CÔBA - Viet Kitchen & Ales — Restaurant in Seattle

Been many times and I'll be back for many more! So far I've had the bun bo hue, bo kho, banh khot co ba, kimchi calamari, spicy eggplant, and basil mint lemonade, to memory. At this point, I'm certain you cannot go wrong with what you order here; it was all delicious in their own ways, reasonably priced, and came out fast! If the fact I have one picture from all these dishes isn't indication enough, the food looks and smells too delicious to hesitate devouring with a picture. The service was friendly, swift, and informative when I inquired about the dishes. If you love vietnamese food and culture, practice the pronunciations and make their day when you order! Ask them anything you like about the food, I can tell they are proud of it and happy to explain differences and details.

Bun Bo Hue - not too spicy to consume the whole bowl, rich and beefy broth, delicious cuts of meat like pork hock and beef shank, and perfectly cooked rice noodles.

Bo Kho - First time! I tasted and confirmed that it's a different, beefier broth than their pho and it shines through. Sweet, just-soft carrots and onions give you that familiar beef stew feel, but it looks like pho. Unique beef cuts that bring a great variety to the bowl, from your expected cuts to what tasted like brisket, to what I assume was tendon, and other pieces that I have no idea about, but were all tasty. I've had steaks tougher than that tendon, I was impressed. Easily a new favorite when I'm not feeling spicy.

Banh Khot Co Ba - First as well! My first thought was that anyone that's a fan of chicken and waffles, corndogs, or prawn wraps would be a fan of this. Honestly, I had no idea how to approach so I dipped had them every way - dry, dipped, and wrapped up. I liked all ways! Never thought I'd wrap a cakey layer but here we are, a fan.

Kimchi Calamari - We both know you're getting this and you should go with confidence. Tender, not hard to chew - the hardest part is sharing.

Spicy Eggplant - Surprisingly delicious! I said no thanks but when someone else in my party ordered it and I tried, I was converted. Spice is just right, sauce is absolutely crack, and the eggplant pieces are tender and a perfect combination. If you don't like eggplant, I bet this will be your exception.

Basil Seed Mint Lemonade - So good I didn't miss the alcohol! Very refreshing on the hot day it was. Somehow exactly what you expect but better.

Not cheap but not overpriced, just how I like it. Absolutely reasonable and I haven't even been on a happy hour yet! You get what you pay for and I couldn't imagine asking for more from their dishes, staff, or venue.

Go to CÔBA, you...

Disclaimer, this is for my personal review, not my online food critic review

I Googled this place as I had a meeting for lunch on Monday at noon. I noticed there was a parking lot out back in the restaurant so when I pulled in with my truck I parked there. I did notice that they were Towing signs but there were no signs that said no customer parking. I walked around the block and went into the restaurant sat down and told the waiter that I parked out back. He was unsure if it was ok. When I was getting close to finishing my lunch meeting I asked the waitress hey is my truck still parked out back? She went and looked and came back and said oh I think the owner is going to tow it, you better move it. So I went around the back to move my truck, there was a no parking note on my truck l. A woman came.out from the restaurant amd started to berate me for parking there. She was saying this is private parking this is not for anybody to park in it's reserved parking blah blah blah. Ok, I moved to the front, grabbed the note, wadded it up and tossed it to waiter who was behind bar. Ok, that was not called for but I was annoyed by then. I sat down, finished talking and within 5 min same woman comes over and starts calling me rude for throwing the added paper. Ok, I was wrong but she just kept going on and on and on. So I stood up, got in her face and said thank you, you have already said it several times. She still kept going on, bad breath and all. So we left. great food, waitress so nice, friendly and prompt. Waiter was also nice. Portions were good, soup broth was excellent. Would i go back, no. The woman who berated me was business owner, she could have just asked me to move my truck and say no customer parking. I am, was, her customer, to treat me so poorly was unacceptable. The other two in my party were shocked. So poor customer service...

I attended for dinner with my mother on 6/10. Our server made us wait longer than normal for an initial stop; that was the only time we saw him other than to deliver our meals. There was no check-up and he did not even bring us the final bill. We arrived well before close.

It was apparent all food was pre-prepared and not made to order. This was evidenced by the arrival of ALL of our food (appetizer + entrees) a mere few minutes after ordering. No gap of time was given to serve the appetizer. My mother ordered the crispy rolls but asked if the veggie ones could be fresh. Our waiter said yes, but neglected to mention they included tofu (separate menu item), which was a disappointment as my mother finds tofu unpalatable; she would not have ordered the rolls had she been informed that she was ordering an entirely different appetizer. I experienced this as an unfortunate miscommunication. Our waiter did not offer to substitute the appetizer and we accepted it begrudgingly.

While my entree was fine, it was apparent that my mother’s beef pho was old/leftover (veggies were fresh, meat tasted old). This was made apparent by the oxidized taste of the bone-in beef, and the rubbery texture of the meatballs included.

The manager or chef (no introduction was given, yet the only employee to give us service) admitted that the pho is made all at once and then reheated upon ordering. We were thankful for his compassion of taking 20% off the meal. We did not request a full refund of the pho as she ate what she could, but it was a major disappointment as we had to secure additional food thereafter.

Due to these reasons we have decided that we would not return in the future. As such, I cannot rate this locality within the 3-5 range. A one-star review was not given because my meal was up...