Coco500... Eatiing My Words

About a year ago, I wrote a lukewarm review of Coco500.

I loved what I ate, but I was terribly put off by the attitude and the general "too-big-for-our-britches" attitude. I suppose that on some level, my feeling was (and still is) that if you give yourself the right to ride on the coattails of your former incarnation's reputation, your service had best reflect that you're not a brand-new establishment.

Still, I got called out by Aaron, a virtual old-timer at Coco, for not having given the place a second chance -- not having given it a chance to "grow up", as it were. But the truth is, I've been to Coco500 on numerous occasions since I wrote that review, and I'm a little ashamed that I never updated it. Because while the food hasn't changed, the service has taken a turn for the much, much, better.

We took two out of town friends there this past Saturday evening for their wedding "celebration", and we really enjoyed ourselves. Everything from that most exquisite flatbread and divinge cocktails to the toothsome and meaty flank steak and oh-dear-lord-they-have-roasted-marrow-bones was wonderful.

Service was quite delightful (our waitress is one we've had before, and she's a doll) but... we still missed our potato gratin. She realized it just as we were finishing our entrees, and apologized profusely (and I think comped us a dessert), but are these guys just really overworked? It certainly does beg the question.

I have really come to love Coco500. I send C there for business dinners, have lunches with my part-time-lover*, and love meeting friends for drinks. Do I regret my earlier review? Not even a little bit. Am I thrilled to post this update? You bet your fried-green-beans I am!

*Ohmigodshe'shomebutidon'tknowwheni'llseeher!!!!!

Tags: San Francisco, Food, Food & Drink, Coco500, Restaurant Review

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Comments

[Beth]

Oh! Oh! Oh! I got a mention! "two out of town friends" I even sound mysterious.

FWIW, I loved everything we had except the peanut butter cups, they were too much like a butterfinger. I wanted reese's.

The roasted marrow bones were FAN-fucking-TASTIC! See why I don't do food reviews? ;)

[anonymous]

I ate there a few months ago for a special occasion. Honestly, I was underwhelmed. The flatbread was, indeed, spectacular. The rest of the food was... eh. Somewhat sloppily executed, and not very exciting. I came away feeling ripped off.

[Joy]

I love you so much it hurts.

[sam]

omgIfeelsobadIvealreadyseenhertwiceandnowshedreamsaboutme.

I love Coco500 - its not perfect but a step above many others. The noise gets me down the most.

I think their chicken liver pate is one of the best value dishes in town.
Exquisite presentation.
Could do without the green beans and the panna cotta myself.

But would die for their salmon pizza, flatbread and vacaherine (as long as they replace the coffee with vanilla for me, which they always so graciously do).

I have to say, to anyone who thinks they are snotty. Well - there are two waitresses I love - the ones that have been there the longest. But there is a newer one who is blah. She was removing plates whlst we were still on our last forkful. Hate that.

But I LOVE THE BUSBOY guy - he is so nice and friendly. Sometimes has a little chat with me - so nice - especially from a busboy. Maybe he is not meant to, but we are only human - I think he is cool.

[erin]

thanks to your review (and a few others from bay area bloggers) I decided to try this place last night during a quick weekend in SF. I had a great time--started with the green beans, the tacos. For entrees, we had the duck pot pie and the special moules frites. Everything was uniformly excellent, including my elly may cocktail--bourbon, peaches and ginger soda.

Personally, I liked the peanut butter cups--the butterfinger like texture was a nice suprise.

[aaron]

hi F and friends,

thanks for coming in again and updating your post. this is great.

i do not know what to say about whether or not these guys are overworked... I have worked every position in that restaurant, and I would say that the sections are not too big for strong servers. But, many times, there is a trade off: strong servers have strong attitudes. At COCO, we are trying to have a welcoming, friendly attitude from the waitstaff and that attitude does not always come from the people with the greatest technical skill (think French restaurant, everything hits the table at the right time, but whats with the attitude?)

Personally, I prefer technical skill to a welcoming smile. I get less distracted when things go right and I don't feel like I am having to train the waiter while i am eating dinner; I don't really care how 'likeable' they are when I am eating, yet as a manager, we try to hire a 'likeable' staff.

For COCO, this is a dilemma and something that we definately need to work on.

Thanks!

aaron

[Fatemeh]

hey aaron -

i have to say, i would rather have a great smile, acknowledgment of an error, and a genuine (as opposed to forced) attempt to rectify it.

our server was awsome, she's sweet, and she totally made it right. that, in my opinion, is the very best kind of service there is.

[Fatemeh]

Sam - you know, we're kind of with you about the noise, but C made the comment that it is MUCH quieter in the far banquette table (the one by the mirror).

There were four of us, and we didn't feel that we had to yell or anything. It was, in fact, quite pleasant, and I think I would actually put in a request for that table in the future.

[Fatemeh]

Erin -

I'm so glad you had the Elly May. This past visit was the first time I'd seen it on the menu, and C ordered it. It's a tasty little beverage, that one there.

[erin]

Just a quick note/update--we had a male server who was perfectly delightful, very friendly, no mistakes, etc.