Hayley Feldman Is Bringing Aperitivo Culture Back to Los Angeles

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Los Angeles is not a happy hour city. My friends and I lament this often. It’s hard to find a spot with genuinely good food that’s easy to drop by and well-priced. Coucou, the French bistro that just opened its third location (in Manhattan Beach, following the OG in Venice, then West Hollywood), has perfected this exact formula. The Venice location is a personal go-to – for dates, happy hours, and birthday dinners – and the new Manhattan Beach outpost (like Venice, only a few blocks from the beach) is equally impressive.

I was a Coucou fan long before connecting with co-founder Hayley Feldman. After learning more about her – and her co-founder-slash-husband Jesse – I’m an even bigger one. Below, Feldman shares her connection with French dining culture, her go-to order, and her theory as to why the city lacks a happy hour culture (plus, thankfully, how she’s righting that wrong). 

Full disclosure: I’m a big Coucou Venice fan. What’s the story behind the original location? Did you always know you wanted to create a French-inspired neighborhood spot in LA?  

Love to hear this!  When Jesse and I were living in New York, we used to dream about it… leaving our corporate lives behind (his in finance, mine in marketing), moving to Los Angeles, and opening a restaurant of our own. 

Food and hospitality have always been our great loves, and whenever we're lucky enough to travel, we somehow always end up back in Paris. It just feels like home. When Bouchon closed in Beverly Hills, we were genuinely heartbroken. And then, almost immediately, something clicked: the Westside needed a casual, effortlessly chic bistro…the kind of place that feels like Paris without trying too hard. 

Do you and Jesse have a personal connection to France or French dining culture? What elements felt most important to bring into Coucou?  

Very much so. Jesse grew up in Europe and spent time working in France… he speaks the language, knows the culture from the inside. I'm just a Southern girl who became a full-blown Francophile and never looked back. But what draws us both to France, more than anything, is that it doesn't chase. 

French culture is unapologetically itself: the values, the traditions, the way of doing things. It hasn't changed because it doesn't need to. We find that deeply inspiring, and honestly, a little reassuring. Trends exist for a reason: they come, they go, and what remains is the thing that was always worth keeping. That's what we wanted Coucou to be. Classic. Timeless. 

Walk me through your perfect Coucou order right now — what are the musts? 

I always start with a Dirty Martini, made with our housemade goat cheese olives, and shaken loud enough that you can hear it across the room. That sound is everything to me.  From there, a round of Beausoleil oysters. They're petite and briny with a cucumber mignonette, and they set the tone for the whole meal. Our Merguez-stuffed olives come next — battered, served warm, the perfect bar snack. Deceptively simple and completely addictive. 

For the main event, it depends on the night — the Hamachi Ceviche if I want something bright and light, the Lobster Spaghetti if I'm feeling indulgent. I usually end up sharing both with my husband, which means I get to order both without guilt. And then the Soft Serve Sundae. Always. It's arguably the least French thing on our menu, but that's exactly why it belongs there. It’s the nostalgic treat that nods to our mantra: don’t take yourself too seriously. 

Now that you’re in Venice, West Hollywood, and Manhattan Beach, how would you describe the personality/energy of each location?  

Each location has its own personality, though they're unmistakably sisters. Venice is the original, and perhaps the most artistic — raw industrial bones, hundred-year-old brick, a concrete bar. There's a certain grit to it that we love. 

West Hollywood is the glamorous one: equal parts indoor and outdoor, with a patio draped in jasmine vines that feels like a little secret garden in the middle of the city. 

Manhattan Beach is the most relaxed of the three; white oak wood floors, floor-to-ceiling glass, the kind of natural light that makes everything look effortless. But walk into any one of them and you'll feel the through-line: hand-picked artwork, custom woodworking, marble, leather bench details. We put the same care into each space, because the room is part of the hospitality. It should feel considered, not decorated.

One thing I love about Coucou is that the spaces feel warm and lived-in, but not overly done. I read that you helped lead the design of the Manhattan Beach location — what’s your mindset when creating a new space?  

Jesse and I designed all three spaces together. It's honestly one of our favorite parts of the process. There's something deeply satisfying about finding a raw space and transforming it into something elegant but unfussy. For Manhattan Beach, we leaned into comfort in a way that felt right for the neighborhood: deep, cushioned benches, and our custom "Coucou" tables, which are made in France. It's the largest of our three locations in terms of indoor seating, so getting the warmth right really mattered. We had a lot of fun with the exterior. The facade is a rich burgundy and cream, the windows are hand-painted in 14k gold, and the cafe curtains were hand-sewn by my cousin in Charleston. Every detail has a story behind it, and I think that's what makes a space feel lived-in rather than just designed.

Coucou really embraces aperitif culture, which feels pretty rare in LA. Why do you think LA has never fully become a true happy hour city?  

Honestly? Because nobody works in LA. (Kidding. Mostly.) In New York, happy hour was a genuine ritual… you'd leave the office, meet friends or colleagues for drinks and bites, and the night would unfold from there. It was social glue. Los Angeles has a different rhythm. 

Angelenos love an early dinner, but they're also getting up at dawn for a Runyon hike or a 9am class at Heated Room, so the post-work wind-down looks a little different here. That said, we think the appetite for it is absolutely there, it just needed the right format. Our Apero Hour felt like a natural fit: a relaxed, convivial way to graze through the menu's greatest hits before settling in for dinner, or instead of dinner entirely. We're genuinely proud of it, especially because we run it seven days a week, weekends included. 

What’s one dining or hospitality trend in LA you’re genuinely excited about right now — and one you’re personally not buying into?  

The trend I can't get enough of right now is restaurants investing in genuinely well-produced video content. As a marketer at heart, it speaks to me deeply. Guests are discovering you on social media before they ever walk through your door, and when a brand takes the time to tell its story — the food, the makers, the faces behind it, the feeling of being there — I go down the rabbit hole every time. It's hospitality as storytelling, and when it's done well, it's incredibly powerful. 

As for what I'm not buying into? I'll just say it: another Italian concept. Bless them all. There are just too many.

Who in the LA restaurant world is inspiring you at the moment? Where do you love going on your own nights out?  

Honestly, the people inspiring me most right now aren't necessarily the ones making the most noise — they're the ones showing up and delivering, day after day after day. Consistency is the hardest thing in this business. Guests are not particularly forgiving when you have an off night, a last-minute call-out, or a missed delivery. A new, buzzy restaurant is pretty easy to get excited about. A great restaurant on a Tuesday in year six? That's the real achievement. The places I keep coming back to are the ones that have figured that out. Hillstone. Sugarfish. Felix. They're not chasing anything. They're just excellent, reliable, and that's everything.