Before beginning Le Coucou, Rose was a chef in Paris at his own restaurant, Spring.[1] Rose continued to operate Spring after founding Le Coucou.[2] Before formally partnering with Starr, Rose worked briefly in the kitchen of Starr's restaurant Buddakan.[1] Rose has a reputation as a "cerebral" chef, in contrast to Starr's "mass-appeal" restaurants.[1] However, Rose found Starr's existing roster of restaurants comforting as a source of support for Le Coucou.[1]
The restaurant was closed for over a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] It reopened in November 2021.[6] Four months were spent preparing for the reopening.[7] Though Le Coucou serves primarily French food, the reworked menu included dishes based on recipes from Spain and Portugal.[7] Rose has said these were included "to give people a sense that there’s a big wide world out there, even while travel is still a bit curtailed"[7] due to the pandemic.
Anna Sorokin ate at the restaurant frequently while living in 11 Howard.[8]
Menu and offerings
Rose has said the closed New York City French restaurant Lutèce inspired the menu at Le Coucou.[2]
Reviews and accolades
Reviews
The restaurant received three stars from New York Times reviewer Pete Wells.[2] Wells praised the restaurant's ability to downplay the intimidating aspects of haute cuisine while maintaining a sense of formality, writing that the restaurant has "an elegance that is well outside the everyday rumble of New York life but that doesn’t have...the off-putting reserve...from the old days."[2] When comparing the restaurant to New York City French mainstay La Grenouille, Wells wrote that Le Coucou was superior in the quality of its food, service, and wine list.[2]
Accolades
Pete Wells placed Le Coucou in fifty-eighth place in his 2023 ranking of the hundred best restaurants in New York City.[9]
