Flavor Of Oklahoma: Rococo's Bringing New England Flavor To Oklahoma City

Bringing fresh, New England seafood with an Italian flair, an Oklahoma City staple is celebrating its 20th year of operation.

After growing up in Connecticut and working in Boston, Rococo's owner and chef Bruce Rinehart has called Oklahoma his home since 2003.

"I'm Okie-fied," Rinehart said. "So I'm here, that's it."

As for what sets Rococo's apart from other restaurants in the Oklahoma City metro, Rinehart said his family-oriented approach brings an experience like no other.

"20 years ago, we brought a real flavor and flair of New England to Oklahoma, a lot of fresh fish," Rinehart said.

After rebranding his restaurant to Rococo's during the COVID-19 pandemic just to stay afloat, Rinehart says business is now thriving.

"Very unpretentious. When we reinvented, no tablecloths, no fancy uniforms, I didn't want any of that," Rinehart said. "I wanted a casual approach to a fine dining vibe, so it's really translated well."

When looking at the menu though, Rinehart says they still have some of their most popular dishes.

"Any of the fresh fish we're bringing in, we have a catch of the day," Rinehart said. "You can get your fish a number of different ways. Some dirty rice, charred broccolini and a nice andouille sauce. Our fish stew is probably one of the most popular entrees, and then of course our crab cakes, legendary from Baltimore to [Los Angeles]."

With fresh fish deliveries, excellent dishes and a staff that believes in what Bruce is doing, Rinehart says these are what has been important to the success of Rococo's.

"Jay's been with me almost 30 years. Marlene, our sous chef, has been with us 20 years," Rinehart said. "The GM's been with us 14, our bar supervisor has been with us 14. Very little turnover, very family oriented."

Rinehart said he has started to lean on his family and employees because of a recent diagnosis of cancer.

"We'll know some more in a couple of weeks, and we faced it head on," Rinehart said. "We're doing what we got to do and it's tough. It's different like you know?"

Rinehart said he and his family wanted to keep the diagnosis a secret, but realized that wouldn't work, and decided to share his journey.

"One of the beautiful things is when I went through this first round of treatments, I did a little dance on social media," Rinehart said. "Had a gentleman, he's been a friend of the restaurant for almost 20 years, he was just diagnosed with the same cancer, so he called me."

Rinehart said his friend called him and asked to have a sit-down together.

"So I've done a lot of that, I've visited with different people," Rinehart said. "The folks at Stephenson Cancer Center said are wonderful and you know, we're still going through the journey."

Still wanting to keep things positive, Rinehart said he has been pouring his love into his food at Rococo's, and still having fun.

"We just introduced a "shark cuterie" board," Rinehart said. "It's really cute and chef Jason makes shark sausage. It's been a blast. The guests have loved it and it will be a staple."

Most importantly, Rinehart said he appreciates all the customers who have supported him and his business for over two decades.

"Each and every single guest means the world to us," Rinehart said. "So that food needs to be on point every single time."