COSI Evaluation Main Page.

6 locations rated by Jael. (5 A, 1 C)

Big Thank You to Jael Oliver who is sitting in the back on the left.

Costa Rica 

Multiplaza, Escazu (11/21/2015, Rating: A)

Jael: Here I am at the halfway point in my Cosi adventure, and not wanting to hit my wall in this adventure I decided to pull out my secret weapon…La Suegra. My mother-in-law is super observant, and I decided to use these super powers for the good of humanity or at least Cosi. You should know that Escazu is called the Beverly Hills of Costa Rica, so again people in this area are looking for perfection. Sadly in our beautiful Multiplaza Mall there are many fancy food establishments that are completely empty.

However, this was not the case with Cosi. Cosi is located in the center of Multiplaza’s heart. To the left of Cosi is our Cinema and in front are the escalators to go up to the food court, and make a bad decision. They really couldn’t have picked a better location.

On our arrival the baker located strategically at the front of the store as you walk in was hard at work, and gave us a quick wave and pointed us to where we could grab some fresh bread. Directly past him are the registers and of course the famous electronic rotating picture menus overhead. The first thing I noticed were all of the employees at this location. There must have been at least 10 people working, and this was a curiosity seeing as this was the smallest location I have visited thus far. Then in a matter of 15 minutes of arriving I understood why they needed 10 people on hand to handle the madness. Cosi was completely packed. By the time we left there was not one chair left.

As we ordered the employees at the register were warm and friendly. They patiently gave suggestions, and told us what Cosi plate was their favorite. This made our order much faster and less frustrating. We ordered: Bacon Turkey Melt, Calabria Flatbread Pizza, and Taste two (Turkey chili soup, Cuban sandwich combo), and a piece of chocolate cake.

The food was amazing. I can say with eyes closed that any flatbread sandwich is going to be delicious. I decided to order “The Cuban Melt”. Being part Cuban myself I really ordered it just so I could criticize it and make it feel bad in comparison with its prettier Cuban sandwich cousins in Miami. Again, I have been proved wrong. This sandwich was so delicious, the pork so tender the onions and red pepper perfectly sautéed, and the pickles were the perfect combo of crisp and acidic. It was exactly what I look for in my Cuban sandwich. Am I going to say it’s the best Cuban sandwich I have had? I will leave it to the reader´s discretion as I don’t want to find a mob of angry Cuban’s at my house. Moving on to the Calabria Flatbread Pizza. This thing as you will see in the photos was stacked mile high and was just beautiful. It’s not thrown together in a frenzy. This thing was made with love every topping placed perfectly for aesthetic and taste. To talk about the Chocolate cake I am going to need another article. If you are going to a Cosi, please go get one. You will not be disappointed.

The service here was amazing. Dare I say the best so far? I was not expecting much as this was by the food court, and it’s in a Mall. Not only did the server bring us our food, he did so for everyone, and keep in mind there must have been 50 people in this place by the time we left. This particular server visited our table no less than 5 times. To see how we were doing, if we needed anything, how our food was. At one point he came over to me and asked if I wanted to wrap up my sandwich for later to which I said it was fine and I would just keep it in the original wrapper. One minute later he came back to our table and grabbed my sandwich to which I screamed, “Hey! That’s mine!” (The sandwich was that good). I didn’t realize he was kindly wrapping it for me and placing it in a to-go bag. Cosi you are back on top with this location!

Here are the details:

Location: Multiplaza Escazu local #689

Time: 11:57am

Date: November, 20^th, 2015

Reception: Giocanda

Ordered:

Turkey Bacon Melt Sandwich

Calabria Flatbread Pizza

Taste two (Turkey Chili/Cuban Melt)

Chocolate cake

Peach Bellini Tea (My mother-in-law said this was the best tea she has ever had)

Mojito Lemonade

Rating: (1-5) 5 being the best

Service: 5

Food: 5

Cleanliness: 5

COSI-Plaza Real Alajuela

Out of all the designs and layouts, this was by far my favorite.  This location reminded me that Cosi did originate in France.  The whole front and side is open to the air and the beautiful mountain views.  Even though we were open to the elements this place was immaculate.  The chairs and tables perfectly situated to make you feel like you’re part of Cosi, but also transported to somewhere very European.  As always Cosi impressed with people rushing to our side handing us menus, warm bread and a friendly welcome.  I loved the service here.  We were not allowed to even fetch our own food with the famous Cosi buzzer.  One of the servers stopped me and told me she would bring us our food.  I would like to mention, that they don’t need to do this.  Here is what we ordered: Sausage Italian pizza, Chicken and Spinach pizza, and the BBQ Pulled Pork and Cheddar Melt, and the delicious Peach Bellini Tea.  The flatbread pizza is amazing, but I have to say the Chicken and Spinach was absolutely delicious. It was good enough to make any Italian Mamá smile. In the pictures you again will see that these pizzas are piled high with ingredients.  It’s hard to explain how beautiful this location is.  Not even the pictures are able to capture the beautiful amalgamation of Cosi and the surrounding mountains and scenery of Costa Rica.  Once again, well done!

Here are the details:

Time: 11:12am

Day: December 3rd, 2015

Location: Plaza Real Alajuela

Reception: Genesis

We ordered:

2 Peach Bellini Teas

BBQ Pulled Pork & Cheddar Melt Sandwich

Sausage Pepper Flatbread Pizza

Chicken and Spinach Flatbread Pizza

Rating: 1-5 (5 being the highest)

Service: 5 

Cleanliness: 5

Plaza Carolina, San Pedro, Costa Rica (11/13/2015, Rating: A)

Jael: I was a Cosi-virgin.  I was not really sure what to expect, and honestly what I did expect was a Panera rip-off.  However, as we drove into the Plaza Carolina strip mall and reached our location I could tell that I had made a mistake.  Cosi is in the middle of the strip mall and commands attention with its clean and modern design.  I tried to soak in every detail.  As we approached the entrance I immediately noticed the outside seating strategically placed so the ambience that's inside wafers out.  On entering we were greeted not one but three times.  The "baker" came out from behind the brick oven, and handed us fresh samples, another employee rushed to the other side and offered us menus, and the woman at the register after greeting us offered up suggestions.  I have NEVER and I repeat never been treated like this even in some of the fanciest restaurants. We made our selection: Tomato basil soup, Steakhouse salad, Tandoori Pizza, and Cosi club. Again, we were offered more samples of the "flatbread muffins".  An excellent breakfast selection.  What I noticed after the stress of picking out our food was how clean the location is, and this to me was surprising on seeing the number of people that were here.  This is a self-seating establishment, but again we were helped to our seat, and I even spotted that same baker bringing a couple their food and just chatting with them.  The decoration and lighting were perfect, and even some background music could be heard over people talking.

The food arrived exactly 9 minutes after we were seated.  We were given a buzzer to alert us when it was ready and we could go retrieve it by the kitchen. However, upon my standing to retrieve the food one of the workers gave me the sit-down gesture and quickly brought us our food which we noticed her do for several tables. 

Now, on to the food.  First, the tomato basil soup was rich sweet and completely complemented by the fresh-baked bread. The Steakhouse Salad, was in my opinion the best, the meat was tender, the presentation was lovely and the quantity was surprising. Next was Smoky BBQ Chicken Pizza, my husband who absolutely hates chicken was enthralled with this. Half way through eating another worker came by to ask us if everything was okay, and if we needed anything. It just was this complete experience.  I felt like I was at Disney for the first time, and I am really not exaggerating.  I came her expecting another fast food experience or a mediocre chain-restaurant experience, and honestly I can say I left with a four star.

Here are the details:

Location: Plaza Carolina Local # 2, San Pedro, Costa Rica

Time: 6:30

Date: November, 13, 2015

We were attended by Jazmin Salas

Food and Drink:

Tomato basil soup

Cosi Club sandwich

Steakhouse Salad

Smoky BBQ chicken pizza

Green apple tea

Aloe Vera drink

Soda

 

Rating (1-5) 5 being the best.

 

Service: 5

Food: 5

Cleanliness: 5

Staff: 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cosi Sabana (11/14/2015, Rating: C)

Jael: I now with my first location under my belt, and having had an amazing experience was ready for another one. Especially since I was going to the Sabana business center in our capital San Jose. Have in mind this is a very well to do area. The president and former presidents of Costa Rica have houses here.  The houses are big and the streets are clean. As we pulled up to the location it was everything I had hoped for clean beautiful brick finish, and not a sign of trash.  There was not a blade of grass out of place.  We walked in and it was beautifully lit by the windows surrounding the entire store front.  We arrived early in the morning to try the breakfast, as this is the only location so far in Costa Rica that offers that option.  The restaurant smelled clean. Everything was pristine. I invited two of our local friends from this area to join us so they could see if it met up with the standard of the area. We all remarked on how clean it was.

However, when I finally came to from my “clean coma” I realized no one had greeted us.  There was no one there to offer us some fresh bread or even some fresh muffin.  I looked at the women attending to the register and smiled and greeted her to which she hesitantly acknowledged us. This was a shock considering we were dressed in formal wear suits and ties and dresses. After ordering we wandered over to a corner booth perfectly situated by the brick oven.  Finally, the baker showed some of the Cosi hospitality that I had become accustomed to and gave us a friendly wave.  After 10 minutes our buzzer went off and I wandered over to the kitchen front and helped the server grab our food.  The baker then took the initiative to come out and explain which sandwich was which.  We ordered: Squagel Sausage Pepper Frittata, Western Squagel, Squagel Cosi Club, and Cosi Tico Wrap. With some Cappuccinos, and Black tea.  The food as always was very good, and nothing like the fresh-baked bread.  Our friends did have one complaint.  The Sausage Pepper Frittata Squagel, had one tiny piece of sausage as you will see in the pictures. The cappuccinos were excellent, move over Starbucks.  We finished our breakfast in this beautiful atmosphere content, and yet something was missing. It was the service.  Can you imagine if The President came in to this location and was treated with such disinterest? The food and the décor were not enough to compensate the bad taste the staff left on us.

 

These are the details:

Location: Sabana Business Center, San Jose

Date: November, 14th, 2015

Time: 7:30am

Staff: Prefer not to mention.

Food ordered:

Squagel, Sausage Pepper Frittata

Squagel, Western

Squagel, Cosi Club

Cosi Tico Wrap

3 Cappuccinos

1 Organic Black Tea

 

Ratings (1-5) 5 being the best

 

Staff: 2.5 (the .5 is for the baker)

Service: 2.5

Cleanliness: 5

Food: 4

 

 

 

 

Santa Ana (12/6/2015, Rating: A)

My Cosi adventure has literally come full circle and I am right where I began, but with a different point of view. Cosi Santa Ana is everything you want and more.  You’re in a beautiful area, where one of the Presidents of Costa Rica even has a house amongst the mountains. Will she come to Cosi? Well, if she does I’m sure she will be happy. The service here is nothing less than what I have come to expect of Cosi.  We were greeted even before we got out of our car.  There were two servers in the parking lot handing out fresh bread and promotional papers with some of the offers at Cosi.  They weren’t just handing out bread like the sad Walmart greeters this was real emotion and warmth.  When we finally made it out of the car we saw there was a trade-fair next to the businesses in City Place selling all types of handmade goods and products.  This brought a lot of business to Cosi, and by the time we left the place was packed. I really liked this location not only was it modern, but it was cozy. Everything was perfectly situated with the famous oven at the center like the heart we all know it is.  Looking over there I saw a familiar face or at least my husband did.  It was the baker from our first Cosi in Plaza Carolina. He was the one that came out and was talking to customers in one of my first photos.  I wouldn’t surprised if they had moved him there to help train and show other employees how to give the real Cosi experience to others.  The two employees at the registers were the nicest and sweetest I have encountered thus far.  They joked with us and gave us suggestions, and when I took forever to decide they weren’t irritated at all. I decided to invite some friends to see what they had to say about the restaurant, food and service.  They were all impressed.  One of my friends has a wheat allergy and was understandably depressed by missing out on the fresh-baked bread at every corner. However, at Cosi even the gluten-free and vegetarians have a home, and not a disgusting home filled with fake wanna-be ingredients.  The salads here are really amazing, something that in Costa Rica can be hard to find.  We who have migrated to Costa Rica at times want to see a familiar face or at least familiar food, so for us it’s a treat beyond compare.   Another friend said he didn’t know where he was, with the amazing pizzas and ovens it was like being transported to somewhere else.  Everyone said they were coming back for sure, and with some many locations it’s not a difficult task. For me Cosi is one of the best restaurants in Costa Rica with a great price, and great options.  Will I come back? 

Yes, I’m hooked. Like I have said before Cosi is not just a restaurant it’s an experience. 

Here are the details:

Time: 12:05pm

Day: December 6th, 2015

Location: Santa Ana, City Place

Reception: Tatiana

We ordered:

Calabria Flatbread Pizza, Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza, BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza.

Rating: 1-5 (5 being the highest) A+

Service: 5

Cleanliness: 5

Food: 5

 

Following pictures sources: RJ Dourney twitter feed and Jael's pictures before this Santa Ana locations opened.

 

2nd Location in Costa Rica (Location not specified)

Source: RJ Dourney twitter feed.

 

 

Multiplaza Escazu Costa Rica.

Heredia Costa Rica