Interesting place. Looks the part. You do wait for ages for a drink to be served and then made. We sat at a table with a reservation on it for 7.30. The people turned up at 7.05 and we were asked to move. Fair enough. They were early though. When we asked the waiter were we should go the reply was 'anywhere you want as long as it is not reserved'. That was not the response I would expect particularly when the drinks are expensive, no complimentary nibbles etc etc.
Big shame. Although I would think there are enough well heeled people to keep it going!

A beautiful building with stunning decoration and that is pretty much all the good things that can now be said about BBB! Our pre-dinner cocktails took so long to make that disappointingly they arrived after our starters and wine. The food is of poor quality and in our experience served cold, two of our table of four had eaten their dinner by the time the two cold dishes were remade (well heated) and sent back to the table. One of the meals served was not what my companion ordered only to be told "we don't have it so changed it". The staff were rude and the whole evening was a disaster. This wasn't my first visit to BBB but it will certainly be my last.

I can only agree with all the other poor reviews. BBB is truly awful. I can say that the decor is nice but that's about all it has going for it. The cocktails are very poorly made and vastly overpriced. Some of the bar staff are extremely rude and arrogant. I couldn't believe just how bad the service was. There is a terrible smell from the toilets. Avoid this place. There are many far superior bars in the area.

Atrocious and rude service. Place looks nice but you wait an eternity to get served. I missed last orders due to poor service and the barman playing around behind the bar. I explained i had been waiting and got referred to the bar manager. I politely explained i had been waiting a while which provoked a rant about i should not complain about waiting but ask nicely for what I wanted (I def was not rude to the guy) he then lectured me saying I needed to listen to him and then he would serve me. I wanted to walk but listened to his diatribe, then politely placed my order... Only to be told with a sneer 'I'm sorry we are closed' now fine if he can't serve after that time but totally customer unfriendly powertripping arrogant idiot. I have seen quite a lot of reviews about similar ill mannered service. I think if they took the time to read these reviews they would not give a damn, such is there arrogance!

Just awful. Apart from the prices, the bar staff -particularly the person who appeared to be in charge - were rude to an art form. They didn't care. Why should they? Customers were obviously inconvenient and every purchase came with a hefty service charge.

Avoid, avoid, avoid Truly the worst bar in this part of London

I recently hosted my birthday party on Saturday, 29/01/2011 at bbb Notting Hill for 10 people and was amazed at the outstanding hospitality of the restaurant staff! I must compliment Nicolas, the restaurant manager, the lady who took care of my reservation (pardon me for forgetting her name!) and all the waiting staff who were so helpful and polite through out our 3 course meal. The food served from the Set Menu was good, the atmosphere was beautiful and buzzing - my guests had an excellent time! I could not have asked for a more perfect evening. Being thoroughly delighted by my time there, I would like to send a quick note of appreciation to everyone responsible for making my birthday party such a success. I will definitely revisit again! Keep up the good work! Sunayana

I have been to bbb three times, the first time was a few years back, I remember thinking how disorganised they were. Years later decided to try it again, maybe the staff turn around would be better. Sunday last, my husband decided to have a drink and something to eat closer to home. First impression quiet, roaring fires and friendly staff. However after 15 minutes waiting for some service of any kind at all was the first hurdle, minutes later the room started filled up with smoke, when we told the staff we were ready to order as no-one ever seems to bother coming back to you and having to physically get up and look for someone to take our order, we were told that they would not be taking any orders, the kitchen is closed due to problems with the extractor fan. They opend the back door, to which we froze for 20 minutes I tried to get someone's attention to close the back door as it was just so cold. We decided to dismiss this unfortunate mishap and thought it was just bad timing. Third attempt Monday, brought a friend there as bbb is no doubt beautifully furnished, with a few flaws here and there. After 10 minutes waiting, someone finally attended to us and took orders for drinks as with past experience decided to order light bites in one go. During the whole disastrous event on three occasions I asked if they could turn the music down as this was at nightclub level, the first time they obliged, minutes later it was if my efforts were in vain as the music increased even more so, to the point that my friend and I could not hear each other, second time no attempt made and third time, an arrogant bar staff/superviser/manager turned round and said this is a bar, my reply to that was "yes it is, where customers have a drink and a bite to eat, it's not a bloody nightclub", he turned the music down but it was just ridiculous, we decided to leave, no tips of course. Bbb is beautiful to look at as for service totally dispicable. All that glitters isn't necessarily gol

For anyone reading this who hasn't been to BBB in Notting Hill....or the one in Shoreditch for that matter, check it out! Just went for dinner with my boyfriend but had such a lovely evening and it's such a sexy venue I can't wait to show my friends! They've got all sorts of little hideaway rooms aswell that I can't wait to try out maybe with a group of us.

We recently booked a table online, like you're always asked to do. We did not get any response from them and proceeded to call them, twice, to make sure we got a table where we wanted.
The booking was made for 20:30, we arrived at 20:36 to be exact, give or take a few seconds...we were told that they cancelled our booking because we were 10 minutes late. They then gave us a table in the restaurant, which we specifically did not want. We were then moved to someone else's table in the bar area, after we told the hostess that we specifically asked for the bar area.
After being seated at the table our 1st round of drinks took 45 minutes to get to our table...even though they area fully staffed and more than capable of handling a full house. All the staff run around manically, looking super busy, but they do nothing but chat to one another.
On the plus side, the platter we ordered arrived in good time and the drinks were good.
I was honestly very disappointed, because I expected the same service from them as their other branch in Shoreditch. It is a shame that such a amazing place is so badly managed.

We tried to go to bbb yesterday - booked a table a week in advance, leaving our phone number with them. When we arrived, they explained that they had no food as there hadn't been a particular delivery (it was midday - they could have gone to Portobello Road Market, 2 minutes away, to stock up) and that we would have to wait an hour to eat. They then stopped looking at us like we were in the way. When we suggested that we might stay if they offered us a free drink, the very rude manager said, 'you can have tap water' to which we replied that we would leave and the manager said, 'yeah, Do it' and walked away. I've never been there before and I'm never going back. I'm also cancelling the party we were going to have there next month. Horrible people.

Stay away! I booked three weeks ago for my birthday tomorrow (saturday 13 feb) and they have just telephoned (friday 4pm) with less than 24 hours to go to say they would have to cancel as they can't do the booking. No apology, only an offer to do early lunch but I had booked for an early dinner and can't do lunch. No doubt they have Overbooked for valentines and I have had to pay the price, very unfairly. They didn't even offer anything as A sorry. Can't abide such ill Mannered Restaurants as this. Absolutely appalling and booked through opentable.com too! A very disappointed and upset Frances

Really poor service, catalogue of basic table-waiting errors too long to go into, but included our waiter taking starter plates away before we had all finished eating and saying - when asked not to - 'Yeah, but you're a big table so it's easier to take them now' and continued holding out his hand to me for my plate.

Waiters generally behaved as though every customer was inconveniencing them.

Food was really subpar, no nice surprises - the duck was tender but boring, risotto tasted like wallpaper paste without the nutrition. Lighting was poor, managed to be dark and not in the least atmospheric, in manner of a shed.

Basically, at £7.50 for the cheapest glass of wine on the menu, BBB isn't so cheap that you can forgive it, nor so expensive that it doesn't really matter.

Great venue and atmosphere.

Shame the place has to close at midnight.

I was in BBB last night for drinks and nibbles with a friend.

What has happened to it? It is now full of extremely arrogant, overdressed people in their late 40's.

It used to be such a cool place years ago...

I was back at Beach Blanket Babylon after visiting once about three years ago, but a friend had arranged her birthday dinner there and I was curious to find out if the service had improved. The answer is no! If you can ignore the five star reviews on this website and look at the genuine reviews please do so before parting with a lot of money for a restaurant that looks attractive and opulent but where the food is average and you are made to feel a nuisance and not at all welcome. Get your act together Beach Blanket Bablyon! We are in a recession!

We enjoyed the most wonderful family celebration (25th birthday) at Beach Blanket Babylon two days ago.

We were blown away by the charm and efficiency of the staff looking after us, the food was delicious and the ambiance just gorgeous.

Clearly its not a cheapo meal but I didn't find it excessive either.

We had the best of time and nothing was too much for the staff. An excellent place!

My goodness I can not believe how TERRIBLE the serves was at this place!

My friend and I decided to go for a drink here after work, we had both been before and remembered how bad the serves was but we thought you would give them the benefit of the doubt as the decor is amazing.

We asked for a bottle of wine, not once, not twice but three times before it finally arrived..

We asked for the menu, twice and as none of the staff bothered to ask what what we wanted i had to go to the bar to order.... and when it came it was the smallest potion i had ever seen

When we had finished the bottle, they didn't even bother to ask if we wanted anything else.

So went to the bar again to order another... but the lady forgot and went out for a smoke.

Then on her return we asked for the bottle of wine again and when she finally brought it out it was the wrong one..

.. then it took her about 30 mins for her to bring the right one out!

On top of the shoddy service they added 12.5% serves charge

NEVER AGAIN!

lovely atmosphere, quite a large amount of people, wide variation of music, very good selection of drinks & food BUT service is appalling.

Why aren't we allowed to give zero star to this dump? There was zero service. Zero taste in the food. Zero taste in the sickly cocktails. Zero for the tacky decor that looks like the changing room's team has done a botched up job on a once fun eighties interior. Now it just looks cheap and nasty. A brothel in Amsterdam probably has more character but i suppose the tacky clients here would know if style hit them on the head. This place is dirty and disgusting beyond belief. I think the council should come to inspect the kitchen and toilets. ZERO, ZERO in all counts

BBB - I can only agree with the many reviews here, Nice to look at, but my god the service is bad, and the food is not much better. I made 4 complaints in one sitting, I will never return !! And will not advise anyone to book here. I have given this a One star - You are not allowed to offer No Stars

Please see our spoilt WEDDING ANNIVERSARY list below: - Paper table linen and toilets smelly. - watch out for the 12.5% service charge added to the bill. - On arrival staff were all smoking outside the main door. - whilst eating a grocery supplier proceeded to pass our table on at least 5 occasions with produce directly above us and they were drilling walls while we eat. - The pear and stilton salad did not have any stilton on it and by the time it had been rectified the other members of my party had finished their food.- The waiter bombarded our table and did not allow us to finish.- The female manager didnt care - no offer of a discount even though I never pursued this avenue-Customer soft skills extremely poor

We booked BBB for my dad's 50th birthday after looking at the website and being quite impressed with the look of it. It looked just like my dad's kind of thing. It's a shame that the service had a lot to be desired. We arrived about 10 minutes late, it had been raining and we had been rushing to get there so looked a little flustered.

When we walked in with slightly damp hair and rosy cheeks the waitress looked at us like we were tramps that had just walked in off the street! No friendly welcome whatsover and she sneered down her nose as if to say 'what are you doing here?'.

She said as we were late we would only be able to have the table for an hour, well we were only 10 minutes late! We were sat on a table quite near the service area, however, some tables were a lot closer. We would have been extremely disappointed if we had been sitting there.

It took quite a while to even get a drink. The food was nice when it arrived and the decor did look impressive. However, everything looked a little dirty. Where I was sitting I could see into a service area and I must say it didn't look particularly hygenic. It was overall quite disappointing for the money you pay. You could go to somewhere like Pizza Hut and the service is better and the restaurant cleaner! I didn't feel it was a very special meal for my dad's 50th unfortunately.

Wow. An experience worthy of a really really bad sitcom.If someone had said to the management of self-styled Bbb (presumably because they can't even be bothered to waste breath on the whole name) 'go on, create the worst possible customer service and make the whole dining experience memorable in a really really bad way', then it would have been a triumph.

After booking a table in advance for 5 people for lunch, upon arrival we were told by a waiter (who we'd had to flag down as no-one was at the front desk) to just 'sit wherever', even though the only available tables were for 2. Reluctantly he offered to 'push some tables together' if we liked. Well yes, call us old-fashioned, but sitting together was rather the point in the first place. We were handed full drinks and wine lists and had to ask several times for the food menu (it being lunch and all), which was uninspiring at best, with two of the 6 mains - the chicken and fish - served the same 'fondant potato, green beans and lentil sauce'.

Mushroom soup with truffle oil was presented sloppily to the table as 'oil soup' and the mains were over-salty and less than piping hot. Food was skewed all over the plates and my friend's lemonade was topped up with water (when she mentioned this, she received a bored shrug and a 'yes?').Seats were filthy, the whole place was shabby WAY beyond chic and as a final insult, when we eventually managed to get the bill - the front of house person and waiter too engrossed in reading each other's phone texts behind the bar to acknowledge us - the credit card machine was programmed to ask if we wanted to add a gratuity in addition to the 12.5% service already on the bill.

Hmm, let me think....Sure it looks pretty from the outside but please don't be fooled. If you're happy to be ripped off by a complacent and smug business, fine. If not, and you find yourself in the area, go ANYWHERE else if you want decent food, pleasant (in fact, ANY) service an

This is the WORST dinning experience I have had in London and also the most expensive. From the start to the finish this place really does not match up to the style and decor and clientele of this Restaurant. Service was shocking, Senior staff were rude and disorganised with an abundant lack of charm, food was well below average and all in all without going into fine detail my advice is too stay well clear!

Pros:
Brilliant decor, fantastic atmosphere, Steak was cooked to perfection.
Cons:
Seating is cramped due to decor, staff were rude when we asked to be moved, drinks are extorsionate.
Great to experience, wouldn't go back.

BEWARE BEACH BLANKET BABYLON. The worst dining experience of my life. Although it is unfair to call it a dining experience seeing as we never got to eat. We booked a table for 9pm, were seated at 10.30pm and left at 11pm when we still had not received menus, drinks or an apology. Steer clear is the only advice I can offer.

Its funny but i thought the same as the last reviewer. The place was disgusting and dirty. Its the worst restaurant in london. The food is really bad.They are lucky they are notting hill otherwise they would not have survived. Tourist come here and don't come back but there is always another gullible one. This place reminds me of the really awful places in spain that are tourist traps and have no regards to quality or hygiene.
The decor on closer inspection are just cheap copies and the fabric they use are synthetic.I wonder if they are fire proofed.Its a wonder how people can be impressed by a few shiny fake bling.Again lack of education. I suppose the people in the know has never awarded them any awards ever, so this shows its impressing the wrong kind of people.Bridge and tunnel and chavs favour this place. I could not get out of there fast enough.

this is the worst restaurant i think i have been to in London. its service is appalling, the food is worse than average, and I just find the place DIRTY DIRTY DIRTY. We were sitting at the back of the restaurant and all I could smell was the dirty floor and rubbish that they obviously hold at the back of the restaurant. This restaurants has thrived because of the area, and that is it.

I have been to Beach Blanket Babylon about five times now. I absolutely love it. Its design is spectacular and its service excellent. We have enjoyed every time we've been there. Thank you guys!

How this restaurant has got good reviews is beyond me. We only had a party of 9 people and were only presented with a Set Menu - we were not even told that we could not order a la carte when we booked. Service was so slow- We booked for 9.30 but our starter arrived at 10.45 There was no vegetarian on the set menu (3 people were vegetarian). When asked if the chicken or salmon was free range or organic the manager has to go ask the kitchen. We ordered our 3 courses at start but after having our main course the two deserts we all opted for; they said they had run out. Why tell us at the end? Food was average and nothing special and a lot to pay for farmed chicken. I would rather spend my money in a proper restaurant rather than this bar cum restaurant. This place is just taking advantage of the area.

Decor is fantastic and frankly that was all that was! We booked a table for 9.30pm some weeks in advance and sadly we found ourselves in the position of ordering our meals at 11.30pm only to be told that nearly half the menu was no longer available to us. Our Vegetarian was served Meat and one of our Party was not served his main meal at all! when we complained we were told by the very unhelpful staff that the Kitchen was now shut!
I will never return.

Hi,

When you people go out for dinner, are you actually in a hurry or there to relax?

Maybe if you would stop checking your watch and stop moaning about the service you would have a better time.

Beach Blanket has been there for seventeen years and not for no reason.

Maybe the menu is not what you like.. fair enough!

Who knows? If you would try to enjoy yourself a bit more, the food might be tastier in the end..

Well whatever,
I guess I just don't like people who complain all the time..

:)

Utterly the worst restaurant I have ever been to due to the diabolical service and lack of attention to detail. The venue itself was interesting and had the potential to be great. Having now read reviews on this site, I cannot believe they are still open, but not surprised that the owner would not take my call when I rang to complain a short while ago. I was told he does not take outside calls. No surprise there.



I had organised a media event there for clients. Everything was wrong. Worst of all, we had placed our menu orders in advance, but they brought out something completely different and I was told what they brought out was better than what we ordered, so like it or lump it!



Lunch lasted 3 hours +, with gaps in between courses of up to an hour. I had to complain so many times that the food went cold. Staff were so unintrusive they were invisible, and I resorted to serving drinks myself.



I complained until it became a joke even down to the fact that we had been told that they were doing name cards for us and when I got there they handed me some roughly cut up card and a pen!



I even had to go downstairs and swipe table cloths off other tables as we didn't have any and nobody brought them to us when I asked.



When I compained about the different menu, I was told that the chef was not happy with what he got at market that morning so got something different. Fine - but could he not have told me? Was he not happy with potatoes either - as we didn't get them either, although they were ordered. I was there from 10am after all. They served us fishcakes instead of mussels and one of the diners had to stop as she had a wheat allergy and realised the breadcrumbs could have given her a reaction. We ordered John Dory and got sea bass.



Toilets were dirty and smelly, the manager argued like the blazes with every point I made and refused to let me speak to the owne

The Beach Blanket Babylon decor is one of the best in the area and the cocktails are great. However the food on the menu is the worst, most ostentatious drivel I've ever seen and tried. I ordered a rack of lamb and 45 minutes later three small chops on a dollop of mashed potato showed up. The chops were mostly fat and not what you would expect for 30 pounds. When I complained the head waitress disappeared for half and hour and I had to question her again what was going on.



The staff were rude to me despite the fact I was overly polite in my justified complaint. They hurled the credit card machine my way when we went to pay and didn't even say goodbye when we left.



I worked in restaurants and bars when I was at university and never would I dream about treating a customer in the manner they did, especially as I was so genuinely polite. The management have no clue and I don't think they really care. All of the locals in Notting Hill complain about the food and service and hence never go there.



They have ruined a potentially amazing restaurant. I forsee it closing in the next year or two unless the owners have more money than sense. On the plus side, there was one nice waiter, however he didn't understand what the word drink meant.

I made a reservation for 6pm at Beach Blanket Babylon, specifically requesting the Crypt. Got seated at 6:30pm after complaining twice - not where requested but next to a cutlery drawer and bin. In to which the restaurant staff insisted on emptying cigarette ash in throughout our dining experience. So much for a romantic evening. Food menu extensively limited and some dishes that were on the menu were not available. Service was slow.



Food was over priced - £17 for a hamburger? Cost us £90 for 2 excluding wine. The only thing Beach Blanket Babylon has going for it is the decor. Would never return.

I took my girlfriend to Beach Blanket Babylon for our anniversary, and I must say we had a really nice night. The decor is nothing short of stunning, and the atmosphere on a monday night was very pleasant. The menu is full of interesting dishes and the desserts were especially mouth-watering. There is a respectable, although pricey, wine list and the cocktails are great. The staff were very friendly and eager to help.



If the guy who said this is the worst restaurant in London has actually been there, I would seriously like to know where he normally goes, and to take him to some of the places I've been to in the east end!

Went to Beach Blanket Babylon last night and have to agree with so many of the comments I've read: the place is gorgeous and the drinks are good. However, the service is exceptionally bad and food mediocre and overpriced.

I must admit I was scared about going here when I read all the reviews. I booked it for my girlfriends birthday however, it turned out to be a great decision. We sat in the Chapel part of the restaurant and it was amazing! The main was really tasty and the starter and dessert was good value for the money. The portions are average, but then I like to eat well and drinks were around the average price you would pay for Central London.



The Beach Blanket Babylon staff were very friendly. I had brought a cake with me and when I paid there was a surcharge for serving it. I was unaware of this and spoke to a member of staff who immediately took it off the bill and gave us one persons meal free for the inconvenience! Overall Beach Blanket Babylon was a good experience. It is more of an awe inspring restaurant than unbelievable food.

Beach Blanket Babylon is comfortably the worst restaurant in London. We waited 45 minutes for a table. Once our orders were taken we waited over an hour for our starters, and when we questioned the staff were told that they had forgotton about us.


Then it turned out the restaurant had run out of food! On New Year's Eve! At least 50-60 people in the restaurant were given nothing at all to eat. We were lucky enough to get a few starters and desserts (which were not very nice). My New Year's Eve meal was a Roast Chicken Sandwich from the BP garage on the way home.



The promised £65.00 refund has yet to materialise and everyone at Beach Blanket Babylon keeps claiming someone will call back, but of course they never do. The management are just total amateurs.

Sadly £30.00 won't even buy you a main course at beach Blanket Babylon. Starters are £13.00, side dishes from £3.00-£5.00 and desserts £9.00. If the whole experience and food was worth that crazy sort of money, I'd say go, but it isn't.


The service is apalling, yet the Beach Blanket Babylon staff and manager don't seem to care. The atmosphere is lovely, open fires, candleit and quite quirky. I would recommend you go here for drinks and cocktails but not for dinner.