Côte Brasserie Manchester

Back for breakfast :) It was a Wednesday morning, quite surprised it was pretty busy.
The staff was very friendly and remembered me from the last visit :)
Started off with a mimosa that was quite strong. I had Crêpe Complète; the crêpe was nicely cooked and very soft, eggs were perfectly runny, and there was lots of bacon. Very flavorful and good deal overall. For £9.95 you can have a cooked breakfast, a coffee, and a juice. I also had a croissant that was also very good. Nicely crispy on the outside, with a semi-​toasty feel to it, but soft and buttery inside. It was served with butter and 3 kinds of jam.

Came here on Wednesday for a birthday and a very satisfied customer. Food was top-​quality and reasonably priced and the wines were too.
My charcuterie board starter was a definite highlight of the meal; even if the waitress did initially forget my bread — although she brought it to me apologetically without me even asking for it. I had the pork belly for main, which was delicious (if not possibly a little TOO crispy — yes, I know, it sounds impossible).
We had a bottle of champagne (for the birthday) and a bottle of merlot (for the mid-​week blues) and all commented on how much we enjoyed it. Even the birthday boy, who says he doesn’t even like French wines, said it was good.
Overall, a great venue with tasty food and friendly, competent staff. Give it a try if you haven’t :)

Their lunch and pre-​theatre menu seems to attract a lot of people because it’s such a good deal, served daily between midday and 7pm, two courses are £9.95 and three courses are £11.90. It was for this exact reason that a bunch of girls from my office decided that this would be the perfect place to go straight from work on a Friday night. As there were more than six of us we did decide to book our table in advance and we were happy to be seated as soon as we turned up.
Between us we ordered two bottles of red wine. I was pleasantly surprised when the staff came to top up our glasses when they were running low — I find that this very rarely happens in standard restaurants now a days.
To start I had the chicken liver parfait, which was served with crusty bread and a mini salad. The pâté was absolutely delicious with the perfect texture and very complementary flavours. I was actually quite sad when I got to the end of the pot.
For an additional £2 I had to have the steak frites for main, which was cooked perfectly (still slightly pink in the middle), drizzled in garlic butter and served with chunky chips.
I really liked the atmosphere and good vibes in this restaurant, even though it isn’t the biggest of restaurants the noise level didn’t get too high even when nearly at full capacity.
I could not falter the food on any level, however I think that the serving staff were slightly wooden, and could certainly use a pinch of happiness — everyone loves service with a smile. It is for this reason that I am only giving Cote four stars.

I’ve been here a couple of times now — the first time we went as a birthday treat for one of my work friends after work. We aimed to get there before 7pm as they have a pre-​theatre dinner menu — 2 courses for £9.95.
We all ordered from the specials — going for the starter and main option. I went for the flatbread followed by the minuet steak and frites.
This place really is value for money — the flatbread was tasty although slightly crispy for my liking. The steak was nicely cooked with some garlic butter which was tasty. Overall the food was good however I do think the dishes lacked some form of presentation! Although what more can you ask for when the set menu is so reasonably priced?

As a brunch and breakfast fanatic, I’m always on a look out for new indulging places. As it happens, I was around Parsonage Gardens on Sunday and I saw Cote Brasserie just on a side street of House of Fraser. Naturally I had to go in, and I was very pleasantly surprised!
You definitely wouldn’t think that an authentic looking brasserie hides there, you know… one of those little urban gems. Only it’s not tiny at all, Cote can easily welcome groups and larger parties. I would say that it’s a lovely place for a book club or a family brunch.
I’d describe Cote as fairly close to a Parisian brasserie, adapted to the British taste and palette. Food wise, I had the Eggs Royale and of course a Mimosa (or Bucks Fizz if you’d prefer), the glamorous way of starting your Sunday. The food was tasty and nice, however I think they could have presented it a bit better. Or maybe they are keeping the simple French platting style?!
What I was really glad to find is that they serve Cafetieres which, believe it or not, is not that easy to find — my fellow coffee addicts will know exactly what I’m talking about. Also, they have a very good coffee blend. So if you’re on a look out for a quick work day breakfast, you could easily be satisfied with their coffee and a croissant, continental style.
I will definitely return and I would like to taste their a la carte menu. As soon as I’ll try it out, I’ll let you guys know how it was.

Visited Cote Brasserie a number of times previously, and in pre-​Yelp days so a mid-​week visit gave me the chance to review properly. I have enjoyed previously, and it didn’t disappoint again. Our social group of 4 enjoyed the lunch and pre-​theatre menu (although we met early evening), which is £9.95 for 2 courses and £11.90 for 3 courses (served 12pm until 7pm daily). Within this menu, there are 4 choices for Starters, Mains and Dessert, so plenty of choice for everyone. The set menu does seem to change on a regular basis, which is good. I opted to start with the Potato, Leek and Celeriac Soup — which was delicious and creamy; maybe could have done with being a little bit hotter — but otherwise really nice. A couple of my dining companions went for the Whitebait which looked equally good and nicely presented. For the mains, I went for my favourite here of Steak Frites (served pink), with garlic butter. Very tasty, filling and cooked perfectly. To end my meal, another favourite Crème Caramel and I think one of the best I have ever tasted, and went down well some of my companions too. Excellent food, and supported by brilliant and speedy and charming service. A visit is recommended, and of course they have an a la carte menu too.

On a Thursday evening in town with Mum we decided to see if this Cote Brasserie is as good as the one in York. We were going to take advantage of the fixed price menu, but the specials really grabbed us this time.
To start we shared a portion of calamari — plenty to share between us! Definitely would have been too much for one person, unless you’re really hungry. The calamari was served in a little pan tossed in garlic and parsley with a lemon wedge and mayonnaise dip. Really lovely.
Mum had the seafood stew — lots of clams, mussels, white fish and squid in a tomato sauce with a slight hit of chilli and fresh bread to dip. I had the lamb — and it was the most perfectly cooked piece of lamb I’ve ever had. Lovely seared crust on the outside and a melt in the mouth medium rare pink in the middle. The vegetable accompaniment to my lamb were caramelised and tender, and the red wine sauce was rich and added a real savoury hit to the sweet vegetables.
After all this rich food we had no room for dessert, though the options did look good.
All the staff here were very helpful and polite, it was a bit odd that the room lighting kept dimming ever so sightly ever now and again, but it didn’t spoil our night.
Definitely as good, if not better, than the Cote Brasserie in York. Will be visiting again to try the fixed price menu soon.

Couldn’t recommend this place highly enough for good quality, accessible French food.
Went early evening on a Sunday and ate from the fixed-​price, lunch/​early evening menu. It’s available until 19:00 (including weekends) and is £10 for two course, £12 for three.
Atmosphere is very classy with very obliging waiting staff. The fixed price menu is a mixture of recognisable classics (Steak Frites) and more unusual dishes (Tuna Rillettes).
I wouldn’t let the fact that it’s a chain put you off; it ain’t Pizza Express! I intend to go back very soon, perhaps for breakfast as others seem to rave about it…

I had visited a Cote brasserie in London last summer and found it lovely, so I was quite excited when one popped up in Manchester a few months ago and I got chance to try it this week. Sadly, the experience couldn’t match what I had hoped — but still, it was nice.
It was Christmas Eve Eve and the restaurant was deserted, but despite this, the hostess walked us past lots of empty tables and sat us in the middle of the room right next a (very loud) christmas party of 12. Not great when you want to actually talk to the person you’re with.
The menus were on the tables already, so the hostess showed us the specials menu and told us our waitress would be over soon.
Our waitress, because of where we had been seated, was also the waitress for the table of 12 — they were keeping her busy, which means it was well over 10 minutes before she came to take our drinks order.
I ordered a glass of red wine and my friend a glass of champagne — only to be asked, sitting at the table, if we both had ID.
This has never happened to me in any restaurant EVER. I have never been asked to show my driving licence whilst ordering wine with a meal. I was genuinely shocked, as was my friend, and we made sure that the waitress knew she had annoyed us whilst we both handed over our IDs to prove we were ²⁶⁄₂₇.
After this, came the food — and this is where the experience gets better.
I ordered the mushroom Fuilette to start and it was very tasty, the puff pastry was very light and the sauce was fab.
My friend ordered scallops from the specials menu and they seemed to be enjoyed.
My main course was the duck breast which was cooked perfectly, and the black cherry sauce it came with was very VERY nice! The gratin potatoes and creamed spinach complemented the dish very well and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Overall, the food here is good — and with Cote being a chain, it obviously has standards to uphold. Shame it can’t do the same with the service.

It’s taken me a long time to come around to Cote — being a chain, I found it hard to get excited about and, despite trying to schedule in a breakfast or lunch in the past few months, something else always came up trumps.
However, the fixed priced menu was too good to miss for my friend’s birthday so she booked a table and we went to take full advantage of a price we all agreed felt ridiculously cheap for the quality of food placed in front of us.
We were greeted with a smile (despite being caught in the Manchester rain!) and shown to a cozy booth at the far end of the restaurant. One of the table was gluten free, which was explained on booking, so a menu was ready and waiting on the table, with the waiter coming over to make sure she was happy with the options provided.
For starters, the majority of us opted for the cheese and herb bread, which was presented on a wooden slab. Mine was slightly overdone and, despite enjoying the crisp crack of the majority of the portion, the very end pieces were slightly too hard to get through…
It was an easy choice — for me anyway — as to what to have for main. The steak frites, for a £2 supplement, was a delicious plate of simple but well cooked food. My idea of the perfect pink, the meat was very tender and the garlic butter melted across the plate. I kept my chips in the small metal presentation bucket, but others poured them out to also coat them in the buttery goodness. The only thing missing from the plate was some greenery, but that came at an added cost!
We were undecided about dessert for a while, but after some «but it IS a birthday celebration!» conversation, a few of us decided to indulge. I had the apple crumble, which was delicious and had (almost) the perfect ratio of buttery crumble to apple compote beneath, lightly spiced with cinnamon. The birthday girl was even presented with a candle in hers, which was a lovely touch.
Our only issue was that we never saw the last bottle of white wine we ordered… the service on the whole began to slip towards the end of the meal and as the restaurant began to empty out.
Despite this, I think the meal was worth four stars and, although I won’t be coming for my own special occasions, I think this was a great spot for the six of us to eat.

Very delicious, friendly and surprisingly affordable for the quality they are serving. The location is great and it’s a lovely place just to have a cup of tea or coffee. Nevertheless, the food was divine and the Crème Caramel (made out of rainbows and unicorns) are out of this world.

Côte isn’t the cheapest place to grab breakfast in Manchester but it’s probably one of the nicest. By that, I mean you can expect top notch food, excellent service and no riff-​raff clientele.
I ordered a glass of zingy, freshly squeezed orange — the perfect way to wash down my delicious Crêpe Complete (bacon covered in eggs and cheese on a crêpe).
My other half ordered a French Breakfast which was also incredibly tasty, especially the black pudding. He washed that down with two Americano coffees and we both shared a bottle of complimentary filtered water.
The bill came to £23, which I guess is quite pricey for breakfast but the food was tres bien and the staff went out of their way to be as helpful as possible.
So to conclude: scrumptious French cuisine, a pleasant, hotel restaurant feel (I actually felt like I was on holiday in France at one point), super friendly and attentive staff, spotless tables and chairs and an excellent selection of breakfast options. We will definitely be back to sample more of what Côte has to offer.

Highly recommended this place got an email from Manchester confidential advertising this place for breakfast so I decided to give it a go today breakfast toast Orange juice and a pot of tea and I asked if I could have some jam for my toast And the waitress brought me free little pots of jam was only £9.95 but they do add an optional service charge of 12 5% I will definitely go back here again

Nice food, nice atmosphere, reasonable price.
Enjoyed our meal (beef bourguignon, steak, wine) in a decent addition to the list of Manchester’s places to eat out.