Restaurants

By Guy Dimond

Within days of opening, Côte in Wimbledon Village was already bustling; with no bar to prop up, we had to go the nearby pub to wait for our table. It quickly became clear why. It's a good looking place, a brasserie-not-too-luxe that's the French equivalent of the nearby Strada pizza joint (we later discovered they share the same interior designer - and more besides). Bevelled mirrors reflect the contemporary sage-green and oak interior. Service was welcoming and professional; a flask of free filtered water was brought to the table unbidden.

We had expected the menu to be of modest ambition, perhaps like a Café Rouge, as this is the prototype of a planned chain. Instead, we found interesting, well-made, fair-priced French dishes that any modern bistro in France would be proud of.

Pissaladière is a Niçoise dish resembling pizza, topped in this case with salty anchovies, slow-cooked onion and olives; more Italian than French somehow, but still evocatively Provençal. Tuna Niçoise is also inspired by the region, and this was a faultess version: seared tuna with perfectly-boiled egg, flavoursome lettuce (yes, really), and all the trimmings except - curiously - anchovies, which would have added the authentic final touch.

From the Atlantic coast, Bayonne ham with celeriac rémoulade was more unmistakeably French, despite the addition of rocket leaves. And half a spatchcocked chicken from France's top poultry region of Les Landes was juicy and crisp-skinned, its legs the recognisably strong joints of a free-range bird. We liked the attention to detail, from the correctly skinny frites to a fragrant mushroom sauce. There are plenty of good and fair-priced wines on the list, by bottle or glass - mainly French, of course.

Later research revealed that the investors and managers behind Côte are not the usual dull, corporate catering managers who seem to run so many affordable food chains. Two of the team of four people behind Côte used to be key players at Caprice Holdings, who run The Ivy and J Sheekey - two of London's most professionally run restaurants. One of them, Chris Benians, is a chef of some repute. And they are the same team who created Strada before growing it into a chain, then selling it on (for an impressive £145 million). So does that mean there will soon be Côtes de Fulham, Côtes de Crouch End, and Côtes d'Islington? Quite possibly.

It's the way of things that the pilot of a chain tends to be far better than its subsequent clones, like photocopies of a photocopy. And that once a critical mass is reached, standards can drop across the entire group. But that critical mass is a long way off yet, and Côte is currently the best place to eat in Wimbledon by a wide margin. Go soon, while the kitchen's still on top form.

Time Out issue 1938: October 10-16 2007