I wholeheartedly agree with all the extremely poor reviews of this place. Never have I experienced such mediocre and over priced food, but worst of all is the service. Appalling. I too witnessed the group of ladies being confronted by bouncers at the door as we tried to leave and the manager shouting out "stingy b*tches". I couldnt quite believe my ears. NEVER EAT HERE.

ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE – AVOID AT ALL COSTS.This place is an absolute nightmare... Imagine being held hostage by bouncers in a so called restaurant to pay for drinks which the duty manager had agreed were on the house as the service was worse than bad.

Well this is our horror story which actually happened when we visited this establishment for the first and last time on Friday night. I will never be going to their Notting Hill Branch either.When our starters turned up (soup) we had no soup spoons. When the soup spoons turned up our soup was cold. Our wine bottles were not allowed to be left on the table, but as nobody seemed to be serving us we had to go search for our wine and serve our selves.

The main course arrived warm. The side dishes arrived twenty minutes later. All in all the service was disgraceful. We were constantly ignored. Then why did we stay you may ask??? Well after the debacle with the soup, we advised the ‘duty manager’ of why we were leaving.

He apologised and it was agreed that we would pay for our food and have free drinks. Upon leaving, we were advised that there was money outstanding on our bill and that they would call the police unless we paid up. The money outstanding was for the wine which we had agreed with the ‘duty manager’ we would not be paying for because of the beyond bad service.

You can imagine our absolute shock upon been refused the right to leave this establishment. Being told we had to wait for the police was comical. Naturally, the police never showed, and we were barricaded in and had to pay our way out. At one stage there were 3 bouncers blocking the door. So you have been warned.

I wish I could give this place 0/5. We went on Saturday night, and although when the food eventually came out it was cold, the flavours were great. However, 3 courses in 3 hours was a complete joke. The staff look good but are away with the fairies, and really just don't care at all.The worst was, when we were leaving a group of girls were being confronted by the bouncers... Apparently, because they refused to pay the service charge (as informed by the receptionist, who was equally appalled).. No one else could leave the enter the restaurant, and the managers wouldn't budge. Eventually they gave them more money, and as they were leaving the staff and manager started calling them 'stingy bitches', and 'if you cant afford to pay, don't eat here' in front of all the people waiting outside - it was just disgusting. I can only assume their service was as bad as ours...NEVER GO HERE!

My visit to beach blanket Babylon was absolutely appalling. On arrival we were asked to go to the bar to order our drinks, which we did, only to be ignored by the barman. He eventually took our order only to then be informed that he could not serve us as we were not standing at the correct side of the bar. We moved, and then were promptly ignored. We were then asked to sit at a side table where we waited for 25 minutes to receive our drinks, even though there were 6 members of staff chatting at the bar. Whilst waiting to be seated for our meal we asked for some bread while we were waiting. We were told that the bread was only for starters when seated at our dining table. When we questioned this, we were given 2 ROCK HARD rolls between the 7 of us. It was then discovered that they had run out - this was at 8.00 in the evening.

We were then seated in the dining area and given only 1 menu between all 7 of us. We were informed by the ONE friendly staff member that they did not have enough for everyone in the restaurant. Due to this we were told we had to wait until other menus became available for each of us to view their selection. By this point in time, we were not impressed and asked to speak to the manager. We were told by the shift runner that the manager was not present, and there was no-one we could speak to about the poor service. At this point we decided to leave the restaurant and were approached by two suited gentlemen asking what the problem was. When we asked what their position was within the company, they informed us they were the trainee Manager and the Manager in charge of the Notting Hill branch. They stiffly refused to tell us their names. After listening to the series of events, they made no comment and said there was nothing they could do, and were in no way apologetic or concerned by the list of circumstances, and were, in fact, appallingly rude.

We called this morning onlt be told that they did not to hear our complaint - people be warned.

I went there on Saturday too and also sat in the drafty corner, freezing !

What amazed me about the staff was there lack of common sense, they seemed totally vacant.

I asked a waitress if they had olives? the response was "I don't know" ..... no offer to find out. Then I asked another waitress if they had olives, again "I don't know" ..... so none of the staff know if they even sell olives??

Our wine took ages to arrive, the waitress that took our order clearly had no idea what was on the menu, then when she finally got the order taken down she left all the menus sat on our table until the mains arrived, even when we saw the head waiter tell her to take them away.

Two out of the four main courses arrived by themselves and the other two took so long myself and friend with food had to start. The other two meals arrive but one was completely the wrong order, the vacant waiter didn't seem to understand "that's not what I ordered" and went over to stand by a colleague with the offending dish and wait for him to deal with another complaint before asking what he should do. So we sat with three mains out of four watching the waiter stand in the middle of the restaurant with the forth one. By the way, one of the three main courses that we did have correct was stone cold so we had to send that back too. The pine nut and parmesan salad had no pine nuts... we even had two pepper shakers on our table instead of a salt and pepper.

What more could go wrong.

Our only saving grace was the head waiter, who was truly an angel !! he worked his B off, appeared to be dealing with a mountain of complaints, clearing up the mess of the incompetents he was working with and all the while with a smile on his face. He turned our evening around and if it wasn't for him the whole thing would have been a terrible disaster.

I thought it was a one off and had thought about going back. Looking at the reviews, perhaps not?

Wow, I thought our experience was a one off but having read the reviews below it seems this place really is terrible!! My friends and I were seated straight away but at the back by a very drafty window so I was wrapped in a cardigan for the meal.

Waited 20 minutes to get the attention of the staff to order. The waitress was slow and rude. Couldn't understand what we wanted from the menu so we had to repeat it several times. About 30 minutes later the food was bought out. One of the four dinners was wrong. The waiter basically told us that we should just eat it as it was too much hassle to take back to the kitchen. He said if we ate it he wouldn't charge us for it. (Not the point) Then my lamb came out cold so they reheated it in the microwave! Any decent restaurant would come up with a new one! I ordered a cheese, rocket and pine nut salad. It arrived with no pine nuts so when I flagged this with the waiter he looked at me like I was an idiot. He did check the menu and I was right but apparently they don't do the salad with pine nuts anymore!! Well change your menu then! We ended up getting 3 bottles of wine free + the dessert free which tasted and looked amazing I must say. Our group was in good spirits which was lucky because the rubbish service and incompetent staff could have so easily ruined our night! The head waiter did make as much effort to put right all the things that were wrong but surely these things shouldn't be wrong in the first place!! In the end what should have cost us £50 per head worked out to be £20.

Luckily we enjoyed the night but that's because we thought it was a one off. Having read the review here it's obvious that it's a shambles and I wouldn't return to eat here.

RUBBISH! we had the set menu - two courses for £30.... which amounted to 4 tiny scallops with some oil on to start. my main (pasta) was revolting and just tasted of oil. my friend's dish, the fish, was dry and came just with a very stingy salad. avoud this place for a meal at all costs - it's the biggest waste of money ever! the cocktails were ok, so maybe just go for drinks.

Appalling service, rude staff, insufficient numbers of staff. This place is fine for a cocktail but completely unacceptable for dinner. Do not eat here. Les Trois Garcons, Loungelover, Great Eastern Dining Rooms are all much much better in this area. Avoid!!!

Went to lunch here on Saturday, I had read the bad reviews but didn't think it could be THAT bad! Well what a significant difference to the Notting Hill restaurant, you really wouldn't think the two were linked. We were the only ones in the restaurant and luckily not in a rush! The staff were from another planet, clueless, drinks took forever, the food was of a very poor standard for the price, all of our food arrived cold and the "chef" even managed to under cook the potatoes, by this time we were very fed up, we were given x2 bottles of wine for free but the bill still came to £50 per head.One word sums this place up....substandard! Avoid, avoid, avoid!!!

In this day and age of the credit crunch i think we should be more careful who we give our money to. Beach Blanket Babylon would be the last place i will spend my money. Such impertinence from the staff, right from the doormen to the surly sour faced server on our table. The place wasn't even busy on a friday night. I think people are aware now what a awful place this is. It was unfortunate for us that we did not read the reviews before we ventured here. To rub salt on our wounds the food was so bland inedible. The cocktails were dreadful and tasteless. It didn't take us long to vacate this dreary, brash, boring venue to a far superior one nearby on the advice of another table who was decamping too. They decided to try Beach out and were as disapointed as we were.

H&M chic, over styled décor and ok food describes this venue best. It certainly isn’t the buzz that has been made of this new Shoreditch ’fashion’ venue.Under staffed and poorly planned menus led to a disappointing evening which was suppose to be ‘fabulous’Even the manager with his charm couldn’t fix a failing combination of dim witted staff, poor kitchen preparation and OK food.No amount of charm could have save this train wreck

A complete and utter disappointment. The staff are a disgrace, rude and abrupt, treating customers as irritants. Service is very slow for both food and drink and prices are sky high. Portions are minute and the food really isn't very good. The club is small and cramped, toilets are filthy and without toilet roll.

Beack blanket babylon shoreditch looks great online but has no substance. The three-course set meal costs just under £50 per head and though the menu sounds glamorous the food doesn't taste it. Don't fall for the hype that surrounds this venue, it is poor value and leaves a sour taste in your mouth. To be avoided at all costs.

This is one of the worst service levels I have ever experienced, even by London standards. Each drink took atleast 20 minutes to arrive (yes, even a glass of wine) and one pint of beer took half an hour to arrive. When we reminded the (extremely unpleasant) waitress (every 10 minutes or so) about the beer, at about the half hour mark, she barked back "Yes, You just asked about that!" The food was mediocre, the food and drinks expensive, and the place lacked any vibe. In fact it was relatively empty. One of the first places to get the chop with the recession biting!

Maybe i am fussy but when i go out i expect clean surroundings and fresh smelling rooms, not a restaurant that smells like a decaying fishmongers bin. The table was sticky and the toilets smelly and gross. I was so humiliated by the whole evening because i thought i was clever by suggesting this venue to my friends who have never heard of this place. It was bad enough to convince them to go to Shoreditch.
When the food arrived at long intervals in between each of our orders and tasted so bad, i wished the ground would open up and swallow me.
The place looked like an eighties hotel lobby in the middle east. How anybody could like this interior is beyond me.I felt so dizzy being in there with all the crass bling.
The clients are really wannabes who can't get in anywhere else like Shoreditch House or the other trendy places in the area.We will not be rushing back there anytime soon.

Hi
I'm going on a citytrip this weekend to London. I would like to now what's hot and what's not. Is there anything I need to be warened about.
Please forgive me if my spelling isn't what it's suppost to be.

Usually i am quite easy and undemanding but when everything is just bad, you just have to complain. But it seems complaining doesn't get you anywhere here.The staff don't seem to care and are not trained to deal with complains. We were not the only ones to be unhappy as the were many raised voices. Its the first time i felt unhappy about paying service charge. Should have read all the reviews in the papers.

Couldn't believe how they have the cheek to charge so much for such awful food and cocktails. Its the kind of place you go to once because of curiosity but never ever go back as the service is also not up to standards. The place is not even nicely decorated. Its really tacky and garish. Worst place i've been to for a long time.

I love this place!!!, I was worried about having my birthday party in Babylon after reading some of the bad reviews but I gave it a chance... it was wonderful evening, I definitely recommend this place!

Was really annoyed that the website is very misleading and makes this place to be special but actually its dreadful. Brought my girlfriend to celebrate a special occasion and it turned out to be a nightmare. The inexperienced staff managed to get our orders wrong and we had to wait an hour for our starters. After all the wait the food was terrible. The portions are a joke.For the pricing we could have gone to a far better restaurant.The cocktails are not very imaginative and are copied from other bars mainly from the Lab. The bar downstairs was really clammy and sticky. We were happy to leave. This place is all hype and no substance. I can't see it lasting for very long, surely the public are not so gullible.Its my own fault for not reading the reviews first.

Really cool place!!! Perfect Saturday night with my wife. We had an excellent dinner in the restaurant area, the food was beautiful!. Later on, we were taken to the lounge bar downstairs were we had cocktails the whole night. I have to say that the waiting staff made our night very special. I will definitely come back.

I booked up and took my wife here a fortnight ago for our aniversary. We were met at the door by a doorman that wouldnt keep his eyes of my wifes backside which made her feel extremely uncomfortable. To top it all when i eyeballed him for doing it he smirked.

We were then shown to our table by what looked like a model who was more interested in looking around at people seeing if anyone was clocking them than attendind to us. When i booked i asked specifically for a rose to be put on the table saying i would pay extra when we got to our table no rose.. and the management knew nothing about it.

Our drinks turned up 15 minutes after ordering them and our starter was cold the croutons looked and tasted like cardboard. We had argentian steak as a main which we asked for medium it turned up black (nuked is a better word) and the size was as small as a welsh lamb chop it was actually horrible.

It was at this stage i had enough i was embaressed and my wife could see i was about to deck the floor manager for ruining what was an extremely well planned aniversary dinner to reward my wife for being so loving and these idiots blew it.

Never go to this place.. I took my to a wine bar afterwards and we finished the night having fun but BBB was the worst experience ever.

You have been warned.

It was a last minute decision to go out on a Saturday night with some friends i haven't seen for ages. The only place we could get a table for 5 persons last minute was here. We really wanted to go to St John's but left it too late. We should have just stayed at mine and ordered take aways and it would have been tastier. At least it would have been more pleasant. The staff here are so rude and really think too highly of themselves. We got together with such a positive energy and ended up wasting it on arguing with the staff.
There was a point that it was going to get ugly but we controlled ourselves. The staff are brave because they have the support of the bouncers. The other factor that lingered on ,long after we left that miserable dive was the smell of rotting waste, mainly fish as they leave their windows open as there aren't any air conditioning. It was also incredibly stuffy and warm in there.This place is a waste of a good space.

This place is so much better than the one in Notting Hill!!!, the food was great and the cocktails were excelent!!!, after dinner the manager welcomed us to go to the VIP area of the bar downstairs and we were surprised to find that there was a "Miami Vice" theme party goin on!!!Brilliant night, a place go back.

After the reviews in London view I was a little bit worried booking a table for my birthday but I have to say that we had an excelent time!. I loved the atmosphere in this place, the food was great and the service too.
Only one bad thing... too hot in summer!

It made me really sick when my friends told me that this restaurant is where Rex from big brother is the executive chef. Thats why this place is such a disaster. Everything about this place is shameful. The service is laughable and the food in edible. The guest are really second rate. Full of wannabes with orange tans and dresses from Primark. This place is a disgrace and should be avoided out of principle.

I didn't know there was a place like this in Shoreditch!!!Last Saturday night I had an a amazing time dinning there, the managment was perfect, the staff were polite and the music was electric!A place to come back!

I don't normally write reviews but i am forced to as my experience had been really dreadful.To begin with some manners would not have gone amiss from the doorman and receptionist.The first thing you notice after the rude reception is how hot it is in there. The air so stuffy and sticky. They don't even have air conditioning and we would have left except we could not get a table anywhere else at the last moment. Besides being uncomfortable the food and drinks were really bad and over priced. The clients are really awful and crass. The clients here are not worried about quality or finesse. We are quite happy to leave to those that deserve it.The few good reviews are suspect.

I went to babylon last friday night and it was like a different place!!!, all the staff were different (amazing girls working there!!!), the service was brilliant and I had the best birthday party of my life!!! DON'T LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS, BABYLON ROCKS!!!

The service is a joke! Me and my boyfriend went there a month or so ago after walking past the place. Upon entering we were asked to sit at the bar and he would bring over the menu while we got a drink. Bearing in mind it was a Wednesday night and only a dozen people in there, we sat waiting and waiting and waiting. The bar staff walkrd past us numerous times and did not even acknowledge the fact that we were there. After asking for some service and waiting some more we eventually walked out.

The evening we spent at Beach Blanket Babylon will always stay in our minds but for all the wrong reasons. Besides the terrible food and service which was very forgettable the one thing that will be imprinted in our minds forever was the horrifying fight that we had to witness whilst we were finishing our awful dinner.It was really scary to see people hitting each other. The fight was really out of control. Thankfully someone called the police and the ambulance. It was certainly an incident we would never want to be in again.We were in the back of the room and felt trapped unable to past the front door as the fight was raging on there. As soon as the police arrived me made our way out.The clientele here are the worst kind you you can get in London. Never go there unless you are comfortable with hooligans.

I had already booked by birthday party here before I had read the reviews so as you can expect I was a little apprehensive about going with all the bad feedback this place had received, we went on a Friday (10 of us) for dinner and I couldn't have been more surprised. The place was full but we still had 2 waiters for our table who where very friendly, helpful and were fully clued up on the menu and the wine list and made suggestions on wine to go with our meal. The delivery of food was swift and we were all served at the same time so no delays there. The food was very good but it is a little on the expensive side for what you get but I had a great birthday there and they even brought me out a slice of cake and sang happy birthday which was nice if not a little embarrassing! Over all I really enjoyed the experience and will be going back. Great cocktails too!

I went here for cocktails when it very first opened and was very impressed - attentive staff who took time, care and skill to make some of the best cocktails I have ever had the pleasure to drink. However, like many good things, it hasn't lasted - each time I have been back since I have grown more disappointed. The staff are surly, inattentive and slapdash - the cocktails have gone downhill and the experience is now pitiful. The bartenders seem more concerned about serving their friends (who rarely seem to pay for their drinks) and seem disgruntled when you have the audacity to break them from their conversation to ask for a drink. During the week the place has as much atmosphere as a post office, with similar service. I never mind paying a premium for good service, good drinks and a good venue, but this place misses all. It is a blight on Shoredith's map - where once Shoreditch was home to all the best kept secrets of London, this brash newcomer is like Butlins in the City - hoards now seem to come straight from the Essex Express, via Liverpool Street to soak up what they believe to be Shoho chic - thankfully BBB is not representative of Shoho, but is an embarassment. Symbolic of its phoney premium status is its refusal to take American Express ("we had one machine but it doesn't work anymore") - No decent bar in London does not take AmEx. This is a bar for those who don't care about service, quality or atmosphere, but about what they have read is cool. You might as well be in a wine bar in Chelmsford.

Possibly the worst service i have experienced in a London Bar! Lets not forget the drinks aren't cheap. Be rest assured the premium you pay is not for prompt service.

If you are thinking of going to BBB in shoreditch DON'T bother. They over crowd the place and don't have enough staff to cater for the customers.

The wait to get a drink was unbearably long. A mere 40 minutes standing at the bar. Staff either ignore you or flutter around the VIP section of the bar.

I complained on my exit and recieved a barrage of pitiful excuses .. you won't see me or any of friends in that place ever again.

Funnily enough I was not going to review this place as so many other peolpe thought it was rubbish. Well i just hope this reiterates how much of an average experience i had.

Amazingly awful. How this place can stay open is beyond me. Rude staff from point of entry to inedible food that was not worth the long wait to the disgusting cocktails that tasted like dishwater. Probably the people who return to this place do not place quality of ingredients and service as their main perogative. Judging by their clientele - unsavoury crass, loud, nouveau riche types who has no clues about where the in places to be, would be the only ones to frequent this place. I suppose most who come here are only interested in getting drunk but probably regretting it the next day after looking at their reciept as this place is not cheap, especially with the rubbish service and quality of ingredients.Once bitten twice shy for me. Take heed and steer away from this dump.

I attempted to attend this venue for a private function in the weekend. When we arrived we were stopped by the door staff and told we couldn't enter. The staff were extremely rude, and inconsistent with the reasoning for why we could not enter. I am still unclear as to why we were not given entry: the venue was not at capacity and we were not dressed shabbily. Our friend who was holding the party was so upset that the whole party inside up and left.

I would never even attempt to come here again. I felt humilated by the door staff, who gave the impression that civility was beneath them. This venue offered the worst service I have encountered in six years in London.

Read many bad reviews in the press but decided to go anyway as my boy friend and i like to make up our own minds. I am glad we went as now we know we are not missing anything and the press was right. The service was atrocious right from the plumb Diana Ross wannabe host to the ill informed wait staff to the inefficient manager who keeps apologising but not actually sorting anything out. The food is below par and rather uninspiringly drab. Gourmet burger kitchen does way better ones for a lot less. The pie was stodgy and you would be better off buying it at the pie shop in spitafields. The wait for drinks and the mix up with the food is intolerable especially when you have unfriendly staff.The press is really justified with their views and i am now more inclined to believe them.

I had booked a table on friday night for my boyfirends birthday and was quite worried after reading some of these awful reviews!

I can only say that I think the staffing issue must have been addressed as there seemed more than enough waiters and runners to cope. Our mains almost came out too quickly after our starters, but our waiter was particuarly helpful which made it an overall enjoyable evening!

There were no issues with us having Tap water with our meal and we were recommened the fabulous 'Porn star martini' which was fantastic. Obviously this place isn't cheap, but the food and decor were lovely and overall a pleasurable experience!

This is single handedly the worst place I have ever been to... Slow service like I have never seen (forcing us to buy bottles since it was impossible to get served - 2 cocktails served in 3 hours - despite ordering the second the moment we RECIEVED the first, still took an hour). Staff were rude, and the bouncers are unprofessional, rude, etc, etc... as I said, I have never experienced anything as shambolic as last night.

Its the first time in my life that i have asked to write my own order down as the waitress does not know what a long island tea is.She also did not understand my friends orders but only came back 15 minutes after taking our orders to tell us this. So after writing our orders and having to wait another 25 minutes for 4 drinks which was rubbish we were not very tempted to stay for dinner.We were very lucky to opt out of this option as others who have eaten there has horror stories to relate.
Also there has been amazingly bad reviews in the National papers.
As a customer i would at least liked to be served by someone who speaks english or at least welcomed with a smile. The staff here seems nervous as they have been getting so much negative publicity.My advise learn to speak the native language first before you attempt to work in the country and it will be easier for everyone. And be nice as you are not that good looking anyway. I don't know what modelling agency you people are with but it cannot be a very good one like BBB.

Not impresshed with this playsh.
I ordered a burger and it was served late and tayshted like a doggy doo smeared in between two old baps.
The curtains were saggy and smelly
This place sucks and does not fit in with Shoreditch - should be on the Leicestershire Square :-p

I am sorry someone is really posting unreal reviews here. I am sure i did not experience any of the wonderful,exciting fun, gorgeous men and great service. It looks like someone is trying to hype this place up.It was nasty and the little clients that were able to bear the sad service were beer drinkers with a belly and not very attractive unless you are very plastered. Its a real shame if anyone believes this fake reviews about how good this dump is.

I was absolutley appalled by this place. We stumbled across it by accident and I thought it looked very interesting and quite liked its style. Went in for a drink, after about 20 mins i had to ask the matrodie if we could be served (it wasn't busy and staff were standing round talking) she got a waiter I ordered a red wine an gin and tonic. Another 20 mins past still no drink so we just walked out disgusted. Walked about half mile down the road and a bouncer came up to us and asked if we had walked out without paying, i was shocked and seething. I said no we hadnt cause we would have had to have a drink in order to do that. Not only did we get awful service but accused of doing a runner. I would not step back in that place if you payed me and reccomend others to do the same. They have to be having a laugh!!!

This place is the house of Beach Blanket Babylon, the one and only site in shoreditch, the cocktails blew me away, also there were the most gorgeous men hanging out there. If your single and free and want to be entertained by an amazing team of professional restaurateurs, this is your place !!