Côte Cardiff Central — Restaurant in Wales

I go here one or two times a month, what I like about it is that it does not usually require a booking and is peaceful and not overcrowded at lunch unless an obviously busy day like an event or sunny weekend. I usually get the set menu, but have on occasions branched out. The service is usually good, but never stand out and usually the same experience applies for the food. I've actually had a few bad experiences over the years here with rude staff e.g. one time when meeting friends here the guy at reception was very rude to me stopped me from entering the restaurant as he said they was full blocking the entrance, I said I was meeting friends and then he asked me who the reservation name was under, as there were like six people it could be and I did not know everyones last name in the group, which I explained, also did not have my phone on me as he told me to ring them and he said I could not come in. Luckily my friend had saw from inside the restaurant barged past the rude receptionist and said he's with us and took me to the table. On another occasion while eating with family some of the dishes came out cold and the waitress also snapped at my sister telling her to move her plate and it was obvious she needed to move her plate. So she could put down the food, actually no so obvious when you are trying to have a conversation.

I would never go here for breakfast again as they can never seem to get poached eggs right, despite being specific on what I wanted. As in runny in the centre with all the egg white cooked, and not partially cooked on the outside with some snotty egg whites still on the inside. I highly suggest the restaurant get the temperature and timings right for this, as its not that difficult and not repeatedly bring out wrongly cooked eggs after the third attempt they brought out a hard boild egg. Also if you want breakfast Bills do a better eggs Benedict with a full piece of cured ham on each egg for the same price not little shreds of ham sprinkled on top like COTE. And they managed to sort out some consistency on their...

Popped in for lunch yesterday. Helpful manager seated us where I wouldn’t have to walk too far as using a crutch at present. Opted for the set lunch at £13.50 for three courses. Husband opted for the premium set lunch at just a couple of pounds more. I had the vichyssoise to start and husband had the warm blue cheese salad. Both very good. Husband then went for the rib eye steak cooked correctly and I opted for the steak frites. Unfortunately this was overdone so the manager promptly replaced it along with the frites. It should ideally have been “hammered” first to tenderise it but neither the first or second had been and the second, although better, was still slightly overdone. In fairness I was asked straightaway if it was acceptable so I said it was ok and better than the first one. We followed with a good quality strawberry ice cream and a chocolate mousse both of which were fine. The sourdough bread we ordered was fresh and warm and the tomato salad side was also good. I had decided to query the optional 12.5% service charge, not because there was anything wrong with the service from both our waitress and the manager but because I like to have the option of leaving the amount I decide is fair. When the bill came the manager had generously but to my mind rightly, removed all three of my courses from my bill as the steak had not been quite the way it should have been. In view of this gesture I was happy to pay the gratuity as I felt it would have been churlish not to. The service in all honesty couldn’t be faulted. The food overall was very good for the price although as in all these places the drinks, beers in our case, are overpriced. I would certainly return though probably have been put off the steak frites. There are plenty of other lovely dishes on offer with both set menus and the a la carte menu offers yet more. It was quiet when we went at about 2.30 on a wet mid week day but still had a...

Extremely disappointing. The restaurant promised much from its appearance, but as soon as we sat down we noticed other table's food arriving VERY quickly (too quickly) after they ordered. Our starters arrived very quickly and were disappointing - my pate was ice cold, was difficult to get out of the glass jar it was served in, and the toast was more like bread - also the pate was clearly not homemade. I knew our mains would arrive quickly, and so they did - my pork belly was 80% fat at the very least and the saute potatoes were soggy.

The restaurant also has a strange way of serving - the meals are brought down from upstairs by one set of waiters, who then wander about aimlessly not knowing where the food is going, until a downstairs waiter takes the food from them to a table.

I really wanted a dessert, as I didn't enjoy any of the other food, but I didn't want to give them anymore money. So we asked for the bill which we were shocked to see included a 12.5% service charge - suffice to say we did not pay the service charge.

Due to how ridiculously quick the food was served we were in and out of the restaurant in under an hour - not exactly the nice leisurely dining experience we had planned. Would...