Coquette Brasserie
3 out of 5 stars
UPDATE: I’ve since been back to Coquette for lunch, and it was quite enjoyable. I would recommend trying Coquette for your first time at lunch, as the prices are more reasonable and it is less of a commitment than dinner.
My expectations were high for Coquette because 1) I went for brunch, my favorite meal of the day and 2) I had heard so many raves. But unfortunately the experience fell short. In fact I think my favorite part of the meal was the fresh bread that came out with our beverages.
The decor is nice, a simple checkerboard floor, a very open and sunny environment, and bistro style seating, with a large rustic bread station in the middle. We were seated and our serviec was not great from the beginning. The waiter seemed hung over and wasn’t really able to answer our questions about the menu. I ordered the banana and nutella crepe and hubs ordered the eggs florentine, asking for his sauce on the side. He also ordered the soup of the day, cauliflower soup.
My crepe was tasty, but pretty small. I am sure that I only got about half of a banana’s worth, if that, inside of it. Of course the nutella and roasted hazelnuts sprinkled on top were good, but I expected more in quantity and in quality. Presentation of course was lovely, as you can see. Hub’s cauliflower soup bowl contained about 1/2 cup of soup for $6. Even if it was the most fabulous soup in creation (it wasn’t), that amount for that price is hard to deal with. His eggs florentine came with sauce on top though he asked for it on the side. As our waiter delivered it and placed it before him he said “Oh you wanted the sauce on the side… I saw them putting it on so I asked them to only put on a little.” Umm.. either you asked them to put it on the side or you didn’t. Clearly you forgot and now you’re lying to cover it up? Just wierd. The florentine didn’t have much flavor even with the tomatoes, and the table next to us sent theirs back because it “exploded on her”. We also ordered a side of bacon, which was tasty. Given all the sides we had to order, we had to pay a hefty price for this meal and we still did not leave satisfied.
Perhaps if you give Coquette a shot for brunch try one of the Croques or a Monte Cristo. The exra carbs might help fill you up. Or maybe the other meals of the day are a better bet. Varmint Bites has a great article about their opening including some photos of the interior.
Coquette Brasserie 4351 The Circle At North Hills St  Raleigh, NC 27609(919) 789-0606
I just had my baby so I’d love to give Coquette another shot once I’m able to escape my house again!
-Mandy
Mandy,
I am very sorry to hear that Coquette did not provide you with an enjoyable experience. Our goal is to provide a quality product in a hospitable and welcoming environment, and we did not do this. There is never an excuse for poor service and lack luster food. I hope that you give us an opportunity to rectify this experience in the future. I encourage you to contact me personally at matt@urbanfoodgroup.com
Matthew Bettinger
Assistant Manager
Coquette Brassiere
1) I’ll give you the service thing. Unfortunately you are more likely than not to get a hungover waiter on a brunch shift. Waiters and chefs hate that shift. They have to some in early the morning after the one night a week they get to hang out with their friends that have straight jobs. It sucks, and brunch patrons tend to be people that don’t dine out much. That doesn’t excuse a waiter screwing up.
2) Brunch is one morning a week, in most restaurants. That means the kitchen staff has to prep and cook a completely different menu, with faster turnover and pickier customers. They HATE it. Give the restaurant a shot at being a real restaurant that serves, you know, dinner.
Muscles…. hahahaha. Were they stringy?
Yeah I saw that Bland left too for some reason. I had a great experience there during the Triangle Restaurant week last year. I hope that Bland leaving doesn’t mean the beginning of the end. Glad I’ve got Vin Rouge and Rue Cler nearby.
I’ve eaten at Coquette for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Brunch is definitely their weakest meal (dinner was best). Chef Rob Bland apparently left Coquette a couple weeks ago? I hope this is just a glitch and they get back to the good stuff soon.
this was a great restaurant when it first opened but has gone way down, last meal we had there was awful!
onion soup tasted like lipton, muscles were okay but not worth eating, coffee was lukewarm and served out of a thermal carafe, even though we were there for an early dinner, we have heard from several friends that they no longer eat their
Looks like it opened late Oct 2008. I was suprised too, having read so many good things. Maybe it was a quirk? I dunno!
I’ve only recently heard about Coquette and yours is the first somewhat negative review I’ve seen–always good to have both reactions before I try a new place. Do you know how long they’ve been open?
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