Boulevard Brasserie

I would not eat at Boulevard Brasserie again. I went with a friend for lunch a few days ago. Although the restaurant was nearly deserted (only two other tables that I could see), it still took nearly 40 minutes for our order to arrive. Really too long of a wait at lunchtime. Meanwhile, the waitresses stood hovering over us, which is a bit disconcerning when you are trying to have a relaxing meal.

All of this would have been OK if the food had been great, but sadly it was not even cooked to order. I asked for my lamb medium rare (expecting in a French restaurant that it might even come out 'bleu'!) only to have a nearly well done lamb delivered to my table. The chef cannot have been rushed in the kitchen, as there was seemingly hardly anyone there, so who knows? Maybe he went outside for a smoke break and forgot about the lamb?

And then there is that grating 'cover charge' that others have mentioned. I am sorry, but charging anything for bread is simply unacceptable, especially when it is a 'per person' charge. Just because a London restaurant can rip people off, doesn't mean it should.
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Hungry Hungry Hippo - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Thursday, June 12, 2008

After previously enjoying lunch here a few months ago, I took my family last Saturday and was very disappointed. I had booked and was told our table was upstairs but we were not shown to it and had to find it ourselves. My starter came 10 - 15 minutes after everyone else's (who had all finished by the time I received it) and I only got an apology when they overheard me complaining about it. They had obviously not written it down as they had to ask me what I had ordered. Following this, we had to ask many times for more drinks etc before they materialised. The final straw comes when you discover that they charge 1.50 cover charge PER PERSON totalling 9.00 and try to justify it by serving us 8 pieces of bread. They also had the cheek to add 12.5% service charge, which we took off and didn't leave any tip whatsover. The only good think I can say is that the food was good, its the service they need to sort out. If you are forced to go I would recommend a quieter time as they obviously can't handle any more than 6 customers at a time. However they could have made up for it by at least being polite and welcoming, but none of this was evident.
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KC
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Monday, January 28, 2008

Having dined at BB before and enjoyed the experience, I suggested it for a pre-theatre meal with the girls. Rang to book and the lady told me that as it was November she wasn't sure she could take the booking if we weren't having the Christmas menu (which is a bit odd as they were still advertising the normal menu to off-the-street diners when we got there!). She said she'd check and get back to me. Didn't hear anythng so a week later I called again and got a much more helpful response - booked the table and the pre-theatre menu.

Were seated in the upstairs room which was a bit more spacious. Given one basket of bread for a table of 7, and when we asked for another basket - twice - it never materialised. Our meals took a while to appear, but were lovely when they did arrive. However, the problem started with the desserts. At 7pm we made the waiter aware that we needed to leave shortly to get to the theatre. He promised the desserts were almost ready. reminded him again at 10 past and he went to check. At 20 past we decided to cancel the puddings and just get the bill. After a bit of negotiation, that was agreed, but then he charged us the full price for the mains rather than the set menu! While we were discussing this, the desserts arrived!!

It's such a shame that the service lets this place down, as the food is lovely. Having one waiter for a large room of people, most of whom seemed to want to get to the theatre, is a bit mad. Can't really see why it would take so long to serve things that are on a fixed menu . It was a bit embarrassing too as I'd recommended the place. I would recommend BB if you don't have any time constraints and don't mind having to chase your waiting staff a bit when you want something.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, November 30, 2007

I love this place and that's why I just keep gong back for more! Ignore the negative complainers, trust me, I've dined in many a fine place and the Boulevard Brasserie is a gooden. Not only is the food mighty fine but the staff are fantastic (especially the manager) exceedingly caring and respectful. I'll certainly keep returning again and again and highly recommend it to all.
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Penny McLenn
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

We went to Boulevard last night, having enjoyed a very pleasant meal there previously. As before, the food was extremely nice and the place itself was quite pleasant. The major problem was the service, which alternated between a very pleasant waitress and a very surly waiter.

The meals all came in good time, but once we had finished it was next to impossible to get the bill. We asked several times and waited for the best part of half an hour before giving up. As we had chosen from the prix fixe menu it was simple enough to work out what we owed, and we even added a little on top. We informed the waiter we were leaving and had left the cash on the table. All well and good. Once we were about 50 yards down the street, the waiter came charging up behind us and insisted that we had not paid the due amount and began to get quite threatening - to the point of trying to physically drag me back to the restaurant! Having quickly flashed us the bill (funny how quickly they can print them off when they want to), he refused to answer any questions as to how it came to so much (having read other reviews I'm guessing the charge for the bread and service were probably responsible) and then stormed off shouting abuse at us. Classy.

Anyways, it was a shame as you can imagine it rather spoiled an otherwise pleasant evening. I'll certainly not be going back there and I'd urge others to do the same.
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Jim Bob
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Mediore food. just okay service. very ordinary ambience.

nothing special. and the hall is a bit packed.
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Londonistan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

We visisted the BB last night for a birthday celebration and went on the £15 special menu. We did have a nice meal and it was tasty and well presented - the only thing I would warn others about is that yes, £15 sounds very reasonable but our bill came out at £24 per head because £1.50pp is added for bread and dips (which we knew in advance, and to be fair it was very nice), but then they add 12.5% service and also charge for vegetables. The only extra drinks we had was a large glass of red Sangiovese (very nice), a diet coke and 4 coffees. The others made do with their free bubbly and tap water. So all in all what looked like it was going to be a cheap evening wasn't that cheap!

It was very nice not to be rushed through our meal and we had the table from 6.30 to 9.30 and could have sat there longer just chatting. Music was a tiny bit for chatting so we did ask for it to be turned down a little which they obligingly did. Staff were very courteous.
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Alison Price
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, August 14, 2007

There were four of us on a girl's saturday night out. We chose Boulevard Brasserie for the great £15 for 3 course dinner offer and it was worth it! We arrived and the place had real warmth to it. The service was quick and friendly. Although we did arrived at 10.30pm and by then the club downstairs was thumping with music which was a little disturbing. The food was well made and presented. We had a really great time and felt we could stay all night. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.
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M M E
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 06, 2007

Just got back from (another) great meal at the Boulevard Brasserie and it was really buzzing for a Tuesday night. This is my third time of visiting this restaurant and I haven't been disappointed yet. It is well priced, the staff are always friendly (ok, they might not be top notch professional, but they always have a smile!), and the food so far has been consistently good. Will return.
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Caroline Sleaman
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 19, 2007

My partner and I ate at Boulevard Brasserie last night and I would recommend it to others. We were offered bread with dips and drinks shortly after arriving and a massive plate of bread came out, enough for four people! For starters, I chose Brie wrapped in Filo. It was divine and came with just the right amount of Cranberry sauce. My partner chose the scallops which I stole one of and wish I could eat more! For mains, I had 3 cheese and mushroom risotto and it was perfect, not too dry or too mushy - the way risotto is supposed to be! My partner had the duck special and I just haven’t tasted anything like it – superb! We then shared the sticky toffee pudding which was exceptional and drizzled in butterscotch sauce.

The service wasn't 100%, but it was close. They stayed out of your way verbally but still made an effort to stay noticed if you needed them. The price came close to £70 (including service charge and a bottle of wine) and we were left quite happy. A great night and an even better dining experience.
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Catherine McCaughey
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Thursday, June 14, 2007