costa brava

we have enjoyed the dining room at cb many times, most notably for occasion brunches.  today, mother's day, brought some disappointments.  not the restaurant's fault, but clearly an institutional issue was the valet parking.  we drove in, as we have many times before, and i waited for the attendant to open my door.  i am the woman in our party of two, and my husband was the driver.  the valet rushed to the driver's door and helped my husband out while i sat there.  and sat some more.  keys and tickets were exchanged while i continued to wait for someone to open my door, which never happened.  i let myself out of the car.  not exactly a "valet" experience.  poor training is the problem.  i expect the service to be commensurate with the reputation and ambiance of the hotel.  it was not.

our server was gracious, and the buffet food was delicious, as always, but the presentation was sloppy.  all stations needed refreshing/tidying at the 1:30 sitting, and the "centerpiece" on the dessert table--the only decoration in the entire room, was  a tragedy of thoughtlessness and neglect.  chain motels at interstate exits likely had something prettier than costa brava had on mother's day, 2017.  on a draped, elevated pedestal was a stubby cylinder vase with a few bunches of roses stuffed inside.  at least one bunch still had the rubber bands around the stems!  high school seniors decorating for their prom have better taste--and probably bigger budgets--than whoever plunked that hot mess on the dessert table.  the draping was cheap, shiny, lavender fabric that related neither to the sad roses nor to the room décor.

the seafood buffet featured raw oysters, paella, and crab legs, among other delicious offerings.  seafood forks were needed for the shellfish, but none were present.  i asked our sweet server for seafood forks, and she brought salad forks, instead.  i accepted the forks politely, but digging my seafood out with implements that were too large for the task diminished my enjoyment of the experience.

poor attention to detail is often the beginning of the demise of the reputation of a fine establishment. casamonica and costa brava should take heed and make changes.

restaurant is located insidecasamonica autograph collection hotel, so we visited it on the multiple occasions as we stayed at the hotel.
first, stopped by for the late bite after arrival to the hotel. all the food was excellent. papas bravas has very nice seasoning on them. fried calamari were soft inside and crunchy on outside, overall very tasty with the addition of jalapeño and regular peppers. burger with truffle mascarpone was very tasty, and so was the chicken sandwich.
next time we visited the restaurant for breakfast. all the food was delicious. i ordered eggs benedict, and the dish was executed perfectly – poached eggs, tasty hollandaise, very tasty. egg, bacon cheese sandwich was also very tasty and generous.
one small gripe is a regular coffee at $5 per cup – at least the coffee was good.
good service.
recommended.

amazing food, needs better service!!!. 95 cordova @casamonica, saint augustine

booked 95 cordova for my husbands birthday. i lovecasamonica!! it's elegant and perfect!!!

there were 6 of us for dinner; we were seated promptly at a very elegant table fit for a king! however, our server was not on point.

her delivery lacked the finesse of the place. the food was superb, tasty, perfectly cooked. the drinks were awesome and the deserts were amazing!

i think that for the amount of money paid (over $300) better service was needed.

would we go back? yes!! give the place a second and last chance!!

...my dad, jr, and i had a delicious meal out at thecasamonica hotel’s restaurant (95 cordova) in the center of town.  it’s one the nicer places in the city, and was visited by former president clinton recently!  i chose the sea bass for my entree, since it’s pretty much my favorite meal and i don’t get the opportunity to have it too often.  it came with garlic whipped potatoes and steamed asparagus.  rich and filling! the next day, my uncle, jr and i went for lunch at one of my favorite spots from our previous trip – mexican/mayan cuisine atcasamaya. they used to be located in the building on the right (with the orange steps), and had 2 outside tables and 6-8 inside.  now they’re in a large, beautiful two story building with a second floor dec

i had already fallen in love with thecasamonica hotel. as for the restaurant- my hubby and i discovered 95 cordova 2 years ago- our fave way to enjoy their menu is in the cobalt lounge, where live music creates ambiance every weekend. i thought i knewcasamonica and their dining scene. but recently i was treated to a meal that displayed chef harlan and chef tim's creativity in a whole new way!

i was recently invited to check out the new summer menu at 95 cordova in st. augustine, a restaurant featuring “new world, middle eastern and asian flavors” located within thecasamonica hotel. full disclosure: invited typically means free meal on this blog, in case you’re worried about any bias i may (but try not to) have. after a tour of the historic hotel (1888) turned courthouse (1962) turned hotel again (1999), we stepped into 95 cordova to start our meal. because i am wicked smaht and sometimes rush through things, i managed to delete all but one of my photos of the meal. wow. luckily mario actually photographs his food more than i do these days, so i’ll be posting a combination of his photos and some from the handy flickr album the event’s organizers put up. the first course was the kessler calamari, so named for the entrepreneur owner of the hotel group, an interesting middle eastern-inspired take on the typical fried calamari. it came topped with tomatoes, olives, asiago, cor

good but not great, considering the price. we had dinner at 95 cordova last night.. found the server to be a little awkward, leaving breaks way too long (we sat with menus closed with just water for about 15 minutes) and the food was okay. after we ordered the waitstaff did come at regular intervals. the appetizer was tasty, but the meals were fair/good. when you are paying for a nice meal, the food needs to be better. i've made creamed spinach one time, and that one time was better than the dish at the restaurant. overall, we had an enjoyable experience, but we probably will not return in the future. there are too many other restaurants out there with consistently good food for decent prices. we did enjoy the experience of being in thecasamonica and might come back for drinks and apps in the bar area in the future.

the last supper. first of all i want to say my husband and i have enjoyed many meals over the years atcasamonica. the service and food has always been excellent.
i made a reservation and took my mother over for dinner. we asked for a booth over the phone and were told she would try but couldn't guarantee it. after driving one and a half hours we arrived and the dining room was basically empty. two tables of two were seated. we asked for one of the four vacant window tables and were told no. then a we asked for two different booths and again were told no. we were seated at the booth right by the kitchen door. we had to ask for refills on water, my waiter forgot my asparagus and my mother's medium steak was rare. the waiter came by our table three times in one and a half hours and none of the tables we requested were seated. the manager came by our table and asked how everything was. we politely explained how perplexed we were with the seating. he said he would check in to it and get back with us. he went over and yucked it up with the hostess (who was stuffing her face with food when no one was looking) then walked out of the restaurant. as we were preparing to leave he reluctantly came back by and said she had tried. really? clearly they are under new management and i am sorry they were dead on a friday night but having the waitstaff standing around the dining room in large groups socializing with one another out of boredom was just another tacky tacky incident. seriously for the price you expect exceptional service. sure was different when it was run by kessler.

better food for cheaper. ok, i'm not really going along with the majority and i have to explain why. when i give reviews i do it on a price/goodness ratio. as the price climbs, the food also has to match. while the meal was pretty darn tasty, i think i've had better food for cheaper and i've certainly had better food at this price level. so the ambiance is great. picture this: you park on this quaint little side street (that happens to be part of the oldest city in the us) right next to a tree lined plaza. so you wrap your arm around your date and stroll over to thecasamonica, wherein lies the 95 cordova restaurant. old spanish and middle eastern decor makes the place dark, warm and inviting. the restaurant itself is quite cozy. the candlelight level brightness makes it that much more romatic. great setting. service is smooth, but not 5 star polished. they are a little too friendly and a little to slow. the menus are unique in that they are backlit so you can read them. it's an extensive list of just about whatever you could want. mostly, it's heavy european with a dash of some middle eastern flaovrs.
my choice started with the caesar salad which let me down. i use the caesar as a measuring stick. this chef, i could tell, was into heaviness and creams. the romaine was barely crisp (though not soggy) and warm. i believe it should be super crisp and chilled. the dressing was overdone (like they took newman's own) and dumped it on. there was no hint of anchovies or any cheese but parmesean. not a fantastic start. for entrees i started with the sea bass and the ginger and black pepper sea scallops. the sea bass was done well. it was crisply grilled with a light amount of caramelization across the top. they let the fish hold it's own with only light amounts of salt as the major flavor. it was moist, soft and flaky, as a sea bass should be. it's easy to make, so i would have really been surprised had it not been cooked well. it was plated over something, mashed potatoes and asparagus, but it's mundaneness makes it not memorable to me. the scallops were excellent. they were of large size, perfectly cooked and seasoned well. they were served with a fried vegetable eggroll which had seaweed, carrots and cabbage in it. an interesting pairing. as an additional side also tried the mac n' cheese. this was extrememely heavy and rich, with a light flavoring of truffle oil. one of the better creamy pasta dishes i've had anywhere. so definately a thumbs up for locale and ambiance. i do have to take off for the price though, considering the service was only average and the food while pretty good, had some hits and misses. to consider, i've had sea bass that was just as, if not better for $12 or less at other palces. not sure i'd return if visiting again.

i like eating at 95. it is great to have a relaxing dinner experience in the touristy mecca of sa. i'm local, so it is annoying to be surrounded by white sock and sandal wearing tourists. i can put on some nice clothes, call some friends and head down by thecasamonica and enjoy chef created cuisine instead of the usual fried local fare. plus it is right down the street from a bunch of nice art galleries. walk off dinner, look at some art and steal a kiss in the courtyard across the street. enjoy.
-toscana