Côte Royal Festival Hall

You're on the Festival Terrace with the Thames rolling past, the London Eye spinning in the distance, and a glass of something cold in your hand. Côte does the whole Parisian brasserie thing without pretension—the sort of place that works equally well for a long lunch with mates, an early evening drink, or when you need to impress someone without breaking the bank. The menu's classically French, built around their signature steaks, but they don't phone it in; there's proper attention to detail in the kitchen. Sure, it's part of a small chain, but the location here makes it feel like something more.