Nicole D.

Ambiance: Gorgeous dining area, limited seating but there is outdoor seating available. We did not make a reservation ahead of time but arrived right at 5 pm and grabbed a table. Service was amazing. Everyone was attentive and we never had to flag anyone down for water. Our server was so nice, we didn't get his name but we loved talking to him. Food: we came in for happy hour which is daily 5-6 pm. Deals are a 3 for $33 or $12-14 per item. Highly recommend the tuna tartare and steak quesadilla. The oysters were okay, on the much smaller side. The farmer's cheese was a surprising delicious as well. Parking: only metered street or neighborhood parking.

Lucia L.

Absolutely cuckoo about Coucou! Stopped by this hidden gem, upscale vintage diner for their famous Happy Hour (5-6 PM everyday), and it was absolutely a blast! You can get any 3 items on their happy hour menu for $33, including an impressive selection of their cocktail and appetizer menu. Our waitress recommended the zucchini beignets, which were so unique and reminded me of a zucchini-based falafel. From the happy hour menu, we also got the oysters, which were so FRESH and delicately sweet, and the shrimp cocktail, which came with 4 jumbo grilled shrimp and a unique aioli. We also opted for their iconic soft serve, which consists of a simple, milk-based ice cream, and chocolate, nuts, and blackberry sauce that you pour over, and this was easily one of the BEST desserts I've had lately! Highly recommend stopping by if you're in the Santa Monica area, and checking out their amazing happy hour specials!

Ashley H.

Food here is delicious: burger is made perfect, the French fries are perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the truffle Brussels are just right- crispy and yummy!! * I would skip the steak however since it was pretty tough and kind of pricey Service is very quick and they share the specials and favorite cocktails / dishes. Smaller romantic style restaurant! Definitely make a reservation

Amanjot K.

Absolutely loved this place! The food is so fresh and flavorful. Everything we ordered was so delicious and we shared lots of items so we all got to try different things. Our server was great and checked in on us often and provided recommendations. The restaurant is super cute and small so of course do plan to come with reservations. Definitely plan to come back and try more menu items. The soft serve was insaneeeee I will def recommend it if you do order dessert.

Tiff H.

Cou cou club! Brilliant menu. First thing I feel people should be aware of is that YOUR BILL WILL HAVE 20% GRATUITY AUTOMATICALLY. But this is in the best way possible though. Tipping after that is optional but (I assume) they want to actually pay their workers fair wages and they do that by making sure the menu, flavors, quality, and prices reflect that. And they are very open and upfront about it on the bill. You couldn't ask for a better way to go about it. I'm ok with it. Now. We came for the burgers since our favorite spot, Ponio, permanently closed. The burger did not disappoint! It's wagyu. Light. Perfectly cooked at medium. The lettuce was frisée (pretty cool lol) and the cognac sauce is a unique creation! I got it on the side and dumped the whole thing on my burger lol. What I was not expecting, was to not enjoy the cheese. I think because it's fondue style? It's like it changes not only the texture but the flavor (kind of puffy and chalky?). It was interesting. I honestly would go with no cheese next time and order as is with the cognac sauce on it. The fries were great. The aioli that came with them, also great. The stuffed olives though....not sure where the lamb was. And slightly over breaded but anything breaded and deep fried in going to eat lol. Overall please. Nice light burger but still feeling. You can taste the quality and uniqueness. I'd like to come back and try other items!

Susan C.

We had a reservation for this evening and came in excited, in a great mood, and genuinely looking forward to trying this place since it's been on our list for a while. Unfortunately, the entire experience went downhill quickly. Our server was very soft-spoken, so much so that we could barely hear him. We started with a glass of Beaujolais, which came in a Coucou glass, but the pour was shockingly small. We mentioned this to the server and asked how many ounces they typically serve. He initially wasn't sure and pointed vaguely to the lettering on the glass. When he returned, he said it was a 5 oz pour, but it was still, without question, the smallest glass of wine we've ever been served. From that point on, things only got more frustrating. I had a clear view of the bar and noticed the bartender was not measuring pours at all. A couple seated next to us ordered wine shortly after, and their glasses were noticeably more generous than ours. To make matters worse, that same couple accidentally spilled some of their wine, not much, and clearly their own mistake, yet their server immediately offered a full replacement glass without hesitation. Meanwhile, we had raised a legitimate concern about our pour from the start and were offered absolutely nothing. Any server with basic awareness should have simply corrected the situation from the beginning and ensured we received a proper glass so we didn't start the meal on such a negative note. Unfortunately, our server seemed too aloof to notice or care. We were polite throughout, never rude, yet no one made any effort to acknowledge or correct the situation. It left a really bad impression. My husband ended up ordering a beer just to make up for the disappointing wine experience. Then the food arrived. We ordered the burger Americaine and the Steak frites, both medium rare. The steak was severely overcooked, more like well done, wet, chewy, and completely lacking flavor. Honestly, one of the worst steaks I've had. I was hungry and didn't want to deal with sending it back due to the long Wait, but it was a huge letdown given the hype. The burger wasn't much better, it looked good but the brioche bun was dry, and the coleslaw inside was bland and forgettable. Overall, very underwhelming. What made things worse was the lack of any real service recovery. Despite our earlier comments about the wine, our server never once offered to make things right, not even a small gesture. When he asked how everything was at the end, I mentioned the steak was overcooked. He simply said "sorry" and left it at that. No follow-up, no adjustment, nothing. We had originally planned to order more wine and dessert, but by that point, the experience had already been ruined. We just asked for the check and left. I understand that not everything has to be perfect, but when guests give feedback during their visit and nothing is done, that's a clear service failure. For a no-tipping establishment, you would expect a higher level of attentiveness and accountability, but that was definitely not the case here. This experience completely ruined our night. We won't be returning, and I would strongly caution others before dining here.

Serena S.

My boyfriend and I popped into Coucou last night for an impromptu dinner and honestly, the vibe is so cute. It's a small, cozy spot that feels perfect for a chill date night. I wasn't drinking, so I ordered their margarita mocktail and it was actually pretty good! We started with the French onion soup and the bib lettuce salad. Both were tasty, but the soup wasn't super hot when it got to the table. The salad was fresh and simple, but the lettuce pieces were HUGE -- why do so many restaurants do this? I don't want to work that hard just to take a bite. For mains, we split the burger, fries, and the truffle Brussels sprouts. The burger was pretty solid with a little kick from the peppers. The fries were great (the aioli was the best part), and the Brussels sprouts... fine. Not bad, just not as mind-blowing as the reviews made them sound. But the real MVP? The vanilla soft-serve sundae. OMG. It comes with hardened chocolate, cherries, and nuts, and it was honestly one of the best desserts I've had in forever. I would come back JUST for that. I've also heard they make an amazing dirty martini, so I'll definitely be returning on a night when I'm drinking again. And yes, I'll be getting that sundae every single time.

Callie S.

I've been hearing so many good things about this place and was so happy that I finally got to try it! It's a pretty small restaurant in Venice so I'd recommend booking a table on resy before you go. I went for a Sunday dinner and everything was delicious!! We started off with oysters, and bib lettuce salad. I'm usually not a fan of goat cheese but this salad was so delicious bc they threw in a lot of picked onions to cut the goat cheese flavor! Ofc i had to get the infamous burger and it definitely lived up to the hype!! I ordered medium but it came out medium well I think so maybe order a bit on a rarer side next time. The aioli for the fries are also sooooo yummy! As I was getting so full, my waitress convinced me to get the soft serve ice cream and wooowww I was so happy I listened to her!!! It was likely on of the best soft serve I've had in LA!!! 10/10 for this place!!! Can't wait to be back and try the HH menu as well!!!

Catherine D.

I had high expectations for this place and I will say confidently it did meet my expectations. The food was absolutely delicious. We got the ceviche to start, which was unique as they serve it with potato chips. We also got the fries to share, and I got the burger. Very rich burger but so yummy. My only note is that the portions are very small for the price, but that is expected at a more up scale restaurant. This place would be perfect for a date night, or a special occasion dinner with friends. The vibe is very romantic and warm. Highly recommend- I want to come back for lunch.

Kathy X.

Came here for a work happy hour and got the opportunity to try so many items on the menu. Each one of them was so delicious. I would say the truffle brussels sprouts were actually one of my favorites and I really enjoyed the ceviche and steak and fritters as well. The servers are really nice and attentive here. And the chocolate mousse is really light and fluffy, but it's also pretty rich.

Zan L.

I live very close by in MDR and have already tried all the other French restaurants in LA so I was really excited to try this one. The TLDR is the food taste and quality is high, but the pricing and size of the restaurant are big negatives. The tables are so close together that it's not the sort of place to have a private conversation or first date and the prices are really too high. There is also a 30% service charge added on to your bill, which does not include tip even though tip is suggested after the 30% is added on, which is insane. As mentioned it's very small on the inside and gives me more of a bar/lounge vibe than a full functioning restaurant. The bar takes up about half of the restaurant and the handful of tables make up the rest. There is just enough space to squeeze in between each table so you can hear all the conversations around you and others can hear yours as well, which I was not a fan of. Our waitress was very polite, but it took over 45 mins for our entrées to come out after our appetizers were finished. They also have a very limited nonalcoholic drink menu so if you're not drinking alcohol or water, your options will be very limited. There is not a dedicated parking lot so it will be metered street parking however because I'm a local I just took a Waymo over. As mentioned the food taste is really great, even though the prices aren't. I started off with the Steak Tartare and this was my second favorite dish of the night. It had very deep, rich flavors. I especially liked the grain mustard mixed in and thought it really made the dish special. Next came the Zucchini Beignets and I was not a fan of these. I'm not sure what the flavor was, but there was something in it that I just did not like. Also beignet is a bit misleading because I was thinking something light and fluffy, but rather it was almost like a hush puppy. I would not recommend. We followed that with the French Onion Soup and thought this one was fantastic. It was a light broth, not the thicker burgundy broth, which is my preference. I love the light broth a lot more and think it adds a lot more flavoring so this one was a great dish that I would highly recommend. For my entree I chose the Dorade and this was my favorite dish of the night. It was perfectly cooked fish and the lemon caper sauce that it was sitting in really added to the flavoring. It was also a very good sized portion. Finally for dessert we had the Soft Serve Sundae which was very good although a bit overpriced for $16. I also ordered a Coke for $6 so it just kind of shows you that the pricing here is very skewed. Overall we had a nice experience, but due to the pricing and other competition very close by I don't plan to be back in the future. If the pricing was more reasonable, I would definitely recommend and be back, but until that happens, I can't recommend.

Daniel S.

This place is fantastic. We'd been trying to go for some time to the one in WeHo and happily stumbled upon the one in Venice. The beef was succulent and delicious. The carrots so soft and well made. The brussel sprouts were so good too. The fire prawns were fire. Save their sauce for the beef. This was a total mouthgasm and we loved it. Great service, ambiance, and taste. Monsieur in Farmers market has serious comp in this place. Cou Cou CouCou!

Natalie S.

I came here with my parents who were visiting from out of town. I'd never been before, but I often run by it. The restaurant is a cute, small place right on Main Street. There's actually a lot of free parking nearby as well. Overall, the ambiance was nice. Darkly lit, cozy, intimate. We arrived during happy hour, and immediately began with the cheese plate. Nothing really stood out about it presentation wise but it was good. Next week tried the ceviche which was very fresh. My mom isn't usually a fan of fish, but she actually liked this version. The French fries were crispy and they came with an herb aioli sauce which I really liked. The fried zucchini fritters had loads of flavor. The French onion soup was good, but I thought the presentation was better. The haute dog was a table favorite. The sausage was perfectly cooked, and the sauce on top was great. I didn't like how big the bun was in ratio to the meat though. Our server was readily available and very nice. Overall, it was a nice experience but a 20% charge (not gratuity) is enough to prevent me from keeping this place on the back burner.