Côte St Albans

It was a beautiful day and we decided to have lunch in the garden at Cote, St Albans. The staff were great, food was lovely, and the atmosphere was wonderful.

Such a treat to back. Wonderful food, excellent service, fabulous lunch. Thank you Cotes x

Great food and lovely friendly staff, gorgeous outside seating area

Usually love Cote but this visit wasn’t great, my lobster was cold and rubbery.

Lovely meal Lovely setting Could of been a little more attentive

It was so lovely to be back at Cote on their second day open! In spite of the more socially distanced tables the atmosphere was buzzy and the staff as always so friendly and efficient and very happy to be back. No table d’hote menu at the moment but we were not disappointed with our choices from the a la carte.

Good table layout, pleasant waiter and excellent food and service as always.

Pleased to see Cote back working. Very clean, table spaced sensibly. Menu slightly reduced, but most of the favourites available.

Very good service. Food quality outstanding. Will definitely come back again .

Almost the first customers after reopening. Tables all rearranged for social distancing and waiters in visors. My sea bass was enormous and the steak frites looked amazing. Nice to be back.

Fantastic service and customer care. A superb meal thank you

Really enjoyed the experience, staff very pleasant and nothing to much of s problem

Great food and great value for money. Slightly quiet for a Tuesday evening but the service was Great. Would definitely go back soon.The wine offer was great and I would highly recommend.

My overall experience was disappointing and the food was not as good as usual. The Rhubarb martini was nice but the rose petals were inedible and spoilt it. The lamb loin chops were good quality but the pea, bacon and crouton side was not very nice and I couldn’t eat it. The May special creme brûlée was very good but my wife had the apple tart which was mainly pastry and contained very few apples. She raised it with the staff who kindly removed the charge from the bill. Unfortunately we were surrounded by larger groups of people and it was very noisy. The restaurant is quite large so perhaps in future they could explore placing large groups away from the tables for couples or smaller number of diners in order to minimise the noise disturbance.

The service was attentive and the atmosphere was great, the food was average - sirloin steak quite gristly and fries over cooked . Starters were good

Good food and service. Noise level too loud, we could not hold a conversation with our friends which spolit the evening.

As always, a lovely welcome from the staff on entering the restaraunt .My friends and I had the free Gin and Tonic offer which was a lovely start to an excellent meal.We have been coming since it opened and have never been disappointed !

Went for an anniversary meal. The Food really good as was the service but both my courses (starter & main), were lukewarm which was a pity.

Delightful to sit outside under a blossoming tree Great meal and service and really enjoyed the burgers and glass of rose Will be back some time soon

It was lovely - but we were charged for a green salad which we didn’t order! We ate it because we thought it was complimentary, but it wasn’t!

Had a lovely brunch here, really enjoyed it and will be back

Fabulous meal and fantastic service. The steak, swordfish and duck was to die for. Serices also good even though the restaurant was busy. Thoroughly recommend for an enjoyable evening out.

Excellent food, attentive service, a very enjoyable experience. We were in the restaurant for two hours and this felt very leisurely. The prestige menu was very good value.

Good food a little noisy, service was good sometimes a little too fast. Food hot which is excellent and arrived promptly after ordering, occasional prompting for some items ordered

Was a perfect brunch and loads of choice Staff were friendly and efficient Good value and unexpected experience Would definitely recommend it For A family get together

My experience was a bit flat - something felt missing from this restaurant. The waiter was pleasant enough but the food was really disappointing: the squid to start was a bit ‘deep fried’ greasy, and because of this I suspected it was cooked from frozen. However, most disappointing was the beef bourguignon - no shallots, no chunky veg - just a small-portioned bowl of salty beef. If I was being unkind I’d say that it looked like half a tin of stewing steak had been emptied onto my plate; a more generous description would be to say that what was there was OK. I guess I’m just disappointed - the price is high enough for them to do a better job (£16 for my main). I like Cote and I expected more, based off previous visits. I hope this is a blip and they’re not slipping into that dreaded third phase of the restaurant lifecycle - decline; after growth and consolidation. It’s the path we see so often when chains get too big and just focus on the bottom line, rather than just enjoying doing what made them popular in the first place. I’m not sure whether I’ll go back. I don’t go out that often (young children) and if it’s 50/50 whether I’ll get a decent meal it may not be worth the risk. Shame, really.

Upon arrival the person greeting us tried to seat us at a table in the front window in an entirelty deserted and "cold" area of the restaurant, I understand how diners visible through the window attracts other customers in but it the diredct cost to the first two who's experienced would be blighted by the complete lack of atmosphere and iscolation. I asked to be seated at a table firther into the restaaurnat hwere there was a nuimber of other guests and a very convivial and hospitable buizz and atmosphere. The two Elderflower Gin & Tonics (the subject of this month's promotion) were delivered upon request. Neither had any effervesance whatsoeer and I can only conclude that the tonic water used was devoidof gas. Additionally the glasses were both sticky suggesting that one of the indredients, some sort of syrup (?) had been spilled down the outside of the gleass when ithey were being prepared. I asked for them to be changed and the replacements were in clean glasses but the drinks were not much more sparkling than the first ones. But they were acceptable and enjoyable to drink. Except for the ridiculously small half filled pots of accompanying sauces (chaged for separately) for the Breton Chicken,the food and wine was excellent in all respects - the coffee too. We were served by a really excellent waiter "Dillon" who really made our evening. Only the two issues mentioned at the beginning of this reviewed prevented me from awarding you 6 stars!

We received a warm welcome and the staff were generally attentive. We dined early and the restaurant was pleasantly quiet to start with, once it got busier it got very noisy and it was hard to hear each other. The staff naturally also got busier. The food was excellent, we all enjoyed our meals. The only oddity was after ordering desserts we were asked about coffee and an espresso was ordered. It then came immediately long before our desserts, we had expected it after the desserts, or at least at the same time. As it was such a short drink it would have been stone cold if we had left it to drink at the appropriate stage of the meal.

being regulars we both ordered the wrong dishes insofar as the asparagus was 'salty' but was remedied. the tuna was presented in sauce[rather than plain grilled ] and my lamb chops were chops rather than cutlets. our fault for not reading the menu in detail !!

very good menu, well prepared and presented. attentive service polite staff

Wonderful first visit. We loved the ambiance, food, speed of service, staff and the menus on offer. Would love to sit in the courtyard next time! Will return.

As a regular Cote diner, I like the food, ambience & particularly the friendliness of all staff. As a regular tipper however, I was recently perturbed & disappointed to be told that the 12.5% optional service charge is still being utilised by management to pay staff wages; in other words not being distributed to staff in ADDITION to contracted wage rates. I understood this practice had ended. Please let me know if this is not the case.

Food was good, waitress not particularly friendly. Table booked for 5 people. With a free £6 cocktail per person. Disappointed that there wasn't a soft drink alternative for the drivers, irresponsible and also wouldn't have cost anymore.

Pleasant meal but expensive for what it is; it wouldn't cost much more to include some vegetables or to offer 'free' bread to start the meal. It was quite noisy and crowded in the restaurant so why additional 'music' was on adding to this is annoying and unnecessary. Waiting staff were attentive and helpful and food was tasty and hot. Adding 12.5% service on is really too much and is greedy; 10% is acceptable. It can be difficult when with a group of people to start discussing and amending this so we paid it, reluctantly.

Once again an excellent meal and attentive staff. It is our third o casino within a few weeks but even so we always enjoy the food and ambience.

so good to go to a restaurant that understands Gluten free and has a wide menu to chose from. Lovely meal. The second in two days

EXCEPTIONAL EVENING!! The staff at the St Albans restuarant were outstanding. It was my mums birthday, and she was treated to a drink on arrival, and the staff sung her happy birthday, whilst presenting her dessert with a candle on top. It made our evening that extra bit special. Additionally the food was delicious, so flavoursome and very prompt. Overall a great atmosphere, friendly and approachable staff members, and a great evening. Thanks everyone, you should be very proud.

Another great meal, loved the duck, friendly service... we’ll be back:)

- Food was good , - a little expensive .

I dined out at Cote on Saturday with my partner and we had a very pleasant meal experience. The March offer of the free gin and elderflower was as delightful as it looked on the web-site as was the ambiance of the restaurant itself. The food was wonderful as was the choice, with something for everyone...I chose the mussels and the crepe as it had been Pancake Day...the best crepe ever and a lot better than mine! The service was generally faultless, however, I did feel slightly pressured to order which was a little unfortunate as we were an early evening sitting and the restaurant was not that busy. This slight annoyance really did not spoil an otherwise very enjoyable evening.

We always have a great meal in Cote and last night was no different. Both food and service were excellent!

Excellent food and service and a great menu to choose from. Everything is reasonably priced and the early bird menu is great value for money. Will come again.

Great service, especially with regards to allergies. Waiters were patient, helpful and knowledgeable. The food arrived swiftly and the minute steak was great. Thank you.

The Cote Brasserie St Albans are consistently above average , they deliver French style bistro food efficiently .It's uncomplicated and pleasant , does what it says on the tin. Bon appetit.

Food and service is always consistently good at Côte. Staff are friendly. Great atmosphere. Took a friend there who’d never been before and she wasn’t disappointed. Always enjoy my time there.

Food always good well cooked fresh, well presented and very authentic. Service is excellent friendly and professional . We always enjoy our favourites French Onion soup , steak tartare, fish stew Chocolate fondant. All delicious and value for money.

As ever, Côte proved a dependable place for a good-value, well-cooked lunch - generous portions on the set menu, too. Altogether an enjoyable experience.

Very good service. The food was very good. I had the roast pork. My husband had a steak and my mother had the veal chop. The steak was cooked to perfection. Thank you for a lovely Easter lunch.

Came here yesterday with 2 friends and last week with a party of 10.I always enjoy my meals and the great atmosphere.My number one choice for meeting up with friends to enjoy a meal.

Great service and food for a sunday. Mussels were excellent and oonion soup