Le Colonial

I love Vietnamese food and I love me some copper ceilings and gorgeous old architecture –this space had all of the above. It was dimly lit with candles on every table and soft music gently drifting through the air. He dragged me out to try to «turn that frown upside-​down» and this place had promise. It seemed to be a very nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle outside. We were seated (immediately) behind a folding screen and tucked away in a corner. High praises for intimacy because I’m all about that while dining… or anything else.
With Saigon Sisters being my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, I couldn’t help but compare though. And Le Colonial just came up sort of flat for me. We always order a lot of food. I’m sure we look amusing. –two people at one tiny table completely filled with food. Drinks barely clinging to the edges. We both are types who like to try a bunch of things and have no qualms with packing it up and bringing the rest home.
Goi Cuon (soft salad rolls with a plum dipping sauce). They were exactly as all spring rolls always are. Light and good. I’ve yet to have any from any restaurant that stand apart. Whether a chain restaurant or an independent, they all taste good but all taste the same.
Vit Quay (Marinated Duck). Duck is either hit or miss. I’m compelled to order it in hopes of getting a hit, but this was definitely a miss. Very, very bland. Not tough though! They earned points for that!
Cari Tom (Jumbo Shrimp with Japanese Eggplant in a Coconut Curry Sauce). I did indeed like this dish. The shrimp were plump and cooked perfectly. The curry was delicious.
Mien Xao (Stir-​Fried Cellophane Noodles with Crabmeat) Pretty greasy and would have preferred bigger pieces of crab. It was fine. I’ll just leave it at that.
Nothing I ate was off-​putting by any means, but nothing seemed truly innovative for being a Vietnamese Fusion restaurant. Nothing was truly captivating. We had plenty of leftovers yet opted to leave them all behind. I can’t even remember the last time I turned down leftovers from a restaurant; it’s the hallmark of every dining experience for me. But neither of us loved our food enough to eat it twice. At least not when the curry was already gone. And while I liked the intimacy of the corner table behind the folding screen, what I didn’t know is that I was near a swinging door and I would have the wall next to me shaking throughout the entire meal. –Shaking and a lot of banging. It was such a distraction that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.
Parking is easy in this neighborhood. With an adequately priced $ 12 valet or a parking garage around the corner, it’s all convenient. Effortless, yes, but Saigon Sisters have my heart for Vietnamese Fusion and Le Colonial just can’t tempt me to cheat. Or even flirt with them again.

Went here with some friends for a fine dining night out. Thankfully, Le Colonial offers a vegan menu!
Pros: Vegan menu, delicious food, vegan-​friendly dessert options and you actually get enough food for leftovers. That’s rare for fancypants places. They usually charge $ 40 for about two bites of food. The lychee sangria is basically a lychee sugar rush. I tasted more lychee than wine (not a complaint).
Also, they were able to sub rice with noodles for dish 50V: Tau Hu Xao Xa. They charged me for the substitution, though. At least I still received a plate of white rice along with my entrée. When I go to a Vietnamese restaurant, I want noodles. But I wanted lemongrass tofu dish, not the dish that was already a noodle dish. The noodle dish was basically tofu and veggies in chili sauce, which is pretty standard, I think.
Cons: The vegan menu is very limited and one of the vegan dessert options is two scoops of Ciao Bella sorbet for $ 7. Ciao Bella? For $ 7? You can get a pint of that at Whole Foods for $ 5. Puh-​lease. I went with the banana pudding in coconut milk. That was good stuff, but tasted like breakfast.
My inner activist is also not pleased with naming a restaurant after colonialism. I mean, really? I wouldn’t name a cajun/​creole restaurant La Antebella, even if the cuisine was a fusion of French and foods native to the southern US.
Despite my politics (I pick my battles), I enjoyed the food and definitely will come back when I want to treat myself (or a friend) to a fancy dinner.

Stepping into Le Colonial feels like being transported back to French colonized vietnam: the beautifully maintained original building with original tile work is decorated with lush green houseplants, mixing european and tropical aesthetics. The restaurant is very dimly lit with candles, perfect for a romantic dinner.
The menu can be overwhelming with so many unfamiliar options to choose from, but the waitstaff is expert with recommendations.
For our anniversary dinner, my boyfriend and I decided on the GA XAO CARI: Sautéed diced chicken with Japanese eggplant, mango, yams, string beans, & cashew nuts In a yellow curry sauce and the VIT QUAY: Ginger marinated roast duck with tamarind dipping sauce.
The duck was perfectly cooked, juicy with crisp skin and the tamarind sauce elevated it to another level. The curry was the best either of us has had, with each layer of flavor melting into the next.
The restaurant is very formal yet we saw many under dressed patrons come in. Do yourself a favor and dress nicely for this restaurant, or your food will look much prettier than you.

One of my favorite Chicago spots to date. Sadly I do not visit often enough… Quality establishment with a superb «date-​night» environment are two thoughts that come to mind when I think of Le Colonial.

Le Colonial is absolutely fantastic… one of my favorite asian restaurants in all of Chicago! Would highly recommend anything from the restaurant week lunch menu! The rice paper rolls were a fantastic appetizer airing on the lighter side due to the restaurant’s use of fresh, crisp carrot slices, bean sprouts, jicama, and lettuce. In addition, I really enjoyed how a faint peanut essence translated across the dish. The crushed peanut pieces inside of the rolls added the right amount of texture to balance out the soft and sticky nature of the rice paper covering, and served to complement the peanut plum sauce. All in all, a noticeable nuttiness brought the dish together while striking the careful balance of not becoming too overpowering. I also really loved the lemongrass chicken, although the portion size of the main course was a bit on the heavier side. The tangy yet slightly spicy chicken was tender/​easy to cut into and was soaked in a fresh, sharp basil sauce. Lastly, the mango Caio Bella sorbet was also mouth-​watering, extremely sweet and sticky, similar to how a ripe, freshly picked mango would be! The food was fantastic! The service was great! The place is beautiful! Love Le Colonial!

Probably overpriced, but I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t really mind. I originally came for Restaurant Week, but upon seeing the menu, I changed my mind and ended up ordering off the normal menu.
#6 Banh Cuon (steamed ravioli with chicken & chili lime garlic sauce): I didn’t enjoy as much as other Unilocalers seemed to suggest I would – the texture of the ground chicken was a bit tough and didn’t quite go with the rest of the filling– but nevertheless I still appreciated the delicate flavors.
# 8 Banh Uot (grilled beef wrapped in rice noodle): I loved the juiciness of the beef and the sesame marinade, which went very well with the cucumber and lettuce salad. A bit on the salty side, but one of my favorite orders.
Other noteworthy things I tasted included the cha gio (#1, fried spring rolls). Normally, I tend to stay away from fried spring rolls because the batter tends on the oily side; however, at Le Colonial, the skin of the spring was light and crispy, and the chili lime garlic sauce made for a delicious addition to the light, fragrant flavors of the spring roll. The bun thit nuong (#25, barbequed pork over rice noodles) was quite good as well – the barbequed pork had was deliciously fragrant and the perfect balance between sweet and salty.
Will definitely be back to try the rest of this menu.

I came here with other two friends, and we had a pretty nice dining experience. They have this neat upstairs which has a small bar, comfortable couches for a comfy drink/​meal, and a more date-​like secluded place near the upstairs front area.
The food was definitely incredible. We got 49. Chicken Bahn Phở Xao (was decent), 36. Pork Com Chein, and a chicken dish 31. Ga Xao Cari. The latter two were very great, especially the chicken dish. The pork fried rice was a great side for both the other plates. I was underwhelmed by the Bahn Phở Xao — it sounded awesome but it turned out to be just OK.
Definitely come here for a date night, or maybe a lunch/​dinner with a few friends. Apparently they served the drinks Ceres strong in the upstairs bar in case you like strong drinks!

Fantastic food, great atmosphere.
Date of Visit: 11÷2÷15
A large group of us visited Le Colonial on a business trip, as it was one of our client’s favorite spots in Chicago. With a party of 12 I think we tried the majority of the menu. Some of my personal favorites were Banh Cuon (Steamed ravioli of chicken & asian mushrooms, with chili lime garlic sauce), Goi Cuon Ga (Salad rolls of grilled chicken, cucumber, basil, mint, cilantro, bean sprouts, rice vermicelli, & crispy rice paper with coconut plum dipping sauce), and Banh Phở Xao (Rice noodles and shrimp w/​soy sauce, bean sprouts, green onions, red peppers & garlic chili sauce). All of the dishes were incredibly flavorful, with varying levels of heat and very tasty sauces.
The next time I’m in Chi-​Town and need to scratch my Vietnamese/​Thai itch, this is my go-​to.

My favorite restaurant in Chicago! I am never disappointed by any dishes here. My family often go here for birthdays and we typically order the same things (although I’ve never been disappointed by a dish!) — French Martini, sugar can shrimp appetizer, #49 with beef, and the Le Colonial macaroon!
The interior is beautiful. In the summer the upstairs balcony is the best place to sit!

Relaxed atmosphere, good service and tasty dishes.
note: folks with mobility limitations be aware the bathroom is 2 flights up.

What can I say. I have been to France many times, and Vietnam as well. This little gem is infused with the best of both worlds. The décor is so perfectly French Colonial with crisp white tablecloths and very Asian, each table set with chopsticks. And the wonderful unique aromas of chili, lemongrass, cilantro, star anise. The wait staff is very professional and service is what you’d expect at a top end French place, complete with recommendations and explainations. The entre portions for lunch were good sized, appetizers smallish, phở size was medium. Everything was absolutely oustanding! If I lived around here I would quickly become an addict.

Very nice — great service
I got this recommendation from a friend back in Ohio.
The menu has many great options .
I chose a scallop Salad that was good but somewhat boring.
My wife had pork in a plate of noddles and salad and a little more exciting. Both could have used some sort of dressing or sauce.
I will go back for sure. It’s not on Michigan Ave which is a plus.

Came here for dinner on a Saturday night. Definitely a good place for a date. The place has a nice ambiance and had good service. We got the the Cha Gio for the appetizer and then ordered the Bo Sate and Bun Thit Nuong for the dinner portion as well as two cocktails.
All the plates were tasty and had good flavors. You could tell they used quality ingredients for the dishes. The cocktails were also really good because they were made with fresh ingredients as opposed to heavy syrups. Everything was delicious however we did not really notice a French infusion in any of the plates.
Good dinner spot would return again!

Good was solid, as usual, but not over the top, or really worth the price. I will say that their prices are up from my last visit. We ordered the whole red snapper with sweet spicy sauce, tenderloin phở and garlic noodles with seared scallops.
As for the service, I wasn’t impressed. We had a Thai woman who just didn’t seem that excited about being there? Oak so thought she wasn’t very attentive to our needs, at all! I also must have had 5 – 10 waiters bump into me while serving other tables, which got old fast.
As for the ambiance, I love this place! It’s a very romantic setting with a strong French influence with the classic palms, etc… I also like the upstairs for a cocktail, as it’s very relaxing.
I will try this again, but I do hope for a better experience, as this use to be one of my favorite places.

Le Colonial is no longer the Five star Vietnamese restaurant it was a few years ago.
My husband and I were in Chicago this week for the Chicago Architecture Biennial and fondly remembered a delicious lunch we had at Le Colonial approximately five years ago; at that time we had one of their signature dishes, the whole Red Snapper. We had a great lunch and great memories.
Upon our return to Chicago this trip we went back to Le Colonial and were given an initial warm greeting followed by an incredibly condescending and hostile waiter. I don’t need to describe this person because anyone who has dined there recently will know who this male waiter is. He has a distinct and easily visible chip on his shoulder. There was nothing we could see about our waiter that would justify his arrogant and condescending manner, towards not just us, but everyone in general.
The white table cloth was also dirty with a white sauce from previous customers smeared on the upper top corner, which the staff member who seated us simply rubbed off with a rag while seating us. It was off putting but we wanted the window table so we overlooked this unpleasant fact.
In any event, as things progressed, it was quite clear that our waiter was barely tolerating our presence (perhaps because it was at the end of the lunch hour and they were busy).
From the moment my husband requested the wine list to the ordering of our food, our waiter was unfriendly, condescending and borderline rude. Despite these disappointing facts, we shared several delicious dishes including eggplant, prawns, chicken and the whole Red Snapper which we paired with two bottles of German Riesling from the Mosel, and we had a great time.
The food was delicious but a dining experience is not just about the food, it’s about the ambiance and experience; so, as a result of the dirty table cloth and unpleasant condescending waiter we had, I doubt we will return.
management needs to make some changes to their restaurant staff.

Another 5 star review! This year a friend suggested we try Le Colonial for our annual Friendsgiving dinner and I’m so happy we did! The ambiance just takes you away and you feel like your sitting someone in Paris having a fancy dining experience. The décor elegant and romantic, makes for a great date night place or fabulous evening with friends. We sat in the main dining room on the first floor surrounded by large Palm trees in the center of the room. We all had different dishes but I went for #49 Banh Phở Xao with chicken paired with a great glass of red from Spain. For dessert a delicate slice of chocolate cakes with vanilla cream on the sides. Delicious delicious delicious! The service was outstanding and can’t wait to go back to try some more fabulous dishes.

When a restaurant is so good that you don’t care if the tables are on top of one another and that a couple is commencing a soft core porn on the couch in the middle of the dining room, how could I not give it 5 stars?
The atmosphere is so damn romantic, anyone who wants to impress a crush or his/​her one true love should consider an evening at Le Colonial.
It’s dimly lit so have faith: your skin will look flawless! The palm décor provides seclusion in what is a very busy restaurant.
We split the spare ribs for an appetizer while I chose the phở and the pork fried rice for mains. Just phenomenal and enough to bring home for the next day’s lunch.
I try not to become a creature of habit when it comes to restaurants, but I’m really hoping to come back again soon.

Came here for a quick bite. Ordered the cha gio and the phở. Cha gio came with Bibb lettuce, picked carrots and daikon, cilantro, and fish sauce. Came with four rolls and were good (not the best I ever had and probably not worth the 10.50 that they charge).
The phở came with beef tenderloin, but most importantly the broth was delicious. It was a little on the sweeter side than what I would prefer, but still tasty.
The phở is worth it, but I’d probably skip the cha gio if I were to come next time.

This popular restaurant serves well prepared and beautifully presented Vietnamese food in a French Colonial setting. Don’t expect French fusion cooking, as there is little French culinary influence, but the setting will definitely transport you to 1950s French Colonial Vietnam.
We put ourselves in our waiter’s hands, and he knocked it out of the park, serving us two appetizers, two salads and two entrees. Nearly all of them were something we would not have ordered, but will definitely order again. We preferred the appetizers and salads to the entrees, and would concentrate on those areas of the menu on our next visit.
We began with a ravioli that was made from amazingly thin and delicate layers, and bursting with flavor. This was probably my favorite dish. We also had the wok seared monkfish, which was slightly spicy, and served with crisp sesame crackers.
Our salad course consisted of a filet mignon and watercress salad (reminiscent of Thai waterfall beef) and a lotus root and crispy tofu salad that was a knockout. Not being a big tofu fan, I would never have ordered this, but it was my other favorite.
Our entrees were a sautéed shrimp dish, and sautéed filet mignon with yams and green beans. These were both good, but not as good as the previous dishes.
For dessert we had an ice cream and macaroon dish that was fine, but not special.
A nice selection of wines designed to accompany the food is available, with a particularly fine selection of Champagnes by the glass.
In addition to the downstairs space, there is a bar and clubbier upstairs dining room.
Obviously we enjoyed the service, as our waiter created this excellent meal for us!

Stepping into this place in the middle of a summer day is like stepping into another world. The décor is so British and so old-​school and tropical. It’s not just somewhere for a quick lunch.
I had the spring rolls that come with lettuce and basil and mint that you can wrap around them. Then I had the number 30 which is filet mignon and sweet potatoes with green beans in a red sauce. I was skeptical when it first arrived but it was absolutely delicious. The topping was the famous fried banana one time which was out of this world.
Try the lemon grass martini. It’s like a lemon drop but a bit lighter and more interesting.
The only surprise was the bill. This place is not cheap but I would say the unique experience is worth the price.

I was in the mood for some Vietnamese and haven’t had any in awhile. This place happened to be near my hotel (and the cupcake ATM.) Take-​out was pretty easy to pick up. The menu looked great, but seeing it had $$$ listed I knew I might be over paying for what I’m getting.
I went with the Cha Gio — pork spring rolls and the Bun Thit Nuong — bbq pork, noddles, greens. The bbq pork was a little dry, but flavorful. The dipping sauce made everything 10 times better. The greens and veggies were very fresh and crisp. I definitely enjoyed the meal but I absolutely paid too much. I guess I’m used to picking this up at a non-​fine dining establishment.

Are you kidding me, man?!
First off, the food is like the same as a hole-​in-​the-​wall phở restaurant.
Second, what an offensive name. A restaurant with a name and inner décor that waxes nostalgic for French Indochina colonialism?!

Enjoyed an intriguing warm crab meat over a chilled salad. The mix of hot and cold took a little getting used to but I get where they’re going with this salad idea.
Can’t remember the name of the brown sauce you see pictured, but it was a tad sweet and syrupy, which could be nixed. Would be nice to try a more savory, vinegar dominant alternative to go with the incredibly fresh red cabbage and greens.
Not a huge fan of Vietnamese cuisine, though I love Thai, Cantonese, Japanese, etc. but this salad illustrated that they’re thinking beyond the norm and it works.
Lunch time service was very friendly, warm, attentive.

If you are looking for a romantic date night spot in the gold coast, this restaurant fits that description.
Atmosphere:
The whole restaurant is dimly lit, and there are candles at the table to help set the mood for a relaxing dinner. We were seated on the 1^st floor in a wrap around booth which allowed us to sit close to each other. The restaurant also has a second floor area where there is a bar, tables, and bathrooms. The second floor also looked like it would be the area in which private parties could be held.
Service:
The first floor dining area was at full capacity when we arrived for dinner, but service was prompt. The time in which we received our cocktails, appetizer, and meals were timed perfectly. Our waiter was professional and friendly towards us.
Food:
Cocktail– I feel bad because I completely forget the name of my cocktail, but the taste was memorable in a positive way.
Appetizer– We shared the Cha Gio (spring rolls) as an appetizer, and they were tasty. Their other appetizers sound promising though as well.
Dinner– I had the Bun Thit Nuong dish, which had marinated pieces of pork and veggies on top of noddles. I highly recommend this dish if you visit this restaurant because it packs a lot of flavor.