Coq d'Argent

My friend and I went for dinner last week, taking advantage of the ‘2 courses for £20’ offer. To say we were pleasantly surprised would be a massive understatement. At our initial entrance to the restaurant, the staff were falling over themselves to ‘serve’ us and all seemed genuinely pleased that we were there, and that they were there too!

Our table was booked for 7pm and the restaurant was probably a 1/4 full. By the time we left just after 9pm it was very busy but the staff were still as courteous as when we first arrived. And we didnt get kicked out either!

I'm not sure if the menu is available online because we hadnt looked beforehand. I think there were 3 or 4 choices of each course. I went for the salmon bilini for starters and venison for main course. The salmon was delicious and the venison was outstanding! I was surprised that venison was even available on a ‘cheapy’ menu!

The wine was quite expensive but we expected that, we were at Coq D'Argent after all. So the bill for the two of us was around £100.

But with the service, ambience and the food that was way beyond our expectations for the offer we were using, it was worth every penny!! Amazing!

I was agreably surprise to have such a fantastic meal after ready so many mixed reviews. I went there without expecting too much, they delivered so much more. 4 of us went for the tasting menu at £48 for 8 course (bargain)
very well presented small portion (which looked small) but by the time you reach the last main course you are well fed, love the porc belly with chorizo and octopus, the foie gras and rabbit just awsome, with 2 course to come, poached apricot in pink peppercorn with yogurt and then a beautiful violet parfait… the dessert were exceptional. Service was good too but a bit rushed, wine list is a bit steep but the somelier was on hand to help us with our choice.
overall a fantastic experience, will go back again soon with wife and hope they can reproduce a fantastic evening.

My business partner made a lunch booking for us in the brasserie, since I've been there before I expected the level of service to be fantastic, as always. Alas, this was not the case. Our waitress took 5 minutes just to bring us menus that she chucked on the table. Without giving us a couple of minutes to look over it, she simply barked at us with “a wot do you wont”. When I said we needed a couple of minutes more to decide, she rolled her eyes and walked off. I was about to get up and leave as I see this kind of service as absolutely appalling. My business partner was on a tight schedule though, and so we agreed that we did not have time to go somewhere else. The entire service was horrendous. Our waitress could not tell me what Boudran sauce was, when I asked for a cocktail recomendation, she simply said she doesn't know them, but did not offer to call someone who did. She was rude, curt and did not smile ONCE. I would have spoken to the manager had I not been in a rush, as this was the worst service I have ever recieved. It was a long haired blond woman with an eastern european accent. I will not be going back to Coq D' Argent anytime soon, and will definately not be recomeding it to any of my clients anymore.

We arrived early, so we could have a drink outside on the terrace first. The surly receptionist was not impressed by this plan. She tried to usher us straight to our table, then made a big fuss about having to rebook our table. And then told us not to be late for the ‘new booking’. She was a charmer. (Unfortunately the maitre d' came from the same school…)

But, on to more important things: the food, which was largely excellent. I could've sworn they had a new chef but apparently Mickael Weiss has been there for ten years. Must've been having an off-day last time we went.

In an unprecedented move, my boyfriend, a committed carnivore, ordered a veggie starter: mushroom parfait, port jelly, spring vegetable salad and beetroot dressing. The veggie gods were smiling down on him. This was a great dish. No mention of truffle on the menu but it was definitely in there somewhere. Beautifully presented too.

My starter of seared tuna with pickled white radish, seaweed and yuzu dressing was also very good and looked very pretty on the plate. Tuna tasted fresh. Didn't detect the seaweed and yuzu dressing though, which was a shame.

Steamed sea bream ballotine, wilted fennel and soused shellfish was ok. Not sure what the sea bream was supposed to be stuffed with, but it was a fairly unappetising mousse-like substance. The rest of the dish was tasty though.

The slow cooked rump steak, watercress aioli and spring veg was apparently very good. Flavoursome steak, well cooked veg.

Pudding was a real standout. White chocolate and strawberry tart with lemon sorbet didn't sound particularly exciting but it was incredibly well executed. Lovely presentation, melt-in-the-mouth pastry, good balance of flavours and sweetness. An excellent pud.

The cheese was good too. A nice selection with a tasty chutney.

The special deal offers very good value for money, although by the time you've added on service, drinks and extras it's not quite the bargain you anticipate.

The service still needs improvement in parts but we were very pleasantly surprised by the standard of the food.

We visited this superb restaurant on Sunday 15th May 2011at 1:30pm, an unbiased visit to celebrate our two birthdays.the atmosphere was very calm and sophisticated.all of the staff were pre-educated in customer service.they knew how to make the whole experience magical. they never over stepped anything,their timing was perfect.they made you feel very special as a diner and always knew when to attend the table and when to not. and all the staff were so charming and personable. i would thouroughly reccomend this restaurant to calm your soul and awaken your appreciation of excellently prepared food.the staff had a great sense of fun and brought us a great birthday gift.a personal serenade and desserts on plates beautifully enscribed with “Happy Birthday” in CHOCOLATE! I would thoroughly reccomend this restaurant because you will be very happy that you did.Paula,Jacqui,Peri,Karla and Woz.Thankyou.

I'm sitting on the terrace with 9 friends on a glorious sunny sunday afternoon celebrating a friends birthday. You would think this would be the ideal setting however it's turned into the lunch from hell! We are all unanimous that this is the worst restaurant that we've had the misfortune of eating at in a long time. The food was medicore at best with food either under cooked or overcooked. The service was arogant and snooty and so slow we considered calling a delivery company to stem our hunger. We may have been placated had the wine been flowing but alas this wasn't the case. Having complained to the restaurant manager who at best was aloof we're ready to do battle over the service charge. Anyone who loves good food and great service all 10 of us would wholehearted say avoid this restaurant!

Coq d'Argent used to be great for cocktails with friends or a splurge on dinner with the boyfriend, but sadly it has gone completely downhill. I understand the economic sense of getting more bums in the door but it's now cheek-by-jowl at the bar and the clientelle is very ‘mixed’ (read heading in the way of chavvy). I even saw two chaps in there on the make – one with holes cut into the sides of his brogues, presumably because they had not originally been bought for his use.

On a better note the restaurant still executes the (reduced) menu well and the service is more attentive than before (a bit frightening from French waiters, perhaps the accents are now ‘put on’?)

Sadly this venue is now off the ‘special’ list and I doubt it will keep the star.

Nothing says summer in the City like Coq d'argent. Something about being on the rooftop brings instant glamour to a post-work drinks. Good looking City Boys and Girls, sprinkling of media types, makes for a great crowd.

Excellent standby choice, great atmosphere, excellent food. Destination in itself!

Falls under “best alfresco drinks” for me.

couldn't quite work out why the reviews where so varied, from what I experience last week it is just a amazing place to wine and dine (not cheap). my wife and I went their for our wedding anniversary last week, we just did not know what to choose as we both wanted about every single dish on the menu, service was good maybe a bit to formal, lacking in warmth, but the food oh! the food! the menu is very french but all the dishes seem to have a twist to it. We just love every single mouthful of it, from the amazing foie gras terrine (probably the best in london) followed by halibut “grenobloise” (yammmy) the dessert were simply the best ever.
will be back again soon and again in the summer as I have heard they have amazing terraces.

At last! After working in the City for year's I managed to actually have a meal here, rather than just drinks. Coq D'Argent has long been a favourite venue of mine for drinks because of the lovely roof terrace where I have spent hours drinking with friends and colleagues in warmer months.

The restaurant is divided into two sections of Brasserie and Restaurant and we opted for restaurant. A set lunch menu offers exceptional value at £25 for 2 courses or £30 for 3 courses and I chose the honey and red wine glazed pork cheeks, which are always a winner for me and they were meltingly tender and the sauce was absolutely delicious, although the cripsy pig's ear did get left uneaten. I chose another slow-cooked dish as a main, with spiced lamb shanks and root vegetables, which again were cooked to perfection.

Dessert had to the creme brulee with lemon sable biscuit, glorious in all it's rich and creamy simplicity. It was superb, although I should have perhaps avoided such a decadent third course as my first two courses were quite rich and heavy. Full marks to Coq D'Argent though, not only are the drinks spot on but the food is also really good and offers great value, especially in the Square Mile.

Coq d'Argent gets very mixed reviews and I can see why. It is undoubtably the best location bar none in the Square Mile and on a Summers evening the roof terrace is spectacular. Sadly it goes a bit downhill after that. The service was good, that table settings good, the menu looked good, the food was average. At £100 per person, which was mainly to do with wine and coffee and brandy, it wasn't the best value for money.
Perhaps I order badly everytime I go, it's not however all bad. Starters of Foie gras terrnie, Colchester Oysters and Lobster Confit were all great, mains of Roast Rack of Lamb, Beefsteak au poivre and Duck Confit were average at best.
This is a problem for D&D London who own this chain and state on their website that the “elegant eatery Coq d'Argent offers diners the finest French cuisine ”. Quite simply in London there are many many places that actually do offer fine French cuisine but sadly this isn't one of them.

I went to Coq D'Argent for the first time last Fr, 9 July 2010. It was my friend's Bday and we booked a table via toptable.
It was a pleasant surprise to see such a big terrace bar and the setting was beautiful. The staff is extremely efficient, however, be prepared to queue for some time for drinks as the place is really busy.
On the arrival we asked at the reception if it would be possible to arrange a candle for the Birthday girl and received a positive reply.
The dinner was perfect, very attentive staff. The food was great, I only didn't like the bread – too hard, not tasty. I had a smoked salmon for the starter and salmon again for the main. Both were good portions and the salmon was cooked to perfection.
My plum desert didn't impress me much but my friend's frozen white chocolate&cherry was delicious.
What's more, the Bday girl received a second candle with a complimentary chocolates. Nice touch! The restaurant is a very beautiful place and great for a special occasion.
Highly recommended!

Most unpleasant experience at Coq d’Argent after being a loyal customer for over seven years. The service personnel were extremely rude, arrogant, badly-mannered, speaking very poor English. The food was badly prepared and the wine warm. Overall very disappointed that the quality of that restaurant has dropped so dramatically.

Went to Coq D'Argent for your 4th Anniversary. The food was VERY ordinary, could have got better in a pub. Very disappointed, feel like I've just been robbed, practically have £150 lighter for little reward. The only upside is that the service was good and the champagne was cold.

6 of us went for their sunday lunch menu last weekend and very pleasant it was too!

The sunday menu is fairly short but full of interesting combinations and the cost of £25 for two courses and £30 (I think) for 3 courses seemed to us to be reasonably value, particularly as we shared 3 puds between six which worked well!

It was a cold bright day and up on the top floor with loads of glass walls around us it was a very pleasant location. The main part of the restaurant was pretty much full of people having a good time – very relaxed.

The service was really very attentive and excellent – for example we told the wine waiter we had a limited budget and he took a lot of time to take us through the very extensive list and come up with two excellent wines at the cheap end of the list.

A good location for sunday lunch in the middle of the city and not a suit in sight!

We took my parents to Coq D'Argent for their wedding anniversary two weeks ago. The staff treated us like VIPs and were very attentive and professional. All three courses were nicely presented and served prompty, the portions were smallish but after 3 couses we were all full. My only criticism of the food was that the soup (lobster bisque) was too salty for me. I would recommend the sirloin steak for two to share – it was perfectly cooked and delicious. The wine I ordered was not in stock so one of the staff suggested an alternative based on my preferences and his choice was spot-on (and it was half the price of the one I originally chose!) I have visited the Brasserie before but this was my first time in the restaurant and I have nothing but praise for the staff. It is expensive to splash out on three courses with wine but it is really worth it, they have a cheaper set menu which looked very good also. This is a good place to take a group of people as you can have a conversation across the table without being drowned out by music, the decor is very smart with long white tablecloths and the toilets were spotless.
I took a client to the Brasserie a couple of summers ago, we were glad we chose to eat there as the steak and chips was excellent, it is much cheaper than the restaurant but the food is still fabulous. Afterwards we sat outside in the garden with a few glasses of Pimms and had a thouroughly civilised afternoon.

While the restaurant must be a sea of suits during the week, lunch on a Sunday at Coq D'argent proved to be an incredibly peaceful and relaxing affair. Up on top of 1 Poultry, the Art Deco interior is just as attractive as the views past the alfresco eating areas and rooftops beyond. The menu is creative and unfussy and there's a good choice of dishes; we all had difficulty in making a decision. Cautious of anything involving uncooked meat, I decided to break with tradition and started with the venison tartare. It was lovely and fresh, the richness of the meat set off by the accompanying horseradish cream. All our main dishes had a very favourable response (from the braised venison to the milk fed veal) and the desserts disappeared quickly enough! The food is well-portioned and well-presented and worthy of its price tag ( £30 for 3 courses). Neither could we fault the service and I can only assume that the kitchen must have been undergoing some disaster during the previous reviewer's visit. If you want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the West End, then this place is definitely worth a visit, particularly as it makes a memorable meal out of Sunday lunch.

Friday 18 September 2009 – Lunch time. The terrace is lovely and the sun was shining, but don't eat here if you are in a hurry. We waited over 40 minutes with menus in hand before we asked if we could please order. Our starters arrived an hour later. It was well over two hours before our main courses arrived and they were stone cold, with the wrong accompaniments. The right accompaniments did arrive in due course, though cheekily they were added to the bill as though we had asked for them as side orders. We left without desert – we had been seated for over three ours by this time and really felt that we couldn't stay any longer. To be fair, they deducted the price of one of the lunches off the bill to apologise for the cold food and they corrected the errors on the bill without fuss, but it still left me thinking that I will never return. Can restaurants who treat service with such contempt really expect to survive this recession?

Great venue for either drinks inside or outside on the terrace. What better way to while away an hour and to put the credit crunch into suspense than to sup champagne up above the hustle and bustle of Bank and Cheapside. Food is good too and lunchtime Coq au Vin is really excellent on a cold winter's day.