Dee Sargeant
Côte Brasserie has decided that Easter should be spent doing what sensible people do best: eating well, lingering longer and allowing somebody else to worry about the washing up. The French brasserie chain is marking the holiday with a seasonal menu built around comforting mains, indulgent desserts and leisurely brunches, all timed for the long bank holiday weekend when appetites tend to sharpen and discipline wanders off for a lie-down.
There is, it must be said, something rather clever in the simplicity of it. Easter dining does not need pyrotechnics. It needs warmth, generosity and food that makes a table feel full before the first fork is lifted. Côte Brasserie appears to have understood the brief.
A spring menu designed for Easter indulgence
Available across the Easter weekend, Côte’s seasonal set menu brings together the sort of dishes that suit the season nicely, from slow-cooked roasts to rich puddings designed for sharing. Guests can choose two courses for £29.50 or three for £35.50, with the menu pitched at those long, sociable meals that begin with restraint and usually end with someone ordering dessert “for the table.”
At the heart of the offering is Côte’s Slow-Cooked Lamb Shank, which arrives with all the quiet confidence of a proper Easter centrepiece. Created by Steve Allen, former Executive Chef at Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, the on-the-bone lamb is served in a delicate white wine broth with new potatoes and fragrant herbs.
It is exactly the sort of dish Easter tends to demand: generous, comforting and rooted in spring flavours without trying too hard to be fashionable.
A dessert that knows Easter is meant to be fun
For dessert, Côte Brasserie is giving its chocolate mousse a seasonal nudge with a Mini Easter Egg twist for two. Topped with crushed mini eggs and served with French butter biscuits, Maldon salt, dried berries and extra mini eggs, it sounds every bit as playful as Easter ought to be.
That is often the trick with seasonal menus. Too much reverence and they feel stiff. Too much novelty and they turn daft. This one appears to land in the happy middle ground, where indulgence is the point and nobody feels the need to apologise for it.
Brunch adds another reason to linger
Côte’s new brunch menu, served until 2 pm from Friday to Monday across the bank holiday weekend, broadens the appeal considerably. Easter is no longer just one formal lunch and a chocolate coma. It is a four-day blur of family catch-ups, late starts and opportunistic meet-ups, and brunch is now part of that ritual.
For those inclined to make a ceremony of it, diners can also upgrade to free-flowing fizz for £25 for 90 minutes when ordering from the brunch menu.
It is a tidy addition. Not every Easter gathering wants roast lamb and red wine before mid-afternoon. Some simply want eggs, a glass of something sparkling and the faint pleasure of having nowhere urgent to be.
Côte at Home brings Easter to the kitchen without the labour
For diners staying in, Côte at Home is offering an Easter range aimed at making home hosting less punishing and more polished. That may prove one of the smartest parts of the whole campaign.
The Braised Lamb Shanks Box, which serves four and starts from £83.95, features slow-braised lamb finished with a delicate white wine sauce, served alongside honey and lemon roasted vegetables, buttery new potatoes and peas à la française, with dessert included.
The Roast Breton Chicken Box, from £73.95, offers half roast garlic chicken glazed with garlic butter and served with a shallot and thyme jus, plus spring sides and dessert.
For households that want the theatre of an Easter spread without spending the entire weekend anchored to an oven, this is a rather appealing middle ground.
A family offer with timely appeal
Côte Brasserie is also leaning into the school holiday period with its Kids Eat for £1 offer, running from 30 March to Friday 10 April, excluding weekends. Children can enjoy two courses for £1 when an adult orders a main course, or breakfast for £1 when an adult orders a breakfast dish.
In an age when even a modest family meal can leave your wallet looking peaky, that is a useful hook.
The offer is available exclusively through the Côte app, which also gives diners access to other perks and payment options. That app-only model may not delight everybody, but it is clearly designed to reward repeat custom and bring families back through the doors.
Côte Brasserie taps into the mood of the season
What Côte Brasserie has done here is not revolutionary, but it is well judged. The menu understands what Easter dining is supposed to feel like: relaxed, generous and just indulgent enough to feel like an occasion. There is spring lamb for tradition, chocolate for nostalgia, brunch for modern habits and an at-home option for those who want the celebration without the logistics.
That is a fairly strong hand to play over a long weekend.
In the end, the appeal of Côte Brasserie’s Easter line-up lies in its understanding of mood. People are not just looking for food at Easter. They are looking for atmosphere, ease and a reason to sit around the table a little longer. This menu seems built for exactly that.
