Cote is what eating should be about

Success. It’s what we all strive for. As intangible as last night’s dream or next year’s economic forecast, it defies prediction or calculation. You may have wondered why Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin is considered hot, while her Democratic rival Hillary was not. Or how the mediocre Middleton managed to bag the heir to the throne (OK, she’s thin and her hair’s thick, but really). Steely ambition aside, perhaps these successful women were drawn to men who needed someone strong to lean on. Scary.

Success in business is just as nebulous and nowhere is this more evident than in the catering industry. It should be easy to get it right and yet time and time again you see restaurants fail. They spring up with the vigour of parliamentary hopefuls only to experience crushing defeat. And failure is self-perpetuating; who wants to go to an empty restaurant? The elusive element is finding out what makes one venue forlorn while another has to fend off punters eager to eat there.

Over to Côte then, which might be able to provide some clues since this small chain (there are three) has just been voted the best-value restaurants in Britain by The Good Food Guide 2009. Côte does have the increasingly ubiquitous figure of Richard Caring behind it. His ability to gobble up talent is awesome, and for this venture he’s put in charge the dream-team founders of Strada (the pizza chain he sold for £145 million). A call to the restaurant tells me that the name is pronounced ‘coat’, although, of course, if we’re talking authentic French, it should rhyme with ‘cot’. And why Côte at all? It means coast (which is a long way from Wimbledon, Richmond or Soho)? Apparently the directors ‘just liked the name’. Ah.

Wardour Street is one of London’s busiest areas and is jam-packed with a myriad of existing excellent restaurants that already cater for most tastes. To set yourself up here takes confidence since the competition is tough and the eclectic clientele won’t tolerate second-rate. It’s easy to forget how all-important that first impression is, but when I walked into Côte I was charmed by efficient staff who possessed the brio that makes a place buzz with atmosphere.

If we’re talking authenticity, then the room scores full marks. You could be in one of the many bistros dotted all over Paris except it is newer and cleaner. Decorated in muted shades, there are beautiful grey tiles on the floor and unusual lamp-shades that glimmer like sunlight on water.

The décor however, is not the point. The food is the focus, with a menu varied enough to please most people but not so long that you worry about the size of the freezer. I took my friend the historian who knows something about everything (his particular passion is Gladstone) and has a hearty appetite. He approved of the pissaladière appetiser we shared (it was huge).

This Niçoise flatbread is covered with caramelised onions and dotted with black olives and gleaming strips of anchovies. It was meltingly wonderful and priced at an unbelievable £3.50.

My moules marinières starter was just as good: a dark heap of shells filled with plump spoils and swimming in wine, cream and garlic. The historian purred over his Bayonne ham with celeriac rémoulade and pronounced it ‘prop-erly French’. We both opted for a main course of Les Landes chicken. Accompanied by traditional pommes frites, this golden, free-range chicken is such an unbeatably delicious dish when it’s cooked properly. Simple, really.

My guest mused on the fact that Les Landes is in the region of France that lies on the Atlantic coast known as the Côte d’Argent – and maybe that subliminally inspired the name. Academics need to find a reason for everything. I asked whether he thought Kate Middleton would make a good Queen. ‘Tolerable,’ he replied gruffly.

Pudding was impossible to contemplate, even for two such greedy diners; the pissaladière put paid to that. But we drank our wine (the list was reasonably priced and thorough) and clocked our fellow diners – a mixed bunch who were streaming in with enthusiasm. I overheard one woman drooling about how much she liked the place – and I’m not surprised. This is what eating out should be about. Superb, affordable food that makes you want to come back. Just don’t over-order.

Success doesn’t have to mean excess.

Cote
Wardour Street, London, W1F 0TY