Les Nomades
| Address: | 222 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611, USA |
| Phone: | +1 312-649-9010 |
| Site: | lesnomades.net |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
DA
David Liang
Food: 5 Decor: 4 Service: 2 3.5 stars, rounding down. Amazing food, but awkward service. I came here for a birthday dinner at 5:15pm Saturday. I managed to find street parking right across, so I lucked out. Upon arriving, there was a woman standing almost in the pathway to the restaurant. I paused for a second, and she asked me if I was going to Les Nomades. After saying yes, she opened the door for me and led me into the restaurant. They greeted me by name, which is always nice, and I was promptly seated. Normally, I dont care too much about service, as long as its not horrible. However, this was a nice dinner, and I was about to be a bit surprised. I was handed the menu. Since I was just interested in the 3 course, I mentioned it to the server since it wasnt listed. He asked me if I had a Savored reservation, and I replied no. He then walked to the back, got another menu, and gave it to me. This one was for the 3-course Savored menu. After a minute or two, he eventually came back with yet another menu, swapping the one I had again. He apologized and said that there is a special 3-course for $65 for early reservations, and that the Savored menu is different. As I sat figuring out what to order, I could hear him talking in the back about how he felt like a used car salesman (probably because he kept bothering me). Yes, I could almost hear every single word he was saying, since he was maybe a dozen feet away. During my meal, he mentioned something about trimming some trees. The meal itself was superb. Very solid dishes, with the exception of a couple. 1. Warm vegetable soup amuse Really good. I cant remember the vegetable, but it was a very nice amuse. 2. Seared diver scallop, heirloom squash, chorizo, preserved black garlic Delicious. Scallops were perfectly cooked, and the dish was excellent, even though I didnt taste the chorizo. 3. Loup de Mer with lobster ragoût, preserved Meyer lemon, Cognac jus Delicious. Sea bass was perfectly cooked, one of the best Ive had. The greens were excellent, as was the lobster jus. 4. Fruit sorbet palate cleanser Okay. Sorbet was very good, but the berry sauce that came with it was unusual. It reminded me of a chunky Jamba smoothie. 5. Warm chocolate tart with raspberries, white coffee bean ice cream, vanilla froth and chocolate sauce Okay. "Warm" was more like "piping hot," and I probably would have burned myself if I dug in right away. The coffee ice cream was okay, but I dont recall any vanilla froth. There was also a side piece of raspberry chocolate, which was excellent. Fresh raspberries were delicious. There was a hint of lemon sauce on my plate (which Im assuming was an accident), but it was delicious. Wish I had gotten that instead. 6. Macaron, jelly, chocolate, and biscuit Mediocre. Macaron was so-so, and the chocolate was very rich. 7. Pomegranate soda, 7 Pretty good. I got this instead of alcohol since I was driving after. If you like rare meat, the venison loin is good. If you like medium meat, the veal is good. I decided to get the sea bass this time. Service during the meal was good, but very stiff, as everyone else has mentioned. Also, no one wished me happy birthday, which would have been nice since it was jotted on my reservation. The couple across from me also spoke on their phone and had a server take a picture. I understand its your anniversary, but the menu specifically states no phones or cameras (hence no pictures from me this time). My server was also theirs, and he was much friendlier to them, even volunteering to have them sample some fish and wine. Total was about $95 after tax/tip. The food was excellent, but I wouldnt come back again since its pretty overpriced and the service was disappointing.
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Sarat Khandavalli
My wife and I ate dinner here for our anniversary last weekend. First of all, I should say I very much appreciated their ability to accommodate my dietary restriction. However, apart from that, neither of us were very impressed. We have been to high end French restaurants in other cities (Philadelphia, Boston) and this one was not even close in quality of food or service. The hostess was very nice but our waiter and servers were rather stiff, saying very little and barely cracking a smile. The decor was very nice, but sadly the ambiance was ruined by a large obnoxious group of older adults sitting right behind us. My wife and I would barely have a conversation with those folks cackling behind us. It would have been nice if the staff offered a gentle reminder of their own stated noise policy. The food: Appetizers were tasty - I enjoyed my artichoke salad very much. Both of us ordered the mushroom soup with high hopes. It tasted like mushrooms in warm milk with a little froth on top. I couldnt believe they were actually serving that in this caliber of restaurant. Both of our main courses were average - nothing that made either one of us go wow, especially not for the price. Overall, we had a pleasant evening but I would not go back here personally; not even if they lowered the price dramatically.
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Alexander D. Sugg
Food was excellent. Service during the meal was ideal. Ordered a bottle of champagne and my companion ordered glasses of wine. We were the last people in the upstairs dining room, when we were approached incredibly rudely and told that we basically had to get out. The manner in which we were approached was improper and off putting considering we were guests dropping $ 500+ on dinner and drinks. Interestingly enough, in the past month my companion and I have been the last people in Everest and Prime and Provisions too. There was a stark difference in how we were treated as the last guests of the house at Everest and Prime & Provisions vs. Les Nomades. Considering your paying for atmosphere and service, as well as the food, skip Les Nomades. Too many nice high dollar places in Chicago that will treat you properly if you are a paying guest. The impression that was made by the person notifying us that we were no longer welcome, was that we were an inconvenience. Dont think the waiter understood paying customers sitting in the restaurant provide him with employment. No customers equates to no job in the service industry. Pretty simple basics missing from the staff. Skip it.
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A Private User
My husband and I dined at Les Nomades on August 16, 2008 to celebrate our anniversary. We expected the cozy, romantic atmosphere weve read others have experienced. Unfortunately, a very loud, obnoxious party of 4 couples distracted us from having a romantic evening, not just for us, but for everyone in that 2nd floor dining room. We could barely hear each other across the table. Although the food was very good, this was not the experience we were expecting for the money we had to spend. If Les Nomades wants to maintain a romantic, intimate atmosphere, large parties should not be allowed or management should ask loud, obnoxious guests to quiet down. Not willing to risk the money for a bad experience again, we will not go back. TRU is 100 times better and will continue to get our business.
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A Private User
After months of looking forward to using a very generous gift certificate at this restaurant I was expecting the best. Not so much! I was dissapointed immediately with the drab decor of the room and discovered that at ALL tables someone had to face a wall. The place looked old and dreary, frankly much like the customers. The evening continued to sink as tiny tiny amounts of food kept apearing on large plates. The chef had gone to great lengths to make not much look like something. It was somewhat tasty but no where near the $400 bill for just two people. Over all the place is HIGHLY overated. I wouldnt recommend it or return! Ever!
