26 Jun 2024
Posted at 14:42
in Review
James Cameron explore la cuisine française dans le centre-ville de St Albans…
Like many people in the St Albans district we had received a very friendly flyer through our door from Côte offering a free round of drinks next time we dine there, and given that I am never one to turn down a free drink we dutifully headed off to our local branch of the omnipresent French Brasserie for dinner.
Unlike some chain restaurants based on global cuisines they do not over-emphasise the French roots in the decor. There are no mini Eiffel Towers on the table, nor do the waiters have a sense of sneering superiority.
Instead the furnishings are tasteful and understated, if a little safe, and the serving staff are absolutely lovely.
This does lead to a certain amount of cognitive dissonance for anyone who is a long time resident of St Albans, as the site now occupied by Côte used to be the location of the Vintry, one of the least classy pubs in town back in the day when this was a strongly contested title. It is to this day the only place where I have heard the phrase “Did you spill my pint?” used in anger, and it sent our party into happy reminiscences of their young and reckless years and their outrage when they swapped over the Ladies and Gents toilets.
Said toilets are now much nicer, you will be glad to know, with Côte-branded hand wash and hand lotion.
The menu has all the French classics you would expect, such as Duck a L’Orange (Orange Duck), Tuna Nicoise (Nice Tuna) and Baguettes (Bread). They have a good value fixed price menu (or Prix Fixe, £17.95 for two courses) but this was denied to us as we were already getting our free drinks and they’re not made of money.
However, there were plenty of good things to go for from the main menu (or A La Carte).
From the Vegan section, the Mushroom Bourguignon was surprisingly lacking in mushrooms.
Instead they had stuck in a load of fake beef, which was quite reminiscent of real beef but not really necessary. I think vegetarian and vegan food is at its best when it is designed around getting the most from the vegetables rather than trying to pretend that you’re actually eating meat. They already had the perfect beef substitute with mushrooms and I wish they’d trusted them to do the job.
Elsewhere the fish stew was as well stocked as the bit in the London Aquarium where you walk through a tunnel, but was a touch underseasoned, being more freshwater than seawater. I had a chicken breast served with a very creamy mushroom sauce. Possibly too creamy, as it threatened to overwhelm the dish.
The standout for me was the chips (or French Fries, I guess). These were masterfully done, being the perfect blend of crispy and oily and packed full of flavour. They came with a splodge of comté cheese, but this had coagulated at the top meaning you had a few incredibly cheesy chips followed by many more normal ones. When the fries are as good as this, though, that’s no hardship.
The dessert menu is a mix of old favourites and interesting innovations. The vegan Salted Caramel Tart was not the greatest dessert in the world, being slightly on the stodgy side, but it was at least a vegan dessert that wasn’t sorbet. The Crème Brûlée on the other hand nailed the basics absolutely, then threw in some bonus strawberry and elderflower flavours to really knock your socks off.
The pudding that drew the most admiring glances from the table, though, was the Paris-Brest (tee hee). I had never come across one of these before, being the result of an unhinged breeding programme between a bagel and an eclair, filled with cream and a cherry compote and topped with pistachios and cherry pieces. It looked amazing, but the eating experience was something of let down as the carefully crafted sections all smudged together like a Degas painting that someone had taken a damp cloth to.
I passed on the dessert as I was intrigued by the cheese menu on offer. After careful deliberation and consideration I whittled the nine(!) on offer down to my chosen four and waited with anticipation for the dairyfest to commence. And waited, and waited, and waited some more.
By the time my companions had finished their own desserts and hot drinks (including a green tea that was the hit of the night, with a lovely undertone of peach) I decided to cut my losses and cancel my order.
I was informed that my cheese was on the very cusp of being ready, but did not relish having the whole table gaze at me as I wolfed it down. What was not explained was how it can take so long to cut four pieces of cheese and put them on the plate, possibly they had run out and needed to make an emergency late night dash to their local cheesemonger.
The staff were all perfectly charming and suitably contrite about the issue, and removed the item from the bill without being prompted as well as offering me the cheese to take away.
Fearful of what dreams may come from such late night cheese consumption, though, I declined.
Other than this unfortunate final lapse the service had been exemplary throughout, and as chain restaurants go Côte is a perfectly pleasant place to engage in social dining.
I’ll confess to not being a particular fan of French cuisine, without wishing to sound too provincial it seems overly reliant on stuffing in more fat to get the flavour levels up, but no one will go away disappointed after eating here.
Ironically, though, it does lack a certain je ne sais quoi.
Still, it’s always good to have a Brest in a Brasserie.
I’ll get my Côte .
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans
Côte Brasserie in St Albans