Côté Sud came highly recommended by our Air Bnb host on a recent trip to Menton. On arriving,…read morethere was a large-ish queue/crowd waiting outside. One of the queuers told us there was a 45 minute wait, but it was well worth it. We went to the bar, ordered a round of drinks and sat at one of the benches outside facing the beautiful coastline. We waited a while, but the maitre d' kept coming over and apologising, and after about 30 minutes they gave us a free round of drinks, woohoo!! We didn't even mind the wait, as it was so lovely and warm, we were drinking delicious prosecco and beer and were generally comfortable and having a fun time :D
We were seated and landed a much sought after outdoor table. We went straight for the mains, as it was getting quite late. The menu is in French, Italian and English, and like Menton itself, the restaurant seems to have an Italian vibe (and not just through its cuisine).
My boyfriend and I are vegetarian, and had no problem finding something on the menu. I ordered the stuffed courgette flowers, he had the basil and tomato pasta. Both were fantastic, although the courgette flowers were meant as a starter so only get them if you're not that hungry. Or as a starter, of course. Our meat eating friends ordered the veal and something else I can't remember, but said that both were delicious. We finished the meal with some gorgeous complimentary limoncello.
The service was fantastic, the food was perfect, overall a fantastic evening. You can spend a little or a lot here, depending on what you go for, so it should suit most budgets. They managed to create the impression that we were very much valued customers, despite being rushed off their feet. Overall, highly recommended.