Jump to content

The Begging Bowl


kels

Recommended Posts

Despite the mixed reviews I was still up for trying this place, not after seeing their tweet "A disgruntled customer who didn't like queuing for a table, sent a letter on Morgan stanley headed paper.Definitely don't come back please !". Shows how poor their customer service is if this is the way they react to someone giving them some feedback.

boswell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Despite the mixed reviews I was still up for

> trying this place, not after seeing their tweet "A

> disgruntled customer who didn't like queuing for a

> table, sent a letter on Morgan stanley headed

> paper.Definitely don't come back please !". Shows

> how poor their customer service is if this is the

> way they react to someone giving them some

> feedback.


Really?! Appallingly stupid, churlish & unprofessional. Allowing for teething problems, we too were going to try it. Tonight in fact for an early dinner to avoid the lines despite our next door neighbours also complaining about the costs of their small portions - especially of veg - (though tasty apparently) and the hour plus wait debacles to and fro the pub over the road (which could be quickly resolved with vibrating pagers or succumbing to a booking system). But not now. Wonder if the BB is heading the same way as those other establishments that we dare not mention.

I think BB might be wise to extend the olive branch. I'm still a bit mystified though.. I was there on Friday and the staff were really helpful and friendly.. Also sending a personal complaint on some blue chip company letterheaded paper is a bit silly.. Smacks of self-aggrandisment.

jimbo1964 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> sending a personal complaint

> on some blue chip company letterheaded paper is a

> bit silly.. Smacks of self-aggrandisment.


I guess it could be seen that way.


As with other similar threads in the past, it is my guess that we don't quite know the whole story, so we shouldn't paint the BB as the villain. Nevertheless... still not smart to discuss it on twitter.

jimbo1964 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>.. Also sending a personal complaint

> on some blue chip company letterheaded paper is a

> bit silly.. Smacks of self-aggrandisment.


I completely agree with you Jimbo. What exactly are they trying to prove by doing that except that they have money and therefore what, that they shouldn't have been treated that way?! That the company have lost out somehow because they have a lot of money? Be pissed off that you feel you weren't treated well but your wealth, social status or job really doesn't matter when it comes to customer services- all customers deserve the same high level of customer service, so that really wasn't necessary and was really quite silly of them.


Don't get me wrong though, I think it's really quite crap the way BB have handled the situation,and pretty unprofessional to tweet about it. They should definitely have responded to the letter and apologised and offered an olive branch. However, I would question the attitude of the customer and therefore wonder if there is more to this story so I definitely wouldn't personally write ofF BB based on this incident alone.


One thing I was quite disappointed about when looking at the menu was the idea that all the dishes were meant for 2. I like dining alone sometimes so that has kind of put me trying it as the whole concept seems to be around sharing. However, if the portions are small maybe I'll still give it a go- though I don't think I'll be paying ?7.50 for a plate of broccoli just for myself, as lovely as I'm sure it is!

Just reading a few of the posts above and has anyone thought to ... Um... You know actually SPEAK to the staff and request a child friendly meal? Or that you would be dining alone so would they be considerate enough to just charge per person?

That's the problem with social media - people are forgetting how to speak to each other!

I did ask standswithfist. I'm not on twitter, I don't know if they're on facebook, and their website isn't up and running so lo and behold I went to the restaurant to have a look and talk to them! so yes, some of us still talk to others!


Not all restaurants can constantly make adjustments for each and every customer and I understand that and certainly don't expect them to. I wasn't moaning about their concept, I was just saying it may not suit me but that's ok because I don't expect it to! And if you take a kid to a Thai restaurant, expect the kid to eat Thai food- and Thai food is way more than pad thai so I say good on them for having a bit more imagination.

Went tonight. Seated quickly outside, on what may be the last opportunity for al fresco grub this year, the staff were really lovely, attentive and helpful. The food was delicious. Be warned that some of it was VERY hot! The squid, broccoli and fish cakes were fantastic. Service was great but slow. There were 4 of us, having a leisurely catch up, so speed wasn't important. Maybe if there were 2 of us we'd have been a bit frustrated by how long it all took. Mostly delicious but the duck curry was too hot for all of us and the beef salad was tasty but the beef too tough. On the whole the food was hit and miss but mostly hit. Lovely cocktails too. I'd recommend the lemongrass martinis!


Will definitely go again.

sidll Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> In my day, a long time ago, using the firm's

> writing paper for unauthorised purposes lost you

> your job. I would find out from this one off

> poster whether he is writing on behalf of Morgan

> Stanley.


Why, what's it to you? I don't see that has any relevance to the treatment they had at the Begging Bowl.

antantant Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> They just tweeted that the Evening Standard are

> coming to review tomorrow...



Aren't those reviews supposed to be anonymous? Otherwise it gives an unfair advantage. They sound like idiots to be even tweeting that; they can hardly then say that the review was impartial when it comes out.

Does anyone else find the name Begging Bowl peculiar? When I first heard it, I thought of people living on the street begging. I now think of it to mean they are asking customers to come in and beg to be treated like crap by making them wait for hours in line instead of allowing some reservations and some walk-ins. It also makes me think of customers holding up bowls begging to be served a bowl of broccoli for ?7.


I follow Vincent Ayre's of Ayre's Bakery twitter account and he has stated many times that he would never go to a restaurant that made him queue. It was on his Twitter account that I found the Begging Bowl's tweet about the customer complaint letter.

I went in a group of 5 to the begging bowl - all in the food industry and as a group this is what we thought.


We met at The Victoria and my partner ran accross to ask for a table and within 10 minutes we had a call on our mobile to say you had one. Big thumbs up as we had the outside table. We could see you guys were busy and we would of been happy to wait up to an hour and we all agreed that first come first serve without bookings is cool. We all love street food so queuing isn't a problem for us at all.


Loved the restaurant, the decor, the atmosphere, the glasses, the crockery, the table layout, the lighting. We all agreed when we sat down that we felt we were on our jollys going out for dinner! It was a warm evening so that helped ;o)


Staff were amazing. Described the menu with passion and experience in tasting the dishes came across. Friendly, fun and attentive.


We didn't like the light, slight and robust dishes. I'll be honest and say (sorry) that it is overpriced, especially the slight dishes - if the portions were bigger, then it would be spot on!


Some of the dishes we had were;


The betal leaves - The flavours burst in my mouth, loved it. Sweet, sour n saltiness spot on! If i had closed my eyes whilst chowing down i could of been back in Bangkok.


The fish cakes - 50/50 everyone agreed the flavours were zesty but the texture wasn't squidgy/squeaky enough, i personally didn't like the mashed potato consistency. But thats your take on it!


The tofu dish - was excellent and the greens salty and mourish! Yum.


Salmon - This was the one dish that we were all dissapointed with, it was tiny :O( I would love to see this as a robust dish with lots of salmon on or just give a little more for your money.


Squid - Tender


Rabbit - Thumbs up, loved your take on it, the addition of authentic ingredients ie pea aubergines!


Pork - The pork was extremely fatty, compared with the previous night. i know dingley dells have a higher proportion of fat but this dish also lacked depth of flavour. It wasn't a winner with anyone.


Unfortunately you had run out of the fish, our own fault we should of got there earlier!


We all agreed that we would LOVE to see the following on the menu ...


1. SOM TAM!!!!!!!! Always a winner. We would be there every week if you had this on the menu.


2. Pad Thai - i know everyone does it, but a classic done bloody well is always a winner and god there are so many poor ones about. There were no noodle dishes on the menu which was a bit odd.


3. Mussaman as a special ;o)


3. Bigger portions, better value for money. We could of all eaten more but didn't want to spend anymore on a school night.


They were so busy, it was a great atmosphere.


Thanks for a good night.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Latest Discussions

    • The solicitor is also the Executor. Big mistake, but my Aunt was very old, and this was the Covid years and shortly after so impossible to intervene and get a couple of close relatives to do this.  She had no children so this is the nephews and nieces. He is a single practitioner, and most at his age would have long since retired - there is a question over his competence Two letters have already gone essentially complaining - batted off and 'amusingly' one put the blame on us. There are five on our side, all speaking to each other, and ideally would work as a single point of contact.  But he has said that this is not allowed - we've all given approval to act on each others behalf. There are five on her late husband's side, who have not engaged with us despite the suggestion to work as a team, There is one other, who get's the lion's share, the typicical 'friend', but we are long since challenging the will. I would like to put another complaint together that he has not used modern collective communication (I expect that he is incapable) which had seriously delayed the execution of the will.   I know many in their 80s very adept with smart phones so that is not an ageist comment. The house has deteriorated very badly, with cold, damp and a serious leak.  PM me if you want to see the dreadful condition that it is now in. I would also question why if the five of us are happy to work together why all of us need to confirm in writing.            
    • Isn’t a five yearly electricity safety certificate one of the things the landlord must give for a legal tenancy?
    • Very sorry to hear this, but surely the landlord is responsible for fixing the electrics?  Surely they must be insured for things like this? I hope you get it all sorted out quickly.
    • The Pie House Co-op Deptford Emergency Crisis - Needs YOUR Help. This not-for-profit, worker-run, wheelchair accessible music and arts venue at 213-214 Edward Place SE8 5HD THE CRISIS: From Liv, Grace & Sonia, On Friday 31st October, there was a flash flood in Deptford, and we found ourselves with water pouring in through the lighting fixtures, damaging our electrics and sound system. We have been forced to close for one of the busiest weekends of the year, losing thousands of pounds in income, and are now having to fight our landlords for support with the leak. We are asking all our allies for support as we try and reignite the crowdfunder to reflect the new expensive work that needs to take place, and the gear we need to replace. Thank you in advance for your support so far, and your support going forward. If you have any ideas with getting media attention, or fundraising - please get in touch on [email protected] Even if you like myself have not previously visited this venue, supporting small not for profit venues are vital to the life blood of what 'commmunity' is all about. HOW YOU CAN HELP: 1) If you are an electrician and can offer to help for free or at cost, please email: [email protected] Your help would of course be acknowledged. 2) If you are a Sound Engineer and can offer to help for free or at cost, please email: [email protected] Your help would of course be acknowledged. 3) If you are a journalist or have connections with the local and wider media (Print, on line, TV, Radio, please email: [email protected] 4) 'Every Little Helps' even just £1 will make a difference, please support the crowd funder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/.../piehouse-workers-co-op... Via insta @piehouse.coop there is a video (see screenshots here) THANK YOU.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...