Bistro Voltaire

Came here for my dad's birthday, and we had a great time. The food was delicious, we came for the French Week prix-fixe menu. We all got a 3-course meal for $38 each which was a pretty good deal, the escargots were great, as were the frog legs and our individual dishes which we let each other try. I got the lamb shank, which I thought gave me a lot of meat so I was pretty happy. The only thing that concerned me was that we were there for 2+ hours because only one waiter was working all the tables in the restaurant so each dish came out relatively slow. It did not bother us because we used the time to catch up as a family, but there were a lot of people waiting to be seated. The second thing was that it was a hassle trying to find parking around the restaurant that was not terribly expensive. All in all, my family and I had a great experience!

Bistro Voltiare is the perfect place for an intimate date. The food is excellent and authentic to the French cooking styles. I had never tried frogs legs and I will keep going back for more, they were delicious! The service is enjoyable and everyone was attentive to our needs. Order a bottle of great wine and enjoy!

There are not enough words to describe my experience at Bistro Voltaire. I love coming here!!!! The food is always delicious..... I love the escargot and get it every time. The atmosphere is warm and inviting with good music always playing in the background. The staff is very friendly and always offer fantastic suggestions if you are ever caught trying to decide between two great entree options. I will say a good default for me are the scallops. If you have yet to try this hidden gem you need to do so!! I will also say that more often than not I have eaten at the bar and it is just as inviting as sitting at a table. The added bonus, I can go when I want without a reservation and not have to wait for a table :)

This is my only favorite French bistro. The service and the food stand out. Steven the head waiter takes pride in his work. He is one of the best waiters you will find in Chicago. The fresh baked bread here is amazing. Honestly it is the best bread ever. I have two favorite dishes here: the mussels and the duck. The mussels bowl was loaded with a ton of mussels. I needed more bread to soak up that delicious broth they were cooked in. There is also a great selection of wine to wash it all down. Plus Steven knows his wines and he will direct you in the right direction. The owner is also really friendly. The other day I saw him sweeping in front of his restaurant. I love this old world charm and respect for his business. I have never seen an owner do that in America. So this makes me appreciate this business even more.

Fantastically authentic French food served to francophiles galore. I was lucky enough to grab an early spot and their gregariously charming Irish waiter hosted us. As it is a restaurant used to serving American customers, if you want things cooked more French, rarer meats etc, do ask for it to be cooked that way. Life is a grand experience to be enjoyed in this way.

Very deceptive. The service was great, but the food was really bad. We started with frog legs. This could be a delicious dish, but here, the legs were obviously frozen and badly cooked, therefore very watery and tasteless. Then we continued with a lamb shank. It was also very deceptive, quite tasteless. The polenta it was served with was good though. My wife finished with profiteroles: the choux were too hard. I finished with a chocolate cake: bitter... Will not return :-(

My boyfriend and I came here for his birthday for a fine dining experience with the two of us. We frequent the nice restaurants around time, and are very familiar with "typical" top of the line circut. This is hands down, bar none one of the best meals/most authentic experiences I have ever had in my life. Let me start by talking about the atmosphere- you are in France. It is small, luxurious, perfect lighting and light music. Some of the staff is clearly French and the others are professionals. I can not tell you how much service (at least to me) can make or break a meal and the attentiveness, the awareness of the menu and the understanding of french wines was unreal. The food- we started with the french onion soup- OH MY GOD. I then ordered the stuffed chicken (it literally fell apart when my knife hit it) and my boyfriend the muscles (can we say white wine and butter delish). And then for desert the creme brulee melted in my mouth. These are the words I'd use: sophisticated and warm. If you'd like to escape to France for an evening, this is where you should go in Chicago.

I'm very torn on this place. Pros: Great staff, comfortable Parisian atmosphere, elegant but not uppity. Cons: quality/cost ratio. I went with a Gilt City deal (paid already) for mussels and frites for two, with two draft beers. I paid $30 for the deal. At the restaurant, we also ordered two cocktails, and I got a bill at the end of the night for $50. So, two cocktails, two beers, about 3 dozen mussels and an order of fries, plus tip, was $80 AFTER what was supposed to be about a $30 discount. Kinda steep. Everything was tasty, but nothing was standout.