Le Coq

The great chicken feast

Brain child of ex management from the Salt Yard group and a relative newcomer to the trending rotisserie chicken scene in London, Le Coq is a neighbourhood restaurant located in Highbury and Islington. Rotisserie has become a bit of a smash hit lately, with a good number of chicken themed restaurants opening across London such as Chicken Shop and ClockJack Oven. Le Coq has been on my to do list for a while, and when I found out they had finally decided to take bookings, we booked in for a special group gathering.

Le Coq

private dining den

On arrival, I could already see the juicy rotisserie chicken slowly roasting in the open kitchen with the lovely savoury smell flying across the dinning room. Unexpectedly, we were given the private dinning room located downstairs as we had a large group of 9, what a bonus! The menu choice here is simple, you have rotisserie chicken as main with an ever changing weekly starters and desserts. As it was Burns Night week, I noticed the kitchen came up with a black pudding starter and I just couldn't resist. The black pudding was blended finely with great seasoning, slices of haddock and quinoa gave the dish extra texture with the beautifully poached egg adding moisture on top. It was simple yet full of wonderful flavours.

bread and pickles

starters in the making

black pudding, poached egg and haddock

On to the main event, free range rotisserie chicken from Sutton Hoo was served with barley and braised swede. The chicken meat was very moist and tender as expected, I could really taste the freshness of the meat and it was some of the nicest roast chicken I have had. The barley offered some great grainy texture and the swede gave the whole dish a hint of sweetness which worked wonderfully. The side order of rotisserie potato was also outstanding, it benefited from all the aroma and flavours from the chicken during the cooking process and it was such a treat with a well executed chicken gravy. I Finished off the night with a well made whisky marmalade tart to round off a great evening.

rotisserie action

rotisserie chicken with swede and barley

salad and rotisserie potato

whisky marmalade tart

selections of sorbets

The food at Le Coq showcased simplicity at its finest, it was nothing fancy with no crazy flavour combinations or complexity of flavours, it was just simple, well timed cooking using fine ingredients with great balance of seasoning. The service was a little weak as our French waiter had a little language problem but his knowledge on the menu and hospitality skills were just fine. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and I would love to return in the future to try out their special Sunday menu, as things like rotisserie octopus and short ribs sound like something that is too good to be missed.

Food 6.5
Service 5
Ambience 8
Value 7

£35 per head with 2 glass of wine

292-294 St Paul's Rd, London N1 2LH

http://www.le-coq.co.uk/