French chefs arrive in River Oaks

Très chic River Oaks restaurant opens with French chef cred, stunning space, and must-see Mona Lisa

A stylish new restaurant debuts at the River Oaks Shopping Center this weekend. Cocody will open for lunch and dinner beginning Friday, December 1.

First announced this summer, Cocody unites three of the men behind Le Mistral, the Energy Corridor French restaurant that closed in 2019 after 18 years in business. They are chef Lionel Debon, chef David Denis, and David’s brother, front of house specialist Sylvain Denis. The Denis brothers also operate Bistro 555, the French restaurant on Memorial Drive that replaced neighborhood favorite Bistro Provence.

Before diving into the food, let’s consider the restaurant’s setting. The expansive restaurant — 7,000-square feet inside with a 2,000-square foot patio — has enough space for a main dining room, a separate bar area, a lounge, and a chefs’ tasting room with a view into the kitchen.

Owners Edith and Edwin Bosso hired Austin’s Winn Wittman Architects of Austin and local designer Nina Magon to bring the Art Deco-inspired design to life. Inspired by the center’s roots in the 1930s, the interior includes hundreds of crystal lights, a free-standing metal bar, and an updated take on the Mona Lisa that’s sure to be all over social media.

While some of the menu is undeniably French — more on that in a bit — chefs Debon and Denis are showing more Texas influences at Cocody than in their prior restaurant. At dinner, diners can opt for a Gulf Coast favorite like blackened snapper or the barbecue-inspired pulled pork tournedos that come with a “light smoky reduction.” Roasted Colorado lamb and two different beef tenderloin should also appeal to Texans who like a hearty meat entree with their meals.

Of course, those looking for French touches will find them throughout the menu. Consider entrees such as lobster risotto, roasted duck breast with celery root puree, and roasted chicken breast with basil ratatouille as three examples. The Sunday brunch menu includes classics such as Eggs Florentine and scrambled eggs served in their shells. Similarly, the wine list emphasizes selections from both France and California.

French-influenced restaurants have proven to be popular in the River Oaks area. Brasserie 19, arguably the city’s most successful French-inspired restaurant, is right across the street. Bludorn, which blends French and Gulf Coast influences, is only a couple of miles away. Annabelle Brasserie, the latest concept from B&B Butchers owner Ben Berg, just opened nearby in the Autry Park mixed-use development.

Then again, none of those restaurant have French chefs leading their kitchens. That, and Cocody’s high-style design, should entice diners to visit the newcomer.

Photo by Mickael Zibi

The free-standing bar is an eye-catching showpiece.

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bring on the Bacalhau

Michelin-starred Houston restaurant heads to Portugal for new season

Photo by Zach Horst

No conversation about Houston’s best restaurants would be complete without mentioning March, Goodnight Hospitality’s Mediterranean-inspired, fine dining, tasting menu restaurant in Montrose.

For its 12th season, which begins this Friday, August 7, March will take a broad look at Portugal. Over the course of pre-dinner snacks in its lounge, seven courses in its dining room, and take away desserts, chef-partner Felipe Riccio and his team will guide diners through all aspects of Portuguese cuisine, including its trade routes with China, India, and North Africa.

Riccio tells CultureMap that Portugal was the logical follow up to March’s 11th season, which examined northern Spain. He began the research process a few months ago, drawing upon published literature, cookbooks, and his own experiences as a stage at a restaurant in Lisbon. More than a menu update, seasons at March also include changes to the beverage offerings and creating service touches that enhance the experience.

Photo by Zach Horst

Rabbit cozido.

“Portugal is so close geographically to the north of Spain, and there’s a lot of similarities,” he says. “The menu really explores a lot of places outside of the Mediterranean where the Portuguese had influence and were influenced by. It’s all these trade routes.”

Priced at $230 plus drinks, tax, and gratuity, a meal at March begins in the lounge with four snacks, including a peri peri-spiced duck rillette, a delicate tart with lobster and caviar, a tempura-fried fish (peixinhos da horta) and the Macau-inspired porcho balichao made with manilla clams.

As always, March brings premium ingredients to its take on classic dishes. For example, it sources Japanese Almaco Jack for a crudo that’s inspired by Portuguese salt cod (bacalahua). Cozido, a slow-cooked stew that’s a staple of Portuguese cooking, gets reinterpreted as a house made rabbit sauce with foie gras. Riccio acknowledges that diners expect a certain level of luxury at this price point, but diners may not always realize how valuable properly-sourced ingredients are.

“I don’t think it always has to be so overt. I think the majority of people, the experience as a whole delivers that value,” Riccio says.

Similarly, the Portugal menu continues March’s move to a set, seven-course menu instead of giving diners the choice of either six or nine courses. Riccio see that as another sign of the restaurant’s maturity.

“A tasting menu is restrictive. We needed to earn that trust and give people options. I felt like people trust us and we’ve proved we can create an experience,” he says.

Since part of the criteria for a Michelin star is consistency across visits, March’s ability to hold its star while still changing its menu twice a year is a testament to the kitchen’s skill. Add in the server’s deep knowledge of every dish on the menu, its comprehensive beverage offerings, and a dining room that features museum- quality art, and it’s reasonable to think that March might become Texas’ first restaurant to earn a two-star rating. For his part, Riccio would welcome the recognition.

“I think March as an entire experience, as a restaurant day-in and day-out, we can be at that level. We strive to give people that experience to where they have that menu and feel it’s well worth it,” he says. “That recognition. I’ve seen what it means for the team, for the guests, and for the validation of the experience, and, obviously, for my career and the restaurant as a business.”

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