My wife and I recently went to the Côte Restaurant on Sloane Square in London. The restaurant chain offers very good value for money and decent food. It also maintains a very good standard of service. In fact, the food service and wine is about as good as it can get. It is not fine dining but it is close to it. We had a two course prix fixe menu. Our main course was rib-eye steak cooked rare in French style and it was delicious. We drank a bottle of La Reserve de Lucien 2017 Red Bordeaux to go with it. We were particularly impressed with this wine which was ready to drink. The wine was typical of the region and if I tasted it blind I would instantly tell that it was from the region. The wine was concentrated and had the typical aroma and taste of a good Bordeaux and at £26 pounds for the bottle in a restaurant was exceptional value for money. I am sure that I have paid more for a lesser quality wine.
I called the manager over to congratulate him on the food and very good service, the lady who served us was polite and friendly and left us to get on with the dining; as a matter of taste I do not like waiters hovering over me to serve the wine, as I like to do it myself.
It is not possible to congratulate the wine buyer personally when dining in a chain restaurant, but often they are the unsung heroes of dining out. They have to find the best quality wine at the best price and match the wine to the customers' expectations and to the food. All I can say is well done and thank you.
The following week again we dined in the Côte Restaurant in Sevenoaks in Kent, and once again the service , food and wine were excellent. We particularly liked the French house wine - White Sauvignon Blanc. The wine was excellent and its dry style matched matched our chicken dishes perfectly.
Needless to say, we shall be going back many more times while Côte Restaurants maintain their high standards for food, wine and service from knowledgeable and friendly staff. The post-Covid world has seen a general fall in service across service outlets. Côte Restaurants have defied this trend and long may this continue.
