Co Co. Sala (Washington, DC)

R.'s mom was in town last week and we took her to Co Co. Sala, an upscale chocolate-themed "lounge and boutique." This was actually the second time I've visited the one-year-old joint, and let me just cut right to the chase: Everything about this restaurant is impressive! The decor is trendy yet inviting. The service staff was accommodating and helpful. And of course, the food....ooooooh the food! I only have one word for the food: HEAVENLY. I guess one could say that about anything chocolate, but Co Co. Sala makes chocolate interesting. They have the most creative way of working chocolate into their recipes; indeed Co Co. Sala has the most unique dishes I've seen in any restaurant! Let me show you our scrumptuous dinner via photos below.

Co Co. Sala serves only small dishes called "Coco Bites." You order two or three per person as a meal. I ordered the bacon mac & cheese which consisted of a piece of chocolate-dipped bacon on top of four-cheese orecchiette pasta. It was much more filling than I had anticipated. And the chocolate-dipped bacon? Delicious! Who would've thunk it?

Bacon Mac & Cheese

The other Coco bite I got was the Crispy Louisiana Crabcake, with mango salsa, chiptole chocolate tomato glaze, and avocado cilantro emulsion. Oh. So. Good.

Crispy Louisiana Crabcake

R. ordered the Lobster Salad, with lemon aioli, cucumber, crushed avocado, greens, corn bread, and passion chocolate vinaigrette. He took one bite and exclaimed, "Oh my GAWD!" I had some and can certainly attest to its "Oh my GAWDness." :)

Lobster Salad

R. also got the Aztec Cheese Course to share. It was a pepper cheese enchilada with guava sauce and it was excellent!

R.'s mom got the tasty Portobello Flat Bread with portobello mushrooms, goat cheese, roasted peppers, kalamata olives, and sweet & sour fig marmalade. It was HUGE, for a supposedly small dish anyway.

Portobello Flat Bread

Another fantastic Coco Bite that R.'s mom ordered was the Goat Cheese and Beet Salad, with yellow and red beets, greens, maracaibo nibs, and raspberry vinaigrette. If you like beets, you are gonna love this!

Goat Cheese and Beet Salad

And of course, how can you go to a chocolate lounge and not have dessert? We were stuffed from the Coco Bites, but got a three-course dessert to share anyway. We went with the fabulous Asian-inspired Sweet Sensei.

First course: Pistachio date, kataifi cocoon, and lychee chocolate cream.

Main dessert: White chocolate lemongrass rice pudding roll, green tea creme brulee, with kiwi and pineapple. This really was something special. Just the thought of the green tea creme brulee makes me hungry!

Petit fours: Wasabi almond financier and kalamansi pate de fruit. Kalamansi is a lime-like citrus fruit from the Phillippines. The financier and the kalamansi provided a nice contrast in taste, and they paired well together.

Co Co. Sala is a nice change of pace from your regular restaurant. I'd love to try some of their drinks next time (the cocojito sure sounded good!).

Pertinent info:
Address: 929 F St NW, Washington DC 20004
Phone: 202-347-4256
Nearest Metro station: Metro Center (Red, Blue, and Orange lines); Gallery Place-Chinatown (Red, Green, and Yellow lines)