One of my favourite cities in the world to eat, preferably at an hour when one would normally be in bed, is Paris.

It is hard to recreate that unique Parisian experience of sitting outside, whatever the weather, at some late hour as traffic and tourists stream past in the hubbub of the night.

Least of all in the quintessentially English surroundings of Richmond but Cote does a fine job of recreating those memories, for a few hours at least.

The stylishly designed restaurant oozes personality, which is some achievement for an eatery which is part of a chain.

Me and my guest settled into a nice table by the window – enough to see the streets but given the weather, probably best not to go full Paris experience tonight.

To start, I enjoyed some traditional baguette and butter, with a firm crusty crunch encasing a soft centre of sourdough – for a far-from-refined pallet like mine, this was a great start.

My guest, she opted for the French onion soup, which was sweet but, evidently, messy to eat because of its comté cheese topping.

For mains, I went for the 10oz rib-eye steak, served medium rare and as something of a steak connoisseur I was thoroughly impressed – succulent, tender and every other superlative needed to describe an enjoyable slab of rib-eye.

I am reliably informed the grilled lamb loin chops were equally as tasty with the Roquefort butter sauce adding to the experience.

For dessert, I sampled Cote’s various scoops of ice cream and, again, difficult to find a fault there.

My guest raved about the praline crepe, which was made all the more enjoyable by the added banana and crispy caramel – a winner, in her eyes.

I must add that I also sampled a traditional Brittany cider, which was sweet enough to hold its own in today’s overcrowded market for the drink.

All round, a great evening and a fine meal – I will definitely be back and their prices are incredibly fair for a very strong French-inspired menu.