Côte Ouest Bistro — Restaurant in San Francisco

Today we had dinner here and it was such an unpleasant experience. If you like to wait a long time to order and for your food to come. This is the place for you.

We arrived ten mins before our reservation but took them a few minutes to finally sit us down. So off the start it wasn’t a very welcoming experience. Seemed like all the staff just bustled right past us, while we were visibly standing there. When we finally sat down the waitress took a long time to come back to take our order. The waitresses seemed to not be in the best mood. The service is slow. Took them a while to finally bring out water and even longer for them to bring out the bread. And when we finally looked at the time it was already an hour since we sat down and nothing we ordered came out. Finally my husband’s wine comes out, but the waitress pours him red instead of the white wine we ordered. I let her know and she attempted to get the right order for him. When she came back, I’m not even sure how, she manages to pour red wine all over my husbands very expensive jacket, the back of his white shirt and to his pants and underwear. How embarrassing it was. She apologized and said if we get our jacket professionally cleaned and bring the receipt she will make sure to repay us. But how inconvenient and time consuming that is. This really dampened the mood as we were seeing old friends who were visiting us the first time. So we didn’t want to make it a big deal. I tried to help my husband in the bathroom wash up and clean off what we could for his jacket. The waitress comes back a second time to apologize as she can see we weren’t happy. And throws in a oh we will comp my husband’s wine. Oh great, how lovely and appropriate for the terrible experience we were already having😒. If you have a $400 jacket and someone spills red wine all over it, and then offers just to pay for your glass of wine your ordered, does that seem appropriate?

As we were waiting for the food which took very long. I was contemplating on actually leaving. I was no longer hungry at this point. Anyways the food finally comes and there is a visible oil hand print right on my plate for my Sole Meunière. What an unpleasant sight. I definitely wouldn’t not be coming back. I was expecting a lot more for a place with such great reviews. Maybe all these reviews are just paid for or they just...

Ideally, I'd give it a 3.5/5, but I'm rounding up.

Nestled in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, Cote Ouest Bistro offers a delightful escape to a Parisian cafe. Finding parking can be a bit of a challenge with street parking being the main option, but the friendly and attentive service quickly makes you forget any pre-dinner frustrations.

The indoor space is charming and intimate, perfect for a cozy date night or a catch-up with friends. For those who prefer al fresco dining, there's a heated outdoor patio - a great option on a pleasant San Francisco evening. Just be prepared for a relaxed, French cafe vibe - this isn't the place for a rushed meal.

My friend and I visited Cote Ouest for SF restaurant week ($65 for 3 course menu).

We started with a couple of appetizers:

Tartare de Boeuf: The hand-cut raw beef was incredibly fresh and flavorful. The capers, shallots, and cornichons added a nice tangy counterpoint, and the raw egg yolk brought everything together beautifully. This is a must-try for any steak tartare enthusiast.

Pâté de Campagne: This rustic French pate was rich and savory, with a lovely hint of spice from the Piment d'espelette. The toasted pain au levain, unfortunately, didn't do it for me.

For the main course, we opted for the following:

Filet Mignon de Boeuf: The filet mignon was cooked nicely. My friend asked for a medium rare cook on the meat, but he got medium. The green peppercorn sauce had a strange metallic taste (think of iron; that's the closest I could compare it to). The accompanying French fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

For our final course, we shared 2 desserts:

Tarte Tatin: A classic done right. The caramelized apples were sweet and gooey, and the buttery puff pastry was light and flaky.

Moelleux au Chocolat: This warm chocolate cake was pure decadence. The rich chocolate center oozed out perfectly when spooned into, and the combination of salted caramel, whipped cream, and creme anglaise was heavenly. It wasn't as sweet as I had thought.

They also serve us bread and butter at the beginning. The butter was unsalted, and the bread was mediocre.

Overall, Cote Ouest Bistro offers a charming French dining experience with good food and friendly service. Just be prepared for a relaxed atmosphere and potentially...

I had $75 a day to expense for my company work trip, so you already know I was looking to BODY some Steak Frites.

My two big bros and I came here for our last meal before heading home. We entered with no reservation, but they are both really good looking so we were seated immediately even though it was pretty packed at lunchtime on a Thursday ahaha.

As we sat down I didn't even need to look at the menu, y'all know why I'm here. Steak Frites button getting SPAMMED.

With 2 orders of Steak Frites and 1 Duck Confit order put in, we began to recap the last night of our conference that was the big going out night. The night where everybody gets lit up like a Christmas tree. The 3 of us sat there in this beautiful, authentic French restaurant trading stories, breaking bread, remembering awkward interactions, and just giving a huge debrief of the night while laughing our bums off.

I have become more appreciative of these moments in my older age, as they are really what life is about. Genuinely enjoying time with your homies after an eventful night is something that there is an hourglass on, so I appreciate every last one.

After getting our meals and beginning to dig in, it becomes clear that there is a couple on a date next to us in the early stages, had to be within the first 3 dates forsure. I began to have war flashbacks as this girl was doing at LEAST 98% of the talking, my boy couldn't get a word in hahahaha. Boy I really don't miss those kinds of dates..... Stay down for the come up fellas!!

To be fully honest, the Steak Frites wasn't my favorite as it came pretty overcooked for being ordered medium rare. My big bro and I both agreed on a 6/10 for the Steak Frites, but big bro 2 loved his Duck Confit. However, I would 100% come back to this place as the vibes are up and our server Alexandre was LOCKED IN. I just got back from the Locked In Factory, and they knew Alexandre…….. Mercibeaucoup, Alexandre!!!!

IG...