Coco's — Restaurant in Capital Governorate

I’m going to share the honest truth about this overhyped restaurant as someone who’s truly passionate about food. I never leave reviews but felt absolutely compelled after my… quite unfortunate experience.

What in the mediocre?

Let’s talk about that horrid menu. It’s just absolutely overwhelming. 21 pages of words on a white screen without a single picture. We were confused and spent so long reading everything and trying to figure out the dishes. We reached a point where we had to go to their instagram and point at the dish we wanted. The descriptions were very vague and confusing, and if you don’t speak English?? Hard luck.

Chicken mushroom soup: 2/10. A watery mess. Tasteless mushrooms and underwhelming broth. It tasted like those packaged chicken soups you have when you’re sick. The few strings of chicken were fine.

Crispy prawn: 3/10. Tasted like fast food and the sauce was kind of like ketchup and mayo. The only redeeming quality was the batter on those prawns. An appetizer that was served last for some reason.

Alfredo ravioli: 2/10. Embarrassing. The Alfredo was overshadowed by too much seasoning and dried herbs, as well as a sheet of cheese. And the minced beef inside was an insult. Bland and dehydrated. How can you mess up such a classic dish? Oh, I guess when you have a thousand dishes on your menu it’s really hard to pay attention to the details.

Pollo picante: 1/10. The chicken was so DRY and OVERCOOKED. It was stringy… swimming in that basil tomato sauce to try and hide it. And oh my god, that sorry excuse of mashed potatoes. It was bland and extremely grainy. If I can get a beautifully seasoned steak platter with a silky smooth mash and a dreamlike gravy for 3 BD from healthy calorie, what’s coco’s excuse? Honestly this dish was just terrible. The sauce was alright.

And about the atmosphere. The electricity kept turning off every 15-20 minutes???? And you could see those poor waiters panic and run the the electricity box to try and fix it. Every worker there looked tired and I blame NOTHING on them.

It’s the core of this restaurant, the recipes are not good. They don’t give justice to the Mediterranean experience. It’s simply hype and presentation. I am never going back there again. Would rather have pasta from pastaexpress instead....

The service was undoubtedly outstanding. The staff was attentive, friendly, and made the dining experience pleasant. However, the physical setting had its quirks. The chairs were a bit of a hassle; they weren’t stable and kept moving around, which made it difficult to settle in comfortably. Additionally, I found it inconvenient that the menu lacked photos, and the restaurant’s Instagram didn’t have names on their photos, making it harder to decide what to order.

Food Quality: The food was a highlight of the visit, with some dishes standing out more than others. Here’s a breakdown:

Lentil Soup (10/10) and Mushroom Soup (9/10): Both soups were exceptionally delicious, rich in flavor, and a great start to the meal.

Chicken Stroganoff (10/10): Perfectly cooked and seasoned, this dish was a clear winner.

Beef Stroganoff (7/10): While good, it didn’t quite reach the same level as the chicken version.

Salmon (1/10): Unfortunately, this dish didn’t work for me. The sweetness from the honey overwhelmed the natural flavor of the salmon, making it too sweet for my taste.

Mini Burger (7/10) and Beef Burger (7/10): Both were decent, but nothing extraordinary. They could benefit from more robust seasoning or a unique twist.

Caesar Salad (8/10): Fresh and tasty, though not particularly memorable.

Sherly Temple (10/10): A delightful treat that I highly recommend.

Spaghetti Bolognese (9/10): Almost perfect, with a rich, flavorful sauce that coated the pasta beautifully.

Pricing: The prices were logical and felt justified for the quality of food and service provided.

Conclusion: While there were a few bumps in the road, particularly with the seating and the salmon dish, the overall experience was positive. The soups and chicken stroganoff alone make it worth a visit, and the service adds to the appeal. If the restaurant could address the issues with their seating and menu presentation, it would significantly enhance the...

Birthday Ruined, Appetite Destroyed, Patience Exhausted!

I’ve eaten street-side shawarma that showed more professionalism than CoCos did today. My family came from Saudi to celebrate my birthday, expecting the “popular” Bahraini spot everyone raves about. What we got instead was a crash-course in how not to run a restaurant.

First Impression: Indifference Served Piping Hot

We stepped inside expecting a host’s greeting; we got blank stares and a lazy chin-flick toward an open table wedged beside the kitchen swing-door. No one bothered to seat us or even pretend to care.

The Menu That Doesn’t Exist

The staff thrust a QR code at us. Fine—except we had no mobile coverage inside the restaurant. When we asked for a printed menu (you know, like every normal restaurant on Earth keeps on hand), the answer was a smug: “We don’t have one.”

They eventually offered to take one of our phones “to connect it to some code,” but it didn’t work. The Wi-Fi never connected, the QR code never loaded, and nobody tried to help beyond a shrug.

Customer Service? More Like Customer Repellent

Not one employee offered to recite the menu, suggest a dish, or even apologize for the fiasco. My wife and kids sat there disappointed while the staff treated us like an inconvenience. When we got up to leave, zero effort was made to stop us—or to salvage our rapidly imploding celebration.

The Escape

We walked just three minutes to a nearby restaurant—and what a difference. We were greeted warmly, handed real menus, connected to Wi-Fi without a hostage negotiation, and served excellent food. In other words, everything CoCos failed to provide.

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Bottom Line: If you enjoy pointless QR codes, aloof employees, and the sensation of talking to a brick wall while your family’s special day goes up in smoke, by all means visit CoCos. Otherwise, spare yourself the headache and give your money to any establishment that remembers the basics of hospitality—like having a menu...