Cote's 26th restaurant opens in Salisbury

11-Aug-2011 - Last updated on 12-Aug-2011 at 10:19 GMT

Cote founders Andy Bassadone and Chris Benians have opened their 26th restaurant in the Wiltshire city of Salisbury

Cote Restaurants, the French bistro chain founded by Andy Bassadone and Chris Benians and owned by Richard Caring, has opened its first site in Wiltshire.

The company, which says it is on track to operate a 30-strong estate by the end of the year, opened its latest site in Salisbury on the site of the former Polly’s Tea Rooms in the city centre. The restaurant becomes the chain’s 26th.

Cote, which opened its first site in London in 2007, will open its 27th restaurant and 14th in London at the end of this month on the former Ping Pong site in Hampstead.

Expansion plans

The chain is also in talks to open in a new development in Esher in Surrey and plans to add a further two sites to its estate before the end of the year.

Cote is also thought to be interested in a site at the Brunswick Shopping Centre in Bloomsbury, London.

Outside of the capital, it continues to target affluent towns and cities like Canterbury, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Exeter, Marlow, Oxford, Portsmouth (Gunwharf Quays), Winchester and Windsor.

Mark Wingett is associate editor of BigHospitality's sister publication M&C Report 