home with me! (and I wasn’t stuffed by the bread basket since I barely touched it!)
I finished my meal with the Belgian Chocolate Torte. YUMMY. I licked my plate clean.
ALOT of food. Prices aren’t that bad either. Granted I didn’t pay but I did take a peek at the prices and they have a prix fixe menu for only $ 32! I definately will be back to take advantage of that!
The only part of my very special Christmas gift I did not like was it did take the waiter a good 10 minutes to bring us the dessert menu and he seemed rushed and not too friendly. Other than that, I had a great time and will definately be back. I’m not coming back to be the waiter’s friend. I am coming back to put on my best attire from my favorite thrift store which is also close by (Encore in Hyde Park!) and partaking in fine yet hearty cuisine.
A must if one is in Hyde Park and even elsewhere. Prices are a STEAL!