Cafe Touche--new French Bistro in Edison Park

The family and I went to Cafe Touche last night for dinner. It has been about a week since it opened, and the place was packed at 7pm with no reservations waiting up to an hr for a table.

For those of you familar with the area, Cafe Touche sits where the former Nam Viet restaurant was. They completly remodeled the inside and out. Nice, welcoming bar area, comped valet parking, lots of dark warm wood, crisp white linens, soft lighting etc. But I would not call this romantic as this place is loud. It reminded me a lot of Zia's...and then I wasn't surprised to learn that the same owner/managment team at Zia's opened Cafe Touche.

Most bottles were in the $20 range, and none were over $50. Most wines by the glass were $5--a bargin in Chicago. Many people were walking around with 'tinis of sorts, but as I was fighting off a cold, I wasn't in the mood, but made a note to chat with the bartender next time and take a better look at the martini list.

Warm, I believe to be house made mini bagettes came to the table with butter and salt--and kept coming, much to the liking of my daughter who did not want to try the appetizers we ordered--the snails and pate plate.

The snails were typical, 5 in total with butter/garlic sauce. The pates were also very good and served with ground mustard, sliced onions, mini pickles and and toast.

For dinner, I had the half roasted chicken with mushroom and pearl onions, my son had the fish of the day (cod), hubby had the half roasted duck, and my daughter had steak and frites. All of the dishes were good and in huge portions as well as reasonably priced. My half chicken was $14--my daughters child's porton steak and frites, which could have easily been passed off as an adult portion was $8. Hubby's duck, tender and meaty, was $17 (IIRC) and the only dish that I would pass on in the future was my son's. The cod was flaky and done perfectly, but had very little flavor. The green beans that came with his dish were wonderful however.

We all split a creme brulee for dessert, which had the added surprise of bittersweet chocolate chunks on the bottom. All of this, with 2 glasses of wine for the husband came out to be $100, which I thought was a pretty good deal for the quality and portions.

In the future however, I want to try out a few more appetizers and maybe split a dinner with the hubs. I would love to go back for a simple lunch of french onion soup and the delish bread if dining alone.

*edited--thanks to the mods who included the address and info below.
Cafe Touche
6731 N. Northwest Highway
Edison Park, IL 60631
773-775-0909
http://www.cafetouche.com

Sounds like a good addition to the neighborhood. I've been hoping for awhile that something would open in the Nam Viet space. Thanks for the thorough review.

Edison Park.....my old stomping grounds. Thanks for your review. I knew Nam Viet had closed but wasn't aware anything new had opened in that space. I'll have to try Cafe Touche and see how it compares to my beloved Retro Bistro in Mount Prospect.

Great restaurant...and we traveled from Highland Park to eat there last night!
The food was outstanding: appetizers were onion soup, onion tart, escargot and pate; entrees were: wife had the (nonFrench) prime rib, daughter had the chicken with bacon (don't recall what it is called) and I had the braised shortrib. All were fantastic! flavorful, moist, delicious and the potatoes and veggies were right there also. For dessert we had the profiteroles...yum yum! Their wine prices were as low as I had seen at ANY restaurant and we had the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Babbich...never tried it before but it was excellent also.
The place was completely filled when we got ther at 6:30 and stayed filled the whole while we were there. I would go back anytime, too bad it's not closer. If you are in the area, give it a try.

What a revelation. This could be a side street in Lyon or just off Bourbon St
in New Orleans. Our evening got off to a great start when we encountered
the manager - someone we remember from the old Trio in Evanston. He knows
his business ( especially the wines) and he makes sure you are "taken care of".
My short rib entree was amazing and my wife's salmon with leeks may have been
the best fish Ive tasted in years. Prices are very reasonable, maybe downright
low. This is worth a visit and then a second.

Let me add to the list of positive reviews. We took a large group (17) to Cafe Touche on Saturday night. Everyone had a great time and I'm still hearing comments about how great the food was. The onion soup was just about the best I've ever had, not too salty with just a bit of a sweet note to it and just the right amount of cheese. I hate the way some places put so much cheese on top, you might as well have ordered fondue. My wife loved the escargot appetizer and the warm bread provided to soak up the garlic oil. I had the braised spare rib, my wife had the duck. Both were outstanding. For dessert I had the bread pudding. It looked like it had been baked in a giant muffing tin. The presentation was great , with a scoop of gelato on top. What I found most refreshing was that it wasn't the gooey, sickening sweet dessert that bread pudding tends to be. My wife had the creme brulee, studded with chocolate.

Others were raving about the Bouillabaisse and the steak. One of our party had the lamb chops. They looked great. That's what I'll be ordering the next time we go.

The only negatives for the evening were the server was not the most attentive and the noise level. The server took half of the party's dessert order, then suddenly dissappeared for about 5 minutes before taking the rest of the party's order. Coffee and the desserts were delivered to the table without the appropriate silverware on the first trip. The noise level is probably pretty consistent with other French Bistros I've been to. It is not very conversation friendly for large groups.

This place is definitely going into our regular rotation.

DISCLAIMER: I am a neighbor of the General Manager, David Ligon. Our dogs play together daily in the park. In fact the group on Saturday were all dog owners from the same "play group".

The wife and I tried Cafe Touche last night. In all it is a nice addition to the neighborhood.

The first impression is that they nailed the bistro look, bar on one side, high tin ceilings, warm lighting, banquets, and fans that all are connected by belts as if there is only one motor causing them all to rotate. Upon closer inspection, it may lean a bit towards Epcot's Franceland with the old french print ads we all know adorning the wall, and oddly, some things I associate more with New Orleans ("Laissez les bon temps roulez" inscribed on the mirror?) While it was loud, the overall feel was very comfortable.

We started with a special appetiser, the frog legs. Fried with a nice coating of flour, these were tender and tasty. The wife had the Lyonaise salad, which was a bit long on the frise and short on the lardons (but my preferences might be off-norm here. . . is 50/50 too much to ask?) The lardons were very salty and smoky and porky, with just the right amount of chew. The egg could have been runnier, about 1/3 of the yolk was leaning towards solid.

For our entrees I had the bouillabaisse. The broth was perfect, with a great amount of fennel, garlic, and a nice base of stock and tomato, perfect for sopping with the warm baguettes. The fish was a bit overdone, scallops and monfish a bit mushy, shrimp just a bit too tough, clams and mussels just right. The toast was garlicky, but no rouille. My wife had the Filet of Beef, with very thin frites and herb butter, a very classic presentation. She enjoyed it so much that I didn't get any of the beef. The fries I did try, and were very much like the ones served at Mon Ami Gabi, flat and crisp.

Dessert was the bread pudding and apple galette, both very good, with standout housemade ice cream and caramel sauce served on both.

My favorite of this genre is La Sardine in the West Loop, and while this doesn't quite make it to that standard, now that I live in nearby Park Ridge, I plan on adding it to the regular rotation in hopes that it perfects the few mis-steps and continues to do the things it does well.

MelT wrote:For our entrees I had the bouillabaisse. The broth was perfect, with a great amount of fennel, garlic, and a nice base of stock and tomato, perfect for sopping with the warm baguettes. The fish was a bit overdone, scallops and monfish a bit mushy, shrimp just a bit too tough, clams and mussels just right. The toast was garlicky, but no rouille.

I've been watching this thread with interest as I work close enough to Cafe Touche to give it a try one night, but the lack of rouille would bother me. Did you ask why it was missing? It's a classic component of every bouillabaisse, even though every restaurant will use a different combination of fish. Now I'm not saying that it could not still be good, but I don't know that it's really fair to sell it as bouillabaisse if there's no rouille.

Regarding the lack of rouille, I was just assuming that the garlicky toast was the chef's way of kind of hitting the flavor. Maybe it was an oversite in my bowl. I just wasn't in the mood to question it. To me the rouille is just a pleasant component, but not a deal breaker.

Another dinner and movie date night!

Since we were planning to see Julie & Julia I thought we would set the scene with a light meal at Café Touché before the movie.

Parked on a side street so we could get a feel for the neighborhood and had a nice walk over. Kids riding bikes, moms with strollers. Approaching we noticed the valet gents and a nice line of outdoor tables. Being a little cool we opted for sitting inside and once inside the door we were seated right away.

Dark wood, tin ceiling painted gold, seating a little tight in the medium sized space. Several larger tables along the outer with the doors open wide making the space open and sunny. A row of tables for two with one side an upholstered bench along the wall separating the bar with a chair opposite.

The waiter was at our elbow within minutes with menus, a request for our drink orders and explaining the specials for the day.

We were going light so we ordered the Onion Soup Gratinee, La Broche de Poulet (Chicken and andouille sausage skewer with creole mustard sauce and jambalaya rice) and the salad special of the day (endive and bibb lettuce, walnuts, bleu cheese and a oil and vinegar dressing).

Onion Soup Gratinee - This sweet soup seemed to have a light tomato base with perhaps some fruit adding to the sweetness, plentiful finely sliced onions, a toasted crouton with a mild cheese melted nicely on top. Not a beef base perhaps to accommodate the vegetarian diners as there was a few vegetarian items on the menu.

La Broche de Poulet - Nice grilled chunks of chicken, firm on the outside with a soft and juicy interior. The andouille sausage sliced on the thin side with a good caramelization of the juice. Not too much mustard flavor in the sauce but nice and creamy allowing the flavor of the meat to come thru. A bit of seafood in the jambalaya rice with just a touch of spice and was great to sop up the remaining sauce.

The salad had a balanced amount of walnuts (toasted and lightly candied) and bleu cheese and was a nice light meal for My Bride.

The customers we dressed nicely with the exception of a sweat suit couple and the atmosphere was lively. A very nice date night restaurant. Service was fine and we went thru several of the mini bagettes with butter and a dusting of sea salt.

A nice addition to the restaurants in the area. We will have to come back to try some more of the menu as well as the other fare nearby.

The Movie? Delightful. A nice counterpart to our meal and My Bride enjoyed the pairing very much.