Lunch at Cambridge's Côte Brasserie

After some researching, I came across Côte Brasserie and I pinned it down as a place to visit for a meal, since this place reputedly serves up authentic French dishes with quality ingredients.

We entered a lovely, spacious restaurant and was seated comfortably near the window. It was a good day, so light was ample and the restaurant was cheery bright.

By the way, if you need it, free wifi is available in this restaurant too!

As it was noon and we wanted to try many things for a fraction of the cost, I had the 3-course lunch menu for GBP11.90, while my folks had a 2-course meal. They raised their eyebrows in judgement of my huge appetite, as I was planning to order steak as my main dish.

Anyway, since there were 3 of us, we actually got a chance to try out most of the lunch menu! Yay to that!

First up: Potato and Leek Vichyssoise Soup with Truffle Oil. The soup was so good, creamy but not overly thick. It was simple and tasty. The truffle oil blended so well with the soup. It was a lovely first dish. A little filling because of the potato content, actually. But we shared the soup, so it wasn't that bad.

Salt Cod and Potato Croquettes with roasted pepper aioli. We all came to a consensus. This was alright, but nothing too breathtaking. The croquettes were crispy as they were supposed to be, but if I had to say, I did enjoy the sauce.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Goats Cheese Risotto. To be honest, my folks were apprehensive at trying this, and even after trying, they did not quite like the taste as they have more of an... asian tastebud? I'm not even sure if that's the way to put it, but anyway, I loved this.

The egg yolk! The entire combination was really good. Surprisingly, it was music to my palate. I shan't attempt to go into any details because I'm not too much of an expert, but I know when to tell when a dish is nice, and this was it!

Traditional 'Hunter' Style Braised Chicken Leg with Tomatoes, Chestnut Mushrooms and Potato Puree. Basically, if anything, this was the more typical western style which my folks are more accustomed to. Tasty it was, but nothing highly fascinating.

Chargrilled Salmon with Ratatouille. My dad loved this. He is a fan of salmon and he said this was grilled just nice. The meat was tender and the mix with the ratatouille was delicious.

Steak Frites, served with frites and garlic butter. Ah, this was my order. Steakkkk! I love steak.
*Enter Puke Rainbows Meme*
In fact, I love all sorts of meats. This was thinly sliced and the garlic butter gave it a slight garlicky edge which I enjoyed.

Served pink, just right! The meat was tender and enjoyable.

Creme Caramel, one of their house specialties. So smooth and sweet, yet not too heavy to enjoy after the meal. Very good indeed. We finished this in a heartbeat.

Dark chocolate pot with Creme Fraiche. If you've been reading my blog, you will know that I'm a whimsical chocolate eater. In fact, it is safer to assume that I don't enjoy chocolate at all. But this, I did enjoy. This was so delicious, what with the pairing of simple dark chocolate puree and creme fraiche. Simple but so good. Serving was small too, but I guess they took into consideration that people would almost be full by this time, so this size is actually just right.

Lastly, the "Crumble Aux Pommes". It's apple compote with normandy butter crumble and vanilla ice cream. This looks so good! Just look at that icing on top of that plate!

So good. A lovely ending to a meal.

Overall, we did enjoy the meal at this place. The service was good too, and most dishes had exceeded expectations. The desserts, however, had seemed to rank the top of the yummy scale.

Smart they are, because while the beginning of the meal casts the first impression. the ending touch is usually the most important memory that most will keep.

The lunch menu is available on Mondays to Fridays, 12noon to 7pm. Their lunch menus are updated periodically, so do take note too.

Côte Brasserie Cambridge
Location: 21-24 Bridge Street, Cambridge CB2 1UF
Opening Times: 8am - 11pm (Monday to Friday), 9am - 11pm (Sat), 9am - 10:30pm (Sun)
Website: http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/cote/location

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