Cote, St Christpher’s Place, London W1U 1ND

Cote, St Christpher’s Place, London W1U 1ND
05/06/2012
http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/

She said…We noticed this new restaurant opening near us on our way to the Jubilee celebrations and discovered they were providing free dining as part of staff training before the restaurant formally opened so we booked for the next day ready to give our constructive feedback. The deal was, we could pick one main and one dessert and mine and his had to be different; we also got a flat bread with cheese and only had to pay for our drinks. We had the full a la carte to choose from. The flat bread was delicious – thin, perfectly cooked and juicy. For main I ordered the roasted seabass which came with braised fennel and a champagne butter and tomato ‘concasse’. The portion of fish was generous but the sauce was forgettable. The side of minted peas and glazed carrots were good accompaniments. For desert I got the chocolate fondue with vanilla ice cream along with a generous sized cup of latte. Cote passed the test of bringing dessert and coffee together as requested and the coffee was hot (not luke warm) as requested which was impressive since most restaurants fail in this test/request. My fondant was delicious – warm, tasty chocolate, soft and chewy sponge but I couldn’t help but keep shoving my spoon into his tarte tartin which was amazing – so we ended up ‘sharing’ our desserts (i.e. I ate much of his then mine). As for the trainee staff – service was good, attentive but not fussy. As we were responsible for providing feedback – maybe our plates could have been cleared more quickly and our table was right by the cash register, route to the toilets and where the food comes out so a bit busy but we will definitely be going back to this smart, value-for-money chain (even when not eating for free) which has something for everyone on the menu and great desserts. The seating in the front half of the restaurant with windows onto the passage by Christpher’s Place is particularly good. I do like this dine free for feedback concept!

He said... Chances are that there's a Cote not far from where you live, so I'm not going to say much about this one, other than go. If there's a high street chain restaurant out there better-value than Cote then I haven't been there yet. The setting, menu and price are all bang on. They could easily charge more for what they serve up, and still get away with it. The fish pie was as good as anything Sheekey's might serve up, and the tarte tatin is top notch.