COUVANT, NEW ORLEANS: REVIEW
French fancies: An exciting new direction for Couvant
Enthuse my French: A review of Couvant, New Orleans
Review by Paul Oswell
I first came to eat here when I stayed at the just-opened Eliza Jane hotel. Some hotel restaurants come across as an afterthought, but from the beginning, it was clear that Couvant was a full-throated part of the property’s songsheet. Back in 2018, Couvant was dishing up what you might call a ‘French Orthodox’ menu, one of the few places in town that was all-in on classic, traditional French cuisine.
A lot has happened since then, and a fresh face and outlook at Couvant is currently part of the Eliza Jane’s continued evolution (read our full review of the hotel here). Before we even sit down, it pays to note there’s been a new executive chef en ville now since early 2024. Executive Chef Ryan Pearson took up the reins, and while the underlying character of a French Brasserie remains, the menu’s horizons have been subtly broadened.
We slink into the dining room on a Tuesday night after a couple of stiff aperitifs from the hotel's bar. It seems like there’s brisk trade, the dining room seemingly larger than when I was last here but no less full for it. Our company is date night couples in various stages of refreshment, a couple of families and a table of food influencers who are laser-focused on their phones and not talking at all, apart from to discuss lighting and presentation as each dish arrives.
Our server is perky with a nice line in quips that don’t seem rehearsed nor over-performative, my ideal dynamic if I’m honest. The menu is still very French. There’s Escargot en Croute, for instance, and a whole station set up for the irresistible Gougère (served with truffled mournay, and you’re correct, it’s a pretty decadent starter).
So far, so Champs Elysee. As the appetizer options appear, Chef Pearson’s gentle embrace of other influences becomes apparent, though. Yes, there’s a killer Foie Gras Torchon that could grace any Dordogne picnic, but there’s also some plump blue crab claws, marinated in a piquant, citrus-chili vinaigrette.
I asked a few people - including the bartender - for entree recommendations and to a person, they salivated over the Boeuf Bourguignon. The short rib arrives having spent what must have been an unhurried afternoon in red wine, and it shows. It's deeply savory, giving way at the gentlest suggestion of a fork. The pearl onions, bacon, and mushrooms all work together and the pommes purée beneath it all catches every last drop of that dark, extraordinary gravy like it was built for exactly this purpose.
My Dining Companion(™) ate the Dickens out of the pan roasted duck leg, which comes out of the pan with crispy skin, the meat beneath it pulling away in luxurious strands. Desserts dip back into classic French fancies: Fruit Galette, Profiteroles and Crème Glacée, with some very American Baked Alaska for good measure.
Fans of full-out French food should jump in this Continental jaunt - Couvant also has croque madames at breakfast and panisses for brunch and, lest we forget because we dived into it with enthusiasm, a notably Francophile-leaning wine list. Chef Pearson has branched out, though, and it’s not in any way jarring, just a nod to the more immediate influences and ingredients that we’re lucky to have in this region.
Couvant website
More New Orleans restaurant reviews
Review by Paul Oswell
I first came to eat here when I stayed at the just-opened Eliza Jane hotel. Some hotel restaurants come across as an afterthought, but from the beginning, it was clear that Couvant was a full-throated part of the property’s songsheet. Back in 2018, Couvant was dishing up what you might call a ‘French Orthodox’ menu, one of the few places in town that was all-in on classic, traditional French cuisine.
A lot has happened since then, and a fresh face and outlook at Couvant is currently part of the Eliza Jane’s continued evolution (read our full review of the hotel here). Before we even sit down, it pays to note there’s been a new executive chef en ville now since early 2024. Executive Chef Ryan Pearson took up the reins, and while the underlying character of a French Brasserie remains, the menu’s horizons have been subtly broadened.
We slink into the dining room on a Tuesday night after a couple of stiff aperitifs from the hotel's bar. It seems like there’s brisk trade, the dining room seemingly larger than when I was last here but no less full for it. Our company is date night couples in various stages of refreshment, a couple of families and a table of food influencers who are laser-focused on their phones and not talking at all, apart from to discuss lighting and presentation as each dish arrives.
Our server is perky with a nice line in quips that don’t seem rehearsed nor over-performative, my ideal dynamic if I’m honest. The menu is still very French. There’s Escargot en Croute, for instance, and a whole station set up for the irresistible Gougère (served with truffled mournay, and you’re correct, it’s a pretty decadent starter).
So far, so Champs Elysee. As the appetizer options appear, Chef Pearson’s gentle embrace of other influences becomes apparent, though. Yes, there’s a killer Foie Gras Torchon that could grace any Dordogne picnic, but there’s also some plump blue crab claws, marinated in a piquant, citrus-chili vinaigrette.
I asked a few people - including the bartender - for entree recommendations and to a person, they salivated over the Boeuf Bourguignon. The short rib arrives having spent what must have been an unhurried afternoon in red wine, and it shows. It's deeply savory, giving way at the gentlest suggestion of a fork. The pearl onions, bacon, and mushrooms all work together and the pommes purée beneath it all catches every last drop of that dark, extraordinary gravy like it was built for exactly this purpose.
My Dining Companion(™) ate the Dickens out of the pan roasted duck leg, which comes out of the pan with crispy skin, the meat beneath it pulling away in luxurious strands. Desserts dip back into classic French fancies: Fruit Galette, Profiteroles and Crème Glacée, with some very American Baked Alaska for good measure.
Fans of full-out French food should jump in this Continental jaunt - Couvant also has croque madames at breakfast and panisses for brunch and, lest we forget because we dived into it with enthusiasm, a notably Francophile-leaning wine list. Chef Pearson has branched out, though, and it’s not in any way jarring, just a nod to the more immediate influences and ingredients that we’re lucky to have in this region.
Couvant website
More New Orleans restaurant reviews