Cosmo is the all-you-can-eat buffet that will leave you dreaming of what you’re going to get next time.
My boyfriend and I are no strangers to a buffet, with him being a typical guy in his 20s who has a bottomless pit of a stomach.
But Cosmo is on another level. I’d highly recommend wearing something stretchy because trust me: you will need and want the room.
Based near the top of West Quay North overlooking the esplanade, the restaurant has everything from Chinese, curries and prawns done every way you could imagine to your standard pizza, chips and mac and cheese, which is sure to appease any fussy eaters.
Slots last two hours for the majority of the week and an hour and a half on a Friday or Saturday – which still leaves plenty of time to get a good few plates which we definitely proved.
The joys of Cosmo mean you can try as little or as much you like of anything and everything and as a pescatarian (I eat fish but not meat) there were still miles of options.
My boyfriend on the other hand is a carnivore who piled his plate with all kinds of meat and was particularly impressed by the satay chicken, the pork and the variety of options – you can even get a steak cooked to your liking.
I toyed with whether to try and make something that looked like a meal or just have a random mix of my favourite picky bits including bao buns, spring rolls, prawns and some strange looking but delicious crab bites. I decided to honour the ‘all you can eat’ ethos and had all of the above - with no regrets.
As a seafood lover I was not disappointed, filling my plate with mussels, three types of prawns and crab. With prices ranging from £18.99 to £20.99 per person (depending on the day) it’s incredibly easy to get your moneys worth, filling my plate with muscles, three types of prawns and crab.
Cautious I didn’t want to run out of room, after two plates we moved onto the deserts section. Although, it would be enough of a feast without a sweet treat, I would at least recommend having a browse of all the cakes, sweets, fruit and popcorn on offer to see what takes your fancy.
A word of warning – be careful with the chocolate fondue and don’t try to be overly clever. My boyfriend thought he’d mastered the system – filling the bottom of his ice cream cone with chocolate before adding the Mr Whippy.
But as one of the lovely waiters came to check on us, the chocolate was pouring out the bottom, leaving a brown splodge on his shorts.
Nevertheless, we will definitely be going back.
For more information or to book go to cosmo-restaurants.co.uk/restaurants/southampton.
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