Cobb & Co (Taupo, New Zealand)

After a full day in Taupo we were quite hungry and craved for some steak, since it is not as big of a town, there are few choices where you can get one and Cobb & Co was one of them. We came here for an early dinner as we did not have any reservations, just to be sure we can seat before the crowd comes. We parked near the Taupo i-SITE visitor office which is quite convenient since it’s just across the road and there are ample spaces.

As we enter the premises there was a reception that will accommodate you, we were seated for a bit since we did not have any reservations and they will have to find a spare space for us. While we were seated, we saw several plaques where it says they are a New Zealand Angus Pure restaurant, it also states that they only use Angus Pure. A good sign? Well maybe or maybe not, that’s what we are going to find out.

Minutes later the receptionist arrived and placed us in a table below and AC duct, it was cold in there so we asked if we can have another table. We were sent back to the reception as they try to find another suitable place for us. Luckily there was so we did not wait for long. As we sat, we browsed through the menu and what fancied me was that Cobb Carnivore, basically a meat fest, I am sold. We called the server and without thinking twice that’s what I requested along with some other drinks and a salad.

Drinks came in first, pretty standard. We grabbed some coke and an X-Rated Traffic Light (NZ$12.90), basically an adult version of a childhood favourite called traffic light but this one is spiked with a double shot vodka.

Our salad of choice was this Chicken Caesar Salad (NZ$25.90) which is served with Cos leaves, bacon, grilled chicken, parmesan, croutons and free-range dressing, topped with a poached egg. It does not come with anchovies, but you can ask to add then for free. Salad serving was huge, this alone will make you full, lettuce was fresh, croutons was crispy, and chicken was well seasoned and not dry. It was a good salad.

Then came our meaty meal the Cobb Carnivore (NZ$39.90) which I also upgraded to a 400 grams steak. This massive plate is served with 400 grams Premium Angus Pure Sirloin steak with a couple of nice slabs of Cobb’s pork ribs marinated in Southern BBQ sauce. It comes with classic fries and salad. The fries can be upgraded to Curly Fries for an extra (NZ$2.50) which we did too.

Now let’s dissect this. Starting with the fries. This one was great, crispy, nice coating, no issues in this department. Just and honest to goodness curly fries. Salad was good too, nice touch to a very meaty dish, trust me you will need this side. Pork ribs was good as well, nicely seasoned, sweet and smoky, fall of the bone tender, comes out of the bone really clean, we loved the ribs. Now lest go to the steak, to say the least I was disappointed, it was tough, even though we ordered medium, it was more like nearly well done, if they are using a good quality Angus beef then they ruined that nice cut of meat. I know it’s just rump steak, but I tried other rump steaks that are way much tender than this one, I can make a better version of this at home. Oh well, that my fault not doing my research before eating here as they get average rating on most review sites. I guess maybe next time I will ask them to make it rare, that might solve the toughness issue, but so far that was our experience at this place.

Overall service was good, the server smiles every time they interact with us and they took care most of our request. Place was huge, good for a family event, in fact we saw several birthdays when we were here. As for the food, ribs and salad was great but not the rump steak, not good as they might tarnish the brand New Zealand Angus Pure, especially when it’s located in a tourist spot like Taupo.

Cobb & Co. Taupo
Address: 29 Tongariro Street, Taupo 3330, New Zealand
Phone: +647 377 1112
Website: https://www.cobb.co.nz/home/taupo/