Bob Bob Ricard a mixed bag
We really like their wine policy (and wines) and the food was good in parts, though ocassionally underwhelming. However, we did find the service to be very uneven. The front door folk were good, Richard came over and said hello and he was very amiable, and our upstairs male waiter was friendly enough. On the negative side, the service was often 'unavailable' like when we pressed the champagne button and nothing happened anytime soon and the female waitresses were so sullen that one of our party commented that 'they look like they have had their passports taken off them and have been beaten into submission'. As the barman said to the anteater, 'why the long face?'
Overall, we can see why people like BBR: the place itself is lively and most probably even fashionable, the menu enjoyable enough (though not challenging) and the drink probably unsurpassed in value within the London serious restaurant scene. And maybe we hit an off day (or maybe our waitress herself hit an off day). The food too was broadly good enough but is it actually a foodie destination or is it rather a fashionable party destination? Most probably the latter. BBR occupies a prime location just off Golden Square but how far out of our way would we go to seek it out? We suspect not too far. With the final bill coming in at around £120 a head, it is moving into proper money territory and yet from a foodie perspective, there wasn't so much that was properly memorable yet there should be. Perhaps what we'll remember most is getting told off but we can get told off for a lot less money than that.
In the end then, is it enough to command our loyalty for a return visit? No time soon I suspect though we might give it another try in due course and see if the experience differs. I guess social media wilderness beckons.
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We went to Bob Bob Ricard about am month ago for a post-theatre drink/light dinner. The service was similar and therefore rather than having two drinks, we had one each because by the time someone tended to us, tiredness had set in. That being said, we enjoyed the trendy atmosphere and thoroughly enjoyed a lovely glass of champagne and some delicious food.
We shared the Meat Pelmeni and Truffled Potato and Mushroom Varneniki, both which I would recommend. Overall, we more than satisfied with our choice and left very satisfied for £35 pp. Whether or not it is a foodie destination, I cannot debate due to our short listed order. What I can say, is that we gladly added BBR to our list of great pre/post-theatre spots.
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