Venue Image

Hours

Tue.-Fri. 11:30AM-2PM lunch
Tue.-Sun. 5PM-10PM

Nearest Subway Station

Cottage Grove - East 63rd
800 E 63rd St
Green Line: East 63rd branch

Cross Street

Lake Park Avenue

Parking

Street, free lot

Pricing

Medium ($$)

La Petite Folie   

1504 E 55th St
Chicago, IL 60615
773-493-1394
www.lapetitefolie.com

Rating: 3 out of 5  (5 Ratings)   Read Reviews (5)    Rate and Write a Review

Owned and operated by two former University of Chicago employees who chucked it all in for a dream of the culinary life, La Petite Folie is a spare but elegant French restaurant. Judging by the solid turnout of customers filling the small storefront's tables, the decision to open has not yet lived up to the insecurities found in the name of the restaurant, which translates to "the little craziness." Chef Mary Mastricola, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in France, makes fine dining a simple treat. Specialties here include the foie gras, smoked trout napoleon, magret de canard and sea scallops. Mastricola says she tries to create menus with enough variety that "whatever someone's in the mood for, they can have." There is a prix fixe menu offered from 5 to 6:30PM nightly that is more in line with the budgets of adventurous students willing to make the trip over from campus. The wine list is comprised exclusively of bottles from France. -- Jenn Q. Goddu

User Ratings and Reviews Rate and Write a Review

5 Ratings and Reviews

Order by: Oldest | Newest
nyfoodandwine
Review rating 2 out of 5
La Petite Tasteless
By nyfoodandwine on 01/14/2007
If La Petite Folie means “Bland Unimaginative Cuisine” in French, then one could not accuse its owner of misrepresentation. Chef Mary Mastricola, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in France, somehow transforms filet mignon into something which taste much more like microwaved liver. Equally as daunting is how she turns delicate sea scallops into overcooked Chinese buffet fare. Having graduated top of her class at Le Cordon Bleu, Mary clearly has a recent undiagnosed chorda tympani lesion, since her creations do not supply taste to the anterior 2/3rds of the tongue. Surely I do not have the lesion since my two stars go to their crusty tasty bread and fragrant wine. Service is adequate, but teamwork is missing, since in top restaurants, servers bus each other’s tables. Also, in $50+ per person eateries, it is de rigueur to not have plastic coat hangers and cheap light fixtures. You've heard it before...it is all in the details. Hate to sound like a snob…but I am writing about a French restaurant. NYFoodAndWine
suzannemw
Review rating 4 out of 5
Great N'borhood Resource
By suzannemw on 10/12/2005
Perhaps the last reviewer was having a bad day. Surely this restaurant deserves more than no stars. It's not one of the city's great restaurants. But the sedate decor, white tableclothes, classical music, and attractive and tasteful food make it a wonderful resource for a neighborhood with limited fine dining. Long live La Petite Folie.
user image
Review rating 0 out of 5
MortKap's Review
By mortkap on 06/28/2003
My wife and would not return if the food were free. We have eaten at top and good restaurants in theU.S., Europe, and Asia, and many modest ones. We think the reviews we read are ludicrous. The bread was good.
user image
Review rating 4 out of 5
LEHINCHI's Review
By lehinchi on 01/07/2003
Was there most recently in December of 2002. Excellent food and service (I had the Tuna, my Dinner Companion had the Salmon, both were delicious.) Service was good in an understated manner. Good Value