Nestled along Restaurant Row on Beverly Blvd., you will find that Spanish cuisine is alive and well at Cobras & Matadors. Casual yet trendy, this quaint little locale is the perfect place to people watch and have an amazing meal. The room is dim, the tables are close together, and the kitchen is the size of a walk-in closet, but Cobras puts out a lot of little dishes in a short amount of time. Owner Steven Arroyo, who also brought us the bar Cobra Lily has managed to keep Cobras & Matadors from becoming a novelty hotspot. It’s more of a neighborhood hipster hangout, with an everybody’s welcome attitude. The vibe is urban and retro; the walls are covered with black & white vintage photographs. There are used wine corks stuck to the walls as the giant wood-burning brick oven sits in the corner and adds heat and energy to the dining room. There are reflective mirrors along the booths, so you can check yourself out while you eat, make sure there’s no spinach in the teeth. It is quite dark inside (mostly candlelight), which does make for a flattering atmosphere.

Authentic Spanish Tapas with an Eastern/Western European twist, the food is eclectic and oozing with flavor. The restaurant is BYOB and it caters to us drinkers by having a wine store conveniently located next door (no wine glasses by the way…you drink out of a miniature water glass). Beer or wine, there’s no corkage fee, so bring two bottles while you’re at it.

LA’s Restaurant Week started Sunday, January 27th and will continue till Friday, February 7th (so it’s really two weeks). There are at least 30 major restaurants involved with opening their doors up to be dazzled by new customers (Cobras is among the participants). Take advantage of the prix-fix menus (most are just $25-$35 a person for a 3-course meal). I partook in Cobra’s special menu, which included my choice of starter, entrée, & dessert. Now, because I had frequented Cobras & Matadors in the past, I knew what the must-haves were. One has to have the Green Lentils w/ Jamon Serrano (best lentils west of the Atlantic Ocean), the Spicy Lomo Embuchado (dry-cured pork loin w/ aged goat cheese & raisin bread), Roasted Game Hen w/ sweet-sour Catalan sauce, Patatas Fritas (potatoes in aioli sauce), and Bacon Wrapped Prawns. If you’re with a larger party I suggest ordering the Paella w/ Mussels and Clams (it feeds a large crowd and you can watch the steam rising to the ceiling-delicious!). For dessert, I suggest divulging in the homemade Churros w/ Mexican Chocolate Sauce (very sinful).

Go to Cobras & Matadors and try a little bit of everything off the menu, be adventurous, and be prepared for a high-volume, 20 something crowd (it gets busier after 8pm). It’s a good time, good food, and for a very good value. Also, if you can’t get over to Beverly Hills/West Hollywood, there’s another Cobras & Matadors that just opened in Los Feliz. Enjoy!

Author: Erin Landsberg

Hours
Sun-Thu 6pm-11pm
Fri-Sat 6pm-12am

Beverly Hills Location:
7615 W Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (323) 932-6178

Eastside Location:
4655 Hollywood Blvd
Los Feliz, CA 90027
323-669-3922