Côte Brasserie - Royal Festival Hall in Lambeth

Another very relaxed and enjoyable visit to Cote and appreciated the warm welcome on arrival. We requested a window seat and were really well looked after by Shamiya during our stay.She is a credit to to restraunt. Our meals were excellent in terms of quality, quantity and presentation. We look forward to another visit very soon.

Decided to try after a long day in London and en route back to Waterloo. We had the burger and the pork belly and both absolutely delicious. A nice atmosphere here and it was clearly popular as the tables were soon filled once the previous diners had left. The service was friendly and nice to see the staff smiling and clearly gelling well with each other.

Went there for my birthday with friends. Staff were outstanding. Was a bit warm so my friend asked if they could adjust the heating. Nothing was too much for the staff. Excellent service all round. Was a bit noisy for my taste. Just people enjoying themselves. If you don’t mind that then buzzing friendly restaurant with outstanding staff.

We booked Cote before an evening performance at the theatre. I have eaten at several of their restaurants and always found them to be OK but never outstanding. Such was the case with the location on the Festival Terrace. My wife had the mussels with chips while I chose the steak frites. Both dishes were acceptable without being special in any way. I would not return as the south bank area has better options.

Only stopped for a coffee but it has everything you want from a Thames side location opposite the South Bank to decent coffee and friendly staff. Could not ask for me. Spot on.

The staff were welcoming, prompt, and professional. They took my order and delivered the food quickly. The chef seasoned the starter and main course really well, and the food was delivered hot. I will definitely come back to this cote location. Thank you

We had a fabulous dinner with our daughter when we visited London to celebrate her birthday. We were greeted with a free glass of fizz and my daughter was given a very delicious chocolate cake to wish her happy birthday. The service was second to none and nothing was too much trouble. The food was amazing and we will make sure to visit again when visiting London.

Cote used to be so reliable, but this is the second time in just a few months the experience has been disappointing. Met a friend at this one for dinner. I got there early and was quickly seated (we'd booked) but 15 minutes later had not even been asked about a drink. My friend's tuna was undercooked, my tomato salad only turned up half way through the meal (they did have the decency to take that off the bill) and we had to ask every time we wanted service. The place was rammed, with tables too close together and, it seemed, not enough staff. I'd think twice before defaulting to Cote again.

I booked a table for 13 (reduced to 11) for a special birthday at Cote Festival Hall. I'd had a lot of difficulty finding somewhere in central London that would accommodate us, and Cote turned out to be ideal venue. The service was great, the food was fine, nobody hurried us, and we even were given a complimentary glass of prosecco each. The booking was very simple (though to adjust numbers I had to ring the restaurant). The final bill was extremely reasonable. A great choice all round.

Friendly & efficient services. Classic dishes like duck and boeuf bourgignon well cooked and presented. Recommend a visit.

Food very plain and bland especially considering the prices. One of our dishes came out looking like it had just been microwaved, very poor for 21.50. Veggies not included with the meals. eg. Salmon and chips 18.50 as the main and an additional 4.50 for green beans. "Optional service charge" automatically added to the bill. We asked for ours to be removed after our experience. Service was fine, changed the bill straight away. The cheese on toast with the french onion soup was the best bit..

Found staff scruffy appearance, quite intimidating demeanour & generally lacking any customer service! Food was very poor in every respect, presentation, taste & quality. Toilets were filthy & floor soaking (and not from having been cleaned). Staff crouching in corridors eating on their break in full view of customers. Compared to other Cote restaurants this was worlds apart & not in a good way. Very disappointing

I have always loved Cote restaurants due to almost consistently receiving excellent food and service. However, they now have this new idea to offer you free cocktails if you book via a specific link that they send you in their emails. My 2 friends and I used it at Cote Royal Festival Hall in February to celebrate our birthdays, and 4 of us used it last month at Cote Esher. EACH TIME, the cocktails were charged on our bill! We would of course not have had them if we would have had to pay for them. But I wonder how many people notice that they may be paying for their 'free' cocktails?!

My wife and I visited on Saturday 6th April for a light lunch. We had fresh bread with butter, a warm tomato salad and crispy squid to share. The service from our waiter was excellent but the food was some of the worst we have ever had. The bread was so toasted it was like burnt cardboard, the salad had three cherry tomatoes and five wedges of thick courgette with a tiny amount of dressing (more uncooked courgette than tomato so why was it a tomato salad- and courgette why oh why in a salad?), some of the squid rings were well over done and some so under-cooked as to be slimy. My wife didn't want me to complain as she said it would make her feel embarrassed so we paid £32 and left. We eat regularly at Cote in Barnes and have always found it great so we are deeply disappointed with this venue. Do the kitchen staff not care because this is such a tourist trap? Won't be back that's for sure.

I know this is a chain/franchise but really it was excellent. The food was, as ever, very good but it was the ambience that made the experience so good. The staff were universally friendly, efficient, courteous and charming. Well done all!

We enjoyed a pre-theatre meal at Cote and once again had a very e joyable experience. Adriana was our waitress and was polite and friendly. We enjoyed our chicken and salmon meals that were of very good quality, quantity and presentation. The restraunt was busy but it has a really relaxing atmosphere. We are looking forward to another visit soon.

Excellent effective service . Really nice food and drinks . Son had a free cake and ice cream as it was his birthday and made us feel really welcomed . All staff polite and nice . This was our first visit but will be happy to return as it was an enjoyable time . My only complaint is that all Cote restaurants have stopped serving Pelforth beer which is excellent. Excellent pork and duck.

Pleasant staff & service was not too quick and not too slow. Good pre-theatre set menu and food tasty plus well presented.

Absolutely first class service tonight from all the staff, especially Sam Thank you all and we highly recommend you 👏👏👏👏

If I could give a score higher than 5 I would happily do so. My wife, 12 year old daughter and I were lucky enough to spend new years eve at this amazing venue. Despite it being the busiest night of the year, I have never experienced such warm, friendly and attentive staff. Nothing was too much trouble, and they were more than happy to have a chat and make the night as comfortable as possible. Even adapting cocktails to alcohol free for my daughter. The food was on another level. Perfectly cooked steak, melt in the mouth belly pork and chicken that fell off the bone. I would happily have paid double for the standard we experienced. I can honestly say that I have never experienced an evening like this, and it was a perfect way to see in the new year. I would really like to thank everyone at Cote for working so hard to create a wonderful atmosphere with great food, and giving my family a night none of us will ever forget.

Firstly, I’m a great fan of Cote. They provide a good menu with great choice which is usually tasty and well served. See my review for Tavistock Road. Chalk and Cheese. We went there the day before and assumed that they’d all be the same. When we arrived we were shown to our table by the very cheery Georgia. She explained everything how she was going to serve us, ie take drinks order, then food etc. Lovely lady. What arrived was mediocre at best. The French Onion soup which someone else had the night before tasted like bovril with onions. No depth of flavour and no shine to it. Raymond Blanc would have thrown it back. The night before I can only describe it as unctuous. The Beouf bourguignon was similar, it was gravy and meat, just no flavour. It felt in both cases that the sauces had been watered down. To finish the evening off Georgia was replaced by a tall Eastern European gentleman. He obviously wanted our table back quickly, even though we had only been there 55 minutes. We asked for the bill and Georgia reappeared with the credit card machine and came over to us. The other guy snatched it out of her hand and went off to serve someone else. Georgia had to go and find another one. I did pull him up on it afterwards but he just shrugged. We won’t return, it just doesn’t meet the standard.

Disappointing, eggs Benedict lukewarm and portion of rosemary potatoes £2.50) was a joke, see photo

Good atmosphere. Fries were very poor. Service wasn’t great, left with plates on table, no one came to remove, Had to attract waitress attention. All in all, disappointing. Oh, and hair in plate. Didn’t say anything, discreetly removed as with colleague.

I am very disappointed with the service I received on Sunday 3rd December. I walked in with my sister at approx. 5:05pm. The restaurant was rather empty. We were greeted by staff members who told us that their manager would look for a table for us. The manager called Emelie asked if we had a reservation. We said no, but as it looked empty, we didn't think it was necessary. He then informed us that there wouldn't be a table available until 7pm. We left and I decided to check the Open Table app. There I saw a table available every 15 minutes. Naturally we were very upset and knew that we were discriminated against. It was totally unfair. I booked a table for 5:15pm, walked back in and was greeted by another staff member who said 'take your pick' as there were many seats to choose from. Discrimination, stereotyping, assumption for any reason is wrong! As a Black woman I want my complaint to be taken seriously as it made us feel uncomfortable. However my pride had to prove a point. Emelie knew that there was availability and didn't want us dining in Cote. A restaurant I have been to numerous times and never had an issue.

I went for a late leisurely lunch with a friend. We were pleased to be seated at one of the outdoor tables, although inside is pleasant enough, with a relaxed ambience and casual French chic. On a warm day, I chose one of their spritzes from a wide selection, and was very happy with it - light, fizzy, summery. They do offer a very reasonable prix fixe menu, |GBP16.95 for two courses. I had the vegetarian main course, squash tabouleh. There was nothing wrong with it, a kind of tabouleh salad with some squash, but I found it a bit insipid and lacking flavour. My friend was happy with her fish, and also her dessert. I enjoyed my dessert a lot more, a blueberry clafoutis served with ice cream - very tasty, however the presentation was a little messy. Service was very attentive, quite charming, actually. With or drinks and a 10pc service charge our total bill was GBP57 which nowadays is pretty good for Central London.

Couldn’t fault Cote at all. Great menu and not too expensive Good French classic with great tastes Certainly would come back

We dine at Cote quite often as they are generally helpful with my wife's allergies. This outlet was no exception, although my wife's meal was unnecessarily brand. I guess that some chefs will be more inventive than others. Meals at Cote tend to be dependable and while I have never had a dish that was not good I do not think I have ever had an exceptional one either. Always a good dining experience, though, with friendly service. We were seated downstairs, which was pleasant enough although it was a pity the restaurant had decided to store boxes of beer and bottles of water near our table. I am sure that a less obtrusive storage area could have been found.

Wanted quick supper before concert at RFH. Restaurant was buzzing/busy - thought no hope of table. But Alexandra greeted me, showed me to table, realised I had limited time, served up delicious hot scrummy steak and frites and wine. Fantastic! Time to saunter across to RFH, enjoyed my evening. Thank you Côte and staff - you're just brilliant!

Often dine at Cote and my favorite restaurant is Woking. This branch comes a very close second with great staff, food , atmosphere and beverages. Credit to Ollie, Tasos, Domas and Emilian

COTE BRASSERIE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL It was a glorious Saturday afternoon and I came up from Dorset to have a fun girly lunch with my friend Ewa. We entered Cote around 1:30 and were greeted with a lovely welcome in a bustling bistro. When the...

Amazing service and food for a large group x 21 last minute extra people were added, and menu choices changed but the team were so happy and helpful and made everything possible my two waiters were Simone and Ariadna and they were careful to ensure...

Had dinner here last night with a friend before a play at the National Theatre. We had the Prix Fixe menu which was excellent value with two courses for £16.95. Both of us started with a pear & walnut salad (pickled pear, baby spinach, endive...

We often use this branch when visiting London as we step of the train at Waterloo and it's a short walk away. We were the first and only customers for a while and there wasn't a staff member to he seen as they were downstairs...

Food and atmosphere were fantastic. The drinks and service were great. Strong recommendation for a nice restaurant in the area.

Lovely venue with al fresco seating, so we ate outside. Service was attentive. Initially, we thought it seemed quite pricey (yes, we know this is London!). However, when our food arrived it was delicious and value for money. No qualms in recommending this restaurant, especially...

Visited here for the first time and will definitely return. I had the fish parmentier which was full of flavour, fresh and piping hot. The service we had from Mahir was excellent and one of the reasons we’ll return. Thank you Mahir

This was an excellent meal with great service. I fancied two starters instead of a main course - the waitress didn’t bat an eyelid. I had crab pate and salmon croquettes- my husband had the fish parmentier. The service was quick - the staff attentive...

We had a disappointing visit to his branch of Cote which was littered with niggling little annoyances. 1. Booked online for a 4pm slot but no confirmation booking arrived (not even in junk mail) although we did take a screenshot of the booking. 2. The...

I've dined here many times and can only recommend it. It's perhaps one of the best options for lunch or dinner in London. The food is delicious, the decor is classic and elegant, the location is ideal and it's great value for money.

Ate here for dinner during a recent visit to the area. Appreciated that they were able to accommodate us early even though our reservation was for later in the evening but our plans had changed at the last minute. We ordered from the fixed price...

We frequently eat at Cotes and decided to pop into this branch. We pre booked a table and the staff we met were polite,friendly and helpful. We chose our meals from the fixed price nenu and both our meals were very enjoyable with minimal wait....

I'm a fan of Cote and have been to this one before but this latest was not a good experience. Not a friendly welcome by the maitre d. Thankfully our server Simone was absolutely lovely. The crust on my mini quiche was so hard that...

We booked this online very late afternoon on Coronation Day and were able to get dinner for three of us at 7.30pm. Having been up since 4am and on our feet for 12 hours we were ready for some decent food and a restful, relaxing...