Coda Kitchen & Bar

It’s never good when you roll into a joint and the person whose idea it was to go there basically says “Don’t expect much, this place is pretty mid.” Great, thanks, dude. But, truth be told, I wasn’t expecting much. Just as I don’t with most places I hit up to meet a couple friends for a casual dinner and a beer or two. Because the food and drinks are more of an accompaniment and not a feature in these instances. You look at a somewhat generic list of bar food, a list of beers and you just kind of point and pray. It’s fine.

It turns out my buddy was pretty right, Coda isn’t anything special. It’s something in between a bar and a restaurant. I believe they used to call them bar and grills. But I’m pretty certain there’s no grill here, and I tend to think of that genre of establishment as 1970s, dark and smokey. This isn’t that, to be sure. It’s a little more sophisticated than a “family” restaurant, but not as trendy-feeling as a place where you wouldn’t want to bring a kid. Not dingy. Not grungy. But a little worn around the edges. Perhaps it’s the weird shingle roof on the outside that feels a bit incongruous with the poured concrete floors, exposed duct work, brick bar wall and black ceilings inside. I do hate the font they use in their signage. It looks like the superimposed MS-13 tattoo explainers on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckles. (I’m sure that joke will age well.) Point is, first impressions are not great. And maybe next time hire a designer.

The space itself is smaller than I would have expected looking at it from the outside. It’s a little chopped up and reminds me of the restaurant bars in Salt Lake City, where state law makes them put a wall up between the bar and the dining area. I guess the LDSers are too tempted by 3.2 beer while they’re eating whatever flavorless bird concoction they’re serving to not covet what they can see? Or spying people sinning by imbibing just makes them sick to their stomachs? Granted, I doubt this is a Mormon-owned establishment — and apparently Utah did away with that whole law in 2019 to some extent, so I’m a little behind the times — but it does make the tight space feel a little awkward. We kind of went to the right of the bar wall and sat toward the back. Across from us was a room (I think) that reminded me of one of those low-tabled, pillow-on-the-floor deals that you’d find at a fancy Japanese restaurant. Of course, this wasn’t that, but something else to try to make use of a dining room that was clearly planned by a fan of Tetris and a serious lunatic.

Oh, so the food. Like I said, this was probably the least important thing on my mind. But I did order the baja Corona battered cod tacos, which differ from the grilled mahi mahi tacos in their preparation and accouterments. They’re fried, of course, which wouldn’t be my typical choice, but the non-fried version comes with some sort of mango nonsense on it. And fruit doesn’t belong on fish, thank you. Though I guess avocado is technically a fruit, so I’ll shut up now. The tacos were certainly nothing to write home about, but the fry on them was nice, the slaw was cold and crunchy, the avocado and creme creamy. They came with fries, which is odd, but I love fries in all forms, so I’m fine with it. Overall everything — including those fries — were decent, cooked properly and completely serviceable. They have a local list of beers on draft that is always a joy. Check and check.

So, look, Coda isn’t necessarily a destination for haute cuisine. Or cuisine of any type, really. It’s elevated American bar food, pure and simple. And Coda itself is good for a night to fill your belly, have a beer and move on to your next destination. We need these type of places to take our vanilla friends and to make everything afterward seem cool or interesting.

177 Maplewood Ave. – Maplewood
973/327-2247
codakitchenandbar.com