Cosmos Cafe & Market is the quick service restaurant at the brand-new Universal Stella Nova Resort. This eatery serves breakfast (7-11 am), lunch (11:30 am – 5 pm), and dinner (5 – 11 pm) daily. There is also a Grab & Go Market right next door in case you’re just wanting something pre-packaged. After traveling all day and opting not to pick up a pre-packaged something quick at the airport when I landed, I headed to Cosmos Cafe.
After looking at the menu, I decided to order the Creamy Tomato Soup + Whole Grilled Cheese for $14, as I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy. I thought it was funny that the menu said “Whole Grilled Cheese,” but I’m sure it’s because sometimes quick-service dining locations serve half of a grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of soup. I knew it would be more of a substantial portion as the description said, “Creamy tomato soup bowl + cheddar cheese melted on sourdough bread.”
You place your order at this restaurant in one space (under the cafe sign in the image above), and pickup is on the other side of the tables in that photo. I placed my order at 7:08 pm and sat down at a table. After waiting for 30 minutes, I went up to the pick-up counter to make sure that my order was received and was told that they hadn’t called me yet. They offered to serve me something else, but I really wanted what I’d ordered, so I passed. My buzzer didn’t go off until 7:55 pm. The team member apologized for the long wait and said they were waiting for the soup.
I’m not sure if the “grilled” cheese was actually grilled or simply toasted, to be honest. The bread was very dry and dark on one side and around the edges while soft and very lightly toasted on the other. I would’ve overlooked that part, except that the cheese wasn’t melty either, almost as if it had been sitting around for a while waiting for the soup to be ready. I specifically took a photo of the cheese that, at one time, oozed out of the sandwich, but by the time I got it, it had already solidified and was no longer melty. Sad. Unfortunately, I picked up the first half and took a bite before realizing just how dark the other side was. If you look at the top-left corner that is sticking out from that piece, that’s how dark the other side was.
Moving onto the tomato soup, it was hearty and had a drizzle of olive oil over the top. Unfortunately, the flavor was off to me. I prefer a tomato soup with a hint of basil, and this one had more of an Italian seasoning that I didn’t care for, so I barely ate any of that. I also saw other diners enjoying it, so, as always, food is very subjective.
I always think it’s fun to order dessert when I’m traveling, so I ordered the New York Cheesecake with mixed berry compote and powdered sugar for $10. I love a good NY cheesecake, but this wasn’t it. I’m used to a dense texture when it comes to this dessert and this one had more of a light and fluffy texture to it. The berry compote, however, was outstanding – not too sweet and a little tart.
Overall, dinner on the first night was not a success, either in taste or cost. Since I’m here for three nights, I’ll give it another try and hope that things are better.
