Branzino is superb
A wonderful mix of Indonesian, Indian, and Thai fare. Whether you are sitting inside, in the garden, or on the patio; the quiant and intimate vibe is only surpassed by the great service and delicious food.Their modern takes on classic South/Southeast Asian dishes can be enjoyed by the inexperienced but still homey enough to be appreciated by veterans of the cuisines.Kanpachi Crudo - The fish was firm and just fatty enough to not be over powered by the coconut dressing, while the finger limes gave a nice acidity and sweetness and provided additional textureBeef Rendang - Rich, deep flavors meld with tender beef. You control the heat level with the additional sambal, the gulai gives complementary contrast while the crispy shallots add textureNasi Goreng - Classic Indo fried rice with a nice runny egg, tender long beans and the added crispy pork belly had a satisfying crunchDry Aged Branzino - Generally a more mild fish, but the dry aging (@dry_aged_fish_guy you are so hot right now! And deservingly so!) intensified the flavor in a pleasant way while yellow curry was mild and complimentary. The herb salad with citrus freshened things upRoti Canai - Hot, fluffy, crunchy... a vessel perfect to scoop and sop up all the sauces and flavorsLooking forward to the next visit to try the other dishes and hopefully some new menu items as well!
One of my favorite places in Santa Monica, the staff is always friendly and the ambiance is so great. The food is also delicious and they have a great selection of drinks as well.
The setting of the restaurant is worth 5 stars alone. Kind of a hidden gym -- beautiful date spot with a flower entry. Food is fantastic as well. Definitely ethnic food, so if not interested in Indian food, wouldn't recommend. If you are, place is the best spot around.
4/29/22: Southeast Asian fusion street food inspired spot on Main St with an interesting hip, homey decor. The setup can seem a bit off putting to some, maybe a little overdone and not the most comfortable for sitting in, but it does has its own unique charm. Overall, food was solid, prices are pretty fair for Westside, the menu has an eclectic variety of traditional South East Asian dishes with a modern flair or minor change up. If you really want the best version of these dishes, go to a place like Simpang Asia or Mee and Greet. And I think the best dishes were not the more traditional offerings. But otherwise, Cobi’s does a good job, definitely a nice change up for Santa Monica, which could use more restaurants like this.
I took my boyfriend here for his birthday dinner and he absolutely loved every course we ordered! I highly recommend the Kanpachi, Grilled Prawns, Curry Puffs, Butter Chicken, Roti, Nasi Goreng & for dessert the thai tea pudding. We will definitely be back!
Expectations were blown away. The food was incredible (especially the Nasi Goreng, the Short Rib, and the Caramel Peanut Vanilla Soft Serve with Milo Brownies), the ambiance and decor are delightful, and the staff are really friendly. My partner and I were seated in an antique love seat in the main dining room and ate off of a solid wood antique coffee table lit by soft candlelight. Hard to beat.The only reason I'm not rating a five is because they need to work on the operations side of the business. We got the wrong order sent to our table which is in itself not a big deal. Our order of Butter Chicken came out minutes later but was lukewarm (unclear if this was intentional - it was still really tasty)... okay, fine. Then when we went to pay, our waiter indicated receipt had to be corrected but it turns out it was correct the whole time, at which point we had to manually put in our tip via the administrator view of their Square terminal. To be fair, none of this would prevent me from going back but it was a slew of minor missteps that could be corrected for a more seamless dining experience.
This place came highly recommended by some friends and it definitely did not disappoint! We had Alberto as a server who was excellent and even gave us complimentary Prosecco for our anniversary. Everything we had was excellent and we will definitely be going back.
The food and ambiance was wonderful!
5 star food. 1 star restaurant.I sat on an old, dirty chair. It was stained, and the cushion was nonexistent; I was sitting on the frame more than the cushion.We also were served food in chipped dishes. That's not a good look.It's also pretty small and cramped inside. Due to this, it does get loud in the restaurant; you almost have to yell so the person across the table has to hear you.Food is good, although a tad overpriced given the points above. I would never come back and dine in. I'll stick to take out because the restaurant itself feels outdated and cramped. Save your money and time and stick to take out only from here.