Cosi

I frequent this Cosi, but had a disappointing experience today. One of the managers (I presume) made my Shanghai Chicken salad to-​go. When I got back to my office I realized he only made me about ²⁄₃ of a salad, and missed including the Asian noodles. What a bummer to come back to a disappointing lunch after spending $ 9.

Their price advertising is unethical and confusing. Most places list one price for take two and you pick your sandwich and choice of soup. Cosi charges you by each item when you order taketwo. What’s the point of that? I thought I would save by ordering half sandwich and soup but it ended up costing more than $ 11 for take two. I could’ve paid $ 7 something for a full sandwich and be happy with that.

I don’t necessarily have an outstanding epic review to give. I went, I ordered, I ate. It was nothing spectacular nor do I crave it to go back. I have had Cosi numerous times before this at different locations.
The soup was very under seasoned and the salad was pretty wilted but I ate it anyhow. It took me about 5 minutes to realize I may never get my soup and had to ask and everyone seemed a little confused on what I wanted. I am very neutral and solid on my «A-​ok» review.

I found a live cricket in my salad there today at lunch.
Apart from that, although I don’t think much more needs to be said, their bread is delicious (minus the crickets hopefully) and the lines are never too long (maybe due to the crickets).

I work right around the corner from here and this place never disappoints. I have never encountered bad service and everyone is super friendly. The food is great and they have a somewhat organized ordering system. Check it out!

Great atmosphere and staff, very friendly and accommodating.
Egg sandwich a bit too salty, everything else is a typical chain café stuff. It’s the staff that makes me come back, keep up the good work.

Ordered online 1 hour before pickup time. When my office manager arrived, the order was not ready. After waiting 25 minutes our lunch was finally ready. At this point the lunch hour we receive was pretty much over. Opened the bags when back at the office and realized they totally missed one of our lunches. Seriously?! Had to wait that long and order still wasn’t correct.
In addition, we ordered Cobb salads that did not have hard boiled eggs mixed in. The Golden Beet bowl was NOT as pictured on the website. There were about 3 pieces of lettuce in the whole dish.
My office manager spoke with the manager at this Cosi location and she was completely rude. We simply asked for an additional bag so all our food wouldn’t fall on the ground, and we received attitude.
Finally, this isn’t the first bad experience we’ve had. Was willing to give the benefit of the doubt before. No longer! We are done with Cosi. Don’t give them your business.
**Update!
Cosi did go out of their way to make up for this poor situation. They sent a cookie platter and allowed my office to receive a free lunch. Honestly, I’m not totally in love with the food here. I don’t see myself going back anytime soon. I was very happy that the company tried very hard to make up for their mistake. You don’t often see people doing that.

Foods good, but have had better experiences at the cafeteria at Mass General! Get it together Cosi!!! Not coming back!

I ordered a large BBQ flatbread pizza (over $ 14) by mistake thinking its price is of the regular sized one (over $ 7), then the manager Mr. Donnea here let me pay for the regular sized one! Cosi here treats you right :)

I have always loved Cosi for their great offerings of sandwiches and salads. Considering that I am not typically a salad eater, this place has made me look forward to eating lean. Ever since this location has opened this has been my go-​to lunch spot. The staff are very friendly and polite. Fatima, the manager there runs a tight ship. My favorites include the Chicken TBM melt and the Signature Salad. And you can wash it down with a Raspberry Mojito (non-​alcohol, sorry). The best thing about this place is that it’s not overly crowded like the spots. This is due to a lot of people not realizing that they are here yet.

Poorly managed and everyone looks like they’re running chickens without heads. Second time I went, the manager didn’t even apologize for not having order ready, when I ordered it 2hrs online before. Ordered at this place twice online.
Probably never coming back here. Just go to Au Bön Pain next door. This place won’t be open for long anyways.

Nice staff and quick service. I received a coupon for a free entry at an event so I’ve decided to try the pizza. You can order multi grain or regular white pizza. If I knew early, I would have ordered my pizza ½ bbq and ½ magherita (didn’t know until i take a look at the menu a lot closer). When I checked out, there was a problem with the coupon. I think the manager needs to override it? He came over and said «coupon, all these coupons…» Um, kinda demeaning if you ask me! «OK you can go now…» Geez…

Great salad with free bread. I recommend Shanghai Salad. Staff there are super friendly.

The food is good and I’m glad they opened one in the Back Bay area. BUT it is very chaotic. Lots of employees working behind the counter causing utter confusion. The lack of signs makes it confusing for customers. You walk in and you don’t know where to go. Other reviewers are right that the management needs to recognize that there is a problem because the solution is simple… better signage and dedicated aisles. I also agree that the employees are very nice.

What a mess. This place is worthless. I went yesterday for the first time because this place in one step above «Pret a Manger» in that you can get food made rather than just choose from a shelf. It was absolute chaos onside, both behind and in front of the counter. There were lines of people everywhere who had no idea why they were in line or for what. There is no direction, no signage, no help. After standing in the wrong line for ten minutes I was finally able to scream, and I mean scream, my order to some unfortunate behind the counter. The lights on the menu provide so much glare that you cant even read the text. There are so many people behnd the counter that they are constantly bumping into each other. There is no explanation of the bread choices or options and it is too loud and crowded to ask. There must have been 8 people banging into each other behind that counter yet only one person was actually making anything. All the others were doing stupid unco-​ordinated stuff and handing out numbers they never called. A well oiled machine this is NOT. The only people who had a clue were the people making the coffee. And the worst part is that the food is lousy. I got a melted pesto chicken sandwich. Well there was some green paste on it that I think was supposed to be pesto but it was tasteless and I guess they were trying to maximize profit on the cheese because the melted cheese was about the size of a quarter. On the plus side, all the employees were very nice and the place was spotless. But next time I will go somewhere where the food has a modicum of flavor and there isn’t a clown car behind the counter.

I have to update my review because i went back to use the free coupon I received after my last bad experience. At this point, I am just waiting for them to go out of business (which they inevitably will) so a new restaurant can move into the neighborhood and I can try that one.
The location is poorly managed, that’s been said by everyone and is seemingly obvious to everyone who has been in there except the management team. The system of lines couldn’t be more illogical. The problem could be fixed very simply and either no one cares or no one is smart enough to figure it out. They consistently make the wrong order and no one seems to know what they are doing. At this point the quality of the food (average at best) is irrelevant because you’re probably not even going to get what you ordered and you’re definitely not going to get it in a timely manner.
One of the previous posters gave 4 stars praising the shift leader. Here’s the problem: nothing has changed a month later. Being friendly and giving out free coupons is only going to get you so far. If the problems haven’t been fixed by now, they will never be fixed.

Finally, a Cosi in Back Bay! Went for lunch a few days after their grand opening with a coworker. Friendly service. The space is very nice, plenty of seating. I had the Cosi Club, very tasty. LOVE their bread. Their salads look good too.

I really like Cosi for its sandwiches and efficient staff. I suppose I was so used to the one on High St that I expected a similar experience at any Cosi location. I was very disappointed when this was not the case at the Boylston location. It had half the efficiency/​energy and the bread was harder than I was used to, making me think it was a bit stale. It could be because this is still a fairly new location, but I think I’ll wait a bit longer before coming back here.

I would like to praise the shift leader, Donnea, for an exceptional display of quality customer service. During one of my visits to the store I was ignored by a group of staff who were chatting for about over a minute and was not acknowledged until Donnea came over to assist me. By that time, I had already made up my mind to leave and he apologetically walked me to the door.
A week later I came in for a coffee and was helped by Donnea. Not only did he remember me, he gave me another sincere apology and offered me his assistance. As a manager in the hospitality industry, I fully understand the high expectations of customer service in the Back Bay and choose to do business where these standards are met. His team can learn from him. Great job Donnea!