Photo: Sunnyside Post
Nov. 10, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan
A taste of traditional France has made its way in to the neighborhood.
Côté Soleil, meaning Sunnyside in French, opened up at the beginning of October at 50-12 Skillman Avenue, with owner Vincent Caro bringing years of experience to his new restaurant.
Caro grew up in Brittany in the northwest of France, but has lived in Queens for years. “I opened up in Sunnyside because it is close to the city but we were missing French food around the area,” he said.
Caro worked in several French restaurants in Manhattan over the past many years, and said that one feature that had always intrigued him was how various restaurants ran their kitchens.
“I’ve always wondered when I go to a restaurant how the kitchen is set up, how much staff there is, you don’t see in most restaurants because the kitchen is closed so you don’t see what’s going on inside,” he said, explaining that he decided to have an open kitchen so guests could watch the food being prepared.
“I had been to a few places where the kitchen is open and you could see the chef cooking, and I wanted to cook in front of the customers,” Caro said.
When planning the menu, Caro primarily chose dishes that one would actually find in a restaurant in France.
The dinner menu features dishes including le coq au vin, or chicken in wine sauce, and chicken cordon bleu, among other dishes. The brunch menu has options including croque madame and monsieur, quiche Lorraine, and other French specialties.
The restaurant is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for brunch on Saturday and Sunday, and for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. on Sunday to Thursday, and 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
For more information and a full menu, visit the website at http://www.cotesoleilnyc.com/
