Bumbles

Loved the food. Very good value for 10 pounds. Service okay. Could be more alert. The food is what's keeping me going back for more.
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John A. Smith
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, March 05, 2008

I visited bumbles for the first time Friday last week. I was looking forward to an enjoyable and memorable dinner with a friend of mine. The food was wonderful. Although the service wasn't attentive. It took us sometime before ordering, everything else was great. Will definately be back!
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Mr J.M Webber
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, March 05, 2008

A group of 20+ of us went to Bumbles for our office Christmas Lunch. We had pre-booked and were told that a deposit could be paid whenever convenient. They called us a week later to change our boooking time to half an hour earlier which we couldn't make. they said OK and then a further week or so later, we received a phone call to say that the booking had been given away by the manager so we would have to re-arrange our meal! We were reluctant to re-book but due to the short notice and impending Christmas rush, we gave them the benefit of the doubt.

On the day, we realised we should have gone elsewhere. Some of the food was awful. My meal was undercooked (aubergine - bordering on raw) and the waiter argued with me insisting that this was the "temperature that it should be cooked at and everyone has different taste".

The desert was supposed to be cheesecake. It was in fact crushed biscuits and whipped cream topped with more crushed biscuits and rasperry sorbet on the side.

The ideas for the menue were great, soem of the food was wonderful but there was a distinct lack of consistency and the service was quite poor. On the plus side, when requested, they tried to put things right....
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DM
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

This restaurant is awful, for the following reasons:

* Size zero portions.

* Disorganization, the table was not laid correctly.

* Main course was cold.

* Main course did not come with vegetables as requested and promised (Christmas dinner with no veg'?)

* Drinks orders placed and never satisfied.

* Decor is a bit shabby.

* To boot, the staff

In short, don't do it. Just don't.
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Iain
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Thursday, December 13, 2007

Came to Bumbles on 17th November 2007, Saturday night so we had pre-booked for an anniversary dinner for 2.

The first thing to say is that on first impression, the restaurant was well-lit and spacious. Tables not too close together which was perfect for the intimate dinner we wanted.

The food was fantastic - we ate from the "3 courses for £20" menu, and had a bottle of house wine. Best onion soup I have ever tasted, and perfect portion sizes.

The service was impeccable - something I always pick up on - courteous, polite, non-intrusive and very ettiquette-ly correct. Congratulations to the waitress that night.

Overall (including value for money - £57 for two of us), the best restaurant I have ever eaten at. Highly, highly recommended.
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Fiona
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 26, 2007

great restaurant, with a good selection of british foods. came here for a good bite and quiet surroundings. was lively and active upstairs, but was seated in a nice quiet spot downstairs. service was great without being overbearing like some and prices were reasonable (paid £62 for a house white, 2 starters, 2mains, a dessert and tea). would definiately recommend.
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Jamal
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Friday, October 05, 2007

Humm, interesting review below as I was there on the same day and thought that overall it was very good.

I wasn't seated downstairs though, and had reserved a table "just in case". Given the earlier reviews I expected it to be busy, and guess what...it was!

Anyway, like Steve below I had the brie. The presentation was spot on and tasted fine (you can't really go wrong with it to be fair though). It wasn't piping hot, so I will agree there, but then again the idea of HOT melting cheese in to your mouth sounds like a recipe for a trip to casualty if you ask me.

Then had the fish of the day, which was bass with pee puree and potato rosti. Overall the food was very good. The pea puree was superb and the fish nicely cooked.

I eat out quite a bit in London, and have to say that I will definitely be going back. Had no issues with the service at all in fact I think they could easily raise the service charge from the 10% (I think) the pop on top. Beats a lot of supposedly "better" restaurants.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, August 09, 2007

I have been to Bumbles on a number of occasions and had a good dining experience.

This, however, was not true of my visit on August 8th. We were shown to a table in the basement area. It was obvious that restaurant was busy but that did not initially worry me. But on sitting at our table we soon discovered that the level of noise generated by our waiter barking orders at other staff was very intrusive.

The food orders was OK, my starter (deep fried brie) was luke warm, which I let pass. The main (RIbeeye Beef) was adequate, but we could not see the differnce between my rare and my son's medium.

Then we had a prolonged wait for our desert. Basically, they had forgotten about us. When asked to remind them of what we had ordered, I pointed out that this was not good service. I was told in no uncertain times that they were busy and I should expect to wait. When the desert finally arrived, mine was inedible. The so called fresh figs were old and desicated.

I took all this up with the waiter, who told me that I was wrong to expect better service as the restaurant was busy serving other people. This beggars belief, for some reason I should accept that I am a second class customer.

So, in summary not a good dining experience, I will not be going back to Bumbles again.
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Steve Barker
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Thursday, August 09, 2007

Went to the restaurant for a pre-dinner meal. The entrance is not very imposing but the friendly reception was very welcoming. We dined upstairs, but downstairs there is a very elegant and welcoming dining area and a lounge area with a beautiful leather sofa and chairs.

The £10.00 menu offered a very surprising and interesting selection. Not what one would expect from a set 3-course menu. As starters two of us chose Salad of Cumberland Sausage, one chose the soup of the day and one chose the deep fried Brie pieces . All the starters were beautifully presented - the deep brie being served with curls of marinated courgetts rolls and a fruit compote. The salad of Cumberland sausage was served very attractively on a bed of tomato and shallot salad with a dijon dressing. The soup was a gorgeous creamy cauliflower soup which was surprisingly enjoyed and declared delicious by my 15 year old teenage son!

As the amin course the Duck confit was chosen by all of us and again was beautifully presented on a bed of braised red cabbage and a dressed rocket salad. The duck was tender, absolutely delicious and beaufifully cooked. The other choices were, coq au vin, pan fried lambs liver, fish, chips and mushy peas or a rocket, watercress, pear and fennel salad or the vegetarians.

The food could not be faulted in any way and the presentaion was outstanding - even the vanilla ice cream was served in a martini glass and garnished. Besides all of this we were also served the most delicious warm ciabata bread.

Service was excellent with very polite and frienly staff. I would recommend the restaurant to anybody whatever the occasion.
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Heather
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Sunday, August 05, 2007

I visited Bumbles for lunch with two work colleagues and I couldn't really fault it. The food we had (from the three-course £10 set menu) was delicious, different and excellent value and the wine was reasonably priced and properly chilled. The a la carte and chef's seasonal menu (£20) also looked good value and varied. The atmosphere was pleasant and peaceful, making it a great place for a quiet working lunch. The decor is quite simple (tablecloths don't come out until the evening I think!) which rightly puts greater emphasis on the food itself. Service was good - efficient and friendly but not fussy. All in all a nice place for a very pleasant meal.
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Conrad
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, July 19, 2007