My husband and I were long overdue a date night, so when COSMO invited me to join them for dinner, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Situated right in the heart of Bournemouth town centre, COSMO offers an all you can eat buffet experience from cuisines across the globe. With more than 150 freshly prepared dishes, you certainly won’t go hungry. I entered COSMO with a rumbling tummy, and left having to undo the button on my skinny jeans. TOP TIP: Do not wear tight clothing, it’s a waste of good food. A loose fitting dress, leggings or comfy jeans will be my outfit of choice for my next visit!
We dined at 7pm and it was extremely busy when we arrived. I was a bit nervous as to what this would mean for our dining experience… Would it be too noisy? Would we have to wait ages for food? Would the food be warm? But I needn’t had worried. We were sat in a cosy side booth, and the atmosphere was buzzing. I really liked the décor too – chic, modern and most importantly clean. The staff did a fantastic job of clearing away plates and keeping the food areas tidy, with hand sanitisers at each of the food stations. To avoid the family rush, I would recommend going a little later, say 8pm.
Even the most fussy of eaters will find something to suit their tastes. Italian, Asian, Japanese, British, French – COSMO offers an eclectic range of dishes. I went straight for my favourite – crispy duck pancakes. To my disappointment the tray was empty when I got there, but a chef quickly brought out a fresh one, and it was worth the very short wait. I also tucked into chicken gyozas, dim sum and spring rolls – all delicious. My next course was some of my favourite Chinese dishes: sweet and sour chicken, Thai fried rice, mushrooms with oyster sauce and chow mein, all of which were extremely tasty. My husband chose Indian and feasted on chicken tikka, chicken korma, onion bhajis and katsu chicken, which he extremely enjoyed. There’s an teppanyaki section too, where chefs cook fresh prawns, beef, and steak right in front of you. My husband had the steak and said it was cooked just how he liked it.
Now I am a huge dessert fan. So much so that whenever we go out to dinner I always read the dessert menu first. Having overindulged at Easter, I convinced myself I would go easy on the desserts. But as soon as I laid eyes on the chocolate fountain, the chocoholic in me could not say no. I turned into a child, soft serve ice-cream with spoonfuls of swiss milk chocolate from the fountain. (I did resist the marshmallows to add on top). The chocolate was so smooth and utterly delicious. I also sampled a selection of cheesecakes and cakes. My husband had the churros, which he said were very tasty.
I had a glass of wine with my meal – there were only two whites to choose from, which in hindsight is probably a good thing when you have so much food to choose from. They have classic cocktails, beers and ales on offer too.
If you like a more relaxed dining experience and being waited on, COSMO probably isn’t for you. But we had a lovely evening and will definitely return. And for £20.99 (Friday-Sunday), COSMO really is great value for money. If you dine Monday-Thursday it’s only £18.99. I recommend booking in advance to make sure you get a table, but they do accept walk-ins. You can book directly via their website.
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