Coquette

After dining at Coquette for well over a decade, it really seems like they have gone downhill in a big way. My wife and I held our small wedding and reception there in 2014 and have been returning every year (except 2020) for dinner on our anniversary. And every year the food has been good and they made us feel special (free champagne, free dessert, etc.) While those were always generous gestures that we appreciated and certainly aren’t owed, the only person who even acknowledged our anniversary (which we indicated in Resy) was the hostess.

Our cocktails and shrimp cocktail appetizer were very good and what I had come to expect from Coquette. Sadly, the rest of the meal didn’t follow suit. My wife ordered steak frites and i ordered the $49 NY strip. We both ordered them au poivre. They both came out with red wine demi. We asked the server and she insisted it was the right sauce and their au poivre preparation was with a “darker” sauce. I pointed out that i tasted 0 peppercorn in the sauce, it was red, and it tasted like red wine. I asked to just get the béarnaise sauce instead, and she offered to bring me a whole new steak. I accepted and asked them to do fries instead of the “crispy potato” it came with - they were bland chunks of deep-fried potato that could be outdone by the home fries on a mediocre brunch buffet.

Then someone who I assume is the manager shows up and asked about the situation. Even she said the red wine demi and au poivre “look similar.” I found that interesting because au poivre is basically cognac, peppercorns, and cream. She also informed me that the kitchen already put the NY strips in the freezer (90 minutes before closing, mind you) so they couldn’t make me another one. Whether that’s true or they were just being cheap, it’s poor service.

I’ll also note that my wife and I saw several other dishes sent back and/or complained about at tables around us.

I opted for the steak frites instead. I asked if they could make it au poivre the correct way because I really wanted that. She told me the kitchen “wouldn’t be able to execute it in the way I was expecting.” To her credit, she was incredibly apologetic and very nice. I felt she was genuinely empathetic but was having to make up for a situation as absurd as a so-called French restaurant unable to execute on the basics.

So my takeaway is that a once good French restaurant is now a place where they don’t know a red wine sauce from a cream sauce, and employs Saturday night kitchen staff who can’t make a simple pan sauce.

To their credit, they did comp my entree: a tougher cut of beef with a couple streaks of broken béarnaise. At least the fries were good, but I can get comparable fries at Wendy’s.

Thanks for the memories, Coquette, but we will be finding a new anniversary tradition among the many other superior restaurants in our own city. My wife enjoyed her dinner, but mine was beyond disappointing - especially for a special 10th anniversary meal. Perhaps we will return if they can go back to what they were even a few years ago.

Edit: added a photo from their Instagram that shows the two sauces side-by-side.

Edit #2: After I posted this review, the manager called me and offered a seemingly genuine apology and a $150 gift card if we would return. I’m still waiting 3 weeks later for a gift card that I was assured would be in the mail within a couple days of the call. So I’m taking this review down to 1 star for them adding insult to injury. Au revoir, Coquette!