Yuanyuan F.
Yelp
--------Updates------------
I had brunch here today and was underwhelmed. CO-OP's brunch is at best mediocre yet overpriced. Therefore, I take off one star from my previous review of my dinner experience.
We ordered CO-OP salad (adding half of an avocado for extra $3) and Spanish omelet. I know CO-OP aims to be high-end, but their brunch is only high-end in terms of pricing. The dishes have little visual presentation (see my photos), which is below my expectation. They have small portion size, I was okay with it but my partner was not full.
The salad is light (which I like) but very boring with limited ingredients, you can get much better salads from sweetgreen for less than $10. The omelet is decent according to my partner. Drinks are pricy, so we end up with a check of $40+ before tax for a mediocre brunch. With all the great breakfast/brunch choices in the city, their breakfast/brunch just doesn't stand out.
However, I do recommend their dinner (see my review below).
--------Dinner Review--------
It was a delight to dine at CO-OP, a newly opened upscale restaurant literally on Drexel University campus. My partner and I came here around 6 pm on Tuesday (6/6/2017) for a celebration dinner and there were only a few tables of customers. It seems no reservation needed (for now), but the place was filled up to 60% as we enjoyed our dinner.
We shared the Spanish Rock Octopus (with buttermilk grits, chorizo, and fennels) as our appetizer. It was a lovely savory bowl -- chewy octopus, thin-sliced chorizo, and creamy grits -- that nicely started our meal.
For the main course, I had Mahi-Mahi (with white asparagus and couscous) and my partner had Crab Fettuccini (with asparagus, mushrooms, and basil pesto). The fish that I had was slightly salty (I prefer low-sodium diet), but the asparagus and couscous were perfectly cooked and the dish was decorated with roes. I tried the pasta that my partner ordered, it tasted great, though the shape of fettuccini was different from regular fettuccini.
Overall, CO-OP offers decent dinner dishes with beautiful visual presentations, a must for an upscale place. Service is above average but seems slightly understaffed (for now). The price for a light dinner is around $40/person, which is fairly pricy in University City.
I haven't tried the breakfast/brunch here but are willing to try. I will only consider this place for special occasions.