Coho- CLOSED
Coho is a new addition to downtown Mill Valley, brought to life by the same owners as Piazza D’Angelo. This is a seafood restaurant, so the space definitely has a coastal vibe, but super tastefully done with zero kitch factor. It is a warm space and lends itself to conversations with friends.
The menu is predominantly focused on sustainable seafood, but they have two appetizers, a salad and a VEGAN ENTREE (yes!!) that one can order without having to ask for any modifications. Just like normal people! This puts Coho light years ahead of so many of its neighboring dining establishments. My quest for #ONEVEGANENTREE at every restaurant might just be taking hold!
Butter Bean Dip
We began by ordering cocktails, all of which were super creative and tasty (and were served in great glasses), with the exception of the one N/A cocktail on the menu, which was cranberry juice with sparkling water and a splash of bitters. Yawn. I was eating with omnivores, so we started with the Butter Bean Dip with Toasts (vegan) the Pea Shoots with carrot dressing (vegan) and some sort of fish crudo. The Pea Shoots presentation is so Insta-worthy it’s nuts! Live pea shoots are served in the dirt they are growing in, and you are presented with fancy silver scissors to cut them off with and eat. Such a fun idea! While I wish they were served with a bit more of the carrot dressing, this is a hefty portion of VERY fresh greens, and we totally enjoyed the novelty.
The butter bean dip with tomato oil, sun dried olives and focaccia crostini was super creamy with the perfect dose of salt and the toasts were good quality bread and perfectly toasted. I swear just one more crostini on the plate would have made this dish perfect, because we wanted to eat every last smear of this spread! The fish eaters really raved about their crudo, too, so off to a great start!
Coho offers two salads, one that comes without cheese already, and one where (I assume) you could ask them to hold the cheese. We were so full from our appetizers we didn’t have room for salad, too, but I plan to come back and try the mixed green salad with golden beets, fresh dates, salsa verde vinaigrette and roasted carrots. Doesn’t that sounds delicious?
The BIG hit here (for me at least) was the vegan entree. The clever chef offers a dish with an animal-based protein (trout) and another version with maitake mushrooms in the middle of the plate instead. See how easy that is, other chefs that might be reading this? Just swap out the animal for a roasted maitake or roasted cauliflower steak and make it a permanent part of the menu. I was so thrilled to dig in to the grilled maitake mushrooms with green lentils, cauliflower, and parsley. There were other little delightful bits in this dish too, and it was filling and TOTALLY DELICIOUS.
Like 99.99% of other restaurants, vegans get short-changed when it is time for dessert at Coho. But, after all of those delicious savory dishes, I was so full. It was nice to have a little time to digest before arrived home to my freezer full of lemon popsicles. :)
So excited to have this new addition in Marin!
