09/15/08

Not sure why everyone has to complain

by shebes28

We live in New York, and the prices for anything is up there. When I go out, I know i'm going to spend a little more money than if i ate fast food... I enjoyed my food here... You could always get more for your money but the food tasted good, and i enjoyed myself.. I would recommend this to people who like enjoying a meal out.

06/17/08

A Cosmic Rip-Off. You can do much better!

by dorothybakker

My husband and I ate lunch there on June 13th anticipating a delicious and satisfying meal, however, we received anything but. After paying $12 for a burrito and $12 for a salad we expected decent sized, palatable offerings. The organic 'homemade' burrito wrapper was similar in texture to play dough, the rice overcooked and the chicken filling was fried and gamey in flavor. The chicken salad was served on a tiny plate and contained a little bit of guacamole, a few bits of chicken and teriyaki sauce. The greatest disappointment came from the pool of water at the bottom of the salad bowl- they washed the greens, but did not dry them- gross! When I told the cashier about all the liquid in the salad she refused to listed and walked into the kitchen. This place makes Chipotle seem like a 3-star Michelin restaurant!

• Pros: Ambience, fun decor.
• Cons: Lackluster food and service.

05/21/08

good food but WAY TOO EXPENSIVE

by bbbryans

So, the burritos are great, but I think they've finally lost their minds with their prices.

I ate their burritos like a fiend when they first opened, and over the years they've gradually creeped up the prices.

Now you can (no joke) spend $15 on a burrito, and all of a sudden they're charging extra for hot sauce.

I'm know food costs are going up, but come on: 75 cents for f-ing hot sauce on a burrito that costs $15?

Insanity.

• Pros: delicious burritos
• Cons: insanely high prices

05/10/08

They cheat you

by spidermonkee

When Cosmic Cantina opened during my undergrad years at NYU, i loved it. It was affordable, the food was good, and i could eat it at 5am. Over the years, they have raised the prices but i still thought it was relatively worth it. Today I ordered a chicken burrito which first of all cost $13 (although the take-out menu I got a few months ago said 9) plus $3.50 for tax and delivery charge. When the delivery guy got to my apt, he conveniently was out of singles so I basically paid $20 for a chicken burrito. I called Cosmic Cantina to complain about this and all he said was, "we raised our prices recently" and that he would speak with the delivery man. Since I won't be getting back the $10 that I feel I was owed, I hope at least other people will see this and decide not to be cheated like I was.

• Pros: food is tasty
• Cons: they will take all your money and leave you hungry

03/03/08

disappointment is not a strong enough word

by alykap

i read the reviews online, and this place sounded amazing

also, the price level was only $

sorry to crush anyone's views of this place. but this place was terrible.

the nachos, which was why i went there, were NOT very impressive.

they were way too hard, and then way too soggy at the bottom.

the only good thing about them was the cheese.

we went here because it was open and it was around 4 AM and we had a craving.

i ordered a plate of nachos and two cokes and it came up to ~$19.00.

what the hell?

i wouldn't of even THOUGHT about paying for this if i wasn't so damn tired, but oh well.

maybe some of you indeed HAVE the money to waste spending $15.00+ on nachos

but i certainly don't when they don't even serve it to me.

everything is self-serve. have to get your own napkins, silverware, etc. etc.

(so the ONLY bright side is that i didn't have to tip them)

i was surprised because the nachos were ready maybe.. 10 seconds after i ordered them?

yeah, that's quick service, but it sort of worries me? oh well.

couldn't recommend this place to anyone unless i hated them.

• Pros: don't have to tip & they are open late
• Cons: way too high of a price, not very nice atmosphere, not very friendly staff. whoo

01/03/08

High quality taste and ingredients for a steep price...

by mac_foody

I love this place. It has a charm about it that is hard to find. It is eclectic, funky and cool. The problem is, you sit in funk and pay for elegance. The spin city quesadilla with chicken and a small bag of chips with guac will run you $24. The food is delicious and the ingredients are fresh, just add $10 to what you think your bill will be so you are not shocked. Then order your own food, pick-up your own food, get your own water and bus your own table. If you even get a smile from the NYU student/order taker that Thinks they are worth a tip because they are cute, you are 1 up on me. The Mexican guys in the open kitchen, as usual, deserve most of the credit. They are polite, hard working and quite busy. I give this place 4 stars with unease. Quality, fresh ingredients and good taste are the only reason this place is in business. Bring lots of cash or better yet, go to Grammercy Tavern and have the shoulder of lamb with cranberry beans and broccoli puree for the same price as a quesadilla and chips from a serve and bus yourself college style eatery.

• Pros: Fresh and tastey.
• Cons: Service and price.

10/21/07

The worst food I have ever eaten

by lostinorbit

If I was homeless and I had to prepare food from the closest dumpster, I could make better food than this disaster of a restaurant.

Cosmic Cantina is 1 block from my apartment. Everytime I go there I swear I will never return. This restaurant is awful. Tonight I ordered nachos. First they gave me my order with crumpled unmelted cheese and stale tortilla chips. I asked if there was anyway they could melt the cheese. They begrudgingly did, but they managed TO SET MY NACHOS ON FIRE.

I have never tasted a single item from this menu that was edible. DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT ITS AWFUL.

A final note- this might be the only negative review for Cosmic Cantina- Remember that restauranteurs post fake positive reviews about themselves everyday to get a higher score and cover up poor quality and bad service.

I hate this restaurant. My girlfriend hates this restaurant. Everyone we know hates this restaurant.please dont go there, or if you do, when you get home and realize how bad it was...write in and let the world know about this abomination.

• Pros: i DIDNT DIE AFTER I ATE THERE...GOT LUCKY
• Cons: EVERYTHING

06/20/07

Still Recommended...but it has gone downhill the last year

by crzyophelia

I used to live in an NYU dorm right next to Cosmic Cantina back in 2001-2004. The food was such a staple of late night drunken munchies and a nice healthy lunch or dinner. Everything was so fresh and delicious, the ingredients were of top quality and organic.

I have come back several times in the last year and have been dissapointed. Now they charge for even a side of hot sauce, and chips no longer come with the meal. The burritos are smaller than they used to be.

The cashiers who used to be friendly and know me by name are now grumpy and kind of rude. When I asked for hot sauce after I got my burrito he said " you should have told me when I was ringing you up"--yea so he could charge me a buck for a little dish of hot sauce.

HOWEVER. the food still tastes very good, and the sangria is still cheap and powerful. I wouldnt have my birthday parties here anymore...but it is still a place I go to when I have a craving for a cali style burrito or nachos.

• Pros: still good and healthy food, good strong drinks
• Cons: stingy with sides, chips are overpriced, rude staff

04/30/07

really slow takeout

by annmf

I just waited half an hour in a more than half-empty restaurant to get my (one) burrito to go. The cashier grudgingly apologized for the wait but was unwilling at first to throw in a few chips as compensation and had a long conversation with the kitchen staff to discuss the idea. The waitress seemed drunk and belligerent and when I got home, the burrito was missing some of the ingredients listed on the menu. I used to really like this place for cheap and pretty healthy Mexican food, but now I wont go back.

• Pros: great menu, good prices
• Cons: horrible service

03/22/07

Rude owner spoils otherwise good meal.

by cb11

We went to Cosmic Catalina because members of our party had been there previously and enjoyed the food. Unfortunately, though the food was good and our waitress was great, our party was subjected to very rude and belligerent treatment by the visibly intoxicated owner. When we arrived, we asked if we could join two tables together so that our party of seven could be more easily accomodated. Apparently the owner took grave offense to this as he was visibly and verbally hostile to our party from that point on -- rearranging our table, harrassing our waitress about allowing us to sit together, and making rude remarks to us throughout our meal. Furthermore, he lied about our tables being reserved in an attempt to hurry us out of his place, brought the bill when we had yet to finish our drinks, and then assaulted one of our party when confronted about his ill treatment of us. His behaviour toward us could easily be his behaviour towards you. Customers beware! None of us will ever eat in this establishment again.