Côte Esher in Elmbridge

Went here for Mother’s Day, considering it was full the speed of food delivery was good, for a chain, the quality was fine for the four of us.

Had a table booked but we’re 15 mins late, entered the restaurant and greeted by a flustered, angry little man. Let him know we were a bit late for our booking and he insisted our table had gone, despite the restaurant being empty and it being 3:15pm on a Sunday. Fine. Put me and my pregnant wife on a small table near the door. We were ignored for 20 minutes despite clearly signalling and ready to order. Left and went to the pub a few doors down which was miles better in food, service & hospitality. Trust me, avoid this place like the plague.

Nice work lunch. Food was good. Waiting staff friendly and helpful.

I went to Cote in Esher last night with my wife; we only went there because the other restaurants were not taking any more bookings. Due to previous experience, we found that half of the food served to our table came out cold or tepid, we were reluctant to give them another try, but, unfortunately, we did go back and suffered the same experience that the food was served tepid, how you can make a minute steak cold is beyond me. Anyway, they succeeded, and we decided that if they were the last restaurant, we would not be going back again!

Great service from Sam! Perfect Al fresco spot in the sunshine

Staff were great, very helpful.

We had a wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner at Côte in Esher. The food was excellent—beautifully cooked and full of flavour. The staff were friendly and attentive, making the evening feel special. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, perfect for the occasion. We really enjoyed ourselves and would definitely return. Highly recommend!

Portions seemed small to me at first but it was enough. Enough to add a dessert! Really nice food and great service. Staff were attentive and quick. Would've liked more white wine sauce in the mussels! It's too delicious

Had a lovely time at cote! molly was her usual exceptional self and the food didn’t disappoint with the beef bourgion been the star of the menu. Definitely coming again.

Lovely restaurant. The service could have been slightly quicker when we were waiting for the bill, but the staff were attentive and the food was excellent.

Such great experience !!!! Food and wine selection by the staff were brill!!! will definitely come back.

Wednesday 15th January 25. Items on the set menu were not available despite our order being taken, then told 10 mins later not available. Staff didn't welcome our group of 6 people (we had booked), and service was very slow. Premises were overly hot, and we had to ask several times for it to be turned down. Cote restaurants can usually be a very good choice with great staff, good food and service.

Incredible food and great service! Dont be fooled when Google maps tells you they have closed down, they have not! It is worth a visit and I will be back!

Would give Côte Esher 5 stars for all categories, but they stopped serving breakfast until late at the weekends, which is a real shame and means we go a lot less now. The service is great though and a particular mention for Erika who always greets my friend and I with a warm welcome - Greatly appreciated!.

Went for breakfast, the breakfast was awful, the service was slow, and the price was high for the quality. You would be better off going to the local cafe, which we will rather than going back there.

What an amazing experience! Great food, great people, lovely atmosphere. Would defo recommend to anyone looking for a great and memorable dining experience.

Delicious food! Highly recommend!

It was an amazing experience. Food, service, atmosphere on a week day, simply excellent.

Food was nice, service was good. However 6 quid for a 330 ml glass of cider is outrageous. But 2 courses for 21.75 was good value. Also went to pay and was told "sorry, we don't accept cash". If you're going to have such a bizzare practice in place- you should tell people when they arrive, not after they have eaten and are at the point of paying.

Disappointing overall. Crispy whitebait starter hardly had any coating and was not crispy. Mackerel main was not available - though the waiter didn't know that when I ordered. Sea bream alternative didn't taste especially fresh and the accompanying crushed potatoes were overly dry (maybe there is a new chef in the kitchen?). Carafe of house rose was ok though hadn't been chilled. Napkins were ultra thin paper versions rather than the laundered ones I've had at other Cotes.

Good fish pie. Slow service, reasonably good atmosphere.

I've been coming here for many years for breakfast, "once a year," due to a trade fair at Sandown Park. The nice lady that took our order was very professional and very pleasant. The full English was delivered to our table, but that's where the service stopped. We weren't asked if we required any additional condiments, and we weren't provided with butter for the toast that had been ordered. We asked the chap for some butter, but he ignored us. As regards the breakfast, it certainly isn't worth the money they charge. It used to be special and very well presented, but that's not the case anymore. It's half the size, one hard egg and one runny egg, and no butter for the bread that was supposed to be toasted... Unfortunately, I didn't pick up the bill because my brother had taken care of it. The really annoying thing is that this type of establishment automatically adds their service charge to the bill, even when the service is completely substandard. We won't be returning, as there are far better places for breakfast... Thank-you

Great customer service and food.

Service was great, very friendly. Not many good vegetarian or seafood options on menu or available (maybe that day?). Very quiet in restaurant

The steak was 11 out of 10 with brilliant service

Always a lovely experience. Food and service excellent.

Good food and friendly staff. Price point was great too

Food delicious but service a bit slow...we were warned at least by the waitress on our arrival

This branch needs more staff front of house and more training in the kitchen. 2 steaks arrived after 40 minute wait.Both were grey and pallid with uncooked fat and no evidence of charring.One was ordered to be medium,one well done.Even the staff couldnt tell which was which.The frites were pale soggy and clogged with oil. A depressing experience and not upto the reliable standards of Cote elsewhere.

Menu has a good spread of choices, the fixed price ,£18 two courses £22 three courses is great value with decent food choices. Wine from around £27. We were really surprised how good it was and will be going again

Had a family meal for my birthday. Corin was a wonderful waitress she was very attentive. We had 2 children a 3 year old and a baby. Corin ensured the 3 year old was served quickly. It was also nice that she talked to us and got to know us. A personal service is very rare these days.

Good food and very friendly people!

Front of house staff could do with a little training on customer service, very unfriendly. Sirloin steak was shocking asked for medium rare came well done. When I pointed this out the server told me to hold onto my chips while a new one was cooked! The second steak was even worse half rare the other was medium. The green salad was limp and had to hunt for the advocado. My partner had the breton fish stew with most of the mussels unable to eat as not opened. The steak was removed from the bill but still a complete waste of money!!

The steak had no crust but the waiter was very nice

Very good food, quick service, loved it.

Delicious food. Staff was extremely accommodating to our food allergies. Highly recommend.

Excellent service from our waitress, unfortunately didn't ask her for her name .

I came here because of the good reviews. I’ve been waiting for someone to come and get my order of drink and it’s been more than 10 min without anyone looking in this direction. We had to leave after 20 min.

What I expect from Cote a lovely dining experience, just relaxed ad to be enjoyed.

We both had the Fixed Price menu and were very pleased with our choices. Hamish, our waiter was very friendly and helpful as was the team leader Jack

I had a coffee a few days ago. I asked the waiter for some normal sweetener saying I was diabetic, among other things he seemed to have completely forgotten to serve sugar with my coffee. Was told they didn't have any and came back with 4 cubes of brown sugar in a dipping bowl?! It should be noted that the same waiter had previously asked me if I had any intolerances or allergies... Let's ignore the fact that the coffee was served in a water glass... Cote'…. SORT IT OUT!

Great value lunch special, lovely service and very relaxing environment.

Great selection on the menue. Friendly staff.

A great meal with lovely service.

I always enjoy going to Cote, especially as no two are the same. This one is particularly nicely laid out (for my tastes anyway) and the staff are really attentive.

This is the second time we’ve visited Cote Esher, and on both occasions the food has been great. Yesterday there was a group of 16 of us & we had a really nice evening. Lovely food and helpful staff!!

Very nice food, good at dealing with allergies.

Great food and wine. Wanted a small lunch and the cost was great. Had the sea bass and my friend had the lamb both were very tasty. The service was quick and friendly.

Service great. The prices are silly though, so over priced for what you get and portions scaled back. The tomato salad was a joke! Looked like one tomato cut up and thrown in a bowl. Another example of how Brits are ripped off.

Good service, lovely atmosphere. Food and coffee was good but not completely blown away. Will still come back though. Overall, pleased with the food and visit (breakfast).

Really good food great atmosphere definitely worth a visit

Three of us ate here. We all chose from the à la carte menu. We chose different things, and we were all extremely pleased with our choices. My fish Parmentier was superb. Would definitely recommend

Best family restaurant in Esher. We have been coming here for many years and it is getting better year by year. We always recommend it to all our friends and family.

Nadia was on it and general service is always on point. Very accommodating and just a great place to have lunch. Food is fresh (salads are awesome) and the waiters are always at hand. I am always a happy customer here. A big thanks to Nadia for being a star!

Staff were friendly and helpful, food was fab - the beef Bourgeon , the mushroom Bourgeon (vegan) on and the fillet steak washed down with a bottle of Cote du Rhône. Just was a little bit loud, when we come again we would pick a week day.

Always good food, staff are friendly

Got a lot better,not 100% sure they have turned the corner after a few bad meals at a number of Cotes, clearly a head office change. Hopefully, they have reverted back.

Lovely varied menu. Superb taste and attentive service.

The staff were polite and helpful is the best I can say. The order was wrong for our food and the rib eye steak was the worst I've had in 20 years. It was a bit burnt on the outside and raw in the middle and tasted of whatever had been burned on the griddle previously. I'd rather not waste is so I smothered it in sauce but it was quite quite bad. I presume it was a new chef. I'd avoid at all costs.

We were a table of four - all our dinners were very tasty. And we really enjoyed the Xmas profiteroles! (I think those need to stay on the menu). And nice comfy chairs - which are great if you want to have a comfy relaxed evening. All in all a very good restaurant. Parking available just down the road (just past Waitrose). Only downside was a really noisy big table close to us (women shrieking) - but that's the patrons not the restaurant.

This is the first time I have felt the need to complain about this restaurant. The service was very, very slow and it wasn't busy. I ordered a quiche Lorraine. The chips thankfully were delicious. The quiche was the worst I have ever had. The pastry was very very soggy and the depth of the filling was so very shallow that the melted cheese was overpowering. When I mentioned these problems, the waitress was quite dismissive. It may have been useful for the kitchen to know my thoughts, but I fear my opinion was ignored.

Great food and excellent service.

Fabulous food and even better service !

The service was great. The atmosphere was lovely. The food was, as always, top notch. The butternut squash and lentils was a great vegetarian choice.

There was a group of us for lunch on a Monday. I can only assume that all experienced trained kitchen staff were off. I had a salad nicoise, a classic French meal. Sadly the kitchen had no idea how to prepare a salad. The tuna was cooked well and that was it. It was a pile of untrimmed lettuce leaves, looked like a whole lettuce, mottled dark outside leaves not trimmed, thick white stem and the small inner leaves not separated but cut in a wedge with all the stem on. The leaves were not torn or sliced just whole This person could never have seen a prepared salad. The anchovies tangled and buried under the steak, as were a few beans. A hard boiled egg from the fridge cut in half was thrown on the plate with a few cold from fridge new potatoes, cheap tasteless and seedy cherry tomatoes and a few hard green beans. There was zero presentation skills, especially as this salad can look beautiful it properly presented. On top of the tuna steak was a heap, a good dessert spoon, of black olive tapenade from a jar in the fridge, that was totally overpowering. The salad wasn’t dressed and I had to request some vinaigrette , which was good when it came. Is there no one to train staff? Have they ever eaten in France? Do not call yourself a French restaurant if you have no finesse. My friends all had ice cream. It was served with massive dessert spoons, the large teaspoons on the table were the correct size. This chain needs to go the way of all others like Ask or only open when they have experienced kitchen staff who understand food and presentation. I feel I’ve been mugged when I’m served food to such low standard. Not by the staff, they don’t know any different, but by the organisation of senior managers.

Super relaxed Sunday lunch, service was charming if slightly slow and food was great. Cote rarely fails!

Cant sing high enough praises enough for this Cote. Probably helps they have had the same staff for an age which says something for the company.

Too noisy. Have to shout to have a conversation.

Turned up on a busy day, Tom Jones was playing at the Racecourse and there were lots of prey concert diners in there. We were quickly led to our reserved table and served in a good time. The waiter was friendly, the food good and it was a very pleasant evening out.

Poor toilet facilities Broken toilet seat Would expect a much higher standard

It's all improved at Cote Esher , great service and the chef here the best !!

Somewhat spoilt by noisy children. Why do selfish parents impose their unruly kids on other diners in restaurants? Just stay at home or control them. Anyway the staff were very sympathetic and facilitated their exit. This chain has been around for a while and have a good geo spread. Menu is well balanced, interesting and fairly priced. Atmosphere is comfortable and the staff were very well drilled, personable and engaging. An easy preference in the average high street. One of my fellow diners was positive on the breakfasts here so I will try that in due course.

Great service, great atmosphere and amazing food.

Always great food and gluten free too! Can be a little noisy, but service and food always first class!

The choices for breakfast was good the food was even better, service would have been 5 but didn't get the chocolate on the cappuccino even though we were asked, pedantic I know but!!!

Fantastic! Lovely meal and great service. Well looked after by all the staff.

Lovely restaurant, food was good and very reasonably priced. The position in Esher is great, even better if you like cars and sit outside! Staff were lovely, extremely attentive, very polite and professional. I do feel that the food had a little room for improvement, my French Onion soup was good but didn’t smash it out of the park.

While this is a chain restaurant (and therefore you know what to expect) the food was so much better than other Cote branches and the service was above good! Thank you!

First time I’ve been disappointed with a cote, went for breakfast with someone who hadn’t been before and their meal was completely messed up, they were really disappointed. Luckily my meal was fine 🤣.

Came here for dinner with my other half, it was lovely. Service and food was great.

Elegant venue and staff excellent

Always great service and the breakfasts are 🏆

Quiet time of day, so didn't expect more atmosphere wise, but the steak was awful. Very odd taste and didn't look like sirloin. Sent it back and got another bit that also didn't look like sirloin and had no taste at all. Shame as Cote was always my go-to for steak and chips. Needless to say, i didn't pay for it 🤨

I was a guest . The food and service was excellent .

I had a disappointing experience at Cote. My mother had just moved to the area today and we were looking for a quick bite to eat, before we started to unpack. Despite the restaurant not being full and having empty tables, the waitress on the door was very rude and immediately told us that they were full. There were a few empty tables which could clearly be seen in the windows. I have been to other Cote chains many times before and have never encountered such behavior. I quickly went online and found that there were indeed tables available, so I made a reservation and returned to the restaurant, hoping to wait at the bar and have some drinks. However, we were not allowed in and were told that our reservation was for 15 minutes later. I went away and, to my surprise, our reservation was canceled even though there were empty tables. I was surprised and frustrated that Cote required reservations. It's not even a high-end restaurant, and the prices are reasonable - FiveGuys is more expensive and that's a fast food restaurant. If they had simply told us politely that there was a dress code or some other issue, it would have been more acceptable. Unfortunately, they were rude and unaccommodating. As someone who lives in Richmond, I am disappointed that my first experience in Esher was ruined by the poor service at Cote. We ended up going to Coppa Club in Cobham, where we were treated much better. I hope that Cote can improve their service in the future so that other customers do not have the same experience as we did.

Rude staff - After requesting a table the waitress straight away said the restaurant was full without even checking availability. We then looked online, booked a table from the long list of available times & when we communicated this to the waitress were told we’re 10 minutes early, are not allowed to wait by the bar, we have to leave and come back... We obliged & in that 10 minute wait we received a notification that the restaurant cancelled our booking I’m shocked by this experience & I’d encourage Cote to look into why customers are being treated this way? if a dress code issue (my partner wore shorts & hooded jumper) please just communicate that to the customer & I’m sure they will understand instead of speaking to them disrespectfully & cancelling their booking

Late breakfast. Good service and good food. We had a variety of different breakfasts and everyone happy. Kid friendly.

Sharing plate to start and moules frittes and steak frittes were had and a side of greens. Great service,very friendly waitress. We will be back. Big fan of this menu. The portion size is good, too.

Delicious food, reasonable prices, friendly staff and they even got my boyfriend a birthday card as I mentioned it when I booked. I love this place, it's amazing 🙌🏼

Had a great breakfast, good value

I ordered the croque Monsieur for breakfast 29/3/23 which was served on sour dough bread, it was terrible, difficult to eat and was just cream sauce which was not grilled enough, was still white not cheesy. I was told by the staff this is how you are now serving it. I left it but I still paid and no alternative or reduction was offered to me. How can you take a French Classic and ruin it so…..especially in a French originated restaurant????

Classical French onion soup don't need so much black pepper to add!) Let us, your guests, to decide how much salt & pepper we like!) Fish Breton stew is so large & extremely hot that I was sitting & warming my hands for a while waiting to begin)) nice by taste, good all sea food, calamari are soft & tender. Very busy on weekends, stuff are polite & helpful!

Consistently good. Friendly staff, great food.

Great mother's day lunch staff very attentive and efficient during a very busy lunchtime.

Yet another delicious meal at Cotes, Esher. Atmosphere is always welcoming, staff are extremely friendly and professional. The place is always clean, service excellent and good value for money.

Staff were amazing. Even though it was crazy busy they were able to accommodate. So friendly and food is always superb. The French toast is divine.

Staff are excellent. Food is very good and great value. What could there possibly be not to like?

Slow and cold food. Terrible service also

Absolutely awful. Waited 20 mins to get order taken, 40 minutes for a breakfast in which everything came out cold - a literal raw tomato which was meant to be grilled but just covered pepper. Awful awful food do not eat here

Not the best steak. Great wine though.