"This is a lovely place for a special occasion meal."
(in 5 reviews)
"…those restaurants that serves sorbet as a palate refresher between courses…"
(in 4 reviews)
Loading...
Oceanique
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Main (Purple, Evanston Express)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
- Parking:
- Street, Valet
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
41 reviews for Oceanique
Review Highlights
Loading...
This business is a Yelp Sponsor
8/12/2008
10/17/2009
11/21/2009
11/17/2009
10/16/2009
10/23/2009
9/1/2009
9/25/2009
8/30/2009
5/24/2009
6/19/2009
5/2/2009
Updated - 8/21/2009
1/29/2009
8/20/2009
8/13/2009
10/6/2008
4/21/2009
6/21/2009
9/4/2008
6/10/2009
2/1/2008
4 photos
2/16/2008
3/13/2009
1/28/2008
4/18/2007
5/18/2008
8/18/2008
1/27/2009
3/7/2008
4/1/2008
10/5/2008
9/17/2007
2/22/2008
8/26/2007
7/15/2005
11/2/2007
6/21/2007
6/20/2007
7/23/2007
One of the Business' Favorite Reviews What's This?
This is, without a doubt, my favorite restaurant, surpassing any restaurant I've been to in NY, Chicago, or even Paris (although I was a student then and we could only afford one dinner at one nice restaurant...). The food is always fresh, impeccable, delicious, delectable (I could go on, but, hopefully, you get the point). The service is fantastic. The restaurant is always accomodating - we've even brought our children a couple of times and they are wonderful (of course, I will also note that my children, while quite young, do know how to behave in a nice restaurant). But, the staff has always been warm and friendly - even when the kids come. And they happily made something the kids would eat, brought them extra sorbet, etc. I live just down the street and really wish I could go far more often than I do. It really is a wonderful dining experience. The tasting menu is unbelievable. And, yes, it is expensive, but I do find it worth every penny!
Being new to the Evanston dining scene, I didn't quite know what to expect from this highly regarded restaurant. I was really impressed.
Oceanique makes extremely layered (if a bit unimaginative) French food, with an emphasis on seafood.
It has elements of pure class: great finger food between courses, stellar service (really, a shut-out to these people: they are both incredibly helpful and unintrusive), a spectacular wine list and a very helpful sommelier.
Perfectly cooked lobster, and perfectly seasoned oysters were the highlights of my dinner.
My only concern so far is that the bread was not great, and that my dessert (Panna Cotta with berries) did not really stand out.
I will go back and maybe try the tasting menu to see if it's worth five stars.
A lot has been said about Oceanique, but is it worthy of it's cost/ reputation - I am not sure. That is why I gave it 2 stars, not 3.
If I want to drop $200+ for fine dining seafood + wine dinner, I am not sure I would return here.
The food was good - overall. The chilled Maine Lobster appetizer was not very good, difficult to eat, more veggies than lobster, and not coherency among the ingredients. The day boat sea scallops were better- they were fine - absolutely nothing special. That's $35 of unspectacular right there.
The entrees were better. We really enjoyed the Halibut and Barumundi entrees, both were special - but both were small. At this point in the meal, we both expressed concern that we weren't close to being full. They were very small portions. When my wife finishes an entree, there isn't much on the plate.
We enjoyed the desserts as well, both were excellent, but just barely filled us.
Service was OK - sort of. The sommeliers take your wine bottle from the table. I had never experienced this before, and I didn't like it. The wine list was ridiculous with only 2 or 3 under $50 and most much more expensive.
I had no idea how much wine we had left, and it turns out, neither did the two sommeliers! After my after-dinner drink arrived, the waiter apologized, and poured us both another half glass of wine from our original bottle! That was very disappointing. I would have preferred it during the meal. The waiter was almost too hands off. It took awhile to get the wine, after ordering, having the waiter relay to the sommelier, and them getting the bottle to the table - we had sat for almost 20 minutes. Too darn long. Frankly, the best service we had was from the valet, who recommended a nearby free spot rather than taking our $10.
This restaurant was over hyped, and I felt bad for not enjoying it. I wish I had enjoyed it more, but I am not sure why the cost was so high, when there was so little food, and overall inadequate service - especially from the sommeliers.
This place is like going to your parents' house to eat...if your parents were gourmet chefs and really freaky about wrinkles.
We walked in and waited a minute or so until the hostess came back and said she'd be right with us. She grabbed her iron and headed for the other room. Wait, was that an iron? Hmmm...
She returned and offered us a table near the restrooms or a table toward the middle of the restaurant if we wanted to wait a minute. We agreed to wait so she grabbed her iron again and headed to our future table. Yep, that was an iron. She was using it to iron the creases out of our tablecloth. Oh, so that's what that was for...but something I've never seen. Interesting.
The ambiance and service felt homey. The restaurant itself feels like an older house and you get the impression that there are only a few servers accommodating all of the tables. Service was leisurely, but it was alright with us.
I decided to start with my usual Bombay Sapphire martini (very dry) with homemade blue cheese olives and the scallop sashimi to share. The chef sent out an amuse of salmon ceviche. My bf enjoyed it, but I thought it was a tad fishy. The scallop sashimi more than made up for that. It was incredible! The scallops were served with beets and cucumber with only a bit of salt, pepper and olive oil. It was perfect, we loved it.
For our main courses, we went with the wild yellowfin tuna with bacon and chanterelles and the lobster. Before our mains arrived, the chef sent out a bite of chicken pate. It was delicious. Next came a homemade apple sorbet which was very fresh.
My yellowfin tuna was good, but it wasn't great. I was hoping for a little more bacon and chanterelle flavor, but it was pretty bland. I only found a couple of bacon bits. A little disappointing. The lobster was buttery and delicious. Very flavorful.
Overall, a pleasant experience. The scallop sashimi is worth the drive, the rest of the meal, maybe not. A special thanks to the valet, though, for saving our sanity and pointing out a free parking space by the entrance. Thanks for saving us the 8 bucks, dude!
Very, very okay. Tres okay.
Not spectacular, but okay. The food was on the verge of being good, but the only really terrific thing about this place was the wine list. My gf and I got hammered on great wine and really didn't even think about the food.
My girlfriend's a snob. Really, she is. I'd like to think she's not sometimes, but time after time I'm reminded that she is.
Oceanique didn't quite satisfy her needs, but I was so amazed and impressed by the wine list and the sommelier was so nice that she was trashed within the first hour...so it didn't matter.
Overall I give this place a 2 on food, 4 on service and 4 on wine list.
Expensive French seafood isn't usually my style, but I'll have to admit that the food here was excellent. Had the 3-course tasting menu and chose the grilled calamari and shrimp as a starter and had the Alaskan salmon as my entree. The combinations of flavors used were original and worked together really well -- and the portion sizes were actually decent. Extensive wine list. The service did not disappoint. Now if only they slashed their prices in half... I guess they'd probably end up with 5-hour waits every night. So maybe this way is fine.
This is out of my usual target price range, and therefore a special occasion location.
We had the Alaskan salmon and the Alaskan halibut, and the sea scallops for an appetizer. I know that doesn't sound very adventurous, but we were also squeezing this restaurant into our budget, and therefore couldn't go nuts. Also, they participate in the public radio membercard program, which helped.
All three dishes were extremely good, if somewhat similar in style and presentation. You get a bed of something tasty and savory (like pureed potatoes), the fish or scallops on top of that, and quite an assortment of veggies and savory things piled on top. I know this doesn't quite do it justice. :) The scallops were especially good--browned just enough on one side, with all the melt-in-your-mouth sweetness you should expect in a scallop.
We were also brought 3 (three!) amuse bouches. The demitasse of blueberry sorbet was the best--perfect palate cleanser before the main course.
The only negative thing I can say about the meal is that we were seated near a really rude diner. He demanded to see the chef and insisted the chef would be upset if he didn't see him. Then when the chef appeared, this ridiculous person apologized for having called him by the wrong name out on the street earlier in the week--what great old friends they are! And at one point, the server made the mistake of asking for his wine order a second time, and he proceeded to humiliate the server. Here's an exchange that is totally unnecessary in a restaurant... Server: "I'm very sorry." Patron: "You should be." You should be? Really? Why, did something bad and irreconcilable happen? What a jerk. I told my wife to hit me if I ever behave like that in public.
The food is outstanding. The flavors are good, cooked to perfection, and the plates are well presented. Service is attentive without hovering. If you are staying downtown, it is worth the trip!
This place has been on our list for a while to visit. Heard a lot of good things, and we've been waiting for the right time to go and indulge ourselves. This was a treat a while coming, and our expectations were pretty high.
We had the 5 course tasting menu and it was a wonderful experience - with a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc to match the seafood treats. It paired well - and had a wonderful crisp finish.
So here is what we had....mmm yum. There was a good pacing to the serving sizes as well - they steadily got bigger, and we were anxiously watching the other tables just to see what might be coming our way.
The Japanese Breakfast was a wonderful combination of smoked salmon, avocado, seaweed and daikon. Yum. Didn't take long for it to disappear.
Next were some lovely scallops, with fava beans, onion in an orange marmalade sauce. A great combination of textures, salt and sweet - just wonderful. And a reasonably generous portion too - these were the best scallops I've had in Chicago and would give the diver scallops in Boston a run for their money.
We had a surprise bit of pate - yum, and blueberry sorbet. Really reset the palate - think it is a bit of a tradition here - and it did the trick.
And finally, the entree of sockeye salmon arrived, with a small amount of vegetables and greens. Visually wonderful and just delicious - these are the meals I enjoy the most when there is a symphony of ingredients just going on and it works magically and I learn from it. Wow!
And finally desert was two different pastries - a mass of just decadent chocolate that was also a generous serving.
Service was really friendly - laid back, good sommelier, friendly and classy. Just how it should be.
Can't wait to go again, though have to save some pennies for a while.
Oceanique was a great experience. Atmosphere overall is slightly disconcerted, but definitely on the nicer side. The sheets draped over the ceiling could be done more tastefully, and some of the art in the bathroom could be re-thought.
However, the food was the highly of the night. We went straight for entrees, but by surprise, we were brought some finger foods while waiting including halibut and chicken liver.
I had the privilege of trying both the Alaskan Halibut and the Bouillabaisse Oceanique. The brother of the Bouillabaisse was extraordinary. It was such a subtle, delicate flavor. The Halibut was perfectly cooked, with some great greens and mushrooms with it.
Finally for dessert, I had my first creme brule, and I absolutely loved it. This particular one was chamomile infused and was absolutely delicious.
If I end up needing to take a date out in E-town again, Oceanique would be a great choice.
No doubt they like Alexis' review. I don't know where she ate in Paris or New York, but this place is not the Pièce de Résistance of French cuisine. Give me a break! The chef is neither Thomas Keller nor Alain Ducasse-esque.
That said, Oceanique is a very good restaurant. Was it worth the price? Meh, me thinks not, but it is the best french food I have had in the area so far. My wife and I enjoyed the chef's tasting menu and sampled their ample wine cellar. The staff are helpful and friendly. I was satisfied, and didn't feel too ripped off. It's good -- the French Laundry it is not.
Really, really, really disappointing - was looking forward to going to this place. Started off with a lousy martini and wine was good but we did that on our own since we were never even made aware that the place had a sommerlier.
Started off with scallops that were really delicious and oysters that were meh. Interesting potato-leek soup, but I didn't love it, and salad for the wife. Fettucine with shrimp was boring and bland while wife's Tasmanian Sea Trout was pretty good. 2 desserts that were nice.
Service was ok and the decor was lousy. The place teeters between trendy and traditional, but they absolutely need to figure out how to lower the lights - we felt like we were sitting under a streetlight. They were unable to turn the lights down and to make matters worse there were small power surges that would make the lights brighter and darker throughout dinner.
We are people who do not mind paying $250 for dinner and drinks but it really has to be much better than this. Were it a $125 dinner it might have merited 3 stars; the same had the decor and service been fixed. As it stands we'll go with 2 stars.
Went back last night. My favorite restaurant in Chicago. Everything is outstanding, but do yourself a favor and make sure to get the pots de creme for dessert.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/28/2007
French is decidedly not my favorite cuisine and seafood and I do not alway see eye to eye, or… Read more »
Came here on a Wednesday for their $19 lobster deal. $19 for lobster that was delicious is an amazing deal. Well made martinis and decadent deserts were also a plus. My only complaint is that its ridiculously pricey. $13 for a martini and $11 for dessert. I understand main menu items being around $30, but usually desserts run under $10 and a simple martini around $10 as well.
Great atmosphere, very small and cozy. It would be a great place for a special night out or a romantic date, but be prepared to spend at least $50/person. I'd probably only come back here if someone else was treating or I was trying to impress. I just really can't get over the cost. The food was really good, don't get me wrong, but I can get equally good food for less in the city.
Absolutely wonderful restaurant - I've never been disappointed (although I must admit I've only been there four times). I think it's a bit overpriced, but since I go for special occasions, I expect to pay more. Great service, great wine list, delicious flavors.
I had to get over my skepticism of this place...I really wanted to write a scathing review on it and move on. But, I can't. We made reservations this past spring...on the same night of a minor blizzard. (yes, remember how this spring really didn't spring?) By the time we got there, the one party that was there was starting to leave. Nonetheless, the wait staff waited on us and the kitchen stayed. The service was very friendly, even though we knew they could have been on their way home. We ordered the lobster appetizer, the scallop main dish and the halibut. Absolutely fresh seafood, perfectly cooked with accompaniments adding just enough salt but not too heavy. We wanna go back on one of our date nights and try the prix fixe or the lobster night.
Eh... Sorry Oceanique, but you guys have some work to do. Nothing was bad, but when you're charging over $30 for almost every entree, things should be a lot better. Of course there were some high points and some low points. I found myself crying at some intervals and laughing at others. It was better than Cats.
We had a family gathering of 8 to suffer through, and my dad decided on Oceanique because it's quiet, serves seafood, and roughly halfway between us city slickers and our North Shore cousins. Now I've questioned my father's judgment on some matters before, but based on the yelp reviews this looked like a wise decision. Sometimes though, yelp is wrong, and sometimes, you see your father adhering to his carb-free diet so strictly that he literally uses his fork and knife to cut a piece of butter and bring it to his mouth, ignoring the bread basket altogether. Times like these are both hilarious and sad. Such a combination of emotions can only be brought forth by a Broadway musical or a place like Oceanique.
I guess I should actually give you some information relevant to our meal now, but I really just want to get back to the yelp talk. Peace bitches.
This is dining at its finest and this restaurant defines perfection. The waitstaff was helpful, down to earth and helped me select an unforgettable dinner since I was a bit baffled by the amount of choices for delicious food. the foie gras couldn't have been better. Just the right amount of seasoning to make it zing without overpowering. I was surprised by the reasonable prices seeing that the quality was superb. I highly recommend making a trip here, it is well worth it.
Oceanique is delicious. Absolutely worth every $ in their $$$$ rating.
To quote the chef, Mark Grosz, "We cook seasonally, source locally and organically as much as possible". Of course there isn't much shrimp or lobster swimming around in Lake Michigan, but he's talking about the menu in general, which changes daily according to what's available at the market - assuring the diner of a fresh dining experience.
We went for our anniversary - they put confetti on our white tablecloth - very sweet touch. Our server was a teensy bit awkward, but knew a lot about the menu and passed wine questions off to the sommelier when he could not help us.
The food is excellent - decent portions (not itsy-bitsy, not American-sized) and SO complex and flavorful. We were also served an amuse bouche, sorbet, and one other bite-sized dish between courses , "compliments of the chef". The chocolate pot de creme dessert was slightly grainy, but otherwise quite tasty.
I agree with other reviewers that the decor/lighting seems "off" and "dated" somehow. More sconces and candles, less chandelier, people! It seemed a bit too bright and "old" for the style of food being served, but maybe they were catering to the older diners whose eyesight ain't what it used to be - but can afford to eat here.
We'll be back for another special occasion, for sure!
Fantastic. I came here for the Yelp Restaurant Week. Our entire table left in a state of amazement at what a great meal we had. The best food I've had in quite a long while!
We were served little pre-appetizers, which was just a little surprise to get us started. Then immediately afterwards, I was served my grilled shrimp and calamari salad, which had so many flavors. A little ginger, a little crispy seaweed, some avocado. Then, we were served with little cups of palate-cleansing mint-apple sorbet, also a surprise! My main course was a skatefish, which was delicious. The dessert was an assortment including pecan tart, pear tart, apple crumble, flourless chocolate cake, and day-and-night cake, topped with mint and hazelnut gelato scoops. Yum!
My only issue was it was difficult to get enough bread for our table -- we had to refill several times -- for a table of six we only got one little basket each time.
Despite the weather, the husband arrived home and treated me to a nice dinner there - they participated in the 2008 Restaurant week where a 3 course dinner there was only $20.08! What a steal! They also have a 3 course tasting menu and a 6 course tasting menu. This was a really fabulous French seafood place.
Our service was courteous and attentive. We were given a tasting sample courtesy of the chef - something with coulis and avocado and simply melted in our mouths. Their wine list is very extensive. I had their salad which included parmesean cheese sliced with thin slices of prosciutto whereas the husband tried their salad with cheese and pear slices. Both were divinely different than the usual. In between our salad and entree, we were given a pear sorbet to cleanse our palate. I was ready for more sorbet after that!
Our entrees were generously portioned and each bite was so flavorful! I had their whitefish which was perfectly steamed and each bite was a moutful! The husband had their shrimp linguini (which I'm sure was good but I don't like shrimp). And dessert was heavenly - we received a dessert platter! We each had a slice of their day/night cake and delicious fruit and a different dessert - I had this lemon raspberry custard concoction that was out of this world. Whereas the husband received an almond, nut tart that was incredibly sweet and sticky instead of the lemon raspberry.
I'd love to come back here again - service was wonderful and the food was fabulous. This would be a nice date dinner location, as well.
GOOD GOOD GOOD... pricey but amazingly fresh and good food.
loved everything.. the fish was cooked so well, not too done, but to perfection, side were original yet not to the point where you wonder what exactly you are eating. combinations were interesting.the atmosphere was a bit weird. fancy but like if they were unsure of how to do it. Our waitress was adorable, but a little akward..
Cozy, pricey, but there is no wasted space in any dish. Perfect for a celebration for 2. Every flavor complimented the others. There was true poetry in this food. For dessert try the chamomile creme brulee. Also I agree with the comment on the sommelier, brains and beauty there. And manners- he helped me into my coat while my then-clueless boyfriend was already heading out the door.
We went here for my dad's birthday. They decorated the table with little foil confetti, some of which actually said, "happy birthday" which I thought was a nice touch.
I had their seared foie gras for my first course, with quince, pinapple, apple chutney. Really good, and a very generous portion of foie for the price I thought.
Second, I had their leek soup with lobster and black truffles. Also excellent.
For my main course I had their venison with wild huckleberries, quince, and red cabbage. This was good, but not great. I've had better venison elsewhere.
Their wine list is ridiculously good. Tons of what you'd expect from a French place--Bordeauxs, Burgundies, Rhone wines (north and south), Loire, etc. But they also have a surprisingly varied selection of non-French stuff, including two full pages full of Angelo Gaja bottles from Piedmont. Wow. Wine service was impeccable.
Really, the only snag was our server. She was super friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, but we had a couple problems worth mentioning.
First, she must not have communicated the seat numbers correctly to the food runners, as the runners tried to serve our dishes to the wrong person at the table on every course. That was no problem to correct, but still kind of an embarrassing error that could be easily fixed.
Second, once we got our desserts it took a really long time to get our check. After it was brought, we waited so long for it to be picked up with the credit card that my dad actually got up with the check and card and hunted down our server. Not good.
Still, despite these easily fixed service flaws, I'd definitely go back. The food is really damn good.
Edit: Philip Andre, Oceanique's Wine Director, contacted me about my review via Yelp messaging, apologized for the service issues, and offered a complimentary bottle of champagne on my next visit. I mention this only because a restaurant willing to take an extra step like this is a restaurant worth patronizing.
Very impressive restaurant. Very upscale. Very delicious food. Very knowledgeable staff. Very excellent wine list and very cute sommelier.
It's very likely I'll be back.
Tried this place in January during the Chicago Originals special, and it was delicious. Menu was as follows:
1st course - salad of pears, watercress, and gorgonzola
2nd course - whitefish with leeks and winter squash
3rd course - warm apple tarte with caramel ice cream
All delicious, and the ambiance, as expected, was terrific along with the service. Will come again.
Solid food and service throughout the years. I usually go for some of the more mainstream entrees and have never been disappointed.
I dined here for the first time last night and found this restaurant to be particularly impressive. It comes the closet in their preparation to one of my favorite places Chez Panisse in Berkely in terms of their approach to dining from a seafood perspective.
We had two dishes, the first, a quintessential Bouillibaise was fantastic, the broth was not too salty and the pesto aioli that was served with it was sublime.
The second dish was a swordfish topped with what was essentially a liquified concotion of herbes was exceptional as well.
The chefs amuse bouche, a ceviche number was right on time as well and well thought out.
Very nicely done, I will be back and intend to order the tasting menu the next time.
OK. here's the thing about Oceanique.
SERVICE: is great, so much so that I was almost cool with the tip just being included into the bill (but normally this is a HUGE dealbreaker for me unless I am dining with a group of 8 or more people). I don't know, I guess it just seems a bit presumptuous to me.
DECOR: as someone who is a professional faux-painter, the decor is dated at best. The west room has such a heavy-handed application of dark orange paint my friend said it best when she described it as "angry". I get the gist of the feeling they are trying to convey, but its too fussy and overdone with the colours and the fabric draped everywhere, especially for such a small space.
FOOD: Well, don't go thinking this is going to be some chi-chi place that gives you a tablespoon of food. They feed you and feed you well. We started off with an avocado and pickled seaweed amuse bouche along with a basket of bread. Then our "appetizers" arrived, which were large enough to be entrees. I had the Chicken Liver Pate which was so rich I couldn't finish it, and it came with more bread, a quail egg, olives, cornichon pickle, mustard, cheese and walnuts. Then you are given a palate cleanser of a small dish of pear sorbet with fresh mint and blood orange. After that the entrees arrived. My bouillabaisse consisted of Barramundi, Arctic Char, Shrimp, Scallop, Squid & Mussels with a Parsley Aioli. Seafood was fresh and tasty, but I felt the sauce was over-herbed and should have had a stronger tomato flavour. I cant believe my friends had room for dessert, but they shared a nut tart which looked good - lots of fresh fruit and a coconut ice cream on top.
DRINKS: Horrifying. Possibly the worst attempt at a vodka gimlet ever. And even with house vodka this tiny glass cost $11. Here's a little tip for the bartenders: use REAL limes and Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice. DO NOT use pre-squeezed lime juice (like the stuff that you can buy in the plastic lime), fill the glass half-way with it, add ice and a splash of vodka and call it a drink. Because that is just so wrong on every level. Maybe you can marinate meat with that stuff but it sure ain't a drink.
PRICE: not cheap, but you don't feel like you are getting stiffed either. Unless you are ordering cocktails. Yikes.
3.5 stars...It was OK-to-pretty good. The waitstaff seemed a little stiff, but professional. It seems like their room could use some updating to go along with the professionalism of the staff. Food was pricey but nice. Scallop appie was good, arctic char was fine, nothing special. The foie was good (if you like goose internals) and the cod entree was delicious. Desserts were good too - all chocolate is a winner.
Pretty plates and a luxurious feel - lovely place for a special night out. The menu features a range of seasonal ingredients, and we were treated to some between-course samplers that were tiny, interesting palate cleansers. The service was very good - they know their food and their wines - it was a treat to get recommendations from them!
An excellent French seafood restaurant with a clearly caring chef. Worth the trip to Evanston. Tip -- they have a three-course meal for $35 that is not listed on the menu. We were also given sorbet between courses, complimentary tasters and our choice of two half-desserts. The two times I have eaten there (once ordering lobster tail with a dessert cognac and the other seared tuna) have been hands-down the best meals I have had in Chicago. Thanks for the happy birthday, Oceanique.
I took my friend here for her birthday early last year so I can't quite remember what we ate-- but what I do remember is that we loved every single thing about this place. Yes, it's on the pricey side, but I think it's completely worth it for a special occasion. It's such a cozy, intimate place and you're kind of in your own world when you're there. Both our waiter and the sommelier were so helpful and down-to-earth, and they gave excellent recommendations. The food and wine were outstanding, and I actually wanted to sit there all night and eat as leisurely as possible. I don't give out 5 stars easily because I feel like there's always room for improvement-- but this place deserves the 5 stars. It was a wonderful dining experience, and I hope to go back for another special day.
For the North Shore area, I think this is one of the more memorable seafood places. It's one of those restaurants that serves sorbet as a palate refresher between courses. Adequate decor.
Can you guess from the name what the specialty might be here? Yep, it's seafood, fresh, beautifully presented, and delicious. Wine recommendations are top-notch and not always as pricey as you might think in such a high-end restaurant. This is a lovely place for a special occasion meal.
Out-of-this-world food (with similarly astronomical prices for a college student like me).
The food here is stunningly fresh. Everything comes off the plate with that delightful crispness that can only be found in truly fresh food - and not just the fish, the vegetables are similarly superb. The preparation is outstanding, and the presentation is often quite a treat as well.
As far as less important things go, the service is fantastic, and the decor is pretty good. It's classy, but not so classy to feel stuffy, and - most importantly - it's generally pretty quiet.
Underwhelming at best. The food was fine, the service OK, but the decor was, well outdated and poorly done. I'm not sure why everyone raves about the seafood, it wasn't anything memorable. I have no desire to go back, but maybe one day I will just to see if my first time was just a one off....
I was very excited to go to Oceanique and wasn't disappointed. The food was really good and service was perfect. The other reviewer is correct - the somellier is a cutie - but also knowledgeable about wines.
Oceanique is not just a restaurant, it is a fine dining experience!! Everything on the menu is amazing. The sea scallops are a must try! I've been going to Oceanique since I was a teen and have always regarded it is one of the best restaurant's in the Chicagoland area.
