When Cody Couch and Jonathan Smartt, co-owners of Cody’s Restaurant, Bar & Patio in San Marcos, heard about an opportunity to open in a downtown New Braunfels spot, they said they jumped at the opportunity.
The location—most recently occupied by the Italian restaurant 188 South, which closed at the end of July—proved to be a smooth transition, as some staff stayed on to work in the new venture. Smartt, who is also the chef, said the New Braunfels location showcases the evolution of where the restaurant has landed in terms of its unique, modern fare.
“Cody’s started out with a simple menu of pita sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and flatbread pizzas. It took us five or six years of experimenting after we opened to kind of get a true identity with our food and cocktails,” Smartt said. “So that led us toward trying to find ingredients and create menu items you couldn’t get in this area. The evolution of that is you see us drying our own meats, importing beef from Japan.”
Smartt said after those experimental years, they landed on a steakhouse-styled menu with Asian influences. The yellowfin brie, for instance, is a yellowfin tuna tataki—lightly seared tuna with citrus, soy and ginger—with tempura fried brie cheese and toasted chili pepitas.
