Get your Cote
I’d not been to Cambridge’s Cote before, and was pleasantly surprised; the quality of both food and service far exceed those offered by any of the other restaurants that have occupied that site during my six years in Cambridge. I started with the steak tartare.
It looked more like a burger than I’d expected: traditionally, the raw steak, capers and what not are mounded up with a raw egg in the centre; toast and raw garlic are on the side. In this case, all the ingredients were mixed and shaped into a patty already. That said, it was really excellent – very nice steak, and with just enough toast to finish it. There was Lea & Perrins and both red and green tabasco to go with it, though I mostly just enjoyed the meaty flavours unsullied with spiciness.
I love cassoulet, so my choice of main course (from the specials menu) was made rather trivial. The confit duck was excellent, and there was lots in the stew; there was also pork belly, bacon, big chunks of nice sausage, and lots of perfectly cooked harricot beans. The breadcrumb topping was rather ‘rustic’ (ie, large chunks) but the whole thing was rather excellent.
Wine-wise, we enjoyed two from Sancere, both dating from 2009. The rosé, Domaine Des Vieux Pruniers, was light and not sickly sweet, whilst the white, Le Petit Broux was crisp and light. Both were good and I’d be hard-pushed to choose between them. I found room for a crème brûlée (with a delightfully crisp top) before we retired to the Maypole for whisky and a cigar.