Le Coq au Vin closes after a half-century serving French cuisine in Orlando

Mon dieu!

By Matthew Moyer on Tue, May 16, 2023 at 3:28 pm

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Photo by Rob Bartlett

Le Coq au Vin to close its doors

Orlando restaurant Le Coq au Vin, a local mainstay of French cuisine for nearly 50 years, has closed.

The venerable eatery, winner of our Best of Orlando readers poll for "Best French Restaurant" in 2022, '21, '20 (and many years before that), ceased operations over the weekend with a final Saturday dinner service, according to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel.

Owner and chef Reimund Pitz put his decision down to rising food costs and declines in business due to the COVID pandemic. The sale of the property was confirmed over the weekend as well.

Le Coq au Vin had been open since 1976, always at the same South Orange Avenue location.

In a somewhat contentious 2018 review, OW restaurant critic Faiyaz Kara nonetheless described the resto as the "grande dame of classique cuisine," lauding Pitz and previous chef-owner, Louis Perrotte, thus: "Their creds are as heavy as a béchamel, and, among industry insiders, the pair draw veneration for their skilled technique, mentoring of young chefs, and involvement with the American Culinary Federation."

With last year's closure of Café de France on Park Avenue (after 37 years), the authentic French cuisine space in Orlando is wide open.

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