I indulged in chocolate fountains as a robot waiter sang Happy Birthday to me at Preston's newest restaurant
What do robot waiters, chocolate fountains and curry have in common? They are all part of Preston’s newest restaurant experience Cosmo, says Nicola Adam.
As I passed the ice cream station, I was drawn in by the Willy Wonka-esque array of sweets to accompany, with my eyes settling on the fizzy cola bottles. Luckily I was distracted by the Churros and then the charming robot waiter, who came to sing me Happy Birthday. It wasn’t my birthday but I appreciated the thought.
The only problem was I’d already had my fill, plumping for a mouth-watering tasting plate of Indian curry, Chinese fried rice with pasta and a chaser of Thai delicacies. It’s what one might call a modern problem of too much choice. But it’s also a problem solver for those families and party occasions where everyone fancies something different for one price.
Steak and seafood lovers lovers can head to the Teppanyaki grill for a freshly cooked sizzler and the salad bar is a visual treat - not forgetting sushi and the delicious looking deli. There are eight live cooking stations, with 160 world dishes daily, everything from carvery to deserts. And did I mention TWO chocolate fountains, one milk and one white. And if you like your food in a cascade, you can also try the fondue. And did I mention the robots?
This is Cosmo - the newest addition to the £45m Animate leisure scheme which opened earlier this year. As you read this, Cosmo is but days old, and a sparkling, shiny, and upmarket ’all you can eat world buffet’ concept restaurant with success on its mind.
Positioned directly opposite Preston’s renovated covered market and hop and a skip from the Wallace and Gromit statue (and a few steps away from Feather McGraw), Cosmos is the latest eatery to open its doors as part of the ‘Harris quarter’ rethinking of Preston that has been many years in the making.
Animate - which includes the new Arc Cinema and Hollywood Bowl - now also boasts Argento Lounge, Ask Italian, and Taco Bell amongst others. Coming very soon is the restaurant behometh that is Wagamama (the signs are up), making this the kind of modern city centre restaurant quarter Preston has never had before, and adding to the diverse mix of eat and drink experiences largely situated around Fishergate and Friargate.
Cosmo is a great concept - and the restaurant itself is huge and divided into sections - making it perfect for parties large and small. The amount - and quality -of food on offer is quite dizzying and I totally understand the reason for the smaller plates. I would highly recommend taking small amounts of food rather than eating too much at once, it does the taste buds a favour and stops you over indulging. I speak from experience.
And as for the puddings.. The dessert section is a huge visual feast and directly on the left as you walk in. There’s no way way any child would walk away from that - including me.