la.foodblogging

Dinner Saturday night found us at Cobra Lily on Wilshire Blvd near La Cienega, a small restaurant, serving small plates and bold flavors. I have a mixed feeling about tapas, it seems that more often than not the small plates are too small and overpriced. Cobra Lily serves nice portions though, allowing you to sample their various offerings and you can leave feeling full without emptying your wallet.

There were four of us dining and no one had been there before, so we all chose a couple plates to pass and sample. The meal started out right, with the friendly waitress bringing us some spiced green olives and cinnamon laced almonds to nibble on while we sipped our sangria (both red and white) and worked our way through the menu.

First up were the Fried Sweet Potatoes, served in a generous bowl with two sauces and some kosher salt. We snacked on these all through the meal and I think there were even a few left at the end. They were tasty and a strong candidate for recreation in the home kitchen.

Next came the Grilled Octopus along with the Satueed Wild Mushrooms. Both dishes had a mild balsamic sauce on them. The octopus tentacles were cooked through, and were served hot with no toughness. I wouldn’t say that it was tender, but it was tasty. The mushrooms were excellent, the portion size was suited for the four of us to have a good sampling.

I believe that the Chicken Croquettes came next (once the dishes started coming, there was little lag before the next ones arrived). These were great as an anchor to the meal, helping to fill the stomach and give some protein. The croquettes had a mild flavor, with a bit of ham to add flavor and a tomato based dipping sauce.

Some Crispy Lentils came out, as well as some Prawns. The crispy lentils sparked some debate as to how they were prepared. The table did not reach consensus on the lentils, reviews ranged from indifference, to good to great. They had terrific flavor, but the crispy-ness was a bit odd. The prawns were very good, I believe that there were two types, heads on and heads off, and they were doused in a green sauce with some cilantro and spices.

I had considered ordering the Asparagus with Manchengo Cheese towards the end, but as the food began to settle I realized that I was conent. Next time. I would say that the menu seems fairly small for a tapas place where you are ordering a lot of dishes. On the plus side, all of the offerings seem to go well with each other. Also, it probably isn’t the best place to take a vegetarian, although there are some veggie based dishes, some have bits of ham or stock for flavor.

Would I go back? For sure, and it is a great place to take friends. The meal itself is social in nature, plus the atmosphere is fantastic, very Madrid feeling. I found the service to be excellent, attentive without being overbearing and the food came out quick, hot and correct.

Cobra Lily
8442 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(323) 651-5051

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.