Cosi

I have had nothing but good experiences here. Have always enjoyed their sandwiches. Did order soup and found the tortilla soup to be too spicy for my taste and exchanged it for tomato. I stopped in for lunch the other day and really enjoyed their personal pizza. Will definitely order it again.

Inconsistent inconsistent! Each location is like a totally different experience. I usually go to the location in Wayne on 252 (i guess it is considered Wayne or Paoli) and the service is okay, not great but not as bad as the St. Joe’s location that one is horrible, however I will write a separate review on that location later.
On with the review of Cosi. The sauce on the pizza was consistent with taste, but not preparation. The sauce on my personal traditional crust pizza had chunks of tomato which were the butts of the tomato’s, sad that I could make that out after the sauce was prepared. To put it into perspective the chunks were the size of chicken nuggets. In other words they did a horrible job of pureeing the tomato’s, it’s like they attempted to purée it with the rounded edge of a spoon, next time at least use a knife. These chunks were even too large for salsa. The second problem with the sauce was I mistakenly thought some of the skin (from the tomato’s) were peperoni’s on my pizza. Again, gross! That is not paying attention to quality, I can’t believe they even passed this as being acceptable. Also this location is very very noisy, they it was difficult to hear the 3 people I was sitting with at the same table.
I did eat the pizza, and I finished the whole thing, I had to pick off 3 large tomato butts and some tomato skin that was larger than my 1″ round peperoni. After picking through that stuff the pizza is still good, don’t get me wrong. However I think you are gambling every time you walk into a Cosi, because you are at the mercy of the person preparing or cooking the food. A positive to point out they do not have waiters/​waitresses, however they have employees walking around to each table to bring you your food and to take away your trash when you are done. This location also has outdoor seating however we had a group of 8 and had to sit in 2 different locations. If your group is larger than 4 people you will have a tough time to sit together during a weekday lunch rush. You may want to consider to go during an off hour. They also provide wifi for their customers.
So let me talk about the good stuff there. They are very consistent in the desserts, they have a great blondie brownie, and their chocolate chip cookies are fantastic. I haven’t experienced the s’more’s dessert, however I heard very good things about it. So I think you can depend on the desserts. Also they have breakfast, sorry I haven’t tried this either. I also enjoy looking at the local art that is on display in these locations, very nice option to support your local arts.
I believe if Cosi had the consistency with their 1) food and 2) customer service they would have a chain that could rally against Panera Bread. Ultimately, I would rather chance it and go to Cosi than Panera. I really hope that Cosi looks to improve these imperfections.

I’m surprised by the reviews of Cosi. It was new to us, being from GA and only in town for the week, but we were both pretty pleased with our salads. If there were one near my office i’d certainly go a couple times a quarter for a quick, easy lunch. Lots of stuff on the menu I wanted to try.
And they have coffee!

i frequent the cosi in exton for a few reasons. it’s location is great (close to shopping), and the food and service is generally pretty good.
one issue: you MUST get there at the right time. i usually find this to be just before noon. if you come after noon, the place is packed. good luck finding a table and eating your food in less than 45 minutes.
but if you get there at the right time, it’s a speedy, delicious, and healthy lunch.

Unfortunately this Cosi just seems to get worse and worse with time. The food is above average soup, salad, sandwich and pizza fare bolstered by their in house flat bread that is featured in everything. The prices are fair because they spare you the waiter tax but they seem to have real issues with freshness and staff work ethic. The place is always a mess and employees stand around socializing with each other while you wait at the counter for someone to take your order. Freshness is the other problem. The wife gets sick whenever she eats their chicken which does not appear to be cooked fresh with each order. Despite the negatives I still enjoy the occasional lunch or light dinner here. Try the Signature Salad with whole grain bread. It’s light, refreshing and one of my personal favorites.

I have had it with this place– I have tried to give them fair chances to do better but alas, they never do. I even called before because I paid for things yet they werent in the bag when I got all the way home! I usually visit during off hours, they are not busy, yet I never get the full complete order. I order take out alot on my way back from school. So around 8pm, the staff is sitting around a table, talking. I place my order and ask if everything is in the bag (since I have learned from past visits that not everything is there). This last time I peered into bag which was crammed with everything, and I thought it was set to go. WRONG. I get home, I have no sides, no bread and the sandwiches were made sloppy. Sadly I’ve given up on the Exton Cosi.

the TBM melt has this amazing sun dried tomato spread on it.
that alone makes it worthwhile.
inside, it is usually hectic and crowded, you’ve got to send your dining partner to scout out tables while you order for both of you.
i’d give it a 6.5 out of 10 on the cleanliness scale, but that spread… it makes everything else tolerable.

Cosi sandwich bar/​café may seem like a hip, modern place to grab a coffee or something to eat, but be warned– the food is less than average, and the drinks and even the smallest meals are jam-​packed with calories. I decided to go to Cosi on Main Street one time only to taste test their food. Upon arriving, I was immediately displeased. The lines were terribly long, the counter messy, and the staff at a minimal.
I ordered a smoothie drink that was strawberry. I was highly disappointed in the flavor, which was terribly rich and generic and tasted entirely of syrup with ice mixed in instead of fresh fruit. The staff member waiting on me was extremely rude, and took over ten minutes to prepare my simple order. My friend and I also noticed that sugar packets were spilled over the entire counter surface, and the condiments were in disarray.
Cosi on Main Street is far from enjoyable. It could be a nice coffee and soup shop if the wait staff, food, and overall cleanliness was better. Save your money!