cola's

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 afriedokra 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!friedcalamari 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.

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 maryfriedoysters. 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 afriedoyster 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.

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.friedgreen 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.