Côte - Bath

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Côte - Bath

You can’t go wrong with the simple, freshly prepared bistro fare at this chic French brasserie in Bath

If it doesn’t seem like long since a review of the Bath branch of Côte – the très amiable French-themed brasserie that magpied into the empty nest vacated by the Moon and Sixpence around half a year ago – first appeared on these pages, that’s because it isn’t. So why, a mere six months after our first foray into the Franglais franchise’s Heritage City incarnation am I here again, nibbling on a generous slab of anchovy pissaladière while sipping on Côte’s signature kir royale aperitif and mentally tossing a coin between a main course of poulet Breton or beef bourguignon? Because, dear reader, Côte offers far more than a nouvelle kid on the block experience, and has – in a relatively short space of time - easily proved its worth as the kind of place that shouldn’t be overlooked in your search for fairly priced, thoroughly decent grub in a smart but relaxing environment, cosy in summer and promising all manner of alfresco frolicking opportunities when the sun finally reappears.

And so it came to pass that here we are again, because here you’ll often find us: Him predictably opting for a starter of another Côte sig-dish that I swear he loves almost as much as he loves me (the sublimely savoury steak tartare, £6.75), and me going unpredictably carni-crazy and choosing a fully loaded charcuterie platter (£5.95 for a starter that would easily satiate two less greedy cohorts) over my beloved moules marinières (they’re very good here; you really should try them some time). On the mains front, the chicken won the toss: I chose to take mine accompanied by a very fresh wild mushroom sauce that still only nudged the price up to around £12, while Mr Meat was reunited with yet another of his best friends: a flavoursome rib-eye steak with peppercorn sauce, circa £16.

We chose to sidecart our mains with a dish of green beans that reminded me of my only Côte niggle: shouldn’t at least one five-a-day come as standard rather than as an optional £2+ extra? Still, excellent fries came as standard, and we managed to find room for a very fine tarte fine aux pommes (£5.15) and a nice, neat coupe noire (proper vanilla ice-cream with a sexy warm chocolate sauce, £4.15) to bring the curtain down on yet another satisfying Côte experience. (Melissa Blease)