In sleepy Mill Valley, a surprisingly quality land-to-sea newcomer: Coho
We step inside Coho, a sustainable seafood eatery inspired by the California coast
No one was more surprised than me to find a standout new restaurant, one even worth crossing the bridge for, in sleepy, idyllic Mill Valley. Marin County is infamously talked about amongst many of my industry and food obsessed colleagues as the one subpar food county in all the Bay Area. Despite Marin’s many food gems, we’re talking a few dozen over the entire county vs. the endless hundreds (or in SF, thousands) of food greats from Sonoma County to the Peninsula.
So January 2023 newcomer Coho was a real surprise, almost exclusively dedicated to sustainable seafood and seasonal vegetables from the California coast, local fishermen, butchers, farmers and two of San Francisco’s best seafood wholesalers: Water2Table and TwoXSea.
I entered Coho on a sunny weeknight in the middle of one of my annual spirits judging awards weeks for global competitions — ADI International Craft Spirits Competition — held in Tiburon every year with judges flying in from around the world. I was staying in Marin all week to judge and brought one of my dearest friends from England who flew out for the judging. We cozied up in a teal blue banquette in the chic ROY Hospitality-designed space, rife with outdoor light, cool white ceiling and of-the-sea blues, a little soft blue bar glowing from the back of the dining room.
Especially chic for Mill Valley’s mountain town vibe, Coho immediately stands out on design alone, but has sweet roots in the small town. Cousins and business partners Felicia Ferguson and Luigi Petrone grew up and worked at neighboring Piazza D’Angelo, a Mill Valley Italian trattoria classic opened by their fathers in 1980, Domenico and Paolo Petrone. The brothers moved to Mill Valley from Italy’s Calabria region back then, while Felicia and Luigi took over at their restaurant a few years ago, with a vision to open Coho. They brought on chef and partner David Kornell, who hails from Rockland County, New York, cooked in NYC and helped open several Blue Ribbon Restaurants concepts across the U.S. and in London.
While all this sounded good, it being Marin, my expectations were tempered. My friend and I started off light and clean with a gently spicy kanpachi crudo in turnips, habanero vinaigrette, blood orange, pomelo and mandarin citrus segments.
Happily, I saw three creative salads on the menu, which California always does better than anywhere in the world (oh, the sad salads I’ve had at some thousands of restaurants globally). I ordered a Triple T Ranch and Farm pea shoot salad, which our kind server described as “interactive.” He wasn’t kidding. It arrived as a full-on garden of pea shoots springing up from a dirt base with fancy shears to cut the shoots. We dipped the crisp, uber-fresh shoots in a lively, whipped carrot dressing laced with sunflower crumble. We laughed at the childlike, elemental feel of cutting and eating “grass” tableside. It all gets a bit messy, but the staff cleaned the table as they gathered up our remaining clippings.
I had to order both Russian/Eastern European dishes on the menu, adoring modern takes on these cuisines (case in point: SF’s Birch & Rye). Chef Kornell’s warm pierogi packed with whipped potatoes, caramelized onions and local Foggy Morning cheese did not disappoint, appropriately accompanied by Straus sour cream and salmon roe. Same goes for a nurturing bowl of Spring borscht, the bright beets and cabbage enhanced with local Brickmaiden rye croutons and dill crema on the side.
After these highlights, often less-exciting larger plates were equally special. Honey mustard-glazed black cod was sheer silky deliciousness, partnered with grilled asparagus in maple tahini vinaigrette and nicely charred white sweet potato. Dungeness crab noodles are delicate egg noodles generously doused in the last-of-the-season local crab, spinach and garlic clove slivers, with an optional side of scorching Lucento chili sauce, which I, of course, opted for. Leftover noodles tasted beautiful even cold in my hotel the next day, fiery with garlic and chilies.
The wine list is a more expected list of NorCal favorites like Schramsberg Brut alongside French, Austrian, New Zealand and Willamette Valley by-the-glass wines. But some of the cocktails were unexpectedly standout… again, not a common occurrence in Marin County. While the signature Coho cocktail (Secret Garden Distillery’s Herb Garden Gin, pink elderflower, Cocchi Americano aperitif wine, lemon oil) was too sweet for me, Smoke On The Water was a pleasing, tart, aromatic blend of Illegal mezcal, Génépy, Aperol and makrut lime served rosy-pink in a coupe glass. Cascade Canyon was the most skillful cocktail, combining a seeming clash of Mezcal Vago, California Fernet, Green Chartreuse, Cocchi di Torino and amontillado sherry with layered, herbaceous, earthy, sophisticated results.
It was insane to opt for dessert after all that, but we gleefully tasted key lime custard/curd in a bowl with coconut cream, mochi rice, little meringues and coconut cookie crumble, taking the rest home for breakfast. As a lifelong key lime pie connoisseur (my Dad and I share that passion), it wasn’t quite as tart as I wanted, but it was still fun. Pretty much not into cake since childhood, I was shocked to find their moist spiced molasses cake was my dessert of choice, dotted with chantilly cream, huckleberry sauce, creme Anglaise and the right crunchy-salty contrast of salted sugar pecans.
At Coho, we could have been in San Francisco. But we were in Mill Valley. My friend from England marveled at things she’d never had before, including that one-of-a-kind pea shoot garden we groomed together and the modern Russian/Eastern European dishes (more in that direction, please). Restaurants of such savvy dot rural, neighboring Sonoma and Napa Counties by the dozens, but less so across suburban Marin. Coho could be in the City because it’s smart, current, fresh and locally representative. Lucky Mill Valley is now home to this classy little charmer that still feels like a cozy neighborhood gathering place.
// 106 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley; www.cohomv.com
Virginia Miller is a San Francisco-based food & drink writer.
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