Côte Exeter — Restaurant in Exeter

⚠️❗️Deeply Discriminatory Experience

I visited this restaurant on August 26, 2025, in the afternoon, and unfortunately, it was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I’ve ever had. I genuinely felt that I was treated differently because of my race, and the whole experience left me extremely uncomfortable.

From the moment I entered, the waiter who seated me was cold and unfriendly. Unlike other guests, I was not offered any water at all. Throughout my meal, I noticed that every other table — four other groups, all of whom were white — received complimentary water right away, while I did not. Given that there were only five tables occupied in total, it is hard to believe this was just an oversight.

When I asked questions, the waiter looked visibly annoyed, frowning and appearing impatient. Later, I also noticed that other tables received dipping sauces for their fries, but I did not. I only received ketchup after I specifically asked for it.

As the other tables were finishing their meals, the waiter went around and politely asked if they were satisfied and enjoying their food. I was the only guest not asked this, and the service toward me remained cold and dismissive throughout.

At the end, when I paid, I directly asked the waiter whether I was being treated differently because I am Asian. He denied it, of course, but he showed no apology, no effort to make me feel welcome, and no acknowledgment of how poorly I had been treated.

Whether the staff want to call this discrimination or “just a mistake,” the reality is that I was consistently given worse service than every other customer in the restaurant, and I cannot see any explanation other than racial bias. I left feeling unwelcome, disrespected, and disgusted.

This restaurant should seriously reflect on its staff training and treatment of customers. No one should ever have to experience what I...

I don’t know who’s running Côte Brasserie these days, but clearly the soul has left the building — probably chased out by an accountant with a stopwatch and a bag of frozen chips.

I’ve loved Côte for years. Proper French brasserie vibes, good food, consistency — the kind of place you could rely on. Now? It’s like the chain has been body-snatched by the catering team from a motorway service station.

For £30, I was served a “steak frites” that looked like a GCSE food tech project the teacher passed out of pity. A sad, lonely steak. A handful of pale, apologetic chips. Not a garnish, herb, or even a flirtatious wisp of parsley in sight. The sauce pot looked like it had been dropped, kicked, and then given to me as a dare.

This is Wetherspoon’s energy, but with Parisian prices — a truly bold business model.

And let me be VERY clear: The staff did their best. They were lovely. This disaster is not on them — it’s on whoever at Côte HQ decided the brand should now serve food that tastes like a divorce settlement.

Côte used to be gorgeous, elegant, dependable. Now it feels like a chain going through a midlife crisis — cost-cutting everything except the bill.

If Côte has changed management, been bought out, or undergone some secret culinary lobotomy, someone needs to say it. Because longtime customers like me are staring at our plates thinking:

“What in the absolute hell happened here?”

Sort it out. Bring the old Côte back. Before the only thing left is the...

Went there as part of a society for our Christmas dinner. We made a reservation and sent through food choices weeks in advance. The night started as we showed up on time and were made to wait outside in the rain 15mins. Then came what I can only describe as a frustrating night. The delivery of courses of random, with some people getting starters 20 minutes after others just as they had been forgotten, or not enough had been made. Then we waited over an hour to get our mains. Thwn we waited another hour before dessert. During which time a request for water had been put in several times with no water showing up until we were being kicked out as the restaurant was closing. Other parties and individuals came and went with their service being much more prompt than ours. I understand that we were a large party, however with our requests being submitted weeks in advance and the price we paid for this meal the service and dinner we got was appalling. I left not wanting to return along with unnecessary stress that I could have done without.

If you are thinking of hosting a dinner here with more than a few people please look elsewhere. It is such a shame to write such a review for what I have been told is a good restaurant, but it was a very disappointing time and I hope that it does not...