Bodean's BBQ (Clapham)

Compared to the Soho branch, this one is dire.

Originally planned to get take-out during a rushed lunch break due to a severe meat craving, and heard there was a Bodean's in Clapham. Had planned to take up the 50% offer shown on the website only to get there to be told it is for eat-in only; despite there being no notice of this on their site which infuriated me! The manager wasn't too keen to offer me a compromise which was odd considering there were 4 waiting staff and not a single customer. Determined not to break my £5 lunch limit (self discipline sucks) I went elsewhere but was determined to go again and see if it was as good as the Soho shop.

eventually went a week later and wish I hadn't - the meat was served cold, with barely any meat on the ribs, the burnt ends (which are usually deliciously tender brisket) were just greasy, charred blocks of fat, and the coleslaw was fresh but appeared to be in some sort of honey sauce which was revolting.

Spend an extra 15 minutes on the tube and go to Soho!
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Zico
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I was so disappointed the last time I went to Bodeans. I had previously been there several times and had excellent meals but have noticed that the food has started to go downhill quite recently. They have been expanding restaurants very fast and now have decided to do away with their spirits and cocktail menu in all of their restaurants, except for Soho, in order to make the service quicker., they have also increased their prices whilst decreasing the menu.

The food was cold and dry, the burnt ends were tough and just fat, and not the usual tender ends they serve. The manager had obviously heard my complaints about the lack of spirits and cocktails fairly regularly as he had a prepared speech about the need to bring "parity" to all of the restaurants - its always a bad sign when they start talking about "homogenization". They also said that they weren't making that much money which was bizarre as our bill was reduced by over two thirds what we would have normally spent.

We were obviously not the only ones to be disappointed as a restaurnat that is usually heaving was half-empty on a Sunday. The waitress could tell how disgusted we all were so didn't even bother to ask us how the meal was - she just brought us the over-priced bill and walked off.

What was once a unique restaurant has now just become a "fast-food chain restaurant" and has lost the quality it once had. Sorry, Bodeans, but my friends and I will not be frequenting your restaurant again.
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Vicky, Wandsworth
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 03, 2008

Bodean's bbq is probably the worst place i have been . Meat obviously precooked and probably microwaved at last minute. Deep fried veg instead of grilled and a soup clearly made with heinz chicken cream cans... Service wise nothing to complain about.
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chris
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Fantastic! Went to Bodean's a few months ago and it was simply delicious. I'm actually from Texas, so this style of barbecue is just like home! The sausage was still very 'English', but I suppose they can't help that. Our service was a bit slow, but nothing unusual for this country. I can't wait to go back to try the brisket, which is what I'm dyyyyyyying to try.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

I've been to Bodeans a few times now. In a small group, on a not-so-busy night, I've had a good time. But unfortunately this was not my most recent experience. A recent birthday dinner for 12 was a pretty disastrous affair. We had to order from a set menu of only a handful of items "to make it easier for the kitchen". Several of our orders were then delivered wrongly, and the overall quality was poor - frozen chicken wings etc, yuck. The staff were quite obviously disinterested and without exaggeration seemed to be verging on incompetent. We had to make a fuss to get dessert and coffee because the waitress "forgot". Two of our party were running late and we had to insist that their places were left at the the table until they arrived, otherwise we would have lost them. From reading the other reviews, it seems mine is not an isolated experience. We did not leave a tip, and I will not be returning. Not great.
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Phil
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Monday, April 02, 2007

Four of us went to dinner...

we managed one round of free drinks (starters were late), two free deserts (mains were late), we didnt pay for one main meal nor one portion of corn on the cob (food was cold then reheated leaving the nibbled spare rib on the plate!) plus 50% of the bill to encourage us to come back... all in all it was much entertainment (staff were embarressed but in good humour) and at £8 a head a bargain. Although won't be going back!
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turtle
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

We decided to try the Clapham branch of Bodean's on Wednesday after a positive experience at their Soho branch.

We were greeted at the door by our waitress who was friendly enough although we did have some difficulty communicating our order with her due her poor understanding and lack of English. The restaurant was full and we were pleased to have booked a booth rather than one of tightly packed tables.

I went for the baby back ribs, fries and coleslaw whilst my friend had a steak wrap with fries. The food arrived fairly fast and was generally tasty. My fries were a little cold which was disappointing but the ribs were really sticky and flavoursome.

Both meals with soft drinks came to just over £20, which considering the mountains of food we both comsumed was quite a bargain.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, January 19, 2007

Unfortunatly I have had a similar experiance to many who have previously posted. I fell in love with the Soho banch a few years ago and keep dreaming that the Clapham branch will one day be that same. I have now been about 5 times (stupidly I know!) but everytime it is dire for one reason or another. My last visit was on Friday. Our waitress was obviously new and her English was very basic. Everytime we ordered anything we had to repeat it back several times and point on the menu. She then forgot our starters. Our mains were fine - not great. The waitress then forgot two more drinks orders. We then came to pay and we wanted to split the bill and the waiter told us that the waitress would not get any of the 10% service added to the bill. (We had not asked) We then asked to have it taken off and he said this was not possible!! So.. for the waitress to get any time we would have to tip twice!! This surely can't be acceptable? I then asked to speak to the manager but was told he was not available! So..that is it! I promise myself I will never go back to this place again. I really can't see how they can still be in business with such appaling service! Avid this place like the plague!
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Charlie
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, December 26, 2006

12 of us went here last night for a birthday meal.

The restaurant has a nice feel and a warm friendly atmosphere.

We weren't allowed to order from the actual menu had had to choose from a very limited set menu. I guess this is done to speed up the process of making food for 12 people at the same time, so the 50 minute wait for our starters was fairly unacceptable. One of us also got the wrong starter but having seen it he was quite pleased with the mistake. The food was ok, looked better than it tasted although the portions were large (except the prawns).

The waitress didn't smile all night and asked us to pass our plates down the table when she was clearing them rather than collect them herself.

The wait for out mains fortunately was only about 15 minutes, again, ok food, nice BBQ sauce and big portions. I'm pretty sure the chicken was frozen rather than fresh, either that or badly cooked. Why somewhere that gets through this much meat wouldn't buy fresh chicken I don't know.

To sum it up, it wasn't a bad meal, but it wasn't that great either and at £25 a head there are many other places I would much rather have eaten.
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Will Calderwood
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Monday, September 11, 2006

What a fantastic place! one of the very few places in London where I have experienced top notch service and not had to pay an arm and a leg for it! The food was fantastic, huge servings, great value for money too. What more could you ask for, I will definately go back again and they even have 50% off steak on Tuesday nights.
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PrincessB - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 01, 2006