Cocotte (Bar, Restaurant)

Top 10 things to know about Cocotte:

1) You’ve never made it to Paris. You always wanted to go but haven’t had the chance to pack a bag, throw on a specially-bought outfit, ride the Eurostar and enjoy living your best French life for a few days.

2) Fortunately, you find Cocotte in London’s picturesque Hoxton Square, and decide to sate your appetite for Parisian cuisine with a Sunday brunch in Shoreditch. The brainchild of real Parisians, the farm-to-table bistro sits quietly perfecting its eclectic menu of the old and new.

3) Cocotte is everything: small, quaint, stylish and welcoming. Wall plants frame the softly buzzing patrons. Slow-turning chickens roast in their own delicious juices, giving off a warm, homely vibe. Tarragon, thyme, parsley, and black pepper notes rouse your hunger. The old and the new lie side by side. Avocado toast meet ratatouille.

4) You order a bloody Mary and a selection of freshly launched brunch dishes: avocado toast; chicken and waffles; mac and cheese; a quarter chicken; oeuf benedicte.

5) You keep the boozehound temptations at arm’s length by also ordering a few cold pressed juices to accompany your idle chat about life.

6) The chicken and waffles arrive; the latter, crisp and buttery – thanks, croissant pastry. The sauce pools in each groove, allowing you to take forkfuls of juicy, perfectly cooked chicken, waffles and sauce. You feel more Parisian with every bite.

7) The avocado toast cleanses your palate and prepares you for the waiting, gooey, mac and cheese, quarter chicken and oeuf benedicte. The mac and cheese needs a touch more salt but it’s a familiar friend. You’d never think mac and cheese would work next to the chicken and its wine-infused gravy, but it does.

8) Last but not least, les œufs Bénédicte. Two rambunctious poached eggs wobble atop croissant waffles, glistening under hollandaise sauce. Sat next to juicy roast chicken, they invite you to keep eating.

9) Plates scraped, belly full, and yet, hunger is still calling. What better way to finish than with croissant waffles with cream, Nutella and jam. After the chicken and waffles, the dessert is so simple, so divine. You stop talking. You simply dip.

10) Dessert done, you lament about how you already miss the waffles and chicken. You leave elated. Sunday brunch in Hoxton was a French success. When will you go back?...read more