Côte Brasserie | Norwich

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On the Saturday before Valentines Day, Ruben and I decided to celebrate our 4 year anniversary (and valentines of course!) at the Cote Brasserie in Norwich. Cote is a fantastic french, chain restaurant which had opened last Summer. We had previously eaten at the restaurant before with my family, and had a lovely meal, so when we saw that they were advertising a set meal for valentines day which wasn't obscenely overpriced we booked a table!

When we arrived at  the restaurant, slightly early, we were greeted by a lovely host and taken to our table which was ready thankfully. Once sat down, we were provided with the special set menu but also the A la Carte menu. I'd already had a sneak peak at the menu before hand (who doesn't!?) and knew exactly what I wanted to order, but Ruben decided to change his mind last minute and order off the normal menu. The restaurant was very busy, but we were still provided with excellent service and the food was brought out quickly and efficiently by several members of the team

The set menu came with a glass of Kir Royale, and it was delicious! I'm a big fan of Prosecco, so this was the perfect drink for me. Ruben opted for a glass of white wine and we ordered a bottle of tap water as well, which came in a lovely branded bottle- a nice change from the usual jug of water!

The starter I chose was a goats cheese salad, which was accompanied by a tangy sauce, which really cut through the sweetness of the goats cheese. I think Ruben had food envy because he kept pinching my starter! Ruben had Calamari, served with a garlic dip, which he enjoyed! I tried some of the Calamari and it was very crisp and tasted quite nice- although i'm not a huge fan of squid!

I opted for fillet steak as my main (pictured above), and me being me assumed it would be served as a grill so I asked for the mashed potato to be swapped for fries, which was obliged! When the main arrived I quickly realised my mistake and was presented with a beautiful piece of fillet, with a red wine and mushroom sauce. The mashed potato would have been more suitable with this type of dish, but my fries were still excellent and very enjoyable. I asked for my steak to be cooked 'medium-well'.. I know I know it ruins the flavour- I've heard it all before! But that's how I like my steak cooked. Normally, when i'm in a restaurant and ask for a 'medium-well' steak i'm presented with either extreme; either undercooked or burnt to a crisp! But the chefs at Cote managed to get the steak perfect! Ruben also had a steak, but his was a more traditional grilled steak and was also served with fries.

Desserts are the best part of the meal for me so I definitely knew I was ordering a dessert, regardless of how full I was! I'm a die hard chocaholic, so I was quite disappointed that there were no chocolate dessert on the set menu as i'd been eyeing up the chocolate fondant! I decided to go for a tarte au citron, which was gorgeous! The creme fresh really cut through the sharpness of the lemon so it was a great accompaniment! I'm actually quite glad I went for a lighter dessert after the richness of the fillet steak!

 We also had coffees after out meal and I loved that my latte was served with a little heart on top. They probably do this on all of their coffees, but I thought it was a lovely touch and very apt considering it was Valentines weekend!

The meal was great value for money and the set menu I had was priced at £25.95 per person, although I did have to pay a £2.00 supplement for the fillet. Cote automatically adds a 12.5% service charge to the bill- but this is optional! However the service was faultless so we happily paid the full amount!

There are a few Cote restaurants dotted around the country so i'd definitely recommend visiting one if you have one in your area. I know they've recently opened a new restaurant in Lincoln, so i'm looking forward to trying that one out also! They also offer a daily set menu, so its worth checking out!

Have you visited a Cote restaurant before?

xo