I had surprised my mother with tickets to see Shrek the Musical for Mother’s Day over the Easter weekend and wanting to make a day of it I booked us in for an early dinner at Cote Brasserie in the Mailbox. I have had several pre-theatre meals at the Cardiff Bay branch of Cote before and enjoyed so I thought it was a safe bet.
It was pouring with rain when we arrived but we were quickly relieved of our wet jackets and seated at our table. As I don’t see my mam that often so we opted for a bottle of the Blanc des Blancs Brut to go with our meal but the waitress strongly advised us to go for the nicer (and more expensive) bottle of Brut Cremant De Bourgogne. It was good – but probably no different to the cheaper bottle!
We both ordered from the A La Carte Menu and went for 2 courses. For starters I chose the French onion soup – a true French classic and my mam went for the Chicken liver parfait. Both were reasonably priced at around the £5 mark. The soup arrived and it had spilled over the sides of the bowl which did not give a good presentation, however the taste was good. My mam also enjoyed her starter but said it was no different to standard chicken liver pate’s she has had before.
For our mains we both opted for the Half chargrilled ‘Breton’ chicken with frites and a choice of sauces. I went for the wild mushroom sauce and my mam went for the garlic butter. Both portions were generous but there wasn’t anything particular that screamed French Bistro about the place. It was just your average chicken and chips!
As a side note – I have the right to be fussy when it comes to French food as my grandparents have lived there for over 10 years now and as you can imagine I stuff myself silly with true French delights every time I visit. Overall – despite visiting Cote Brasserie on several occasions but this being my first visit in Birmingham I wasn’t overwhelmed and I do think the mains are overpriced for what they are. The bill came to around £55 which for 2 x 2 course meals which lacked in presentation and a bottle of fizzy wine was slightly expensive in my opinion. However, the waiter and waitress who served us were very polite and catered to our every need.
Despite sharing a bottle of ‘Brut’ between the two of us me and my mam then left Cote Brasserie for a couple of rounds of cocktails in Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar before the show started which did affect my ability to stay awake during Shrek I must admit! I would say that I would definitely return to MPW but I doubt I will visit Cote Brasserie again in a hurry!
