Cob & Pen — Restaurant in Lakeland

A cathedral-like structure stands in the midst of Lakeland by the name of Cob & Pen, where good food and drink are the object of worship, and worship I did. So much so that after mass…consumption...I felt I more resembled Buddha than a disciple.

At the heart of this new cathedral is its atmosphere. When you step through the doors into the main room, you’re greeted by a grand sight -- a vaulted ceiling, fit for a great hall in a castle. Adorned with rustic lighting and rich wood hues, the ceiling gives the souls of the sinners room to spread. Here in this great room you may partake in communion with the rest of the congregation and enjoy the sacramental bread and wine. If for a more quiet worship your soul yearns, there are two sanctums off the main room that one may find solace in, or at least more quiet conversation. The first is a very nice room with a mirrored ceiling, fitted with fine love-seats and comfortable couches. The second, an even finer room with a grand table meant for private gatherings and vintage brews. There is a lovely outside dining area for when the Florida weather is right, along with an ample yard where games like corn-hole and even croquet are readily available for play.

During our visit we partook in a large sampling of the menu, which isn’t difficult considering there are fewer than twenty individual food offerings available, which is all Cob & Pen, being first and foremost a bar, really needs. The few items this bar serves up are more than enough to satiate any appetite, any palate, any disciple. Everything is served a la carte, a fact which I took full advantage of by assembling my own vast assortment of edibles, including a portobello reuben, poutine, and a cheese plate, all of which were flush with distinct character. The flavors these offerings possess are as complex as the craft beers which you can pair them with.

Speaking of beer, the selection is vast and ever changing. With a rotating draft and bottle list that spans several pages in a leather bound tome, you’re sure to find something you like (I know I did). If wine is how you fill your temple, Cob & Pen has plenty of that too. The wine drinker in our group found the selection to be quite satisfactory.

Just like any good cathedral all are welcome here, as well as all size wallets. It’s a sin how well-priced the fare is considering the taste and thought that goes into it. I obviously hold the highest praise for Cob & Pen and with good reason. I was awestruck and flabbergasted at its grandeur and well roundedness as a bar. Were it closer to myself in Orlando, it would be my church. If you haven’t yet I highly recommend you stop by Cob...

We recently rented out the entire building for a private event during Sun n Fun. From the very beginning, Paige was incredibly responsive and helpful, answering any questions we had. We designed seating options for inside and outside and they were able to move furniture around for optimal seating arrangements. We were able to set up a valet stand just outside the restaurant as well. Their catering and beverage options were really top notch and the ordering process was really easy, taking less than 15 minutes. The catering options themselves were super tasty and fresh and they had capacity to make even more than what we ordered, which was enough for around 100 people. The beverage package was really great for our guests and they had really nice premium choices for cocktails and the like. We booked for and stayed well into the early morning and the staff was nothing less than stellar and polite the entire time. We also had a last minute schedule change and needed to start earlier than expected. Paige and her team really pushed hard to be able to get it set up as soon as possible.

From start to finish, Cob and Pen made our event a huge success. They were easy going but prompt and accurate, ensuring no detail was missed from the meetings we had leading up to this event. They took a huge amount of stress out of the planning and I cannot recommend them enough for large scale private events. They deserve your...

We really wanted to like this place, especially considering its origin story (which is wonderful and commendable) that involves moving a portion of a historical house to a new location to preserve its legacy. But, unfortunately—like the chunk of cool old home on display—Cob & Pen is intriguing yet incomplete. There were four employees behind the bar, but no one greeted us—and we were the only customers there. Everyone was perfectly helpful and friendly once WE engaged THEM and said hello, but it was disappointing that we had to make the first move. The food menu looked enticing and we enjoyed some very tasty cocktails, but we encountered a bizarre issue with their Monday wing special. The buffalo-style wings were served without any celery or blue cheese dressing. When we asked, the staff was casually perplexed and said that no blue cheese was available. So let’s break this down: they’re serving THE most predictable and stereotypical wing flavor without any apparent knowledge of the traditional accompaniments? In defense of the staff, we were given multiple ramekins of homemade ranch (it was tasty but it didn’t quite taste like ranch) and—after a while—some freshly chopped celery appeared. It’s a FABULOUS space. And the folks who work there are very nice. But there’s a lack of care/knowledge that’s a bit...