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Blah Blah Blah

I went to Blah Blah Blah a few weeks back with a friend. At first i thought the tables looked a little too close to each other but it turned out that there was a lively atmosphere so it didn't feel too claustrophobic. When we ordered we were advised our particular dishes might take a little longer than usual but as it happens they came out quite quickly, piping hot and very tasty.

They also advised us that they don't have a licence to sell alcohol but we were welcome to bring our own and they let us know there was an off license just across the road. It didn't take long for us to get some beers and have them promptly opened. No major effort and it's nice to support a place even if they don't have a full license.

When the bill came it was complete with a nice little hand drawn smiley face which was a nice touch but it was for more than we expected. Unfortunately there was just a total with no breakdown, We didn't like to quibble and we both said we wouldn't if either of us had been with a girl on a date or something but we thought we'd ask about it for the sake of clarity. It turned a service charge had been added with no details of the amount. We would have tipped well as we had been happy up to this point but we'd like to choose the amount. We might also have added a tip to the amount if we hadn't asked so would have tipped twice.

We also think there was a corkage fee for each of us for the staff to open the beers! - we were really surprised at this. Surely the restaurant saves money by not having a license / premises that can serve alcohol? and surely the customer is at a disadvantage to have to bring their own alcohol to a restaurant? Maybe this is common practise but it didn't make any sense to us. Of course there are corkage fees if the restaurant provides alcohol but the customer chooses to bring their own. We also thought an itemised bill is standard and the customer shouldn't have to ask for one. Nice place but these things put us off.

I emailed the restaurant asking for clarification a few weeks ago but they haven't replied. There are too many places in London to contemplate a return visit to somewhere that's not fully satisfactory so we won't be going back and would advise others to watch out for the extras!

Sunday, April 25, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4