When it was built in 1854, the Central Business District building now home to the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery and Nina Compton’s Compère Lapin was a coffee warehouse. Later, as the hotel’s name indicates, it was indeed a chandlery supplying wholesale goods to the shipping industry. In some ways, the new coffee program at the James Beard Award-winning chef’s restaurant and her mini coffee and breakfast café Tout La in the hotel’s lobby lounge, brings the building’s history back to its roots. It also brings Compton’s coffee program back to its former array of offerings, after scaling it back for the past few years.
“It’s getting back to where we were before COVID when we did have an elevated coffee experience,” says Laura Estenson, Compère Lapin and Tout La assistant general manager. “People are back in the hotel and the CBD. We want our coffee program to reflect the food, so you can see the passion we have for everything the second you walk in the door.”
To help achieve that goal, Compton and Estenson turned to Kyle Nicholson. New Orleans coffee lovers might recall Nicholson from his days at the now closed Stumptown Coffee which was in the ACE Hotel. More recently, Nicholson was at the Lower Garden District café and market The Rabbit’s Foot, owned by fellow Stumptown alum Ryan Murphy.
In addition to freshly brewed, local French Truck coffee, hot tea and South of Eden kombucha, patrons can get espresso drinks, including cappuccinos and lattes made with a choice of milk or a variety of non-dairy alternatives, as well as cold brew.
“We want to do all these things really well,” says Nicholson. “So, we want to keep the menu simple.”
Visitors can enjoy coffee beverages, pastries or something from the tightly-curated breakfast menu — such as Compton’s French toast with rum caramel and Chantilly cream or the open-faced egg sandwich with arugula and smoked aioli — in the hotel’s lobby lounge or in the front seating area of Compère Lapin. The interior’s exposed brick walls, floors covered in distressed wood and penny tile, as well as metal beams simultaneously speak to the downtown setting and tell the story of the building’s past.
“This space lends itself nicely to a memorable experience,” says Nicholson. “The food is special. You don’t have to wait until evening to have Nina’s food and we’re building coffees in a special way.”
Estenson and Nicholson both say that since expanding the coffee program over the past few weeks, they’ve already seen an increase in morning foot traffic. The team’s hope is that Tout La will become a spot for tourists, remote workers and anyone else seeking respite and refreshment in CBD.
“Baristas do a good job of building connections with people and a sense of community,” says Nicholson. “The coffee is the ice breaker."
In the coming days and weeks, expect to see collaborations between the baristas, Compère Lapin bartenders and Estenson who also oversees both restaurant’s beverage programs. For example, soon the menu will include an orgeat latte, which is a nod to the Caribbean roots of Compton and the mix of influences in the restaurant’s fare. (For the uninitiated orgeat is an almond cocktail syrup with hints of citrus.)
Another nod to Compton’s roots is the restaurant’s name and rabbit motif, which according to the website is inspired by “Caribbean folktales featuring a mischievous rabbit named Compère Lapin that Chef Nina Compton read during her childhood in St. Lucia.” In homage, Nicholson has perfected rabbit latte art, with which he plans to occasionally surprise guests (but only during slower mornings).
“The thing I struggled with were the ears,” says Nicholson, when asked how long it took to learn how to create the bunny. “Trying to get it to look like rabbit ears and not puppy ears.”
Currently, Tout La’s hours are 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., but starting Monday, March 13, that changes to 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hot breakfast will stop at 11 a.m., when offerings will switch to grab-and-go options including pastries, cookies or whatever else Chef Compton is feeling inspired to create that day. In addition to the expanded hours, March 13 also marks the roll out of mimosas, wines by the glass, Bloody Marys and boozy coffee beverages.
(Disclosure: The coffee drinks and food photographed for this post were provided complimentary.)
