First Look: Le Coq

This is Le Coq, the latest-and last-venture from Puffer Malarkey Collective (Herb & Sea, Herb & Wood, Animae). Their swan song. It’s classic Puffer Malarkey, minus the ampersand: mood lighting and velvet and lacquer and sex appeal. Opens this weekend in the La Jolla space that once housed Malarkey’s Herringbone.
Tara Monsod-fresh off the heels of her historic James Beard nom (first ever finalist from San Diego)-is helming the Le Coq kitchen. She spent time in Paris, convened with the city’s Asian chefs, returned energized and ready to put her spin on French classics. Her take on land-and-sea dishes focuses on the ocean’s flora-pork and seaweed, lamb and sea beans. Everything from steak to seafood will be sourced locally.
Le Coq is grown-up, libidinous; the interior caters to modern running-away-to-Europe fantasies. Exposed brick walls. Baked steel trusses. The space is made for flirting, lingering, tête-à-tête in candlelight.
“In Paris, we saw people gathering inside and outside restaurants, hanging out, talking, eating,” Monsod says. “That’s what we want to see here: diners engaged with each other, with lots of wine, lots of laughter, enjoying each other’s company. This restaurant is not meant to be quiet.”
For both Monsod and Puffer Malarkey Collective, this is a full circle moment. The celebrated chef cut her teeth at Herringbone; now, she’s steering the ship.
Read more about Le Coq at sdmag.com.