Côte Wokingham — Restaurant in England

We spent New Year's Eve here last night, as we have done for the last two years. My heart sank a bit when we walked in last night, as we were kept waiting for our table to be relaid, which meant that we were left standing behind other people eating which I didn't like, because I was conscious that they were there for a nice meal. Anyway, we were finally seated on a table which was pushed against a wall opposite two tables in the main walkway, so it was extremely noisy and not a good place to sit. We asked to move and were given a much better table near the back of the restaurant, where we could relax and actually hear each other, lovely! There was a set menu for New year's Eve and we were given a glass of kir royale on being seated. Then, an amuse bouche of cauliflower soup, some olives and some tasty sourdough bread arrived, delicious. I had a charcuterie board for starters and my husband had the terrine, followed by the most beautiful, tender fillet steak we have had for a long time, perfectly cooked, served with green beans and a celeriac puree and the most divine mushroom sauce to accompany the fillet steak. I had a really tasty apple tart with cinnamon ice cream for dessert and my husband had the grand marnier crêpe, which was flamed at the table. The staff were really lovely and restored what could have been a disappointing evening ( with the waiting amongst others eating and the first bad table) by reseating us and giving great customer service with a smile. I am giving this review 4 stars due to the start of the evening, but the food and staff were a 5! Thank you very much and a happy new year to all of you at...

Average at best. I went in with low expectations as it is a chain restaurant so wasn't expecting the same quality as an independent, yet still left disappointed. The number of fish themed dishes intrigued me at first, but a combination of Googling pictures other diners had posted of their dishes, looking at the sizes of the portions (small) and the fact Wokingham is too far from the sea for the fish to be fresh I decided against it. Can't go wrong with a steak right? Well the Sirloin and Rib Eye were both average at best, the quality of cuts no better than supermarket grade. They were both cooked correctly. The fries on the side tasted very similar to cheap supermarket oven chips. The staff were nothing to write home about either, basic level of politeness, but some mistakes were made, dishes ordered that never arrived, we were only a party of 8 so we weren't ordering a lot either. Another simple thing that they could have improved on - the acoustics where we were sat were not that great so one end of the table could barely hear the wait staff - yet instead of her moving to the other end of the table she decides to just continue to try and communicate down the length of the table, which seemed like a very bizarre way to do it? We also didn't get any acknowledge of leaving or a simple Goodbye which is something so simple you take for granted until it doesn't happen - then it feels rude! Rather odd behaviour. With Wokingham having lots of great restaurants to compete with they need to step up...

I phoned this restaurant to enquire whether they had any vegan options, I was told that they didn't but they would happily ask the chef to cook something for me. I therefore booked a table and said that 1 person would be vegan. When we arrived at the restaurant on the Saturday, the waiter knew I was vegan when he welcomed us and showed us to the table, which I was very impressed with. However, when we came to order, the manager came over and informed me there wasn't anything really I could have and the lady who booked the table should not have said the chef could accommodate me. She offered me a chicken and walnut salad without the chicken or a mushroom risotto, which she said I will warn you wont taste nice! So, in essence, I have no problem saying they are unable to cater but please inform your staff at the time of booking this and I would have gladly gone down...