Coco500

A good friend told me the restaurant closed. Last day of service was July 9, 2014.
Sad face. I’m glad we had a chance to try a fantastic meal but as times change, so do places for shopping, relaxing, and dining.
Thank you, Coco500, for one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile. Your waitstaff was the most professional I’ve experienced. Good luck to everyone involved.

Great spot for business lunches, good burgers, grilled fish, and a solid menu.

Sad to hear they are closing next Wednesday. Highly recommend getting over there to enjoy a cocktail and the halibut.

Pretty classy restaurant with good food.
— Fried green beans (⁵⁄₅) — Lightly battered, not greasy, and really tasty. Lived up to the hype.
— Pork shoulder (⁴⁄₅) — Well seasoned and very tender.
— Mushrooms (3.5÷5) — Pretty decent tasting, although the portion was a bit small for $ 9
Overall a good meal. Will certainly come back at some point.

5÷1÷14 Lunch
Seated promptly for 12PM reservation the place was empty. By the time my friend arrived at 12:10 the place was pretty much packed. Acoustics was poor. Noises trapped within this somewhat claustrophobic space. The rare heat wave also didn’t help. It was very hot and stuffy inside.
I saw that almost every table ordered the Fried Battered Green Beans ($ 10) but they looked very greasy. I decided to skip. They have a very attractive cocktail menu offering new twisted ones with classical ones. I also decided to skip because I’ve been off sugar. But the cocktails are definitely worth to try.
Au Bön Climat (Pinot Noit $ 14/​glass) is my favorite so I ended up sipping the whole glass while perusing the menu. About 80% of the food menu is carbohydrate — crostini, flatbread, lasagna, pappardelle, pizza, sandwich, tartine, burger, etc.
*Truffled Mushroom Flatbread ($ 13): is a very thin-​crusted affair with sea salt. Parmesan is perfect as it’s not over-​powering. Crispy on the crust but chewy inside.
*Fish sandwich ($ 19): is a northern halibut, pan seared, brittle, sitting on tomato and dill with a pesto aioli. Two pieces of thick bread like foccacia, the bottom is crunchy. The arugula salad has pea and paprika dressing. pretty appetizing.
*Duck Confit Salad ($ 18): Duck itself was okay. Crisped on the outside but greasy inside. French lentils are mushy and bland. Kumquat added a nice kick to it. Not something I’ll order again.
Overall food is mediocre for a $ 90 lunch. The 3 star-​rating is attributed to the impeccable service. Crew managed fine despite a full house. Our waitress, Sandy B. is very attentive and was on top of the progress of our meal. Otherwise I have to reason for a return visit anytime soon.

*** Happy Hour Review only ***
Been here a few times for drinks and snacks and have sampled the following dishes with some mixed results.
— Duck liver crostini — Chunky country style pâté. Pickled red onions help cut the richness. Very good. (
)
— COCOmole tacos — Tasty mole beef, but the chips seemed like they were out of a bag
— The famous Fried Green Beans — Once just about perfect. Another time kinda greasy.
— Tuna stuffed piquillo peppers — Eh. We were expecting more than a basic tuna salad for the stuffing (
)
— Oysters — Fresh and briney. The mignonette was watery and bland. Did some ice fall in on the way to the table? (
)
Bartenders have been friendly.

This place is awesome and conveniently located near my friends in SoMA so we decided to try it out.
Let’s start with our appetizer. First we had the truffled mushroom flat bread which was surprisingly good.
Next, we ordered the oysters and ceviche. Unfortunately, I did not get to try the ceviche because I am a slow eater and there was none left!
For my main course I ordered the pork shoulder and my friend ordered the beef cheek. They were both excellent; however I liked the saltiness of the beef cheek a bit better than my pork shoulder. Finally, we ordered grilled asparagus to get our veggies in.
Now on to the main event: dessert. I am not usually a dessert person; however, we were all in a festive mood and I ordered the butter milk panna cotta which is excellent and light considering my meal was a bit heavy. I highly recommend this dessert.
I have them four stars because my pork shoulder while great had nothing on the beef cheek. All in all a great place that I will revisit.

Delicious meal here and friendly, attentive service. Spacing between tables, however, can be quite comical among the main dining strip; as such, it is a very energetic and lively restaurant which requires speaking with slightly elevated voices.
Since the batter-​fried green beans were a constant on 7×7’s Top 100 list of things to eat in SF, it was a no-​brainer appetizer. I very much did enjoy them but failed to see how much more special they were than really good tempura-​battered green beans. We also ordered the harvest wood oven flatbread which featured organic grapes, bacon, rosemary and parmesan which was also good, though, I’m not sure I would order it again on subsequent visits here.
For the mains we shared the beef cheek entrée with horseradish crème frâiche and watercress salad, and the pappardelle. The beef cheek was exceptional – flavorful (as was the salad that accompanied it) and extremely fork-​tender (no need for a knife). The pappardelle was quite toothsome, though lacking a little bit of flavor.
For dessert we were «noncommittal» and ordered the chocolate dipped frozen bananas, a small portion of creamy cheese with fruit compote and received a complimentary order of the COCOcups. All were very good, especially the COCOcups which completely satisfied my sweet-​tooth craving.

My husband took me here and although the food was good, It wasn’t the best Ive had.
I went during lunch and it wasn’t crowded so we got seated right away. I ended up ordering the pear and gorgonzola pizza… and the smell wasn’t that pleasant. It actually smelled like fart, but I tried it and the taste of it was better than the smell. It was a little doughy, but it fills you up. I also tried the cranberry mule drink, which was actually pretty good if you like tart and ginger. We got the fried green beans and those were a hit… just be careful cause it’s HOT when it comes out. Seems like a lot of people were ordering the fried green beans, so I knew it was the best appetizer they had.
Overall I would come in here for a quick, quiet lunch but I wouldn’t come into SF specifically for this restaurant.

I ordered oyster and wood roasted fish. The fish is so Taiwan style — no the Americanized sweet source, simple w/​salt and paper, fresh, crispy skin. perfect!

Cool restaurant! I came here for dinner and had a few appetizers. For my meal, I had the oysters. It was definitely an oyster overload, but I really can’t complain about that. The sauce is perfect for dipping in the bread.
One thing about the restaurant is that they try to take your plates away as quickly as possible. I came in a group of 6 – 7 people, and they’d literally walk over to you and hold the appetizer plate next to your head and ask you if you want to take the last pieces.
Also, my oyster meal got taken away before I was done with the sauce. Overall, this restaurant is pretty mediocre. It’s a fun place to be though.

A bit on the «pricay» side, but worth it if you’re willing to spend. The service is top notch and the food is fantastic.
My friend and I shared the wood oven roasted pork belly for starters. It literally melted in our mouths and was so aromatic it made me want to cry. I got the daily special, which happened to be roasted yellowtail with risotto and wild mushrooms. Yellowtail is my favorite fish (see Unilocal list) and these guys did it justice. Tender, flavorful meat mingled with the al dente texture of risotto and the delightful crunch of one of my favorite vegetables. Divine. My friend got the vegetable lasagna, which was huge and packed full of ooey-​gooey cheesiness. He loved it.
For drinks, we tried the Grapeshot cocktail. Also great – the bartender knows his stuff. Décor is on the minimal side, but chic and dark. If you’re looking for a splurging spot near Caltrain, this is the place to be.

3.5 stars — Really quite terrific place for seafood. But everything else is quite average.
The fresh catch of the day that I have here is usually great and perfectly cooked; and the trout almadine is always terrific. However, everything else, including the sides, is usually quite average, and not worth mentioning.
Come here for the fresh fish. Everything else you might want, go elsewhere.

I had been wanting to try COCO500 for years after first reading about it’s famous batter fried green beans as part of 7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat list. I also wanted to try the place as it sits in an area of SOMA I rarely visit. We were impressed.
Being a former public school teacher, here are my grades:
Cocktails: B (do try the Carolina Cross but pass on the COCO500)
Small Starts: A+ (Batter Fried Green Beans were DELICIOUS.)
Starts: B– (Gazpacho with scallops and pomegranate seeds was decent).
Flatbread: A (Squash Blossom Flatbread — nice and lots of garlic)
Mains: A– (Agnolotti was very buttery and a small portion; Beef Cheek was perfectly cooked but it is a heavy dish.)
Desserts: C (Chocolate dipped frozen bananas were a little too frozen and the COCOcups tasted great but the chocolate was hard enough to break a tooth.)
Service: B (Friendly but not charismatic and memorable)
Atmosphere: B– (great space but very loud for such a small restaurant)
I would go again but for a party of two, we would eat one less dish. We were stuffed afterward.

I walked by here every day for one year.
I finally came in and my first experience was great! Had some drinks and share plates with a girlfriend at the bar. I liked it. Decided to come back the following week with my boyfriend. I must say, it wasn’t as good as the first, in fact, we got food poisoning, both of us :-(I would probably give it a third try. We did love Sonja, the bartender though (1^st visit).

Food was excellent and the service at the bar was wonderful. Luis went the extra mile. We’ll be back many times.
Definitely get the roasted cauliflower. The lemon and capers add incredible flavor!

Nothing special. Went here on a weekday night for dinner. Ordered Pappardelle pasta. It was good. Ordered those fried greenbeans that everyone tells me to order — yuck. Greasy, limp, yucky. Will never order this again.
Service was great. We got there early for our reservation so they sat us at the bar while they readied our table. Bartender got us waters. We ordered drinks, but then our table was ready, so they brought our drinks to the table and poured my beer (Bruery Saison Rue) for me into the correct glass (I was mildly impressed). Waitress came by often to refill both my beer glass and my water glass, so it was never empty.
Overall, I would give the food 2-​stars and the service 5-​stars. Maybe I just ordered the wrong main course so I wasnt wowed, but I will never again order those fried beans. The atmosphere and location are nice (ample street parking when there isnt a baseball game) and I wont hesitate to try it again.

I can’t give COCO a good review when the food is way over priced and the portions are tiny. I had lunch here with a friend that works close by. It was surprisingly empty for the holiday season. Now I know why. We ordered 3 small plates and an entrée.
–The beef cheek ravioli was really good! Though it was $ 18 for 5 medium sized ravioli.
–I didn’t like the mushroom truffle flatbread that much.
–The fried green beans are on the 7×7 big eats list for 2011 and 2012. I didn’t know this going in, but I see why it’s on there because it’s pretty unique. The beans are fresh and crisp. It’s SEMI healthy :)
–The crab cakes were good, or should I say crab cake (non-​plural).
Between the two of us, lunch was around $ 70. Once was good enough, the food isn’t terrible, just over-​priced.

THEY DON’T HAVE STRAWS HERE. DAFUQ.
I think they think they are too good for straws. My sensitive gums were not happy. I think the matrie’d was super suspicious of me since I went in and asked if I could use the bathroom since I was waiting for someone. He probs thought I was some hoodrat who just wandered in from the street and was just trying to use their bathroom.
The bartender was super nice. I got the Coco500 cocktail which tasted a lot like a mojito. I asked if it would taste like a mojito and he insisted it was different but it was basically a fucking mojito. Azucar Lounge makes their mojitos with different herbs and shit too and they don’t go around claiming its not a fucking mojito when it basically is.
Fried green beans were okay. Super super oily. It was kind of off putting. I would rather stuff my face with the fried green beans from Trader Joes. Those are actually amazing. Seriously, go to TJs now and buy some. They are usually on the bottom shelf. My roommate in Oregon bought a pack and I would always sneak into our pantry and eat them shhhh.
Ambiance was very nice. It has always looked really appealing from the outside. Its all warm and modern and feels all holiday-​y if that makes any sense. Probably will not be back since I am blacklisted at two of the neighboring bars and they don’t have fucking straws here.

$ 120 per person for dinner? But after a few glasses of wine and being treated like VIP guests we just did not give a damn.
This was my second visit to COCO500 and both times I throughly enjoyed my experiences. This time around I walked in with a group of 7 and from the minute we sat down our server and the rest of the COCO500 staff treated us like Hollywood celebrities.
Our server made sure to check in often and I wish I could remember his name, but the Sommelier/​Manager dude made frequent visits and would make wine recommendations and offered some of the most descriptive detailed explanations of offerings I had ever heard. And what a nice guy! My wife by the end of the night developed a massive crush on him. I am not sure I can ever bring her back here again.
Did I mention how great our server was? She was amazing! And very gracious the entire time and addressed anything that came up quickly and efficiently. One example of this, two of us ordered the exact same dish (hangar steak) and both requested it to be cooked to medium rare. When the entrees arrived I took one look at mine and thought it was cooked to perfection. My friend however thought it was undercooked (by the way, he was wrong his was also perfectly cooked) and our server noticed that he was afraid to take a bite of it. She immediately came over and asked if his steak was not to his liking. He told her he thought it was undercooked (again, it wasn’t he should have just asked for medium) and she took it back without hesitation and within minutes brought out an entirely new steak with an extra side chimichurri sauce.
There, my high maintenance friend who doesn’t know the difference between medium rare and medium was taken care.
I love COCO500 and if you find yourself in the area, make sure to stop in.