nathalie f.'s Profile

I had never been here before or heard of anybody who had, when we stepped in on a Sunday afternoon. The place has a nice relaxing vibe to it and the white table cloths and modern yet not sterile decorating add an extra touch.

We had pad thai and spring rolls and both were excellent. Generous portions of pad thai that had just the right amount of spiciness to them.

The menu was extensive, with a lot of different choices for meat dishes as well as vegetarian dishes. The emphasis seems to be on Vietnamese food.

It was great. Would love to go back and sample some more. Very reasonably priced, as well. Especially if you get to choose from the lunch menu.

While working in the area, I'd have lunch here at least once a week. The quality of the food was always consistent. Nothing overly exciting or exotic, but they make a good tempura and the fish is always fresh.

Speaking of consistency... so is the service. On quite a few occasions there was something wrong with the order, the bill or dishes not appearing for a long time while others were getting served.

If you're doing lunch, you've got to come early. By 12.30 the place is packed and you might have to wait for a table, though at night I've rarely seen it busy at all.

Also, once a  month they have an all you can eat sushi night. Might be worth checking out, though you'll need to make a reservation.

If there's one thing I love, it's Belgian fries. But they have to be done right. They did it right here. They were soft and warm on the inside, crispy on the outside. And they got served in a cone. There's also a lot of dipping sauces to choose from; we tried a whole bunch of them. All pretty good, but nothing beats plain old fatty mayo.

The line up was long but moved quickly. As far as fish and chips are concerned, it doesn't get any better than this. I had the halibut and chips. It was a very generous portion of perfectly fried chips but the absolute winner was the halibut. The batter was light and crispy and not oily at all.

As an interesting side note: they also had deep fried mars bar on the menu. will try next time.

Great selection of pizzas. A lot of them vegetarian options. I had a slice of spinach and ricotta. The bread was light and fluffy and the spinach ricotta combo was just perfect.

This is not a place where you go for a nice dinner, but rather pick up a quick bite to eat. And for that, it's just great.

I truly enjoyed our stay at the Thunderbird. The room was very tastefully decorated in a very modern, yet not sterile style. The bathroom was very spacious with a huge closet for all our stuff so we didn't need to leave our bags in the bed room. The toiletries were fantastic and the best was the 'mini bar' basket filled with retro candy, a variety of really good chocolate, drinks, some Thunderbird merchandise and even a pack of 'American Spirits' cigarettes. Everything was really clean.  

The pool area was lovely. Though it was too cold to go for a swim, it was wonderful just chilling out there with a drink and a smoke.

In the morning, they served a small breakfast in a common room. There was coffee, fruit, yoghurt, muffins and granola.

The only negative I can think of would be that there was no wireless internet in the room. Though apparently there was at the pool area, but I couldn't get a signal. However, free wifi was available in the common room next to the lobby.

It's not hard to miss Cochineal. It is located in part of a house, and it doesn't have a big flashy sign outside. However, the inside is lovely. Very minimalist design, without it feeling sterile. The acoustics were perfect and there was no music playing. It doesn't need it.

We shared an English cheese souffle, which totally blew us away. It was perfectly fluffy and balanced. A real treat. The appetizer was followed by steak with Belgian style double fried fries, which were absolutely amazing. brown and crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, and perfectly grilled salmon on a bed of very flavourful saffron rice.

The perfect ending to this meal was the date pudding with fresh cream.

The food was truly outstanding and the service was absolutely top notch.

The next morning we went back for breakfast. Eggs benedict, poached eggs and home fries. The eggs were perfectly done and the potatoes were delicious (though might be a tad too spicy for people who don't like spicy foods). Though the breakfast was good and very reasonably priced, it didn't come close to the experience we had the night before. Only for this reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of the 5 I would have given for dinner alone.

All in all, I can highly recommend Cochineal and would love to go back.

Apparently, you have to make reservations. We didn't, but we could sit at the bar, which was actually really lovely.

We had the cheese plate for an appetizer. It had a good selection and it came with really nice crusty bread. Our mains consisted of a big bowl of carrot soup and a steak with mashed potatoes and gorgonzola. Both were terrific. The carrot soup was perfectly balanced. Fresh, light and flavourful.

We also ordered a bottle of Texas Sangiovese, which we really enjoyed. Our dessert was a perfectly executed creme brulee.

Though the service was not exactly top notch, the waitress made up for it with a lot of charm.

I had the falafel sandwich with hummus. the falafel was super fresh and super tasty. it was as good as it gets. nice touch was the change i got; a 2 dollar bill and a half dollar coin.

Though it took a while for the food to arrive, our chips and salsa were great (and replenished) while we were waiting. We had the 'loco plate' and the chili rellenos (both extra hot) and the portions were huge, spicy and really tasty and satisfying. The atmosphere in the restaurant is lacking (bright fluorescent lights, plastic on the tables) but the 'entertainment club' side of the restaurant made up for it with some great karaoke.

Though not the best Mexican food I've ever had, I would recommend this place for anybody driving through or staying in Carlsbad, a town consumed by fast food outlets and lack of personality.