This is a hidden gem in deep west TX. The food is beyond description. The bonus was their house made red wine! My only regret was not buying a case of that wine. The wild boar was super tasty. I cannot wait for fall or winter for me to travel and enjoy the amazing cuisine. read more

The first time was okay. Our server was nice but each course took forever and three hours later-we decided not to do the set meal next time. Second time was so bad that we just got up and left after our waitress ignored us. No joke-the table across from us sat down 7 minutes after we did and we watched the waitress bring their drinks, take their order, la la la la....and continue to treat us like we weren't there. I'm not saying this place isn't worth a try-I'm just letting you know it's hit or miss. Since there's not a ton of choices in Marfa, this is what you get. Meh. read more

This was one of the best meals I've ever had. Everything about our experience at Cochineal was perfect. My husband and I were in Marfa to celebrate my husbands birthday and this is where we had his birthday dinner. Wow. We started with the qual medallions. They were delicious! For entrees I had the white fish chowder and my husband had the venison osso bucco. My chowder was so unbelievably good I literally licked the bowl. The osso bucco was also spectacular. For dessert we had the date bread pudding. I would usually not order bread pudding but oh man, this bread pudding was simply out of this world! If they have it and you are there, get it! I can't wait to go back and try other dishes. If you are in Marfa, Cochineal is a must! read more

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I will say first off that the food here was very good. Besides my steak being too rare, everything they served was amazing. However, as another reviewer mentioned, we arrived on time for our reservation but were told to wait in an adjacent "gallery" area where we were ignored for 30 minutes until our table was ready. Once we finally were seated and ate our dinner, our server forgot we existed after giving us our main courses. The service was terrible, and on top of that they added a minimum 20% gratuity that they did not deserve, even though our table was only 2 people. I think some of my issues with this place are indicative of the service/hospitality available in Marfa as a whole, but still. Eh. read more

We cannot talk about the food because we ended up not eating there, but we can speak about our experience. An important part of a fine dining experience is the wait staff, and the host at this restaurant was very rude. Although we had a reservation, they did not have an open table. Instead of apologizing for the mixup, the host was dismissive and apathetic. He told us to wait in an adjacent room for our table, which he said would be just a few minutes. He refused to let us order drinks from the bar and had us shown to the other room where we were given water and menus. After about 30 minutes of waiting, we asked how much longer it would be and were told the table was being cleared--which turned out to be a lie. We asked if we could at least order drinks--no one had bothered to ask if we wanted anything. We felt like we had just been dumped into this other room and were being ignored. On top of that we were hangry! After 45 minutes of waiting and being ignored (we did not even have our drinks yet), our dining experience had become a bad taste, so we took our appetites and our money elsewhere. We will never go back. read more

Horrible horrible service avoid at all costs. Had reservation and the gave it to a walk in , no apologies after 1 hr we left

We had a wonderful seven course prix fixe dinner at Cochineal with the wine pairings. Everything was delicious! We didn't have any problems with service, as others have indicated, and it was a full house the night we went. Definitely, this was our culinary highlight in Marfa. My only complaint was the flies....but they disappeared after sunset so only suggestion would be to make a later dinner reservation if you plan to sit outside. Other than that, I highly recommend having a nice dinner here. read more

This was our favorite restaurant in Marfa. We ate here on our last night in town and were blown away not only by the fact that we found charcuterie and escargot in a tiny west Texas town, but the quality and flavors, exceptional service and ambience felt on par with any restaurant that identifies as a foodie destination back home. Honest to god, that escargot was one of the best things I've had in my life, period. Great selection of wine, and the charcuterie board had a lot of character as it was all regional meats (wild boar pâté, venison sausage, etc). The restaurant is run by a husband and wife and I think it's so amazing that the kitchen is run by a boss lady chef with the help of her husband. My regret is we didn't have room to try more. TAKE A LEAP and order the escargot! You will be blown away. read more

Cochineal - Charcuterie board - New American Near Me - Marfa, Texas

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The perfect restaurant for both celebrating and chilling out. Which we did both of for our 10 yr anniversary dinner. The hostess is a real life angel baby and recommended the vegan vegetable board ( which we now do too- non vegans trust me, it's perfectly grilled veggies and dip so good we asked for seconds. ) loved our server who wasn't typical marfa "too cool" and helped us with the menu, we live in Chicago and treat ourselves to all the best food experiences in the city and this restaurant and clever chef could easily slide right in with our top 5, but why when they are the gem of Marfa?! Highly, enthusiastically recommend this place. What we ordered: Artichoke Hearts Bibb salad Vegan veggie board Ruby Trout ( sustainable from Idaho and so fresh ) No dessert bc the veggie board filled us to the brim, but they sent us a sweet lemon sorbet treat with our espresso anyway and I wanted to hug everyone. Thanks for the great start to our anniversary trip y'all. read more

Cochineal - New American Near Me - Marfa, Texas

Our last meal to end a wonderful vacation in Marfa. I would have never thought there was a restaurant in that exact spot. I've passed it a couple of times and didn't see it. The sign is low key during the day but lights up at night. I like the big outdoor area before walking into the restaurant. The main dinning area is small but nice. I love the decor...bathroom is clean and a good size. read more

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place is tiny with tables way too close. wife and I felt like the tables next to us were part of our party. service was sketchy at best as was food. thn to top it off they added a 20% gratuity on a to top! I am a generous tipper when I receive good service but the amount of my tip should be MY choice! We will not return to this place read more

After spending a few days camping in Big Bend, we did a short stay in Marfa and decided to go out for a nice dinner for my friend's birthday. Our hotel recommended Cochineal and after reading about the chef's recent accolades, we were excited to splurge on a true foodie experience. We opted for the Prix Fixe because we were excited to see what surprises were in store. Unfortunately, our experience fell flat and we walked away feeling duped. As soon as we were no longer paying for the mineral water, our glasses were empty frequently. Our server was not very engaging with our table even though we saw them chatting with others. Our server explained what the first course was to us, but subsequent courses were served without explanation and we weren't sure what we were even eating. The plates were served family style between the four of us, but the amount of food in each course was tiny. Nobody walked away full or with leftovers, as you should when you're paying almost $90/pp. After seeing the restaurant celebrate a birthday at the next table over, we told our waiter that it was my friend's birthday while we she had stepped away. We didn't want to assume that they did something for birthdays but after seeing them do something for another table, we told them. Our server told us that they usually did either a bonus dessert or a complimentary bottle of champagne. My friend's husband picked the champagne. After dessert came out, the server asked if there was anything else we needed, and then brought the check. No acknowledgement of the birthday conversation we had JUST had. It's a shame because the food was delicious. But we walked away feeling outrageously disappointed in the experience. It was not worth what we paid. I guess if you are wearing clothes from Target, expect to be treated a little differently. read more

It's a Sunday night in January so not much is open, so it was between this, bbq, bar food, or pizza. As a vegetarian that means this or cheese pizza and I did not drive 6 hours to eat pizza lol. Cochineal is definitely a pleasant surprise for West Texas. Their menu rotates and this month it's 'Japanuary' The restaurant seemed filled with locals looking for a bit of an upscale bite and Cochineal can deliver. The ambience is great and the food is well done. I ordered the mushroom dumplings (appetizer) which were very good. The broth was excellent. I ended up dumping the broth into my veggie ramen bowl because that broth was quite bland and overall lacked seasoning. If I ordered it again I'd ask for chili sauce to add in. Overall a pretty good experience, not the best food I ever had, but definitely good quality for the area. Glad I stopped by. read more

Cochineal - Bar - New American Near Me - Marfa, Texas

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I wouldn't even rate this place 1 star. Horrible service and food. Do not waste your time when marfa has so much more to offer! They asked if they should clear our plates or leave them.. if you've served at all you should know what to do.. they cleared the plates then never brought back more silverware. I had to eat boar with my hands and then borrow a spoon for my third entree. They never brought more silverware... If you have Miguel or Paul as your server RUN! Ruined everything... not worth your time!!!! Judging by the other comments- don't get pre-select menu like the rest of us.... read more

I came here one pre-pandemic night with a person with whom I was besotted. It was Easter weekend --- though, being a lapsed Catholic myself, this was only brought to my attention the day of. It doesn't matter what we ate. I don't recall every fine detail. I remember that it tasted like being in love. It was very good. Make no mistake. These dishes were gorgeously plated. It's likely the cocktails were of some other dimension and surely contained a series of presumably unpronounceable ingredients culled from a lush desert garden. I remember the gin. I remember the stem of the glass. I remember the service being phenomenal, and that our server was attentive and warm and kind. The interior was sleek and romantic without being pretentious. Go to Marfa and then go here. Take someone you love. Do yourself the favor. read more

My wife and I had dinner at Cochineal. Had made reservations almost 2 weeks ago. I did mention that we are Vegans and they replied that they were aware of that and were looking forward to having us for dinner. We were pretty excited about the possibility of having a special Vegan dinner. Surprisingly there was no special effort and we just ordered from the al carte menu. The ambience was good and they definitely had quite a few vegetarian options but everything we could order was pretty much was deep fried including the potatoes, fried veggies in oily saffron rice, deep fried veggie fritters and even the kale in the vegan rice entree was deep fried. They already included the 20%service charge and still came up with an additional request for the tip!! One of the many reasons people choose to be vegetarian/vegans is to eat healthy and oily food is definitely not a part of healthy eating. Hope they can serve their clients healthier meals if they consider themselves a "fine dining restaurant". read more

Amazing. Delicious. The food is art. The staff is so knowledgeable. You must go here when in Marfa.

Very disappointed with the meal. The service was very slow. Each dish took 20-30 minutes in between. The food was very average tasting and not worth the price. Our drinks and water had been empty for 40 minutes until we had to ask. They took our plate and silverware after a few dishes and never brought us new plates or cutlery so we had a dish sitting there getting cold as we waited for new plates. We had 5 dishes and a dessert but after a two hour meal and $170 later still hungry. The server added 20% tip automatically and she had the nerves to say you can add more if you'll like.. after such awful service. We won't be visiting this restaurant again after such a terrible experience. read more

Cochineal made me eat quail egg... with my mouth! And taste wine... with my tongue! For real though, I had the pre-fixe dinner and drink pairings last weekend and it was one of the best meals I've ever had, and my server was not sticky! They were actually so pleasant and gave us great service. I can't wait to try the next pre-fixe menu. read more

Update of my previous review. It's been a couple years since we came to their Japanese prix fixe dinner. We so appreciate that they have a patio dining and offer a complete 7 course vegan dinner. It's rare that vegans have fine dining options in West Texas. Heck, it's rare to be able to order any non-dairy dessert except sorbet at a restaurant. Their pistachio prickly pear tart is wonderful. As other reviewers have noted, the kitchen is slow, with good reason. The food is labor-intensive, requiring skilled prep with fresh ingredients. Even the pickled ginger was house-made. Have a late lunch, and expect to spend 2-3 hours having a multi- course elegant dinner. read more

The food was fine but the service was off putting. We made late reservations and pre paid. The servers avoided us and were unhelpful when we got there. When we finally got a seat and water it as 9pm, one hour past our reservations. Another two hours for our courses to arrive. The food was ok, nothing amazing. The entree was cold. Our actual waiter was really nice. The hostess and food expediter was exceptionally rude and never told us what dish she was bringing out. We went to several other restaurants in the area, this was by far our least favorite. read more

we did the prix fixe seven course dinner. y'all, it was an experience worth the price tag if you have the time one evening. I'm not sure our servers name, but he was incredible and made the experience that much better. Please keep in mine that you should plan for the meal to take a few hours, and its worth every minute while you watch the sun set. I cant wait to go back read more

Yum! What a treat in Far West Texas! The desert is not somewhere you'd expect to find such fresh flavorful food, but Cochineal had it and they did it well. You know you are eating well when the food is simple yet so delicious. I know I had to go based on the other raving reviews, but I am joining the hype because I too had one of the best meals I've had in a long time. The faro salad was a stunner, delicate chèvre, wilted kale and faro so tender you'd think it was a grain of simpler variety. Ancient grain pasta was also delicious! I appreciate the use of a einkorn flour, something I have baked with myself but haven't seen on a menu before. The pasta was dense but the sauce was light and fresh. A perfect meal to have al fresco after a day in the desert. read more

We finally got a chance to try out the famous Cochineal for my birthday pre-covid lockdown. We got the filet mignon, the bread board, grilled radicchio, and the einkorn pasta square. We really enjoyed everything we had and they surprised us with sticky toffee date pudding at the end of the meal that blew our socks off. Definitely get dessert. The only thing I found odd was that there was no music playing in the dining area which made the experience feel a little uptight and stuffy. We'll definitely be back and maybe try to sit outside or at the bar so we can feel a little more relaxed. read more

Cochineal - Great cocktails - New American Near Me - Marfa, Texas

AMAZING! I've been to the French Laundry and this was better! Every course was divine! The wine pairing was spot on! Come here! Make a reservation. I saw them turn tons away! read more

Waited 3 hours to complete our meal because we were forgotten. We had to stand up and remind the staff 3 times to bring our dishes, and they STILL forgot. You order at the bar and pay in advance ( they add 20% tip), so there's really no incentive for the staff to perform. The plates weren't worth the price. I wish we had eaten at the tried and true, if less adventuresome, "old fashioned" Paisano instead. read more

OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! World class dining in a minimalist gallery! Fabulous wine menu, wonderful service. So inventive and delicious... nothing but the best from this world class chef! Bravo!!! read more

Lovely food, had awful service. I waited about 25 minutes at my table for water, about 45 to get a drink. The server said he'd bring me a cocktail menu which didn't happen, then two wines to taste which didn't happen. The wrong order was put in and then an hour later I was told they didn't have what I ordered. I'm still waiting for my check and finished my meal 30 minutes ago. Again, delicious food, but I would not come back. read more

Excellent food and staff. The antelope schnitzel is amazing. We also really liked the tartar and albondigas. Probably one of the pricier spots in Marfa, but worth it. read more

We had one of the best meals here we've had in SUCH a long time - we wandered in on a bit of a whim without a reservation on a Tuesday night and were seated outside 10 minutes later. We were told to expect slightly slow service as they were extremely busy, but our drinks (Prickly pear margaritas - order one immediately!) were kept filled and they let us know what was happening at every stage. Started with a whole steamed artichoke with some astonishingly delicious dressing and warm bread - followed with a SPECTACULAR spring bouillabaisse and a cheese and asparagus Spatzli (my favourite of ALL the kind of pasta). Everything was beautifully executed - perfectly balanced flavours and textures. The food, small friendly premises and great staff made for a pretty magic evening. Definitely my first port of call when we're next way out West. read more

Ordered the tofu with Brussels sprouts. The tofu was well cooked and had good flavor to it. My favorite part from this dish were the Brussel sprouts. The food is served in a very small portion. I also tried the vegetarian Ramen, I rate it a 10/10. The ramen has a good taste to it, one of the best ramens I've had, being a vegetarian. read more

Cute, super cool friendly staff especially the bartender! foods great, but damn $15 no refill is a bit outrageous

We had a fantastic 7-course meal and experience at Cochineal last Friday night (10/23/21). The food was delicious, the presentation was lovely (without being over-the-top like some tasting menus), and the service was perfect! The best part? The dessert finale was perfection! (but all the courses were terrific.) I highly recommend Cochineal! read more

One of my absolute favorite restaurants when visiting Marfa! If you happen to visit during a time of year that is not too hot then you must sit outside!! Super romantic atmosphere! The Antelope schnitzel is my personal favorite, the staff is professional and If I dare say...very attractive. One of the waiters who I believe is named Henry is very easy on the eyes. :) read more

A hidden gem in west Texas. The only thing that topped the service was the amazing dinner. This was truly a dining experience. Tuck in, relax abs enjoy all of the amazing courses. read more

Horrible service. Don't do the prefix, not worth it. And definitely don't do the wine pairing. We waited an hour for our first course and the wine that was supposed to be paired with each course came late each time. The servers were rude. Don't waste your time. read more

Very unimpressed with Cochineal. Food sounded super-creative but was kind of meh. Of the twelve items ordered by our party of six, my favorite was the bread. And after ordering two courses per person, I didn't depart feeling fulfilled. Our server was really wonderful. The atmosphere comfortable. But for dinner, it doesn't stand close to Stellena, the absolute best dinner option is Marfa. read more

TLDR- true disaster. Let me just start by saying this is my first time ever writing a bad reviews for anything. I'm not a Karen type who gets off on writing bad reviews. My gf and I went here for the New Years Eve Prix Fixe and had hands down the worst restaurant experience of our lives. Like we got straight up bamboozled. We made the grave mistake of showing up to this restaurant hungry. We had a 9:30 seating. For which we'd paid a hefty deposit. We arrived at 930 and were told it would be a 15 minute wait. Then we were told 15 more minutes for the next two hours. By the time we got seated a little after 11PM, we were famished and ready to be served. But oh no. The real wait had just begun. We were hoping that once the first course came, the rest would come out with some regularity. 45 minutes later, we had not received our first course or our drinks. We were thirsty. I went to the bathroom to fill up my water glass. At 1AM, we'd been served three of seven courses. We did the math and realized that finishing the meal would require staying until 3AM. I'm the kind of person who would love to stay up until 3AM for an amazing meal and ambience. But this... was like being asked to stay up to watch a horrible avant-garde play intended give its audience a panic attack. Other tables were getting up and leaving mid-meal without paying their bills. The second hand embarrassment for the staff was palpable. A waiter had tears in her eyes. Almost forgot to mention the food. Each dish was teeny tiny. Which of course is the standard for a prix fixe at a fancy restaurant. But if literally every other professional standard is going to go out the window, you hate to see this one be the one standard that gets followed. Almost every dish was an exotic meat dish, like raw antelope tartare, a wild boar chop or scrape the bone marrow out of the bone yourself kind of thing. Everything we ate was pungent and animal-y. I'm an adventurous eater but I was a little freaked out. We cut our losses and ran. When we walked out around 1:30, we felt like we'd just stepped off a red eye where a baby had been crying the whole time. The relief of escaping this situation was quickly replaced by massive regret. We'd paid $800 for a five hour wait and a few bites of strange food. And walking out the place, all we wanted was a $2 roadside taco to satiate our hunger. read more

The restaurant was super cute, loved the vibe. All of our food was tasty and fresh. Wish there was a little more variety to choose from but I think they switch their menu out w different plates for the season. The signature cocktails are good, a little pricey. But overall, a nice spot to have a relaxing dinner w friends. read more

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I Cochineal and I'll visit every time I'm in Marfa. The food was excellent as always. I only knocked it down a star because my shroom risotto had very few shrooms and because they aren't serving brunch right now which is usually magnifique! I guess my first experiences were so great I have a high bar for them. If I could, I'd do 4.5 stars. read more