Cote Richmond

I had the rib eye steak which was terrible : sinewy and tough. I followed with the crepe with strawberry and chantilly cream. The crepe had obviously been prepared days earlier. It was hard and dried out round the edges and soggy and heavy elsewhere. When I mentioned the steak was poor there was no follow up – just a polite acknowledgement.
The atmosphere was vibrant and the service also pleasant and speedy but I would avoid it if good food is what your after.

Now, I normally don't like chain restaurants but I'm happy to make Cote an exception to my rule. It definitely doesn't feel like a chain and I was surprised to find out that they had quite so many restaurants.

When we arrived at the Richmond restaurant on Friday (without a reservation), we were greeted immediately by the very charming restaurant manager and, even though it was packed, were seated very quickly.

I like the decor, with red leather banquettes and wooden chairs it actually pulls off French bistro without overdoing it. It's how I imagine your favourite neighbourhood brasserie in Paris would look.

The waiting staff were friendly and efficient and, although it was a Friday night, we didn't struggle to order and had no overlong waits for food or drinks.

Cote is very good value. Most starters are around £5 – £6 and mains around £10 – £13 (a bit more for steaks). The menu might not be the most innovative or exciting but there's a good selection with a French theme. Drinks are similarly reasonable. I started with a Kir Royale, which was a steal at £3.95. A decent wine list starts at £14.50 a bottle, with a good selection at under £30.

We were after a quick meal before some riverside drinking, so just had mains. I went for the roast seabass, which was served with braised fennel and a champagne beurre blanc. And a portion of fries. The fries at Cote are excellent. Thin, crispy and extremely more-ish. The seabass was also well cooked and the sauce was delish.

My boyfriend went for steak the 10oz rib-eye. The steak was perfectly cooked and accompanied by a delicious peppercorn sauce.

I'd be very interested to try other Cote restaurants, to see if this quality is maintained across them all. In the meantime, I definitely recommend the Richmond restaurant.

Good, if sometimes over-zealous, service. Moderate wines. Well presented food though the foie gras was too cold and the Bouef Bourguignon was over-cooked, with dry chunks of meat. Crowded on a Thursday night. Expensive at £85 for two. Would go again.

a poor restaurant. cote richmond is well known for its slow and impersonal service. its food offering comes nowhere near to making up for this. as a large chain a lot of the food is not prepped in house, so what you get are generically flavoured and bland dishes presented with no passion. this is a pretty shallow take on a french bistro