Coquine

http://www.coquinerestaurant.com/

Thinking about where to eat on a Sunday evening, it hit me I read about Coquine's live jazz Sundays. On top of that this place has been on my list for too long.

APPEARANCE

dark ruby, aged
A charming corner entrance with long black (rubber) curtains and a sign which reminds me of the Victorian ornaments on the Eiffel tower. You can feel a sense of prominence and finesse. The sign is shorter and more spaced out than the actual Coquine logo type. Overall, the wordmark has it's own style going on - tall, elegant with a high x-height, noticeable contrast between the strokes' thick and thins as well as a chic emphasis on the red Q.

NOSE

blackberry and cherry aroma, with a strange twist of citrus
We walked in, a jazz band was playing. We were taken care of a sat down in their dining area. It was not too busy. The music was a bit loud if we were to sit at the bar though.
I can't help but say that the entrance, the windows, the menus.. overall the place feels art noveau style (like privat-livemont posters) The highchairs at the front with the long shared tables are great, but then the dining section turns into - clean, simple, shiny tables and chairs with white walls, framed mirrors and odd Christmas lights.. a bit of a mismatch.

SWIRL

light plum taste, a bit earthy and tart

We sat at a small table by the window. The menus came, well organized but lacking white space - making them a bit of an overload to read. At the same time, style is kept consistent with black and red scheme, long typeface, art noveau frames, etc. As for the format, it was just a hard page menu front and back.
Throughout, we realized the jazz band was doing covers - one was a Bob Marley song. I kind of wish they just jammed their own thing or even just do some more lounge-jazz experimental stuff. And the way the stage was set up, there was a sense of distance from the band. Anyways, it was still pretty sweet to have live music.

PALATE

well-rounded, complex, slightly spicy
Before ordering, I did ask about their cheese plate. The waiter was not too enthusiastic  explaining it is three cheeses ( I swear he wanted to say: nothing too special). And so as we read on, cheri decided to go with the Grilled Sausage with Dijon Mustard and a Caesar Salad with his glass of Ripasso, while I took the very recommended Beet Gnocci with a glass of White Pinot Noir. Through his intonation and small words, really, the waiter managed to make us feel that our choices are great.
The gnocchi were cooked to perfection with a light gorgonzola cream sauce, wall nuts and beet pastry shells. I really should experiment with the right wine for this dish. As for the Ceasar Salad, it was topped with thin sliced Parmesan which made it so much better. The Sausage appetizers were also worth it, with a hot dijon dip. 

FINISH

medium-long, does offer potential to develop further
Everything felt better with time, we ate relatively slow and lingered on our wines. I need to work on expanding my tummy space to fit a three course meal.. I need to go back and try that french onion soup people talk about and perhaps their desserts.

overall.. an impressive, aged Pinot Noir with some space for improvement