My first visit to Cosmo Preston wasn't what I expected: here's my honest review
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I visited Cosmo Preston for the first time this week and was surprised by my experience...
Cosmo Preston is coming up to its first birthday so when I was invited to try it out, I thought now was a better time than ever to give it a go.
I’ve been to a whole host of all you can eat buffets in my time but never a Cosmo and I must say I wasn’t expecting much.
It advertises itself as an “authentic world kitchen” but I was still expecting a low-budget rowdy cafeteria with bland food to appease the kiddies.
I was however pleasantly surprised from the moment I stepped through the door, even the decorative stairway up felt more in keeping with a premium steak restaurant.
Once at the top, a waiter greeted me and my partner warmly and politely, took us to our table of choice and took a drinks order within minutes.
The attentive service continued throughout our visit- we were asked for second drinks and staff swiftly took our plates away between each course.
There is a fun robot waiter that comes to your tables for dish removal but we were too tucked away at the back for it to reach us.
We did, however, have a good view of the robot waiter delivering cake to another table as it sang happy birthday– much to the delight of the birthday girl.
The atmosphere struck a nice balance, lively and family-friendly without descending into the chaos that often comes with busy buffets.
The setting too was way more premium than a canteen- the buffet displays were stunning, full of colour, in good quality pots and all the sides were spotlessly clean.
The service was attentive, the atmosphere welcoming and the presentation was good, but what about the food?
True to its word, I did find Cosmo to be an authentic world buffet- it covered all the major cuisines and all to a decent quality too.
I particularly liked how every cuisine had its own dedicated section, making it easier to build a balanced plate rather than piling everything together.
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I did my best to try bits from all sections and the stand out cuisine was certainly the Indian- there was a great variety of curries that all had their own distinct flavours and one was even a bit spicy which is unheard of in my previous all you can eat buffet experience.
The cuisine neither me or partner went anywhere near was the British roast section but I was still impressed by it- the roast ham looked so good I’ll have to go back to try it.
The pinnacle of Cosmo’s food offerings was the glorious desserts display, full of colourful treats including sweets, ice-cream and a chocolate fountain.
We were too full to go into full child mode but I enjoyed how fresh the fruit was and a pink donut ball was delicious.
Don’t get me wrong, there were a few misses- the sushi was not very authentic (crab stick nigiri?) and the garlic bread was bland but overall I was more impressed than I was underwhelmed.
At £20.99, Cosmo Preston represents excellent value for money, the drinks too were reasonably priced- my cider was £5.50, cocktails £7.25 and bottles of wine were all below £25.
It isn’t the finest of eating establishments but it’s certainly a step up from the average all you can eat buffet.
I wouldn’t hesitate to return and I’m certain there was so much food on offer I could get three whole different platefuls next time.