Reviews of Côte Barbican (2,322)
Read what people think about Côte Barbican. All restaurant reviews are written by verified Quandoo diners. Learn more about Côte Barbican before you go by getting tips and ratings from other restaurant-goers. With real-life reviews, you can see what other diners loved about Côte Barbican and book a table with confidence!
2,322 reviews
2,322 reviews
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Although not busy our starters came before we had started the aperitif, we ordered 2 lots peas but only one came and they were stone cold. Not the standard we have come to expect.
Absolutely amazing, food delicious and Roland an exceptional waiter, super!
Our server was the best one I've ever had at Cote.
Great food, friendly service, helped keep us to time before our film screening.
Was very busy. We ordered some olives which didn't arrive before our mains, so we cancelled these. Ordered a chocolate fondant and a tart tatin arrived. In their favour they didn't charge for the dessert.
The food was very average, not very warm but arrived quite fast, suggesting they might be pre-cooking things then heating in the microwave. It’s a bit expensive considering the lack of quality.
Went to cote for dinner before going to the cinema with my boyfriend and another couple. We had the two course set menu, and we were all impressed by how good the food was. It’s very good value, the portions are just the right size and the selection is quite varied to fit all tastes and diets. The service was friendly, the only downside is the noise... but most London restaurants are quite loud, so it’s not a surprise. Can’t wait to go back!
Friendly efficient service, good food and wine at a good price. Also the toilets were very clean
A warm welcome as always. This time our soups were not hot and had burnt cheese and had to send both the soups back. Which were quickly fixed.
Good booking choice, very nice food, very small table though.
Very good value for money. Good choice of menus. Ideal for theatre goers.
We go to this Cote on a regular basis and always enjoy our visit. The service is excellent and the food very good.
Dining at Cote Barbican at a very busy time (18:00) we found the restaurant busy to the point of being crowded however there were plenty of staff on duty, they were all cheerful, professional and efficient and made us feel welcome. The food was served remarkably quickly and was of excellent quality, as always at Cote. The large number of diners did make the place very noisy, though, making conversation with my companion a little difficult. Overall: highly recommended for a quickly served good quality meal prior to attending an event at the Barbican
Good menu choice. Tasty food. Friendly service. Always reliable. Good choice.
Very good service, helpful and relaxing after journey for pre theatre meal. Very pleased with more choice now for vegetarian/vegan so can please all the family.
Very good service, helpful and relaxing after journey for pre theatre meal. Very pleased with more choice now for vegetarian/vegan so can please all the family.
This is my favourite for an early supper whenever attending an event at Barbican or Guildhall School. Wide choice of menu options, good food, very good value. And always friendly and attentive service. Will return.
Really friendly and cosy. Great bistro food. Always good value.
Service was good. Excellent value for money. Good quality food. No complaints!
We received Great food and service, speedy and very tasty
Food was nice but service was a little hard to get hold of and servers seemed extra busy so things got missed, like having to wait ages after food came to ask for a knife whilst it gets cold. Our food also came out after others who arrived after us and even then my sister who had ordered off the GF menu had to wait longer than everyone else to get hers. Seemed to possibly be an issue with the gluten free stuff? Maybe someone had to get sent out to buy bread or something?! Once her hot meal finally came she then had to chase up the toast which never arrived. Also check your bill as we did the breakfast special with orange and coffee and it wasn't on the bill the first time around, however the staff were great at sorting this out. Overall nice food and great value. Perhaps could have done with more servers so that those working weren't so rushed and could have provided a better level of service. I wonder if this was because we were at Barbican for a graduation so it was suddenly busier than normal - Maybe Cote can liaise with Barbican events to co-ordinate staffing to match.
Attentive welcome and just the table we wanted. But we were informed that the dish I had come to sample was not available. Then 20 minutes later we were informed that the replacement order was not available either. Not good enough
It was really busy and hence quite noisy but there's nothing you can do about that, people having a good time don't tend to be quiet! 😃😃
It was 20 minutes before we were approached by a Waiter. Otherwise all was well.
I had a pleasant time and tasty meal. Food came out a little later than I would have liked as it was fairly busy. Otherwise I'm happy with the whole experience
We were very happy with the quality of the food, cocktails and wine but an error by our waiter meant that we were left waiting a long time for our main courses and therefore put under unnecessary pressure to get to our orchestral concert seats in the Barbican. The manager recognised the error and gave us some compensation on our bill.
Good food, good price, conveniently located for the Barbican. Job done!
Great service and good food. And especially nice for a coeliac to be able to relax knowing that the kitchen and waiting staff know how to handle gluten free food. Thank you.
Food good and excellent menu choices. Service rather slow, and restaurant very noisy. Not as good as other Cote restaurants I have visited recently.
Having booked ‘lunch’ for 11.30 I was told that only breakfast was available as lunch service didn’t start until 12.00! Having ordered the service was slow. Three drinks were ordered but only 2 delivered. The other was forgotten until waiter was reminded. No butter was served with toast until we asked for it and then it took a long time to be delivered. In summary, we had to have breakfast when we wanted lunch and the service was particularly poor.
Booked with a link to get complimentary martinis. For some reason the link didn't work. We told the man in the entrance, not sure if he was a manager, to see if he could help. No dice. Tried explaining but he wasn't not interested. Very disappointed. Decided to have a quick bite and then run to have puddings and coffee somewhere else. On the way one of our party suggested to speak to another manager, taller man, who appear to be more pleasant. In the end we decided not to, maybe we should have. The food was nice and our waitress pleasant but overall the experience left a bitter taste and we'll not be going back to Cote Barbican for the time being
It’s always good at Cote, relaxed but elegant, friendly but not obsequiously overbearing.
1 star off I'm afraid! I was looking forward to having a martini, but no white vermouth, so it wasn't happening, so sad! However, the food was yummy, and I enjoyed having 2 starters as my main. Warm roquefort salad was creamy, with crunchy bites of walnut, and the chicken liver parfait was smooth and tasty and lush. Oh yeah, there was dessert too, that's necessary! Good, friendly service, and then off to the theatre!
Speedy service in response to our impending theatre performance. As ever steak and frites hit the spot.
it was fine, just fine so thank you and good night
Very enjoyable and reasonably priced, we chose from The Prestige Set Menu and great portions sizes
Cote, as always, a good, fast, reliable place to meet up and have a pre-concert meal.
Thank you to the staff for a lovely table and good service.
Thanks for a nice meal and good seating at the back.
Lovely dinner, we really liked the prestige menu. The quality of the food was great, thank you.
Perfect for a meal before a Barbican performance. Excellent service and food with very reasonable cost. Been before - will go again and recommend to others.
the food was great, the coffee was hot and the crestaurant was beutifully clean and pretty. The only comment i would make is that it took the waiters and waitresses a while to come over when plates were empty and glasses were empty. They were brilliant but i think you could have done with at least 1 more pair of hands to make the service a bit better.
Great service, good food. Overall great experience, even though we changed the time and number of guests of the booking. The waitress was really nice and patient with a multi-lingual group
Overall a very good night and enjoyed the restaurant food.
Always a lovely meal and good service. Excellent pre theatre menu.
The service couldn't be faulted, however the food, or ostensibly the vegetarian options chosen by one of our group was very disappointing, particularly the mushroom risotto which was undercooked, over-seasoned and made with far too much bouillion. We spoke to the waiter and were all very civil. He happily removed this item from the bill with no arguments. To be fair, the restaurant is large and was absolutely packed. Our group of 8, are all caterers and we do realise what a struggle it is to staff kitchens these days and so were very sympathetic
The waiters were hard-pressed. Despite being run off their feet, they were polite and friendly. Noise is a big issue for me, and there was too much of it!
Swift service and tasty food! Great for a pre concert meal
I love the service weather it’s breakfast or Dinner they can not do enough for you, Use it quite often.
Very good. Much as expected although our main course wasn't as good as usual - maybe our poor choice.
I am a Cote regular for years, mainly at Wimbledon Village and Cobham for which I have only ever given 5 stars for good food and great service. I’ve been to Barbican too and had similar good experiences, but last night I can safely say was the worst food I have ever eaten. The service wasn’t great because the waitress was in training, so understandable. Our mains came halfway through the (hot) starter which was actually cold on arrival. Mains taken away only to appear 15 mins later on scorching hot plates with dried out chicken and fish. Got the bill and no less than 4 people came at a few seconds intervals asking us to settle it. The restaurant was half empty and it was only 7.10pm! So that’s me done there then. There are too many places around to eat in without that miserable offering. It is an affront to the Cote brand and chain.