Côte Barbican

We had booked an early dinner as we were going to the Barbican for a performance at 7pm. Got a lovely warm welcome when we arrived after a long drive and were shown to our table quickly and professionally. My friend and I arrived first as our husbands were parking the car. So we were given menus but left in peace to wait for the chaps, so we could all choose together. We chose from the pre-theatre menu as it had just what we wanted. Everything went very smoothly even though the place was packed! Service was brilliant. We always have a good experience at Cote and the only reason I haven't given it a 6 is because my friend said he steak wasn't as warm as it should have been. When he told the waiter, he was very pleasant and offered to heat it up or replace it but my friend said it wasn't a big deal but he just wanted them to know. The waiter was really nice and thanked him. Then we got 2 coffeees on the house which was a lovely surprise. We all love Cote and we are going again next week!

Great staff and the food was good, although the onion soup was weirdly spicy - not necessary. Also, food was too slow incoming and we had to rush the last course to get to the theatre - the main course arrived over an hour after we did.

We enjoyed the fast and friendly service which was perfect for a pre-performance meal. There was a wide selection of food on the menu with tasty options for young and old.

Excellent meal before show at the Barbican. I was pleasantly surprised about how good my meal was. As a pescetarian I hadn't remembered so much choice on the menu before. Also, I'm on a special food plan at the moment and they waiter (& chef) was very obliging about serving my food exactly as requested - no sauce or butter and dressing on the side. In fact, the waiter helped my suggesting another choice that was even more suitable. The food was prepared to perfection. I was just a little dismayed at how few vegetables were served with my salmon. Altogether good experience. They can be slow here so be sure to tell them about curtain time.

All things are good ; service, ambiance, food, location ( so handy for the Barbican). Can get very busy , especially pre - theatre, so best to book.

Very reliable chain. We were there for breakfast and all the food was competently prepared (full English, vegetarian, croque monsieur, eggs benedict). Very friendly and helpful staff - we asked to move from the first table to another part of the restaurant as there was a draft everything the door opened and they were very obliging.

Great meal before watching Romeo and Juliet at Barbican theatre. Nice atmosphere and friendly service . Pleasant experience this time as we were disappointed in a previous visit to this branch

Excellent Service, very good choice of food on the menu. Good quality food. All the staff worked hard to ensure a high level of service.

Excellent food and service as always! Three of us had the three-course pre-7pm menu in just over an hour, without feeling rushed - perfect for getting to a concert comfortably.

Don't forget to book if you want to enjoy Cote Barbican at pre-concert time. It's busy but the service is geared to getting everyone into the Hall/Theatre on time. The usual prix-fixe menu gives a good choice and comes quickly. Friendly, helpful service as always.

As always, a pleasant environment and good food. Service was a bit slow this time as it was busy pre-theatre and the kitchen was under stress, but they always react when asked. Staff are courteous and efficient. This is the best place to go to eat around the Barbican.

Great restaurant and lovely atmosphere - always something new on the menu to try and servjce is always great. Can’t fsult this or any other branches

Atmosphere good food good. Location great Forbes Barbican tube and Liverpool Street national rail. Again can’t fault the place and always something new to try

Good value for money and the set menus offer plenty of choice. It is however very busy and noisy. There were several large parties there.

Fantastic service from the team. Good value for the pre theatre menu and pleasant relaxing atmosphere. Food served quickly and Sea Bass very tasty. Would recommend this Cote restaurant.

Good food, good wine, very good value on pre-theatre menu with service excellently timed to suit our show, but one point lost for lack of satisfaction with frozen berries (chocolate not hot enough to thaw them, and our timing was too tight to get dish replaced).

A good venue pre-concert. Thoughtfully presented, simple tasty food. A tad understaffed at busy times. The seasoning of the chicken salad was very good indeed.

We were greeted courteously and shown immediately to the table we had reserved. The food was tasty and freshly prepared, service was prompt and we had an enjoyable meal. Well done Cote

Good quick service. Wide choice on two differently priced set lunch menus. Nice buzzy atmosphere. Curtain at door helps to keep out the cold wind and adds to the warm and cosy atmosphere.

Very enjoyable pre-cinema meal with friends - very handy for Barbican cinemas. We ate off the fixed price pre-theatre menu. The food was tasty and service polite, friendly and efficient.

Well prepared, tasty and nicely served food, good service from efficient and professional staff, and reasonable prices. Noisy environment however, somewhat spoils a chance to talk over a friendly meal.

We had booked and arrived early table for 3 , when the restaurant was very busy. The front of house staff found us a table with the minimum wait. We had an enjoyable meal with attentive staff.

Had prestige menu. Unusual and delicious warm beetroot salad, and the usual fish Parmentier. Service good, though we ate early and it wasn’t that busy.

An unfortunate evening. My host ordered a second bottle of wine. This proved to be a popular choice and chilled bottles were not immediately available but the waitress and her manager appeared with an unchilled bottle to explain the position. However the manager kindly offered four glasses of the wine which were to be "on the house" and this was gratefully accepted. At the end of the meal we were in a hurry to get to a performance and were not able to check the bill carefully but later found we had been charged for two bottles. My host has returned this evening to chase this up but I haven't heard the outcome as yet.

As usual we received good service and good value for a quick but not rushed pre-concert meal at Cote Barbican. The set menu is very good value and gives a reasonable choice. We've never been disappointed here.

reservation made online but all went smoothly. Friendly staff and good service. food was good and good selection of wine. might be busy at times

The usual good service and nice meal at Cote Barbican. We arrived a bit late for our reservation but the efficient service meant that we were in and out in good time without too much of a rush.

Cote breakfast is always high quality and good value, and this branch at the Barbican is amongst the best. It lived up to my previous experiences.

Good service & choice food. All day service makes it handy for early dining before going to to concert or play at the Barbican Centre.

Restaurant was busy but service was below expectations. 1. The table was booked but no one came to greet us on arrival even though 3 staff saw us. Had to walk through the restaurant and find someone to select a table. 2. Although we had ordered from the main menu, we were given the set meal menu to select a desert. This provided a VERY limited choice of deserts none of which had prices indicated. Very poor service - totally unacceptable. The food (all 3 courses) was delicious as usual, but overall, the experience was well below expectation.

Had to wait for the main course for 30 min. The interval b/w a starter and a main course could be half an hour! We were late for the concert all in all. The waitress ( a pregnant young woman) was far from being polite. Just ignored our question: "When the main course will be served?" Very disappointing!

Both the Manager and the waiter went out of their way to help when one of our party arrived late due to travel complications. We were away in time for our concert and well-fed thanks to their assistance.

Exceptional service with an excellent Cassoulet and Pissaladiere. We enjoy sitting by the window and watching the world pass by. This is a great restaurant to enjoy dinner before a film.

Good, easy did not feel like a chain at all. Happy to be regular guest. Location is excellent and service was friendly. Will use regularly

Friendly,quick service with delicious food Had preconcert meal so timing was important to eat in relaxed manner without having to wait too long between courses

I made the mistake of ordering the mussels that smelt so bad that I knew I shouldn't have even bothered tasting. BUT I'll be back... its a big menu!

This chain never lowers its standards. Buzzy atmosphere. Friendly staff and good service. Delicious food and excellent size portions. Also very good value and not expensive. Highly recommended.

Cote Barbican is perfect for pre-concert or theatre eating. As always the service was perfect. The staff are always attentive. The food was excellent as well.

Great food, as ever, and lovely staff, BUT too few of them, so our meal was rather S_L_O_W to arrive. Luckily, we weren’t in a hurry this time.

The restaurant was jam-packed and very noisy this time, but we were intending a brief visit (pre-theatre) so that was OK. Staff were very obliging and apologetic and coped with charm and warmth during this very pressurised time slot. In the circumstances I was reluctant to complain but made a stand when my spinach salad described as being served with croutons actually contained just four bread CRUMBS, not enough to cover half finger tip - and I have small hands. I've been aware of stinginess in the past, notably with a dish garnished with walnuts which amounted to a half walnut daintily cut into two pieces, so it does seem as though Cote are being obsessively economical. Whilst It must be necessary to be prudent in these hard times for eateries, I fear that they do risk losing their faithful customers. We'd go again, the front of house staff are great, food was delicious but our loyalty is under threat.

I was very disappointed with our visit. My fries were spilled over me (no doubt accidentally, but still), then my partner's steak came out cooked well done after being requested medium rare, and my own was cold. We will not be returning.

I had breakfast before a Sunday morning film showing at the Barbican and the food was, as usual, good. The one downside was that the automatic door kept letting in gusts of freezing wind which blew the door curtains. The staff could do absolutely nothing except offer us a different table which we did not want because we liked the window site.

The food, as always, was very good. Normally the service is very good but on this occasion the service - to begin with - was terrible. I think it was because we arrived well before 5pm when few staff were on the floor. We waited 15 minutes before being asked to place our order, and noticed that at least one table that had arrived after us was served before us. Even when the food arrived our table had not been set properly (no cutlery etc), a fact we had to point out to the waiter. However, after 5pm more staff were in attendance and did their best to make amends. My message to the restaurant manager is that service has to be good at ALL times.

Express menu was good value and nice quick lunchtime break

Nice food and very quick service as usual great meal.

Always a pleasant experience at Cote Barbican. The staff are impressive in their ability to deal with any problems in a professional and personal way. It has become one of my regular eating places.

The food is consistently nice. The set lunch menus, especially, are very good value and offer a lot of choice. Sometimes it takes a while to get the bill, though.

We had breakfast at COT'E at the Barbican it was nicely presented and good food at very nice staff recommend this restaurant . J.S Daventry

Food exceptional...staff exceptional....we are always very relaxed there. It is very well positioned next door to the Barbican cinema. Looking forward to enjoying the Xmas menu.

I eat at Côte in London regularly. Côte Barbican is handy for the theatre. The food is always tasty and well presented, but both gentlemen who served me last night seemed very aloof verging on miserable. Thankfully this is not the case at St Martin’s Lane, Hay’s Gallery, Covent Garden and Soho Côte and these are far busier Côte restaurants!