Couvant is the French restaurant at the Eliza Jane Hotel that serves breakfast, dinner, and weekend brunch with Chef Ryan Pearson at its helm.

Couvant New Orleans was open for two years before COVID forced it to temporarily shut down in March 2020. Pearson took over the kitchen this past January, and the restaurant reopened in March 2022 with the chef putting his own French touches on the menu.

“All of our food is rooted in French technique,” he said. “Couvant is less of a literal French brasserie than it was pre-COVID. I wanted to create a menu that created a sense of where we are in the world; the food is made in a French technique with local ingredients.”

The grandson of Sicilian immigrants, food and cooking were an important part of Pearson’s childhood. A New Orleans native, he cooked in local kitchens before moving to New York, where he cooked at Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad Restaurant.

Chef Ryan Pearson

He spent time as Sous Chef at Bâtard in Tribeca, a time in his life that Pearson described as special.

He said, “That was a beautiful opening and it felt like we were always celebrating something. Within six to eight months, we received three stars in the New York Times, a Michelin star, and a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America. I consider the chef there, Markus Glocker, to be my mentor.”

After spending four years at Bâtard, Pearson had the opportunity to cook in Paris. Here he learned about wine and the importance of ingredients.

“As a chef, your mentality changes a bit when you’re living there,” he said. “The ingredients you get are so good—flats of perfectly ripe figs, beautiful heirloom tomatoes and fish that’s fresh-caught that day. You really have a hard time accepting mediocre ingredients and that’s stuck with me ever since.”

Pearson then returned to New York and cooked under Chef Daniel Boulud at Daniel, a two-star Michelin restaurant, for four years.

“Working for Daniel Boulud, your attention to detail and standards have to be high,” he explained. “It’s one of the best restaurants in the world and having the opportunity to be in that kitchen was incredible.”

During COVID, Pearson wanted to make a change and leave New York. He had the opportunity to work as a private chef on the west side of Puerto Rico. 

When it came to his next step, Pearson knew that he wanted to return home to New Orleans. Speaking with the Eliza Jane Hotel owners about reopening Couvant, he realized he wanted to create a menu of French food with New Orleans touches.

Pearson succeeded with a dinner menu that includes Cochon de Lait, Dry Aged Duck, and Côte de Boeuf for two.

Cote de Boeuf

A menu specialty that Pearson recommends is the Blue Crab Gnocchi made with Louisiana blue crab, sweet corn and chili-garlic crisp.

“It’s become a staple,” Pearson said of the dish. “We make a consommé with crab shells, strain it and add butter to make a crab butter. We then make a roux with the crab butter and add the consommé to that and that’s the sauce for the dish. It’s a very intense crab flavor. We serve that with potato gnocchi that we make fresh every day, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, and a generous portion of picked blue crab.”

Another chef recommendation is Brioche Crusted Veal made with a veal tenderloin in a crisp brioche crust, king trumpet mushrooms, asparagus, and sauce diable.

Pearson explained, “The veal is wrapped in Swiss chard and brioche and cooked until it’s beautifully pink. The sauce diable is made with roasted veal bones, in the French technique, with shallots and a lot of vinegar to create an acidic au jus. It’s served with asparagus, roasted king trumpet mushrooms, and mushroom purée.”

Pearson said that the brunch menu errs more on the side of fun and welcoming dishes rather than typical French tradition.

Highlights include shrimp and grits made with grilled Gulf shrimp, sautéed onions and peppers, chorizo sauce, and stone-ground grits; and croque madame made with Jambon de Paris, Gruyère, béchamel, and sunny side up eggs.

Brunch also includes bottomless mimosas for $25.

The restaurant serves a breakfast menu which includes favorites such as omelets, pain perdu (“lost bread”), shrimp and grits and croque madame.

Couvant also hosts a daily happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., which includes $7 glasses of wine and half-off snacks such as tête de cochon (head cheese) topped with Dijon mustard deviled eggs, panisses (chickpea flour) with crispy chickpea fries and tomato aioli, and sourdough bread served with cultured butter.

Couvant, 317 Magazine Street, 504-342-2316. Hours: Breakfast – Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Brunch – Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dinner -Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.