Cosmos

601 First Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612-677-1200
http://www.cosmosrestaurant.com/

Category: New American

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 10 (Dinner), 6 (Brunch)
Service: 10
Ambience: 9

Recommendation: Excellent. The dining experience in the Twin Cities doesn’t get much better than at this restaurant. This is surely what all restaurants in the city will be judged against!

The Cosmos Restaurant is located in the Graves 601 Hotel. From the minute you step through the doors of this hotel, you know that your experience here is going to be special. The décor is unlike any other in the Twin Cities – urban, luxurious, chic, stylish…are you sure we’re not in New York. You take the elevator to the 4th floor and the same trendiness flows into Cosmos. The lounge and bar area are lit to exude warm colors which complements the soft blue lit glass motif hanging from the ceiling. There is plenty of comfortable lounge seating available, and even though the large bar could overwhelm the lounge, its style and décor fits in perfectly. The modern bucket seats that fill up most of the restaurant are very comfortable. The crowd here can be pretentious and you better dress your part to fit in.

The wine list is extensive and there are plenty of “by the glass options” for red, white, and sparkling wine lovers. The only knock on the wine list was that the reds were mostly confined to California and that their wines were significantly overpriced. Reading the menu will make your mouth water; in our opinion the combination of dishes on the tasting menu didn’t seem very interesting so we ordered a la carte. The server started us off with complimentary “Amuse Bouche” (small bite sized dish to prepare the guest for the meal), consisting of Herb-Crusted Escargot with Black Truffle Pate. The herbs from the escargot paired well with the earthiness of the pate. What a wonderful start! For appetizers we had the Seared Diver Scallops with Truffle Linguini and Ahi Tuna Tartare with Edamame Sorbet and Sriracha Mayo. Both dishes were presented beautifully and tasted even better – the scallops cooked to perfection matched with the richness of the linguini; and the cool sorbet, creamy mayo added to, but didn’t detract from the freshness and quality of the tuna. For the entrée, we tried the Vanilla Butter Poached Lobster and the Confit of Halibut. Both were cooked to perfection and the combination of flavors was dancing in our mouths. My only complaint here was that there was too much happening on the plate with the halibut and the presentation could be fine-tuned. For dessert, we would highly recommend the Pineapple (which is almond cake and pineapple)… the combination is deadly. The Chocolate Globe and White Chocolate Flan did not live up to our expectations, although the scent from the passion fruit sorbet and blood orange tropical just permeated the table when the white chocolate globe was broken into. The service was super. Our server, Daniel was knowledgeable and attentive – but not overbearing.

$$$$. The restaurant is quite reasonable given the quality of the cuisine, although the wine list is overpriced.

Update (November 18, 2007) – We had brunch at Cosmos on a Sunday. The overall experience was average and we wouldn't recommend going here for brunch. It feels like its more of a necessity in order to cater to the hotel guests. The service was incredibly slow and they had the bartender take care of us (apparently, they were short staffed!). Due to the restaurant being so busy, they didn’t offer their typical 3 course brunch menu but we had both the Breakfast and Lunch menus to pick from. We liked the Lobster Frittata ($16) with Chorizo, Sage, and Asiago cheese - it had nice flavor. Although it didn’t come with bread, we asked for French bread on the side, which was a nice addition. The Brioche French Toast ($16) with Raspberries, Warm Chocolate Sauce, and Maple Syrup was average. Although the sauces and the whipped cream made it taste really good, the toast itself was really dry. The Hudson Valley Foie Gras Benedict ($18) was excellent. After 11am, they have a lunch menu available which includes a variety of dishes such as Salads, Burgers, Sandwiches, Meat Entrees, and Desserts.