Critic's Review
Lester's Diner has taken over Cosmos and renamed it to, you guessed it; Lester's Diner. I decided to check it out. Interestingly, it was exactly 4 years since I'd been to Cosmos.
The beauty of the previous location, Cosmos, was that there was rarely more than 2 cars in the parking lot. The lot was practically full today; on a Thursday at 2:15pm.
I'd been in Cosmos before, and when I walked in this place I understood why the transition took so long. The place is completely different.
The thing is, it reminds me more of an ice cream parlor (think Steak & Shake) than it does a diner. Diners are long and have a long counter and lots of booths; the counter here is miniature compared to their other locations.
Of course I didn't get a booth, and I just love sitting at a table in the middle of the room. I got a menu, and turned directly to the breakfast menu, which they serve all day. It was a couple of minutes before my server poked in and asked what I wanted to drink. "Coffee Please".
They just toss the creamers on the table. By the time she dropped off the coffee, I'd long since decided what I was ordering. "I'll be right back", she said, "I have to take this other table's order". Well how about talking mine also? So she took the order for the table next to me an delivered it to the kitchen; apparently she can only write down 1 order at a time.
Food came out pretty quickly. No massive portions, but everything was well prepared. They didn't put much butter on the toast so I asked for extra. They have jelly and syrup on the table but no butter. I'm not even sure it was butter on the toast, as it looked more yellow than butter.
Cosmos has the big, plumb sausages. the food was actually pretty good. The sausages were hot and not overdone, the eggs weren't burned and the potatoes were constant.
When I was done eating, my server was nowhere to be found. Most diners where you pay at the register they drop off the check well before you're done so you don't have to wait. I spotted her filling up the straws on the coffee station, and she wasn't looking around. I decided to hit the men's room first; usually I wait until after I've paid. When I got back, my table was cleared; coffee and all. So now I'm at a completely clean table waiting for my tab, and she saunters over. "Would you like some dessert, I could get you set back up?" Dessert for breakfast? No thanks, Just the check please.
The next disaster was paying the bill. The line was across the room. It takes them way too long to process a CC with their ancient cash register system.
I got a chance to check out the dessert display. Cake and pie is one reason there are so many "retired" people in diners.
It took about 10 minutes on line to pay the $9.59 check.
Conclusion
I didn't care for this location; there aren't many booths and it just doesn't feel like a diner. The eggs were fine and the service was terrible; all for under $10.
Previous Review of Cosmo's Diner: 10/30/10
I was driving in Northern Fort Lauderdale deciding where I was going to have lunch and then I remembered a diner I'd seen last weekend near Bru's in Pompano. I hadn't had more than a half bagel for breakfast so I figured I'd give them a try. I'm about out of diners in Fort Lauderdale and I'm always up for a late breakfast.
I saw a couple of good reviews for the place online; and one really bad one that was obviously fake on UrbanSpoon. I like to form my own opinion so in I went.
Its a pretty small place with a counter up front, a section of booths and a dining room. I'd described the place as very clean and a bit dated in its decor. 102.7 is playing 60s and 70s music on the sound system, adding to the aura.
An older gentlemen is a one man show here; he clears tables, takes orders and serves. This is a family operation. Their sign says "Home Cooking". He brings a menu and I order some coffee.
They serve breakfast all day, which is a good formula for getting someone like me to visit at 3pm on a Saturday. The menu is fairly standard. I see the "Spanish Omelet", but I've capitulated on that quest. I order my standard order, hoping for something very different from my recent disaster at Waffleworks.
The food come out fairly quickly. One look and I know I've left Waffleworks far behind. This is going to be good.
The have the big, plump, good sausages, and the home fries were just right. The eggs were cooked properly. They have splenda. Its a bright sunny day. The gentlemen knows how to ask if I'm ok without bugging me.
I enjoyed the breakfast here. You can tell when a kitchen knows what they're doing. So you might want to give them a try.
Service is beyond slow. They also brought my meal way ahead of my wife's. It sat long enough to get cold.
Who Serves a Monte Cristo sandwich with nothing else on the plate? No dipping sauce either.
The greek Souvlaki is simply poorly cooked chicken on a stick. no seasoning, nothing else on the plate?
And this place is way overpriced.
2 times is enough for me.
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