As circular as the Swan House Roundabout, Cote Brasserie Newcastle is unique in appearance. On the corner of the Central Arcade Shopping centre, between Grainger Street and Market Street, so opposite the Grainger Market, the restaurant sits pride of place – impossible to miss – on the road, begging for you to just step inside. So why not do just that, take a good whiff, and smell the white wine sauce escaping from the kitchen every time the waitstaff opens the door? Peruse the menu whilst seated on a semi-circular bench around a marble (full-circular) table? Or just people watch through the many windows as you sip on a nice, warm cafe cappuccino?
The fare on offer is French, no bones made about it, the restaurateurs behind Cote Brasserie Newcastle are true Francophiles – they want everything to be French – but some compromises are made: high-quality British produce is used quite often, to save the meats and fish from journeying across the channel and up the M1, and the menu is geared up for a British audience, appetite, and taste.
Cote Brasserie Newcastle specialises in steak. All steaks are sourced from responsible cattle farms, grass fed, prepared in the restaurant’s own butchery, and aged for 30 days. There’s a choice between a 10-ounce ribeye, a seven-ounce fillet, or a 10-ounce sirloin. Choose a side of frites, a salad, or even gratin potato. Then you can cover it all, or just some of it, in a peppercorn, bearnaise, or wild mushroom sauce, an alternative option could be the Normandy garlic or Roquefort butter, to add a creamy element to your feast. The classic Cote Brasserie option is the steak frites, of course, a simple yet elegant minute steak served pink with garlic butter and frites – it never gets tiring. Steak isn’t the only thing on the menu, it’s a large one and full of French classics, why not scamper on down and have a look?