Le Cochon Wine Bar and Bistro
By Naperville Magazine
July 2025 View more Table for Two
By Phil Vettel
Offering a taste of France in Geneva
When I last spoke to chef Bernie Laskowski—the ex-Marine with a glittering Chicago culinary résumé (Everest, mk, Bin 36, Park Grill)—he had just opened his second Craft Urban location, this one in downtown Aurora (the original is still thriving in downtown Geneva). His plan, he said at the time, was to gradually turn the reins over to his son, Sebastian (an experienced chef in his own right), leaving Bernie, he joked, free for “mentoring, cooking, and butchering.”
Instead, Laskowski père et fils have opened a third restaurant. Le Cochon Wine Bar and Bistro debuted in early February at 201 S. Third St. (in Geneva’s eatery and shopping boulevard) and customers quickly descended on the place. “This past weekend [Mother’s Day] was insane,” Sebastian says. “This is a historic building in Geneva [formerly home to Mandrake restaurant], and we’re hitting all the marks.”
The decision to go French bistro was an easy one. “We thought about what’s in the area, and French bistro isn’t really out here,” he says.
It’s worth noting that the menu isn’t strictly French. Appetizers include classic escargots and salade niçoise, but also falafel in raita, shrimp Louie (which has California origins), and a fritto misto (calamari, shrimp, artichoke, sauce rémoulade) that’s as good as that of any Italian restaurant around. And oysters, shipped from Glidden Point Oyster Farms in Maine, are superb whether raw or grilled in lobster butter.
Entrées are uniformly impressive, and most are priced at $25 or less. There’s a nice Midwestern touch to Le Cochon’s bouillabaisse, using roasted walleye along with shrimp and mussels in a fennel-tomato broth, while grilled salmon takes on a French accent with a creamy Dijon-mustard velouté. Beef bourguignon, made with short-rib meat, is excellent, as is the pappardelle Bolognese made with ground lamb, topped with dabs of ricotta. Roasted chicken is bolstered by pommes purée and thyme-roasted mushrooms.
Cassoulet, typically a winter dish (slow-cooked sausage and white beans, though Laskowski uses pork belly), has become a menu fixture. “Surprising,” Laskowski says, “but it’s one of our most popular dishes, along with the bouillabaisse.”
And if it’s a Laskowski restaurant, there always will be a first-rate burger available (back in 2005, I rated Bernie Laskowski’s Park Grill burger the third-best burger in the Chicago area—out of 100 burgers tested). The LCB Burger is made with Slagel Farms beef, along with bacon, tomato jam, onions, bread-and-butter pickles, and Gruyère cheese.
Desserts are simple but richly indulgent. There’s a very good molten-chocolate cake with berry compote and chantilly cream, and I very much liked the seasonal crêpe, which at the time contained orange curd, chocolate, and ricotta.
Le Cochon serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays; a lot of the regular-menu items are available, along with a signature eggs Benedict with pork belly and Tabasco hollandaise, a croissant egg sandwich, and French toast with orange curd.
Other features include happy hour at the bar from 3 to 6 p.m. daily (except Saturday), half-price wine bottles on Mondays, and a “diner Dimanche” that features a large roast on Sundays (regular menu also available). “We feature rotating proteins with à la carte sides,” Laskowski says. “To start, we did prime rib, but then we’ve added rabbit and duck. And anytime we have lamb chops, they’ve been selling out.”
The beverage program is strong. The wine list is compact, but full of not-the-usual-suspects names, and there are a few luxury options for those whose lottery numbers lined up correctly. There are 10 by-the-glass pours, and the menu lists a pairing suggestion alongside every entrée. Cocktails include classic and contemporary drinks, including a very good signature martini.
The 60-seat dining room is very pretty—dark wood, white marble-look tables, indirect lighting—but the summer draw is the 75-seat outdoor stone patio, lined with flower boxes and softly lit after dark.
You might run into either Laskowski—or both—while dining here, but for the most part, Sebastian is running the show at Le Cochon, while Bernie focuses on Craft Urban. You’ll be in good hands either way.
Photos: Kyle Hampton
