The Quays at Gloucester has undergone so much regeneration in the past few years and is now a delightful mix of outlet shopping and a leisure quarter with a range of restaurants. One of the restaurants is Cote Brasserie Gloucester which is nestled among the other eating places and bars. We had not visited a Cote Brasserie before and were delighted to be invited along to see what is on offer.
Cote Brasserie offers relaxed all-day dining with a Parisian feel and atmosphere. There is a range of menus including a set daily menu, breakfast menu, and a la carte dining. We visited the Gloucester Cote on a weekday evening with all the family to see what is on offer.
As a parent, I have spent years choosing to eat at what I consider family restaurants, you know the type, the ones where you are served quite quickly and you are out within an hour. I would wistfully look into the doors of more grown-up restaurants and gaze at the menus but think it really isn’t the place for children. I would imagine coming back on a date night instead – yet date nights are relatively rare when you have a growing family!
However, I was wrong because Cote is totally family-friendly offering both a children’s menu and activity packs to keep little ones occupied. The activity packs are a great idea as they include a Wordsearch, colouring and fun facts about France. Erin loves an activity pack especially when they are educational too as she enjoys knowing lots of trivia! The menu was also designed for smaller tums that want to eat high-quality food. Erin, for example, had a breadbasket for starters followed by fish goujons and chips.
The older teens and the husband and I really enjoyed eating from the amazing menu. The food at Cote Brasserie Gloucester is exceptional and we dined on some of our favourite dishes. Two had the charcuterie board, Chloe had the smoked salmon and I chose the chicken liver parfait which was exquisite.
Our mains were a roast duck, two steaks and the half chicken, with various accompaniments. All were deliciously fresh and we enjoyed every mouthful. The service we had was great, we were checked on and topped up with drinks but also left to enjoy our quality family time. As a family with older teenagers, we are often not in the house together. Chloe has been working this summer, and the rest of us are also busy which means eating together is a treat rather than an everyday occurrence. Taking our time over a lovely meal allowed us to indulge in properly chatting and spending time together without clock watching. I find scheduling in family time works and a meal will be sure to draw the teens out of their rooms! Plus going out for dinner means great food and no washing up! It is something we want to plan at least once a month as a way to connect as a family.
Desert was five praline crepes! A chocolate and praline crepe with caramelised banana was the sweet treat we all chose – which says something about our taste as a family! There is a children’s dessert menu (ideal for younger guests) but Erin didn’t want to miss out on the crepe so ordered from the main dessert menu! She often does this as she gets jealous otherwise! We finished with coffee to stretch out our evening as much as possible as we were having such a lovely family night.
Cote Brasserie Gloucester demonstrated that they are not just there for a date night but also for family nights. It was a wonderfully relaxed meal where we enjoyed each others company and of course the food and service. Cote has a number of branches in various locations so the next time you are searching for a family-friendly restaurant do have a quick google and see if there is one near you.
