Champor-Champor

My partner and I have had a couple of decent meals there but unfortunately had a very bad experience last Wednesday. We ordered the tasting menu and found the food to be very mediocre. The chicken dish was bland and the beef very tough. Very disappointing as this restaurant is on the more expensive end. The service was incredibly slow with an approximate 20 minute wait between each course being served. We ended up leaving before the dessert and tea came as it was just taking too long. It also took a good 20 min just to pay the bill! The waiters did not once apologise for the delay or ask if we were satisfied with the meal. We each had a cocktail and a glass of wine and the bill came to over £100, particularly expensive considering that the plates contained a lot of rice and noodles and very little meat. We definitely won't be going back.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Friday, March 11, 2011

I was impressed by the decor and ambience of Champor Champor but the food was fairly mediocre and if we had not been taking advantage of a 2 for 1 offer I would have felt quite shortchanged. I would only return if they offered a la carte choices instead of the set menu, and some more genuine malaysian food on the menu instead of pretentious euro-asian fusion which was very hit-and-miss. Top marks for atmosphere but the quality of the food and value for money lets it down.
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6 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Thursday, February 24, 2011

Based on quite a few postive reviews, I booked a table at Champor Champor for my wife's birthday last Friday. The restaurant is well located within an easy walk of London Bridge station. It has a lovely feel about it when you walk in with great decor and atmosphere. The menu is very inventive. We had the grilled tandoori prawns and the Jerusalem artichoke for starter which were both very good. For main we had the Braised oxtail noodle dish and the poussin basted in ginger and lemon grass. These unfortunately were at best average, the poussin dish was really just a talked up satay chicken dish, was way too sweet and not seasoned properly i.e. no salt. The Oxtail dish had more fat than meat in it, was in a watery soup and was lacking in any flavour. Not ones to usually say anything we decided this time we would mention the fact to the manager since the starters were so good but he didn't seem very receptive to any criticism. So in a nut shell good atmosphere, food was all promise and didn't deliver and to be honest, over priced. Won't be in any rush to go back.
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6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Sunday, January 16, 2011

I went there few times but the last time I went there to bring a friend of mine to experience the Malaysian food but we weren't that satisfied. Probably we were asking too much stuff and what we could order for the discount cards which we had.

They had offered Tasting menu 10 course meal and 2/3 course meal. Unfortunately we couldn't use any of the discount cards on Tasting Menu. Finally we decided to order Tasting menu which is 10 course set meal to share without discount.

It was great, when reached to 5th one we were quite full. Luckily, we shared the meal, if not I wondered how can one person able to finish the 10 course set meal by themself.

When reached to The 8th course, Award-winning satay-marinated lamb neck fillet in lotus root koorma; pickled waterchestnuts; saffron rice. It was great but few pieces of the meat were pink in the middle. We asked them for well done of the meat, unfortunately when we got back the same dish that they brought to us the first time we had complaint about . The meat came back was totally cooked, a bit black around the edges and hard to bite and oily ! what a disappointment! I wished we ate the rest and left the pink one for them to cook it well done

When reached to the last course- as they knew my friend is allergy to nuts but they still served us the chocolate cake with nuts!

Last but not least, the most disappointment was they didn't even ask us a single thing about tasting menu, the food, the experience, coping and offer us coffee or tea when reached to desserts( we didn't even aware about till we asked) ..

Incense burning in the dining room was not a good idea at all,and not with windows and doors closed as well. I don't think incense and food can go together!

Overall it was quite an experience.
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5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Friday, October 15, 2010

We went to Champor Champor last Friday night. This was our third visit to the restaurant. I am completely surprised to read some of the negative reviews below, as we have had nothing but wonderfully creative food, atmosphere, and service at this restaurant each time we have visited... and we have found it to be exceptional value for money each time (and for us that is no small feat, since I always feel ripped off in this city!)

The food at this restaurant is like nothing we have ever had before. And each visit brings us a new and creative menu. The waitstaff were very attentive, but not hovering... and even the new guy seemed quite good (although he did have some trouble opening up the wine, but that allowed for some amusement).

Anyway, long story short, for one of the best and most unusual dining experiences in London, we cannot recommend Champor Champor enough.
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xmotownx - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Went there for an anniversary celebration, me and my partner were a bit disappointed with the food, was expecting a bit more exciting than what we had.

We felt welcome and warm from the waitress when we walked in, then a cold and impatient staff came 3 times to our table without any greetings and expecting us to tell him what we want for drinks. Then another cold face came to deliver us the food and bill... maybe this is the way they treat people who came with a dining club card for special offer! I have to say the banana bread with soy dip combination was gone too far. We both had lamb for the main,although it was tender and juicy but not sure the taste of the sauce.

Music is another issue, a random selection of music from a music player is not what I expected for a restaurant which has an characteristic decor, felt a bit embarrassed when I heard pop songs sounds like from a teenage bedroom then next tune turned into an Indian music, it's just weird.
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4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Monday, June 14, 2010

The restaurant is terrible and the service is really bad. The manager seems rude and the staff are unpleasant. We saw a £10 for 2 course voucher in the Evening Standard and booked a table for Friday night. We were looking forward to the Malaysian cooking and great offer. However when we get there, they told us the offer doesn't apply on Fridays which was nowhere described on the advertisement. Furthermore, the manager and staff were really cold and doesn't apologise for anything, instead insisting that the restaurant has the right to apply the offer the way they want. This is extremely rude and unpleasant from a customer point of view and we will never go back again.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, March 27, 2010

You will not find typical Malaysian dishes here, yet, the food is full of Malaysian flavour. Though we live locally, we had been put-off by the Western-sounding descriptions of the dishes and secretive facade of the restaurant front. However, we found a 2-for-1 voucher online and decided to give it a try today and we certainly did not regret! We were surprised at how the chef could creatively turn western ingredients (e.g. rabbit, pomegranate, beetroot) into delicious malaysian-flavoured dishes. The presentation was immaculate. The waiters were very polite and service was prompt. If not for the 2-for-1 voucher, we would have had quite an expensive meal and though the food was great, it's not good value for money if paying full price. Having said that, we will definitely be returning again perhaps on a special occassion.
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8 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, March 01, 2010

I just got home from dinner at Champor-Champor, and like one of the other people reviewing it, don't usually write reviews. However, after talking all the way home (this is a neighborhood restaurant for us) about how much we liked the food, I had to put in a good word.

The service was friendly, the food was excellent and the atmosphere is relaxing. No, you're not going to find "value for money" here, but there are plenty of other places where you can find that.
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Ben
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, January 13, 2010

We arrived as a party of 8 as this establishment in December 09. First impressions of the restaurant were good. A nice looking place with trendy decor. However, i'm afraid that is where the positives end.

Menu: The menu was extremely limited with only a set meal to choose from. When asked whether they had a-la-carte menu, the staff replied that it had always been set menu based for the past 9 years (i find that hard to believe!!). There were about 4 starters, 5 mains and 4-5 desserts to choose from. With no form of side orders visible. The staff were very rigid in their approach i.e. you HAD to choose from the set menu.

value at £31.60 + 12.5% service for 2 courses and £36 for 3 courses, the menu offered very little in the form of value for money. An optional £3 inter-course (yes. INTERCOURSE) was available.

Food: If you are looking for malaysian, look elsewhere. The food is completely non-authentic with not a single beef rendang, nasi lemak or char kueh teow in sight. In it's place you will find ostrich, quail, aubergine rendang and a vegetarian tofu in it's place. Portions were small and non-satisfying. Whilst the vegetarian tofu was praised to be tasty, i'm afraid the rabbit wontons were too starchy and the ostrich meat just did not go with the sweet cherry based sauce

Service: Appalling at best. Our group of 8 arrived at over the course of 35 minutes as many of us got lost trying to find the place. Upon arrival. we were quckly moaned at by the manager saying that we had to order quickly as we were late and that there were more people coming later ... We were asked whether we had any allergies etc .. One of our party specifically told the waiter that one of our party could not be served egg ... upon arrival of the main course, one of the side dishes had large pieces of duck egg in it .. Extremely disappointing!!. The rest of the staff appear untrained as they , made no effort to tell you that they were behind you with your food. Next thing you know it things are bing shoved left. right and centre next to your face. Towards the end, it was obvious they were keen to clear our table and seat the next set of guests. There is nothing more appalling than being rushed in your meal so that they could sit another round of guests. At a restaurant charging £50 per head I really would expect more.

Whilst many may have had good experiences as this establishment, i'm afraid the christmas spirit is lost on Champor Champor. It serves neither authentic nor delicious 'malaysian' cuisine at an over inflated price.

I will defintely not be returning to this restaurant.
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Kevin
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Sunday, December 20, 2009