Cosmo is a chain of all you can eat buffet restaurants across the UK. In fact, according to their website, there are 21 and counting so chances are, many of you have been before. I hadn’t. In fact, I’m pretty surprised at myself for accepting the PR invite to go and try the Bristol restaurant. It’s not really my usual thing.
Why go?
I was intrigued. I’ve walked past the Bristol Cosmo so many times and it’s always been busy. I thought it would be a good place to eat with our 1.5 year old and was interested to see for myself what all the fuss is about. Cue last saturday…
Now that I’ve been, I can totally see why all you can eat buffet restaurants appeal. And Cosmo is certainly one of the nicer looking versions. With a baby in tow (fortunately one who eats everything!) we were all well-catered for. There were plenty of things he could eat and we could have easily taken our own food in for him too.
I can imagine too, that this is a perfect spot for large groups and family gatherings spanning the generations. Regardless of who eats what, there’s something for you all to try. My only caveat there is that I didn’t really see much for vegans and I am unsure how much of the food was gluten free.
To drink
As well as refillable soft drinks, there’s a bar in house and a cocktail menu. Dave went for a passionfruit martini which comes with a shot of prosecco (that amused us). The martini was nice, really fruity and a little too easy drinking! I was driving so coke for me but next time I’ll definitely go for a cocktail.
Global dishes?
There’s no denying that there’s plenty to choose from, Some of it was great, some of it not so good. On the whole though, I was pleasantly surprised and soon got into the swing of it, heading up a few times to try a bit of everything.
Cosmo touts itself as a ‘world buffet’ but the vast majority of food on offer was English-style Chinese with some Indian dishes too. There was also pizza, a teppanyaki cooking station and sushi.
For flavours closer to home, there’s a carvery section but on the day we went, it wasn’t open, instead featuring bain maries full of English breakfast items – beans, sausages, bacon etc…
‘World of Asia’
The ‘World of Asia’ section is most definitely what you’d see on most Chinese takeaway menus with a smattering of Japanese dishes thrown in. I’m not complaining – I love Chinese takeaway and Dave’s not keen so I don’t get to have it that often. There was plenty to choose from too – satay chicken, chicken and vegetables in kung pao sauce, crispy duck pancakes, char siu and prawn toast among the offering.
The char siu was good, tender and flavourful. We both had seconds. The satay chicken on the other hand? Dry as old boots. No amount of sauce was saving that poor chicken and I doubt it was just from sitting in the bain marie for a while.
Back to the positives, other highlights were the salt and pepper chilli squid and five spice prawns (and yes, I made a couple of repeat trips!).
Indian food
We had no complaints about the Indian dishes. Chicken korma, chana dal, fresh naan and smoky tandoori chicken were all delicious. They their naans fresh on a tandoor and you could really taste the char. Perfect for mopping up the sweet, coconutty sauce which our little boy also enjoyed a taste of.
The chana dal had a surprising heat to it which I really enjoyed too. That smoky tomato sauce was delicious – again, mopped up with the naan.
Something extra
There are a few live cooking stations at Cosmo. Teppanyaki, Carvery and Tandoor. These are open during the evenings although the Teppanyaki grill was up and running when we were there on a Saturday lunchtime. We tried some octopus and gyoza. They were a bit disappointing to be honest so I would probably suggest waiting until the evening when it’s all properly up and running.
Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for long enough, you’ll know that I don’t have a sweet tooth but Dave really does. So, he was in his element when it came to pudding time! There was loads to choose from, including various cheesecakes, ice cream, chocolate fondue and even a pick n mix station. He was really impressed with the strawberry cheesecake and our boy woolfed a sizable bowl of bananas and custard. Zero complaints there!
Final thoughts
We were at Cosmo on a Saturday afternoon, a time when they don’t have any offers (check these out here) on but you’d expect it to be busy. It was fairly full but didn’t feel crowded. I’d imagined hoards of people lining up to load plate after plate high with greasy food from grimy platters. After all, isn’t that what people do at all you can eat buffet restaurants? Nope, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The serving areas were kept clean, refilled frequently and everything was clearly labelled (with allergy info too). People were milling around but we had no trouble selecting our food. No one was pushing or shoving, it was actually very civilised.
We are blessed with so much great food here in Bristol (and that may not be the case elsewhere) that next time we have a babysitter I don’t think Dave and I will be dashing to book a table. However, I am pretty confident that we will be there again, most likely in a family group. It’s the perfect place to take your nan, your kids, your fussy uncle.
On balance, I would say we had a positive experience. The staff were great. Really friendly and helpful. Cosmo impressed me and blasted all those negative stereotypical views I held about all you can eat buffet restaurants.
*We were invited to try Cosmo in Bristol and did not pay for our meal, however, all opinions are my own as always*