Reviews of Côte Harpenden (1,060)
Read what people think about Côte Harpenden. All restaurant reviews are written by verified Quandoo diners. Learn more about Côte Harpenden 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 Harpenden and book a table with confidence!
1,060 reviews
1,060 reviews
- Most recent
- Highest rated
- Lowest rated
Thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Choice of food on the set menus were to our liking and delicious. Wine was great and service friendly. Clean and pleasant surroundings and atmosphere!
We had a great time on our first , but not last , visit tour Cote Harpenden. Really liked the decor and the food but it was the staff who made the difference. Very attentive and kind.
Lovely food, good portions beautifully cooked and friendly helpful staff. The background noise level was a bit high and more noise reduction is probably needed but it's a beautiful, stylish looking restaurant.
Cote in Harpenden offer a great brasserie menu and really nice service... they are always trying to please ... I had a meal in a very expensive restaurant near to Lemsford at the weekend and experienced the opposite approach. Well done the Cote team.
Fantastic range of dishes especially for Coeliacs and kids. Excellent food quality, restaurant decor and value for money. Great service too. What's not to like? Restaurant chains don't get any better than Cote!
Great night out . Food very good and hot to the table, Maitre d' on the ball and welcoming . Sides a little expensive and the service charge at 12.5% is on the bill before you pay. Good for a special occasion .
Very nice set lunch. Starter a bit sparse but tasty, suggest more rocket so the plate looks less empty! Chicken and sauté potatoes very nice. £9 for a large glass of wine a bit pricey and not far off the cost of the lunch. Service polite and friendly.
The service was excellent and we enjoyed our main courses (my husband had the bouillabaisse and I had seafood linguine). We were disappointed with the French Onion soup. We regularly choose this at the Covent Garden and Sloane Square Côtes and it’s always delicious. Today it was watery and had little taste.
Much improved sound absorption. Good range of food, keenly priced. Menu complex, not all items are on the menu causing uncertainty when requiring an item from one menu (whitebait) which did not appear on the main menu. Resolved by the manager but this should not have been necessary. Not keen on including 12.5% gratuity as standard. Gratuity is an expression of satisfaction with service not to be taken for granted.
A quiet time, early lunch on a Saturday at end of bank holiday week. Food and service very good as always in our experience and friends introduced to Cote for first time were impressed.
Relaxed atmosphere. As with many restaurants, it’s difficult to get fish that’s not adulterated with shellfish/salmon. Narrows down the choices massively if you are allergic to shellfish, but OK with white fish.
We use this restaurant fairly regularly. We are always pleasently received and the care given throughout from the staff is always first class. The food is always very good
We dined at 7:30pm on a Sunday as a group of 5. The restaurant was quiet upon arrival with quite a few empty tables. We were seated in a nice booth with just enough room for 3 per side comfortably. Drink orders were taken quickly although I would prefer a wider range of beers on offer, and certainly something on draught. When the beer bottles arrived they did have an oily substance on the outside. When commented on they were replaced (or at least returned having been cleaned) but on the second round, the same issue. Starters were universally good. The table enjoyed a mix of the Parfait, the Calamari, the Charcuterie board and the French onion soup and there was food envy all round the table! Mains next, a mix of Fish Parmentier which was particularly flavoursome, Steak Frites (excellent but not quite the advertised pink), Veal Escalope (very tasty and a decent serving, but be prepared for the extra cost of some sides to bring it to being a full course) and Cod Goujons (perfect for those who want their French cuisine to be a bit more Fish and Chippy!) Our only gripe was that a couple of the sides took a little while to arrive after the mains were served. All were devoured hungrily and there were a few rumblings about having to come back soon to taste more of the menu. We had a lovely Cotes du Rhone Red with the main course which was very smooth and served at perfect temperature. Finally we had all saved room for desert so Creme Brulee (very well flavoured and a nice crust, not too thick), Tarte aux Pommes (very good), a very well received Praline Crepe (good Creme Chantilly) and finally a Tarte Aux Citron. All the food across all the courses was universally excellent, prefectly cooked and full of flavour. The waiting times between courses were perfect for me, but possibly a bit long for some on a fairly quiet night. Certainly long enough for food to settle and a natter between courses. The bill at just under £45 a head was perfectly reasonable for the quality of food we received and a couple of very minor service points certainly did not detract from a fantastic evening. Highly recommended.
Lovely restaurant. The food is always nice. Vegetarian menu is so complete and tasty. The desserts are all amazing. Staff is lovely. Nothing to change. We will be back again soon.
Lovely lunch and service good! The food was excellent and well presented. We all had desserts which were gorgeous! Thank you for a great time today !
We visited cote today after being offered complimentary wine following poor service on our last visit. Today was just as poor and not worth the free wine!
Excellent service as usual, we are now regulars at Cote Harpenden as we enjoy French food and glad food is not too spiced compared with many trendy restaurants
We are loyal customer, now used Cote in five different locations. Last night was not so good for service although the restaurant was busy. Disappointed that the chocolate sauce that accompanied coupe noir was unpourable, solidly stuck to bottom of the jug and one guest had tough pastry on the apple pie. We should have been given the choice of lowering the service charge which had been automatically added.
Despite living in Harpenden this was my first experience of the previous Post Office, but having eaten in Cote in SA and WGC I was not disappointed either by the food nor the decor. Ate before 7.00 and chose their 2 course menu. Not disappointed although their discretionary (?) 12.5 % service charge is too high for what you get.they try to justify this by having three people to present the menu selections Will try again a little later in the evening as there were only 10 other diners so lacked atmosphere
Very good especially on such a busy night for your restaurant
Our dinner at Cote in Harpenden was the best meal we’ve had at any Cote restaurant in the UK, the food was as good, if not better than expected and each member of staff helped to make my wife’s birthday a very special occasion.
Staff are always polite and helpful, attentive but not invasive. It is a pleasant dining experience, and doesn’t have the rather forced and homogeneous feeling of other “chain” restaurants.
My friend and I had a delicious lunch, the service was attentive, we were given plenty of time between mains and desserts/coffee. A very nice experience.
Enjoyable evening with good food and company. Restaurant very noisy however and difficult to have fluid conversation through the evening. Manager very appreciate of this and offered move to a booth when available. Thank you
Excellent Fathers Day lunch, which was universally enjoyed by 7 guests. The service was particularly good, with a helpful and attentive waiter. I would also mention that all the guests thought the quality of the food was first class. Tony Berry
Very pleasant lunch - usual excellent service, particularly the new recruit who struck just the right note. Food wasn't great but just ok - carrots so hard I couldn't cut them, steak not medium rare as requested but still very tasty. In fairness we were asked more than once if the food was ok and just said yes as easier that way and nothing was that disastrous.
The food is good and reasonably priced there is a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. I eould definitely go again and recommend the restaurant to friends.
Good food. Pleasant surroundings. Friendly staff. Service was quick. Set menus are fantastic value. We have enjoyed breakfast and lunch at Cote before. Our friends were impressed and we will all eat there again soon.
Great service great food well managed restaurant We all had a great night of good food,serviceand very good ambience The management is very good Well done to all the staff especially our waitress Thank you
Outstanding food - the whole party was very satisfied. The waitresses were attentive, but the speed at which the food arrived was average. Price range acceptable.
Always good at Coye Harpenden. Visited several times since opening and never had anywhere near a bad meal. Stall always keen and attentive and we like the way that the food comes from the kitchen on a large tray and the server leads it to the table.
Excellent brunch, drinks, atmosphere and impeccable service. All at a fair price. What’s not to like.
We love coming to this restaurant, great food that us consistently good. Staff are always friendly and helpful. Will definitely be back!
Excellent service and beautiful food, for a family get together. First time in this branch of Cote ... really lovely atmosphere. Thank you for the friendly efficient service.
I was looking forward to a special meal and it was enjoyable but it felt slightly manufactured/mass produced for the price charged. The food lacked the professional touch that you would expect for the price charged. High street approach at restaurant price.
To be honest we were pretty disappointed. We waited ages for our drinks, it took half an hour for us to be able to order our food. Soups came out with no spoons and then we waited for the spoons to come. The roast duck looked like it had been under a heat lamp for a while and the ‘cherry’ sauce tasted like instant gravy with a few tinned cherries dropped in it. The veg with the cod goujons tasted like it had been kept warm for a while and was pretty bland. Don’t think we would bother coming back which is a shame.
We booked a specific booth table 3 weeks previously and when we arrived we saw that they gave it to another group. We were told that they had overrun but it was clear they had recently arrived. Service was ok but had to ask for assistance including clearing the table.
Lovely lunch. Everything suited us - Harpenden was a great choice. Good choice of menus and drinks. Terrific food and drink too. Staff were efficient and friendly. Wouldn't hesitate to return anytime!
The food is always nice but as usual the service is a bit below par. We have to remind about things we are waiting for which shouldn't happen, particularly at a quiet time.
Good food, reliable quality. Not at its best last night. Meet and greet was slow all evening and the staff from the manager down aren’t very welcoming or particularly engaged with customers Also, acoustics mean it’s very loud Air conditioning at chilling temperature as usual here Good food though and decent value for money
Excellent service, excellent wine and most of the dishes were lovely. Having been to a number of Cote, disappointed with the amount of cheese on the French Onion soup compared with normal and the mussels were not great and a number were broken. Restaurant staff were fantastic and the waiter we had brilliant. Handled the feedback about the food really well. Lovely atmosphere and we will visit again.
Had an informal supper after a day out. Nice relaxed but efficient atmosphere and the food was very good.
Always an excellent experience staff are excellent food is always great value for money I would recommend to everyone a great selection of wines are also available
If you get there early this is a little bit of light and peace. The breakfast is just right and the service spot on.
As always the food was amazing and the service was exceptional, you will not be disappointed if you go to Cote in Harpenden. Staff are very friendly
Amazing food and a lovely waiter made it a very good night .
It was not great tonight the food was not up to the usual standard..
Really good value for money, pleasant staff and surroundings. One of my favourite restaurants. Would definitely recommend it to all my friends and family. Will be taking my son for a meal there for his birthday.
Always an excellent place with excellent staff and great food.The staff are always very attentive and friendly the restaurant is nice bright and airy and the food always fresh.
The service was accommodating and friendly. However the food was not what we expected. The french toast was sent back- the side fruit was drenched in maple syrup and covered in powdered sugar. The bread didn’t taste great. The tea was very weak and we had to order an extra tea bag (which was kindly supplied with no extra charge ).