Cocotte Notting Hill — Restaurant in London

Good food, bad service.

To start with the good: the chicken is done very well and you are offered choice of the parts you want. The sides are generous and varied, and there are half a dozen salads that can be a main or side. Price is OK for what you're getting.

Unfortunately, there are a number of negatives that really detracted from the evening.

Firstly, when I asked for a gin and tonic, they said they only did doubles. Not to be a nerd, but I'm pretty sure the Weights and Measures Act says you've got to offer people spirits in units of 25ml, but what do I know. (Interestingly, when you order a digestif afterwards, they're served in 25ml shot glasses, so they clearly can do them.)

Chicken is served on a long plate in the middle, cut up into quarters, which seems like a fine idea until you get the bill and you find out that you're charged in the amounts you ordered them. Four people ordered four halves? You're charged for four halves and not two whole chickens, even though it makes no difference to them.

When returning with our sides, the waitress just put them down in front of the closest people to her, so you're left to figure out what's what and who ordered what yourself. When you ask which salad is which, she doesn't know (and doesn't care) so you just figure out for yourself.

When I ordered a dessert (three profiteroles) the waitress asked if I was sharing. I said no (I admit, I'm a greedy guts to eat all three myself) but when she came back with them, she still brought four spoons which were already covered in chocolate sauce. Thanks?

Finally, the toilets are cramped and barely accessible. If you have elderly relatives, wheelchair users, or children, you're going to struggle and I would advise against coming on that basis.

Oh and the 12.5% service charge is already added to your bill. So have fun complaining about that.

So yeah, good food but I had a bad experience. The chefs know what they're doing, the waiting...

Being a huge food lover but also trying to be healthy in January can be really tricky at the same time/ Well I was very happy and surprised when I visited Cocotte in Notting Hill because I could continue my healthy eating streak.

Cocotte is a healthy chicken brasserie and the smell of beautiful roasted and succulent chicken hits you the moment you arrive through the door. There were lots of tasty but healthy meals on the menu – many different salads from quinoa to kale and from broccoli to the more traditional Caesar. We opted to share half a chicken, the Nini’s Salad (broccoli, mangetout, green beans, basil & mushrooms) with roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and butternut squash. Although I was supposed to be on my “health streak” I did cave in when I saw the truffle mac and cheese on the menu so naturally we ordered that as well. Luckily it’s quite small and comes in a cute miniature casserole style dish – perfect for sharing!

The chicken was so succulent and tasted as good as it smelt. We also ordered all the sauces that were on the menu and I have to say each one was as good as the previous. If I had to pick two favourites I would choose the garlic mayo and the spicy sauces. Having two sides plus a salad with our chicken was perfect but if you’re super hungry I would probably order a half chicken just to yourself!

With such a healthy main you have the room to indulge in dessert! We were (again) slightly naughty when it came to drinks and dessert at Cocotte. We chose the Collins Spritz, the Tarassita and the Dark n Stormy which were fab cocktails.

For dessert we shared the chocolate and hazelnut tart and the Green Tea and Chocolate Mochi (Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice) which were tasty.

I loved Cocotte and will be spreading the word to West Londoners. It is so nice to have a restaurant offering really great food but...

If you are coeliac avoid this place.

After doing research and the menu stating what is 'gluten free' I was excited to try this place out....

On arrival I sat down to fall off the chair, only to find out later on this is a reoccurring issue which they have tried to resolve and I'm not the first to fall - we laughed all was good.

The evening continued with the discussion of my dietary requirements with the staff so I could pick safe gluten free options. I chose the halloumi starter, however the waitress then came over a few minutes after giving it to me to say it was not actually safe and was cooked with gluten products - luckily I hadn't started eating any of it. They took it off the bill and said would replace with another safe starter.. however after talking with the kitchen there wasn't any (even though several state gf on the menu). We then ordered half a chicken with truffle mash and creamed spinach, all of which I was assured they were safe. I enjoyed what I thought was a safe meal. However it was not and unfortunately I fell very ill that evening after getting home and have been in a lot of pain since.

Unfortunately I feel restaurants, such as this place, do not take coeliacs seriously and still think gluten free is a fad. It is not - it is a serious autoimmune disease and has very real and damaging effects on people's health. The lack of knowledge from this place I would be afraid to eat here if I had any allergy. I am only writing this review to warn others to always ask questions and not assume places who put GF on their menus are actually safe places - not only here but at any restaurant.

I am very disappointed and hope they will seriously consider what they state as gluten free or make changes to the way they cook so they can safely provide food to people who have specific dietary...