Their inspiration for the food and design comes from a modern interpretation of the many famous bistros that populate Paris. There has been a resurgence of interest in simple bistro cooking in Paris as locals turn away from expensive and over complicated cooking (full of pretension in formal and overly expensive restaurants restaurants), to return to the basics of French Bistro cooking.
The menu at the new Notting Hill restaurant offers classics dishes such as Steak frites, moules marinieres, corn fed chicken from Languidic in the heart of rural Brittany, alongside lighter dishes such as Pan roasted salmon with basil potato puree and a tomato and garlic dressing. Crème caramel and crème brulee are house specialities for dessert.
Open all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Côte also offers regular changing seasonal specials. The atmosphere is informal and friendly. Not surprisingly, Côte recently won the Good Food Guide award for “Best Value Restaurant in the UK for 2009”.
Connoisseur Magazine editorial staff (including Michael Edwards, respected Champagne expert and former Food Inspector for Egon Ronays Food Guides ) recently tried the following dishes at lunch, (many are photographed because a picture is worth a thousnad words!) with the following prices. And we discovered that all dishes served were very good to excellent. This serves as a guide to what is good on the menu!
STARTERS
Calamari £ 5.95
Breadcrumbed squid sautéed in Garlic, lemon and parsley with Tartare sauce.
Seared scallops £ 7.80
Seared scallops with Frisée salad, bacon, lardons and a warm puy lentil, tomato and garlic dressing.
Prawn Gratinée £ 6.95
King Prawns in a white wine, garlic and tomato sauce with toasted garlic and parsley croutons.
MAIN COURSES
Duck Confit £ 10.95
Duck leg confit with sautéed savoy cabbage and bacon lardons with a thyme and veal juice.
Steak 10oz Rib Eye £ 14.95
All the steaks are from church farm in the peak district aged on the bone and served chargrilled with frites (French fries).
Half Grilled Breton chicken served with frites £ 10.95
Corn fed chicken from Languidic in the heart of rural Brittany in the north of France which is renowned for its poultry.
ADDRESS: 98 Westbourne Grove, Bayswater, London W2 5RU
TEL: 020 7792 3298
WEBSITE: www.cote-restaurants.co.uk
OPENING HOURS: Monday to Friday 8am to 11pm
Saturday 9am to 11pm / Sunday 9am to 10.30pm
Axel Ritenis, Editor, Connoisseur Magazine
