On Sunday morning, Rich and I went downtown to meet up with my friend Val and her boyfriend Brad. Val and Brad were in town for Val’s Birthday and I thought it would be fun to take them to brunch at Au Cheval. We had wanted to go to the much hyped restaurant in one of my favorite Chicago neighborhoods, The West Loop, for awhile and this was the perfect opportunity!
We had heard that there is typically a long wait, so we got there at 9:45. Luckily, we were first in line and were seated immediately when they opened at 10:00. By 10:15, the restaurant was completely full.
When we were seated, I immediately fell in love with the decor. It was rustic and comfortable, yet modern and classic at the same time. The vibe in the restaurant was laid back and not pretentious at all. This is by far my favorite quality in a restaurant. One thing that is cool about Au Cheval is the open kitchen. I would love to go back for dinner and sit at the bar so I could watch my meal be cooked right in front of me!
The food was awesome! I ordered the Chilaquiles, which were delicious. The flavors were perfectly balanced and the eggs were probably the most fresh I’ve ever had. The waitress recommended any egg dish because they source the eggs from a local farm. I’m glad she did!
Rich got the cheeseburger and it was definitely as good as we had heard. The meat was high quality, the bacon was amazing and it was prepared perfectly.
I would definitely recommend Au Cheval for brunch, but would advise getting there right before 10:00 to secure your spot unless you don’t mind waiting. I will for sure be going back for dinner!
I have heard so many good things about this restaurant! A total foodie friend declares this his favorite restaurant in the city, so I am so curious. I always planned on going for dinner, but brunch looks fab! Thanks for the review, it may just be the push I needed to finally book and get myself over there.
They don’t take reservations but its worth it. So good! I want to go back for dinner.
That’s funny that the waitress said to get an egg dish because, if I recall correctly, like 90% of their brunch menu has eggs in it! Really good eggs, though, you’re right. I went for brunch with husband and my parents and we’re still joking about the amount of eggs we consumed
So true! Also in the name!