Bodean's BBQ

Average food, great service. Half cooked chicken was returned only to be rewarded with a double portion and the bland Clam Chowder was sadly clamless. My daughter thought the fries were stupendous.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, June 08, 2008

Went last night (Friday) and found the whole experience really average. For a start the only beer they have on tap is Coors Light, which if you don't know is a weak watery beer that is really underwhelming.

We were in the upstairs self service area and they only had one girl taking orders and serving drinks, hence it took a while to order. The food was ready almost instantly, worryingly quick. I had 1/2 chicken, pulled pork and sausage. The chicken was really dry, the sort of dry that means it sticks to your teeth when you bite into it. The sausage had hard bits in it that I presume (I hope) was gristle. Pulled pork was dry as well, but edible.

All in all it's like being in a better lit, more nicely decorated McDonalds. Even the food comes on a plastic try that could be straight out of Maccy D's. If it was half the price it would be Ok but £16 for dry food on a plastic tray is just a rip off.
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Phil
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Saturday, April 12, 2008

If you like ribs then this is the place for you. I must have been 20 times over the last 3 years and I can think of only one occasion when Bodean's has let me down.

1. Food is great with top marks for the pork ribs, pulled pork, clam chowder & corn bread.

2. Service is always quick & friendly.

3. Beers & cocktails are good & at decent prices.

4. Great value for money with the 'pig out for a tenner'

Without doubt one of my fav places in London.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 20, 2008

For what it is and in Soho London this is a great Local....been twice and both times well enjoyed the food ...staff have been friendly and helpful , don't go expecting 5 star just go and enjoy a real steak house!!
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Michael Sefton
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 25, 2008

My husband and I have been going to Bodeans regularly for a few years, which must say something in itself - we wouldn't keep going back if it wasn't a good place to eat.

They serve American-style BBQ food - ribs, pulled pork, quesadillas, steak, that sort of thing, plus reasonably good cocktails and a few puddings. Their best deal is undoubtedly the 'pig out for a tenner' meal, which includes a large plate full of ribs, pulled pork, coleslaw and fries, plus a beer or soft drink. This used to be offered pretty much at all times other than Saturday nights, but now it's not seen often. 'Steak Tuesday' is a genuine buy-one-get-one-free bargain, where 2 of you can get a decent steak for £14-16. They do 'burnt ends' on certain days, which are pretty tasty and worth trying if you happen to be there on a burnt end day.

The food varies, both in quality and quantity. Sometimes you get the impression that they've changed their policy and decided to offer smaller portions, and at other times, you find yourself wondering whether you should be trying to eat the enormous mountain of food, or climb it. The ribs can be either falling-off-the-bone tender and sticky, or slightly undercooked and thus very chewy. It's either different chefs, or one very variable chef.. but they do get it right most of the time. The fries are -always- good, and usually coated in both sugar and salt. This is a touch of tasty genius.

The desserts are, I feel, a bit overpriced considering that you don't get large portions and they're £4-5 each. I was once served the key lime pie straight from the freezer so it was rock hard and couldn't actually be eaten without the whole piece shooting sideways off the plate. I am also slightly puzzled by their apple cobbler, which has been served uncooked every time I've had it. It's warm, and the apples are cooked, but it appears to be topped with raw cake mix. I actually like raw cake mixture, which is perversely why I keep ordering it, in case it's uncooked again - and it always is. Strange.

The service is usually good, and friendly (but not to the point of being annoying), but slows down at busy times, which is to be expected. Sometimes there are kids in there, squeaking, but this is less of a hazard if you book a table for the evening.

The televised sports, I'm really not interested in. The background music is interesting, varying widely from Roy Orbison to Metallica, via country and western.
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dubnobass - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, January 31, 2008

I visited Bodean's for the first time with three friends last night, and have to say the whole experience was very disappointing. The place wasn't full, even though it was the eve of the New Year. But our party of four was still crammed in right beside the door to the kitchen (the swinging kitchen door regularly whacking the back of my chair), as we were informed that they were "completely booked up" and there were no other seats. However, we noticed throughout the evening that at least one or two other booths were free throughout, but though we inquired we were rebuffed by the hostess who told us "these had been promised to other parties" - though these other parties never seemed to show up.

Okay, but if the food was good, the awkward, uncomfortable seating could be forgiven. Unfortunately this was not the case. The ribs were very dry - basically just broiled and thrown on a plate . They looked like leather, and appeared to have been left under a heat lamp. I had the combo plate (1/4 chicken, ribs and pulled pork) but everything tasted the same. Now I know many people who have had real BBQ in the Southern US say this doesn't come close to the real thing...and they're right. But the quality of the food we were served was really low by any standard. One of our party mentioned they'd had better baby back ribs at TGIF. I don't doubt it. But what really topped it off for us (and prompted us not to leave a tip) was at the end of the meal - such that it was - and we managed to wave over a member of the staff (they weren't exactly attentive) to order some coffee. We were very abruptly informed that they kitchen was now closed and we couldn't have anything. It was 9:05pm, and while it was Dec. 31st and I'm sure the staff wanted to get out and party, it was outrageous none of the staff mentioned the kitchen was closing before hand. No one came round ten minutes before to say "oh, we're closing at 9:00pm, would you care for anything else". Nothing of the sort.

To round out the review, the restrooms were dirty - lots of paper on the floor and around the sinks. One of the toilets appeared plugged... all contributing to a very disappointing experience.

I read the reviews here before we made our reservation and now having experienced Bodean's first hand I can only conclude that those who've reviewed before me have been extremely generous in their praise.
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Bluetoffee
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, January 01, 2008

After reading the reviews here I thought twice about popping in for lunch during a shopping trip this weekend just gone. Basing our decision to go on the fact that a higher percentage of negative experiences reach the web than positive, we turned up around lunchtime on Saturday.

Upstairs (ground floor, don't be caught out like I was) looked like somewhere nice and bright to catch a quick bite, but descending the stairs revealed a low lit den of activity and excited chatter.

Food was extremely reasonable given what you can pay in Soho, with the only exception being the higher than average price "sides" - a single corn on the cob weighted in at £3.25, which along with most other side dishes seemed high compared with the rest of the menu.

For around £7-8 I got a lovely burger with cheese and mushrooms AND I was asked how I liked it cooked, and it was a perfect medium when I arrived. My partner would share the sentiment about more sauce on the ribs - although here half rack of pork ribs were very tasty.

Portions certainly were not like a colleague of mine told me they would be, but we did not quite finish everything and were stuff afterwards. Big portions are only good if you finish them all!

Service was prompt and friendly despite the fact that it was about 90% full. £35 for 3 drinks, 2 mains, 2 sides including service (12.5%) was not bad all.

The promise of US sports on the TV came good, although it was soon switched to the Rugby to screen England's World Cup win over Tonga, probably at the request of a patron. I did not mind though - being a Brit baseball and football confuses me!
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Dan
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, September 24, 2007

I went to this restaurant last night and I thought it was really poor. They really need to spend as much time on the food as they did on putting the misleading menu together. I paid £32 for 2 meals which I would hardly call substancial. When I queried the amount of fries provided the chef got irrate and told the waitress to tell me that they only give a handful with each meal, Which I thought was outrageous- I could of understood his reaction if I had ask him for more ribs or chicken! Overpriced and overated. The waitresses were nice and did make an effort to apologise but overall it is so not worth it.
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Lucy
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Friday, August 31, 2007

I just love, love, luuuuuurve this GREAT BBQ restaurant!!

I live in Watford but every time I come to London, I ensure that I sup at Bodeans. Their pulled pork and whole chickens combos (and chips) are to die for!! And don't get me started on the whole slab of ribs.

The service really is top notch stuff and you can watch great American sports on telly which i feel enhances the authentic US dining experience.

Highly recommended.
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Jonathan Rodgers - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, August 13, 2007

Ive been in small groups and the food is what I expected; no more no less. A laid back stateside atmosphere helps with the meat digestion. Service on site is overall good.

HOWEVER, when it comes to booking large groups over 7 the story becomes different. First you are subject to a £10 deposit per head. So if I wanted to bring 20 people and 1 dropped out then we lose a tenner - hey, what about the other 19 customers I brought??!! How greedy! On top of that, if you want to go for their family style menu every single person in the group has to go for the same thing and they have to know this in advance when you book!! Cost-cutting and demand-planning incompetencies passed on to the customer, who is clearly of little importance to them.

I used to say good things about Bodean's to my friends. Now I cant. I just dont feel like going there anymore. But here's 1 point for old time's sake.
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Lee
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, June 19, 2007