Cosecha Cocina

987 N. 4th St.
Columbus, OH 43201
614.369.1129
websiteWhile the Fourth Street corridor out of downtown Columbus was for years kind of an afterthought, the past few years have brought some of the best and most interesting new restaurant concepts here. Efforts to build new homes and bring new businesses have been very successful here, and there are quite a few reasons to drop in. One of those attractions is Cosecha, which wants to bring high-quality and locally-sourced Mexican cuisine to the area. It’s certainly a nice rebuild of an older space, but there is some frustrating experience in the execution.

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The menu is in places something like a tapas bar, which has a lot of smaller items that are great to share with a group

• Charred octopus: Blackened octopus with a mixture of toppings with some tomato, pepitas, green olive, and a few potatoes. Lets the octopus speak for itself. 
• Pork belly: A braised pork belly cut with a plantain and peanut puree, with a few fried plantains for excitement. Rich and with meaty. 
• Brussels sprouts: Of course, the fried veggies are always good, and a chorizo “vinegarette,” though the cheese kind of is an unnecessary distraction. 
• Chicken tinga: A shredded chicken mix with sliced onions and chipotle tomato sauce. The tinga is slightly smokey and a little spicy for good measure. 
• Beef barbacoa taco: My favorite thing on the menu, this taco has juicy beef and pickled vegetables atop it with a sweeter papaya salsa. Rich without being too heavy. 
• “Tradicional” margarita: Sauza Tequila Reposado and curacao form this sweet marg, which otherwise has a splash of a few natural ingredients. Smooth and pleasant. 
• “Next Episode” margarita: Adds hibiscus, habanero and orange for an assertive warm heat.
• Mojito: The Cuban highball classic, with a splash of freshness, brought to you by a splash of sugar cane and mint.

So the food is well-executed once it gets to you. If only, though, things were that simple. On a few visits, the most notable part of the experience was the wait. A visit on a Friday afternoon and another on a weekend afternoon brought a long wait for drinks, then a long wait for food, and most often than not a 20 or 30 minute wait before a revisit by the service. The bar would be full or it would be empty, the result was the same. And unfortunately that can be pretty distracting. 

Prices aren’t too bad and the food is good, but the overall experience requires a bit of patients, and that’s very frustrating, even when not during the busiest rush hours, and in those cases, good luck. All in all, just know what you’re getting into and plan not to be in a rush. 

Recommendations

• The small plates are best when shared. 
• Consider a few margaritas but order them first and early to avoid a wait. 
• There’s some parking behind the building, which is a way to avoid paying the Short North parking. 

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