The story
At Rooster, Chef Frédéric Duca cooks the food he loves to eat. His contemporary, modern cuisine is rooted in the character of the South, drawing on the aromas of Marseille—fennel, anchovies, sea urchins, and olive oils. The name, the Anglo-Saxon translation of the French rooster or "coq," is a wink to national pride and the spirit of the kitchen.
Duca, a Marseillais chef, honed his skills alongside Gérald Passédat and Hélène Darroze, and earned a Michelin star at L'Instant d'Or in 2013 before opening his own house. With his wife Cécile, he has created a lively dining room on rue Cardinet. This is a place built for sincere, generous cooking and genuine sharing—a quality that earned Rooster a Michelin Recommended distinction in its 2026 guide.
The menu changes with the seasons, but signatures like the chef's bouillabaisse are available by special order. The weekend lunch and dinner services offer a rotating carte, while the wine list complements the Provencal-inflected plates. The result is a warm, personal restaurant that brings the sunny flavors of the Mediterranean to the 17th arrondissement.
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At Rooster (a carefully decorated neo-bistro with a marbled bar, globe light fixtures and shiny salamander grills), Marseille-native Frédéric Duca (ex-Racines in New York) produces some marvelous eats, with an added Mediterranean accent to boot. The day we went for lunch, the prix-fixe menu featured: roasted fennel and clams plunged into a sublime mascarpone-lemon emulsion, with a few squid ink tuiles; or another emulsion that was just as magical, made with curry and a shellfish jus , camouflaging a perfectly pearly white pollack fillet, a silky lemon/orange purée and fregola; before some caramelized apple slices made without adding sugar, placed atop a delightful lavender crème diplomate . Although, we should mention that the chef plays his most sentimental hits on the à la carte selection: marinated bluefin tuna with harissa and plums; lobster with coco de Paimpol beans and a verbena-infused bisque; veal sweetbreads and shellfish… which you can also sample on the five-course tasting menu. // G.LeP.
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