Band of Burgers Walthamstow — Restaurant in London

My mother, my toddler and myself attended this empty place in October. Nobody in the room upon arrival.

A few minutes later, an Inzamam-Ul-Huq look-a-like came out from the back and stared at us. At which point, my mum said 'Aasalamualaikum' to him. He continued to just stare at us. Then smiled and pointed his hand to the seats, which we were next to. Then he disappeared into the back. Looked sort of like the uncles that you see in the mosque all the time. We were really confused. He seemed like the owner.

So we sat down there, all alone. The chef came out a few minutes randomly just started cooking burgers, ignoring us. A young man came in, approached the chef. Was an issue, not sure what was happening. I decided to hunt for a menu as the owner ignored us, chef was too and was cooking.

Found a menu, tried to order from the chef but he said he is not the person who takes the orders and to wait for them and pointed outside (they had not turned up to work). He asked me if i wanted a Samosa. I have never seen this on the menu, so politely declined. Turned out the chef did not know how to use the cash register.

Anyway a delivery driver took the burgers the chef made- so he was only cooking for online orders and the young man took his order-he was told to pay exact change only as the chef could not give change.

It was 15:20 and we were getting up to leave as nobody could take our order and the waiter had not turned up and the owner was in the back ignoring us and the poor chef seemed to be cooking for online orders only. The chef saw us trying to leave and told us to write our order down and he will cook it. So we did that.

Waiter strolls in at 15:23. after a few minutes goes to the cash register, starts doing something on his mobile. Takes the bins out, comes back without washing his hands. Then takes two plates of burgers from the chef and goes into the back with them and comes back empty handed.

Yes! the chef was cooking for the boss/staff!. That was the priority here. Whilst we had been waiting ages to order, being ignored buy the boss, the chef was cooking online orders and for the staff. So shameful.

Our food eventually came. Raw Raw and uncooked. Waiter did not seem to understand that food has to be cooked above 63 degrees celsius. He said the food was made the day before and they only reheat it. (not the burgers). The burgers are made in the front, but everything else comes from the back.

Anyway, burger was tasteless, very pink inside. Chips were uncooked and soft, and chilli con carne fries-waiter had to reheat for a second time was was only warm and not hot.

The waiter was wearing a beanie hat and trainers, just as he came in. It was like he just arrived from Lahore and first day arriving late working a cowboy job. I suppose with the boss nowhere to be seen- (he did come back into the area but then disappeared). It does seem like this must be a cowboy run place, with the concern being feeding uncle instead ( I think!)

By the way, we came with a toddler who was crying and hungry, sat in a high chair. whilst staff ignored us and then could not take our order as the waiter had not turned up.

I went based upon the reviews, but i dismiss them completely. Must be the rest of the Pakistani cricket team calling friends and colleagues to make accounts and give 5 *. We would never set foot in here again after we were disrespected like that.

I am also disabled and chronically ill, but I am more sorry that I had to put my child through that. We went home and we cooked her chips from our freezer!. Yes, because my child did not eat the food!. Disgusting waste of money and...

Was really looking forward to this visit due to BOB's good reputation at other branches. Unfortunately we had to sit in our coats the whole time due to the place not being heated. The thermometer showed the temp had dropped to 16 degrees. We ordered the nachos as they sounded great. Unfortunately, what arrived was a flavourless, soggy mess. And I could see no trace of the dorito crumble as was described on the menu. Between my husband, toddler and myself we couldn't even finish a small portion of it between us. At this point no one had brought our drinks or asked us if we were enjoying our food. When the mains did arrive, I was surprised that the kids chicken burger was adult sized. I know it might sound strange to complain about receiving a bigger portion but when ordering a kids meal it's usually expected that it arrives kid sized. All it means is that the toddler couldn't feed himself due to the massive adult sized burger, so not practical. Also, this is the first restaurant I've seen that has a kids food menu and absolutely zero kids drink options. Luckily I'd bought water out for him, but if I hadn't? What are the kids means to drink? Coke isn't a suitable option! Mains - Hubby did enjoy his BB King burger. My chicken burger was tasteless and falling apart. We did also come across a few underdone chips in our Goldfingers portion too, where you could actually taste raw potato. So aside from my husband's burger, absolutely nothing else got finished. I also ordered the home made lemonade, which had absolutely no homemade or lemony quality about it. Tasted just like watered down lime soda, which was almost full when we left too. The waitress did ask how we found the food when we were paying for the bill, I told her honestly about the underdone chips and tasteless starter and main. Her only comment was, "sorry the food wasn't to your taste." Implying the error is all mine, not any fault of the restaurant. I just find it so rude when staff in a restaurant find out you didn't enjoy your meal at all and do absolutely nothing to rectify your disappointing experience. Paid full price to sit in a freezing restaurant and eat flavourless mush. Wouldn't waste my time or...

I typically refrain from leaving 1-star reviews, but this time, I felt compelled to do so due to the unpleasant attitude displayed by the manager, Ana, and the establishment's owners. Band of Burgers is my local go-to spot, and although there have been a few occasions where my order was mixed up or made incorrectly, I usually brush it off as part of the Friday/Saturday night rush and continue to support local businesses.

On October 1, 2023, my daughter and I ordered a burger to surprise my unwell wife. We patiently waited for 15 minutes after making the payment upon arrival, understanding that the order was being prepared. After about 5 minutes of waiting, I went in to collect my order, only to be informed by the same lady, Ana, who had taken my payment, that my order had not been made. Another mix-up occurred, and among the staff, there was a noticeable lack of professionalism as they engaged in a blaming game.

This time, my disappointment was overwhelming, and I decided to write a review because of the complete absence of remorse from the management and the owner, who showed no interest in addressing the issue.

To make matters worse, as I walked back to my car parked on Hatherly Road, I noticed the appalling state of food waste behind the shop. It's clear that they urgently need a visit from health and safety inspectors, as their hygiene standards were far below acceptable levels.

I genuinely hope that Band of Burgers takes this feedback seriously, starts listening to their customers, and treats them as they would like to be treated. This experience has left me extremely irritated...