It’s 7pm when I head out to meet a couple of friends at French country fare resto Bistro le Coq. I’m late, and my friends are already seated and snuggled up to some fancy drinks—the champagne cocktail of the day, with grapefruit juice ($8), and a glass of Bouvet champagne ($6).
I order a glass of bubbly for myself. As we chat, I take in the decor—sunny yellow and cream walls surround us and the rough-hewn tables evoke a rustic country charm. The china cabinet, with its pretty decorative plates reminds me of my mother’s, and the amber lighting creates a similar warmth and comfort.
My champagne arrives in a beautiful, old school coupe. When our server stops by for the umpteenth time, we quit gabbing and get down to business. We order several appetizers to start, followed by some lighter mains. We choose the mussels and fries ($10), tuna tartare ($12) and duck rillettes ($9). One friend raves about the duck confit salad ($9)—which we both order, while our other friend is set on the salad niçoise ($10). Even with the knowledge that it will be far too much food, we can’t ignore the side orders of brussels sprouts with bacon and the cauliflower gratin ($5 each).
Once the food orders are in, we review the wine list—it’s confusing. The wines are listed by region as opposed to a more recognizable—and user-friendly—varietal list. All three of us are in the beverage industry and agree that without prior knowledge, we would be intimidated. In the end, though, we’re quite happy with our champagne, so we order a bottle of Bouvet ($40).
The duck rillettes has a pâté-like consistency: smooth and creamy. Accompanied by baguette and vegetable crudités, its buttery texture is decadent. The tuna tartare is equally indulgent. Mixed with cherry tomatoes, the succulent fish is tossed in a creamy Dijon dressing and topped with peppery arugula. Deep-fried capers garnish the plate and their crisp, salty bite creates an intriguing juxtaposition with the tender fish.
The mussels and fries are fantastic and presented on a lovely platter, the shellfish surrounding the fries. The PEI mussels, steamed in white wine and cream, are tender without being chewy. The thin-cut “duck fat” fries—though not my favourite, I like mine crisp—have great flavour and are served with a truffled aioli. A few mussels in, we discover the veggie mix underneath, consisting of carrots, leeks and bacon lardons—every mouthful is luscious.
When we toss the last mussel shell, we’re ready for the entrees. The duck confit salad is one of the best salads I’ve had in Halifax. The rich duck meat tops a bed of mixed greens, roasted hazelnuts, tangy yellow beets, sweet dried cranberries and grape tomatoes, all tossed in a blue cheese dressing. My friend’s salad niçoise is equally moan-able, with the tuna served atop leafy greens, black olives and olive tapenade, tomatoes and new potatoes. The tuna’s sesame seed crust is mouthwatering and oddly (yet pleasantly) reminds me of buttery popcorn.
Somehow, we manage to try the sides—although my waistline is expanding by the forkful. The brussel sprouts are delicious, but the cauliflower is disappointing; the cream sauce on top lacks seasoning and results in a pretty bland, white dish.
Though dessert menus are offered, we’re all far too full to consider the options. As we pay our bills we realize that the other diners around us have come and gone, and we’re happy that we took our time. Bistro le Coq has a comfortable atmosphere that encourages leisurely dining—and when the food is so good, we savour every bite.
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2011.
Is Five Hours Leisure Dining? I love the food but waiting just an hour to get drinks at our table is not what I call enjoyable!
I’m afraid I need to disagree with this review. I was recently at le Coq for brunch, and was extremely disappointed, following all the hype on Yelp and other sites. The ambiance and service were fantastic, the food however fell far short of expectations.
Some concrete examples:
A croque madame should not be made with marbled white/raisin bread, or with back bacon.
A salade with confit de canard should not be served with dried cranberries or a sickly-sweet dressing.
Pomme frites should be crispy (think Belgian frites) — they should not be soggy, and they should not be dusted with parmesan. I asked to have my frites without parmesan — something which the kitchen could not accommodate, which begs the question, are they even fresh? Or do they arrive frozen, pre-coated in parmesan?
A salade nicoise should not be served with raw ahi tuna.
le Coq doesn’t respect the French classics. Instead, its little tweaks and twists devalue tried-and-true recipes, and deeply disappoint.
Thicker the cut of fry the longer they stay warm. Just an observation but a lot of the things you don’t seem to enjoy come from personal taste regardless of the recipe?
Halifax is probably one of the only cities in Canada where a French restaurant called Le Coq and owned by a Hospitality Group could survive AND get a positive review like this. What business does a hospitality group that owns a ‘chic’ casually elegant lounge, a steakhouse, a tacky tourist seafood restaurant, a hotel pub, and a BBQ smokehouse have in running an ‘authentic’ Parisian bistro?
It makes no sense. There is no credibility here. Halifax is a disaster. This kind of thing should never be allowed to happen. You know who should own a Parisian Bistro? A Parisian Chef. Not a Hospitality Group.
I have the feeling that not a single person involved with this project has even been to Paris. The decor is completely wrong- those porcelain rooster’s are Portuguese.
I don’t know anything about this restaurant, but what a silly comment to make about the wine list. Under what varietal category would you list a wine from the Rhone?
Well at least Halifax isn’t *completely* full of snobby fucks.
@Chris Boyne – while I think you make some very valid points (i.e. French cuisine should be left to French chefs) I respectfully disagree with your rooster comment.
While the rooster is indeed a character from Portuguese folklore, it is also a staple of French country decor.
I also disagree that Halifax is a “disaster”. Sure, this isn’t a shining example of what we’re capable of, but have you ever been to Chives? Fiasco? Fid? The Press Gang? etc.? Halifax is FULL of really great places to eat.
Finally, the plural form of rooster doesn’t require an apostrophe. It’s roosters, not rooster’s. Normally I wouldn’t correct someone’s grammar, but quite frankly your comment pissed me off and you sound like you deserve it.
We had a table of 7 and 4 were very disappointed,3 were ok.I doubt we would go back.Service was ok not great,food was barely warm and this was at 6pm. Restaurant owners and chefs have to realize that there is alot of choice available and they cannot afford to disappoint or have a haphazard approach.
Had dinner there last night and found the decor beautiful and warm, and the food delicious!
I had brunch with my wife on Jan. 7th at Bistro le Coq. We really needed a nice relaxing time out after very busy holiday season and I picked this restaurant as my wife is French and has spent much of her life in Paris.
First of all, the time we spent at this restaurant was quite enjoyable. Late in the afternoon on Saturday the place wasn’t busy, although I’m told that it fills up most evenings. We relaxed and took our time with our meal. It was a nice way to exit the rest of the world and watch people strolling by on a rainy, weekend day off.
The ambience was pleasing and the service was cordial and professional. As well, our waiter was sincere while also being fun and amiable. Probably the biggest reason why I’m posting this comment. I rarely do this type of thing because one person’s experience is not often another’s. Something about karma made me want to say something this time. And the people who own this restaurant should know their establishment is in good hands.
The food was quite good.
The omelet du jour pommes frites was a delight for my wife. The pommes frites cooked in duck fat was quickly followed by a second order, they went too fast. And I thought the duck confit salad was flavourful and really superb.
My wife is a great cook. She isn’t one to demand that French cuisine be exactly this or that, but she was pleased enough with her meal to say that it was as good as her own cooking. Though she prefers goose fat instead of duck fat. My poor heart you might say, but the secret is portion size.
We had the basics of French street side food and it was more than just fine.
I do recommend this restaurant and plan to spend more time there.