Cosmos Cafe

I’ve been here a few times and they get four stars from me because of their half off martinis and appetizer specials during the week. That part is awesome. Food is good, service is always good and I like the atmosphere alot. Definitely a great after work spot.

Terrible bar service! The place was trashed, and they charged my card 3 times not once. I had overdraft fees they refused to pay, and never apologized. Bar manager said she didnt even close out my tab but gave it to another worker. Thats the only explanation i got. I will never visit again. Horrible service, and worse ownership.

On a Saturday when every other restaurant is packed in Charlotte, they are barely half-​full. So decided to give them a try. We used to frequent the uptown location many years back. Once seated, we find they only have a Valentine’s weekend Menu. It hasn’t happened to us in a while, but we decided to pass on a rather lame menu and leave. The staff was pleasant and told us to come back when their regular menu is available. I guess Charlotte restaurant business isn’t quite evolving much.

Is it fair to review on the bar only?! What the hell… why not!?!
Some friends and I stopped in on a Saturday evening. It wasn’t that late when we arrived but they had already cleared away most of the tables and had a DJ spinning on the ones and twos (wait…did I even say that right?!?).
Anyhoo, the bar was stocked well and all the bartenders were friendly and heavy handed. That’s always much appreciated. They had some drink and shot specials too! So if you’re curious just make sure to ask before you order!
So why just three stars… because place can get packed quick and parking is atrocious. Be prepared to drive around and around to find a spot or park in the shopping center across the street and walk over. Better yet, if you are coming with a group… definitely car pool!
But I’ve got to get back here to try the food! I’ve heard good things about their brunch so I may start with that!

I love the weekend brunch buffet they have. It’s around $ 12 for the buffet and the menu includes an ample amount of breakfast items as well as lunch items, salads and desserts. The menu changes weekly so you feel that you’re traveling the world! The staff is very friendly and helpful and of course the atmosphere is top notch!

I wish I could have given Cosmos @ Rea Rd a higher rating. I use to love the original on College street.
I did not realize this place got rockin until 10pm on Saturdays. This would explain why my hubby and I were seated immediately around 8. Hey we did not complain. Our server, Kaitlyn? was FAB. Very attentive and she delivered a very tasty Extra Dirty Vodka Martini. Cheers to the Bartender! The atmosphere was groovy and the clientele were ALL women, except for my husband of course. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on. Once the staff started moving tables the light bulb clicked on. Apparently I am getting a little slow in my later years.
The food, sigh, was not great. We ordered the Chicken Souvlaki, Lamb Sliders, a Spicy Tuna roll and the Grilled Octopus. The chicken was boring, the Lamb Sliders were very dry and the tuna was almost non existent BUT the Grilled Octopus was so delicious and tender, I could have munched on it all night. Who knew the octopus would be the star of the evening? Looks like this is my go to place when craving the eight legged creature.
As we were leaving the men started rolling in getting ready for the hunt. Play nice men, there are plenty of females to go around in there!

Excellent place no matter what time you go. Food is very good and staff is amazing!

Cool area, not my crowd but I can see the attraction. A little pricey, but huuuuge inside. Could see it bring a decent place for large party. Hate to say this but kind of reminds me of alley cats from downtown, only add about 20 years to the average age of the crowd and turn the music level down.

I LOVED it! My food was great they also had a great deal 5−7pm buy one get one free appetizer the sushi was delicious! I got the steak It was cooked just the way I asked! The crab cakes were great too like I said loved this place and my waiter was awesome, a really great experience I can’t wait to go back!

First time. Staff is nice. Typical bar and typical Charlotte food aka crap. But if you were born in the south you may like it. North people stay away

Only been here a couple of times, mostly during Saturday nights. Most recently ventured out here because one of my co-​workers who is recently separated and 55 y/​o wanted to get out and my friend and I could think of no better place in the area for him than Cosmos on a Saturday night.
The place seems to be packed out on Saturday nights pretty regularly although I’ve not frequented this place very often, but the times I have it’s always pretty full. The service around the place was pretty darn good considering the density of the crowd. The wait staff didn’t leave us lingering all together too long.
The music is pretty much top 40 and some classics nothing too new age or out of the norm. The crowds range from late 20’s to late 50’s it appeared to me.

My group of 12 came here for brunch after church. I enjoyed the breakfast bar and had a three star all loaded up in my mind.
There was a nice assortment of breakfast foods and desserts, not to mention deviled eggs. I love them, especially a finger food out of my own fridge for breakfast.
I wish the catsup was in the form of a bottle for me to douse my eggs with, and that’s my only complaint.
Good service and Sunday atmosphere. I just maybe will not visit the evening scene here as is mentioned in the other reviews.

After finding out Hawthorne’s next door had a 30 minute wait on a Friday night, my girlfriend and I popped over to Cosmos. Oddly enough, we got right in. There were maybe eight people at the bar and a few tables throughout the restaurant at 6:30 p.m.
Our hostess seated us at a high-​top table in the bar and asked if we wanted a server. Ummm, as opposed to me walking over to the bar every time I want something? Odd. Bottles of wine were half off and appetizers were buy one get one, so we got a bottle of wine and split the Spanikopata and braised beef empanadas. Both were warm, flaky and delicious!
Cosmos has always had seemed to me like it’s having an identity crisis. It has inventive, delicious food and wine, and a classy, intimate atmosphere for a business lunch or dinner with friends. However, at night, it oddly turns into a meat market with cougars and woo girls. I much prefer the first Cosmos.

Just got back from Cosmos for dinner, all I can say is that $ 12 for 10 oz. prime rib special with bake potato and mix vegetables, you can’t beat that! I definitely will go back for another round of good prime rib before this promotion ends!

Went to this Cosmo’s to celebrate a friends birthday. Food was sub par. Either too salty or too bland. Not much in the way of drink selections if you don’t want a martini. Service was very disappointing. We were there before the late night crowd, but barely saw our waiter. When the tables beside us filled with grey haired courgars our waiter reappeared and waited on them hand and foot??? Crowd is a weird mix of college students, suburb thugs (guys trying to look and sound like Eminem or 50 cent. and anyone can tell its an act and they are soft as kittens lol), cougars, and white haired suga daddies (some dressed like Eminem but you know they are someones granddad or great grandad). I’ll pass.

I have eaten at the Cosmos uptown, but only have stopped in for beverages at this location. The bar here is large, well appointed, and the bartenders are friendly. I like the layout and décor. If you stop in right after work, it is not too crowded. However, later in the evening it is certainly more happening.

This 3 star would be a 4 star, but our service was terrible. Yes we had a large group, but the server rarely came by and when she did acted like it was a problem to get anything. I threw a surprise birthday party here and they catered to that well, except when people were ordering the one server skipped over every other person to take orders. So some people had food while others didn’t. One person got their meal after everyone else was finished. That being said I ordered the sushi and it was pretty good. No one else complained about the food. Just the service.
This was a birthday party so, I was amazed at how it transformed from restaurant to dance club. The lights came on and the music got louder and louder. But that made it fun. It was what we were looking for. Uptown feel in Ballantyne. $ 10 Cover after a certain point in the night, but were there early enough not to pay.
My final thought is about the crowd. Wow. Pretty diverse. Cougars, guidos, hipsters, some college age, and the guy who should not be dancing but is.
Like I said fun atmosphere that completely changes at night, but work on hiring friendly staff!

This restaurant brings to mind the debate: which is more important, great food or great service? If the answer is the former, then this restaurant deserves 4 starts, if the answer is the latter then it deserves 1 star.
We went here for a Father’s Day brunch — had been here before for dinner but wanted something more family-​friendly. It took a while for us to get seated because we wanted an outdoor table. We ended up getting placed at the far end of the patio, not a big deal (or so we thought).
After this it got interesting.. .we had no silverware, no menu’s and no drinks. A waitress came and said she’d be right with us.. .and never returned. After waiting about 10 minutes, we decided to just get in line inside thinking a waitress would eventually come out.
Great buffet — stellar options and great variety, including an excellent egg dish, shrimp and grits, and prime rib. Very nice salad options and a fun dessert table.
We got back to the table, still no waitress.. .at this point we started eating and were getting thirsty. Another waitress came by, made eye contact and then walked away. I was getting seriously frustrated because other tables were getting served so I stood up and walked over to the waiting station. I figured I’d just grab coffee and water on my own. A waiter there asked me what the problem was and said he’d take care of it.. .ten more minutes pass. At this point my three children were literally panting with thirst and I was starting to give up hope. A fourth waitress came around and I basically just asked for the manager.
After another 5 minutes (at this point we’d gone up twice for food, grabbed random place settings from the waiting station and still didn’t even have water) the manager came and asked how everything was. Long story short I «shared» my experience. I give him a lot of credit because he listened and wasn’t defensive in the least. While he was there waiter #3 did finally arrive with our coffee and orange juice.. .50 minutes after we were seated.
The manager explained that they had dramatically underestimated the crowds to expect that day and that the restaurant was straining under the load. I shared with him that the food was very good but that the service really detracted from the overall experience. Again, he was very good about taking the feedback.
At the end of our meal we didn’t receive a check for a loooonnnnggg time and just as I was thinking «not again» the manager came by and explained that the entire meal was complementary due to the experience we had. Very gracious gesture and we certainly left on a positive note.
So, which is more important — the food or the service? Not exactly sure but I know when either is off!

Charlotte has a hit or miss club/​bar scene. Some of the places try to be better than they are and other places are awesome, but woefully under attended. Comsos is an odd mix located deep in the Ballantyne area.
First off, there’s a wide range of age groups who attend this joint from barely employed hipsters to silver haired money men. Second, is the hybrid nature of the place, restaurant/​bar by day and club by night. Third are the NYC caliber DJ & bartenders stuck in a southern style city. You wouldn’t think this mash-​up works, but somehow it all pulls together at the last moment.
DJ Spencer (semi-​retired) is one of the best mixers I’ve seen in the CLT area, Stefan is THE MAN to know behind the bar (that bastard has been getting me hammered for of over 5 years now), and the security is on point taking out drunk fucks in 30 seconds or less. This is one place I’d hit regularly on a Saturday night.
If you’re looking for a hot spot without the hassle of uptown you definitely need to hit Comsos.

This place is very conveniently located off of Rea Rd in Ballantyne. We decided to go for lunch here since our colleague was here in town this week. We were welcomed by the manager and were seated. Suddenly my colleague noticed that the sofa wasn’t clean since there were lots of crumbs. It could be because the material was velvet. So we were moved to different location.
We ordered our beverage and I took out the napkin which had some sort of dark stain (huge) on it. I called our server and she handed me another one, it turned out that this one had green stain on it. I guess it wasn’t a good day :(
We ordered our food and our server was kind enough to help me pick out my order. She kept checking on us if everything was ok every couple of minutes which is nice. Even the manager came and apologies for the napkin incident and explained they just have four new staff members who are in training.
Our food came out and it was delicious. We all like our food which we ordered however my friend thought their sweet tea wasn’t sweet enough. I guess he’s got sweet tooth :)
All in all it was good experience where the place had very good modern décor, good service and good food. They just need to work on their consistency but who doesn’t right LOL