On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Tapas Bars, Basque, Steakhouses
Neighborhoods: Mid-City West, West HollywoodMon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
this place is cute, quite small, a little dark, and extremely loud when there's a full house - so loud i couldn't hear my friend talking who was sitting right next to me!
nonetheless, the tapas are decent, a bit pricey so don't come here hungry! here's a breakdown of the dishes we had:
- risotto of the day - the best tapa we had, creamy and so delicious
- sweet potato fries - pretty standard
- wood oven fired flatbread - greasy and too salty
- eggplant cristoni - delicious, only 3 pieces =(
- fried green lentils - unique dish and quite good!
- churros - light, fluffy, and compliments the chocolate so well
they now have a corkage fee of $5 if you don't buy at the wine shop next door...FYI.
The food is amazingggg but the night we went they didn't have the skirt steak my friend really wanted and the sassy waiter didn't seem to care. He didn't suggest anything else, he didn't apologize, nothing. I think he was Australian and he just wasn't friendly.
But his attitude didn't take away from the food at ALL. We had the sweet potato fries (yum), risotto of the day (spinach and goat cheese--to die for), asparagus (delish), eggplant tostado (prob wouldn't get it again, but it was okay).
Get there early though or you have to wait outside. They do take reservations.
Not so sure how I feel about the BYOB aspect, but Cobras & Matadors is a cute restaurant along Beverly Blvd near The Grove. Nice ambiance inside. A little on the dark side, but nice nonetheless. We sat outside.
We had the following for dinner (In order of best to worst):
Risotto Of The Day: Perfectly made, great tecture, very creamy. I'm glad I shared this dish because I would not have been able to stomach the entire thing.
Wood Fried Flatbread: With Pancetta and Caramelized onions. Chewy, simple, flavorful and very good!
Sweet Potato Fries: I love sweet potato fries in general, and I'm not sure you can really go wrong with them..
Socca Cakes: Chickpea pancakes with cilantro sauce drizzled on top of it. We took the option of having it with honey and goat cheese. All I can say is that they were dry as hell. I really wanted to like this dish because I love chickpeas, cilantro, honey and goat cheese, but it was poorly executed. (I feel like a Top Chef judge!)
To sum it up, I was happy with my experience at Cobras & Matadors, but I wasn't blown away. There were some dishes that were good, some dishes that were bad, and zero dishes that made me fall off my chair. That being said, I would probably go back to try other dishes.
This was a good restaurant. A few glitches but overall, I kind of liked it.
We ordered:
Bacon-wrapped figs (yum)
Sweet potato fries (very yum)
Cheese platter (very, very yum)
The space is small so get prepared to be cozy and share conversations with the table next to you. It's a BYOB-only establishment and you'll have to walk over next door if you want alcohol.
But I do love the lighting and I had great service. I'd definitely come back.
How can you go wrong with a name like Cobras y Matadores? Sounds like the name for the next hit novela if you ask me.
I've looked far and wide for a tapas place that was to my liking in the aftermath of my visit to Spain.
SF has proved disappointing thus far and I'm happy to say my hometown (though saying LA is a town is a bit of a joke) of Los Angeles has the winner thus far.
So many things were done right here.
1- It's loud. My memories of Spain involved me being really loud (as usual) and others being really loud. If you're tapas place is quiet, it's already dead in the water in my "vibe category".
2 - Outdoor seating. One of the things I loved about Spain was the ability to sit outside. While most of the restaurant is indoors there are a handful of tables outside for you to check out the scene on Beverly blvd.
3 - Mood. This would make for a pretty sexy date if you have a loud voice and like to share food. The place is BYOB so get wine at the store next door and let the magic happen.
4 - The crowd. The wait staff is very attractive. The patrons are a cross section of attractive yuppies and hipster. Either way - good looking people everywhere.
What am I forgetting? Oh yes, the food.
I started with the patatas bravas, which are my favorite. They are spiced with paprika which was a nice touch. Very tasty.
The bacon wrapped figs were DELICIOUS. You have to get these.
I also had the skirt steak which was ok and didn't blow me away. For $18 was pretty expensive and a VERY small amount of meat. The winner with this plate was the corn with butter that came with it. It reminded me a lot of Los Angeles and all the guys selling street corn which I love.
The churros and chocolate were very good. Larger than I expected based on my time in Spain but freshly made and very tasty.
All in all the attractive wait staff were very attentive and friendly and we spent $45 and it was worth every cent.
The food at cobras and matadors is extremely good. I went here with friends on friday night. Some highlights included the fried chicken, the chickpea pancakes with honey and goat cheese, asparagus, and flat bread. Our friends had the calamari salad which they didnt not like, but overall it was a great meal. When the bill came, we were expecting it to be much more, which is a good sign too. The reason it gets 3 stars unfortunately is because of the below:
1) restaurant was PACKED. They tried to cram so many tables into this small space it was pretty uncomfortable and loud. Not to mention the tables themselves were small, so when you're ordering 5-6 tapas, it's a constant struggle to find out ways to fit things on the table ( quick! Scarf down the asparagus to make room for the cheese!)
2) the service was BAD. Maybe this is because the waitstaff couldn't navigate through the 2 inch openings between tables.
3) There is now a $5 corkage fee. I'm sorry, but i thought BYOB meant NO corkage fee? Apparently this is something cobras and matadors implemented once the wine store next door went out of business. Whatever the reason, it annoyed me that they still pride themselves on the BYOB thing.
So, if you're willing to deal with the above for some great Tapas, you will enjoy your meal at cobras and matadors!
Inventive, tasty tapas in a fun, if not wholly authentic, atmosphere.
I keep hoping that C & M will bring me back to when I lived in Barcelona, but no. I even get corrected by wait staff when properly pronouncing pà amb tomàquet (pan con tomate.) Nonetheless, I always enjoy coming here, and have been back multiple times over the years. If you forget to bring a bottle of vino, just pick one up next door and your waiter will open for you at no charge. (No liquor license, apparently.)
My favorite dishes: Crispy green lentils. (Oddly, they taste like high quality BBQ potato chips, which I happen to find irresistible.) Paprika spiced potatoes. (Pretty much like patatas bravas.) Steamed mussels. (I always have to ask for more bread to sop up the delicious broth.)
Great place for a date or a small group of friends.
FYI, tomàquet is pronounced tu-MA-ket.
This place is a guaranteed GREAT time. Great food at a very reasonable price and the BYOB is an extra perk.
3 items + dessert was under $60 for 2 people!
If Cobras y Matadors was a person it would approach you with a warm greeting and welcoming smile, and then proceed to poke you in the eye, stomp on your toes, and unleash a devastating body shot to the kidney before finally relieving you of about $35 cash from your wallet. The limited menu and food ranging from mediocre to disastrous combine for a surreal "WTF is this really happening" meal and experience. Like Joan's 2.0.
The flatbread and skirt steak were ok but failed to thrill plus the steak was a small portion for $18. The pasty walnut vinaigrette covering the asparagus was dreadful and the white bean and olive accompaniments with the whitefish were horrid. Like really really bad. At that point we decided to cut our losses and end the meal still hungry before any further damage was done.
To be fair service was extremely pleasant and the wine recommendation from the dude next door wasn't bad, which are the only reasons C&M is managing to escape the 1 star rating it truly deserves. I won't be returning and after hearing that their other location closed I'd guess this one will be on its way out shortly as well.
Every girl has her team. A trusted starting line-up of restaurants (and/or men) who are delicious, aesthetically pleasing and (usually) reliable. And every once in a while, the players slip up and open a spot for try outs. Last night was one of those nights.
Having been in the mood for tapas and flowing wine all day, I freaked out when both Tasca and Bistro LQ decided to be closed on Sunday. Who closes on Sundays? Better yet, who cooks at home on Sundays?
Fuming and almost heading over to Angelini (yikes. waking up the quarterback), Cobras y Matadors caught my eye. Oh Cobras y Matadors. I've heard of you and your fun and delicious tapas. You'd make a fine substitute for Tasca tonight.
Hmm. Your menu is certainly bold. I mean, having 15 things TOTAL on your menu with over half of those items being 'Grilled Mushrooms', 'Lentils', 'Asparagus' 'Tomato Toast'. I understand it's tapas but I didn't expect a menu of side dishes either. What's worse is that you proceed to tell me that the only menu items with substance - steamed mussels AND cod fritters - are out tonight. And you don't have a wine list.
No worries. We'd love to get an overpriced bottle from the store next door and luckily we did cuz I don't know how I'd be able to stomach your food dead sober.
I'm sorry but your chef has to go. Seriously. Walnut vinaigrette on top of asparagus and charging 8 dollars for 8 spears? Forgivable if tasty but it wasn't. It was like sugary peanut butter on top of a roasted asparagus. Pan seared whitefish was nicley cooked but floating on top of the most acidic white bean concoction. Some beans were undercooked, some beans were overcooked. Just an overall bad dish. The flat bread/pizza was decent but how can you go wrong with cured meats and mushrooms? The skirt steak was cooked a perfect medium rare but was flavorless and the corn salsa tasted like the one from Trader Joe's. In my heart, I'm glad we didn't order the risotto of the day - arugula and tomato risotto sounds like another failed experiment.
Even though we were both still a bit unsatisfied and not quite full, we opted to leave rather than get more food.
Serves me right. Now I know how it feels to fuck the waterboy.
SMHP
Small Portions High Prices
I wouldn't mind if the food was great but eh not so much. Saturday at 9pm and it was packed but a friend had a table waiting for us. That was a good start. It went downhill from there.
No booze but if you buy from their sister store next door, no corkage. OK. The booze selection wasn't bad and we had a drinkable Aussie Shiraz for $22.
The menu looked interesting but there was very little that sounded like must-haves. The one thing that sounded tasty was the flatbread. I thought this would be a good starter for 4 people. It cost $15 so I assumed as much. This was the polar opposite of super-sized and so it went with the other dishes we ordered. Granted the bread was tasty but come on. A friend wanted the cheese plate and we all kind of chuckled at the portion: 4 teeny pieces of cheese (1/2" x 1") with 4 pieces of toast and a few grapes/candied walnuts. I felt like was having room service at the Four Seasons-without the cush bed and great service. Just ridiculous prices.
Don't even think about the grilled squid. It's actually a salad drowning in dressing with THREE pieces of squid and as many slices of salami. After showing the waitress, she did comp it and threw in a dessert
(one star is for that).
The best dish was the sweet potato fries. This one I felt OK paying $7 a bowl. The ketchup and aioli were very good.
I had not heard good reviews before coming here and I understand why. There are way too many excellent places to eat in town to come here again. Besides, I was sorely tempted to go to Animal for a real dinner. If I didn't have to wake up early, I would have.
BYOB is a plus at this place but BYOF is more apropos. Bring Your Own Food.
I'm on some hell bent quest to find the best churros and chocolate like the ones I ate in Spain. So far, no luck. I have tapas bars as my first go to places because they server Spanish cuisine. I always see this place when I drive home but never go in. So one night, Grace face and I decided to get it off the Bucket List.
Ambiance: Quaint place. Not too large but can accommodate your needs. Dark and sidewalk dining available.
Food: The 3 stars come from the Churros dish. They were soft like bread. I need some crunchy to my mix. As such, I believe it's my fault for having expectations. I'm not in Spain. The chocolate was good though.
Overall: Opinion still pending.
Great food but a little cramped. As I understand you need a reservation although walking from the grove we stopped in and only had to wait 15 minutes. I suggest eating there at night in fall as I hear it gets hot and there is no A/C. Plus the tables are close. The dates with bacon are great and I tried several ham dishes that were amazing! The wait staff was a little distractable with a hint of snobbishness, but nevertheless we got served quickly. I tend to like Tapas places with some homemade Sangria, which they didn't have. You can buy some wine next door at the wine shop and if you show the receipt the corkage is cheap.
Overall go for the food, Its a limited menu but everything was great. Don't go for anything else.
My visit to Cobras and Matadors is of note not so much for the food - quite satisfactory - or the wine shop next door- small but very solid selection, very friendly service, and very good ideas for pairing wines with C&M dishes - as it is for my inadvertent dinner companions.
When I arrived at the restaurant, I discovered that they had lost my reservation. The West Hollywood Chapter of the Hair Metal Toastmasters Club evidently was holding its monthly meeting, and they, their teased hair, and their spandex had taken over all of the inside tables.
With apologies and a gracious offer of a couple of comped tapas frias, the hostess sat us at a small table outside, then directed us to the wine shop next door. A few minutes - and a few bottles - of wine later, we returned to our table and started ordering. Not long after we ordered, a couple was seated next to us: a tall, blonde cooly detached, and - as it turned out - spectacularly dimwitted Russian model and her bottom-feeding industry douche-bag date. These two? Together? Color me unsurprised.
As the evening progressed, my companion and I talked, got wine-drunk, and laughed discreetly at the desultory inanities our dinner companions shared as D-Bag tried (and tried and failed) to impress his date - "I had these when I was in Basque. They're exquisite" - "No, "tapas" has two p's. Yes, I'm sure. They got it wrong."
After a bit, I noticed that they had both begun sneaking looks in our direction. I braced myself for the inevitable snide comment from D-Bag about our schlubby Midwest hipster sartorial habits, or some hyper-macho dumb-assery. Neither happened. Instead, when his date went to the restroom, D-Bag gave us one quick, furtive look, took out his keys, and started scraping the price tag from the bottle of wine on his table.
And that's when it hit me: realizing that his date was more interested in our conversation than in being impressed by him, he had then noticed that the prices on the two bottles of wine I had bought for our meal were substantially higher than the single bottle he had bought. Fragile masculinity wounded near to death, he took it upon himself to glare sullenly at me all night and hold - and lose, apparently - a pissing contest with me all inside his own little head.
I'll give him points for resourcefulness, though. Too bad the adhesive residue the price tags left on the bottle drew 'way more attention than the price tags themselves ever did.
I used to LOVE this place, but recent changes have left me dissapointed. It is now SUPER bright (it used to be dark and SEXY!) so it's no longer a hot date place and they have removed LOTS of stuff off the menu. I asked the staff about this and they said the owner wanted it bright even though the staff loved it dark and that they had a new chef hence why ALL my old favs were gone (ham and cheese sandwich, drunk goat cheese, 2nd steak AND lamb chops) . It is still good food, very reasonable and love the no corkage, but I don't get why the owner tried to fix something that was not broken and for the worse.
They totally revamped their menu. Revamped, as in shortened it. For better or for worse? You decide. Many of my friends favorite dishes were taken off the menu. And guess what? No more paella! What the hell? So we were pretty much set up to order things we otherwise wouldn't order. However, I was pleasantly surprised by it's tastiness. Not bad at all... But not great either.
Also, there's a $5 corkage fee. Unless you buy the wine next door and bring in the receipt...
2.5
Tapas!!!
I love this place~ Here are some of my suggestions:
1. Do not come here starving. These fun…
Read more »
Fantastic tastes thats overwhelm the senses! I was absolutely head over heels about the food. Great date spot,Great Service!--nice, dark & lively atmosphere. Plus its a great spot to bring you up to date with good friends!
My girlfriends and I ordered: wood oven fired flat bread with white figs & cabrales cheese, salmon, lemon cream with chive oil, sweet papas fritas with mojo picon & aioli dipping sauces, roasted game hen in a catalan sweet & sour sauce, and bacon wrapped dates which were delicious. We got a lovely bottle of Sangria next door and brought it in with us (no cork fee).
Yummy! It's hard to find real Tapas nearby. There's a lame place in Long Beach, that serve "tapas," but they're really just appetizers. What I like about Cobras is every dish is rich. We had the grilled asparagus, squid salad, steamed mussels, spicy potatos, flank steak, and sauteed spinach. Each dish was flavorful, so it is nice getting a small portion of a lot of different dishes. It's not super pricey, but not cheap. Between four of us, it was about $120. My one issue (and why they don't get 5 stars) is that they don't have an alcohol license. It's hard to enjoy tapas without a tempranillo or some sangria to go with it!
I actually give it a 3.5 rating.
FOOD: Overall it was good. I love tapas and have a "go-to" place in Boston that never disappointed. This place was good overall, but nothing tasted amazing. Everything was decent.
DRINKS: BYOB and no corkage. Probaly the best angle for this place. Unfortunately, you can't drink on their patio.
PARKING: Street parking. I can't remember if valet is given.
You have to make reservations otherwise, you might be waiting for a while.
CON: My only problem with this place was that I had made reservations for the wrong location, but didn't realize it (which I agree is my fault). I told the Host my name and party size and said we have a reservation there and sat us. Then he realizes his mistake. After we had been seated and started drinking out wine, he informs us that we may have to get up because he sat us by mistake. At this point, I feel like it was his error. He kept checking back with us saying we can only stay if he gets a cancellation. They sort of prevented us from ordering because they needed to make sure a certain reservation wasn't going to show up. I feel like he handled the situation poorly. Luckily, they did have a cancellation and we were able to keep our table.
ive had better i should have gone to king taco that would have been much better!
I was so upset when they closed the other location, however, I moseyed my way down to this one and found myself pleasantly surprised.
I took a dear friend of mine (she's married so don't get any ideas) with a bottle of one of my friend's wines (Tim Spear's Clos Mimi - 2004 McGinley Vineyard Syrah) and was a bit shocked when the place didn't seem as aesthetically appealing as their other location, however, we still strolled on in and ordered 6 dishes between the two of us.
I used to live in Spain so I have pretty high expectations when it comes to Tapas...
Risotto was by far the best thing on the menu. It was well prepared and the flavors were rich, yet not heavy.
I'd recommend staying away from the skirt steak as it is over rated.
The salads are ok, but if you like beets, you can't go wrong with the beet salad.
The stuffed dates and watermelon with cheese were just ok and not worth the ranting and raving.
The desserts aren't worth the waiting time.
The reason I give this place 3 stars is for the risotto and the wait staff. They have always been pleasant and have never charged me the corkage fee, so I love them for that!
Very tight dining space.
Good service.
Byob is a plus- they even offer to put your alcohol in the cooler.
Not good for big groups.
No alcoholic beverages allowed in outside dining.
Overall good food. A little on the expensive side for tapas.
No paella but small menu made it easy to order.
Not a good place for clausterphobic people.
Watch out for loud neighbors.
I'm the type of person that likes to try a little bit of everything, so my friend chose a great place to try. We ordered about 8 plates among the four of us and it was plenty of food.
Ambiance: dim lighting with candles. Plenty of seating plus a small patio in the front for those that smoke.
I'm not a big cheese person, but my friends are; I decided to try a bit of the spanish cheese plate and it was pretty good! The other dishes I especially enjoyed: grilled mushroom flatbread and grilled marinated black angus skirt steak. I visited Spain a few years back and I fell in love with the paella there; I tried the paella that one of my friends ordered and it definitely wasn't up to par, although there was a decent amount of seafood in it. This place makes me want to take another trip back to Spain. Overall, my experience was pretty good; the items were a bit pricey in my opinion, but I'd like to come back to try some of their other dishes!
No A/C!!! I mean, come on....it's in the 100's and this place has NO A/C!
The food was decent, and not too expensive. They ran out of dates the night we were there, which bummed us out. We really wanted to try the bacon wrapped dates. The rest of the food was good, not great. Also, they don't serve alcohol, so just pop in next door and buy an over-priced bottle of wine or beer, bring the receipt back to C&M, and they won't charge you a corkage fee. Not too bad.
I must warn that the hipster level was at a high. I mean, everywhere you turned in that place had dudes in skinny jeans and fedoras. I thought they stayed in Silver Lake....anyways, not a bad place. We had fun.
If they served alcohol and had A/C, I would give them a strong 4...and If the d-bags stayed a little more to the east, I would give a 5.
This is probably the best spot for a first date in all of LA for a few reasons: the intimate and dark ambiance with a couple cute outside tables, the amazingness of BYOB, and the nature of tapas involves a lot of sharing and is kind of romantic in itself. I have been here numerous times and always left completely satisfied. However, I'm saddened to read some of the more recent reviews saying that Cobras now charges a corkage fee (even if it is only $5) and that the menu has been severely abbreviated. The latter is a much bigger deal and if they're smart and reading these reviews, it will be a short lived change. One thing I love about Cobras is the extensive menu, so it's a shame. Anyways, I haven't eaten there since these changes took effect so keep that in mind.
The adorable wine shop next door is perfect to pick up a bottle of Pinot since Cobra's is BYOB. The service is usually great and the menu has some real standouts. Namely, the bacon wrapped dates are delicious. Each one is like a perfect explosion of flavor in your mouth. The baked goat cheese with honey, bread and grapes is mmmmmmm sooo perfect, and the asparagus with manchego is a good veggie dish. Both the steak and salmon are good, nothing outstanding though--I prefer more of the appetizer type plates as opposed to the entree ones here. I love the mushrooms with nuts and some sort of creme fraiche as well.
Cobras isn't the best restaurant in LA, but it has a lot of things going for it. It's a really fun place with a good vibe and is definitely a main player in my LA restaurant rotation. I hope the owners are smart enough not to mess with it too much. The place is always packed and people really love it. You know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it...
Very good and great place for 2-3 people. Not so good for groups, since it's a tapas place. I would recommend the eggplant crostini.
Street parking available and close to the Grove.
I decided to take Nikki, on a "date night". So I thought this was a good opportunity to try Cobras & Matadors. Okay, straight to the food.
Meh: - Socca Cakes with cilantro sauce. Forgettable
Good: - Grilled Angus skirt steak w/corn salsa, It was tasty, but kinda cold.
Radass: - Shrimp Risotto, buttery and great
- Bacon Wrapped Dates, my favorite dish of the night, Savory and Freakin Awesome
- Churros w/Chocolate Sauce, almost too sweet, but were still pretty amazing.
All in all the bill was around $60 for the two of us and well worth it.
The Service was okay, but it's mainly because I think they were kinda understaffed. I was pretty happy with this place and i'll come back another day. Also a bit of advice , If you want to come here after 8 pm, I strongly recommend you make reservations.
Make a reservation but don't expect to be seated on time. Also, I'd like to note that if you buy wine or beer from the place next door and bring in the receipt there's no corkage fee but if you buy it elsewhere there's a $5 corkage fee. No alcohol is served within the restaurant.
The wood-fired flatbread comes with four pieces. The chorizo was crunchy on the outsides and soft in the middle which I loved. The asparagus was very mild. Our group talked after it was taken away and wondered if they forgot to put it on their which I assume they didn't so I'd say they could go a bit heavier on the asparagus. The mascarpone cheese was really nice and went well with the chorizo. This was my favorite dish.
The roasted eggplant crostini comes with three little pieces. The crostini was crunchy and soft and the eggplant was more like a spread for the bread. I really enjoyed this.
The steamed mussels come in a big bowl with two pieces of toasted bread. The mussels were very good. They are soaked in a tomato, garlic, white wine sauce. I love garlic and it could have been a bit more garlicky in my opinion but it was still tasty! It was definitely the dish that filled me up the most.
The socca cakes with honey and goat cheese come with three pieces. I would stick with the mojo cilantro sauce instead of the honey and goat cheese. I typically like sweet and savory but this really didn't work for me. My taste buds were left confused.
The sweet potato fries come in a bowl with many crunchy, salted pieces of sweet potato goodness. I liked these...a lot...and I don't even like sweet potatoes.
It took us an hour to get our bill. Luckily, we weren't in a rush and it's possible that he was intimidated by our clearly intense girl talk but either way I feel as if we should have been acknowledged.
The total bill was $80 which also included two red pepper soups and the fried chicken dish which I didn't try. We walked away only spending $24 dollars. Not bad at all.
I've had much better tapas in other cities but this was fine for Los Angeles. I'm happy I tried this as it's much talked about in the area but I'll try something new the next time I'm craving tapas.
This kind of pains me to do, but I think it is deserved. Last night was my third time going here and since the last time, they've changed the menu. The first thing I noticed is that it has noticeably fewer options. Another key change is that they are now charging corkage fees ($5 per bottle).
Listen up, business owners: Cutomers do not like you changing things on them like this, especially when you have been around so long. Figure it out in the beginning and make all your mistakes early - not when you have three locations.
Me: "What are these new patatas on the menu? They aren't the bravas, are they? Also, I don't see the paella."
Waitress: "Oh, it's not a Spanish menu anymore. They're just tapas now"
My inner monologoue while trying not to laugh out loud in her face: "You moron. There's no such thing as non-Spanish tapas! Those would just be called appetizers, now, wouldn't they?"
(To her credit, the service was very good)
In short - The decor and ambience are great, they no longer serve Spanish food, there is now a corkage fee (unless you buy WAY overpriced bottles from the shop next door, which they own), servings are very small and cost $8-10 each.
My experience last night (and after trying Tinto and Bar Pinxto) made me want to open an authentic tapas bar and put these places to shame.
So you want some tapas? Bueno. Can't afford AOC but still want some great food? Cobras & Matadors is a great spot. It's a unique place with an interesting and creative menu... and no liquor license???
That's right. Luckily, they conveniently own the liquor store that is strategically located next door. Good job, guys. Decent wine selection, nothing crazy, but it'll do you right.
One nice thing is that Cobras & Matadors FINALLY realized the folly of their ways... and decided to start taking reservations. NOW you don't have to take your date and wait to be seated. It is a dark setting inside, which is nice, although you are elbow-to-elbow with your neighbors... so get ready to establish your space early and defend it. Outside is nice if you can get a table, as long as the exhaust fumes from Beverly Blvd don't bother you too much...
I could go through the menu and make recommendations... but we all have our culinary preferences, so I'll let you make your own decisions. But everything that I've ever had has been very good.
All in all, I'm giving 4 stars. A very satisfying dining experience, with reasonable prices and decent ambiance.
Some may not be too familiar with Tapas cuisine, but for those that are you know how delicious sitting around the table can be. Tapas is the name of a variety of appetizers or small snacks, mostly in Spanish cuisine. Tapas has come around to most Mediterranean cuisine mixing different ideas together such as Spanish-Italian. These dishes can range from olives or cheeses to small portions of fish or vegetables. Eating small snacks throughout your day is best for the metabolism, carrying these tactics into your dinner can not only boost your energy through the night but can be quite tasty too !
Cobras & Matadors has a few locations and living near the one on Beverly, I've visited several times. Small and simple inside, with wooden tables and chairs, you feel at home when walking through the doors. One of my favorite aspects of this tapas place is bringing your desired wine or beer. The quaint deli next door, Potato Chips, is where you can choose your spirit and as long
as the server sees the receipt the $5 corkage fee is waved! However, another way to get around the corkage fee, and I discovered this accidentally, is having a bottle with a twist off cap. A Buil & Gine Pinot Noir will have just this and only priced between $16 to $25 a bottle. As your sitting amongst couples and groups of 5 to 6 everyone is excitedly popping their bottles of beer open and pouring wine for each another. Making a reservation, especially after 8, would be a good idea as to not have to wait outside on the side walk.
With 25 Tapas to choose from, plus extra specials each night, it will be hard to make a decision. Having had close to everything on the menu any decision made will be a tasty one! The Roasted Eggplant Crostini is by far my favorite! Seasoned eggplant, pureed with fresh basil sitting on top of a Woodoven cooked crostini, comes 3 to an order and presented on a mini slab of wood. Complimented with a drizzle of Balsamic Syrup, a spoon full of a spicy red pepper mix and thinly sliced radishes, this $7 dish is anything but simple. I find myself running my finger down the plate to lap up any remaining balsamic syrup. Not your average potato croquettes the chef goes a step further and whips up a bowl of Salt Cod Croquettes with a creamy aioli served in a mini mason jar and spoon to match. Don't let the title 'Wood-fired Flatbread' trick you, this is a mini pizza cut into 4 slices with thinly sliced Sopressata, Mushroom and Onion pieces with Marscapone cheese on top. If you happen to a veggie lover, which I definitely am, the Wood-fired Asparagus is a must ! My second favorite dish here,the asparagus is cooked with crumbles of peanuts, walnut oil and sprinkles of Grana Padano (Grana Padana is a fabulous cheese from Italy and has been around since 1135 making it the first hard cheese ever !). Having grown up on lentils with pasta I had to have the staple dish that was always in my house. However these weren't your average lentils. Instead of being soft they remained in there uncooked form, only being sauteed in a pan and retained this crunchy feeling. Mixed with green onions and a sherry reduction, these had my taste buds hooked with a touch of salty, sweet and crunchy. The Pan Roasted Lake Superior Whitefish is one of the best prepared dishes. A small but meaty piece of white fish served piping hot is the center of attention while Canolini white beans swim around with fresh watercress and capers in a tomato broth. Try to get all components of the dish in one bite and experience the light broth mixed with tart capers soft white beans and sauteed cod. Delizioso!
When your looking for great food at a low price with a simple dining atmosphere Cobras & Matadors awaits!
Helpful Hints
* $5 corkage fee
* $5 corkage fee waved if you buy next door at Potato Chips or if you have a twist off cap
* Small inside so make a reservation
* Wine glasses are short, waterglass look-a-likes, so don't expect a glass with a stem
Wow, this place has really gone downhill. What happened?
I heard they got a new chef, so I think that's part of the problem. And they've changed their menu. A lot of the items are not really "tapas" anymore. One of the items was fried chicken? WTH? They also got rid of their paella...another big mistake. I used to love getting their sweet potato fries with that wonderful dipping sauce...now they serve ketchup and mayo. Please, bring that sauce back! The bacon covered dates were too dry and bland, not flavorful at all. However, the asparagus was good, and that was it.
They used to have no corkage fee, but now they have a $5.00 one, which isn't bad compared to other places. Nevertheless, it was free in the past. They will waive it if you buy from the store next door. Even then, the wines next door are pretty expensive (ranging from $22.00 to $50.00 a bottle). You would be better off just bringing your own from Trader Joe's or whatever market you go to, and just pay the $5.
Also, their hours have changed. They open at 6pm I wish they still opened at 5. We had tickets to a 7:20 movie, so we felt rushed through dinner to get to the movie on time.
I'm not sure if I'm going to return. It's sad, because this is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. But I'm going to keep checking Yelp to see what others have to say.
One of my favorite restaurants in LA. The best tapas I've ever had! The paella is to die for! And… Read more »
This place saved my 29th birthday.
I wasn't having such a good one that day, and even considered cancelling the reservations, but felt that was too selfish since it didn't just involve me, and unenthusiastically dragged myself to the restaurant. It was an awesome experience.
Maybe it was the four bottles of wine my table went through (we had made sure to get some nice ones from grocery stores and such), but everything tasted phenomenal, the ambiance was so upbeat, loud, and cozy, and our service was great. This doesn't make the ideal date place, since it's pretty hard to carry a conversation without yelling a little, but it does make for a fun dinner party with other people.
My friends and I ordered a bunch of stuff and passed the plates around. My favorites were the socca cakes with goat cheese and honey, which were the most amazing little sweet-salty bundles of joy. I also really loved the mussels, which had a really delicious broth that had cooked out of the shellfish.
The sweet potato fries were really good ones, super crispy and not that sweet. The jamon and goat cheese was also really popular at my table. The asparagus was quite nice too (although there isn't that much of it to share).
The churros and chocolate was really awesome. I don't typically go for chocolate and donuts, but these were special. I highly recommend anyone to try it.
In all, amazing tasty tapas that makes this place a really good one to go for special occasions.
It's totally hit or miss here. I've had great meals & meals where I've walked away knowing I'd never eat anything I ordered again.
We got the skirt steak once & it was incredibly delicious...we got it another time & it was 'meh.'
It's a good place to start your night since it's b.y.o.b., but they give you these baby glass cups instead of wine glasses so I'm not sure how you can get by not feeling silly and awkward if you're drinking. I'm an adult, I gave up the sippy-cup a long time ago.
I almost forgot, but I had had a few phone conversations before the last time a group of friends and I went to make reservations. They gave up our reservations saying that someone else claiming to be me had already come. Excuse me? What kind of a bs line is that? They sat us after a few minutes but it was ridiculous & just took this review from 3 to 2 stars.
I'd come back here if someone asked me to but my first few experiences were definitely better than however many meh experiences after.
Most people complained in previous reviews that the menu had been changed for the worse, and that they had added a corkage fee.
Well, I didn't have a previous experience to draw upon, so I was unspoiled. Overall, I loved the food, and to be honest, if $5 for a corkage is too much for you, you're a deadbeat.
I LOVED: ham salad, asparagus, skirt steak, and the risotto.
I Could leave: the lentils
This place is definitely worth your time. Go with friends and share plates.
*SIGH* I need to stop expecting so much from restaurants. I just end up getting so disappointed.
A couple of weeks ago, I was DYING for paella and Cobras & Matadors popped up when I Yelped it but when we came here, they were CLOSED. So yesterday after the movies, we decided to come here. We came around 6:20 PM and it was only half full. When we asked the hostess to seat us, they were hesitant b/c they apparently had a lot of reservations within the next hour or so. They told us that they could seat us but we'd have to move in the middle of our meal. (Ummm.... ok??)
We also had to ASK for a server to come take our orders. (I'm really not a fan of that. If you see people seated in your area, aren't you supposed to take their orders instead of ignoring them?) But the service improved once we put in our orders.
Cobras & Matadors is also a BYOB!!! If you get wine from the store next door, there's no corkage fee (but according to the bf who popped over to grab a bottle, the bottles tend to be on the pricier side.)
We ordered the Pork & Veal Meatballs, Paella, and Mussels. The meatballs w/ cilantro sauce was delicious but the other sauce wasn't as delicious. The mussels were perfectly seasoned and very flavorful (don't drink the liquids.. it's not soup/broth.. you'll get a very salty mouthful). The paella was VERY disappointing. It was too liquidy and the rice definitely was not cooked all the way. It was still a bit CRUNCHY. I'm kind of shocked that they would bring out an undercooked dish.
Overall, it was a decent experience. I definitely need to find a place that serves better paella.
Everything I've tried here is flavorful and delicious!
The Socca Cakes with mojo de cilandro dipping sauce were awesome. The cakes have a great pancake-like texture, and the green sauce is like chimichurri sauce (so fresh and flavorful) -- LOVED! The cakes are also great with goat cheese and honey, but I prefer the savory version.
I also ordered the bacon wrapped prawns with garlic cream sauce served on toasted bread. It's super rich and flavorful. You should definitely order it if you like rich foods!
The asparagus and manchego cheese were delicious, served with a sweety & nutty walnut vinaigrette.
The baked Spanish goat cheese with port honey wine reduction and warm cherries served on toast was fantastic! What's not to love about melted gooey cheese?
My suggestion is to go with a group of 3-4 people so that you can order more items off the menu before getting stuffed! Bring your own wine from home -- there's no corkage fee at this location.
There's valet parking right in front for $5.00, or you can meter park.
This place never ceases to amaze us. We first ventured over here a few months ago at the suggestion of a friend and got 4 or 5 small plates. Everything from the paella to the goat cheese/almond pesto/cherry dish to the sweet fries blew us away.
My wife returned from her month long stint @ Stanford last week and we hit up C&M to celebrate. The menu looked strangely different..the waitress informed us they had a new chef. As our jaws gravitated towards the floor in shock, she defaulted to damage control mode and assured us this new chef was quite up to par.
Boy was she right.
Everything from the shrimp & goat cheese risotto, to the eggplant crustini, to the skirt steak..PHENOMENAL! They even gave us free dessert for asking us to switch tables, which we didn't mind doing at all. The churros & chocolate sauce blew us away.
Still the best tapa's on the westside
AOC who?
I never drank so much water during a meal...the mussels were overcooked and salty, the rest of the dishes were just marinated in SALT, and the garbanzo bean dish should be avoided at all costs - who puts cinnamon on beans???
The upsides? It's 5 blocks from my crib, and BYOB.
Paella = yummmmmminess.
Had a few other things to share as well, but nothing too memorable.
I'm not sure how I feel about buying wine next door, although the guy working there was super friendly and helpful.
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Spanish
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Tapas Bars
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Category: Tapas Bars
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: French
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Japanese
Here are just a few spots I really enjoyed eating…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
I like the bubbly. Problem is, most places have…
So unique, I want to call them very unique..but…
'Cuz we all know that's why you're taking her out…
Don't you just hate it when there's too much blood…
Southern California ... more time you spend in LA,…
My first was Cafe Ba Ba Reeba in Chicago years…
