Cooks & Soldiers

"Adiskide onekin, orduak labur."Translation: "With a good friend the hours are short." Basque Proverb If you wanted to spend those short hours with a friend, loved one or a date, Cooks and Soldiers provides an amazing ambiance for having memorable conversations. Having recently discovered that a significant percentage of my genealogy traces back to Basque, I was very interested in learning more about the culture and food. Cooks and Soldiers was a good first step in my journey. Being the cigar smoking, beer drinking Cuban vegetarian that I am, I knew I would have to swap my PBR for wine, and that the menu would be limited, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a vegetarian Pintxos menu. The Piperade, a basque pepper stew, fried egg, with wild mushrooms was delish. The patatas bravas and Haricot verts(chilled green beans, fig, valdeon cheese,walnut vinagerette, chili crisp) were also fantastic. The restaurant itself has an appeal that is simultaneously rustic and classy. It is dark, romantic, and has an energetic feel. The service was fantastic. Definitely recommend for date night, family special occasions, or time with a close friend.

I came to Cooks & Soldiers to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. There were 7 of us, so we got quite a few dishes to share. I have added pictures of everything below, and will touch on a few of them. We also all got drinks too. Everyone got what they were in the mood for. In my case, I got an espresso martini, which was actually really good. The pollo basquaise was excellent. It was a half chicken that was kind of spicy, but still tasted so flavorful. Probably my favorite thing we got. You can't go wrong with the patatas bravas either, I always make an effort to get these whenever they are on the menu somewhere. So good! The crudo was really good too. It was yellowtail. But it didn't taste super fishy like some crudos do. The added ingredients really elevated the taste of the fish. The only downside of our experience here was the branzino. My mother-in-law loves branzino, so she got that, and all of us shared some. It was very bony when it arrived, and the taste was just off. We requested to speak to the manager about it, and they were very attentive, took it off the bill, and mentioned how sorry they were. We ended up just keeping the food we got and didn't get anything else, because we had so much already. The branzino does take about 45 minutes, so be prepared for that if you do want that when you come in. There is also a happy hour Monday-Friday from 5pm-6pm, where they have $5 gin and tonics and a cider. I got there a little before 6pm before the rest of my party got there, and they were fine with me getting their gin and tonics, because they were going to be there after 6pm. The service at cooks & soldiers is impeccable. I am still giving this place 5 stars, regardless of the branzino not working out. They did all they could to try and rectify the situation and that's all we could ask for. The vibe inside is upscale with an industrial kinda vibe to it. There is also a parking garage next to the restaurant, where you can get parking validated for 2 hours I believe. I will definitely be back here in the future.

What an AMAZING Time at Cooks and Soldiers! It's been on my list! I went to dinner with a girlfriend. They have valet parking available as well as other parking areas near by. Great indoor space as well as outdoor space for dining. The patio was closed today for a reserved party. Our server was amazing! We were seated immediately and ordered a few items tapas style as we were also having some cocktails! The bread was PHENOMENAL!! 10/10 recommend also they had a krudo and a crab bale that came in shells. Presentation was amazing! Our food came out quickly and wine pairings were phenomenal! Great music playing and located in a great area of you wanted to walk around before or after dinner.

One of the highlights of my visit was dining here. The ambiance was great, but the staff was fantastic! The host, Calvin made sure we had the perfect spot to enjoy our dining experience. While we waited for our table to open, we sat at the bar and had a couple of laughs with Jalen while we enjoyed the Kiss from a Rose and El Carino.After a small wait of about 20 minutes, we are shown to our table in the middle of the restaurant and it was worth the wait. We were bummed that they had run out of crudo, but the patatas bravas, branzino, berenjenas, and bread more than made up for our disappointment. I do not enjoy looking any animal in the face while dining and greatly appreciated that the chef removed the head and tail. The food was incredible and the service we received from Derrick rounded out our night. Derrick, thanks for a wonderful time and the laughs. Enjoy your trip to Austin!

I really love this spot. Let's be honest, I love tapas in general, and try to pretend I'm back in Spain, walking from bar to bar with a little cerveza and tiny plate of food. The service here was great, and we were really happy with our food. I got a passionfruit margarita-type cocktail, which was tasty and not super boozy. We got a bunch of vegetarian items since one of our friends is a vegetarian, and they were all super tasty and flavorful. We were all super impressed by the crispiness of the patatas bravas and the great sauce it came with. I love the pork cheek croquetas and the bikini sandwich (fancy grilled cheese if you order off the veggie menu). The eggplant was a little smoky for my taste, but my friends loved it. It's so much fun when you can try a bunch of small plates and share them. I'll definitely be back. Just beware that parking is $10 plus convenient fee, plus tip for valet, so maybe park across the street in the Westside Provisions parking garage, which is still paid, but less expensive.

Are there greater than 5 stars available? This place really takes care of you! We were promptly seated. Our server was excellent. Her attention to detail was chefs kiss throughout the entire experience. It's been about a week so I forgot her name but she had short blonde hair and nice nails! I brought my team here for a team dinner. The place is beautiful on the inside. Expectations were high before we had a chance to sit down. We ordered sangrias. They arrived quickly. (They were a little dry for my taste but I love the sweeter taste for sangria. My team loved them though!). We ordered this asador experience. It was $85 a person and well worth every penny and then some. We had a little charcuterie board, bread with mushrooms, this little plate of stuffed olives, a green bean salad, scallops, branzino, lamb, carrots, and two desserts. Yes, two. Oooh and how can I forget the lil espresso martini! This place was so good it's the restaurant of my dreams. My dad lives in Bilbao (Basque Country in Spain) and this food is ON point! I can't wait to travel back to Atlanta to try it. One more thing - they literally come by like ninjas to clean any table spills. It makes the restaurant feel another level elevated compared to other spots in the area. TLDR: do not miss out on this restaurant. Excellent service, beautiful restaurant, incredible food. I have 0 complaints... and I am picky with food.

I'd been telling hubby I wanted a good whole branzino so he researched and came across this restaurant because supposedly they have some of the best branzino in the city. Let me just say that's totally accurate! The branzino is absolutely amazing! It's prepared perfectly and seasoned to perfection. You can get them to filet it, cook it whole, or take the head or tail off if you'd like. We had it whole and it was a nice portion that we both ate off of. We got the patatas bravas as well and they were so tasty, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside with yummy flavor. It was a great addition to the fish. We also ordered the arroz con mariscos. While the butter poached lobster and crab in the rice were delicious, the rice itself wasn't the best to me. It was pretty hard but I'm not sure if it's suppose to be prepared like that or not. The cocktails we had were good too. I had the paper tiger and my husband had some type of gin cocktail.The ambiance is nice and the service was pretty good as well. We both raved about our dinner all weekend and will definitely be back for the branzino and cocktails.

Outstanding is the only way to describe Cooks & Soldiers! Excellent detail in each dish and the staff does an amazing job of explaining each dish and tying your preferences to choices on the menu. Cocktails are also excellently crafted and are tied to the French/Spanish influence of the menu. Highly recommend Cooks & Soldiers for a date night or business dinner.

Went here for my bday dinner and it was a great experience! The service was great our waiter gave great recs and was super nice. The wine selection is incredible. All the food was incredible, the octopus was perfect. The inside has a nice intimate feel, perfect for date night!

I love the vibe of this place. They have Valet parking but it's paid parking. The service was amazing! I came in with a group of 9. We split into groups of 3 to order many different tapas to try. I recommend going here with a group of people so you can try several dishes. It's pricey but worth it with a group of people. I love how open and large the space is. Great for events and celebrations!