Côte St Albans Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food was delicious and very reasonably priced."
• "Food was first rate and the service was impeccable."
• "Most of the starters we tried were excellent."
• "Best restaurant for food quality and consistency of flavours, service and cleanliness in St Albans, by far."
• "The food was perfect - was brought out in a timely manner and was cooked perfectly."
• "The food was delicious, the quality of meat and ingredients, seasoning and the way it was cooked, we have eaten in some amazing restaurants and this right up there."
• "Always excellent food."

Cons:

• "The food was all right, just the quantity of it was far from enough."
• "Food was average at best."
• "The food can be a bit inconsistent at times."
• "Steak was lukewarm and very tough."
• "1 of the steaks was not cooked, to the point where it was cold in the middle."
• "Order Sea Bream with lentils and tapenade. Fish over cooked."
• "Cassoulet was very dry nothing like a traditional one although they said this was the way the chef cooked it! And the sea bass was under cooked and slimy."

Service

Pros:

• "The service was friendly and helpful although a bit rushed."
• "The service was impeccable."
• "Food was great but the service was outstanding."
• "All the staff were very friendly and attentive."
• "The service was outstanding. Just amazing, nothing was too much trouble."
• "Our waiter was excellent, really helpful, quick and cheerful."
• "A beautifully decorated venue with great service."

Cons:

• "Sat us in the middle of hustle bustle of the noisy bar."
• "Service was rushed and the waiter wasn't listening when we were speaking to him?"
• "Slow service, had to shoot flares in the air to get anyone."
• "We found the staff a bit abrupt at first."
• "Service wasn't great. They got our starter wrong. Then one of the mains was wrong."
• "Service not great either - no smiles or eye contact from waitress."
• "Slow service, and not very efficient or friendly."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Such a nice aesthetics inside to have dinner in."
• "The ambience was perfect, it felt like a date night."
• "The atmosphere was great for catching up with a friend."
• "The design and ambience of the place is beautiful, classy and cosy."
• "Obviously a very popular eating place."
• "The quiet back garden is charming, highly recommended."
• "Lovely clean restaurant and Ladies facilities. Is deceptively large restaurant, with areas cleverly separated by lovely big velvet curtains."

Cons:

• "It turns out that if you have brown skin, you get turned away."
• "Sat us in the middle of hustle bustle of the noisy bar."
• "Tables very close together, we could hear the whole conversation of the people sat on the table next to us."
• "I was seated in the window close to the door and it smelled of damp/mould."
• "The setting is a little formal feeling for breakfast but overall would recommend."
• "Better than a normal pub if that's your threshold but this one of the worst Cote's I've been to."
• "Went for a happy Sunday lunch with my family and it became a nightmare. The picture is what I ordered for my kids (2 and 1 year old) it was a crepe with mushrooms and it came with an INSECT."

Value

Pros:

• "The food was delicious and very reasonably priced."
• "Reasonably priced and lovely atmosphere throughout the restaurant."
• "With a set menu at a good price, it was a great start to our new year eve celebration."
• "The pricing fair. It's the perfect place for a nice dinner/brunch, that isn't stuffy, but also won't break the bank."
• "Hands down my favourite restaurant in St Albans - the quality of the food is incredible and the price very reasonable."
• "The facilities are clean, it's centrally located, and they do really well priced specials on most public celebration days."
• "Had the Prix Fixe menu and enjoyed every bit!"

Cons:

• "Bit disappointing that they choose how much of a tip you leave by adding it on for you."
• "The value for the money is not the greatest."
• "I don't like 12.5% gratuity adding automatically to my bill."
• "On top of this they add an optional 12.5% service charge to the tab and hide it as if it were just another item on the menu."
• "So disappointed, I wouldn't have left a tip but its automatically added."
• "Service was very good as usual, but I found the prices had risen considerably."
• "The bill... I've paid over triple the price for very average food. The whole experience was one of the best I've had."

Special Occasions

Pros:

• "Mentioned we were celebrating my friends birthday when booking and we were given a glass of bubbly each when we arrived."
• "Thank you so much for all you did to help us enjoy our celebration."
• "Thank you to all at Cote - I had a lovely birthday celebration in your care this afternoon sitting out in your courtyard."
• "We have just came back from celebrating our anniversary in Cote and it was amazing! Food, atmosphere, the care from the staff was really top class."
• "It was our wedding anniversary and the waitress clocked me saying 'happy anniversary' to my husband which prompted her to bring two complimentary glasses of Cremant."
• "Went for my daughters birthday, lovely experience. We were given 2 complimentary glasses of bubbles."
• "Celebrated my graduation here and we had an incredible time."