Coi was DASF’s first foray into the Prix Fixe arena. In fact, the restaurant only offers the Chef’s 11-course tasting menu with 4 of the courses having two choices. Coi served up interesting and innovative cuisine using ingredients that are super fresh, a reminder of Winterland and Quince. Unlike Quince and Winterland though, some of the dishes did not meet our expectation. For the high price ($165 per person including tax and tip) and creative cooking of Chef Daniel Patterson, we had high expectations going in and unfortunately the flavors of some of the dishes were rather ordinary and boring. Only a third or so of the dishes wow us.
We had a small group for Coi due to some last minute illness cancellations: Lehman, Jason and the Phans.
The ratings:
Atmosphere: 90
Very nicely decorated, clean, modern, nothing crazy, but pleasant. There were some interesting art works and furniture (driftwoods, burl tables). The place is small and intimate.
Service: 92
Very good overall. Coi employs a team service approach. Each course was served to simultaneously to every guess at the table. The staff was efficient and knowledgeable. This is to be expected for this level of restaurant.
Food: 88
Coi is definitely adventure in eating. Chef Daniel Patterson is both creative and innovative in his dishes. We love the freshness of all the ingredients and the clean taste. However, that does not necessarily translate to great tasting food and flavors – not all of his combination worked well together. For example, the Monterey Bay Abalone sautéed with fennels sounded like a great tasting dish but it was prepared simply as any Chinese home chef would (by sautéing it with fennels with some garlic, salt and pepper – boring). Another dish (can't remember it specifically) was brought out and the waitress put some kind of perfumed food infusion on our wrists so we could experience the dish along with the aroma of the infusion. I personally didn’t think it did anything to elevate the dish, neat concept but that’s about it. The artisan goat cheese was goat cheese was too funky for my taste but Lehman enjoyed it. There were some hits, the Slow Cook Farm Egg was delicious and a Silken Tofu and Maitaki Mushroom combination was heavenly. As for desserts, not much to say other than blah. So for the price, I would much rather splurge it on Gary Danko or Micheal Mina.
Since neither Jon nor John was with us, I’ll provide this edition of “Phu on the John”:
Driftwoods and candles
Black river rocks in the sink
Calm and serene place
