Cotes du Rhone Bistro: User Reviews

Wonderful Dinner
By saramc from andersonville, November 11, 2009

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My husband & I celebrated our anniversary here in September. There wasn't much of a crowd, so I can't give high marks for ambience. However, the food was fantastic, as was the service. We started with foie gras and escargot. Both were exceptional. Dinner was duck and boulliabase, also very good. We finished off with creme brulee for dessert. We were taken care of throughout our meal, but never rushed. Yes, it is expensive, but for what you get, it's a value. Also, it's BYOB, which helps the bill considerably. Enjoy!

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Bernard would not eat here.
By edgewater from edgewater, September 20, 2009

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Burned food, bad service and huge disappointment.

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good food
By markopolo from albany park, May 16, 2009

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We went to Cotes du Rhone this Saturday night at around 8:00PM with a reservation. We were seated promptly. It is a big room, somewhat dark (brown colors) with a banal neutral color. The restaurant is BYOB. First courses are between 6 and 9 dollars but entrees start at 25.00. We had 2 first courses (salad and calamary provencal) that were quite good and shared a beef tenderloin also very good. Please wear clothes that you will wash the next day: ventilation does not work and you get a greasy smell all over your clothing by the time you leave. The only server (strange for a Saturday night) knows what he is doing and was working at warp speed. But in any case this is a French restaurant; you should not rush your dining. Part of the Savoir Faire in life is to take your time when you eat. Skip the creme brulee: while made with true vanilla beans( those little black specks at the bottom of your ramekin) it was not as thick as it should have been.

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Horrible
By edgewater from edgewater, April 7, 2009

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Long wait for food that arrived burned. Service inconsistent and way below par service.

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Average Food, HORRIBLE Service
By Rose from Rogers Park, January 17, 2009

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We dined at Cotes du Rhone last night and because of the service we will not be returning. There was one server for the entire dining room, and he treated my date and I like we were irritating him just by being there. After taking our order as fast as he could, he appeared at our table 10 minutes later and said "I forgot to tell you that we have another special...." and after telling us what it was he said "So do you want to change your order now or...." Um no, thank you, but that info would have been helpful 15 minutes ago. It was a good 20-30 minutes between courses and he never checked back to see how our entrees were. When he finally approached the table 15 minutes after our plates were cleared he attempted to present the check and seemed annoyed when I wanted dessert. Also, I feel that I need to mention the bathroom: it was -12 degrees outside and I could see my breath in the freezing bathroom. There was no hot or even warm water in the sink, just a slight trickle of cold. The food was good at times, but a little over-priced. My date looked at my $28 plate of 4 scallops and remarked that besides the protein, his plate of hanger steak looed exactly like mine-- mashed potatos, root veggies, fried onions. The foie gras appetizer with raspberry was delicious, but the chocolate bread pudding was just ok. We will not be returning.

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why did we wait so long
By edgewaterfish from edgewater, January 11, 2009

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after seeing this restaurant in the neighborhood throughout the years, we finaly decided to give it a try with friends who are frequent visitors to France. We were surprised to be the only 4 in the place on a Sunday night. Seated in the back room, at a table near the window with a most attentive waiter, I had the fabulous mussels as an appetizer. We also had the cassoulet and a steak with mashed potatoes. Wonderful to bring our own wine. Not big eaters, our friends took home doggie bags to savor their wonderful meal another day. Have been telling everyone about this most special dining experience. Will return for more.

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Great Classic French Food but some problems
By Catinthehat from Global Citizen, December 20, 2008

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We have gone here a few times because it has classic really good french food but you can bring a few bottles of your own good wine which helps the wallet, of course. The decor was fine, a little dark with mauve brown falls, velvet brown curtains, black napkins, black chairs. It's fine, but almost a little erie. THe Adams family would be regulars here. Anyway, 4 of us went and one couple split an appetizer and a salad and then another couple ordered two appetizers and two salads. This waiter was so thrown off by this and wanted to bring all the appetizers and all the salads together so we could all share everything. That is a weird suggestion--no we replied--be a normal french restaurant and first bring the appetizers and then salads to the people who ordered exactly what they wanted. This isn't dim sum in Chinatown. Then water glasses were never filled, silverware had to be asked for, extra napkins had to be stolen off other tables because waiter never came to check in with us. And the place was fairly empty, I'd say 25% of the restaurant was filled so it wasn't too busy. Anyway, we had a variety of food from the salads to the duck pate, mussels and entrees included the skate, lamb chops, veal and bouillibase. All entrees were very delicious and very generous. We were extremely happy with the food. And this is the way it should be anyway because the food is not cheap. Bringing your own wine cuts the bill but the entrees were all between $25-$30 and appetizers were between $10-$15. Which is typical french restaurant dining and the food is worth it because it is tasty and the portions are generous but what makes this place affordable is it's byob status. I wouldn't go all the way up to that neighborhood if it wasn't byob because I could get a $28 lamb chop anywhere and I live near north. However, I go to Binny's and spend $25 on a couple of bottles of wine that would be $100 at restaurants.

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Neighborhood French at its best
By tale tony from Edgwater , July 25, 2008

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This Neighborhood bistro won me over as a regular customer after my first visit. The food was great. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to have for dinner so I asked the server (his name was Roberto) to have the Chef pick my entree. The sea bass was one of the best tasting I have had in a long time . My guest had the special crab stuffed ravioli in lobster sauce a very creative entree. My tastebuds finally opend up to edgwater. BYOB. Running late to dinner Jewel food store is located .5 blocks south across the street get your drink there. Dinner was a value for the quality . Roberto was a great attentive server. If your lucky you will get him.

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GO ELSEWHERE
By Luke from Streeterville, July 21, 2008

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I wanted to like this place, but I left vowing never to return.
I walked into an empty restaurant at 8:00 PM on a Saturday night. I knew this was a bad omen. Like another reviewer said, the first room does smell like mildew.
The brown wall color DOES NOT set the proper ambiance, not to mention the two (out of 4) cheap-looking chandeliers in the second room had burned out light bulbs making the room too dark (and NOT in a romantic way). What does this have to do with food… well, AMBIANCE should enhance the dining experience not spoil it. There were only 3 other tables occupied when we ordered. But, there was only one of the special entres left? Why even mention it as a special, then? Second, we each had a $12 appetizer: the first was supposed to be seared goose liver pate. Instead, we got the duck liver pate. NOT the same and the duck liver was too gamey or old. My $12 cheese plate was pretty good, except 2 out of the 4 cheese samples were an English Stilton and a Spanish manchego. There are so many French chesses, what is an English & Spanish cheese even doing on a French menu? As for entres, they were just O.K. My rainbow trout was $28, over-cooked and bland). My friend’s $27 pork loin was just ok. Nothing memorable. For these prices (the cheapest entre is $23), the palate should be happy Not sad. A high-note was the $8 slice of chocolate-chocolate tort. It was very good, but too small a portion. Evidently, the owner and the staff have been writing reviews here. Overall, this place is passable as a French restaurant, but do yourself and your wallet a favor and GO ELSEWHERE.

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An excellent addtion to our menu of restaurants!
By BryanJS from BryanJS, June 10, 2008

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We recently celebrated my roomate's birthday here. The place is BYOB so we brought a bottle of Champagne to start and a bottle of French red wine to accompany dinner. We started with chicken liver pate, moved on to mussels and escargot. We all had a bowl of the potato leek soup. For dinner I had the bison steak, my roomate had the tenderloin, and our other friend ordered scallops. Absolutely everything was perfect. The side dishes that came with our meats were fantastic: brussel sprouts, asparagus, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes. The three of us were honestly so pleased with our meals we pledged to go back for each of our birthdays this year! This is a MUST try. The decor is dark and intimate, the food is exquisite, and the service was friendly and professional.

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