Coppia — Restaurant in Willoughby

Have heard about this restaurant a while back, while they were still in Chesterland but this was my first opportunity to visit it.

My first question to the restaurant - why ask for a reason for a visit during the reservation the process? If that question is there, there has to be a reason for it. Because even though we responded that its our anniversary, there seems to be no reason celebratory message from the restaurant. Question 2 - why ask for the payment method during the booking. I would understand if its a large party, like over 6, but for a couple? Plans do change for people and being charged because your plans change is a bit much.

But getting back to the experience and the food. First, it was confusing of how to get into the restaurant and I know we were not the only one's. You have to come up to the patio, open the patio gate from the other side and then walk through the patio to the door of the restaurant. It seems that every individual that were coming in were having the same confusion/issues that we did

Restaurant is located inside the airport and has a nice view of the airport museum. But the dining room itself is very small and once its filled, it is VERY loud so we requested to seat outside. They have a nice patio (we got lucky with being nice evening but I can see how if its any warmer/hotter, this would become an issue as there absolutely no shade on the patio). Note: patio is right next to the main road and car noise can become a litte nuissance during the meal.

As far as the meal - you have to give credit where credit is due, chef's know the flavors. We tried 2 appetizers - Lost in Palermo and Go The Distance. They both seem to have a very similar sauces but different distinct flavors and both were very good. For dinner we decided to go for Cod. Our server asked if we would like the Cod to be split, we said yes but when the Cod arrived it was not. But the flavor was definately there and I loved the orzo with corn crema that it was accompanying it. For the dessert we went with "In Good Company" with Loose Leaf tea, both were standouts!

I would say that this is more of a higher end restaurant. Would I recommend trying it once? Yes! Would I see myself going there again? Probably not. But definately...

My wife and I are total foodies and we have had our eyes on Coppia since they were in their first location. However, we never got a chance to eat there due to illness and other "life things" happening. Since then, Chef Talia and Chef Hedy have made quite a name for themselves becoming Chopped Grand Champions and also competing against Bobby Flay. Tonight, we finally got to eat there to celebrate our four year anniversary. We were a little nervous that we had set our expectations too high since they have become Cleveland area culinary titans. Sometimes good things get too big and they end up suffering. Well our expectations were met and well surpassed. The food was complex, balanced, well seasoned, and cooked to perfection. The grouper that we ordered was probably the best cooked fish I have ever had in my life. I wont go into detail on what we ordered because their menu is changing in seven days. But everything we had was amazing including the Gorgonzola Cheesecake Desert! At one point, Chef Talia came out and spoke with us. Talia was very friendly and it didnt feel like a forced conversation. We nerded about Disney World and discussed Coppia's upcoming fall menu. You could see that she was very excited for it and basically said that it was going to be a more adventurous menu. More adventurous than Gorgonzola Cheesecake? Sign me up.

The atmosphere was great and was smaller than I thought it would be( this isn't a bad thing). The hostess and server were unbelievably friendly and were very good at their jobs. At places like this, the attention to details and the smaller things is what matters most. Our desert had "Happy Anniversary" written on it with Mickey ears as the dotted i. It was nice to have that Disney World Magic here in Willoughby, Ohio for our anniversary. Ten outta ten would recommend to anyone. It is going to be really nice having a place like this so close to home on the East Side. We have already made our next reservation there!

Edit: I didn't mention the cocktails, they were just as good as the food. Well balanced...

We went there with high expectations due to the menu options and published pictures. We made a reservation in advance for a special occasion, and obviously it was a destination for us as there is nothing else in close proximity except for the airport. The food, the flavors and presentation were good overall, creative and unique. I would love to give them a good review but unfortunately am unable to. We have had many interesting food experiences all over the world, and this restaurant unfortunately did not provide a high-end restaurant experience to us. The person at the front was not very friendly and was about to sit us right by the entrance door. We are older and the draft from the door on a cold evening would not have been good. She did accommodate our request for another table, but with somewhat of an attitude. The room was virtually empty when we came and not to full capacity when we left. I suggest that the table by the door should only be used as a backup. The server was nice but never provided us with details of the dishes as we have had at the restaurants of different levels. The ingredients are on the menu, but there is so much more in how they are put together. The worst part was when my cod entree came lukewarm on the top and fridge-cold at the bottom (that said, my husband's elk steak was very good). Eventually we were able to get attention from the front door lady who, without saying anything, removed the dish and 5 min later returned to say that the chef would be right out. The chef came back with leftovers reheated and put back together. Only after I asked what happened and if the fish was cooked, she explained the process and at the end apologized, matter of fact. No service recovery. We were startled. We did ask for a dessert to celebrate and the menu came back, with no explanations. We went for a pave' which consisted of two rather tasteless soft chocolate bars. This place has a lot of potential and I...