Bodean's (Soho)

I have been to this restaurant on numerous occasions and have always enjoyed it immensely.

The downstairs area is well-decorated and feels like a hunting lodge/drawing room or something out of twin peaks. The wall lights are especially cool with the lights on small fake antlers.

The food is great, inexpensive and the portions are generally pretty massive. The nachos starter is absolutely vast and all the ribs on the menu are amazing. The burgers are also excellent and taste like a huge juicy steak in a bun. The provision of two types of barbeque sauce on the table with the meal is excellent too. The fries are superb and the coleslaw is a homemade style and delicious.

The staff are always really friendly and efficient and the sports tv in the background (with the sound turned down) is fun too. The only area where this place is lacking is in its selection of beer and the price they charge for it. £4 + for a bottle of grolsch is a bit much and only something with their tastebuds removed could drink the Coors Lite! Other than that, superb.
View/Add comments (1)

Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, November 14, 2008

Great for comfort food, especially after rolling out of Lucky Voice Karaoke over the road! I've only eaten downstairs in the main restaurant - there's a sports theme going on - big screens showing baseball but it's not intrusive. Laid back friendly service. Great ribs and sauces, lovely cocktails, super chips! Don't like the liquid cheese on the Nachos though!
Comment on this reader review

Richy London - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Sunday, October 26, 2008

Visited Bodean's on Saturday afternoon and it's back on form. Had a couple of 'meh' visits recently, but gave it another go and they've hit their stride again. A few additions to the menu (and the regrettable removal of Duvel) a slight shrinkage in the portion size, but the quality of the food is improved and the wait-staff are efficient and cheerful again. Bodean's just made it back into my Top 10.
Comment on this reader review

Boz
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 25, 2008

Just come back from lunch with a friend and it was great. Fairly busy but it was a Tuesday. Good, quick service, waitress offered us the £10 meal (ribs and beer) and we then pigged out on a second plate of beef ribs. Food was nice - extra rib sauce on the tables and lots of meaty babyback ribs. Quiet music in the background with Olympics on the screens with sound down. It wasn't expensive and I'll certainly go back. Not sure what they can do wrong here??
Comment on this reader review

John Doe
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Average food, great service. Half cooked chicken was returned only to be rewarded with a double portion and the bland Clam Chowder was sadly clamless. My daughter thought the fries were stupendous.
Comment on this reader review

bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, June 08, 2008

Went last night (Friday) and found the whole experience really average. For a start the only beer they have on tap is Coors Light, which if you don't know is a weak watery beer that is really underwhelming.

We were in the upstairs self service area and they only had one girl taking orders and serving drinks, hence it took a while to order. The food was ready almost instantly, worryingly quick. I had 1/2 chicken, pulled pork and sausage. The chicken was really dry, the sort of dry that means it sticks to your teeth when you bite into it. The sausage had hard bits in it that I presume (I hope) was gristle. Pulled pork was dry as well, but edible.

All in all it's like being in a better lit, more nicely decorated fast food chain. If it was half the price it would be Ok but £16 for dry food on a plastic tray is just a rip off.
Comment on this reader review

Phil
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Saturday, April 12, 2008

If you like ribs then this is the place for you. I must have been 20 times over the last 3 years and I can think of only one occasion when Bodean's has let me down.

1. Food is great with top marks for the pork ribs, pulled pork, clam chowder & corn bread.

2. Service is always quick & friendly.

3. Beers & cocktails are good & at decent prices.

4. Great value for money with the 'pig out for a tenner'

Without doubt one of my fav places in London.
Comment on this reader review

Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 20, 2008

For what it is and in Soho London this is a great Local....been twice and both times well enjoyed the food ...staff have been friendly and helpful , don't go expecting 5 star just go and enjoy a real steak house!!
Comment on this reader review

Michael Sefton
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 25, 2008

My husband and I have been going to Bodeans regularly for a few years, which must say something in itself - we wouldn't keep going back if it wasn't a good place to eat.

They serve American-style BBQ food - ribs, pulled pork, quesadillas, steak, that sort of thing, plus reasonably good cocktails and a few puddings. Their best deal is undoubtedly the 'pig out for a tenner' meal, which includes a large plate full of ribs, pulled pork, coleslaw and fries, plus a beer or soft drink. This used to be offered pretty much at all times other than Saturday nights, but now it's not seen often. 'Steak Tuesday' is a genuine buy-one-get-one-free bargain, where 2 of you can get a decent steak for £14-16. They do 'burnt ends' on certain days, which are pretty tasty and worth trying if you happen to be there on a burnt end day.

The food varies, both in quality and quantity. Sometimes you get the impression that they've changed their policy and decided to offer smaller portions, and at other times, you find yourself wondering whether you should be trying to eat the enormous mountain of food, or climb it. The ribs can be either falling-off-the-bone tender and sticky, or slightly undercooked and thus very chewy. It's either different chefs, or one very variable chef.. but they do get it right most of the time. The fries are -always- good, and usually coated in both sugar and salt. This is a touch of tasty genius.

The desserts are, I feel, a bit overpriced considering that you don't get large portions and they're £4-5 each. I was once served the key lime pie straight from the freezer so it was rock hard and couldn't actually be eaten without the whole piece shooting sideways off the plate. I am also slightly puzzled by their apple cobbler, which has been served uncooked every time I've had it. It's warm, and the apples are cooked, but it appears to be topped with raw cake mix. I actually like raw cake mixture, which is perversely why I keep ordering it, in case it's uncooked again - and it always is. Strange.

The service is usually good, and friendly (but not to the point of being annoying), but slows down at busy times, which is to be expected. Sometimes there are kids in there, squeaking, but this is less of a hazard if you book a table for the evening.

The televised sports, I'm really not interested in. The background music is interesting, varying widely from Roy Orbison to Metallica, via country and western.
Comment on this reader review

dubnobass - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, January 31, 2008

I visited Bodean's for the first time with three friends last night, and have to say the whole experience was very disappointing. The place wasn't full, even though it was the eve of the New Year. But our party of four was still crammed in right beside the door to the kitchen (the swinging kitchen door regularly whacking the back of my chair), as we were informed that they were "completely booked up" and there were no other seats. However, we noticed throughout the evening that at least one or two other booths were free throughout, but though we inquired we were rebuffed by the hostess who told us "these had been promised to other parties" - though these other parties never seemed to show up.

Okay, but if the food was good, the awkward, uncomfortable seating could be forgiven. Unfortunately this was not the case. The ribs were very dry - basically just broiled and thrown on a plate . They looked like leather, and appeared to have been left under a heat lamp. I had the combo plate (1/4 chicken, ribs and pulled pork) but everything tasted the same. Now I know many people who have had real BBQ in the Southern US say this doesn't come close to the real thing...and they're right. But the quality of the food we were served was really low by any standard. One of our party mentioned they'd had better baby back ribs at TGIF. I don't doubt it. But what really topped it off for us (and prompted us not to leave a tip) was at the end of the meal - such that it was - and we managed to wave over a member of the staff (they weren't exactly attentive) to order some coffee. We were very abruptly informed that they kitchen was now closed and we couldn't have anything. It was 9:05pm, and while it was Dec. 31st and I'm sure the staff wanted to get out and party, it was outrageous none of the staff mentioned the kitchen was closing before hand. No one came round ten minutes before to say "oh, we're closing at 9:00pm, would you care for anything else". Nothing of the sort.

To round out the review, the restrooms were dirty - lots of paper on the floor and around the sinks. One of the toilets appeared plugged... all contributing to a very disappointing experience.

I read the reviews here before we made our reservation and now having experienced Bodean's first hand I can only conclude that those who've reviewed before me have been extremely generous in their praise.
Comment on this reader review

Bluetoffee
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, January 01, 2008