Home > News Archive > Cote To Open London West End Venue

Boasting a total of 32 restaurants around the country, the group specialises in straightforward bistro cooking, drawing inspiration from Parisian dining.

Its newest store will open in St Christopher's Place, just behind Oxford Circus.

The group will pay £218,000 a year to rent the 3,500sq ft unit in the shopping and restaurant area. Davis Coffer Lyons advised on the deal.

Harald Samuelsson, joint managing director at Cote, told Caterer and Hotelkeeper: 'We are still on target to open a minimum of 10 restaurants a year and opened Cote number 30 on Parkway in Camden last week. Cote on Charlotte Street will open at the beginning of May.'

Cote took over the St Christopher's Place site formerly owned by Town Centre Restaurants, which traded as Auberge. Due to open at the beginning of June, the venue will have 144 covers, of which 24 will be outside.

'Cote has been looking for a prime West End venue for some time and was prepared to pay a substantial premium for Auberge in St Christopher's Place,' said Nick Weir, director at Shelley Sandzer, which represented Town Centre Restaurants.

'It's a very busy spot and well known as a restaurant and retail quarter, with footfall almost guaranteed from tourists and shoppers alike.'

And the West End isn't the only place shoppers and tourists will be able to soak up French cuisine. French bistro Le Bouchon Breton in East London's Spitalfields is to re-launch its a la carte menu with a new head chef.

Having run kitchens for French restaurant chain Chez Gerard, Christophe Dittrich is to join Le Bouchon Breton. Visitors will be able to snap up a host of lunchtime specials which, for just £9.95, come with a drink.

Le Menu Rapide de Midi includes dishes such as Poulet Roti les Landes with frites, steak onglet grille with frites, pork belly and sauerkraut, or poisson pane a l'anglaise.

Emma McFarnon