Cocotte Ben Thanh Escargots

Post by Chiefeater VK

Cocotte Ben Thanh is located in a small little enclave that you reach by walking through a corridor lined with massage and pedicure parlours.

Starter on the house.

Jen had been craving French onion soup and needed a fix. Reviews had mentioned the onion soup as one of the dishes Cocotte is known for, so expectations were reasonably high.

The soup itself was lighter and thinner than the richer style Jen prefers. That did not go down particularly well with her. It may simply be a matter of style, but for someone looking for a deeply reduced, more substantial French onion soup, this was not it.

The steak arrived medium rare as ordered, but I found it lacking the beefy savouriness that I have come to expect from a good piece of beef. It was properly cooked, but the flavour itself did not have enough depth for me. After this meal, we decided not to order any beef dishes.

Thankfully, the Escargots de Bourgogne were excellent and easily the winner of the meal. A good escargot dish depends very heavily on the garlic-parsley butter. It needs enough butter to carry the garlic and herbs without turning greasy, while the snails themselves should remain tender rather than becoming rubbery. These worked well, with plenty of richness and savouriness in each cavity.

Dessert was a Tarte Tatin. It was not bad either. The caramelised apple worked nicely, although the quality of the ice cream let the dish down somewhat.

So this was a mixed meal for us, but the escargots alone saved the meal.

Pricing

French Onion Soup – VND119,000
Escargots de Bourgogne – VND159,000
Steak Hokubee 200g – VND449,000
Still Water – VND35,000
Tarte Tatin – VND145,000
La Vieille Ferme Red Wine, Glass – VND130,000

Subtotal – VND1,037,000
Service Charge – VND51,850
VAT 8% – VND76,188
VAT 10% – VND13,650

Total: VND1,178,688
Average per pax: VND589,344

MVX Summary

MVX Score: 7.3/10

M – Meal Value
The escargots were the strongest dish and worth ordering, but at this overall spend the steak and onion soup needed to make a stronger impression.
Score: 7.0/10

V – Venue
Cocotte has an intimate bistro feel once you get past the unusual approach through the surrounding corridor of small businesses. It is casual rather than formal, but comfortable for a French meal.
Score: 7.5/10

X – X-Factor
The Escargots de Bourgogne. Properly tender snails with rich garlic-parsley butter gave the meal its clearest highlight. And the service was excellent, even if the food missed the mark.
Score: 7.5/10

Business Hours

Open Daily
10:00 am to 11:00 pm