This is the fourth COSMO buffet restaurant I've visited (after Reading, Leeds and York) - and, generally, my experiences have been positive. Except maybe the York, which gave me food poisoning for a day (the sushi, no doubt).
The COSMO Derby is located about a 10 minute walk south of the city center, and about 5 minutes from the central bus station. The decor is streamlined of course, mainly. Sleek, unfussy, well-planned to enhance your dining experience. It's very busy even on week nights. I went there twice, on a Tuesday and on a Friday. Both times it was packed, although it was relatively early (6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. respectively). Although I had not made reservations the staff always managed to squeeze me, a single traveler, on both occasions after a very short waiting period. If you don't have a reservation you need to pay for your buffet in advance. That's no big problem. The staff in general was very friendly and always helpful.
The food doesn't vary too much from the other COSMO branches I visited, so that's essentially streamlined, too. There's an abundance of Chinese, Indian and other Asian dishes, only the sushi selection seems a little small-ish. So I wouldn't recommend COSMO for lovers of Japanese cuisine. But the selection in the evening is plentiful and you won't be able to try more than, say 10-15% of the dishes on offer.
That said, most people who catered this particular COSMO seemed to be complete morons: They stuffed on rice, bread, ANYthing but the good, real food. As you can see in the pictures, that's not my style. I usually try at least 10 different dishes on each visit, and no empty calories if I can avoid them. Generally, COSMO is more suitable for meat than veggie lovers.
The quality of the individual dishes doesn't vary a lot: none of the dishes I would consider high cuisine (and how could they be), but then none was worse than decent. Everything I tried was nicely presented, well prepared and perfectly edible. Plates and cutlery would never run out either. All in all, a smooth, pleasant, super-solid dinner experience. read more