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A Cote

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5478 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94618

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(510) 655-6469
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A Cote - Oakland, CA
Reviews
( 16 )
( 9 )
( 1 )
( 4 )
( 3 )

Best

This french tapas restaurant is fantastic--great food, great service, interesting and confusing wine list, a bit noisy, but amazing food, especially the mussels with pernod and sh...

Worst

I've been to A Cote a few times, and have desperately hoped for a better experience each time, but frankly I just give up. The cocktails and atmosphere are nice (the cucumber coc...

Dessert was SPECTACULAR!! 4/29/2010

(Dessert ONLY review)A friend of mine was giving me a tour of restaurants that she appreciates around her home. We stopped in for dessert & sidecars. My said the regular bartender was not there, but we tried the sidecar & it was BLAH. The dessert we picked was Strawberry panzanella. It had candied brioche, olive oil custard, w/ micro basil & saba. The strawberries were sweet! The combo of flavors was brilliant! My friends said they pride themself on fresh ingredients. From watching what was set out on other tables, it looked intriguing. The restaurant was dark & quiet, but full of what I am guessing were locals. It was midweek so, I believe that says alot about a place! Pros: busy Cons: parking more
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Disrepectful Manager. Terrible Service! 7/12/2007

i was overcharged by $428.00 and the restaurant mgr. whose name is Jeff told me that it was my problem and that I had to take it up with my bank myself. then he accused me of slander for saying that the restaurant had overcharged me. i sent him my bank statement to prove that there was in fact an overcharge of $428 but he did not care and hung up the phone on me. i cant believe that someone in hospitality would behave in this ill and disrespectful manner. more
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Good restaurant. Super yummy butternut squash risotto. 6/9/2007

Good restaurant. Super yummy butternut squash risotto. more
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Good restaurant. Super yummy butternut squash risotto. 6/9/2007

juicytime Provided by Partner
Good restaurant. Super yummy butternut squash risotto. more
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TERRIBLE time at A Cote 4/10/2007

We went to A Cote last night hoping to celebrate my wife's promotion in style. Instead, we were treated to a never-ending disaster. To begin with, we had to ask for water three times before our waitress bothered to bring us some. We asked for a full, rich red wine to go with our food, and the wine she recommended was about as light as red wines come, and I had to fish out a small piece of cork floating in my glass. The pace of the meal was downright bizarre, with a half-hour plus gap between two of our appetizers. Several things we ordered never arrived at all, though our waitress seemed indifferent to this, shrugging and smiling. The quality of the food was generally good, but many items were not described correctly. All in all, a terrible and disappointing experience. If you want small plates, go to Cesar on Piedmont or Pizzaiolo instead!! more
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Overpriced, overseasoned, overhyped. 3/25/2007

I've been to A Cote a few times, and have desperately hoped for a better experience each time, but frankly I just give up. The cocktails and atmosphere are nice (the cucumber cocktail is heavenly), and the curtained back patio has the potential to be a romantic summertime treat, but this in no way makes up for the neglectful service, mediocre to below-average plates, and inflated Rockridge price tag attached to the whole experience. Pros: Ambiance, inventive cocktails Cons: Overpriced, mediocre to below-average food, neglectful service more
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attentive, knowledgable service, wonderful flatbread, perfect carrot soup and moroccan meatballs 3/10/2007

This french tapas restaurant is fantastic--great food, great service, interesting and confusing wine list, a bit noisy, but amazing food, especially the mussels with pernod and shallots Pros: food, ambience, service Cons: noise more
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good drinks & snacks 11/25/2006

Very good drinks 10, food is tasty 9, atmosphere is perfect 10+ more
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To be honest, not really that great 8/19/2006

Pros: The atmosphere is nice, place looks hip but that is pretty much it. Pros: Location Cons: Too pretentious. Service needs improvement. more
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Worst service I've ever encountered 8/1/2006

My boyfriend and I wanted to have a drink at A Cote last Saturday. We arrived at about 10:45. We watched various staff members walk back and forth without making any eye contact with us, and after 5 minutes or so the hostess appeared and told us it would be a few minutes. A group of 4 came in soon thereafter, and we all stood in the doorway watching the staff bustle around empty tables. We could see open tables for one big and 2 small parties. Again, no staff members would look at us- they were so busy doing whatever it was that they were doing, which was clearly not serving customers. After about 10 more minutes, my boyfriend stopped a passing waitress and she curtly said, ""The hostess will be with you shortly."" At that point we left. more
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Flex those Mussels 6/12/2006

This place was the winner pertaining to dinner contemplations after reading reviews and perusing the online menu briefly, and suffice it to say we were not disappointed. Seating took nearly an hour but it was well worth the wait. Baby arugula with Rinier cherries, almonds and smoked chicken was a nice starter; initially the chicken was a bit heavy on the smoky flavor but the peppy arugula was able to temper it after several bites. Pros: food, service Cons: long wait for a table more
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You get what you pay for 2/15/2006

We tried a little bit of everything, taking advantage of the suggested wine pairings and the recommendations of our fabulous waiter. It was crowded, but we waited at the bar. The food was nearly all delectable, except for a beef/noodle dish. We enjoyed the whole atmosphere and experience! Pros: Service, Ato more
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Romantic but bring a snack. 1/28/2006

Food is very good and ambience is great (try the mussels). Wine menu is entirely French and very extensive. No reservations are accepted, so go early if you don't want to wait an hour standing (on weekends). Serving sizes are just right. Wait staff and hostess are quite polite -- but they are more than happy to tell you ""this is tapas"" when you ask where the heck your food is (it took almost 45 minutes from serving the first plate to serving the second plate for a party of two). ...I've been to France and Spain and, sorry, tapas is not served like this. They do not have the timing perfected for an enjoyable relaxing multi course meal, if that's what they're aiming for. Maybe it's the extra time that it takes to prep the food that makes it _so_ good, but they should drop the pretense. Pros: Atmosphere, Delicious food, Looong wine list Cons: SLOW, Noise, Pretense more
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My favorite restaurant in the Bay Area 10/17/2005

My partner and I LOVE this restaurant. It's our fancy dinner (anniversary, birthday, etc) place. They have incredible small plates and while they are a little pricy, are well worth it. It's like Chez Panisse without the hype. I have been at least 4 times and have never been disappointed. Pros: incredible food Cons: parking can be hard, crowded on weekend more
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Amazing french tapas 9/4/2005

Easily my favorite restaurant in the East Bay. The food is great, and they change the menu frequently. The drink menu and wine list are both creative and a good value. Service has been great, even if there is always a wait. The outside patio is my favorite, I only wish they took reservations. Try the flatbread and the muscles. Pros: tapas, wine, patio Cons: no reservations more
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Looks nice, but... 8/31/2005

My fiance and I love tapas so were excited to go to A Cote. We were able to get a table with maybe a half hour wait, not too bad considering no reservation. I liked the decor, it was noisy, but that's pretty normal for most tapas places. We ordered a lobster bisque to start. Now, I eat pretty much anything (ask my fiance) but this bisque was lukewarm and I couldn't stand the taste. My fiance had a couple mouthfuls, but stopped after that. We also had a few other dishes, which were okay, but not impressive. I was very disappointed with the food. Service was normal. Pros: Decor, Location Cons: Food, Price more
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A little bit pricy but it's worth it! 7/23/2005

I've been to a lot of tapas restaurants in the bay area. A Cote was a bit pricier but it had more quality to it. I really like to the chocolate ice cream with brownies. It was beyond my expectation. Try the ice cream! Pros: Food, Service, Ambience Cons: Price more
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Worth the drive from SF 6/11/2005

Food, service and ambiance are all fantastic here. We started with the fries (which came out a few short minutes after ordering) and some Belgian beers, then headed into nearly a full array of delish offerings: the little gem salad, mussels, paella, sturgeon (my favorite!), flat breads, steak...you name it, we had it, and loved it all. I'll be making the drive over the bridge more often! Pros: Food!, Service, Ambiance more
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near-perfect 4/13/2005

A Cote's atmosphere, food and service all perfectly complement each other. people there seem to be really enjoying not only their food, but their company. we had no wine, but i swear i was buzzed off of something (the ambience? the smell of pommes frites?). we have already decided we're coming back for some dishes we didn't get to try this time. the slower pace is conducive to hanging out and chatting and just enjoying life--all the while eating some really top-notch food! Pros: excellent food, good service, nice atmosphere Cons: long waits, a little noisy more
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Excellent 3/21/2005

This place is so good. Everything on the menu is great, but I would definitely get the fries. The place can get crowded so go early or plan to share a table at the long table/bar in the middle. Drinks are fabulous as well. more
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Menu for A Cote


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Editorial

  • In Short
    One part seasonal small plates, one part extensive wine list and two parts boisterous chatter make a festive A Cote cocktail. Digging into shared servings of pomegranate chicken...

  • 12/6/2007 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Payments: American Express, Master Card, Visa
  • Neighborhoods: Rockridge
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