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Cheap Eats 2009: Cosmopolitan Grill

Reviewed by Todd Kliman , Cynthia Hacinli , Ann Limpert , Kate Nerenberg , Rina Rapuano

Great food, low prices, lots of fun.

Cosmopolitan Grill

7770-B Richmond Hwy.
Alexandria, VA 22306
Phone: 703-360-3660

Cuisines:
Russian/E. European

Opening Hours:

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
None nearby

Price Range:
Inexpensive

Dress:
Informal

Noise Level:
Chatty

Reservations:
Not needed

Special Features:
Kid Friendly

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes
Cevapcici (garlicky sausages with homemade bread); Bosnia Burger; grilled whole trout; krempita (a pastry layered with panna-cotta-like cream); chocolate-mousse cake.


 

Reader's Rating:
4 out of 5

Why go: Ivan Svalina serves the only Bosnian cooking in the area. But novelty isn’t the best reason to pay his homey storefront a visit. Svalina portions as generously as a grandmother, and his cooking is as detailed as it is loving—from making his own breads and soups to marinating his burger in red-onion juice, a tenderizer. His wife supplies the cakes and pastries, and they’re the equal of a good European bakery’s.

What to get: Garlicky sausages called cevapcici flanked by hot rounds of house-made bread; Bosnia Burger, a large, thin grilled patty dolloped with sour cream; whole trout grilled and blitzed with garlic and lemon juice; krempita, a variation on a napoleon, with light pastry sandwiching a pana-cotta-like cream; Austrian-style chocolate cake flavored with orange zest and filled with a cream of chocolate and ground walnuts.

Best for: Anyone longing for good European ethnic cooking.

Insider tip: In some restaurants, “specials” often aren’t. Svalina takes the term seriously—his soups in particular are worth going off menu for.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.

>> See all 2009 Cheap Eats restaurants here

 

Reader ReviewsWrite your own review
 
Good A Great FInd
uebelm — August 2, 2010 7:31 AM
My wife took our five-year-old son and I there for my birthday yesterday. We had read some reviews on this place and wanted to go someplace different that was also kid-friendly. We started with the Goulash soup and were not disappointed. Their More ...
This item is under review
 
Good A happy discovery!
allisong — March 1, 2010 9:30 PM
I discovered Restaurant Cosmopolitan at their old location near the Huntington Metro. I wandered in on a whim one day and walked out loaded up with delicious take-out for my husband and I to try. After that, I would literally crave their food. My More ...
This item is under review

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