Côte Bistro - Covent Garden

Bonjour tout le monde! Today, i just went to a French restaurant called Côte and decided to share my review with you, all my lovely readers! I have always wanted to visit this restaurant, and today it 'accidentally' happened (At first, me and my friend wanted to go to a sushi place, but it was closed, and surprisingly this restaurant is happened to be next to the sushi place). This is the Covent Garden branch and just to let you know, the restaurant is easy to find everywhere as they have quite a few branches in central London, like in Soho, London Bridge, Kensington, etc.

The waiters and waitresses were very nice (i think they are highly trained). When me and my friend got in, we were greeted so nicely and the service was really fast. Not to mention, the very friendly waitress that so patiently explain some French food in the menu that we don't really understand. 

The place is absolutely spacious (there are still some areas that i haven't taken pictures of) and you will get a fancy vibe, but in informal and friendly way. The interior is really nice, dominated with white and green color, which made me feel like i was in an expensive restaurant in Paris. 

The menu was somehow simple, but yet sooooo tempting. I would really love to try all the dishes on the menu.

Calamari (£5.95)

We ordered calamari as a starter and I was really impressed with how smooth the texture of the squid. Combined with a proper level of crunchiness and the tartare sauce, it was definitely a five star calamari. 

Roast Duck Breast (£13.95)

The waitress recommended me this dish. She said it was one of the most popular dishes in the restaurant and i was fascinated of how remarkably attractive it is (i felt so bad to ruin its beauty). It is a roasted medium rare duck breast, served with gratin potato (creamy sauced potato), and a cherry sauce. I fell in love on the first bite. It was literally the best duck breast i have ever tasted. The cherry sauce was a perfect companion with the duck. It adds a bit of bitterness, which just so astonishingly lovely. Nothing so special about the gratin potato, but i can say it was also tasty. The portion also very generous and i couldn't even finished the whole thing.

  One Minute Steak and Frites (2 courses - £11.70)

I don't really know the meaning of one minute steak, but i assumed it was a steak that cooked slightly  fast and of course, still a bit rare. To be frank, my friend was a bit disappointed about the dish because it was so thin and as you can see, it doesn't look like a proper steak in a fancy restaurant. But surprisingly, the taste was quite okay and i could say it was actually good, consider its price (you could never find a good steak at this price in London). However, i really love the frites. It just basically an ordinary fries, but i think it is cooked really well, not too oily and just at perfect crispiness.

Creme Caramel (2 courses - £11.70)

As my friend ordered a two-course menu, she chose the dessert to be a creme caramel (which is also popular in the restaurant). I don't know why they called it creme caramel, since i think it was actually a panna cota with caramel flavor and a crispy caramel on top, like on a creme brûlée. It also served with some kind like a creme sauce. Although the presentation was not really interesting, i think it was really tasty. The caramel panna cota was fairly smooth and the caramel was not too sweet. I do think one portion was not enough.

Overall, i give 5/5 for this restaurant. The place, the service and the food are totally excellent. And i  also think it is very affordable for a French restaurant (in London). I definitely will recommend this place to every friend of mine that love French food. 

Address: 17-21 Tavistock Street, London, WC2E 7PA

Tel: 020 7379 9991

Price: £

Website: http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk