Cobalt has long been one of my favorite places to eat on the island, so I was looking forward to dining here again. Unfortunately, a little over 6 months ago, Executive Chef Danial Traimas decided it was time for him to move on and be closer to his family, so I was sad to learn of his departure. He ran the kitchen here for almost 2 years and was a big part of the Vero Beach Foodie family, so he will definitely be missed.
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Fast forward to 2019 and let me introduce you to Cobalt’s newest Executive Chef Winston Guerrero! I decided to wait a while to dine here and allow him time to settle in and get in the groove in his new kitchen, so this review will be the first time I’ve tasted his food. Cobalt already has an amazing team of Sous Chef’s that have been there for a while, so I could not wait to see what they came up with for the new menu!
As you enter the restaurant, the large wall of windows at the back of the dining room immediately grabs your attention, as does the ocean view. The dining room has a comfortable elegance to it with dark stained wood paneled walls, beautiful lighting fixtures, and very comfortable table and booth combinations with lots of pillows. There is also outdoor seating for those of you that want that direct ocean view.
Now let’s jump right in and see what we had to eat!
The first dish of the night was the Tuna Tartar appetizer. Made with fresh Ahi Tuna, Pickled Onions, Avocado, and dressed with a Wasabi Aioli. Baked Flat Bread was served alongside. The tuna was very fresh and it had a wonderful creaminess from the avocado and just a hint of wasabi with a little kick.
We get a lot of requests for places that are vegan or at least serve vegan dishes, so this was a nice surprise. Two mini corn tamales were stuffed with corn, bell pepper, baby kale, cilantro, and garlic. They are sitting on a bed of roasted corn, green and red bell peppers, and a peppadew emulsion was drizzled over the top. My taste buds tend to like intense flavors and vegan dishes are usually a little bland for me, but this one seemed to be the exception. The roasted corn and sauce more than made up for it and added lots of flavor to the dish.
This is a unique spin on a classic “Shrimp & Grits” style of dish. Made with Four Large Sea Scallops and served with Hominey Blue Corn Grits, Tasso Pork, and a Smoked Tomato Chutney. The scallops were perfectly seared and buttery, the grits added an interesting earthy flavor to the dish, and the tomato chutney was surprisingly sweet.
Last but not least was this show stopper! A Whole Roasted Cornish Hen was stuffed with cornbread and Andouille, served on a bed of collard greens, and dressed with a Pepper Vinegar gel. My first thought when this came to the table was that this was going to be hard to eat without making a mess. On the contrary, they had deboned almost the entire hen with the exception of the wing and leg bones. I was able to remove the legs easily and spit it down the middle with little effort. The color on the skin was nothing short of exceptional. What put this dish over the top for me was the use of the pepper vinegar gel. This was the first time I tried it and it won’t be the last. It gave the hen such a rich roasted tangy flavor that I simply could not get enough of it. I feel bad for my dining companion because I could not stop eating it nor did I want to share it. Sorry Deby!
In Conclusion
There is a distinct difference between eating and dining, and I believe that Cobalt excels at providing an exceptional dining experience. From the elegant dining room, the wonderful food, and the Atlantic ocean views this place has the total package that exemplifies what fine dining should be. New Executive Chef Winston Guerrero and his team certainly impressed us with the variety of new dishes on the menu and their skill level needed to execute them. If you have only “eaten” lately, then might I suggest next time you chose to go out, that you “dine” with them and experience the difference.
Cobalt Website | Cobalt Facebook Page
3500 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach, FL 32963
Monday – Friday, 7:30 am till 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm till 11:00 pm, Saturday – Sunday, 8:00 am till 12:00 am
This experience was part of our new “Restaurant Review Dining Experience” where you have an opportunity to join me, “The Food Guy” on an actual restaurant review and go behind the lens to see how I work and taste all of the amazing food you have seen in my articles! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our email newsletter and text alerts so you know when tickets go on sale for our upcoming events!
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