In the hustle and bustle of a huge industrial city like Manchester, you’re likely to want a lunch break that takes you away from all the madness. You’d be forgiven if your first thoughts went to pie and mash, Lancaster hotpot, or chips and gravy, true English staples as they are. From time to time, a little French refinement satisfies the stomach and mind in a different, but welcome way. Cote Brasserie Manchester, located on St Mary’s Street and just off the busy Highstreet of Deansgate, provides just this, authentic, traditional, and tasty French cookery.
The building Cote Brasserie Manchester is nestled into was once a Methodist Church, but where it was once modestly painted and filled with wooden pews, now there sits rows of leather benches, wooden tables, and chairs, well-lit by ceiling lights and mirrored walls. The exterior may look very much Mancunian, but step into the interior and it’s suddenly Parisian.
Moving onto the food, the fare is very much French cuisine, but with an English appetite in mind. Cote Brasserie Manchester specialise in steaks, with a seven-ounce fillet steak the ruby on the crown, sourced responsibly from grass-fed British beef cows, and prepared in the restaurant’s own butchery. If something lighter strikes your fancy a little more, then moules frites is a popular option, a dish that can be served with a variety of sauces, creamy or white wine based.
The menu is vast and can surely match plenty of dietary demands. A dedicated vegan menu is included, featuring new takes on classics like celeriac frites, a steak replacement of chargrilled celeriac, puy lentils, and sauce vierge served with chips. A gluten free menu is an option too, allowing almost identical versions to the main menu. Lastly, a children’s menu, named the petit menu, where smaller and more child friendly versions of the Gallic classics are an option, pride of place being the croque monsieur, perfect for a child-sized lunch. Cote Brasserie Manchester really feels like an accommodating Parisian enclave within the centre of Manchester.