The London Intruder: Beach Blanket Babylon (What a Disappointment)

Living in Notting Hill is living surrounded by incredible restaurants with plenty of charm and good food. Unfortunately this is not the case for each of them, even the most pretentious ones.

Today I'll share my Beach Blanket Babylon (Notting Hill) disappointment.

BBB is an incredibly interesting place thanks to the atmosphere created by its interior design. Luxury and cosy fire places blends perfectly with a magical fairytale spirit. It seems that you ended up in The Beauty and The Beast Castle. But have a look by yourself with these snapshots I took (before I start criticising).

Isn't it a beautiful place ?

Too bad the staff is pretentious and ineffective...

I went there for lunch with two friends. We were the ONLY clients in the whole restaurant... So not much of an atmosphere... And needless to say that the staff work was minimal as there was only three of us. But illogically the lack of clients didn't help the waitress to be efficient! I arrive early so I had to wait 20 minutes before my guests arrived. I had to struggle to get the cocktail menu and even more to get someone to take my order... Come on! I was the only one in the middle of this place, how hard is it to be polite and take the order right away! No, I had to get up myself, walk to the bar, wave to the barmaid, wave again, and again... till she noticed me and took my order.

The good value of this place is definitely cocktails! The menu is very extensive and cocktails are extremely delicious! Nothing bad to say about that!

And then comes the food... how to describe it... it was extremely disappointing. Prices are very high (I thank Top Table for its valuable discount offer) and dishes are so common that I would even define them as boring.

The scallops came by three pieces, no seasoning. Well, some butternut squash mash that didn't really match. I am a huge addict to seafood and scallops are in my top-favourite seafood dishes! Unfortunately this starter didn't meet my expectations.

Main dishes were beautifully presented, that's a plus. But I think this is the minimum for a place with high standing. Anyway, the Burger was uneatable... an "étouffe-chrétien" (as we say in French) or Hardtack! Really poor filling, a slice of cheese, a slice of bacon and an over-cooked meat. But the French Fries were delicious! Crispy and thin as we love them!

The fish was good, not incredible (the price is unjustified) but simple and nice.

I had the "Corn fed, free range chicken leg slowly cooked in red wine, onion and bacon,
with crushed new potatoes and braised red cabbage". The title is appealing but the chicken was kind of sweet and as for a result difficult to eat.

In conclusion, avoid the food that is completely overrated. Staff is good-looking but pretentious.

But the place is gorgeous, so go have a look and enjoy their amazing cocktails as pre-diner drinks!

I strongly believe that clients get overwhelmed by the magic of the place and have a placebo effect concerning the food, everything looks so beautiful that you'll think dishes are good. But for food lovers as my friend and I it is a real disappointment.