Costa's Mediterranean Cafe & Restaurant — Restaurant in Trussville

I can’t give less than one star so I’m taking the time to share this lengthy review as a WARNING to other customers. Check your food carefully before consuming from the Costa’s in Trussville. I ordered a large takeout meal for my family, which cost nearly $150.00. I picked up the meal and took it directly home and began eating with family, only to find a cigarette butt in the salad I had almost finished. No one in my home smokes and we were all in utter disbelief at what we saw. I called the restaurant to let them know I was bringing back the entire order as I could not allow my family to eat food that was possibly contaminated. I also brought the plate with the butt in the salad. When I arrived management and kitchen staff were at the take out counter and disputed that they were responsible for the cigarette butt contamination. One of the kitchen staff took my plate with the butt into the kitchen only to be told it was my plate and that he had to return it. He then tried to throw the butt away before giving the plate back. I asked him to return both. Another kitchen staff came around the take out counter to where we were to exam the cigarette butt and said none of them “smoked that brand.” One of the managers then said no one smokes “on the line” because it is against health regulations and she could lose her license.“ She then walked away. Losing her license seemed to have been her major concern rather than public health and safety. She never apologized or even said she would try to get to the bottom of how a butt could have gotten into the food. It was clear that she didn’t feel responsible. In fact she implied that we were lying. It is a fact that the only way that the butt could have gotten in the food from the restaurant to my home is that Costa staff put it there, mistakenly or not, or — and this is too disgusting to imagine — they reused food from another customer. I was eventually refunded my charge in cash and one of managers did apologize for the “inconvenience in bringing the food back, but not before the cashier said that we were “being aggressive” in speaking about the food and requesting a refund. My sister who had also eaten salad from the same container asked the cashier how would she react to finding a cigarette butt in her food? She did not respond. Fyi, the cashier listed on the refund slip that we “didn’t like the food” as the reason for the return, so it is doubtful that a food quality audit will occur. We asked if there was a process to file an incident report about this serious health and safety issue and the cashier responded there was not. My family and I are repeat customers and have had some good meals at Costa’s. This was not one of those times. I can only hope that my family and I do not get sick from this experience, which was totally avoidable. I will never patronize the restaurant again and I’m going to report this incident to the health department as soon as it...

We visited this restaurant for my husband's birthday We get in or seated no problem then all the sudden you can hear the manager or own er yelling as employees for some reason which I don't know but it was in front of all the customers inside the restaurant. And then our waitress she acted as if she had never waited on a table a day in her life she kept repeating herself over and over to us and asking us over and over what kind of drinks we had that another server would be with us to take our order for our food and she didn't have a notepad to write anything down but then she kept asking us over and over what our drink orders were that was annoying. As we're sitting there after we get our drink orders we're waiting on our food and they tell us that they're shutting the restaurant down because they don't have enough employees to staff the restaurant but that we were able to stay and continue eating our food I ordered a Greek salad and I was the last person to get my food at the table and we had a party of eight. I had stuff missing off my salad that should have been on there at that point I was just ready to go home because there was so much going on in this restaurant that shouldn't have been going on and we also had the other server bless his heart I guess was his first day and he was trying to take our food orders and bring us our food and was having such a hard time he kept apologizing for everything going slow the way it was when it was clearly not his fault I felt like I was at a circus to be honest. And this is the second time I've eaten there The first time it was great besides the couple that was arguing beside our table like literally shout fighting at each other and call each other names kids all around and they act like they had no care in the world what they were saying or do it in front of everybody. Oh and almost forgot our silverware had dried up food on it I literally had to take and scrape it off and get a antibacterial cleansing wipe out of my purse to clean my silverware with and my mother-in-law's silverware. Also a restaurant needs a deep cleaning to tables or sticky the chairs were sticky you slip and bust your behind walking in that restaurant as well and we said something about the table being sticky and the waitress was like well we cleaned it and she wiped it again and it was still sticky and it was like well what are you cleaning with sugar water. I don't know this is a lot on a review but I was just really aggravated especially when you're going out for somebody's birthday you don't expect things to be like that it's gotten so bad at restaurants that I rather just stay home and cook my own food and be...

We had an amazing meal and experience here for date night. It's always been one of my favorites, and I hate that they are not open every single day. Catch the right day, and you will have an amazing meal and fantastic service. I had Fetticini Alfredo with seasoned chicken that was out of this world. I also ordered fried mozzarella that is real mozzarella, not sticks of some kind of cheese. The loaves of bread offered freely at the beginning are fresh with a soft center and crusty outside, as Italian bread should be. Olive oil is available for dipping, as is butter if you prefer. The salad was fresh and tasty, wonderful with homemade blue cheese (my favorite) and homemade ranch dressings. I can not find another restaurant that puts as much love into their food as this place. They care about taste and presentation. My date ordered their made to order canaloni with their wonderful marinara meat sauce. It was the special that night. I could drink the marinara it is so delicious. The restaurant was almost empty, as it was close to closing time, and yet we were welcomed inside and treated very graciously. Our server was on top of everything we might need, including refills of tea. She was friendly and knowledgeable. She was there anytime we had a question. Knew exactly when to check on us. The chef visited our table to see how we were enjoying our meal and made us feel at home. This is how restaurants should be run. Again, I wish they were open more often, I could eat here every day and never tire of the food bc there are just so many options. The restaurant is immaculately cleaned, and so are the restrooms. I can not say enough good things about this place. There is a bar with an extensive wine list, and normally, I try to sit in there, but for a change of pace, I take a booth in the main dining room. If you've not eaten here, you are missing out as it is one of THE BEST Mediterranean restaurants in Trussville. The prices are amazing for the amount of food received and you will be able to eat twice. I had so much leftover food bc I ordered the fried mozzarella, fried ravioli (my date's favorite), and my entree with the side salad. I was stuffed. It tasted just as wonderful the next day. Looking for a fantastic, authentic, made to order meal and great value for the amount received, then this is the restaurant for you. Perfect date night, fantastic food, and wonderful service. All you could ask for and more. This is also excellent for a family meal. Very family friendly. Willl will definitely return soon. I am so happy that it was open for my...