Review: Cosmos Cafe’s Bold And Exotic Flavors

Cosmos Café

Authentic Greek, Mediterranean

7203 W North Ave Wauwatosa, WI 53213

(414) 257-2005

Cosmos Hours:

Monday – Friday 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Saturday 11:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m.

Sunday 11:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m.

If you have not yet experienced the explosion of endless flavors at Cosmos Café you are truly missing out on something epic. Set back a bit from the hustle and craziness of North Avenue, Cosmos Cafe serves Greek and Mediterranean food that is about the same price as OG’S with bold and exotic flavors that will not disappoint.

The Mediterranean style Restaurant Cosmos is located in Wauwatosa Wisconsin where the Tselentis Family originally opened it in 2009. For Helen Tselentis and her husband, Theo, Cosmos Cafe is truly a labor of love. The couple used to run the fish fry at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church for over 10 years.. It is truly a family business; with that being said the chefs amazingly are their two sons known as Spiro and Yanni, other family members including cousins play the role of chef as well. With no background history in culinary school these family chefs have proved themselves more than worthy in the kitchen due to their amazing meals they display.

Cosmos is a great place to stop in and get good food for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Enjoy the Mediterranean flavors and casual atmosphere, says Helen Tselentis the owner of the popular growing restaurant. She is not lying either, the restaurant is truly a place that makes you feel so close to home. They have the perfect combination of Greek, Mediterranean and American style food for a great price. You honestly cannot go wrong. Everything is fresh cooked and hand packed the minute you order it. The gyros ($5.50) and the fish fry ($9.50) are two signature menu items. Other favorites include the jerk chicken ($6.50) and the Mediterranean Salad ($7, or $9.50 with chicken). Another item that is extremely popular is there burger ($5.50 to $6.50) which are without a doubt one of the best handmade burger to ever touch my tongue.

If there were a restaurant that made you feel as though you were at home, Cosmos would without a doubt be it. This place from the moment you walk in has a warm loving atmosphere that you can’t help but to love. I was first introduced to Cosmos through a friend about three years ago who happened to be a relative to the owners.  At first I was skeptical simply because I felt as though all Greek style restaurants were in many ways extremely alike. However, I was so very wrong; as soon as I walked into the restaurant, I was greeted with the biggest smile from Helen herself. I think what I loved the most was how personable the family was and how they worked so hard to make sure you had the best meal at their restaurant that day. That is what makes Cosmos so different and why it stands out as much as it does. The family goes out of their way to connect with the Tosa community; while sitting there about 10 more customers came in which all their names were known. It was amazing how the staff at Cosmos really knew their customers; you do not find that kind of customer service in many places.

I have been to Cosmos many of times and if I had to choose a favorite mea,l I would have choose their chicken shish kabob plate which consists of fresh grilled chicken seasoned in the most flavorful way every imagined. This plate also comes with the option of a side Greek salad or French fries topped with feta cheese and olives which only costs $9 for an excessive amount of food. The other two personal favorites of mine would have to be their Gyro which is served with fresh lamb rapped in a warm pita with covered in tzatziki sauce. The lamb combined with both the pita and sauce becomes a firework in your mouth all the strong flavors working together make you want to cry as well as to never step foot into any other Greek restaurant but Cosmos.  The greatest part about the meals is that you only had to wait about 4-5 minutes for your meal, which was made fresh right from scratch. Now that is something to brag about.

Not only was the service outstanding, but the décor of the restaurant also stood out. Because Cosmos is a small family business, the restaurant only has about 6 inside tables and about three outside seating. Although tiny, they really put a lot of effort to make Cosmos look as good as it tastes. I have to say for a small restaurant it was well taken care of. All the tables are made of wood and cleaned immediately after a customer has left. They even had someone sweeping while people were eating just to make sure their restaurant stayed as clean as possible. As far as what I saw from the kitchen, it was well organized and everything had was put neatly in place that was easily accessible for the cooks. The design of the restaurant was also impeccable. The displays of personal family photos from Greece is what really got me; they personalized the walls of Cosmos, the Music which was mostly Greek was played softly in the background so it was not hard to communicate with one another while enjoying the meal.  Last and what was surprising was the how neat and well stocked the girls bathroom was. I was very impressed with how neat the women’s bathroom was; not only did they provide the essentials but as well as feminine items that were very useful. As mentioned previously, it is more than obvious that they want their customers to have nothing but the best when they walk into Cosmos.

Overall, Cosmos is one of the best if not the best Greek restaurant in the State of Wisconsin; it is a 5 star restaurant in my opinion as well as many others who play a part of this outstanding business, not only because their meals are delicious but because they take care of you as though you were actually apart of their family. Cosmos is truly a home away from home.