Beach Blanket Babylon (Notting Hill)

The food here is truly dull and tasteless. Don't order the intriguing sounding linguine with chili prawns - it tastes like eating warm dishwater. Everything else was great except the liquidised slightly oily separated custard. The chef should taste his bland airplane flood before its sent out and have the nouse to recognise his signature drivel when it comes back.
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James
5 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Sunday, April 10, 2011

I went to BBB for my B-day dinner. And i was so amazed of ambience there. Everything was perfect. Ofcourse prices are high, food portions small. but it was worth it, because you knew where you are going. Its not some cheap Italian restaurant with same menu everywhere. The staff was very helpful, even too much :) Im not this kind of person who likes a lot attention on your dinner time :) Anyway Im looking forward to come back here as soon as possible.

EXCELLENT!
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Laura
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, March 18, 2011

I went back to BBB on 23 December after a break of about ten years and I was genuinely appalled by what has become of this one time fine restaurant.

What my date and I experienced was, without doubt, the worst meal I have ever had in 30 years of living in London. My starter, the Chestnut Soup, was so solid and heavy in texture that it reminded me of recently laid concrete that was in the process of hardening. It was also steaming hot on the top and cold in the middle - a sure sign that it had been heated up in a microwave. We both had the Turkey Roll With All The Trimmings as a main course. The turkey itself was shaped like a small torpedo, it was encased in a hard skin that was so tough that it was difficult to cut with a knife and it simply tasted revolting. The "trimmings" comprised one sad, stringy carrot and a couple of burnt, cold, tiny, roast potatoes.

The service was bizarre; when we ordered more drinks, the waitress actually brought the bill instead - and this happened twice! In fact, the problem here was that the waitresses neither spoke, nor understood English.

The final horror came with the price of the meal. I've had cheaper meals at 2-Star Michelin restaurants. They are charging Michelin Star prices for food that wouldn't even be served in a motorway service station cafe.

This restaurant is an absolute disgrace - you should avoid at all costs.
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Jon - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 24, 2010

I won't bore you all with a word by word account of Beach Blankets reputation other than to say the following: This is my first ever review. I am never the one to complain and am usually quiet about my opinions when it comes to restaurants, hotels etc. Beach Blanket is an horrendously overpriced and badly run establishment offering appalling service and appalling food. On the plus side you are within walking distance of somewhere far nicer. Give it a miss guys.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, December 11, 2010

I have never felt compelled to leave a poor review of any restaurant until I went to BBB Notting Hill. A group of 15 of us went last night, when we arrived they couldn't find our reservation and left us standing in the entrance for 10 minutes whilst the staff looked down their noses at us and tried to decide what to do. Some of our group had already been shown to the table, one of them came down looking for us and told the staff the name the reservation had been made under (which was what we had given on arrival) and they finally let us in with no apology.

We were shown to a table in upstairs section of this unusual place. If you have any mobility issues this is not the place for you I’m afraid. Last night was a lovely balmy September evening but they had open flame-effect gas fires burning on two floors, it was ridiculously hot! There weren't enough table settings laid out and we had to stand and wait once more - again no apology. Our orders were taken and when our food started to arrive the staff kept giving us all the wrong food. The food was not very hot and the portion sizes are laughable, especially for the prices they are charging. Don't go to this restaurant if you are hungry!

In Summary - an over-priced and pompous let-down. Steer Clear.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Thursday, September 23, 2010

Again, I wish I had read these reviews before we went to BBB (Notting Hill)!

We went for a girls night out of 6 and were treated with disdain as soon as we walked in! Although having booked an area in the bar we were told there wasn't a possibility we could have done that as they dont do it - and even though there were tables free, staff were reluctant to even show us to a table!

After discovering we had to order at the bar - the cocktails were good but didnt manage to get all the ones we ordered! The decor and atmosphere in the bar is beautiful but things were to get worse.

After being told our table was ready we went downstairs only to be ignored by a number of staff, we waited 20 mins without menus, before we asked for them, they didnt have the wine we wanted, we were not informed the bar was closing, asked to speak to the manager who wouldn't come over to our table etc etc....

I have to say that the food was great so the Chefs are doing something right but the service and rudeness of staff just doesnt make it worth going back for...
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3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sadly, I, and 6 of my close friends decided, despite the negative reviews, to try BBB, Shoreditch. First impressions are favourable, the atmosphere is intriguing and the decor eclectic. However, thats it! Yes, the staff have an attitude! and boy I have no idea why? one can forgive bad service of bar staff for their beauty, but delusion should be treated. Having ordered and finished a bottle of Bollinger we ordered a second to be told they had run out, but I somehow knew that when the bill came we were charged for two! The bar man made an accusation towards me and made a suggestion that I was wrong! So trying to over charge us £80 seemed a matter of course! Like other people who have been there, we found the food was very average. I had the sea bass which had obviously come from the freezer, it was overcooked, shrivelled and taste less. My fellow guests were a little more fortunate, but we concluded that we were all disappointed. When it came to the clearing of the table one of the waitresses, clearly not wanting to over strain herself pointed and gestured towards one of my guests to pass her finished plate.

So, if you fancy a drink or cocktail go,take plenty of attitude, if you want to eat, move on and whichever you decide, CHECK THE BILL!
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3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 11, 2010

My normal raison de etre for visiting places like this is to woo or impress a girl. In that capacity, Beach Blanket Babylon (Notting Hill, London) succeeds entirely. The atmosphere and ambience was fantastic. It's a great 'little place' to take your beloved and have a romantic meal. However, if it hadn't been for the offer I don't think there would have been too many punters, put off by the prices. Although the next door table was taken up with an American spouse and her young son dressed in flashy designer labels - the price was not of concern.

The food: We started with a goats cheese salad and asparagus tart. I wasn't overwhelmed by either. They were a good solid 7 out of 10, but the salad was the kind of thing I'd expect to get when served food in somewhere like All bar one, or a bog standard chain. We both had fish for the mains, Sea Bass, and Tuna steak. The tuna was superbly cooked, just tender in the middle and my sea bass was tasty too. Again, we both thought the food was tasty, but not overwhelmingly good. If I'd paid the £20 (the menu price) for each dish I would have felt overcharged, but for the half price offer on food it was a good standard. The deserts were the best thing, Choc pudding with ice cream and an excellent Crème Brulee. Both of high quality.

The booze: We had a couple of the cocktails, a 'porn star martini' and I had a 'raspberry martini'. They were both around a tenner. They were superb, although I'd expect them to be for that price. We washed the food down with some very palatable Merlot at £25 a pop (house wine was £22). The whole experience came to just over £90. Although without cocktails it would have only been about £70.

Would I recommend this place? Yes I would, but only with the offer. The atmosphere is superb, and it's a great place to treat your better half. The bar looked great to pre-dinner drink, although we didn't have time for that.
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george
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, August 04, 2010

I went here months ago with two girls, using special offers from other website (T..table..). In terms of interior, the place was quite cute and the girl who served was nice. But food , even though not bad, does not catch up with the interior of the building.
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Sunny - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, June 25, 2010