Troquet River North

Parmesan truffle fries, and bottomless mimosas, need I say more?!
Went there for brunch on Valentines day, and received great service and loved the cozy european atmosphere. They have a $ 25 bottomless mimosa special, with an entrée, which is great! There isn’t a long wait between mimosas either, they just leave an entire carafe at your table. They also do an excellent job of keeping your coffee mug filled. I had the eggs benedict with the truffle fry add on, and had the ham substituted for avocado. Everything was delicious.

Great food, server was awesome. Mussels rocked, Pâté outstanding and the Steak Friets with Marrow butter was delicious! Chef visited table twice and was helpful and pleasant. Great to meet another Kendall College grad. So glad we found this place on such short notice.

Delicious brunch and great service however the tables were wobbly so bring a pad of paper ;)

Overview: Went there for a restaurant week dinner on a Saturday night with my boyfriend. Nice service, good, food, really fun drinks, and a cozy atmosphere. Great deal for a fixed price that comes out to about $ 42 with tax and tip.
Food: 3.5÷5
The first course was delicious (⁵⁄₅ stars). You get a specialty cocktail and cheese fondue with apple, grapes, bread, salami, and pickles. The cocktails were strong and delicious. I’d especially recommend the bourbon one. The gin was good, but felt too summery for a cold night in Chicago. We really enjoyed the fondue and the portion was generous.
The second course is your main entrée (³⁄₅ stars). At first, the portion seemed small, but I could barely finish it. Don’t expect leftovers, but I really appreciated that the portion was the right size to just fill you up. I really enjoyed my gnocchi and would give it (⁴⁄₅ stars). It didn’t blow me away, but it was delicious. My boyfriend got the lamb with a side dish of beans. I really enjoyed how tender the lamb was and thought the sauce was good. My boyfriend though the lamb was too mushy though and the sauce was bland. We both agreed that the lamb could have been warmer and the beans were not good. They had an unpleasant vinegar taste to them (and I like vinegar). If I go back I’d like to try their burgers.
Dessert was great (⁴⁄₅ stars). The poach pear is a very refined dessert, though we felt the cocktail that went with it was a bit muddled in terms of flavors. The nutella beignets were essentially fried donuts with nutella. Not very refined but definitely delicious. The cocktail that went with the nutella donuts was essentially adult chocolate milk, which both my boyfriend and I enjoyed. If you aren’t into really sweet desserts definitely get the pair. If you want a fried love affair with alcoholic chocolate milk on the side… you know what to order ;)
Service: ⁴⁄₅ Good service, very attentive. Didn’t exactly have our own waiter. The hostess acted as our waiter, but it worked.
Ambiance: ⁴⁄₅ Really enjoyed the vibe. It was warm and cozy even with the giant windows. My only complaint is please fix shaky tables! It’s a bit annoying during dinner to have to watch out about not hitting the table. Also, I can see how TVs are fun when there is a game on, but it did take away from the romantic french vibe a bit.
Final Thoughts: Will be back for their happy hour where you can get $ 4 beers and truffles fries, $ 5 mixed drinks and salmon rilette, and $ 6 wine and croque monsieurs. Check hours, not the usually happy hour times. We also received a coupon for buy one get one free specialty cocktails when we finished our dinner. Overall, would go back for a drink, the apps, and to maybe to try a burger.

We were here on a Sunday night with another couple. I was a bit confused about the place. I did not seem like dinner was their thing. From research, it looked like an upscale bar scene. It was pretty quiet on a Sunday. They have t.v.s that take away from the burlesque fancy theme and make it feel more like a bar. The menu is small and very french, surprise! Our service was great. She let us be when were gabbing. Knew when we wanted to order, and worked through our questions. I was probably the least knowledgeable about french food and ingredients. Though, I know what a Croque is! So that is what I stuck with. I did like the several options of Croques they have on the menu. It was fun to choose. I had to go with the Croque Saumon. Do not order this item if you are on a diet or cannot eat cheese. The Croque comes out doused in cheese, two large pieces of sourdough cut in half and the soumon and more cheese inside. You can be risky and eat it as you would a normal sandwich. Though I recommend a knife and fork. I also upgraded to the truffle fries, of course! The others at the table were not happy with me on that one. The means I was too full to eat all the fries and they were all obligated to dig in! Worth noting, a friend ordered the Poutine and it was enough for a meal.
Still confused on the concept, sporty bar? restaurant? gastro french pub?

We were staying at the Hotel Felix and this is next door. Usually, that means substandard but that is not the case here. The food (although a somewhat limited menu) was wonderful. The service was impeccable. Its location was superb. I would go back in a flash. Despite a limited set of menu offerings, I like that because what they had was excellent.

We have gone to Troquet River North several times since our recent move to the city of Chicago. It happens to be just 2 blocks from our apartment. I am both a die-​hard French food fan and a picky pescetarian, which is not an easy mix. I am also budget-​minded and have been looking to satisfy my need for excellent food while being cost-​conscious.
Welcome to Troquet. For me, it satisfies all of my dining «needs.» I’ve gone three times for brunch– once with a girlfriend and twice with my husband. We haven’t made it there for the All Day Menu, so I do have to limit my review to the consistently fabulous brunch. The brunch menu is wonderful and full of variety– sweet and savory, vegetarian and carnivorous, all reasonable and clever. They have the French classics, such as nutella crepes and pain perdu, for the sweets. I’ve tried the Pain Perdu, which is made with brioche, bananas and Chantilly cream and it is really lovely. Not too sweet, which is why I tend to aver from the sweeter breakfast items. My favorite item on the menu is the poutine. What is poutine? It’s French fries, topped with cheese curds and a light gravy. I have never seen poutine on a menu with a vegetarian gravy. Ever. It’s hard enough to find biscuits with a non-​meat based gravy! Troquet takes their vegetarian gravy to this marvelous brown buttery-​sage deliciousness that rests at the bottom of the bowl of French fries. Moving up, you have mounds of fries that have all been grazed by the savory gravy, with hidden mounds of cheese curds, all topped with a lovely fried egg and pickled onions that will make your head spin.
There are still things on the menu that I’m dying to try, but I’m still trying to get over the poutine before I find a new favorite. They have a vegetarian spin on the Croque Monsieur, and all of their burgers are available on a vegetarian patty made in house. Must try all of these.
And the icing? Crazy reasonable. I mean, crazy reasonable. Plus, if you like boozy brunches, they have an amazing $ 25.00 deal for one brunch entrée with bottomless mimosas. And the mimosas are pretty fantastic.
Not to mention, one of the nicest service teams I’ve ever met. We’ve only been three times and they’ve already recognized us. The waitstaff is attentive, kind and fun! Troquet is a revelation and a wonderful discovery, and I can’t wait to go back dozens more times with new and old friends. This has easily become my new favorite spot in the city.

This place was on the corner, directly next to my hotel, so I was bound to stop in at some point. I wasn’t hungry, so I stopped in and just had a glass of wine or two at the bar. Come to find out, it was my lucky day because Tuesdays wines on draft were half off and it just so happened to be the day of the week that we were there.
The bar tender was extremely nice and attentive. Eventually, my husband ordered an order of fries. Of course I grabbed a few and can report that they were excellent. If you’re a fan of fries, those are a must.
The reason that I’m short on the rating scale is because on our last day, my husband headed back to the hotel before me and decided to stop in here, while I stopped in at a nearby store, before I was to meet back up with him here. He had a cup in his hand, one that he had water in earlier, he said that the bar tender (a different one this time) refused to let him in and was quite rude about it… over an empty cup. So are you not allowed to bring shopping bags or other items in either? Their loss…

If you’re looking for a River North gem with unique fare, look no further than Troquet. Think traditional bar food with a French aesthetic. Everything feels like home, but tastes like Europe. The cocktails are simple but delicious. And starting from the amazing head chef on down, the entire staff is super friendly
Eat here.
Now.
You won’t be sorry.

Went here for brunch. Thought it odd to be brought coffee without any type of milk or cream and then given no place to put my spoon after I stirred the milk. The table leg was unstable, and the guy said the floor was the problem, but whether it was the floor or the table, the table still wiggled and needed to be fixed. Then there was the noisy music. I said something to the bartender, as well as to the server, neither of whom did anything about it: Perhaps they said something something to the manager, who I supposed proceeded not to do anything about it. (I realize I might be the exception to the rule in the U.S., and I love music more than almost anything, but when it’s too loud and I’m trying to talk to or hear my friends, I don’t enjoy competing with it.) The server’s response was that the volume level was for ambiance. Really? A noisy ambiance? It seems as if it wouldn’t have been too much trouble for someone to turn the music down. Finally, the Angus hamburger with Camembert cheese was pretty good, but my friend’s Eggs Benedict, cooked too long, had a hard yolk.
And Troquet could easily improve in these areas. They could fix the table before customers come, give them a saucer to put their coffee spoon on, turn down the music so they can hear each other, and serve food that isn’t overcooked. Then I might return. After all, at least MY food was pretty good.

We first wasted 30 minutes of our day just trying to get noticed… Then when the food came, our very empty glasses stayed empty for 15 more min… And they weren’t even from the bar!!! REALLY? I used to be a server so I totally understand certain situations, but this was not one of them… Possibly the worst dining experience of my life!!! I’ve never posted a review before… That’s how bad:(

DELICIOUS! The cream sauce on the chicken with mushrooms is my new favorite thing! No seriously, I could practically drink it! We went here for my birthday and then back for a friends rehearsal dinner. My birthday dinner happened to land on the same night as the piano bar which was lovely! The entertainment was a great compliment to my delicious dinner.
The rehearsal dinner was held in the back private room which was intimate. Our server did a wonderful job keeping our glasses filled and food on the table for a party of 20. The pasta with peas was delicious and again that chicken was perfection! The chocolate mousse that we had as dessert was light, fluffy, and delicious!
This is a great spot to have a lovely meal in a delightful atmosphere!

Love this place. I feel bad that I had not written a review earlier. I’ve been coming here regularly for over 2 years.
I am often in the area super early in the morning and find myself having breakfast here very often. It is a fantastic place to start the day. The menu is fantastic, upscale breakfast menu without the upscale price. It certainly is not cheap but you will not feel like a pauper once you leave.
Since street parking is free before 8 am it is a fast and easy way to have breakfast and park without hassle.
I love the place and have to confess that it is a favorite also because it is not crowded early in the morning. I know they deal with bigger crowds for brunch dinner and drinks. For me I can have a nice quiet breakfast before the crowds start waking up. It the perfect place for a business breakfast if you need to talk with someone.
Oh, and the food is great.

Yum! I stayed at Hotel Felix, so I had to try here. I was in town for almost a week, so I actually went here twice. The first time I had the Normandie burger. It’s a hamburger with the following: Camembert, mushroom bacon duxelle, truffle aioli. The burger was huge, cooked perfectly, and sooo good!
The next time I was there I had breakfast and had the eggs benedict. Delicious! Cooked perfectly too.
I did deduct a star because the servers took forever to come to the table both times, despite the restaurant wasn’t busy.

Came in for the unlimited mussels on Thursday but ended up sharing a quinoa salad with my friend.
We came in around 8 pm on a Thursday and the place was dead! The service on top of that was extremely slow, I am talking about forever to get a server to come by and for anyone to respond to a request such as bringing you the check.
We decided not to get the unlimited mussels because 1 bowl was cheaper than unlimited and how many mussels can you really eat?
A friend of mine and I shared the quinoa salad with chicken. At first they forgot to give us the chicken and we had to wait for them to make some more. The manager did make up for the wait though and brought us out some more of those mussels.
The mussels were not good, they were dry and lacked major flavor. I make much better mussels at home. Don’t bother coming here for the mussels.
The drinks were okay, I got the watermelon mojito, but they told me they were out of watermelon syrup… Red flag right there, I was expecting fresh watermelon in my drink not «syrup», so instead they offered me strawberry syrup. again not fresh strawberries but instead yucky syrup.
For the slow service, okay food, and dead atmosphere it’s very doubtful I will return.

I was staying at Hotel Felix and Troquet is attached to the hotel. I didn’t want to go far to find breakfast (did so much walking the day before and was still sore!). Figured why not. I was not disappointed.
Went in around 9:30, it was empty besides one couple, but the outdoor seating area was pretty full. Seated myself and was met by my server immediately. Very friendly fellow.
I got the Croque Madame (basically grilled ham & cheese with a fried egg on top), which comes with fries. The CM was wonderful. Had a hot peppermint tea which was a little pricey for one cup ($ 4) but it’s a hotel restaurant. They also serve chilled water in a wine bottle so no ice.
I would eat here again if staying at the hotel.

I came here today for breakfast/​brunch. We ordered mimosas and a Bloody Mary. The Bloody Mary was very good. The coffee here is really good! For breakfast, I had a croissant sandwich with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato and arugula. It was delicious! My friends had a croissant with Nutella and pancakes. They both enjoyed their meals.
The service here was amazing. Our server was very attentive.
Overall, I would love to return for brunch on a Saturday or Sunday!

service started out horrible but the server managed to redeem themselves towards the end so I’m willing to let bygones be bygones but there is no saving the food.
And me having to ask for another cup, and than having to wash my own utensils because the ones given were dirty?
No, there is the Godfrey and zed451
And server, woulda totally taken u up on the redo but I had to be out of the hotel by 12 and it was 10 past 11 and I still need to pack.

Wow! We hit the jackpot with this winner!
It was fairly convenient to head to this restaurant for us, since we were staying right next door at Hotel Felix. We saw it on our way to enjoy the city. It had this brunch sign that drew us in on it. It was a marvelously attractive eatery. We had some friends coming into town to have dinner and drinks with us, so we decided to meet up here.
I loved the fuse ball table set up at the entry. The restaurant was really charming and had a decent amount of delicious alcoholic beverages as well as a respectable menu. Our friends really enjoyed their meal, so the hubby and I made a note to have breakfast here the next morning. We explored their menu and we were rather delighted with selection of beers and wells. I started off with a wine to settle myself in and then I went hard after that, lol.
I commenced to check-​in on Unilocal as we were catching up with our old friends, and discovered an incredible check-​in special, $ 0.01 house cocktail! That’s like a $ 12 drink! I got all my friends to download the app and check-​in. We saved $ 65 because of that Unilocal special! That has been the best Unilocal check-​in offer that I have ever claimed!!! So freaking awesome! The drinks were great! I got this cinnamon mule and it totally hit the spot! Best one I have had in a long time.
They had a unisex bathroom that was really clean and cute. There wasn’t an abundant amount of people here, which is weird, because it should be the happening spot. Great food and drinks! It should also have a Unilocal approved sticker on the door! It may not be off the main strip, but this is definitely a place that everyone needs to checkout.
We came back in the morning for breakfast and it was extremely remarkable! I ordered a side of bacon and fruit for my three year old, the hubby got a wrap, I got a wonderful salmon hash, my sister a burger, and my brother-​in-​law a meat hash. My salmon hash was exquisite! There were perfectly seasoned potatoes on the bottom, with a layer of salmon hash over and two sunny side-​up eggs on top. The hash was so freaking gooooooood! I swear my mouth is watering right now thinking about it. It is the best thing I have tasted in a long time! No lie man!!!
If you have wandered by and wondered about this place, stop it and just go inside. You will not regret it! The service, food, drinks and vibe here is PERFECT! I promise. Hit it up and you will agree with my review. Don’t forget to check –in!!!

The décor is very urban and hip.
Love the lights
I sat at the bar for some brunch alone today. The bartender was friendly and checked in a bit. I ordered a steak and eggs, eggs were a bit over done but steak was a good medium rare.
Drinks are a little sweet for my Taste but overall a good experience and will be back again if I’m in the area!

Dropped by out of the blue to say hello to Jasper N. but stayed for their top end Normande burger, which has a flavorful patty flanked by Camembert, arugula, caramelized mushrooms on a soft, eggy bun.
What a treat!
And the house Bordeaux blend is a winner, especially if you love old world, elegant, pinot noir. Thanks Erica!
Troquet immediately won me over with one simple change from the LM Bistro days… much better furniture! LM Bistro had a great space, tucked away from the throngs of tourists nearby and in a more friendly part of River North.

I decided go give Troquet River North a second chance, after I had a not so positive experience with the service during my last visit. This time around the service I received was spot on. The server was engaging, attentive without being obtrusive and gave good recommendations regarding the menu.
I’m happy the second time around was extremely better because the food here is oh so good. I’ll definitely be going back to Troquet in the near future.