Last month, my dear friends invited me for a meal after work, to celebrate my birthday.

We were originally due to go to The Botanist, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they ended up having to close for the evening. I provided my friends with a list of places that look nice when I walk past on my way to/ from work and we unanimously agreed on Cote Brasserie on York’s Low Petergate, right near the Minster.

We arrived at our table at 5.30ish, and at that time, the restaurant was almost empty, save for a few diners scattered around. Within half an hour though, there was a steady stream of guests making their way through those doors, which, given it was midweek, was pretty impressive. The atmosphere soon grew bustling and lively. We were provided with a good selection of menus with fixed price special offers starting at £11.95 for 2 courses, vegetarian and gluten free options too, catering to all three of us. Having said that, there did seem to be some problems with the vegetarian options, first we were given the wrong menu, and then when my friend did order it seemed nothing he ordered was available, then the wrong thing was brought out, so from a veggie perspective, they definitely need to improve. Having said that, all of the food that came out was absolutely delicious.

Creamed mushrooms on toasted brioche to start with.

A gorgeous chicken dish as a main. I couldn’t fit one of the divine desserts in, so I just had a cafe creme.

It was a lovely evening, the setting was ideal for conversation, which meant I could have a really good catch up with my friends over dinner. Everyone’s life is so busy now that when you do finally get to spend a couple of hours in each other’s company it’s non-stop chatter, but that’s certainly better than awkward silence. We all had a lovely evening.

As I said my goodbyes and left to head to the train station, the bells of the nearby Minster were ringing merrily, welcoming an Autumnal chill into the night air and, I like to think, providing a celebratory sound to accompany my birthday festivities.