Bombay Bicycle Club (Balham)

Oh dear...what has the BBC gone and done?

I've been ordering from the BBC almost since it first began the delivery business, and was well acquainted with the menu, which didn't change much. Particular favourites were the vegetable curry, the legendary saag allo, and the tarka dall. The food quality never varied, and was good.

Now they have had a revamp under the new ownership of the V8 group, which has signed up Shilpa Shetty to from the BBC's new website.

I recently ordered and was somewhat dismayed to find my old favourites not quite right. When the food came....it was bland, lacked body, the potatoes in the saag alloo were rubbery, and the spinach seemed like warm up frozen spinach. It wasn't cheap either. The menu empasises in many dishes the fat level as being below 10%, suggesting that the new owners have gone for a health-conscious approach. But I don't eat from the BBC everyday, I want the old BBC back.
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J. Bassett
5 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, January 31, 2010

I placed an order with the BBC for 8pm, it arrived at 8:30 and when we opened up the box everything was stone cold.

When I complained they said they'd give me a fiver off next time. I thought it was appalling and said so, but her only excuse was that the weather made it cold! Surely, if you are a takeaway outfit then you allow for this.

I am more upset because this was an anniversary treat.
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Charlie Morgan
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, January 30, 2010

I have just sent this complaint to the Greenwich branch of BBC, I think it sums up how I feel:

I am just writing to say how completely disappointed I was with the order that was delivered last night. I have absolutely nothing good to say about a single thing we ordered and I really feel like I have been completely ripped off. I asked for the veg curry I ordered to be "vindaloo hot" but it was so bland and tasteless it was just like tomato sauce with a few badly cooked vegetables in. My boyfriend had a biriyani that was awful.. a few bits of overcooked cauliflower and undercooked potato in a runny, bland sauce. The potatoes in everything we ordered were hard and undercooked and had a really strange waxy consistency as if they'd been par-boiled, kept in a fridge then thrown in the curry sauce at the last minute. The onions in the curry were crunchy and undercooked. Absolutely nothing we ordered had any spice to it or flavour. The peshwari naan was dreadful, it was stodgy, doughy and actually quite raw. Basically the whole meal wasn't just disappointing, it was unacceptable and I want my money back as I feel like I've been robbed. I could have gone to the supermarket and spent two thirds less on a microwave curry that would have been a million times better.
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Helen Whitehead
1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, December 19, 2009

Agree fantastic food - 10/10 . Very different,it's just amazing,best curry i've had for ages.and reasonable pricing.service-Spot on! i would definitely recommend it to everyone.
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peter pol
7 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Great decor but expensive, awful food. Who has destroyed this once shining beacon?
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spookyzoo - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I have been a BBC take-away customer for about 3 years and was always impressed with the quality of their food in the past. However, the last 3 or 4 take-aways I've ordered have been progressively worse over recent months.

The most recent was bland and tasteless all round, with 'plastic' processed chicken.

I'm aware the BBC chain has changed hands recently and it seems to have gone rapidly down hill with the new ownership. I used to like the fact that the BBC produced a high quality, healthier (less oily) indian alternative - but now it seems to have transformed into a low quality, 'fast-food' chain. A great shame! Will not be ordering BBC again!
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Dan
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, August 21, 2009