Cosi

Literally no one else in there except me and it took 15 min for three dudes and two people at the register to make a wrap. Been here a couple times and each time I wonder why I didn’t just starve.

The food is mediocre at best. Their salads are awful, their soup is thin and tasteless, and their sandwiches are actually good. However it’s the service that’s the worst. The last 3 times I was there I stood in line for ½ hour and waited another ½ hour for my food. Each time only one person was taking orders and the line was out the door. That’s no way to run a restaurant, especially when all of the working people come in to pick up lunches.

I was a little skeptical at first because the menu really reminded me of Panera Bread, but the food doesn’t even compare. Every bite was as good as the last. It was exactly what I needed for a lite dinner. For such a small menu, I felt I had a lot of options.
Better than the food was the service! We had a huge party come in with us (so we had A LOT of little requests) and they were very accommodating. At no point did I ever feel that I was an annoyance from either employee that was working. At one point though they did lose the ticket for one person in the group, for which they apologized and actually returned his money.
It’s not often I give a 5, but given the quality of the food, excellent service, and professionalism of the staff, it’s the right choice.

Cosi pretends to be a higher end restaurant, but its quality is equivalent to Panera and their prices are higher. Their sandwiches are only mediocre, as well as is everything else they serve. It’s not some place that I think about when I think of somewhere to eat.

Stayed at the Hilton so this was a quick walk across the parking lot. Had the clam chowder. Portion size was decent. Thought it was a bit salty. Bread that came with it was delicious. Service was fast and friendly. Will not eat here the next time I am in town.

This restaurant is filthy. The front doors were filled with handprints that were there for days. I understand the occasional handprint after a busy lunch — but this was layers and layers of handprints. Such a turn-​off. I went in and ordered a to-​go meal– salad and soup– and asked to talk to the manager. I mentioned to her about the doors and her explanation was that they only have their windows cleaned bi-​weekly by a service. I said, really — you don’t clean your front door daily? Anyway, I had ordered, so I sat there watching a male employee try on and off an obviously shrunken black coat, touch his head and his hat numerous times, and then bag and deliver people’s food. I looked around at the bottles of syrup for coffee, don’t think they’ve ever been wiped down. Looked around at the floor, again — not recently cleaned and not a «care about your job kind of sweeping». I watched employees work with aprons on that haven’t been laundered.
Since I knew which one was the manager, I watched her prep meals behind a higher counter. I saw her, with «gloved» hands go back to the kitchen for supplies. That’s when I realized I couldn’t eat my meal, and that I just might puke. The kitchen door hadn’t been cleaned and was filled with smutz (what I would say is BACTERIA). With the same «gloved» hands that touched that disgusting door, I saw my food being ladeled/​dished up, which was handed over to the dude who kept touching his head, had and dandruff/​lint filled microfleece jacket, on to me.
So I left, with a bag of $ 10 food. Went over to Culver’s, where there business is 3 – 4 to maybe even 6 times that of Cosi at lunch time. Employees are clean, aprons are clean, the doors and counters look like they have been washed (yes two kids handprints on one door, but really, it was lunch time so I do expect a few — not hundreds). Ordered another lunch and when I got to my work I tossed the Cosi lunch immediately. I cannot afford to get food poisoning and I was so GROSSED out!!!
I thought more about it and decided if your front door looks like that, I can’t imagine the kitchen.
YUCK YUCK YUCK.
I don’t care that I’m out $ 10 — after all, food poisoning, my deductible, and missed work would be far more expensive and risky.

Is it Lunch time yet? If you want a quick pizza for lunch, look no further. They have excellent, quick to cook pizzas for the individual or a few people. I believe I had the Margarita pizza on my first visit. The lunch can get a little pricey, and if you time it wrong, you could find yourself waiting in a lengthy line. But they do a pretty good job of getting people in and out in under 30 minutes for the standard lunch rush.
My co-​worker and I have eaten at the same table both times with a few weeks in between and that table is oddly sticky, yet it doesn’t appear dirty. We may need to try a different table, we’re hoping that’s not with all the tables. That being said, the restaurant looks clean, it has many options for party sizes and if memory serves me correctly, there is even a fireplace in the middle of the dining room.

Cosi has a good quick serve menu with store-​baked breads and I really like their breakfast. This location was quiet and not busy but my breakfast sandwich wasn’t hot and the store was messy.

Stopped here for lunch in between shopping. Prices are a tad high for what you end up getting, portion size. I order the house salad, which was awesome! I also ordered a chicken melt, which was not impressive. Next to no sauce, mozz cheese that was still cold and not even close to melted. To top it off, before heading back out to cont shopping, I decided to order an Americanio… for some reason the manger taking my order was pissed. Kept sighing as I told her how I liked it made, then she turns to the co worker and says,“she asked for an Americanio, but that’s not what it is at all… do this and that and this… oh, and whip on top”. I was close to saying forget it, and walking next door to starbucks. She then hands me my coffee completely screwed up WITH no whip… not worth coming back for the salad…

I had been here a few times a few years ago and remembered how much I enjoyed it. I ordered the flat bread last week and was so excited to eat it. However, it was like a frozen SMALL «flat bread» that wasn’t fully cooked. It was cold and soggy and didn’t have good flavors. I do love the steamers though!

I really enjoy the sandwich I always get here. Problem is the restaurant is dirty. I had a hard time dining in and not noticing the crumbs everywhere, unkempt floors and surfaces needing to be wiped down. Ruined my appetite a bit. but still enjoyed my food!

Tried ordering lunch for a small group of people the morning of. The online system automatically assumed I needed it for the next day since I chose «catering,“which wasn’t obvious, so I didn’t notice. So, my stuff wasn’t ready when I went to pick it up for the group. The website should be a little more obvious and not assume I am ordering for the next day. Luckily, the staff was nice enough to make it all quickly for me once I arrived to pick it up.
Also…I can’t lie. I LOVE their food.

In summary: Fast casual sandwiches, sandwiches, soups, coffeehouse drinks, and flatbread pizzas. Emphasis on the heart oven for making the bread&pizzas. Free wi-​fi.
The salads are one of the better menu options, as they use some premium ingredients for a reasonable price (salmon on a green salad for a salad cost of $ 8.50 ain’t bad). The coffeehouse drinks run the gamut of espresso, lattes, hot chocolates, and chais, although I can’t testify about the quality for coffee aficionados. Pizzas are not as good as a dedicated Neopolitan pizza place but you’ll feel more virtuous about the healthiness compared to a chain pizza place. The pizzas are made with flatbread and the cheese is mostly little mozzarella balls rather than a «pizza cheese» mix. I’ve had Chicken Mozzarrella with grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato and Chicken Spinach with grilled chicken on a white pizza with onions, mozzarella and Parmesan. I think a wee bit more time in the oven would have benefited these pizzas to brown the cheese slightly and ensure all melted. Still, both had a generous amount of chicken and vegetables.
I do like the S’mores dessert. They bring you a little sterno oven, Hershey’s bars, and marshmallows for two to make real S’mores. Fun!
As for this location, when I visited on a weeknight, only 1 customer was dining in. The dining area is very large and I think this location primarily caters to lunchtime customers. The person closest to the register was cleaning, and when I approached, he looked at me but didn’t say anything. Later, another employer took my order but a «Hello, someone will be right with you» would have been mighty helpful.
Also they drew a picture of a chicken drinking a martini on my «chicken margarita» pizza box and a picture of a chicken eating pizza on the other pizza, which I enjoyed. Not sure if they take custom requests.
All in all, it’s not my favorite chain fast casual restaurant, but it’s a good option and I’ve certainly stopped in for a cheap date with S’mores (mmm…fire)

The food was great. This was my first time at Cosi, before this evening I had only heard of the name but didn’t know much about what they served. We got a salad and two flat bread pizzas. The pizzas were great, we got a margherita and chicken & Spinach. The cheese on both was better than what I had been expecting. The crust on one was a little on the crispy side (overcooked, but not burnt).
The salad ordered was a seasonal one, which was also very good. We were eating with three people and they offered to put the big salad in three individual bowls for us. The salad was served with certain ingredients on the side like we asked, great that they can be customized.
My only complaint, we sat outside and the music, from speakers, was very loud. The outside seating has a view of the parking lot and the dumpster enclosure. Overall, the great weather made up for the not so great view.

I loved Cosi lunch back in the day when I worked in the Loop in Chicago. Since I was on the west side of Madison and lost in a sea of chain restaurant options, I thought Cosi would be the lesser of the evils. Plus, they have patio seating.
I ordered the hibiscus mint iced tea (good), an Adobo chicken salad and a side of tomato basil soup.
Soup was barely warm, trending cold. I ordered the salad without the tortilla strips and with very light dressing. I can see my receipt captures the correct order. However, the lettuce was drowning in a very tangy dressing and they forgot to include the chicken. I really needed a little protein and appreciated that the chicken they serve has no antibiotics added. Too bad I didn’t get any!
I guess the good news is I really stuck to my diet by only eating a 5 oz soup and bit of romaine lettuce for lunch. I did have a couple bites of the flatbread with my soup. I try to stay away from bread since it’s so calorie-​dense, but it was definitely the star of the meal.

I always loved the Cosi in downtown Washington DC and found myself drawn to them more often than not when having lunch outside the brown bag.
This Cosi is very conveniently located in the shopping center near World Market where we were cruising the other day.
We ordered the tomato basil bisque and another sandwich which I think was chicken.
I had the salmon salad which was good with the vegetables seeming pretty fresh.
I was disappointed that the bread was not fresh and was tough.
When the lunch crowd is anticipated or at any other time of day the bread should be something you can actually eat and enjoy.
There was no big line at the time we went but seeing the menu while you are in the line is not really an easy thing here.
Moving the menu back is maybe an idea that would help.
I have seen better days at Cosi cafes and hope that in the future things will be super again.

Food allergies beware…
No salads are made fresh. Could not removed specified items from salad everything pre mixed. For the cost one would believe that could make this request happen.
Just disappointed. Left hungry.

I stopped in one evening hoping to find some soup and I was thrilled that they offered a homemade chicken noodle. I got a soup and regular bread to go. The soup was very good and the bread was a unique flat bread.
This is a sandwich shop where you can get salads or soups and a few other items. It is quite large inside and very clean. It’s a step above fast food for sure. I will definatley return when i can try the appetizers.

Oh Cosi. Things used to be great between us. It has been two years since I have eaten there. In that time, the prices have completely skyrocketed. The same flat bread that was a little over $ 6 in downtown Chicago has peaked to over $ 8 with tax. That is disheartening. Yes, I know this location can not help that but it felt dirty to pay that.
The menu is right at the entrance so it gets REALLY congested when you do not know whether people are in line or just reading the menu. The place is loud so it is hard to hear someone calling you down to their register. The whole front area is really thrown together.
I appreciate their effort but the layout of this restaurant makes you feel tense and shoved in to a small place. Like a little sausage.
I do LOVE that the quality has not changed. I ordered the chicken TBM (tomato basil mozzarella) and let me tell you, it was delicious. Get it hot, otherwise your cheese does not melt. I usually order the whole wheat bread and it is absolutely noteworthy. It is hearthy without being too hard and since I am eating fresh mozz, well I like to pretend the whole wheat evens it out.
They are generous with the mozzarella slices and the basil spread you get, wow. YUM! Beware, if you do not like basil. Stay away. Cosi has very rich flavors. If you see something on the menu and think, oh it is just something small, I will pick it off. Nope. It is a taste explosion in your mouth. Just avoid that flatbread.

This is a great spot to grab a bite during your lunch hour. It is spacious and comfy. The staff was super friendly and helpful. The appetizers are decent portions. I had the spinach dip & the warm brie with fruit, I couldn’t finish both in the first sitting. Both were DELISH. Cosi is a little pricey, but the food is delicious.