Cococabana — Restaurant in Oceanside

My wife's birthday fell on a Saturday and with the recent opening of Cococabana, this place looked like the ideal option to eat dinner, so I made reservations three weeks in advance....UNTIL I read the reviews on Yelp.

Most mentioned how overpriced and small the food was. The menu is also limited to just ten options - so it was becoming clear to me that maybe we should eat dinner somewhere else and come here for drinks after?

I made reservations for The Lab Collaborative nearby...another new-ish restaurant with amazing reviews. We had an awesome dinner there no doubt and I knew I made the right choice.

Afterward, we strolled up to Cococabana to meet my 8pm Saturday night reservations. I was expecting it to be packed, but it wasn't too bad. We arrived early, cutting through the Q&A Restaurant and Oyster Bar downstairs (which just opened for the first time this weekend) to get to the elevator that takes us to the rooftop.

At first our table was not ready, but a mere few minutes later it was so we actually got seated early. Although our table was right next to the elevator and waiting area, I actually loved all the people-watching I could do! So many people and employees crossing through this way and that...checking out the views, ordering drinks. It's a total scene.

At night it's beautiful up here and you can see most of downtown Oceanside. The weather was PERFECT at 8pm...kinda chilly actually (and it's AUGUST people - we really do live in the best city on the planet when it comes to weather). Our wives remembered to bring sweaters so we were good to go.

Since we had already eaten, we were here mostly for the cocktails, but I did order the Charred Cauliflower as many of the reviews mentioned how good it was...and damn, now I see why. The dish is small but the four of us managed to split it and we all loved it...like LOVED it. Sooo good and a must try.

The drinks were all tasty...we ordered nearly all of them on the menu including the giant golden flamingo drink. That one was like $40 but with the four straws we downed it pretty quickly. The straws were a bit long which made sharing kind of messy but it was a great option for us.

The Caribe Welcome comes in a fresh coconut which was an awesome experience (you can eat it if you want)...a definite must try. All the drinks were good. Not very strong but it did the trick. I think we ended up spending a little over $200 total for all the drinks and the cauliflower. But it was a birthday night so the bill mattered little (one note: I didn't get a paper receipt afterwards...which I would have liked).

I would absolutely like to come back and grab a different cocktail and just enjoy the view. It's a great new option for the ever expanding downtown Oceanside food scene.

FYI - I added photos after I wrote my review so it did not appear to link them to...

AWFUL!!! There are plenty of great places to go in O'side for rooftop ocean views, which makes this experience even more disappointing. Atmosphere gets one star from me because the bad energy was palpable from the moment the wait staff ignored me at the bar for over 5 minutes. I should've walked out right then, but that stunning sunset kept me hopeful. Darn it!

I ordered three taco plates, but only two arrived. The food runner assured me my fish tacos were on the way. So, I sat there watching everyone else eat while I waited...and waited...and never got my order. When I inquired about my missing tacos, I got the same icy treatment as when I first arrived. Finally, when I was told they didn't even have fish tacos, as if I'd made a mistake by ordering them!

Isn't it standard practice that when there's a mistake, someone tries to make it right? Am I wrong, folks? That didn't happen here. Zero communication. And to add insult to injury, Amy, the assistant manager, had the nerve to scold me for being "rude". Of course, I was upset, frustrated, and starving! After paying for two measly taco plates and a tiny, ice-filled margarita, I overheard the manager telling the staff, "Don't worry, I have this on video."

Well, please, go ahead and review that video. I dare you. Show the moment the waiter took my order and told me I couldn't get the octopus tacos I wanted from the menu. I was about to order the steak plate, but he pushed the Sea Bass Fish tacos, saying, "You should try this! It's amazing!" So, I did.

I left hungry, upset, and feeling taunted by the assistant manager trying to vindicate herself with her video. Honestly, who cares? I won't be back. As a native San Diegan living in Oceanside, plenty of people will hear about this debacle....

My wife and I went last night and really wanted to enjoy our visit, but a number of things occurred that make it unlikely that we will go again. We understand it was the first weekend of opening and that there are things that will be ironed out. But..... 1) the hosts were letting walk-ins into the open sitting bar area where there clearly wasn't enough sitting nor room for these added guests without checking if there was any room for the walk-ins. When we came out of the elevator we immediately got the impression that the amount of people in the bar area could be seen as a fire hazard. Additionally it felt like the staff was not prepared for this amount of clientele as drink service was extremely slow to the point that every table around us was openly complaining about their orders. 2) someone accidentally dropped a glass and it broke. No biggie, the staff quickly came over to sweep it up, but instead of getting a dust pan out to pick up the broken glass they just swept it under one of the couches on the Northside of the patio and left it there for later. 3) finally, with no mention of this cost on the menu, there was a 4% surcharge placed on our check. I understand that things are getting more expensive and some restaurants are needing to add surcharges to compensate. But those places indicate it on their menu. There was no mention of it whatsoever, but additionally you just opened! How is there a need for an unsolicited 4% charge when your pricing could have just been adjusted on the menu? Otherwise the food and drinks were good, but with all the other lowlights and red flags they were not able to outshine the negative aspects of our experience. And it will be hard for me to say I'll ever go back with so many other great...