AD – I was invited to COSMO Authentic World Kitchen in exchange for a review

I mentioned in a blog post recently that my anxiety stopped me eating out in restaurants for the longest time. It was just something that completely overwhelmed me and made me far to anxious to even enjoy the experience. But over the last couple of years, as my anxiety has got better and better and is currently the best it’s been in around 8 years, I’ve rekindled my love for eating out in restaurants again. And now I ALWAYS make the most of it when I can.

So when I was invited along to COSMO Authentic World Kitchen for a complimentary meal, I was like YES, YES, YES. Stuff you, anxiety. Don’t stop me now. And it feels great to be able to freely say yes to more things without anxiety hanging over my head as much as it’s done in the past. COSMO Authentic World Kitchen are celebrating it’s 8th anniversary this year. So I was excited to head over there to celebrate with Carl one evening!

I remember going to COSMO when it had not long been opened in my town. It was in a different location and a fraction of the size it is now. It has come on LEAPS AND BOUNDS since then – the popularity of the place is apparent. Back in the day, it used to be just predominantly a Chinese buffet but now, you can taste half the world under one roof! With dishes from China, India, Italy, Japan and even a traditional British carvery to choose from.

We had a table booked for 7 and got seated in a booth. The decor in the Romford branch is gorgeous (my only criticism here would be the glass around the upstairs area of seats wasn’t very clean – only minor but worth a mention) and the seating area is totally separate from the buffet – so you’ve not got people walking around you trying to get to the dishes. Carl ordered a passion fruit Martini, which he really loved.

The waitress explained that we keep the cutlery but they remove the plates after each time you’ve been up to the buffet and the waiting staff were incredible. They were so on the ball with ensuring the table was clean of any used plates as quickly as possible. You also get bottomless soft drinks within the price of the buffet (£17.99 Mon-Thur, £18.99 Fri-Sun) which is brilliant and there’s a good choice from Sunkissed lemonade or orange and all your standard fizzy drinks.

Onto the food. Like I said, you can eat half the world under one roof and if the choice was incredible. Each type of cuisine was in it’s own area (so you’re not going to get Chinese Chow Mein next to an Indian chicken tikka for example!) which made it easy to navigate depending on what you wanted. We both started with some sushi, which was incredible and the soy sauce was to DIE FOR.

We then started on the main courses and the Chinese buffet, which we both stuck to during our visit. I’m sure the pizza and the carvery would have been incredible but we wanted to go for Chinese so that’s what we did. The great thing about COSMO is that if you’re like me and like a little bit of everything, it’s the perfect option for dinner. You can go up as many times as you like and try as many different things as possible. Which is what we did.

We managed to try the sweet and sour chicken, the rice, noodles, beef in black bean sauce, green beans, broccoli, Moroccan squid, spring rolls, chill and sour fish, ribs and various other meats. Carl absolutely loved the fish and the sweet and sour (which is his favourite dish anyway) and the vegetables did it for me. The green beans and broccoli was cooked in herbs and tiny pieces of garlic and was honestly my favourite dish of the night.

We both agreed that the ribs were a little fatty and I wasn’t hugely keen on the noodles but that was my own preference. Some of the dishes weren’t quite as hot as I’d have liked them but that was due to the fact that they had been out for a while. It was very obvious when you were eating something from a dish that had recently been brought out because the heat difference was quite substantial.

Carl ate far too much dinner so didn’t try any of the desserts but I made sure I had room for them because all the sweet little cakes were far too cute to miss out on! I absolutely LOVED their small, afternoon tea style cakes. It meant that you could try more different flavours of desserts without completely over-indulging. I tried a mango mousse, a chocolate mousse, a chocolate fudge cake, a coconut and passion fruit cake and a piece of carrot cake with kiwi.

I couldn’t choose my favourite, they were all absolutely delicious. They also have hot desserts such as churros, fruit, ice cream pots AND a chocolate fountain with various things you can dunk in it. So their desserts – taste and selection – definitely get a 10 out of 10 from me!

Carl and I have already decided to visit again. It’s a great option for dinner out, really casual and chilled out atmosphere where you have the freedom to try and test a number of dishes instead of settling on just one. The service from the waiting staff was fantastic and the COSMO Authentic World Kitchen is just a really comfortable place to eat. If you have a branch near you, I’d highly recommend it!

Have you ever visited a COSMO Authentic World Kitchen? What did you think? What was your favourite dish?

53 Comments

  1. Oh I love Cosmo SO much, but I haven’t been for ages! The one up here used to have HUGE queues outside when it first opened, it’s so popular haha! I love that you can have all sorts of cuisine at the same time, although I inevitably go overboard haha! I’m glad you had a good time and yes! to telling your anxiety to eff off xx
    Beth x Adventure & Anxiety

  2. This sounds amazing and I will have to visit the establishment next time I visit home! The sweat and sour chicken sounds amazing, it’s a shame the ribs were fatty x

  3. I absolutely love buffet restaurants which serve multiple cuisines! Being a huge foodie, I thoroughly enjoy tasting all kinds of international foods!

  4. I used to absolutely love Cosmo before the closed down the one in town, and it’s been a struggle to find anywhere that’s as good and offers a variety that all of my family members would enjoy. I’m glad that you had a pleasant experience! It makes me wish another one would open up near me again.

  5. Ooo! Have never heard of this before. Maybe one day next year I will visit a place like, but trying to figure out my relationship with food at the minute. Glad you had such an amazing time!

    Daisy xoxo | TheDeeWhoLived

  6. I’ve never heard of Cosmo before, I don’t think we have them in the north? I don’t think I’ve ever been to an all you can eat that has food from all around the world. It’s a shame there’s such a big difference between the fresh dishes and the ones that have been sat for a while but I guess that’s to be expected. Sounds like you had some delicious food though! x

  7. I love places like this! We used to have a Cosmo near us until it changed hands – it’s still an ‘all you can eaten buffet restaurant, but with a different name. In fact we have two near us and one an hour’s drive away – that ones my favourite. I love the look of of that martini! And those desserts! 😍😍😍

      1. They do look delicious. 😍
        Tganks for letting me know! It seems to be missing on posts I’ve scheduled or publish through WordPress using a browser. The ones I’ve done through the Android app are fine… Very odd.

  8. Most buffets here in hometown aren’t the best! However, there are a few that are pretty classy & have some great, tasty options; COSMO definitely sounds like it’s one of those. I’m kinda hungry & this post isn’t helping 😉 It all looks so tasty!

  9. We have similar restaurants like this in Canada but with different names, like he Mandarin for instance. It has a similar set-up where you help yourself. Ye’s Sushi is also like this where they offer a buffet of foods from around the world (my biggest criticisms are the temperature variances in the food and their steep prices). My in laws go to another place which is HUGE and has literally everything under the sun to include Peking duck. I forget the name of the place though. Every time I go to one of these restaurants, I walk out feeling sick because I are too much! 😂🤣

  10. I would go if there was one near me. I haven’t had food from all of those places before. Chinese is my favorite food. I would definitely choose food from there too

  11. I’ve honestly never heard of this restaurant chain before, but it sounds right up my alley – I love a good buffet and the variety of dishes is amazing! I definitely need to dine there one day!

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