Cote - Wimbledon

Part of a small but perfectly formed group of French bistros, Côte has recently received the accolade of 'Best value restaurant in the UK' in the 2010 Good Food Guide, which, at a time when price trimming is the name of the game, must be quite some achievement.

Founded on the resurgence of interest in simple bistro cooking and as prevailing taste swings away from expensive and over-complicated cooking in restaurants, Côte goes for the classic dishes within an informal and friendly atmosphere. The Wimbledon Côte, which opened in August 2007, is open all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as any decent bistro should be, serving the neighbourhood as a first priority.
 
Appetisers include pissaladière, delightful warm flatbread from Nice with caramelised onions and a choice of either anchovies, olives and parsley or Reblochon cheese and thyme. Mussels cooked in white wine can be taken as a starter or main course, and other starters could offer grilled tiger prawns with garlic, breadcrumbed squid sautéed in garlic, or the ever popular steak tartare.

In the world of restaurant menus there is increasingly a short but attractive range of light mains, and Côte is no exception with a tuna Niçoise making a highly attractive dish with the addition of French beans, cherry tomatoes, olives, peppers, new potatoes, egg, baby gem lettuce and red onion.

One of Côte's principal attractions is to have created a menu that prompts the customers to feel that what they'd really like to do is work their way through the entire menu which, whilst it may cause some consternation is undoubtedly the best option to have, if not to take. Consider steak haché for instance, char-grilled spiced chopped rump steak with frites and a cornichon and tomato relish, or Poulet Breton, corn fed chicken from rural Brittany, with an enticing choice of garlic butter or sauces.

Steaks at Côte start with a 7oz fillet, or 10oz rib-eyes and sirloin, char-grilled and served naturally with frites. Let's assume that you follow the French custom and insert a cheese course between the main and the desserts, be prepared for well kept Roquefort and Reblochon before tackling a chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream, or an outstanding crème caramel, a speciality of the house.

The supposition that a bistro which styles itself on the real thing should have a French wine list is by no means unreasonable, and Côtes does it with panache. Perfectly straightforward it plays much the same trick as the menu and as you flick through the list you are confronted with hard choices. Many are under the £20 mark, but there are excellent alternatives above that, and six champagnes currently including a 1996 Henriot.

If I had to choose one word to sum up Côte I think it would have to be thoroughly genuine. Yes, I know that's two, but it underlines the difficultly of only making it in one. Do check their Website for menu changes and reservations.