Fantastic location ! The old Royal Cola plant ! It's been tastefully remodeled with great use of this space; including two garage doors that open for a nice breeze. It makes you feel like you are dining alfresco ! Wonderful fare and their signature desert is a must have read more

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We went here because we've been wanting to try it, but it would be a good place for a birthday or anniversary dinner. The food was excellent and we didnt have any drinks but the drink menu looked good too. read more

Cola's - We had the chicken parmigiana and chicken milanese. They were both very good. - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

The food was but a bit disappointed. I got the Tuna and asked if they could swap out the rice with some veggies. When the bill came they up-charged me for replacing the rice with steamed asparagus. Btw my tuna was ice cold int he middle so I put it on top of the veggies to warm through. I ordered a Mule and I got up-charged for ginger beer. I then left cause I was afraid I would be up-charged to use the bathrooms Stupid thing like this keep me from going back to places. read more

We had a spectacular dinner at Cola's last night. We went to a party at a place down the street, and this is my Charlestonian Sister's favorite Columbia restaurant. We had a drink at the bar while waiting for a table for 20 minutes or so, and were seated at a booth near the bar. The ambiance at Cola's is cool and eclectic, and the exact mix of upscale casual that we enjoy. We started with a dozen oysters Rockefeller that were perfectly cooked. For dinner, I ordered the Whole Flounder with no rice, my SO had the Cornmeal crusted trout, and my sister had the Chicken Milanese. Everything was absolutely incredible. I used to work for a restaurant that served the whole flounder with the apricot sauce, and it was magnificently executed here! My SO is still raving about the trout and the shrimp and bacon potato hash. The portions are large as well, so we brought a few things home with us. I wish we had saved room for dessert, because I love the Almond Basket. The service last night was phenomenal. Our waiter was very attentive to us, even though it was a little chaotic (friends kept stopping by our table to chat and sit down and it was probably a tad bit rowdier than we intended to be). Zach was the epitome of a professional server and took amazing care of us, even though there were some strange requests. We will be happy to dine here again and again, and are so glad they are still rocking in the Vista. Thanks Cola's for a wonderful evening. If you haven't been, GO! read more

Y'all are too expensive for your food to be this unseasonedI don't recommend! ---try adding some salt and pepper maybe.

Everything was delicious! Strawberry mojito mocktail, pulled pork egg rolls with amazing sauce, beet salad, crab cakes, and husband had the hamburger. All amazing and could not recommend this place higher. Just wish we lived closer so we could enjoy more often. We will be back eventually! read more

My boyfriend and I were looking for a high scale place that was still within our budget to celebrate my birthday. After looking at multiple options we decided to try Cola's for the first time. We ordered the Pimento Cheese Board as our appetizer to start. It was AMAZING! For entrees, we chose the Spice Rubbed Chicken and the Braised Beef. I subbed mac n cheese for one of my sides, it was hands down some of the best Mac n cheese I have ever tasted. We had to wear masks in the lobby and tables were socially distant. Our server, Cameron was nice and funny. I especially enjoyed the dim lighting and classy ambiance. read more

Cola's - Braised Beef - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Fantastic food, service and drinks! The best business casual dining experience you can get in Columbia.

Came on a Wednesday night, was seated right away because the place was quite empty. They had the giant windows open, which created a nice breeze and the restaurant itself is gorgeous. However I was blown away by the prices and lack of pizzazz on the menu. Nothing stood out to me, nothing made me say "wow that sounds fantastic". I can get steak and potato anywhere, the prices and lack of creativity made it seem a bit pretentious. So I ended up spending more time trying to figure out which protein came with the most sides. I ended up with the cedar plank salmon. When it came out, again I was taken aback at how small my portion was. To make matters worse it was presented on a very large plate, making it seem even smaller. But, the saving grace is that the salmon was good. It was moist, with perfect texture and had a very nice sweetness to it. The sides seemed to be more of a garnish, since I did not get many. The salmon saved my review from being lower than three stars. Sure it was not anywhere near large enough for me, but it was great. read more

Cola's - Cedar plank salmon - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

A little hard to find parking, but there are assigned spots in the alley. Great atmosphere. Nice decor. Friendly and prompt service. Clean. Food was good but not extraordinary. Mojito was weak; just a sprinkle of mint on top (not muddled.) read more

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Great atmosphere. Was served with a smile and food was good. We had the salmon and shrimp and grits.

Cola's has become a staple. Fun fact, if you were in Columbia when Garibaldi's was opened in 5 points, it's the same owner. So you KNOW it's good. I love to get seafood at Cola's - which normally I am a "only seafood at the coast" kind of person. Their lobster mac is special and a must try. I recommend sitting at the bar for a date. It's fun, there's great cocktails, you can share delicious apps. I also love how they can open the windows by the street when we are having nice weather. Cola's is also a crowd pleaser. It's my go to recommendation when you need reservations for a larger group with varying pallets. read more

We chose to dine here before a recent concert. The staff asked when we arrived if we were headed to the show. They wanted to make sure they were able to get us in and out. We had a table by the retractable windows facing Assembly street near the bar. The ambiance was upbeat and perfect for a Friday night. Our server was great. Checking on some menu items with the chef as I have food allergies. We ordered 1. Burger- it was amazing. Delicious fries to boot. 2. Grilled Pork Tenderloin- very good, great presentation. 3. Beef Short Ribs- Again, delicious. 4. Toffee Cheesecake- it was so good! 5. Chocolate Torte- not too dense, really excellent. We really had an all around great experience. Food, Ambiance and Service. I'd highly recommend dining at Cola's. read more

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Nice restaurant, although it's dark from the outside it was hard to tell they were open with the low lights and dark windows. Our waiter had all the specials memorized which amazed me. We both had the oyster chowder and bread, and they did not skimp on oysters. I had the softshell crab which was tasty. read more

Cola's - Softshell crab special thirty something dollars - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

One of my friends and I decided Cola's would be our first stop on ladies night and it was a great choice! We were able to make reservations pretty late in the day for a 5:45pm dinner table. When we walked in we were quickly seated and our waitress immediately walked up and greeted us. She informed us of all the specials and we ordered drinks. I ordered the raspberry lemonade and it was amazing. If you like fruity and sweet cocktails this one is for you. We then ordered our appetizers to include the BBQ pulled pork eggrolls and the fried deviled eggs. They were both delish and I would definitely order both of them again. We ended our night with apps and drinks at Colas because we had multiple other places on our list to visit. However, the food and service were both amazing. Cola's doesn't disappoint! read more

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Amazing food and great service! We arrived a little early and decided to wait at the bar. The bartender was amazing. Next time we plan f to just sit at the bar for dinner. read more

One word: DELICIOUS! Came here for a work dinner and enjoyed every part of my meal. I ordered the items below: Drink: Blueberry Mojito Appetizer - Crab cake Main Dish - Filet Mignon Dessert - Chocolate mousse The drink was perfect, not to sweet or strong. They didn't hold out on the crab in the crab cake and the relish & corn sauce really topped it off. My steak was cooked to a perfect Medium and was well seasoned (fingerling potatoes and green beans were bomb and garlicky too). And my dessert was good too - fluffy mousse cake as expected. Very chocolatey. Service was excellent and friendly. It was a large party coming in at different times and they accommodated us very well. Unfortunately I have no pics of anything. Just know it was great! read more

Walked on tonight with an unconfirmed reservation. The place was pretty empty. Very empty bar... we're told we could not be accommodated for an hour and 30 minutes despite the open tables. Apparently some kind of dinner party. Very unpleasant hostess!! read more

Walked in on a Saturday at 5:30pm without a reservation and they were kind enough to work in a table for two. Joshua was our server and he was knowledgable and helpful throughout our evening and made me feel right at home. I always enjoy their BBQ egg rolls (sounds strange, just try it) and placed an appetizer order of those along with an appetizer of seared scallops and fried polenta. The egg rolls were savory as always and my friend enjoyed the scallops so much (they really are tasty) he decided to order the entree version for his meal. I had the 16oz New York strip with gorgonzola. It was paired with roasted mushrooms and creamed spinach. Only two things would have my experience a perfect five stars; 1/3 of my steak was fat and gristle and the creamed spinach was undesirable and lacked anything unique. The ambiance is delightful and the staff could not be more friendly and professional. I enjoy coming here and will be back! read more

Cola's - This is the portion of my steak (1/3 of it) that was inedible. The rest was delicious. - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Definitely my new favorite in town. The food was delicious, well presented and well sized. I had the spiced chicken and it was great. The atmosphere and the decoration was tasteful. Other tables food looked great too, we will definitely come back. read more

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I remember when this was John Paul's, which was excellent. Colas keeps that tradition with excellent service, super clean and tastefully simple appearance and food that justifies the cost. We sat at the bar, due to reservations booking the place out. No matter though, they brought place settings for us to use and served us like anyone. The procession of dinner was coconut shrimp, then Tilapia in a cream base. The shrimp was served with two glazes. A sweet sauce of I know not what and a citrus base. The shrimp were large enough to order only that for dinner if just for one, however, it's date night so we split a serving of Tilapia. They breaded that in house, just before cooking it. It was a great experience. To save time (was attending a show just afterwards) had dessert there instead of Nonnahs (personal fav). Good decision too, the coffee ice cream was very good. All around good decision. Have some cash though, reasonable price for the quality still isn't cheap! read more

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Something new to note: Cola's is now open for lunch. This is the first time they've done this. I have friends that wait there, and was told their goal is to have people in and out in under an hour. Since they are located in the BID (Business Improvement District) I had a heads up on when they were officially opening for lunch. We were the 2nd table to ever be served lunch :) there should be some yelp award for that. ;) At any rate, the quality of food was as always on point. I couldn't bring myself to go from a 5 to a 4.... But if I did, it would have only Ben based on price. See pictures for menu and what we ordered, and even my timer from the time we sat down until the time we got our credit card back :) Service as always was great (and we had a waiter that I didn't know, so no preferential treatment at all). If you like dirty martini's, I suggest a Tito's with Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives. read more

Cola's - Ditto Tito's Martini and a Caesar salad. This is only the beginning. - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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This is my favorite restaurant in Columbia. At this point, we've tried many restaurants and sadly none have come even close to our experience at Cola's. I typically always get the same dish - Sesame Crusted Yellowfin Tuna. It's a seared piece of sushi grade tuna that melts in your mouth. As an appetizer, we usually share the scallops and polenta fries - I eat the scallops, my partner the fries... yum! Their fondue and berry preserve appetizer is also very good, as is the fried green tomato salad. Dessert for me usually consists of an Almond Basket, a delicious bowl made of almonds and sugar, filled with vanilla ice cream and berries. read more

Poor customer service, and the food is not good. I would recommend Longhorn over them.

This was our first time going to Cola's. We had heard great things and it definitely lived up to our expectations. The atmosphere was light and comfortable. The service was prompt and professional. Our entire table ordered off the seafood portion of the menu and everything was delicious. We look forward to going back and trying out more of the menu. read more

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This is mine and my husband's favorite date night spot. The food is amazing, and the atmosphere is perfect for a date night.

Service was friendly and attentive at the bar. It was my third time dining here and third time ordering the flash fried Flounder. It's outstanding I'm only rating this experience three stars (avg) because (1) the toasted bread slices that accompanied the fresh Mussel appetizer were placed in the dish subsequently the toast was so soggy it was unpleasant (2) a warm or cold moist towel provided with the Mussels would have been really helpful as they were super messy (3) no bread or roll was served with the wonderful Flounder so I ordered a roll. It was served half frozen half soggy and so rubbery I took one bit and spit it out and (4) the lemon wedge was so tiny for this massive whole fish dish. read more

Very solid dining experience ! Oysters Rockefeller were excellent. Brick Chicken was very good with sizable portion. Son had chicken Milanese which he liked a lot. Good ambiance given the epidemic! read more

What a great place for a date night! The atmosphere is very enjoyable. In fact. The second we sat down by the window (which was a fancy garage door), my husband said "yea, I like it here." The service we received was nothing special but good nonetheless, as our server made sure drinks were filled and that everything was delivered to our table in a timely manner. We went back and forth about which appetizer to try and ended up getting the pan seared shrimp dumplings. I wasn't impressed with them, but then again I'm half Asian and my dumpling record can be intimidating to most. The citrus soy sauce it was served with was actually the best part! I expected a usual pony sauce to be served with it, but it was lime juice squeezed into soy sauce with a sweetness added. You could even see the pulp and it was delightful. For our entrèes, my husband ordered the Braised Beef and I ordered the Filet Mignon, after our server claimed they were the most popular meats to choose from. They braise the beef for 2 days, so the tenderness of the meat is unbelievable! My filet mignon was some of the best I've ever had, bursting with flavor that melted in your mouth. This may sound silly, but the most memorable item on my plate were the onion rings. My husband doesn't even like onion rings and he literally said "that is the best one I've ever had and I could eat a whole plate of those." The batter they use for those are delicious and fried to perfection! read more

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Colas was amazing. I came alone and luckily found a single spot at the bar. Harvey was behind the bar and was friendly, patient, kind and excellent when it came to recommendations. All the praise to Harvey! I ordered the braised beef with carrots and rosemary grits. The meat was cured for 3 days and smoked for 8 hours. Carrots were crisp and fresh and grits were rich and full of flavor. One of the best decisions I have ever made- so thank you Harvey, again! I am from out of town and will return when I come back to Columbia! read more

I absolutely love Cola's. It's always a fun dining experience and you can't beat their food. I really love the pasta primavera with Parmesan crusted chicken - it's to die for! read more

Food is good, but terribly overpriced. Surprisingly there were no free nachos and salsa. You can purchase them, but why not just go somewhere else. It's a young person's place with overpriced drinks, and so noisy you have to yell to be heard. read more

Their seafood special was just amazing. They never cease to impress! Can't wait to go back. Their specialty cocktails are always spot on. Thank you! read more

Cola's is a wonderful place to have dinner in the heart of Columbia. It's worth the wait if you're lucky enough to get a reservation. We were fortunate to be able to have a family get together for birthdays in July and the food was magnificent. Andrew made our evening perfect. Our servers Wally and Stacy were attentive and helpful all evening. The filet will melt in your mouth with a creamy gravy as the perfect accompaniment. The BBQ salmon and crab cakes are flavorful and fresh. Order the Cola salad if you like blue cheese! For dessert the crem brûlée and raspberry sorbet with fresh berries are hard to beat, especially in this Carolina heat. So reserve a seat today at the wonderful Cola's. read more

We have not been to Cola's in quite a while, but it was just as good as we remembered! Amy, our server, went above and beyond to be helpful and attentive, but not hovering or bothersome. I had on a black blouse, and she even came back to the table to exchange my white napkin for a black one after we sat down, as she said others had noted that their white linens left lint on dark clothes. Talk about attention to detail!! The food was wonderful as always. We had the raw oyster special and Crispy Deviled Eggs to start. Both were tasty, though I would say that frying the egg whites made them a bit chewy and I'm not sure I would get that app again. Dinners were both perfect - we had the Corvina and the Blackened Mahi specials. And Dusty helped us find the perfect wine to accompany it. No room for dessert, though there were many that looked yummy. We will be back! read more

Service is my focus followed by great food. The service we received from Colas management was subpar for the type of establishment they are. We spent +$600 and they were the most unaccomodating in seating my corporate team of 13 together from the start. They made us make two separate reservations to even host us a MONTH IN ADVANCE. We did so with the request to sit close to each other. We arrive and they have us in separate rooms. We asked if there was any way to sit us close together given the ample number of open tables. Their answer "we're all booked... Those folks requested a table of 9... We have regulars that submit reservations for specific booths..." Every excuse was given. The first 6 sat in the front of the restaurant and us 7 sat in a back room. There were 3 open tables the whole 2.5 hours we were there... Service varied greatly from front of restaurant to the back. The front got bread, fresh silverware everytime, and fast and attentive service. Great overall! While us in the back received okay service. Our server took our drink order in waves... He couldn't wait for us all. Never brought bread, it took forever to get our food, forgot to bring dessert plates, etc... We spent +600 and were treated in a very unaccomodating manner. The food.... The entrees were great! Highly recommend the flounder, steaks and scallops. My blackened chicken primavera in parmesan sauce is good. Fried zucchini is excellent! My colleagues said the oil served with the bread is great... I don't know. Desserts were excelente! The Almond Basket is the winner! read more

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Really wish I could give it 4.5 stars because it deserves it. Beautiful place! As soon as you walk in you realize you're in for a treat. Some might say its kinda loud in there but I say loud is in some cases a sign of a good restaurant(due to crowd noise of course). It was a beautiful night out and they had the doors up which let in some October night air which was a definite bonus. Service was fantastic! Our waiter was very attentive but would never hover if we were in midconversation or interrupt. We started with the beef carpaccio app along with the scallops app. Both were flawless as were our entrees. I had the almond crusted tilapia with the pecan butter sweet potato and shrimp, best tilapia I've ever had and the sweet potato was up there too! She had the 8oz Filet and despite my meal being wonderful I was still somehow jealous of hers. It was prepared perfectly which isn't easy to do especially the type of cut that it was(Barrell cut). Overall very very pleasant experience. Will certainly go back. read more

Cola's - Almond crusted tilapia after one delicious bite :-) - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Great place in the heart of the city. Be sure to check out the crispy whole flounder and the roasted beet salad. This group has been serving up great food and big city ambiance for decades in their other restaurant ventures (Garibaldi). Cheers! read more

Cola's - New American Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Really disappointed in my choice at Cola's. I was assured the tuna was sashimi grade and would have no sinew. The tuna was uncutable*! The waiter removed my plate and went to have the chef prepare another piece of tuna for me. The manager came by and apologized. By the time the manager brought out the second piece of tuna my dining companion had completed her meal. The manager said he wanted to wait while I cut into the tuna to make sure it was okay. Well, this piece had even more sinew! The manager offered to bring something else but I decided against that option. I gave Cola's two stars due to the waiter's and manager's attentiveness to the problem. I will return and try something different. * a new word that I particularly like. read more

Cola's restaurants is a place where culinary arts comes and conquers, where money is always well spent, and where nights out become lasting memories. The staff front of house is always polite, friendly, and interested in your needs! And the back of house are some of the most gifted chefs, grill guys, and even fry boys in the city of Columbia! If I could give this cola's restaurant more stars and more Prays I would! I will continue recommend cola's as the best eats Columbia has to offer! "Bop it boy's" it's been a honor! read more