Brindille

Brindille pronounced "Braun-DEE", translates to "new growth" in French with a woman chef at the helm! We like a woman chef! This spot is exquisite and elegant but also inviting. It's perfect for a romantic dinner or special celebration. It's adorned with black and white art, dark with intimate lighting. The attentive staff ensures a top notch dining experience. We ordered the iced oysters to start things off. The feuillete is an elegant light biscuit stuffed with mushrooms and spinach. It was delightful. The gem salad was fresh and a perfect addition. We finished with the scallops and fries. This is a huge helping of shoe strong fries served with mayonnaise which is superior! Love the story. Loved the restaurant. Loved the food.

Had dinner recently and can only provide my highest recommendation. Was is town for the Union Grand Cru Bordeaux tasting. Michael was fantastic host. The wine list is under construction, but Michael was outstanding in directing us to great selections. The food was fantastic. It is not surprising that these owners had a Michelin star in their history. Sole was outstanding as were all starters. It was restaurant week so did not see the entire menu, but I look forward to the return. Thank you to the staff for a very enjoyable evening.

We were there for Restaurant Week and came away disappointed. Here's the bullets:- We had a really friendly, but worthless, waiter. He showed up with menus, then mid-meal to do a quick check and then to give us the bill (in two hours...) We didn't even get a chance to order cocktails. We waited forever just to get the bill. Super disappointing for such an expensive meal. - All the work was done by the busboys. They kept our water filled and plates cleared but we couldn't order anything from them. - The food was pretty good, but not great. We didn't walk away talking about the food at all. All we could discuss was the waiter and his lack of attention. I mean, where was he for two hours? What was he spending his time doing? We had so many questions.- It was a really expensive meal. For five of us, we spent almost $700, without being able to order cocktails. The dinner rolls were $35. That's usually something that's brought to the table for free. My desert was an extra $18 on top of the "Restaurant Week bundle." There was an automatic 25% tip added with no option to modify it. Oddly, it wasn't even called a tip. It had some other weird name. I don't mind paying $125 a head for a really good meal with great service, but this visit was not what we were hoping for. Won't be going back as there's way too many other great restaurants in Chicago.

I came here for my bachelor party. I'm a huge Francophile and dabble in making French food at home from time to time, after eating here I should probably stop trying but am inspired to continue trying. The food was spectacular. I had 5 people in my party. When we arrived our table wasn't ready so the maître d sent is over to the bar next door for 20 minutes and then personally came and told us our table was ready. The restaurant was dark and cozy. The table was immaculately set. The wine list was exhaustive and offered lots of gems. I ordered the chinon and it was a beautiful bouquet, floral with fruit, not tannic but not flabby. I ordered the duck breast and an appetizer of Brussels sprouts and someone else ordered bread for the table. Before the Brussels sprouts came out everyone was give something similar to fried potato purée but I think was chickpeas? Not sure exactly, but the texture was unlike anything I'd had before. It was perfectly airy and melted in my mouth like cotton candy in water. The Brussels sprouts came out later and we're stellar. They were likely charred but not to the point that they were desiccated or feeling like they were dropped in the fryer. The sauce served with the sprouts added a light acidity which made them far less of the heavy affair Brussels sprouts can become. Eventually all of our food was served. Every dish felt magical. A common question at the table was "what's this? Oooo what's that?" Before diving right in and coming to the realization that the only answer to the question that mattered was that it was delicious. My duck was cooked perfectly. The texture was immaculate, felt more akin to a steak than anything. I also tried a bit of my friends steak which was utter perfection. I had one friend who kept talking about his expectations. Brindille is, for most people, usually out of the budget and my friend said that for him the bar was really high and that everything he had far exceeded even his sky high expectations. After we finished the main dish we looked at the dessert menu but we were all stuffed and decided to pass. Still though the waiter brought out a small plate of house made marshmallows with orange and some sort of chocolate truffle. The texture of the marshmallow was so light and the truffle was very rich. Our waiter, who's name I don't remember, was fantastic. He was endearing and funny but didn't come off as over bearing or like he was trying to be nice. Everyone at the table was very happy with the service especially as most of us were alien to fine dining. If I could eat here everyday I would and that's really all I needed to say isn't it but enjoy the essay.

Dinner was wonderful! I think Brindille is the best restaurant in Chicago. The food is so creative and innovative, for instance the jelly cubes on the foie mousse that provide a whimsical contrast of texture and flavor. And it's clear that the chefs are also able to execute the best of timeless French techniques. Treat yourself to Brindille!

We had not visited Chicago in years. I read about Carrie Nahabedian creating Brindille with her cousin and had good memories of her cooking at NAHA, so thought this would be a good choice.Service was very engaging and did a nice job of moving us through the meal keeping our table well serviced.We opted for the eight-course tasting menu and wine pairing. We had some hits and some misses. On balance the wine was stronger than the food and sensed real talent in the procuring and pairing the wine with the dishes. A few of the hits were the duck with foie gras and the mushroom soup was decadent. IMHO more effort was often spent on the beautiful physical construction of some of the dishes to be Instagam worthy (like the eye-catching potato tartin) instead of the taste. I am honestly not trying to be snarky. The dishes were beautiful, but I had higher hopes (or maybe better memories of NAHA). Nothing was bad, but on balance, many of the dishes tasted just ok.The bottom line is that I believe the price is out of balance with the quality of the meal. Total price for two eight-course tasting menus and two wine pairings was $870 (including tax and automatic 22% gratuity). If it were a couple hundred dollars cheaper, I would have a much more favorable impression.

Everything at this restaurant was fabulous!! The atmosphere had that cozy, yet still modern city feel. My husband and I came for our anniversary, and it was an excellent choice. We ordered the lamb and scallops dishes, and the combination of flavors were perfect for both. The wines we had that our waiter suggested were perfect for our dishes, and his service was outstanding! Just writing this review is triggering a craving to return to this restaurant!!!

Really liked this place. Our waiter was fantastic. Very cool mood with a seasonal menu. All of the food was really good. We did the 5 course tasting, and I'd totally go back. My favorite dish was the quail. The restaurant also has a very nice look of muted greys with strong lines, and I felt really comfy the whole meal

I reserved a table for my anniversary and was hoping for something special. We walked in at 8 on a Friday and the restaurant was half full with mostly two tops. The gentleman whom seated us was kind off putting. I kind of feel this a is restaurant frequented by mostly regulars, who they cater to with exuberance. The food was really good but still not worthy of the prices. We started with an amazing foie gras ($45) and a delicious onion tarte. My wife had a fish and I had steak. I ordered it medium rare but it came medium. I would have said something to the waiter but he disappeared and never checked in on us. At this point, we had a $200 bottle of wine and overly expensive food so we passed on dessert. Was really expecting better since we were fans of NaHa.

I don't know how this place isn't Michelin star. One of the top 10 meals of my life. So considerate and accommodating of my dairy allergy. Absolutely underrated and hidden gem. Wish I could give more stars. The duck was so well done it tasted like a fine steak - couldn't tell it was duck. Scallops were perfectly cooked. All the sauces were unique and delicious.