REVIEW: Côte Brasserie, Norwich

Recently, the lovely people from Côte Brasserie invited me to review their new restaurant in Norwich and I'm really glad they did! I took a friend with me and we had a lovely time; in fact, I'm just about to plan another visit myself.

As usual, I'll split my review into sections and score each one, with one overall score. This should hopefully give you an idea of what it's like to dine in Côte Brasserie.

First Impressions

On entering, you could easily be forgiven for thinking you'd been transported to a high-class French bistro. The decor is lovely, with subtle details that really make it shine such as the 'aged' mirrors around the dining area and the beautiful tiled floor. The whole thing screams quality and really sets the scene for a lovely meal. Lovely, squeaky clean toilets too although they could do with a new toilet seat that's not wobbly. A few scuffs in the paintwork around the restaurant but that's to be expected with a large amount of traffic. 9/10

Service

I found the staff at Côte Brasserie to be really lovely. They were attentive and friendly, without being too much of a nuisance. The only negative is that at one point I thought I could be at a Greek wedding with the amount of things being dropped and smashed. I don't mind the odd accident, but it must have happened at least 3 times during the meal. Perhaps some rubber plates would be a good idea! 8/10

The Food and Drink

On entering, we were given some complimentary filtered water in a beautiful bottle. I thought this was a lovely touch and was very appreciated. The bottle of Lagarde Rouge we ordered was very good and I would definitely recommend it; bursting with fruity flavour and very easy to drink. Some might say the only problem with the wine list is that they are all French but hey, that person is not me!

To start, I ordered the Warm Tiger Prawn Salad and my friend had the Calamari. Both looked and tasted delicious. The dressing on my salad was particularly good and the prawns were cooked perfectly without being rubbery at all.

I'm a sucker for a steak and since there was a selection on the menu, I decided that's what I'd go for; I ordered the 10oz Rib-Eye to be cooked medium-rare and my friend ordered the Pan Roasted Pork Belly which was served with a dish of bubbling gratin potatoes.

I must be honest with you, I was a tiny bit disappointed with my steak. Although it was clearly very good quality meat it was overcooked to my taste and I'd say more medium-well than medium-rare. It was also a bit too salty for my taste but I am a bit sensitive to salt so I think it would have been fine for most people. I did enjoy the taste though, as it had some nice charring on the outside. The chips and peppercorn sauce were good, but I think I would have appreciated some mushrooms or some other kind of veg to accompany it.

Judging by the noises coming from the other side of the table, the pork belly was delicious and the potatoes were really good too.

I was getting quite full by this point, but I always like to make sure my reviews are thorough so I forced myself to order a dessert. Do you see the pain I go through for you, readers?!

Being a French restaurant, I expected the desserts to be good and they definitely delivered on that expectation. I ordered the Praline Crepe and my friend had the Tarte au Citron. My crepe was really lovely, a nice soft crepe with a delicious praline filling which was topped with caramel-encased bananas and sweetened cream. A delight of textures and flavours. I'm told the tarte au citron was very tasty too; nice and sharp with the sweetened cream making for a perfect combination of flavours.

Of course, we finished the meal with a latte for me and a pot of tea for my friend. The perfect end to a very enjoyable meal.

All things considered, I think the food and drink was really super. I've knocked a point and a half off for the steak, but it receives a very well-deserved 8.5/10

Value For Money

Altogether, the meal came to around £87. For a four-course meal for 2 people with wine, I think that's pretty good value. It's not the cheapest in Norwich, but quality isn't cheap! 9/10

Overall

When I consider the whole experience, I think that although there were a couple of things that could have been better, it was still a very enjoyable meal. I will (and I have!) recommend Côte Brasserie to friends and would definitely go there if I found myself in one of the other cities they have a restaurant in. Overall, I have given Côte Brasserie a very well-deserved 8.5/10

Have you been to Côte Brasserie or do you intend on going? Any point to add or question in my review? If so, please comment below!

Disclaimer: I was invited to review this restaurant and some of the meal was kindly paid for by them. As always, I wasn't expected to write a positive review and all views expressed are my own personal opinions.

Minipresso

A few weeks ago, I was discussing portable coffee makers in a camping Facebook group when someone mentioned this little gem; the Minipresso. As soon as I looked at the website I knew I wanted one and bought it promptly!

The Minipresso is a compact, portable espresso maker that works by generating the same amount of pressure as a traditional espresso machine with just a few pumps on the semi-automatic piston. It needs no electricity to operate so it's perfect for use on the go AND at home. I've used mine when camping and it has also replaced my Nespresso machine as my espresso maker of choice. It makes a fantastic espresso with some of the best crema I've ever seen and I love it.

It comes in two versions; the GR and the CA. The former uses ground espresso coffee and the latter uses Caffitaly and Cafissimo capsules. I started with the GR, but soon started to wonder what the CA would be like and how much more convenient it would be when I'm camping... So, I contacted the manufacturers and asked if they would be interested in sending me a CA to review and they said yes! Win!

Before we go any further, I'd like to make it completely clear that I am not an expert on coffee; far from it! I just love to drink a nice cup of coffee and have a borderline obsession with all types of paraphernalia associated with it. I'm sure you could get a more technical and precise review of the Minipresso online somewhere but I wanted to create a layman's review that would appeal to other people who love coffee, just like me!

As soon as the CA arrived, I just knew I had to do a comparative test to show the differences between the two machines and the coffee they produce; I hope this will help you decide which would suit you best when you buy one (which of course you should, it is awesome!)

The first thing to note is that the GR has more parts... OK, so it's only a coffee scoop and the basket which holds the ground coffee but it's still 2 more pieces to wash up and I HATE washing up! The centre pic above just shows what the Caffitaly capsules look like; I've used Cremoso Caffe Creme for this test and, so far, it's been the capsule I've enjoyed the most. On the right, you can see I opened one of the capsules and filled the GR scoop with coffee from it. I thought this would be the best way to ensure a fair test and I was surprised to see that not all of the coffee from the capsule fits in the scoop - this could be important later on...

So I filled the coffee basket of the GR and screwed it shut then fitted the other capsule in the CA. I then filled the water reservoirs at the same time with boiling water and screwed them shut. To brew, I used the method I liked most for the GR when I was getting to grips with it. I pumped enough to flood the coffee with water (6 pumps for the GR and 8 for the CA) then waited for 10 seconds before pumping until the coffee stopped flowing. Et voila, espresso made!

This shot is really important as I think it shows perfectly the main difference I've seen between the two machines. On the left is the CA and the right is the GR. As you can see, both machines produce an almost identical amount of espresso with a very similar crema. However, it is very clear to see that the CA produced a noticeably darker crema and coffee, signalling a stronger brew. Wanting to test this further, I made the espresso up into two americano-style mugs of coffee (as is my preferred way to drink it) paying special attention to ensure the same amount of milk (30ml) and water was used in each mug. Then, I tasted them.

For me, the americano produced by the CA was superior to that produced by the GR. It was stronger in flavour and more rounded too. All in all, I much preferred it. The only reason I can think of for this is that the capsule holds more coffee than I was able to squeeze into the coffee basket of the GR and it makes sense that this means it would produce a stronger coffee.

By now, I think I've made it really clear that for me the CA wins in this test. It's easier to clean, the capsules are easy to transport and it produces better coffee. However, I think it's worth noting that the GR is still a great machine. Before I received the CA, I was perfectly happy with the results I was getting. Of course, if you are a coffee buff you are likely to grind your coffee immediately before use and in that situation I think you'd get a cup that rivals the CA. I'd love to test it, but I don't have a grinder!

If you'd like to buy you own Minipresso then take a look at the manufacturers website: Wacaco. They ship from China, but don't let that put you off. I chose the express delivery option; it was dispatched on a Friday and delivered by mid-day on the Monday! Now THAT'S what I call service.

For the Caffitaly capsules, I had a bit of a shop around and came across a company called Another Coffee. I contacted them and they agreed to put together a sample pack of 20 capsules for me to buy so I could choose which ones I like best. I'm sure if you contact them they'll do the same for you too!

Do you have a Minipresso? Has this review helped you to decide you want one? If so, or if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

Disclaimer: I received the Minipresso CA for free to review but paid for the Minipresso GR myself. As always, I wasn't expected to write a positive review and all views expressed are my own personal opinions.

Perfecting Patisserie: June 2015 Round Up

At the beginning of June, I told you all about the Perfecting Patisserie challenge and since the deadline has now passed, it's time for a round up of all the entries. What a pretty collection they are, too!

To start us off, we have these delicious recipes from Patisserie Makes Perfect: Lemon Meringue Pie and a wonderful Fraisier which you may remember from GBBO not so long ago.

Next up is a recipe that is so amazingly seasonal. I may just have to rush out into the garden and pick the fruit to make one for myself! Here's the Summer Berry Tart from Food Glorious Food.

Lili from Lili's Cakes has been really busy this month and her creations always look so professional; like they've just been lifted from a Parisian window. Here are her Chocolate and Bergamot Charlotte Russe, Swedish Princess Cake and Healthy Star Anise, Strawberry and Pistachio Tart.

 

I am in awe of The Dream Baker who has been experimenting with croissant dough. The step-by-step instructions and pictures of every stage really break down a complex recipe into something much less daunting. I think I'll give it a go myself and turn it into some of my favourites; Almond Croissants.

So, here are the fabulous Brioche Croissants and Pain au Chocolat.

Rather than a recipe, this entry from Becks Bakes is a deep dive into her macaron-making adventures. It's a fantastic read and those macarons are making me drool... Doing the Macaron'a.

Our penultimate entry comes from Beer and Baking and is a mouth-watering combination of flavours in these Strawberry and White Chocolate Mousse Tarts.

Finally, we have this striking Gooseberry Frangipane Tart from BakingQueen74. I haven't tasted it but I bet the combo of sweet frangipane and sharp gooseberries is a delight!

So, that's the round up for June! If you've been inspired to try your hand at some patisserie, the July Challenge is now live. Happy baking!