COD Seafood House & Raw Bar — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Still in its soft opening stages | L O C A T I O N & P A R K I N G | COD is located on the very busy 3rd street in between the smaller streets: S Orlando Ave & S Croft Ave.

Thankfully COD offers valet because parking in general here is a bit difficult.

| S E R V I C E | Amanda, Gary and Cameron were top notch and made sure that there were no unnecessary plates, glasses or utensils in the way of our dining. With that said, I’d also love to heavily point out that our glasses never went empty –both on water or cocktails!

Marcus, both owner and chef of COD, was more than gracious with his space and even gave us a private tour of the other treasures in store for COD. He was the epitome of a great host!

| D R I N K | First, I need to shout out to Sidney; you are amazing at what you do love and really held the bar down on your own during our group dinner!! How you remembered all of our drinks on top of the rest of the restaurants, had the time to talk to those of us at the bar and kept a composed demeanor and smile the entire time is no small feat. If I were your boss, that’s definite raise material. Now on to the drinks ($12 each):

The ‘stache (gin, blackberries, lime, topped w/St. Germain foam) – IG WORTHY! Jala Pina (tequila, jalapeno, pineapple, lemon, black pepper) Lavender Mule (vodka, ginger, lavender, ginger beer) The Gentleman (rye whiskey, rhubarb bitters, flamed orange)

| E A T | Every dish was plated with care, the ingredients were well thought out and were just the right amount. Some of course stood out more than others; for me the oysters on a half shell, the sea bream, and the chocolate bread pudding.

Aji Carpaccio

Santa Barbara Uni (served on a leaf over the shell) – Obviously a crowd pleaser and favorite.

Tuna Poke (crispy onion, furikake flakes, chili oil, seaweed, avocado, cucumber)

Oysters on the half shell (Kusshi, Shigoku, and Fanny Bay) – This was by far the best dish of the night for me. I loved the presentation, the freshness of each oyster, and the subtle way the sauces complemented the overall flavor versus overpowering.

Kale Salad (almonds, blue cheese crumbles, quinoa, shallots, dried cranberries, fresh blueberries with a passion fruit lychee vinaigrette)

Crab Toast (Avocado, citrus, herb olive oil, pickled bell pepper, shallot)

Crispy Pork Belly (honey soy glazed bites, jalapeno, green onion and cilantro)

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice (spicy tuna on crispy rice)

Wild Sea Bream (ginger, green onion and house made chimichurri) –This was so yummy on its own that the chimichurri wasn’t necessary.

Truffle Uni Pasta (shaved truffle, green nori linguini, creamy uni sauce, fish roe) – I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the uni pasta trend but I could taste why everyone was ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over this dish. It was a little too decadent for me but I really enjoyed the noodles [which I think were made in house].

Braised Beef Cheeks (served on a bed of mushroom quinoa with a soy garlic demi glaze) –The meat was so tender you could cut it with a spoon!

Okinawa Purple Yam (candied and served with a side of house made whipped cream)

Chocolate Bread Pudding (brioche bread, Chantilly cream, chocolate sauce) –I was happily surprised after taking the first bite that this wasn’t nearly as sweet as I had anticipated. It was that perfect amount of sweet and the texture was just what I wanted after all the tenderness of the previous dishes.

| S P A C E | COD was designed and decorated beautifully; the main room is stunning with its high and low tables, the bar had the right amount of lighting, and I loved that they displayed some of the ‘catch of the day’ offerings for you to see. I can’t wait until they finish the upstairs, it'll definitely be a date...

The food was ok but it was very overpriced for the portions. (3 undercooked scallops for $26) lol. They seated us upstairs less than 6ft away from 2 other tables and then right after we received our appetizers, one of their staff members came to our table and said "there has been a situation" and they made everyone move into the ballroom area in the center where it was stuffy and they had loud annoying douchy music blasting at us through a blown speaker. They tried to give me a water full of soap which i asked to be cleaned. Then i asked if we could move and the manager let us move outside. At the end, i paid my bill and even tipped the wannabe actor (Jonathan) who took our order with no personality. 2 days later, i discovered that the waiter took it upon himself to fraudulently change the tip amount and charge me more than i signed for. I don't recommend this place. The atmosphere was like eating at Popeyes chicken but the pricetag as if you're at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. The photos other people posted of this place definitely don't match the experience i witnessed on my visit and i wont be back! They insist on valet parking so you wont see the local crackheads sitting next to where they park your Ferrari! I parked on the street and i was immediately greeted by someone on drugs pissing on tge sidewalk. This is a bad neighborhood and overpriced food! In summary, this place sucks and they're just...

Words are inadequate in conveying those fantastic gourmet experiences. First, I would say that the Roasted Peking Dust Breast is the best duck breast on the planet!! Each time you slice it you witness the juice incessantly stream out of the meat. Its crisp skin can rival any of the most authentic Peking duck back in China - while traditional Peking duck serves with little mear, which usually is dry. It is a pity that this course is not in the regular menu - I just wonder who made it and how?

If everything else tasted terribly horrible, I would still be more than happy to pay for this dine L.A. dinner solely in virtue of the duck breast. But of course, everything else was equally amazing. The Truffle Uni Pasta left me in awe. The Scallop Carpaccio and oysters (happy hour 5-7pm) here also worth a try. Finally, the desserts - Chocolate Lava Cake and Green Tea Cream Brulee - were unexpectedly addictive. Whether it was due to the laggard service, the reasonable portion of the food, or the extraordinary tastiness of the food (which is the most likely), we finished everything.

I'm already looking forward to the next dine L.A. week. Lucky ones should seize the tail of this week and try their dinner set.

P.S. They have $10 valet parking, which is really nice to us poor...