We try to avoid reviewing chain restaurants but, with Coco’s being a regional chain and also a fairly popular local spot, we figured we’d give it a try when working an early shift during the week and needing some breakfast.
The vibe of Coco’s is to try to give the impression that it’s serving good ol’ home-style cooking but that’s clearly not the case. No amount of “Oh my, pie”-themed slogans are ever going to disguise the fact that this isn’t grandma baking in the kitchen purely for the love of baking. The pies behind the glass counter look good, but not grandma-good.
We order the corn beef hash with eggs, and it’s exactly as ok as one would expect. The eggs are cooked nicely so there’s no sloppy egg white, but the yolk still bursts.
The hash is fine, although the corn beef tastes like it came out of a can. It may well have done. The potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft inside, and the whole dish isn’t too salty.
On the side is a choice of toasts or pancakes (we opted for an English muffin, which is hot and buttered), and four generous slices of juicy melon. As is often the case in restaurants like this one, the service is friendly, though the servers are very busy and are dashing from table to table.
The overall ambiance is a bit weird, because of that aforementioned desire to make us think we’re eating fresh food in a barn or something. You have to give them points for trying.
On the whole, there can be no real complaints with Coco’s, and certainly no surprises. It offers up exactly what you expect to get – edible diner food at a reasonable price. It’s mass-produced so the love isn’t going into each dish as you would find elsewhere, and a sprinkle of paprika on the eggs doesn’t change that. But the food is far from bad, and the kitschy vibe isn’t without its appeal.
Coco’s is located at 5350 Sepulveda Blvd. Call 310-397-7165
