Angela W.
Yelp
We had an amazing experience celebrating a birthday at Coquette Brasserie! The food and drinks were, overall, fantastic, and the service was phenomenal. Definitely recommend making a reservation. We came pretty early, around 5:30, and made a reservation just in case. It was pretty empty when we first arrived, but by the time our appetizers arrived, most tables were full. The restaurant has a cozy, timeless feel, and it would be great for a date night as well. Service was amazing. Even my parents, who don't really put much stock into service quality when evaluating restaurants, were impressed by the service. We let the restaurant know ahead of time that we were bringing a birthday cake, and they were not only ok with it, but helped us store it while we were eating, and brought it out for us, candles lit, at the end of our meal.
The food and drink were overall quite tasty! I've never had French food before so I was excited to try everything. Here's the list:
Appetizers:
Duck liver mousse: slightly sweet, earthy but not pungent. Served with slices of apple and baguette slices drizzled with balsamic. The mousse tasted super fresh and was whipped to a perfect fluffy texture. There was too little bread for the amount of topping, but the complimentary bread we got worked like a charm as well.
Potato croquettes: Fried to a perfect crisp, with a silky, flavorful inside. The sauce was delicious as well! Each order comes with three large pieces.
Lyonnaise Salad: Clean, crisp veggies, perfect poached egg, tangy sauce, indulgent French bacon, what's not to like??!?
Main Course:
Seared scallops: I got this dish, and enjoyed every bite. I find scallops to be bland and rubbery sometimes but these were not only perfectly cooked, but served with a flavor PACKED butternut squash puree. Combined with the kale and quinoa, this was a healthy, satisfying dish with so many fun textures and flavors. I CLEANED my plate. If I were at home, I would lick it too XD.
Coq au Vin: I tried a bite, and the sauce was incredible!! The chicken was tender, and the mashed potatoes were perfectly smooth.
Duck cassoulet: The duck and beans were amazing, super rich with a hint of sweetness. However, the beans were also incredibly salty, which was a bummer for this almost perfect dish.
Steak frites: cooked to a perfect medium, pleasantly smoky exterior. I didn't try the fries but other members of our table enjoyed them a lot.
Drinks:
I wanted the melon-lime fizz but unfortunately they were out of the melon liqueur. Our waiter recommended the pink panther, which was DELICIOUS. It was the perfect balance between the sweet and liquor taste (so many drinks tend to lean too heavily in one direction or another for my tastes). I also got the ginger old fashioned, which tasted significantly stronger. I didn't taste any ginger, to be totally honest. Only bourbon. Birthday cake made it go down easier, but I definitely preferred the pink panther.
Overall, an excellent, upscale restaurant with good food and great service. Great for special occasions, or just for feeling a little fancy!