Last Thursday I went down to Bournemouth to visit my best friend, which was a lot of fun! I haven’t seen her since we went Interrailing and I have been looking forward to this. It was a bit strange going back to Bournemouth in September, and not staying to go to university. But it made me visit as a tourist rather than someone who lives there was fun. Whilst I was there, we visited COSMO Bournemouth which I am going to share my review of now.
Who is COSMO?
COSMO is an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, inspired by the top 5-star hotels to elevate buffet to a new level. There is a never-ending array of dishes, and with so much choice there is bound to be something for everyone. They have 20 restaurants in the UK including Bournemouth, Bristol and Southampton in the southwest.
The restaurant has eye-catching decorations, with gorgeous pink and white flowers on the ceiling as you walk in. Its customized neon signs highlight its logo, making it unforgettable. The indoor lighting makes the dining environment comfortable and inviting.
What type of food do they have?
COSMO Bournemouth has seven savoury cuisine sections, a dessert bar and drinks.
- World of Asia – “China’s cuisine can be broken up into roughly eight regions: Cantonese, Sichuan, Anhui, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Hunan, and Zhejiang. Tour the Asian continent with our hand-picked tasters of the region’s most authentic dishes.”
- Teppanyaki – “The word teppanyaki is derived from the Japanese words teppan (which means iron plate) and yaki (which means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried). Choose from fresh salmon, scallops, steak, or juicy tiger prawns and watch as COSMO’s talented chefs cook it in front of you on an iron griddle to lock in the flavour.”
- House of Spice – “Spice it up with a choice of South-East Asian favourites. COSMO’s talented chefs lay on a full Indian banquet, with dishes prepared in small batches that are constantly replenished.”
- Continental – “The modern pizza was invented in Naples and was sold from open-air stands, before being introduced to the world by Italian immigrants. With favourites like spaghetti and meatballs and a huge range of vegetarian options, there’s something for everyone.”
- Tasting Kitchen – “Our tasting kitchen is a tour de force of the world’s most popular dishes, from mini burgers and chilli con carne to small portions of Greek moussaka and a comforting shepherd’s pie.”
- Carvery Buffet – “There are few things in life more comforting and British than a full roast dinner. Not just for Sunday, COSMO’s roast dinner is fast becoming a week-long institution.”
- Deli – “From slivers of charcuterie and fresh salads to juicy olives and an assortment of cheeses, stop by our deli counter to enjoy a taste of the Med.”
- Desserts – “From strawberry cheesecake to traditional Italian tiramisu, COSMO’s patisserie chefs whip up a tempting array of homemade, bite-sized cakes so you can have a taste of everything.”
COSMO Bournemouth have an array of drinks available including soft drinks, cocktails and hot drinks. Free refills are available with soft drinks. Eleigh and I just went with tap water which you get from a machine next to the soft drink refills, and they have crushed ice too!
Continue reading: COSMO Bournemouth review – all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant
How much does it cost to dine at COSMO Bournemouth?
The prices vary depending on the day of the week, and whether you go at lunch or dinner. Lunch on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays costs £20.99 per adult. Dinner Monday – Thursday costs £18.99 and then Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays cost £20.99 per adult. For children, it costs £10.99 and they must be less than 155cm to qualify for the child price. For infants under 5, it costs £2.99.
The prices vary at different restaurants so make sure you check before booking.
Main course
My friend (Eleigh) and I both had 3 plates of food and then dessert. There was so much food on offer, we could have easily picked more but we were very full! For my first plate, I started in the World of Asia and Continental sections. This included egg fried rice, green beans, noodles, naan bread, spicy potato wedges, chips, hash brown bites and a slice of margarita pizza. Eleigh went for a duck pancake, spring roll, chips, wedges, hash brown bites, noodles, egg fried rice, green beans and chicken nuggets. This was just from just one line of food.
I really enjoyed all of it, but I will say that the pizza wasn’t the best because it had been sitting there. If I was going to get it again, I would wait until they had just brought a fresh one out.
As you can see from our second plates, we didn’t get as much as our first time up! We went into the other section of food which included the carvery, salad, sushi and a bit of continental. I went for two Yorkshire puddings, carrots, garlic bread, potato dauphinoise, mashed potato lettuce & sweetcorn. The lettuce and sweetcorn are obviously from the salad bar and didn’t really go with the rest, but I wanted to make sure I got some vegetables haha.
The Yorkshire puddings weren’t the best, again probably because they had been sitting around so were a bit lukewarm and were no longer crispy. I loved the potato dauphinoise, and the mashed potato was so creamy.
Eleigh went for two Yorkshire puddings, sprouts, mashed potato, potato dauphinoise, gravy and (salad) sweetcorn. The gravy was a bit watery, but otherwise, everything was good.
My third and final plate was just eating my favourite things as I was extremely full. I loved the egg fried rice, in fact, I’m still thinking about how delicious it was haha. Eleigh went with macaroni cheese which was extremely stringy, so a bit hard to serve! It looks very cheesy but we think it was made with mozzarella, so it was quite mild which I liked.
Continue reading: COSMO Bournemouth review – all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant
Dessert
COSMO Bournemouth had so many dessert options to choose from. The pictures below aren’t even all of the desserts, there was also a popcorn machine, Mr. Whippy ice cream machine, fruit salad bar, ice cream tubs warm rhubarb crumble and custard. The layout is so well thought-out, with something for everyone to enjoy. The first picture shows the bite-sized desserts, including but not limited to multiple types of cheesecake, panna cotta, cake, brownie and profiteroles.
I was already so full from the savoury food so I just got some chocolate from the chocolate fountain and dipped marshmallows in. I tried the Eton Mess cake but didn’t really like it.
Eleigh got some Mr. Whippy ice cream and poured melted chocolate over the top which made it set in a cool swirly pattern. She also got some jelly cubes, panna cotta and sweets. She didn’t like the panna cotta, but really enjoyed the ice cream and sweets.
My review
I was initially worried that I would not like the food at COSMO as I am vegetarian, have a nut allergy and can be a bit picky. However, I had nothing to worry about as there were allergen cards next to all of the dishes. They provided a good amount of vegetarian dishes so there is no missing out. At £20.99 or £18.99 per adult, I think that is a very good price for a meal with that much food. There was even a robot which brought a birthday dessert out to a little girl and sang Happy Birthday!
I enjoyed eating at COSMO and I am already planning when I can go back and eat there again! The only complaint I have is that I wish there was a COSMO restaurant in Cheltenham.
Have you been to COSMO Bournemouth or another COSMO restaurant?
Caroline ♡
Molly | Transatlantic Notes says
I’ve been to a Cosmo a number of years ago and it wasn’t the best quality; however, it kind of did what it was set out to do — provide vast amounts of food (that was pretty cheap quality). It was decent, but not the best. What is amazing is the array of food available, which does make accommodating various diets nice and easy if you’re in a big group, for example. It seems like the quality may have improved a bit, and it seems like you had a nice time!
Caroline says
Oh no, they have definitely improved in quality! But the food waste is definitely an issue that I was thinking about x
Rosie says
So many delicious-looking dishes! I haven’t eaten in a buffet restaurant for a long time now so reading this makes me kind of miss the adventure of it. I love that they provide info about allergy with each dish; very helpful. I got curious about the egg fried rice, so I’m going to look for a recipe and try it 🙂
Caroline says
I would definitely recommend x
Nyxie says
I love COSMO but haven’t been in years! When I was last there, there wasn’t much in the way of vegan / vegetarian foods, so it would be interesting to see how that has changed!
Caroline says
Yes, definitely a lot of vegetarian foods x
Lucy says
An all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant – I’M IN! The food looks delicious, and the chocolate fountain looks immense! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Caroline says
Agreed! x
JamieAdStories says
It sounds right up my street. I love the idea of having a slice of pizza and some asian food with olives and interesting healthy salads alongside.
Caroline says
Definitely!
Karalee says
COSMO sounds like they have a fantastic buffet, and the food looks pretty good. I would LOVE to try their desserts! I’m vegetarian too so that’s great they do have a good number of vegetarian dishes.
Caroline says
It was so good!