We are acquainted with more than one person who refuses to dine in chain restaurants. Being both of limited means and unlimited hunger after a hard day of investigative journalism, my photographer and I decided to stake our all on Côte Brasserie Church Street Brighton. [1] Our delight was not only in the food, which was excellent, not the service (first rate), but was also owed to the fact that it enabled your correspondent to wax lyrical about a favourite subject: the clarets of the Graves region, entirely apposite to a blog rooted in the tastes and preoccupations of the eighteenth-century Whigs.
We started by sharing mixed starters of Cheesy French Onion Fougasse and the Charcuterie of truffle saucisson, savoie ham, celeriac remoulade and pan blanc. Being between the lunch and dinner rushes the service was fast and exceedingly friendly, with time to appreciate the excellent ambience and extreme cleanliness of our surroundings. For her main, my companion chose the Half Roast Chicken which turned outto have a delicious buttery flavour and light crumbling texture which lifted it significantly above the standards found in so many pubs and restaurants. Your correspondent chose an old favourite: a 10 oz ribeye. Cooked to medium rare, it was tender, delicious and utterly reflective of the subtle herbs which always seem to lift a French steak above a plain English one. Readers will be gratified to learn that Cote offered unlimited fries, of which generous offer we could not take full advantage, being both on diets. But I was allowed a side of delicious green and juicy broccoli, always the tastiest of fresh vegetables.
To drink, my companion chose a glass of Côte’s own grenache rosé. But for myself this was a chance to sample (more than one) glass of red Graves AOC. For your correspondent, Bordeaux has always our choice of French region: and Graves our choice of Bordeaux It’s the cradle of Bordeaux’s wine trade, the source of the first great châteaux, and still the place where you can taste the region’s history without paying Médoc grand cru prices. Graves is Claret in its original, flinty register: born from river‑washed gravel that soaks up the sun by day and bleeds it back into the vines by night, giving the wines that poised mix of ripeness, freshness, and a faint smoky edge. We frankly and unashamedly admit that the wine’s true strength and depth needs a large brimming glass to be fully appreciated, a user requirement fully satisfied by the handy 250 ml beakers on ready offer. Steak connaisseurs will be unsurprised to learn that it made the perfect partner to my dish.
Diets being diets, there was sadly no opportunity to sample the varied dessert menu beyond the usual coffee. Except that there is one tradition this writer will not let die: the custom of the dessert wine. Fortunately, this need was more than adequately met by their white Domaine de Barrubio Muscat, a deliciously cool, slightly sweet addition. An innovation entirely preferable to stuffing your face with endless ice creams or lashings of apple crumble and custard; a vice which we had practiced all too often in establishments of all sorts before the advent of our current Virtue.
If you like good food and are not a snob, then we utterly recommend this restaurant and its cheerful and ever-helpful staff
Côte Brighton 115-116 Church Street Brighton BN1 1UD
LSS has no personal, business or financial connection whatsoever with Côte nor any of its employees
food #drink #wine #restaurant #brighton
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