The food was relatively standard fare, but I couldn't complain about any of it. (The roquefort butter Tom had with his steak was a tad too strong for me, but he loved it!) An early sign of promise was a basket of warm and fluffy white bread with soft butter. We're both suckers for a nice bit of butter, and this was wolfed down in minutes. The presentation of the bread (classic basket etc...) set the tone for a lot of pretty dishes to come.
The starters of some exquisitely light fried calamari and a decent rilettes (rough duck and pork paté) effort were a nice precursor to two hearty mains. Tom's steak was well-cooked and the frites it came with were quite as they ought to be. As I touched on earlier, the butter was far too strong for my tastes, but Tom put it away with vigour. I plumped for some decent duck, which came with gratin potatoes and dressing. Just about right, I must say.
We (in a seemingly progressively typical decadent fashion) decided to split a creme brulee on top of the desserts we each had. It was great: served in a cute black pot, replete with vanilla pods, and most importantly, the sugar on top was not overpowering. I went for the chocolate fondant (as I seem to be hunting for the perfect one) and Tom ate a divine creme caramel. I've never been a fan of these, but this was excellent and I could've eaten it happily.
Côte isn't really breaking any new ground, but it's yet another affordable chain where you can enjoy slightly-better-than-chain standard food. Check it out if you can, but don't expect the world.
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