Coa

The idea is great but the food is bland and boring. The ribs were greasy and the rice was dry. Service was ok and the chip and salsa was the best thing there.

Nooope! Not ever again.
Went to Coa 2x’s and had horrible craptacular food and not so great service each time.
My husband and I live in the area and have tried all the restaurants in Bayshore. We wanted to try Coa because we love Mexican food and the restaurant is frankly beautiful. The outdoor fire place is fantastic and the dinning area is very trendy. Our server for the first night wasn’t very attentive, even though the restaurant wasn’t less than half full! We ordered the street tacos, the beef and chicken were so dry and didn’t taste fresh. We ordered extra sour cream, salsa, and guacamole but it didn’t help.
Our second try was the day before Halloween, and the scenario was the same, servers who were more interested in each other than the customer and food that was under par for cost.
Moral of the story kids is we got burned twice, don’t waste your money or time. This might be a cool hang out for just drinks by the outdoor fire place in fall, but I wouldn’t go again under any circumstances.

I went here with some family members today, and we were not impressed. Our waiter didn’t ask if we wanted drinks, forgot to ask what sort of tortillas we wanted for our tacos (they came out with the standard corn type, I think), and then forgot to bring the drinks we asked him for until we inquired about them as the food arrived.
The food itself was unimpressive. 3 of the 4 of us ordered tuna tacos, and we all agreed that they were slightly fishy tasting, which generally means that the tuna’s not as fresh as it should be. When we told the waiter that our tuna was fishy tasting, he talked to the chef, who allegedly told him that that’s the flavor of tuna when it’s cooked anything less than «well». Bullshit! I love raw tuna like nobody’s business, and it should never be fishy. I don’t think the waiter was lying, I just think the chef was giving him a really transparent excuse to tell us.
The overall flavors presented in the tacos were pretty lackluster, and we ended up eating the contents with a fork rather than using the tortillas. The refried beans were okay, but really soupy and hard to eat with a fork (we didn’t get a spoon or chips to help eat it).
The home-​made chips and salsa were tasty, although we weren’t asked if we wanted more when they ran out. The Coa rice had good flavors, but was kind of dry. Apparently the tortilla soup was acceptable but not amazing.
I’ve had better food and better service from taco trucks with walk-​up windows. Don’t bother eating here.

This review is way overdue. I had been there over a year ago, and I just keep forgetting the place. Here’s why…
Went there with a friend. Sat down at a table (after waiting at the front door for what seemed like forever) The place was not busy. Seemed very dark.
I am allergic to cilantro. No big deal though. it has never stopped me from eating anywhere, as most people just take it off, or I eat something that doesn’t have it. Solved. I am not one of those people who freaks out because of my own problem.
After sitting and choosing some foods I told the server what i wanted, and to please leave off the cilantro due to an allergy. She said «huh?, we cannot take things off of our tacos.»
What? um, ok. So me being who I am i figured i would just say/​ask this «Ok. No problem. Is there anything I CAN eat on this menu» She simply replied «No». I am not kidding you kids… «NO.»
Alright then. See you later. Got up and just left. Friend didn’t even pay for the soda. Just done.

My experiences at Coa are pretty similar to other, recent reviews.
After the first time I was there in the summer with mediocre food and horrid service I decided I would not go back. Was not impressed with the food and we ended up going directly to the bar for drinks (from the patio) as our server was MIA most of the time. My order was completely wrong (he entered it incorrectly) and I finally canceled it after the rest of the table finished eating before my correct order even came out.
I was convinced to go again a few months ago. I was shocked we had decent service (perhaps because I was there with a «regular»). The HH nachos were really good and a decent size, my coworker loved her ribs and the regular raved about her tuna. The taquitos were a bit dry and the server forgot the guac, then said it was no longer included, despite being stated on the menu. The HH margaritas were pretty decent.
I went alone a few weeks later, got there a bit after 5 and again sat in the bar area. As others have noted, the service was awful. There were maybe 6 people at the bar and I was the only one at a table. The bartender completely ignored me as did the three waitstaff hanging around the bar chatting. I was putting my coat on to leave after 10 minutes of waiting when I finally heard one sigh and say she better go «wait on me». Since I had already battled for a parking space I decided I would just stay. Big mistake.
The margarita was decent but the ribs I got were way over sauced and basically unedible. The nachos again were decent, but not as good as the last time. I gave up on ever getting a refill on my drink or water and had to go to the front hostess stand to get my bill as my server disappeared.
All in all, meh food and horrible service. Parking is a bear to find and it is not worth the time looking for it to go to Coa. I will never make the mistake of going back.

I really like the salty chips and house salsa. It tastes really fresh and they put a lot of cilantro in it. I came for lunch and got some black bean soup and a rajas taco. It was tasty. The service was friendly and the décor is cool. The only downside was that it smelled kind of bad? Like they wiped down tables or mopped the floors in our area with a mildewy rag? I feel bad bringing it up because I don’t know if it would be noticeable to other people or just me. After all, my nickname in college was Bloodhound.

My boyfriend and I went to Bayshore Mall on a Sunday afternoon. I had been craving mexican food, and convinced my bf to go to Coa even though he had tried it before and hated it.
We started off with their chips and salsa. The chips seem homemade and the salsa was good, but thank god it was free for the first bowl (they charge for refills), because the rest of the items on the menu cost an arm and a leg.
I ordered the tortilla soup and chicken nachos, and my bf ordered carne asada quesadillas and a taco.
The tortilla soup was more like a bowl of watered-​down marinara sauce with creepy chunks of cheese that resembles tofu, and a sparse amount of tortilla strips sprinkled in. Why no chunks of chicken? This was the biggest tortilla soup failure I’ve ever experienced.
My chicken nachos were so bland… it was basically a big pile of chips with some cheese on the top layer of chips, leaving all of the underneath chips completely empty.
My bf liked his quesadilla, but the taco was so-so.and the price of the tacos is seriously highway robbery. How can they justify $ 5+ PER taco?
The restaurant was almost completely empty and it was dinnertime, so I’m guessing I was the only poor sap that didn’t know what a ripoff this restaurant was. Never going back!

Wow. This was my second time being here, first time I went with my boss at lunch and it was dead and got good service. This time, we went on a Saturday night after shopping at Bayshore for a quick and cheap bite. Well, it wasn’t either.
We are greeted by a great hostess. This was the only good part of the experience. We ask to sit at the bar thinking getting a few tacos and a cocktail wouldn’t take long or cost a lot. The gentlemen behind the bar didn’t get to us until after sitting there, being the only ones there too, for 5 minutes. After getting the drinks out of the way, we order 4 tacos total that took around 35 minutes to get. The tacos weren’t that flavorful and the tortillas were flour instead of the corn we suggested. The black beans would have been better straight out of a can.
Then the check comes for close to $ 50 for two margaritas and 4 tacos. The review is based off the horrible service and prices of the tacos. You can get twice as much food for half the price, a lot better quality and service if you just go down to the south side.
Skip this place and go for the real deal if you are looking for Mexican food.

My husband and I went here yesterday for happy hour and we sat at the bar
The bartender seemed distracted — it took forever to get the drinks, which was a Margarita and a soda. She seemed more interested in flirting with one of the other male bartenders/​waitstaff than waiting on customers. She told us that she would give us a menu but forgot — she then came around and asked if we were ready to order and we had to tell her that we never got a menu. She played it off like she was having «one of those days where I am losing my mind» but it wasn’t that busy!
We ordered 1 taco, a side of Mexican rice as well an order of wings (that was on the happy hour menu). My food came out first and I was almost done before the wings came out. We originally thought that they maybe forgot to put the order in but the bartender eventually wandered over and told us that the wings sometimes takes longer than expected. It would have been nice if the food came out together.
The food is good but the service can be unpredictable.

I’m originally from Los Angeles and was visiting Wisconsin for the first time. If you’re from LA then you know that there are an abundance of Mexican food restaurants. I have had Mexican food from popular chain restaurants to food trucks to mom and pop establishments… and I’m sorry to say Coa fell short.
To begin with the food was waaay over priced. A 3 taco combo with rice and beans generally won’t cost any more than $ 12 at a sit down restaurant. I paid about $ 17. I guess you’re paying for the décor. the layout of the restaurant is very nice, clean, modern and open. The price wouldn’t have been an issue if the flavor of the food was there.
The 3 tacos I ordered:
Mushroom — meh just lacking flavor and also the amount of the mushroom mixture was lacking
Fish Taco — had potential but the size of the deep fried fish «nugget» was ridiculous. It was literally the size of a chicken mc nugget. If I’m paying $ 5 for a taco I would at least expect the fish to cover the length of the tortilla.
Shrimp taco — was very good. The ONLY tasty item on my plate and they generous with the shrimp.
Black beans and Mexican rice — terrible. Black beans tasted as if they were boiled in water and absolutely no seasoning was added to it. Same with the rice… it looked good even had the red/​orange color of Mexican rice but tasted like standard white rice.
Drink:
White Sangria — was pretty good.
My advice to Coa… hire a better chef. The service was fine.
If you like under seasoned food this is the place to go.

Good concept but terrible execution. The place is pretentious as soon as you walk in yet the food is flavorless and off. The owner is Italian and the flavors come through; the salsa tastes like canned marinara and the empanadas were filled with frozen spinach.
Do not waste your money or hunger here!
As my wife said… The guy should have opened a pizza joint!

Well, I will start with the good things. My service experience was quite good, although I have to admit there were only a few tables eating so it should have been good. I really loved the COA beans marinated in Dos Equis! They had a very good flavor and I wished I could have had another bowl! I am not a big margarita drinker, but every once in awhile I stray from my beloved beer. I thought the Casa margarita was quite good, although it was smaller than what I am accustomed to. I ordered the carne asada enchilada and I though it was quite tasty, although I don’t disagree that it certainly didn’t taste very Mexican. The steak was tender, flavorful, and plentiful. I am always pleased when the enchiladas are actually in a corn tortilla instead a flour. I am not a big fan of flour tortillas.
Which brings us to the chips that many have complained about. They were flour and I do much prefer the corn. The salsa was spicy enough, but someone compared it to marinara sauce with a kick and I agree. It just didn’t taste like good salsa that I am familiar with.
Now for the bill! I was shocked when the bill came for $ 33+change! 3 standard sized enchiladas, rice (which was terrible), beans, and 2 small margaritas made with the house tequila! I thought the margaritas for $ 5 because many had commented on that being the best part of COA. There were no prices on the menu, so I should have asked. I have had much better food and much larger margaritas and paid $ 20. This really is highway robbery.
So there is my 2 cents. I am poorer but wiser. I will not return.

I absolutely loved the food here! I live in LA, but my fiancée’s family is in Milwaukee so we venture here when in town. I know Mexican food and the flavor combinations here were so delicious! I have eaten both brunch and dinner here and was totally happy both times. At lunch I had the Coa Cobb salad. The jicama in the salad is marinated in something great, don’t know what. The corn chips were really nice thick and crispy. At dinner I got the taco plate– one word– AHI. Those ahi tacos and whatever sauce came with it were so so good.
my fiancée had the tequila French toast. Boom. Where the heck else will you eat that? Anyway really try Coa. They also have $ 1 bloody Mary’s and mimosas at brunch apparently. Next time will have to try that.
The service was great too. Go to Bayshore and just do it!

I’ll be honest with you, the chicken tortilla soup is one of the best i e’er did have!
The tacos i’m not gonna go and place that claim on, they are really just average at best.
but that soup… Oh em Gee!
Top it off with a few of their house margaritas, which i think are some of the best in milwaukee!
I enjoy their salsa (you know me, love salsa!) but their chips bother me. they seem greasy or something.
big wonderful TVs to watch the games on.

If you plan to charge me $ 5 for a SINGLE taco, that taco better be full of foie gras and gold dust and served on a Shakespeare first folio instead of a tortilla. It had better be the best taco I’ve ever eaten anywhere. I should be tempted to run out into the street, embrace total strangers and regale them with tales of this splendid taco masterpiece.
Well, Coa charged me $ 5 for a single taco… it was edible. That’s about all I can say.
I did like the space and our server was great — he never rushed us but was there when we needed something. The staff really was super friendly all around.
On to the considerable minuses — most everything was under seasoned, the guac was flat out crappy (drenched with lime) and oh, did I mention the SCREW JOB pricing? The menu proudly proclaims that Coa gives you FREE rice and beans when you order 3 incredibly overpriced tacos. They’re hoping that you’re full of $ 5 happy hour margaritas or bad at math and that you won’t notice you just paid $ 15 for 3 marginally shitty tacos.
Well Coa, I noticed (and i WAS full of $ 5 marg). I’m on to you. I will come back for your $ 5 margaritas and eat your free chips & salsa in hopes of balancing out the universe. But — you can keep your «street food» — at these prices I can only assume the street referred to is 5^th Ave or Savile Row.

COA, how you disappoint me.
We were such good friends when you first opened. You were cute and trendy and had many options for rocks margaritas. You had AMAZING empanadas that I ordered often, both in house and to go. They were flaky and crispy and I had a love affair with them.
You had tasty chips and salsa and we never, ever left unsatisfied.
As Bayshore has picked up popularity, so has your restaurant. Suddenly there were wait times and tons of families and children and your servers got aloof and the whole experience lost something .
But then, COA, then you did something unforgivable — you changed your menu and my precious empanadas were no more. Replaced with some psuedo mexican food — POTATO empanadas that were nothing like the tasty, tasty fried pockets of love I’d so enjoyed before.
And I haven’t been back since.

I’ve been here twice. The first time I ordered chicken tacos, and they were probably the worst chicken tacos I’ve ever had; the second time, I got a chicken & cheese quesadilla, also, a miss for me. Both times I felt like the chicken was quite dry, and tasted mostly charred.
The time that I ordered the quesadilla, I asked for avocado on the side, which the waitress forgot to bring out, and it took her quite a while to come back with it too (the restaurant was not busy, as it was later in the evening on a Wednesday night, and we were the only people sitting in our section!) — then, after my avocado was delivered I realized there was no salt on the table, and it was a long time before she came back to check on us for me to even ask her to bring some!
Pretty disappointing (food and service wise), and for the price you pay — I’d rather go elsewhere for my mexican!

Awwww, I have the sad face looking at the overall ratings for Coa. So sorry you guys didn’t like :(
It’s true, this place does not live up to the «Mexican Street Food» claim, I mean come on, the best hawker stalls have tacos for a buck — this place is charging $ 12! Authenticity? NO. Fun? Yes :)
I went here with hubby for my birthday in December and had such a pleasant experience. We had to wait for our tables for about 10 minutes, and the décor is cool enough and cozy enough that we had absolutely no problem people gazing and lounging for a bit with our sodas (we don’t drink alcohol). Boy were we tempted to ask for a glass of wine that night. Wine just classes it up, Mountain Dew… Not so much…
Our waitress came shortly thereafter, saving us from our wine envy — and seated us at the «tall tables» by the bar. We ordered the 3 tacos with beans and rice. We both ordered the tuna, chicken and steak tacos.
I loved the tuna and the steak tacos. Huge chunks of tuna were used, fried to a pleasant tempura crunch.
I don’t remember any issues with the service, and I do remember we had a great conversation that night! Oh, and the bathroom was just crazy. Uhh, see through doors anyone? At least it felt like it.
This was mostly an atmosphere experience for me, but the food did good also :)
We have been meaning to go back and still have not made it there again. Hopefully in the near future.

Coa is a great place to belly up at the bar — they just added some much needed TVs, which really brings a different atmosphere to the whole place.
I haven’t tried a whole variety of dishes here, but can always rely on one of the best margaritas in Milwaukee. Add a street style taco to the side, a good friend, and you have the perfect Friday night!

Coa is a good restaurant with a large menu and interesting food, such as tinga, that isn’t found at any of the other Mexican places in town. (The only other Mexican restaurant in town that I think has an interesting menu is Riviera Maya in Bay View).
Coa does have its pros and cons. Pro: the homemade chips are the holey, fluffy kind that I just love. They capture the salt in that perfect way, and the salsa is good (but it’s that smoky chipotle kind that some people don’t like. No worries, though, because they’ll bring you whatever you like). Our server brought us some green sauce because I was asking about the heat level on the green enchiladas.
Con: I started with a glass of red sangria, which I thought was just okay. What I really wanted was a margarita, but wouldn’t let myself get one– I was a bit disappointed that they had no actual affordable margaritas on their menu.
Pro: The wine list is decent, though, and I had a perfectly cromulent $ 5.00 pinot grigio with my meal.
Pro: Our group started with the queso fundida, which is served with corn tortillas. That stuff is awesome. Seriously, it’s like crack it’s so good. I can’t stop thinking about it.
For my entrée, I ordered the «poblanos rellenos,» and I was pleased at the flavors and textures. I was surprised that there was just one poblano, as the use of the plural on the menu made me think there would be two (not that I needed more than one, but you know, I was mislead). The others in my group tried various tacos, enchiladas, and the Saturday special, carne asada. Everyone was happy although perhaps not blown away by their meals, with the exception of my friend who adored her ahi tuna taco. The menu is large and interesting, and our server was very attentive and knowledgeable.
I’m wondering this: Are the people who complained about the taste of the food and the «barely noticeable sauces» heat freaks, disappointed that their food lacked spiciness? This seems a gringo complaint to me, as I’m not sure how/​why Mexican food has a reputation of being spicy in the U.S. Actually, very few items in Mexican food are known for being spicy. Something like my stuffed poblano has a lot of flavor but almost zero heat to speak of. I am a heat wimp and in my many trips to Mexico I have never had a problem eating authentic foods because they were too spicy.
The only real cons in my eyes about Coa are the lack of a reasonably priced margarita and the less than generous serving sizes.