Cocotte Richmond Restaurant Review – I’ve been meaning to check out Cocotte’s latest venue in Richmond for some time now and finally managed a visit the other day. It opened last summer opposite Megan’s, so it’s another place that’s ideal for pre and post cinema meals, lunches or lazy weekend brunches. The interior is smart and fresh, with banquette seating and a central bar. There are now six locations across London, and the chain was founded by Romain Bourrillon with an ethos of sourcing top quality ingredients (in particular chicken) from independent family run farms in France, as well as supporting local producers where possible.
I started with an excellent Negroni while my husband enjoyed a Lucky Saint. The restaurant prides itself on its rotisserie chicken, so one of us was obviously destined to choose this as a main. As my husband dislikes meat served on the bone, it was, of course, my treat. In order to avoid a surfeit of chicken, I chose the crispy pesto halloumi to start, while my husband opted for chicken tenders, and then a cheeseburger.
The portion of tenders was very generous indeed and it was served with the restaurant’s special tomato ketchup – called Tomato Bliss – which was delicious, but was, in fact, largely a tangy beetroot-based one. Served with a side salad, they would make a very good light lunch.
My halloumi was very tasty, served on a base of pesto dressing with whole pine nuts and topped with coils of spring onion and slices of chilli. It wasn’t actually crispy, but that wasn’t a problem – perhaps they should remove ‘crispy’ from the description?
One observation on the menu is that the only steak available is a 10oz rib eye (at £36.50). There’s no way most people could eat that alone, so I’m assuming they are expecting people to share it. It’s served with fries and their special herb sauce.
Of course chicken is their hero ingredient, and it’s marinated for 24 hours in Cocotte’s secret herb marinade and served with a choice of sauce (chicken jus, herb or Nduja). The portions are very generous, and the chicken is incredibly moist and tasty. The sauces are thin, more like a North American gravy sauce but tasty. I asked to try a little of each sauce (being difficult!) and much as I love Nduja, I felt that this one didn’t work with the herby flavouring of the chicken. It’s worth pointing out that the servers are very happy to pack up any of your food that you can’t manage, so that you can enjoy it again at home.
We shared a celeriac slaw that was packed with herbs and very crispy and refreshing – it was an interesting fusion of coleslaw and celeriac remoulade. The classic burger was a generous patty and served with fries.
A glass of chardonnay and another Lucky Saint complemented our mains beautifully.
Needless to say, there was only room for one dessert…my husband chose a Mont Blanc (chestnut cream, vanilla ice cream, almonds, chantilly cream), and I managed to snaffle a spoonful. It was superb and incredibly rich, but light.
Cocotte has a number of good value set menus from £20 and is also open for brunch at the weekend.
In summary, it’s a good value and tasty addition to the local dining scene.
The Seasoned Gastronome