You know a place is hot when you can't get a table at lunch. It's not hard to understand why. Chicago does not lack for good Vietnamese food, but most of these are modest, neighborhood places. The only place that approaches Le Colonial's package is Julie Mai's Le Bistro, and that's a whole area code away. The decor is intended to evoke the image of French colonial Vietnam.
Fans spin lazily overhead, helping move the presumably stagnant and humid air.
I don't know enough about Saigon in the '20s to vouch for the authenticity, but it's a genteel look, a sedate oasis amid the flashy, voluble commercialism of Rush Street. And when management dims the lights it seems downright romantic, though tables are too close together for intimate conversations. I've been to Le Colonial three times, and the food gets a little better every visit. Presumably, a few more visits would make me fall in love with the place, although service is just squirrely enough to prevent that from happening soon. The menu is very similar to that of the original Le Colonial in New York City.