A “premium all you can eat buffet” inherently seems to be some kind of oxymoron. Most students in Leeds will be familiar with the Red Hot World Buffet or Spice Quarter and know there is nothing premium about them, Cosmo, however, was a welcome surprise.
Upon entering the new restaurant my party was surprised by the light and modern design of the room, looking as stylish and chic as many of the nicer restaurants in Leeds. To be difficult, we had brought a vegetarian with us, expecting some stumble with the range on offer. I was impressed when the waitress took our veggie friend around to present the full range of vegetarian meals to try.

As far as the actual food goes it was a mixed bag; the Indian food was certainly a step up from Red Hot but it was still distinctly average. Curry is an easy dish to do well but hard to make truly exceptional. The Chinese section offered a lot of variety and, to an extent, was free of the gloopiness that some sauces tend to have. Unfortunately though, all the meals had a similar sweetness that made it seem as though they could have come from a shared pot. The Global Kitchen area had a confusing array of BBQ ribs, indiscriminate spiced lamb with onions and a beef counterpart too. Combined with the overcooked tortillas it was a disappointing section.

Dessert was underwhelming, when we entered were greeted by the sight of a large chocolate fountain, enough to get us all drooling, but the consistency of the chocolate was disappointing and gave it a watery texture. The rest of the pudding choices included random sweets, some éclairs (quite nice, basically profiteroles), jellies and a small range of ice creams. Not
bad. Not great.

All in all there is nothing really surprising about Cosmo. It promises premium all- you-can-eat and it delivers. If students are looking for a new place to test their eating strengths then I would certainly recommend Cosmo, but for a truly quality meal this isn’t the place for you.

Nick Gandy