After announcing the concept and experiencing delays, Puffer Malarkey Collective is getting closer to opening Le Coq in La Jolla at 7837 Herschel Ave.
Previously, What Now reported on Brian Malarkey and his business partner Christopher Puffer reacquiring ownership of the 7,500 square-foot Herringbone restaurant in La Jolla after selling it to Tao Group in 2014, with plans to transform it into a Parisian-style steakhouse, but few details followed. Now, more information has been revealed, including when excited customers can expect this restaurant to open and who will be running the kitchen. This will be the partners’ final restaurant project.
Le Coq will be officially opening in late spring/ early summer, sometime between April and June, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Also recently announced is the addition of Tara Monsod, the executive chef of Michelin-recommended Animae restaurant, who will be in charge of the kitchen. The accomplished chef recently added to her accolades by becoming San Diego County’s only 2024 semifinalist for James Beard’s Best Chef: California. Customers can expect various classic and contemporary takes on French food while Monsod incorporates bountiful California ingredients and her previous experiences.
“The menu will be my takes on things that are classically French but with the California flair and what’s in season,” Monsod tells the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I think it will just be fun. I’ll cook food I feel tastes good and will leave my imprint on them. I’m not trying to restrict myself into a box.”
Monsod leading the kitchen of Le Coq is a full circle moment for the Filipino American chef, considering she began her professional career over a decade ago at the Herringbone after graduating from the former Art Institute of California-San Diego. Since then, Monsod has worked at PMC’s Burlap and Nancy Silverton’s short-lived Mozza location in the Marina District before eventually landing at Animae in early 2021 as an executive sous chef under then-executive chef Nate Appleman.
