Cocoricains: An American Bistrot with French Flair in Paris’s 2nd Arrondissement

The restaurant has a beautiful warm energy, thanks to the pleasant staff and colorful ambiance.  It is located in an office heavy district. At midday, the area becomes full of movement for quick grab and go lunches from neighboring restaurants, but it’s a place you can definitely come back for dinner and drinks too.

Family style dishes are on the menu. This includes their homemade gooey mac & cheese, signature fried chicken, and other plates to share tapas style. We started with their iced tea, which had the perfect amount of sweetness, reminding me of summers I spent back at home in New England. We ended up choosing their mini mac, house fries, fried chicken, coleslaw, fried cauliflower, and chef’s favorite fried eggs to share.

The food was incredible. The yolk of the eggs remained runny, oozing perfectly from the fried outer coating. The mac & cheese shells were rich and moreish. Their coleslaw was light, and the signature fried chicken was crispy and flavorful, especially when paired with the authentic Madame Gerard white wine, comté, and paprika sauce.

We finished off our meal with their pumpkin pie which was not as sweet as I usually have had, but the spices made it delightful. And the pièce de resistance was the cheesecake. Chris flambé’d the dessert with Grand Marnier in front of us which brought a rich orangey flavor that coupled perfectly with the melt in your mouth cheesecake. 

If you are a homesick American in Paris like myself, wanting to celebrate traditional holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the Fourth of July Cocoricains is the spot for you. This past Thanksgiving they hosted an authentic Thanksgiving dinner including fried turkey, sweet potato purée, and pecan pie. There is also a kids menu, which is not always so easy to find in Paris.

The owners want to expand the palette of what French people know of as American food. They curated a menu of traditional American foods from their childhood that are not just your typical American burger. For their French customers they hope to widen their knowledge of what American food is while bringing French flair to their favorite American dishes. The warm welcome and the freshly prepared dishes that reminded me of home were something I’ll be coming back for time and again.