Cosmos New Southern — Restaurant in Lynchburg

Today we had a rough experience to say the least. We arrived and were very excited to try Cosmos because we had heard great things. They seat us as at our table, and then no one comes to get our drink order for at 15 minutes. We are just sitting there like hello? Lol! But you know we figured they were just busy. Then our server does eventually come over and he very strongly smells of weed and is just kind of spacey. We started with ordering an appetizer, but when it came out the they only brought the biscuits with the apple butter. But we ordered a flight that was suppose to come with various jellies and this ricotta thing. Not only did they not inform us, but when we asked about it they did not even comp us the full appetizer. The best they could do is give us half off. Like what you falsely advertised? But, even then we weren’t really bothered. Just kinda bummed. Then our food did not come out until a whole hr after ordering. Our waiter even came over and asked if we had finished eating?? I was like what lol! But then it came out, fries were cold, my fiancé said his waffle was not cooked in the middle. Bit of a mess. They did not even put the sauce on a sandwhich one of us ordered, or even bring the syrup for the waffles. At this point we were really starting to not enjoy our meal. But we really trying to be patient. The guy then interrupts us mid meal to have us pay, we then place an order for dessert. We sat around for 30 minutes after finishing our meal. The dessert never came. So we got up to go ask them about it, we’ll turns out they don’t even have the dessert we ordered. But they already charged us. Just a mess. The guy was very apologetic but then the hostess, man this is what made us want to never return. She came up to us, very rudely saying how we cant stand around the bar, etc. I tried explaining how we were being helped and the guy was coming back but she proceeded to be very rude. Like so rude, I can’t even explain it. I have never felt that uncomfortable in a restaurant. They ended up eventually giving us cash back for the dessert but the hostess was pointing at us across the restaurant, it was just a horrible feeling. And especially as a customer. I mean we tried being nice, we were never rude. Just trying to explain that we were missing food, condiments, etc. But the hostess just added the cherry on the top and ruined the whole...

I have visited this restaurant twice and each time has been a more pleasant experience. The first time there were small things like a longer than usual wait between visits from servers and the food not being as flavorful/sauced as it could be but nothing terrible. I want to state that it's clear the feedback others have written has been taken to heart as the second visit saw more frequent visits from service staff and the food being extra delicious. I ordered the Nashville hot chicken mac and cheese bowl and while I was waiting, I read the reviews on Google and got REALLY nervous I had just made a mistake. When the food arrived, it was presented beautifully. Took a bite of the chicken fully expecting to be struggling with the heat and....

it was exactly what I expected. I checked in with the waitress to ensure the recipe hadn't been changed and to her knowledge, it had not. I think the thing that people might be missing is that Nashville hot chicken IS supposed to be spicier than non-Nashville hot chicken. The whole premise behind it is lots of cayenne/spice in the breading and then an added hot sauce on top of that. So for those of you who like the level of spice the dish traditionally brings, it's delicious. No bitter flavor and nothing unmanageable spicy. Don't let those review keep you from visiting and trying it out! Also love their fruit teas though I ask that it be made with unsweet tea because otherwise it's too saccharine for my taste. Hopefully one day I'll have room at the end of the meal so I can fit in some...

Food looked nothing like all of the pics I viewed before going. One tiny piece of chicken on the Mac & cheese bowl. Fried green tomatoes were tough and chewy. My Tito’s martini (up with olives) turned out to be a poured orange sweet tini (lemon on the side and one olive on the bottom - who puts an olive in a sweet cocktail?). My server was so nice we couldn’t complain….our bill was $62! They need trained bartenders and to up their game with the food items pictured on their website.

3/9/25 - I am so sad to see a new locally-owned restaurant having to shutdown. They had a great limited menu (some restaurants have tooo many items on their menus - making the freshness & proper serving unappealing). The indoor decor was beautiful. The concept of chicken & waffles, with southern comfort food, was a need in Lynchburg.

Hiring staff and having them show up to work can be a HUGE issue for an owner or manager. However, the prices were rather high, especially the beer line! When we ate there, the pour/amount, using a credit card was confusing - and produced SHORT beer pours. If they could consider re-opening - look at local prices, get rid of the beer line concept, and train servers about positive & timely WELCOMES. Work on the kitchen staff to produce dishes (that looked like their beautiful ads -showing good amounts of food) to get the food out hot and ready in a timely manner.

Please, please reconsider reopening your doors with a few tweeks and I bet you will be successful. Everyone loves chicken...