We were invited to Derbyshire restaurant Cosmo to sample cuisines from across the world – here's what I thought

When Derbyshire Times was invited to visit Cosmo restaurant in Derby, I was very excited to try the international all you can eat buffet as I’ve never visited the popular restaurant chain before.

I arrived at a London Road art deco building, which once used to host popular 1930s Gaumont Cinema, where I was welcomed by friendly staff.

After confirming my booking, I was asked to sit on a plush sofa in the waiting area for a few minutes, before I was shown to my table.

As soon as I entered the dining area, I was struck by the aromatic smell of food and lively atmosphere.

The restaurant was very busy with many families enjoying delicious food with their little ones who were impressed with the colourful buffet – especially the chocolate fountain.

Cosmo is famous for its wide choice of dishes – but I was surprised to see a never ending buffet featuring meals from all across the world including curry, pasta, pizza, fried noodles, rice dishes, sushi and and more.

To make the most of my visit, I decided to try small portions of as many dishes as possible.

I started with Chicken Jalfrezi with a side of steamed rice, mango chutney and mint sauce.

The chicken was tender and the curry had a perfect hint of spices – which paired nicely with sweet mango chutney and refreshing mint dip. The rice was delicate but not overcooked and worked well with the meal.

While I was enjoying the food, my server offered me a choice of drinks. I decided to go for a Passion Tropic mocktail, which was soon brought to my table. It was very fruity and sweet – a perfect choice for anyone with sweet tooth.

I was ready to try some more food and asked my server for some recommendations. He suggested that I should try some teppanyaki grilled to order by expert chefs.

Teppanyaki is a famous Japanese cooking methods which involves grilling food on an iron plate. The word is derived from the Japanese words teppan (which means iron plate) and yaki (which means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried).

As Teppanyaki proved to be quite popular at the Derby restaurant I had queue for a few minutes before I could choose the ingredients for my fried noodles.

I decided to go for fresh salmon and I soon could watch as the chef was grilling the fish on an iron griddle – before adding some noodles and vegetables.

Other Teppanyaki ingredients to choose from included scallops, tiger prawns and chicken.

The dish was ready after just a few minutes and I was very excited to try freshly made Teppanyaki.

The Salmon was crispy and delicious. It went really well with the noodles, which were a bit more spicy than the chicken Jalfrezi. The vegetables included fried onion and carrots which brought a lovely sweet note to the meal.

Impressed with Teppanyaki I decided to have some more noodles – this time I went for singapore noodles with a choice of ingredients.

I tried some beef in black bean sauce and prawn in ginger sauce and spring vegetable spring rolls alongside the noodles.

I enjoyed aromatic beef which was well paired with fried red peppers, but perfectly cooked prawns with a hint of ginger stole my heart.

Crispy spring rolls, with carrots and cabbage, were not spicy, yet full of flavour. I would definitely recommend them as a starter or a lovely side to the noodles.

As a sushi enthusiast, I couldn’t leave without trying at least some of the sushi rolls with a side of wasabi. I had a couple of spicy seafood rolls, tuna rolls and tamogoyaki rolls, which are served with sweet rolled egg omelet.

I must say that I was a bit disappointed with the sushi which wasn’t as full of flavour as rolls I tried in Japanese resturants.

I felt very full but I couldn’t leave without trying at least some of the desserts.

First I tried a tiny bit of a chocolate cake to which I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake was served warm and it melted in my mouth. The vanilla ice cream was a lovely addition to the dessert.

I then went on to try mango pudding which consisted of two delicious layers – creamy base and fruity top. I enjoyed it even more than the cake as it was a bit less sweet, but had more flavours.

But my favourite dessert was a small eclair custard with a spongy based filled with cream and a lovely smooth chocolate on top. It was pure perfection.

I really enjoyed my visit to Comso in Derby and I would recommend it to anyone who fancies trying a wide range of international dishes and to families with children.

The prices are good value for money – as lunch bookings start with £16.99 per person with dinner ranging between £19.99 and £22.99. Bookings for children start at £8.99 ang go up to £11.99 at busy times.