I’ll just come clean and say it: it’s taken me too long to document Cobra in the Brewery District. Not that it needs my help. The late-night bar and restaurant makes its home in the former digs of The Clarmont (which was a Panera in the intervening years!) on South High Street and offers a creative menu of cocktails and snacks in an effortlessly cool atmosphere.
When you walk in the door, you’re told to find a seat wherever you’d like – at the bar, in the dining room, on the patio. Food and drink is all ordered at the bar. They’ll make your drinks while you wait, then you grab a number and head back to your table.
The cocktails are straightforward without being simplistic, like the Cobra Old Fashioned and the Snake Juice.
Cobra describes itself as an “Asian-American neighborhood bar,” and that theme is born out throughout the menu. Good starters include the Koji popcorn chicken, made with chicken thighs, chili, lemon, and a lemon shiso aioli.
One of the top picks – and rightfully so – are Mama Chien’s dumplings. You can order them filled with pork or sweet potato, and they’re just delightful. About as good of dumplings as you could imagine.
Similarly, although with a very different flavor profile, the Ezzo pizza dumplings use locally made Ezzo pepperoni, mozzarella, and red sauce, served with a side of garlic chive buttermilk dip.
Our server wisely suggested the sesame cucumber as a side, and they were very right for doing so.
They also said the dan dan noodles are a popular pick, and I can easily see why. They use thick malfadani noodles with a dan dan sauce, pork ragu, and crusted peanuts. Highly recommended.
The drunken noodles are another go-to, crafted with pappardelle, beef tenderloin tips, sugar snap peas, onions, Thai basil. Everyone alerted us to the pair of bird’s eye chilis on top. They’re not messing around when it comes to heat, but it’s your choice how much you want to incorporate them into the dish. I sliced them up thin with various bites; they really do pack a punch.
It’s hard to argue with the Shanghai noon burger, a pair of four-ounce Angus beef patties with American cheese, a Cobra Q sauce, fried shallots, and soy pickles.
It pairs perfectly with a side of their seasoned fries.
We need to be making more visits to Cobra. I love the late-night hours, the creative food and drink, the simplicity of ordering. There’s certainly a reason it’s earned local and national attention, including a feature in Punch’s Best New Bars of 2024.
Cobra is open Wednesday-Monday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. They are closed Tuesdays.
Cobra
684 S. High St.
Columbus, OH 43206
(614) 502-8863
Web: cobrabarcolumbus.com
IG: @cobracolumbus
