Côte Harpenden

Good Value set meal pre 7pm - good choice Friendly staff and a nice ambience - just the right number of diners to make a buzz

Very friendly service with great choice of food for the gluten free diner. One point only, the braised cabbage, accompanying the Venison Parmentier, was braised in a lemon sauce which tended to overpower the main venison dish.

Very good value, food was good price very competitive and the service was excellent. We enjoyed a glass of house wine which was also good.

Excellent food in a lovely restaurant. Staff almost too attentive, but it was a very enjoyable meal. I will definitely be returning another day. The early menu looks like great value. Didn’t appreciate a 12.5% tip being added automatically for a table of four, though.

Lovely service and great food. Fantastic gluten free menu. Lots of variety. Manager took order to ensure order went through safely for those on a gluten free diet.

Very good - excellent food and service. They had a toy dinosaur on the shelf and said our grandson could play with it while we were there - which he enjoyed.

Good atmosphere, nice food and service was very attentive. Prices were in my expected range. The menu was varied and appears to appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Good service and good quality food as we have come to expect. There was a good atmosphere and the restaurant was not overly noisy.

My wife and I had a day off and decided to go to Cotes for brunch. The food was very nice and the atmosphere, airy, light and friendly. Once time visiting and we will definitely return.

Recently opened restaurant in the old post office location. Very welcoming on arrival with the menu explained in good detail. We were there for breakfast and ordered from the Formule option which included any of the hot breakfasts together with juice and a hot drink. My wife ordered the full English and i had the vegetarian option. Both were excellent and would go back again. Recommended.

Wonderful staff & service, stylish yet atmospheric decor, great food. No annoying music in the background either. This was my second visit and did not disappoint either me or my 90 year old mother. Will be returning next week.

Had really great time our waiter Jamie was brilliant,food was very good, lots of people in there celebrating birthdays,my husband and I often go to cote for breakfast

The food was very good value. It is comfortable but so noisy!!!. All 4 of us had to shout to each other to be heard all evening. I've been to another Cote near Oxford circus and that was also very noisy. My ears hurt and I felt exhausted. An uncomfortable evening and I shall remember to avoid further Cote restaurants.

Food fabulous but not great service this time . Our second drinks order was forgotten by the time we could catch the waiter it was getting too late so we never did get our them, they seemed understaffed. Usually good service

Wonderful surroundings, very friendly attentive staff and exceptionally good food. I also think toilets are important in such establishments. Yours were 100% clean and well looked after. Who could ask for anything more! I have booked again to bring a friend.

We had a fabulous time, The staff were excellent, not too pushy and the food was fab, we were celebrating a birthday and some other things and had an excellent evening, we will def be back.

Lovely evening - great service and food except mussels were very disappointing apart from that superb! Lovely staff - helpful and friendly - they made my daughters 18th birthday very special with a birthday dessert!!

The food was fine but the service was terrible. Here are just a few highlights. We arrived, ordered within 15 minutes at the most, and still hadn't received our food 45 minutes after arriving - so minimum of 30 minutes to order basic items. All the tables that had arrived after us had been served. We didn't order anything special or ask for any variations on the order. We queried this with the Host who said the food was on the way and the order had only been placed 15 minutes earlier. What had the waitress been doing? When it finally arrived, the food was fine but no where near as good as at the competing Bistro Gautier. Moreover, while we were waiting for our food, our drinks arrived and my husband noted that his beer was warm. He raised it with the waitress who agreed it was warm but said they couldn't turn up the fridge because it would cause the coke bottles to explode. Seriously. That's what she said. When the bill arrived there was a goodwill discount. We appreciated that. The Host was really very good. However, the service charge was also included and the service, I think is clear, was very poor. We didn't have the heart to raise the issue given the good will of the host, but the experience as a whole was disappointing. It is a shame as I've been to Cote in St Albans a few times and it's always been very good and we really were looking forward to it.

Great waiter and atmosphere for a meal out with family. And the creme caramel which he recommended for dessert was absolutely the best I have ever tasted!

Nice food , good atmosphere , very clean , attentive staff. The pre 7 menu at £ 13 for 2 courses is also very good value . 2nd visit and shall return

We were made to feel very welcome - the table we had requested was not free when we arrived but we were given another to sit at for a few minutes until it was ready. Food & service was all very good, friendly and efficient staff. When we first arrived the noise level was quite loud as the restaurant was very full and it was hard to hear each other but once we were moved to the booth table we'd requested it was much better. As the evening went on and it was less busy it became quieter generally which helped!

Great food, good prices and amazing service. Lovely atmosphere too. Loved it! Will be a regular now we have been. Cant wait to try their breakfasts.

Restaurant rather too noisy, hindering conversation at times. Service a little slow towards the end - dessert course took a while. But otherwise very good.

Fabulous meal, great service and nice decor. HOWEVER, this is the second time we have eaten there and the noise levels are so bad you cannot hold a conversation and have come away with an headache. It is a crying shame as otherwise I would highly recommend it. Instead I would be reluctant to go back. I am sure this problem is solvable, I hope it is.

I have been to several Cote branches and this is no disappointment. Familiar menu (care of central preparation and delivery I assume), great taste and good service. Decent vfm

Quote busy for a Sunday night. Very good food - tried four different starters and main courses between us and all were liked. Service was timely and friendly.

Food was really good. Best Duck Confit I've had outside south-west France. And friendly young staff. But the tables are very close together and the noise levels made it difficult at times to have a relaxed conversation, especially if you happen to be near a large, noisy group. Will see if it's any easier at lunch time ...

Excellent service and tasty food. All staff were very courteous. We had the half chicken which was succulent and the creme caramel was one of the best I have tasted.

Very slow and over priced as the portion sizes very small. Eaten at other cotes before and always loved them. Place looks lovely though and staff very friendly.

I had a table for four on Saturday.The table was booked for 2030.We arrived just before this and were told we would have to wait a short time which was no problem at all.After five minutes the manager arrived with Four glasses of Kir-Royal for the delay which was very considerate of him.we were then shown to our table,which was a booth,from then onwards every thing was fantastic especially the waitress,Ashton who was excellent.The only negative thing that all off us said was it was far to crowded.We were OK as we were in the booth had we bin elsewhere it would have been a different story but we will be back let's hope it's less crowded.

Friendly waiter, nice ambience, great food.good value for the early midweek fixed menu. Only negative the A table layout was a little squashed and so the servers seemed to be frustrated & struggled to serve tables.

Great service - starters a bit cold but food generally very good, in particular the steaks. Very busy and buzzing but the staff coped very well considering

There is a great choice of dishes for the Gluten Free diner. The availability of a set menu for Lunch and early evening until 7.00pm. is a bonus. Service is excellent.

The food was lovely but service was slow. It started off well but dessert was very slow to arrive and even finding someone to pay the bill was difficult

This was once "my" post office. I was very impressed at the stylish conversion to a Restaurant . Staff were friendly and the food was good. 10 out of 10.

The food was okay not very special. The starters were very small not very tasty. The main meal was okay but not very good value for money

Good quick service. Delicious food - we liked the fish parmentier, the belly pork and the duck. Reasonable price. We had a voucher for free wine, which was of good quality.

Great food and service however I feel they could have done so much more with this space. It's just like a hall with as many tables fitted in as possible! Tables are v close together and there is no real ambiance or character

Cote Harpenden has a lovely atmosphere. The staff are polite, friendly and attentive. The food is lovely and there is a good choice on the menu.

Had a lovely evening, the food was good but we were seated near the toilets and the footfall was great, spoiling an otherwise good evening

delish food great service good ambience ---we have enjoyed lunches and suppers always good service and a varied menu with seasonal vegetables and a good wine list

Had a lovely evening. Food and service both good. Only negative was the noise. Acoustics appalling which was a shame. Manageable for a table of four but not for a bigger party.

Positives: excellent food - best belly pork I’ve had for a while. Staff very pleasant and helpful. Negatives: bit noisy which I know they are aware off and seeking remedies, tables very close together and couldn’t get out to the toilet on one side as wine bucket was between the two tables.

Great food. Inexperienced waitress. Didn’t understand three items requested from menu. Hopefully this will all settle in. Great addition of a decent bistro in Harpenden.

Pleasant relaxed restaurant with a good range of menu options. Service was good and food was perfectly ok. Came away feeling there nothing you could really fault but on the other hand there was nothing you could get excited about either.

A warm welcome and very good service from the staff. Could not fault anything. The food was well presented, delicious and very appetising. Well done for making us feel welcome.

2 course lunch menu very good value. Disappointed with the leek starter as leeks not easy to cut, but the taste was delicious. Great idea but maybe a different vegetable.

On the coldest night of the year so far, we were sat by the front door - even though people who had not booked were shown to vacant tables. We had asked twice to be seated further inside the restaurant when we arrived but were told that they were fully booked. Several tables stayed vacant all evening. The evening was spoilt by feeling cold. We won't be repeating this experience!!

Very pleasant food , ate from the early bird menu on a Friday. However the layout needs to be addressed . There is no where to stand while you wait to be seated. You end up being very close to the first table. There is no space by the bar where you would imagine you could stand as 3 little tables for 2 are squeezed in there. Once seated we were very cramped , 2 of our party being bumped into frequently. Staff quite attentive though there were groups of them chatting between themselves which appeared unprofessional. Noisy atmosphere made conversation difficult. So pleasant hot food but attention required to environment if this is to compete against the similar more intimate Lussmans.

Enjoyed a nice meal here last night. The ambience was great and staff very friendly. Our starters were delicious ( chicken liver parfait, soup, calamari and steak tartare) but the mains a little average. The sirloin steak was very fatty and the goats cheese salad a little bland. Would come again but choose different mains. Really enjoyed the beef bourguignon last time