cola's

my favorite all one restaurant. i drive over forty minutes one way for their bbq glazed salmon or chicken under a brick. makes me sad they don't do lunch time food anymore.

went there with my wife a few months ago (my work gave each employee a gift card) and ever since i have been looking for an excuse to go back. wish they did lunch/sunday brunch! put the pulled pork egg rolls on your list of must try. if you go for the lamb burger ask for goat cheese.

yummy but loud environment. a tad pricey for the type of atmosphere. loud with not the greatest acoustics. however, the food was good. the margaritas were great! it's been a while since i've had a really good one. they're usually too sweet and not enough tequila. we had the coconut shrimp, bloody mary oysters, & scallops as an appetizer. didn't care for the oysters, actually prefer them raw. the pear salad was good. my husband had the filet entrée. it would have been better if it wasn't overcooked. it comes with asparagus as the veg. wish it was grilled instead of steamed. not sure why restaurants don't grill it instead. tastes a whole lot better grilled! we would go back. it was good. issues are minor.

not one bad choice. we tried so many items too long to list. everyone in our party raved about their choice. we will return!

nichole and i were in columbia, sc recently, checking out the city-wide culinary scene with andrea mensink and dayna cantelmi, of the midlands authority for conventions, sports & tourism . if you haven’t been in a while, you’ll be surprised at the number and quality of restaurants, bakeries, breweries, and wine bars. quite a few had opened since my last visit, and there are more in the works. a change in south carolina law, the “pint bill” giving microbreweries the ability to serve up to 48ozs to patrons on site, has led to a craft beer boom in columbia and across the state. joining hunter-gatherer brewery and ale house , three new breweries have opened in columbia since the law passed, conquest brewing company , river rat brewery , and swamp cabbage brewing company . and – more are in the works. after two days of sampling and sipping at some of columbia’s best, we were more excited than ever about the september 15-17, 2015  columbia small plate crawl . the food and drinks were amazing

under impressed. heard this was the best restaurant in columbia.....hardly. the service was slow. the food was over salted. my husband got the lamb meatballs, the sauce had to be vodka sauce from a jar. the pork loin was edible only after the layer of salt was scrapped off. also the strawberry basil martini i ordered had a shot of soda water added to it which is not a martini if you ask me...and it was $10. quality of food not worth the money you spend

pleasant surprise.. i never real think of columbia as a dining destination. lived there for years and found the cuisine to be pretty limited and unimaginative. colas was, therefore, a cool surprise. very friendly and attentive staff. our table went with a fried okra and goat cheese app that was seriously delicious. we also tried the coconut shrimp and pimento cheese apps. not earth shatteringly original but well executed and appealingly presented. the salmon was perfectly cooked and served over the creamiest grits i have ever eaten. the trout was also a big hit. no room for desert (good sign!).
these guys are all about service and quality. they are getting it right. looking forward to another visit.

mussels are amazing! fried calamari salad was very good! pan seared fish one of the best. ribeye was good-- fries that come with it were subpar. should've come with mashed potatoes or their sweet potato hash. braised greens here are also awesome. will definitely come again.

very tasty food with moderate portions, but there are other places in columbia with just as good of food for more reasonable prices.

glad we tried it. first off, the place is really nice on the inside. as others have said, it can be a bit loud, but i think that is by design. the bar area was full, and people were eating at the bar, not just drinking. overall good energy and a more updated decor compared to so many other of columbia's options. our server was very good, and had excellent knowledge of the menu. i started with the bloody mary fried oysters. nice presentation, as there was a spoonful of what i would call a bloody mary relish (much chunkier and thicker than a cocktail sauce) on a halfshell, and then a fried oyster on top. the "relish" was awesome, the oyster itself was overcooked and dried out, and also had no flavor. for my entree i had the scallops, which were good, but kind of a small portion. the better half had the bbq salmon. it was cooked nicely and the sauce had a nice but not overpowering flavor. hers was served with spinach, my favorite, so i had to have a couple bites of it. nicely cooked, but not seasoned at all.

nice place, good service, a bit pricey for hit or miss food. we would go back, but it will probably be a while.

delicious macaroni and cheese and the brown sugar pecan glazed sweet potato is to die for. great date night atmosphere.

yum, but.... i tried colas tonight for the first time, and thankfully someone else was paying. great location right across from the state house, and surprisingly had plenty of parking available at 6pm on a thursday. friendly staff, nice décor.
see the picture i posted of the mahi. tasty, perfectly cooked, decent portion, with a great risotto side and crisp asparagus. my wife had filet mignon. we ordered medium, but it came out what i consider to be medium-rare. tender, underseasoned for my taste buds but of course a good filet doesn't need much. the crab cake was good-sized and decent flavor, but nothing special, with a successful corn side. fried green tomatoes with shrimp was underseasoned, but well-cooked. excellent sweet tea.
the prices are high in my opinion. for $18-33 per entrée and commensurate appetizers, desserts, and drinks, i really expect a special memorable "date night" experience. everything we had was good to quite good, and i would happily go back, but for that price in columbia i really hope for either extra flavorful or creative, and colas fell a little short.

2nd visit: tremendous shrimp risotto cake, very good flash-fried whole flounder, good calimari. wet disappointing crab cake this time. nice seafood stew. tea still great.

excellent food excellent service

my husband and i had dinner here tonight. it was a terrific experience all around. the decor is eclectic and fun, especially with the open windows since it was such a beautiful night. the food was excellent (we had the pulled pork egg rolls, the filet and the spiced chicken), the service was spot on and the atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable. i would definitely recommend cola's to anyone in the area.

food was mediocre but service was horrible- waiter forgot to put order in and and neglected our table and empty glasses for an hour. owner came out to apologize but food took another 45 minutes. orders were wrong when food arrived. no offer for comp on drink or wrong meals. discussed with manager when leaving, left our phone number with him and never heard back!! would have given better review if they would have offered a drink or not made us pay for meals that were wrong!