Cosimo Restaurant & Wine Bar Open in Malvern
Malvern/Frazer’s newest restaurant, Cosimo, is now open for lunch and dinner. As many as 40 wines are offered by the glass, along with five craft beers and a bar menu (including cheese plate) priced at $9 to $15. The more extensive, American dinner menu is on the expensive side — expect to pay $25 to $34 for entrees.
Located where Yamashiro used to be: 209 Lancaster Avenue, Malvern PA, 610.647.1233
February 13, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
Yuck! My friends and I went to this place to check it out. At first we almost turned back because we entered through the downstairs door, closests to the back parking lot. When we entered through that door we were not even sure if we were in a warehouse or what. We walked up the stairs and entered Cosimo…we walked across the bar area and went over to the hostess and asked to be seated in the bar area.
We were very confused when we received the menus because there were two and they were both extremely limited. We had gone for drinks and appetizers. We reviewed the choices and decided on the Scallops, Cheese Plate and Mussels.
The cheese plate came out first. The cheese selection was average in quality but small in quanity. Next came the mussels. The mussels were fresh but the sauce was boring and tasteless. But the worst of the worst was the SCALLOPS or should I say scallop….After finishing our first two app. choices, about 20 min later our third selection came out. Since we waited so long we were expecting some amazing scallops….As the waiter placed it on our table we all roared with laugher.
There was one very rubbery scallop placed in front of us. Yes ….one!
The decor was cheesey, the food was horrible and expensive. The wine was pretty good.
Do not go to this place unless you want to be ripped off!
February 21, 2007 @ 9:27 am
It is unfortunate that you had one bad experience at Cosimo and decided to write it off. While I do not doubt you had a bad experience there, my group of friends and I have had no less than half a dozen great nights there. Granted, we are into good wine and food, and “Katie’s” comment that the wine was “pretty good” incline’s me to believe this place was a little above her tastes. The wine list at Cosimo is superb. For example, they have Penfold’s Grange ($400 a bottle at The Dilworthtown Inn) BY THE GLASS! Cakebread Chardonnay, Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris BY THE GLASS sounds “pretty good” to you? Even on the inexpenside of the list, they have a Pinot Grigio by Bertani and an Orvieto by Bigi.
The beer list is as impressive. Their draft beers are Delirium Tremens, Allagash, Dogfish head IPA and 2 Victory beers (Storm King and Pils).
My friends and I have had great luck with the entrees. Sure, they don’t have a cheese list as impressive as Tria’s in the City, but I have found the food to be excellent, the temperatures of the meat spot-on, and the seafood very fresh. I had a dry bread pudding there one time, but aside from that, no complaints at all. Revisit Cosimo’s, unless you are more of a “Bennigan’s” girl.
February 23, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Sorry TommyJohn, I will have to agree with Katie on this one. My husband and I had a very similar experience. We were immediately disappointed by their menu or lack thereof. The wine selection on the other hand was very good. The tasting glasses are a good touch but Cosimos presentation falls short. The server knew nothing about the wines and admitted to not knowing which one was which when he arrived with the glasses at our table. So we never knew exactly which of the wines we were tasting. The decoration appears to be trying oh so hard to look trendy but comes off looking cheesy. The pictures on the walls were even crooked. Cosimos is desperate to appear pretentious and upscale but they don’t quite cut it. We left being completely unsatisfied and still hungry after our expensive, small portioned dinner. I must add to TommyJohn, there is nothing wrong with going to a “chain” restaurant once in a while for a good nachos kick! They are what they are and aren’t pretending to be in a class that they aren’t, ie. Cosimos.
March 23, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
My experience at Cosimo has been very positive. I have visited several times for both lunch and dinner. Each time the food was excellant and so was the service. The winebar is unique with it’s preservation and dispensing system. I like it because I can try different wines in small portions. The interior design appears to have been done professionally. The colors and finishes are very well coordinated. The rear entry I agree does not do justice to the inside. I am told by the management that this will be completed soon. Overall, I think Cosimo is a breath of fresh air, filling a void between a “stuffy” restaurant and the chain restaurants or pubs where you can have fun and enjoy good food in a cool chic place.
July 12, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
I went with my family to celebrate my mother’s birthday on July 11, 2007. We had reservations for nine people at 7:30 p.m. and were promptly seated, but 50 minutes passed from our arrival until we finally got bread served. By the waiter’s own admission, there were only two wait staff working that night because as he noted, “We weren’t expecting so many people” — that’s not the best promotional statement I’ve heard.
We finally got our appetizers served at 8:30 p.m., but several salads which we specifically ordered without bacon came with bacon. We were too frustrated to complain. When our main course arrived at 9:00 p.m., an hour and a half after we sat down, my order was prepared with bacon, even though the menu didn’t mention bacon anywhere in this dish (I’m a vegetarian). They took back my dish and brought me another one.
We all enjoyed the quality and presentation of the food, and the decor of the restaurant was very appealing, but the service was atrocious. The waiters should have been honest with their time estimations when we arrived, and management should have planned much better. Cosimo has only been around for about half a year, but its future doesn’t look bright if this poor service and insufficient attention to detail continue. Needless to say, Cosimo lost the business of nine people tonight. We are not going back.
July 29, 2007 @ 10:32 am
Sahar,
I believe your experience at Cosimo was the exception and not the rule. We have eaten at Cosimo several times and have immensely enjoyed the experience. It seems to exceed our expectations each time we visit. It’s unfortunate that it apparantely was a bad day for service the day you visited. That can happen. You are right about the food and look of the restaurant. A+ on both these counts, based on our repeated experiences and the opinion of many press articles. I disagree with your opinion on Cosimo’s longevity. This restaurant will be around for a long time. This is a “City Restaurant” in the suburbs.
September 17, 2007 @ 8:18 am
We dined there this past Friday (9-14-07) and we very surprised by our experience. I truly believe the negative comments are very valid but they are also close to the restaurants opening date, and I think they may have opened the doors a little before “prime time”.
We entered through the back door with thoughts of the previous entrance criticisms in our mind but found everything to be in nice, ultra clean shape. We were also ultra impressed by the “non smoking establishment” sign we saw on the door – this was an added bonus as I was afraid of cigar smoke ruining the food. Our maitre de was very nice and cute, professional but not at all stuffy as certain fine establishments seem to hire “stuck up” maitre de s only (note to restaurant owners- stop with the maitre de attitude – these people can still have pride and be nice t the same time with out knocking your places “perception” down)
After being seated we were promptly greeted by the bartender (we sat in the bar section) who was covering for the waiter, who took our drink orders – Nice batch of Vodka Martinis as our cocktail test. Served promptly and tasted perfect. Major points to the Dirty Vodka Martini they made.
Our waiter was perfect with a nice, perfect level of attention to what we wanted and reacted wll to the pace at which we wanted to dine(something I cannot seem to get out of Alba after 4 visits).
We ordered first course which consisted of a wonderfully prepared and just as pretty Shrimp and Lobster Gazpacho -it was out of this world, perfect in both visual and digestive terms. The other appetizer was the Tune Poke -again another perfect dish, beautiful to look at and more so to eat. It had the perfect balance of spice from the wasabi but softened with a wonderful mango relish that accompanied it.
We then moved on with a Flight Tasting of wines from a few different regions, white and red – presented well and fun too. As we were putting in our main courses we had a few questions and every member of the staff was well educated in the types, regions and flavors of the foods we asked about.
Main course was great – I had the Surf and Turf – scallops with braised beef – both very tender, both strong enough to stand alone as separate dishes. My dining guest had the NY Strip – done perfect also.
Desserts – perfect, nicely themed plates of 3 or more small portions of different types of pastries, custards, cookies cakes and pies. Everything there was great, from the flavor to the accompanying drinks.
Again we were very very pleased given the reviews and our own personal levels of expectations, with every aspect form the service, to the food, down to the decor (which was not over the top at all- i assume the critics of the decor have not traveled out of the USA too much).
The true test will be if we can get a similar experience on the 2nd and 3rd visits.
October 11, 2007 @ 9:28 pm
What a disappointment this place was! I went for lunch with two co-workers and ordered the shrimp salad. It arrived on a three sectioned plate; one section had some shrimp salad (about a full spoonful), but the other two sections had barely edible tablespoon-sized portions of cous cous and polenta. For $12? It was outrageous. I won’t go back. And judging from the lack of other diners in the place at 12:30 on a friday, I’m guessing lots of people feel the same way.
November 20, 2007 @ 9:37 am
Went to Cosimo on Saturday evening. Overall service, food and wines were very good. Will be back with friends soon.
November 20, 2007 @ 10:51 am
I’ve been to Cosimo a few times with clients and each time has been very good. Our server (Simon) was very friendly and the food was outstanding. I recommend Cosimo to everyone in my office, it’s worth a try.
November 21, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
My husband and I went to Cosimo on Monday night for dinner, what a great experience we had, (surprisingly). Been told to check out Cosimo from some friends and have to tell ya that the food and wine we had were very good. Mueller Pinot Noir paired with Duck recommended by our server was perfect. Also, the desserts were a small tasting from categories (chocolate, tropical). What we had was very good. Will be back again and recommend to others to try.
December 4, 2007 @ 5:52 am
My husband and I had a great dining experience. The wine tasting options can’t be beat with the 3 or 5 oz. glass, whole bottle or wine flights.
All the food we had was delicious including an arugula salad, gnocchi and duck entree. The dessert options were unique with a grouping of small bites of various treats.
My only complaint would be that it’s expensive and the portions are on the light side. We spent about $80 before tip and we left feeling hungry for something more substantial.
December 4, 2007 @ 6:48 am
Jill Says: Jill am I reading you right–you said that you had a salad an entree, desset and wine for two for $80. Sounds like the biggest bargain on the main line even with small portions– must be something I’m not getting right.
December 4, 2007 @ 6:48 am
Jill Says: Jill am I reading you right–you said that you had a salad an entree, desset and wine for two for $80. Sounds like the biggest bargain on the main line even with small portions– must be something I’m not getting right.
December 5, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
After my friend went to Cosimo on a dinner date, he told me I had to take my wife. So we went on Saturday for the first time. The dining experience was real good and the food was prepared well. Gotta say that was the best Salmon dish I’ve eaten (besides the one I cooked myself on a camping trip in Alaska). Would definetly be back and it’s a must try on the main line.
March 11, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
Well i will admit after reading the reviews i was undecided..but my friend and i try to go somewhere new on birthdays and i wanted to try cosimo..i warned her there were some iffy reviews but she was game to try….We loved it…I cannot say a single negative thing about our visit…it was a very nice setting,the server was excellent…informed us of anything we might want to know,checked on us just enough,cleared the table at proper times…we had calimari to split..plenty for 2 people..e both had the baby spinach salad…very good and we both had the duck and i must say i never had such tasty duck…we really wanted to do dessert but alas..no room so we didn’t get to try any dessert but we will definitely be coming back to eat here again!
April 24, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
Jon Responds,
I’ve read all postings to date and I have to say that owning a restaurant must be at least as difficult as owning any other business dealing with the public. That accounting for different levels of expectation, I must say that I haved wined and dined at least three dozen times at Cosimo with great enjoyment and pleasure. My personal cellar contains about 3500 bottles of wine, and I dine out probably four times weekly. That is not stated to impress, but to let you know that I can be a real challenge to satisfy. I really think that if you take the time to “wine speak” with the bartenders, work through the wine list (high-end by the glass), order the duck or the pork entree, and finish with any of the crazy-good dessert concoctions, you will find this place a wonderful spot to match great food and wine. If you look around on any given night, you will probably see the sommeliers from the some of the finest restaurants in the area sitting around the bar tasting Cosimo’s wines. Does that tell you something?
November 19, 2008 @ 1:13 pm
I have lived in NYC, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and have been proclaimed “foodie” (others initailly tagged the descrptive on me and it stuck)so it was refreshing for me to find a restaurant in the suburbs of Philadelphia that was not Italian and where the waiters had an actual working knowledge of wine. Now don’t go getting offended with me about this comment; if you’ve traveled out of the area you know exactly what I am talking about! ;)If you want to expand outside of the usual the flights give you a taste without the commitment. Cosimo has excellent cuisine, albiet the portions are small compared to other restaurants in the area, the quality of the fish and meat excellent, and the service good. It’s in my top five if I’m not heading up to NYC that is, so if you love food and wine and don’t want just Italian cuisine(they do have a pasta dish or two on the menu for the enthusiasts), Cosimo is the place for you.
March 7, 2009 @ 5:37 pm
We are planning to try cosimo soon. Any current feedback? Thanks
May 18, 2009 @ 5:47 pm
COSIMO IS CLOSED