St Albans
Cote Brasserie St Albans

Cote Brasserie St Albans

3 High Street, St Albans I-AL3 4ED, United Kingdom

French • European • Fast Food • Vegetarian


"Friday 9/7/21 at 8pm. The food was exceptional. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere was great. I booked this restaurant for my girlfriend's birthday as a suprise, we were not disappointed. The restaurant customer service was top notch, from when I rang to book the table, until we left. We both left the restaurant talking and feeling like we had gone out for a nice meal. Now I know this sounds silly, but I've paid a lot of money to eat out in restaurants and they've been dirty, run down, cheap looking etc... not this place. I ordered the Devon Crab Maison for starter.... I didn't want it to end!!! My girlfriend asked me why I was taking such small mouthfuls? My answer was it tastes so Good! My main was the Brittany fish stew, sea bass, prawns, squid, mussels, chilli and white wine, every mouthful was a different flavour. Delicious. When I phoned to book the table during this difficult time with Covid-19, I said to the person on the phone that it was my girlfriend's birthday, and they said to leave it in their hands... When we sat down the waitress complimented my girlfriend's dress and then bought out two glasses of champagne and wished her a happy birthday. The ambience was perfect, it felt like a date night. As customers, the staff made us feel comfortable and happy. The service was perfect, I couldn't fault it. The bill... I've paid over triple the price for very average food. The whole experience was one of the best I've had... We had Olives, 2 glasses of French white wine, 2 starters, 2 mains for £70... We both are looking forward to going back."

The Harpenden Arms

The Harpenden Arms

188 High Street, AL5 2TR, St Albans, United Kingdom

Pub • Fish • Steak • Chicken


"Beer selection excellent, very nice to see this range. Prices are what you would expect for the area, not cheap but not taking the **** either. Staff are excellent, very nice service and pleasant to deal with, and make an effort to serve quickly and acknowledge customers unlike some pubs in the area. Hope they are being paid well and treated nicely as the staff and the beer make this place excellent On to the food the roast was somewhat mixed. Presentation great, the veg was all cooked perfectly. Good portion of everything and parsnip had both the crispy thin flavoursome bits and the soft big bits. Peas and cabbage spot on, roast potatoes bang on as well. Cauliflower just right in having softness and still a tiny bit of bite. The nut roast was delightful and sure to keep any veggie people happy. Carrot perfectly tender too and with a lovely sweetness. The Yorkshire looked like a scorched ufo and upon slicing it sent shards of crispy batter across the table. It was a job to cut and had lots of burnt edges. It was a bit more manageable after soaking in gravy bit still not ideal. I will say the flavour in the batter was lovely but the cooking of it not so much. The cauliflower cheese while cooked nicely, tasted like a white sauce without any cheese or seasoning. No salt, pepper, evidence of cheese by sight or flavour. Cheese must have run out because pictures on other reviews look much better. No excuse for lack of salt and pepper. Feel bad to not give a glowing review on the food as what was nice was absolutely perfect but it fell down badly on a few details. It was like there were 2 chefs in there and one was amazing and the other had come in and messed up a few bits. It would be a ten out of ten roast if the issues were resolved and I hope they will be next time as I will definitely be back. In summary lovely pub worth a visit especially for a beer lover, and you will not leave hungry if you eat there either. I hope they were just having an off day with food as it was so close to being amazing on everything. Staff impeccable. Thank you Harpenden Arms, see you again soon"