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Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 4:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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A quaint, neighborhood French restaurant....very cozy inside. ,,mid-range in price.
I had the salmon, and the wild mushroom quiche...both very well prepared and de-lish!
My husband and I enjoy this restaurant very much. We prefer to go to lunch here rather than dinner.
Everything we've ever tried was delicious and plated nicely.
Service is very good, food is very good, atmosphere is not terribly ritzy, comfortable, and a great place to eat lunch without being rushed.
We live in the neighborhood and are retired.
Exquisite Food!
The food was very good, I tried the steak and duck.....uhmmmm delicious!, the service was excellent. I heard they have a nice patio. Parking was easy, that area is not that busy.
It's a bit pricey, but totally worthy it. Without any doubt, I will come back again.
My husband and I went there for his birthday and I couldn't have made a better choice. The food was outstanding! Had the soup of the day, which was mushroom, it was incredible. We also got the Salade au Chevrotin, the one with goat cheese and pinenuts. It was the best salad I've ever had in my life. So good! I got the mahi mahi, was one of the specials, and it was incredible. Haven't had mahi that good since I was in Hawaii. Service was impeccable, the Chateauneuf Du Pape was outstanding, of course. For desert we shared some sort of apple concoction and had cappuccinos, both were just incredible!
This is my favorite fancy restaurant in the city. If you haven't been here, consider it for a romantic dinner. The food is excellent. I have been to several places in Paris and this place is much better. The other French places such as Mon Ami Gaby or Marche do not compare to this one. This is the real deal. The service is excellent. The decor is tres francaise. You really feel cozy sitting in this restaurant. My wife and I like to come really early (around 5 or 6). You'll be one of the few people there and it'll feel like the whole restaurant is there for you. They also have a great patio.
The food here was really good and the service was generally good. The patio is a very nice place on a summer evening. The wine list is pretty short but includes a few nice ones.
Everything I tried - saumon fumé, Moules Marinières, coq au vin, the special of the night a duck and quail, and finally the crème brûlée - was very good. There were a few points however, where the dishes varied from the menus' descriptions which I found odd but not ever was the variance in a way that was disappointing.
Though when we walked in nobody was available to greet us and we felt a bit like we showed up to a party uninvited, once seated, our server was very friendly. There were a few kinks such as the menu discrepancies, the lack of a greeting in the front, our table was wobbly until I fixed it myself, the busboy looked pretty disheveled and things like that, but the experience was still great. It is among the better upper-mid range casual French restaurants in town, and the food is not as heavy as many of its competitors'. The crème brûlée was especially good. W/o drinks its probably about $40 p/p.
The restaurant that served my favorite creme brulee has been dethroned. Chez Joel, you are the new king.
Went here for Mother's Day, and the restaurant turned out to be a perfect choice. Service was near perfect; fast, friendly and knowledgeable. Food was also extremely good. I had the grilled octopus appetizer (if you like octopus, I highly recommend it), and my parents each ordered a salad, which they raved about.
As for the courses, the 3 ordered were the salmon special, the grilled skate special, and the "Bouillabaisse Marseillaise" for myself - and a side of pommes frites, because, you know, it's a French place and all.
Each entree was delicious, perfectly prepared, and surprisingly fresh considering Chicago's proximity to the oceans. Dessert consisted of a perfect rendition of creme brulee consumed by myself, and the lemon tart consumed by my parents. I don't like lemon tarts, but this one was great...
...and that really says it all, doesn't it? When you go to a restaurant, end up trying / tasting things that in the past you haven't liked, and they do such an amazing job that they completely flip your perception of a dish you previously viewed as inedible? That's what Chez Joel is to me.
I was surprised to find a nice french restaurant in the Italian section of Chicago. We ate outside under the trees and it was so relaxing. The service was good, the escargot some of the best I have had in Chicago, and the menu selection was full of wonderful entrees, all of which I would order. I had the duck, which was just a little dry, but still very good. I would go back.
Excellent food, waiting staff very down to earth and helpful. After reading all the yelp reviews, I ordered the salmon which did not disappoint and perfectly prepared. The entree portions were more than satisfying so my friend and I ended up sharing a dessert instead of ordering two desserts. The ambience is cute looking out through french windows/doors enjoying the cool breeze, and sunset view. I wish this place was closer to downtown but totally worth the cab ride. Next time, I might want to venture out to the patio area.
This place is amazing. Truly.
Started off with a lemon martini, one of the best made martinis I have ever had. My boyfriend and I shared the butternut squash soup off their special's menu. It was a nice, big portion and creamy and comfort food. We scraped the bowl clean with pieces of bread.
For dinner, I had the duck, which was moist with cripsy edges, just the way I like it. Some pieces were a bit chewy, but overall, delicious with the sauce and potatoes. My bf had their shellfish with the Bouillabaisse bouillon. I literally "MMMMM"d at every bite and scarfed down my duck. The bf seemed to like his dish, but he didn't seem overly thrilled by it. I tasted some of his seafood and it was well prepared. It pretty much had everything in it-mussels, scallops, shrimp, crawfish, etc., but soupy. Not something I would have probably ordered. When we go out to eat, I always order the wrong dish (to my liking) and he teases me with his better dish, however, I think last night I had the upper hand.
For dessert, we shared this apple puff pastry with vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit and drizzled homemade crunchy caramel and we both had a cappuccino. Again, every bite was delectable.
It was so quiet, which was nice. There were only 4 tables, including us, and from what I could tell, only 3 employees including the chef. The meal came to about $100 including tax, not including tip.....but I felt like it was worth every penny. The restaurant is beautiful, charming, clean, and comfortable. Our server was attentive and friendly. As I said, the food was amazing.
My only complaint would be that I was not impressed with their special's menu, at all, but that's minor. I normally am enticed by a meal off a special's menu, but nothing offered made my mouth water. I wish it was more imaginative. However, I'm glad I stuck with the duck!
I am grateful to the Yelp reviewers for introducing me to Chez Joel. I love French bistros and this one has great ambiance and good food.
I love that I can easily secure a reservation and count on wonderfully prepared French cuisine and good service.
We like to try different places all the time, but have already visited twice in the past 3 months and plan to visit again soon.
Go for the cozy Parisian atmosphere and be thrilled by the delicious treats that wait you!
This restaurant exceeded my expectations. I went there for a birthday celebration and they could not have been nicer or more accommodating. I had actually made reservations at another place and cancelled it because they were being too snobby. At Chez Joel they were just classy. The atmosphere was amazing - very calm, welcoming and sophisticated. The food was outstanding - everyone at the table just raved about their meals. Thank you for a great evening!
Beautiful restaurant. Came here over thanksgiving weekend, and I was all meated out. No more meat. Don't like fish. So i asked the chef to make a vegaterian meal. I liked the risotto idea (part of the appitizer, but I don't like scallops). They made a veggie risotto with corn, brussel sprouts, spinach, etc, and a sweet blueberry or rasberry sauce (some fancy french name) that was so delicious with the rissotto. It was amazing. And not on the menu. My husband loved the salmon. What an amazing meal.
And I left my scarf there, and they called us (since we left a number with our reservation) so we could get it. The scarf was a gift so I was thrilled to get it back. Wonderful!
What a perfect evening to spend on Taylor street. The rain and the cold from earlier in the day has evaporated, leaving the temperature slightly warm. It's 8pm but the street is eerily quiet for a college area on a weekend night. We even snagged a parking spot in front of Chez Joel, much to the valet attendants demise. This was the evening of our first mortgage payment. Obviously we are a little bit nuts because eating a bowl of instant ramen probably would have been the frugal strategy.
The restaurant is dimly lit, but not too dark. The atmosphere is romantic, but it wouldn't be weird if you were dining with friends. Let's just say on a Goldilocks scale it is "just right". As soon as we were seated we were greeted with some warm and very crusty bread along with some decadent butter and a great black olive paste. Our server was attentive, polite but never intrusive.
For a starter companion and I shared a scallop special that involved a creme de cassis reduction, tobikko, and some wonderfully fluffy rice. The scallops were tasty, the presentation was on par, but I'm a little piggy and was sad to see 2 scallops sitting on the plate. I know I'm not dining at Joe's Crab Shack, but can't you spare just one more scallop?
On to the main course, a fishy Friday it was indeed because my companion had a ahi tuna and I opted for tiliapia. It's like the chef read my mind for what I was looking for in a meal. White fish, capers, balsamic vinaigrette, see I'm not that hard to please! These portions were bigger but I still had no problem devouring my meal. Everything was excellent, but was this small portion factor going to be the trend here? Dessert was in order and we had a very difficult time agreeing on what to share. We had our server make the tie breaker decision, an almond cake with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Good choice. As Larry David would say "Pretty, pretty good". The cake tasted like a giant sugar cookie of bliss and the caramel was the best that I had. The dessert came topped with a beautiful spun sugar decoration that was almost too pretty to eat, but of course we still ate it. The final round of our meal made it for a grand slam of a dining experience. I was no longer empty and pondering "what if they gave me more?"
I truly adore this place! The menu is diverse...everything I've ever ordered is divine....the service exemplary....
Good food, iffy service. Came here for lunch, so maybe that was the issue.
I heard a lot of good things about it from others, so maybe we caught them on an off day.
It was nice. Service was ok. But, they were out of a number of items for a Friday night. Nice outdoor patio. I had the quail and it was quite good. Presentation of the dishes was exceptional. I thought it was A-OK just not exceptional. I love the neighborhood. It's not the typical River North yuppie scene.
Spent 4 hours here on a Friday night.....phew.....not so much for the service as just hanging out with the gurlz from the office with someone visiting from out of town. Not outrageously overpriced, but pricey, and worth every bit, for the atmosphere, service, and the perfect tasting food. The duck confit was like eating dessert (and I still ate dessert, as much as I tried to avoid it, damn those 2 bottles of wine. Wasn't terribly crowded for a Friday, maybe nobody can afford this kind of luxury right now. Great place for a special occcasion in the future....and to hear work gossip!
I went here with my parents on Friday night and it was such a great experience. Not too crowded at all on a Friday night. We started with the mussels in cream sauce which were so great. I had duck for my entree which was a 8.5 out of 10, but everyone else at the table's entrees looked much much better. My mom got the tilapia which looked amazing and my boyfriend had a great looking steak. The prices here are so reasonable and the presentation is great. They have a great wine list but my only complaint was that the waiter brought me the wrong year of one of the wines I ordered- which was fine because he easily took it back and I ordered a different bottle (they didn't have the one I ordered...)
Atmosphere: 5 stars. Dark, romantic, Fancy, Frenchy.
Service: 4 stars. Nice waiters, nice outfits, quick tableside service.
Filet: 2 stars. A stripe of fat through the middle and slightly tough in some areas.
Would I go back? Yes.
Would I go back and order the filet again? NO.
Ahhh, Chez Joel! What a destination for gastronomic delight! This quaint little French restaurant has made it to near the top of my list along with Takashi. I was fortunate to have been introduced to this little gem by my girlfriend for my Birthday. Who by the way always seems to find amazing places to dine at.
Walking in you will quickly discover that it is a small restaurant which is smartly decorated to give the impression of size. The utilization of mirrors help achieve this effect. The ambiance is delightfully cozy and noise level is just enough to talk to your date without hearing everybody else's conversation. To start we decided on the escargot and it was absolutely delicious! The next time I go I will have to give the Mussels or scallops a try but I am a sucker for escargot at a French restaurant. For the main entree, she got the duck and quail combo which she confirmed was excellent and cooked perfectly.
I don't know about you but when I see two different types of mammals on a dinner plate I call that success. I on the other hand had the braised lamb shank in sauce with a side of mashed potatoes and ratatouille. Yes, I tried it because of the movie, I couldn't help myself. My lamb shank was cooked to perfection! The sauce was used smartly and the meat as flavorful and tender. For desert we decided on the ice cream filled puffs which was a nice sugary treat to top off dinner. I cannot wait to dine here again!
This place is sooo cute, the service is really good and everything from their bouillabaisse to their pommes frittes to their steak grillé au poivre is just great!
Excellent - I am adding this to my list of neighborhood favorites. Surprised though, the restaurant was empty on Friday night at 8pm - although the waiter said that everyone was sitting on the patio.
The service is really excellent. The wine list is really reasonable with no bottles over $59 (most in the $41 range). We chose a bordeaux and LOVED it...
Ordered the pate dish and scallop dish to start - presentation is excellent and very well done.
For entrees, my fiance ordered the Duck and I ordered the lamb shank.
Both entrees were good but not mind blowingly good. Both tender but could use a little more salt. Solid 3.5 stars
Very romantic bistro - higly recommended!
You Should: Go If Nearby
Sizzle: Get the Coq Au Vin
Juice: Skip the Pâté, wait for the bird. CAV is worth the wait, wanted to lick the plate but made do with the bread.
Scene from the one and only time I've been to Chez-Joel:
Buddy (enjoying entree): "I love capers."
Other friend and I mumble agreement.
[pause]
Buddy: "No, I mean like heists and stuff."
I nearly spit viognier out of my nose I laugh so hard.
Haven't been here for years, but I vividly remember loving everything about it.
We sat on the quaint patio and enjoyed a beautiful day and a delicious lunch!
I really need to go back.
What a delicious meal. And I love the feeling in the place, small and cozy.
Started with the soup du jour (broccoli + spinach creamy goodness) and the mushroom quiche (which was perfect). My coq au vin was moist and had really good flavor (the mushrooms that came along with that were amazing as well). The high point of the meal though...the mashed potatoes and the pommes frites were both lip smackingly good. I wanted to lick my mashed potato plate. I believe my exact quote was, " I could have just eaten a vat o' mashed potatoes for dinner."
And the dessert just wrapped it all up, a wonderful "souffle"/molten chocolate cake (although called something else) that was inhaled by myself and another dining companion.
I'd eat here again in a heartbeat.
Need a great "off the beaten path" restaurant in Chicago - Chez Joel is the place to be. Okay, i know its French - but give it a try. The best part about Chez Joel is they have great food, strong wine list and rumor has it Mayor Daly goes there too. Food, drink and Mayor Daly - what more could you ask for? Maybe for Prior and Wood to both be healthy - but for now try Chez Joel.
Insiders notes: try the duck!
Chez-Joel is an odd-ball restaurant. It is hard to think/picture a French Restaurant can thrive in Little-Italy. Yes that is the only odd thing about it. I have only eaten my lunches at this place, and I keep promising myself to return and try their dinners. Hope springs eternal.
That said the lunches do not disappoint. If anything I dare say one receives the servers full attention. I have eaten their chicken sandwich. (They have a fancy french name for it and it is fantastic.) Who thought plain ol' chicken could taste so good.
After one dreary meeting I did try their steak-frittes with garlic butter. This is the reason to go to Chez-Joel. Those tiny little fries will can actually make one forget about the steak itself. Yes they are that memorable.
In the summer they have the really good outdoor seating that transports one out of the city. It really was that dramatic. I will try their dinner menu someday, for now. Go for the steak and stay for the fries.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys French food. I went there for dinner with my family (3 brothers and mother) and we all tried something different. Everything was excellent.
The best of our meal were:
App: wild mushroom quiche (even my brother who does not like mushrooms was impressed).
Main Course: it was a special chicken breast stuffed with spinach and some sort of cheese. I know it is hard to order chicken at a fancy restaurant, but this was bomb.
Dessert: standard creme brule... it is a must.
Random: Though the steaks are great, they are not that adventurous and though you will not be disappointed if you order one, try something else.
A French bistro in Little Italy? And possibly one of the best in the city? Who woulda thunk it?
Seriously, this place does a great French bistro meal. My steak au poivre, while slightly odd in its lack of a cream sauce, was deliciously seasoned and cooked. And the pomme frites! They're delightful. In fact, everything I tasted was good: the salad with goat cheese, the mushroom quiche (excellent, in fact), and soup du jour (a spinach and broccoli cream soup), the mashed potatoes, and the profiteroles.
Highly recommended for a pre-UC event meal.
These people know how to make good food. They have a great menu of all the French restaurant staples. I love their steak with garlic butter sauce and their pommes frites are the best ever. The wine list is decent and the desserts are decadent!
The place is small, so make reservations on the weekends.
Evian or Perrier?
I don't know where to start.. This place is absolutely mind blowing amazing. Food, atmosphere, crowd and service was superb from the moment I walked in. I choose the patio seating area, very romantic with a little garden plus the weather was windy and not humid.
The valet parking was cheap and the waitress/waiter was really friendly
and attentive. For once, a restaurant has satisfied me from start to finish..
Okay let's get on the yummy details :-
I had their turnip soup (I was very skeptical at first... Turnip?) but it turns out to be the best soup ever!!! I also had their duck and liver pate (cold appetizer.. Its so good i almost ate the plate.. And for entrée I have their
duck... Its so crispy and good with some orange sauce.....the food here is like getting orgasm in your mouth!
I better stop before I go hungry.. Oh did I mention that its not as expensive you thought you would spend there ?
Great food, great service..reasonable price. Beat that.
They had outdoor seating in a private little garden, which was great as it was a beautiful night. The service was attentive, the ambience very nice. I did not think the bistro was as small and as tiny as previous yelpers kept saying. But this may be a combination of it being a quieter Sunday night, the fact that we were sitting outside (where the tables were more spread apart), and the fact that I have gone to a lot of small restaurants in NYC. I went with a group of five and felt fine and comfortable.
Now on to the food - the pate was okay, I wouldn't say amazing. The salads were light and dressed just right (I despise when restaurants drown delicate greens in too much sauce). Their mussels were very fresh but a bit disappointing for the price. I tried my friend's entree of lamb shank, which was tender and well-sauced, and wished I'd gotten that instead.
I wouldn't say that the food was phenomenal, but it is very good and overall, I think the ambience and the whimsical French bistro decor helped round out the dining experience.
Chez Joel is a very intimate restaurant. This is a great place to go with a date or a romantic dinner. I was very surprised to see a review about a large party experience. I don't think that's fair because it's a small, intimate restaurant designed for couples and small groups (4 or less). Chez Joel is a dining experience, and NOT intended for parties larger than 6.
I would like to give Chez Joel 5 stars, but I wasn't blown away by the food. I ordered the steak au poivre, and it was good, but nothing special. We also ordered a tasteless bottle of Cabernet that we should have sent back. I was surprised that it's on the wine list. Regardless, I highly recommend this restaurant b/c of the dining experience.
This is the first restaurant that I found exclusively by using Yelp. No Metromix, no suggestions from a friend -- just yelp. My wife and I were in the mood for a French restaurant, so I decided to see what suggestions my fellow Yelpers offered. Chez-Joel was well reviewed so we decided to give it a try.
The food was good, but not great. We got the basics -- steak frites and coq au vin -- which were both good but not memorable. I'm not much of a wine expert, but my wife seemed pleased with their selection. Service was the weakest part of our meal -- the staff was nice and they tried hard, but they were a little incompetent. And it wasn't very busy so there's not much of an excuse.
Overall, I would recommend Chez-Joel. I agree with other yelpers that it is off the beaten path, offers a nice date atmosphere, and is good for people looking to try someplace new. If you're like us, you don't eat on Taylor street very often. We will probably eat here again, but I also can't say that Chez-Joel is ready to join our regular rotation.
Very cute place with excellent service! I came with a friend and her dad who was in town and treated us so I have no concept about its cost value but from the looks of the menu, it seemed decent.
My friend and I each ordered one of the specials of the day: a white fish that was tender and juicy with a light wine savory sauce. My friend's dad's filet mignon was "perfect" and claimed that it was very well price for the cut of meat. Portions were good. We were full but not grossly stuffed after appetizers (soup) and our entrees.
I'd love to come back here! But let's see how soon I can get around to it since there's just so much to try in Chicago.
This is an absolutely wonderful restaurant. The restaurant is small and cozy without any pretentiousness. The menu is simple yet varied enough to suit everyone's tastes. The dessert was out of this world.
My only recommendation is that while you should try this restaurant, try to dine earlier rather than later before the smokers hit the bar area to round out your true French experience.
I was in the mood for a well-prepared "foodie" meal at an elegant-but-not-budget-breaking restaurant, but was feeling tired of trendy, hip restaurants with a bar full of see-and-be-seen scene folks sipping on ginger-pommegranate espresso-tinis. Chez Joel was perfect - lovely service, quiet elegance, authentic classic French bistro fare, charming outdoor garden seating with well-spaced tables. Certainly one of the more old-world romantic restaurants I've been to in Chicago. Definitely ask to be seated outdoors if the weather is pleasant.
The food was so authentic, you'll feel like you've stumbled into a local neighborhood bistro in Paris. To be honest, we weren't completely blown away by the food, but it was so reminiscent of just wandering into a random place for dinner in France that it's hard not to be impressed. Everything we had was solidly good, perhaps with the duck confit being the standout. The only "trendy" updates you'll see to the classics are on the specials menu, where a few Asian-fusion touches are showcased. Other than that, the steak frites comes without star anise, the creme brulee is vanilla, not ginger or rosemary-scented, and there isn't a foam in sight. Practically every staple of classic French cuisine shows up on the menu in a traditional preparation (escargot, bouillabaise,coq au vin, duck a l'orange, steak au poivre, tarte au citron, etc.) Prices are also very reasonable with main courses in the $18-22 range- highly recommended if you haven't got the resources to just dash off to France for a weekend.
My husband and I went here about a week ago. The service was good, the wine was fantastic (St. Emilion Grand Cru) but the food was average at best. I ordered my steak that had a mushroom reduction medium rare and it came out well...
I couldn't taste the mushroom sauce because there was so much cracked pepper on the steak (which the menu made no mention of pepper crusted steak) that I couldn't eat it.
The deserts were decent, we ordered the creme brulee and the profiteroles. I liked the atmosphere, quaint and small with a wild bird decor. Will probably try it once more, but not top on my list.
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