Co Co. Sala

929 F Street, NW - Washington, DC 20004
  • $$$
  • Rating Distribution
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A Clever Ode to Chocolate

Highlights

  • Someone’s paying attention to the drinks list, rife with chocolate-friendly spirits like rum and port along with wines and bubblies. There are craft cocktails too, like the malted milk martini and a bourbony blackberry julep.
  • Chocolate purists have been known to forego dessert in favor of the chef’s lineup of six jewel-like artisanal chocolates made in house.

Good to Know

  • The tiny chocolate “bar” in one of the dining rooms gives you a front row seat of the chocolate makers.
  • There are several fixed price deals: a three-course brunch for $26, pre-theater champagne dinner for $55, and dessert “experiences” – three courses, $22, five courses, $32.
  • If the Co Co. Sala chocolate shop next door is open, stop by for sweets to take home — we like the dark chocolate bar with chocolate pearl crisps and the hot coco pop, which magically turns into hot cocoa when you dunk it in hot milk.
  • As seen on the Food Network

Full Overview

Co Co. Sala, a boutiquey restaurant devoted to all things chocolate, is a go-to spot for celebrations of any kind. Done in shades of chocolate brown (what else?) and lipstick red, the two snug dining rooms — each with its own chic bar — have a clubby feel matched by a background loop that ranges from house to torch. Chocolate turns up in most of the artful plates, but so subtly that you might not even know it’s there, a good thing since it keeps cocoa overload at bay. Maracaibo nibs (a.k.a. crushed, caramelized cocoa beans) add crunch and a pleasing bitter note to a salad of goat cheese and sherry-infused red and golden beets. Delicate Creole crab cake sliders are slicked with chipotle-chocolate-tomato glaze and Meyer Angus sliders with mole. Sometimes chocolate is optional, as in the cocoa brioche accompanying Yellowfin Tuna Tartare with Soy-Ginger-Sesame Brittle. And sometimes it’s absent — but Bacon Mac and Cheese and Crispy Cauliflower with Ginger and Garlic are still dishes that everyone will be fighting over. Desserts, not surprisingly, resurrect the chocolate motif. Two of the best: Onyx with dark chocolate mousse, salted caramel, thin layers of brownie, and crispy chocolate pearls, and a marvelous riff on S’mores with chocolate crème brulee, toasted marshmallow, graham cracker crumbles, and a malted shooter. There are also drinks that can double as dessert such as hot or frozen cocoa in flavors like milk or dark chocolate, PB & Co. (peanut butter), and salted caramel. Roald Dahl’s Charlie would swoon.

A reservation will now earn you: 200 Reward pts.

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