One of the newest contenders in the battle of the chain restaurants is Côte, a French brasserie group trading in the slick and understated elegance our neighbours over the channel are famous for. Eschewing the novelty shtick of competitors like Café Rouge to focus on attentive service and competently cooked (though not spectacularly so) and priced dishes of classic brasserie food has seen it move from strength to strength. From an initial clutch of restaurants, the chain can now be found in most London nightlife hotspots and affluent neighbourhoods.

The restaurant is one of the most versatile venues we can think of - low key enough for dates, yet accommodating and buzzy enough for parties and families and affordable to pretty much everyone, it's not hard to understand why it's been such a success. Familiar brasserie items verging on cliché are reinvigorated and treated with respect; a nicoise salad comes with a lovely chunk of seared yellowfin tuna and crunchy beans, while risotto is refreshed with an addition of seasonal spring vegetables. The kitchen offers a wide range of grills and meat dishes; the ever-popular steak frites offers several cuts of beef with skinny fries, and inoffensive classics like seabass, duck confit and fish parmentier accompany thrillingly old school dishes like rillettes, lamb shank and the lovely and pink pan-roast duck breast. Desserts are a who's who of brasserie favourites - tarte aux pommes, crème caramel, chocolate fondant and crème brulee line up with refreshing palate cleansers to round off a competent meal. Hard to fault.

Opening Times

Monday - Friday: 08:00 - 23:00

Saturday: 09:00 - 23:00

Sunday: 09:00 - 23:00