The Cosmic Cantina

wow. I’m sad I didn’t know about this place sooner. hidden in a loft space on 9^th st, a tiny whole in the wall place indeed serves the best burrito I have ever had. I ordered a mini chicken burrito – and that was big enough for me! Not the coziest atmosphere but I will definitely return for more burritos!

This place has some legit Mexican food and is open late night which is great.
They only do Chicken and Steak on their stuff but have alot of great fusion options such as wrapping your burrito in nori instead of tortillas.
The Burritos and Chimichangas were great they do however charge nearly an extra 2 bucks to put guac and sour cream on anything which is kind of weird.
If you go for the giant of anything just know that you should definitely be splitting that with someone so it makes it a great deal if you are.
Got steak this visit so Ill be trying the chicken next time.

A sober 3-​star, and a drunk 5-​star. Here’s what I mean: the burritos, quesadillas and chips and salsa are alright if you go in as a regular lunch or dinner customer. It’s nothing to rave about, but it’s decent (a notch above Moe’s) and will fill you up. But when you’re drunk at two in the morning, it’s awesome because who doesn’t like cheese and carbs and fried chips when you’re bursting with alcohol?
Ergo sober: 3 stars, drunk: 5 stars.
And since I’m sober writing this, 3 stars.

Reasonable prices and good menu, but not special enough to justify that line that was forming out the door. The employee at the front desk seemed a little jaded and rushed, as well.

Always a fun experience at Cosmic. I usually go for the steak quesadilla. Don’t forget to go for the chips and queso. The queso goes great on EVERYTHING! Street parking available and open late night. I think the Franklin Street location in Chapel Hill is better, but it’s a close one. Can be a little difficult to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

With really good reviews, perhaps my expectations were too high. The Cosmic Cantina is a fun location to grab a bite but the food is so/​so and the portions are a little small.
Need a quick corona and a decent quesadilla? Why not. Looking for a comfortable environment that you can settle into? Keep looking.

While trying to be honest and not flat out rude, the food here isn’t anything other than mediocre. The service wasn’t great either. $ 10.50 for a chimichanga. He didn’t even bring me my plate. He took others their plates but not mine. The steak was something pre cooked from Costco/​SAMs. No flavor. Beans similar. Tortillas came from from a package. I can see why people are giving this place rave reviews; it’s cheaply made, overprocessed, middle priced, drunk food. If you want quality and taste for a meal, seek elsewhere.

«The Best Mexican Food on the Planet.» While I wasn’t utterly blown away by my burrito experience, I’d say it’s fair for Cosmic Cantina to self-​claim this title.
This venue is somewhat of a hole-​in-​the-​wall, located along the same staircase that brings you to 9^th St Dance. A small amount of indoor seating but they also have more seats on the balcony, which is nice when it’s not too chilly outside. The atmosphere is dark and slightly grungy, yet Cosmic still manages to feel quaint. Since the venue is open so late, you don’t have to worry about waiting in line unless you come near midnight on a weekend.
Burritos are what this place is known for and being open til 4 AM, Cosmic is great for late-​night food. If you’re hungry, you’ll want to go for a deluxe burrito; you’ll leave full for sure. Rice, beans, meat, guac, lettuce, and sour cream are sure to satisfy.
Compared to Chipotle, the burritos from Cosmic aren’t as salty. As much as I am a Chipotle fan, I’m all for less salt in my food. Both venues offer burritos at comparable prices. Because Cosmic is open much later than Chipotle and because it isn’t a large franchise like Chipotle, it fills a niche that isn’t already occupied in Durham. It’s a favorite among college students and I’m certain that it’ll remain so for years to come.

Food is average at best, the one star is for the attitude of the staff. Went in to buy lunch and an extra burrito for a disabled homeless man outside on a cold day. When the order taker, who I assume is the owner by the way he acted, figured out I was feeding a homeless person, he said he did not want to sell it to me. I was dumbfounded and told him that his mindset was his own karna, mine was to feed a cold and hungry person.
He said it was ‘annoying’ to have people beg outside and I was encouraging it. Well I’ll bet being in a wheelchair and homeless is more ‘annoying’ than anything he has ever had to experience. I cancelled the other food in my order, just bought the one burrito for the man outside, and told the owner that his attitude just lost him a paying customer. Consider this story before you support this business. Shameful!
I ended up going to Chubby’s around the corner instead, their food was better anyway.

Cosmic Cantina is a very casual dive bar type of feel restaurant but always a favorite classic! Don’t be intimidated by the staircase going upstairs because it is delicious! They stay open til 4am and can be packed after bar closing hours but its is a staple of late night food in Durham. They are known for their burritos and everything is fresh and made to order. They have a cool rooftop outdoor seating area also which is great for groups. By far the best drunk food to have after you leave the bars. My favorite is the steak burritos but they are also known for their veggie burritos as well. They are also the only burrito place around that serves burritos wrapped with seaweed instead of tortilla if you are looking to be healthier but I love the traditional with the valentina sauce! They have a great beer selection as well as liquor!

Great price point and very pleasant food. Good vegan options. I ordered a burrito with black beans. It was very mild but pleasing. My wife’s Margarita was great. She had the tofu burrito. I tried it and it was delicious too. Mild but more flavor than the straight-​up black bean.
I wish they had salsas available again but with their low prices, this can be forgiven.

First challenge: find the entrance to this place. The restaurant is on the second floor so you have to find the entrance door (that is slightly hidden) and go up the stairs and to the right.
They have a menu board, but if you ask at the register, they have a paper menu that explains the various options. I opted for the regular chicken burrito (rice, chicken, beans, cheese, salsa) and it was a sizable meal (at least a pound of food). I wished I had opted for the deluxe version with sour cream and guacamole (next time). The burrito was delicious. The chicken was super flavorful and the proportions of rice: beans:meat:cheese was pretty awesome.
I’d definitely come back here for a quick and easy meal (it’s like a way better Chipotle).
Fun factoid: They have this sweet little outdoor dining area that is kind of hidden if you don’t know about it. When you’re facing the counter, look to your left and there is a door — go out that and you’ll be outside. SURPRISE!

Just okay. My Mexican friend wanted to try this place. Everything was just standard typical Mexican food. Place seemed kind of dirty:/

Just moved from San Diego. I got a veggie quesadilla, my honey got a steak chimi… This is easily better Mexican food than SD. So much flavor!

Pretty much local’s version of Chipotle.
On the plus side, the burritos seem to be wrapped/​prepared much better than other fast food places. However, what really brings down the rating are the prices. A lot of micro-​charges on the menu that shouldn’t be there, such as having to pay quite a bit for just some regular salsa to go along with your plain tortilla chips, which should be complimentary. As well as having to pay like 5 bucks for a regular guacamole or queso. C’mon guys, a little bit of pico de gallo to go with my chips isn’t going to make you go under, considering the other prices are higher than they should be as well.
³⁄₅.

Somehow managing to be both rustic and hipster at the same time, the most appealing thing about this popular college student hangout is the poetic bathroom graffiti. Selections from Yeats seem popular, and commentary is surprisingly erudite if occasionally vulgar.
Were I only interested in expanding my literary toileting horizons, I would have certainly rated this restaurant more highly. As the primary purpose of a restaurant is to serve food rather than bathroom poetry, I can not recommend it. The kindest thing I can say about the food is that the sauces at least are fresh, the prices are cheap and the portions generous. Unfortunately the meat here uniformly tastes like it came out of a can with a picture of Fido on it, and anything fried, like the chips, usually has an «off» bitter taste which suggests they don’t change the oil often enough.
A culinary abomination that was advertised as a cross between a sushi roll and a burrito was posted to the menu chalkboard, but thankfully not available when I attempted against my better judgment to order a «Norrito».
I end up in this place every couple of months since it’s a nostalgic hangout for my partner, but I have long ago learned not to order or taste anything. I’m happy to read the latest additions to the graffiti, sip some water and watch the multitudes come and go.

I got the large steak burrito and it was seriously massive. I couldn’t finish it so I had to take it home, but it was still delicious. The steak nachos were also very good and meaty. Definitely a place for college kids to hang out and eat. Btw, this is located up the stairs on the side of a building; the first time we went, it took us a while to realize that we had to go upstairs and to the right.

Through the years of fluctuations of Ninth Street’s food scene, Cosmic has kept me reliably full and happy. The burritos are consistently huge, the staff is always shruggingly nonchalant, and the atmosphere is just odd enough to keep things interesting. I absolutely love it.
Foodwise, it’s hard to go wrong. I get the veggie deluxe burrito (rice, beans, cheese, guac, sour cream) every time, but the steak quesadilla is great and the chimichangas are legendary. I’ve grown partial to the chunky, watery salsa, but Chubby’s would probably be a better choice if you’re a real salsa snob. Prices are extremely reasonable for the quality of the food.
Cosmic’s reputation as ‘late-​night venue to drunk Duke students’ is only a little bit true. Cops often stop there for beer and burritos; teenagers trek up the stairs for a casual first date; waiters, dishwashers, and chefs alike leave their own restaurants to grab ‘The Best Mexican Food on the Planet,’ Cosmic’s claim to fame.

It kills me to write this review. Cosmic has always been my gem of somewhat responsible, yet still kinda sloppy Mexican food, that is also open late.
I stopped in, for old time’s sake the last time I was in town. Grabbed a veggie soft taco, hot sauce, guac. No. Just, no.
It was a sloppy mess and short of my hot sauce… it was awful. I’d had a tiny bit more to drink that I liked, so I ate it. Left, and closed the door on a place I held in pretty high regard.
:(

Came here for late night munchies. Thought I was in the wrong place upon walking into the building because the downstairs portion is totally separate from upstairs, and it wasn’t entirely clear that Cosmic Cantina was up the questionable stairs (each step seemed very old and poor in structure). Downstairs had the weirdest vibe = very out-​of-​this-​world ambience with the neon party lights and funky décor.
Anyway, this place is great for late night cheap food aka after you’ve had a few drinks. Expect a long line around midnight on the weekend. The food is not terrible, but it’s not great either. Plenty of options to choose from. I wanted to try the strange nori rolls (weird to have this option at a Mexican place), but they ran out of seaweed, so I went with the steak nachos instead (a little less than $ 7). The steak was pretty good, but the chips got soggy really quick. The food was prepared slower than I expected, especailly considering this is supposed to be a fast-​food place, and the portion wasn’t all that great either (hardly any chips). The place is small and looks run-​down, but at least they stay open til 4am.