Petite Vie

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A French Brasserie in the Western Suburbs

Petite Vie brings the spirit of a French brasserie to Burlington Avenue in Western Springs, Illinois — a suburb west of Chicago where this kind of cooking is genuinely rare. The name says it plainly: a small, good life, expressed through French cuisine done with care and without pretense.

The Team Behind the Table

The kitchen and dining room are led by a roster that reads like a proper brigade. Chef-Propriétaire Paul Virant — who also helms other Chicago-area concepts — sets the vision. Chef de Cuisine Vinny Gerace runs the day-to-day kitchen, with Sous Chef Rudy Vargas alongside him. Pastry Chef Angelyne Canicosa handles desserts, while the front of house is anchored by Restaurant Manager Alexander Cristóbal and Bar Manager Patrick Swanson. The wine program falls to Wine Director Grace Bradley, whose work on the cellar earned Petite Vie a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2025 — a meaningful benchmark for any French restaurant serious about its list.

French Cuisine, Morning to Night

The menu spans brunch, dinner, happy hour, and dessert, giving the brasserie format its full range. French cuisine lends itself naturally to this kind of all-day hospitality — the unhurried weekend brunch, the early-evening glass during happy hour, the more considered dinner service that runs into the night on weekends. Beyond the dining room, Petite Vie also handles private events and catering, extending its French cooking into celebrations and gatherings of all kinds.

The Wine Spectator recognition underscores that the beverage side of the experience is taken as seriously as the food — a hallmark of any brasserie worth the name.