Cobalt Smoke & Sea — Restaurant in Creve Coeur

Being best friends with the lead bartender, the anticipation of this restaurant opening has been imminent. The reality is no disappointment. Bias plays no part in the opinions I have formed upon entering the restaurant with a fresh perspective, that comes from this industry as well.

The entire Cobalt staff is attentive and personable. The owner/operator, Bernadette, is just a vision. You can see in her eyes the love she has for the business she created and how she wants everyone who sits at her table, to have the COBALT experience! I also had the pleasure of meeting Bernadette’s husband, Charlie, and you can tell how proud, and supportive he is of his wife’s ambition and entrepreneurship. He has been and is very active in his wife’s line of work, while carrying on his own career. Talk about power couple! Cobalt’s handcrafted cocktail menu makes you think! Their lead bartender, Marlowe worked very hard to give you an amazing selection of drinks. It was hard to look through this menu and choose simply ONE cocktail to try... I ended up going with the Cold Brew Coffee Martini that comes with a shot of Bailey’s to dress the drink up. As a coffee w/ cream drinker myself, I am surprised to report that this coffee martini needed no cream for me to enjoy it. I took a quick shot of the Bailey’s and sipped the martini down throughout my meal... it was phenomenal. As if I thought the drink menu was hard enough to decide, just let me tell you how hard it was to choose what meal to have! My hungry brain decided on the Grilled Cheese sandwich. As “basic” as you might tell me I am, there is nothing basic about this superb sandwich. Who knew a grilled cheese could reach the level that it belongs on this intricate menu. Cobalt’s chef, Joe, has really outdone himself.

I am impressed with this establishment and am so proud of the obstacles the entire Cobalt family has overcome to make this opening possible. You will not be disappointed on a trip into Cobalt Smoke & Sea. I can’t wait to work my way through the entire menu. And learning that there are seasonal selections in the coming months??? I won’t ever...

Cobalt Smoke and Sea is a welcome breath of fresh air in the stale Creve Coeur dining scene. However, it aspires to be much more than it achieves. Set in a run of the mill West County strip mall, Cobalt delights the eyes with its snazzy interior that is full of playful design and creative lighting.

The menu is an enticing mix of appetizers, sandwiches, entreés and specials. The Corn Bisque was a standout, warm, rich and savory while the Sesame Seed Encrusted Yellowfin Tuna Nacho was good, it lacked excitement. Tempura Asparagus were executed poorly with a batter that was not light and crisp but rather more like a pasty coating. The Crab Linguini had a rich, tasty coating of sauce but I could not detect the crab. The Kale Caesar Salad was enjoyable as are all of the salads. The Market Steak is a prime cut of strip that was cooked medium rare with a nice char and tender to the tongue. Sadly, Shrimp and Grits fell short of the mark. Burnt Ends are a satisfying comfort food and Cobalt delivers a hearty plateful. Desserts were acceptable but we had already eaten way too much.

Cobalt has a flawed corkage policy. We were charged $20 each for 3 bottles of wine we brought in from our cellars. I don't mind paying corkage but after spending $60 on cocktails, management should have cut the corkage in half, especially since the staff partook in tasting the wines.

Service was pleasant and prompt. On this night there was live music. The noise level while a bit loud was tolerable. The wine list needs a lot of help and the prices are unreasonably steep per bottle.

You must put Cobalt on your list of places to dine as chef Brian Hale is in search of excellence and he just might create...

Vibing

What It was the first day of their menu switch! The fall menu. I got the roasted veggies with no cheese and also the Autumn Salad with no meat and no cheese. I really liked the roasted veggies, very tasty! I added this to my salad and was great! The salad was a little on the oily side for me... maybe it was over dressed. I did like the figs that were in the salad, gave it some body. The truffle fries had a lot of burnt pieces. I picked around the fries to avoid the cheese which was good for me cause there didn't seem to be a lot of cheese on it. My coworkers really enjoyed the fries with the sauce. I also got the spirit free berry splash, this had a ginger beer base and topped with fruit juice. I really enjoyed this as well (I am a fan of ginger beer).

Environment This was located on a strip mall. There is a lot of parking space available, there is a small outdoor seating area that faces the parking lot. On the inside was very nicely decorated with fake trees and pretty nice decor. Love the time that was spent in it to create the environment. Lights were not bright but bright enough to see your dish and the people. There is also an area for live music, I was there on a Wednesday and there was music... not sure if it is a daily thing.

niceness of the staff Super super nice staff. Very accommodating! With my million and one question about their menu, they were able to quickly accommodate my needs. At first there was meat in my salad but they quickly got that taken care of.

Dollar I am a visitor.. I think it is pretty expensive...

Yes Wouldn't be my choice. Very good vibes but the food I would say...