Côte Reigate — Restaurant in Reigate and Banstead

I had been to Cote a while ago now and I remember having a well portioned, high quality meal which I was satisfied with. However my recent experience was not so positive. The service was fantastic I will admit, I couldn't fault it really, and the food itself was tasty. But what annoys me these days is how restaurants (specifically chains like Cote) think they can serve you up pathetically small portions and charge even more than they ever used to. I know the pandemic has hit everyone hard and restaurants need to try to get some money back, but I was just totally disappointed with the portion sizes. I got the Fish Parmentier main which was lovely, but it wasnt anything special like I remembered; you get a few little prawns and a couple of chunks of salmon but that's it and for the price they charge it just isn't justified. My friend had the lamb loin chops and while they looked good, you didn't get much meat at all and the rest of the dish contained a few peas and shallots mixed up in some gravy.....quite ridiculous for a price of £17-18. Quite honestly the whole meal was overpriced including the starters and sides but I won't go into more details. Additionally the drinks were grossly overpriced. Look I understand that you don't just pay for the food and drink, you pay for the experience, the staff, their overheads and everything. But please, Cote, don't take the p*ss because I probably won't come back now. The portions need to be fair even if you are a chain. And because the standard service charge has shot up, it just makes me not want to spend my money in these places anymore. I left yesterday having spent a fortune and not feeling satisfied with what...

We visited here for a date night, and the food was delicious, absolutely zero negatives.

We had the steak tartar and crab to start. Both were full of flavour and aesthetically presented. The bread was the perfect balance of crispy and soft.

We both chose a medium rare fillet steak. They were cooked exactly as we wanted. We indulged in the selection of sauces as we hadn't tried any before. The black garlic jus was umami, salty and savoury, more like a gravy. The bearnaise was classically rich and creamy, top choice always. Garlic butter was exactly as you'd imagine and my least favourite. The tuffle hollandaise was outstanding! Anything upgraded with tuffle is superior, top recommendation.

We had the tomato basil and shallot side salad. It had a variety of tomatoes that were sweet and acidic.

I thought the wine selection offered more than a standard chain restaurant. I started with the Saint veran to compliment the crab. Then, with my steak, the Cotes du Rhone villages, great pairing.

We didn't have a dessert as the portions were pretty generous.

The service was attentive but not invasive.

It was well priced for the quality and quantity.

Point to note, the single entrance door opens directly into the restaurant and is noticeable if you are sat in the first selection of the restaurant. If this is something you would rather avoid, I would ask to sit in the...

Losing its Appeal I have been a regular diner at Cote Brasseries. Staff are invariably accommodating and pleasant and the food is reliably good. Ambience is variable depending on the establishment but generally very pleasant. My experience last night however, was unsatisfactory. After arrival, we waited for 15 minutes before being offered drinks. We chose our meals as the drinks came and waited. And waited. It was almost an hour before we ate which is wholly unacceptable. It seems that this restaurant has not geared itself up for the number of guests it can take and the rationale for us waiting was that "many people arrived at the same time" - well yes, they all arrived in time for dinner! The food itself was below par - my calamari had a few potato chips mixed in, it was over-fried and rather dry. The main was well below normal quality - it all seemed rather rushed. I told the manager that this was all rather unacceptable and his response was as follows: "I have removed the service charge and given you your espresso coffees on the house". Well! I was not about to pay any service charge in any case and two tiny espressos hardly made up for a very disappointing meal at Cote Brasserie. It is becoming more common that businesses put profits ahead of service; a shame that Cote Brasserie is seeming to go the same way - in this...