Bari Bari — Restaurant in London

I have come here multiple times over the last 5 years. In recent years, our K.F.C orders would many times be raw inside and get sent back. I have never ever left a review, let alone a bad review for any place. I have loved the food enough to come here. Despite sometimes the kfc being raw, when it IS done well, I really enjoy it. I've also thoroughly enjoyed the tteobeokki over the many years. However today, when my food came the kfc was delicious but the tteobeokki smelt and tasted like it had been burnt. The sauce had a weird chemical, burnt smell. It's hard to explain. I tried to continue eating but it made me feel sick. When I bit into the egg it also felt like I had been steamed in a burnt thing. So I had to go to the reception and bring him over. The main guy who could be the manager seemed reluctant. He came and then I asked him a few times to actually try my food. He then agreed and took it back. The food was done in not too long and tasted fine. I was only given a glass of water since I had arrived and there was no one to bring a jug of water for me. I hated getting up and doing a walk of shame to the front desk so I didn't ask. But surely they should double check on customers?? I did go up to ask for a takeaway bag at the end too, that's when I was given a promotional teapigs thing. Felt like a nice gesture for making my earlier experience a disappointment. Now here's the worst part. When I went to pay, I was alarmed when he said £20.40... I had only bought, an already expensive, tteobeokki and regular kfc. So as I was leaving I checked tje menu and did the maths to see if i was charged mistakenly for a 'large' product instead. I should have been charged 18.60.. so again I had to awkwardly ask why I wasn't charged 18.60. He said oh 10%service charge. He didn't even ask if it was OK. It wasn't explicitly mentioned and he made me uncomfortable to ask for it to be removed. I'm deeply unhappy. I travelled over an hour for this expensive food and I jusy couldn't afford it with the service charge. Every pound matters but I was made to feel uncomfortable and felt forced. Once i left, i googled if service charge was mandatory. And no, it isnr! That's very disloyal, disrespectful and sly! Bad business practice! It was already uncomfortable having to send a bowl of food back to the kitchen because of their mistake and even to question my bill. He could tell I looked unhappy with the service charge. I wonder if the teapigs, two tea bags was charged with the dumb service charge. I wont ever recommend this place again. Probably the last straw. Don't eat here. Save your money and your embarrassment. Oh and the TOILET DOESNT FLUSH WELL AND THE HOT WATER IS FROZEN....

We had Korean BBQ dinner on a busy Saturday evening before Halloween.

I note some reviews here mention that they were asked to pay for service despite having a poor experience. Restaurants that force customers to pay service charges despite bad service are in breach of the Consumer Rights Act - customers have a right to refuse to pay for unreasonably bad service. Plus, obviously, it’s very poor practice to force customers to pay for bad service.

We made a booking, arrived within 10 minutes of the booking time and waited a short time to be seated. So far, so good. We waited a bit more to order and went for three Korean BBQ meats plus a few sides.

We got the sides fairly promptly but then waited almost an hour for the meats to arrive. They arrived shortly after we asked a waiter what was happening with our order. I could have gone shopping for the same ingredients and returned home and cooked everything myself in the same amount of time. A table next to us also found the service to be slow. (Although for that table, it wasn’t so slow that rudely asking a waiter “Where’s my meat!!!” is justified. Be kind.) The table on the other side of us got their mains before their starters. They had enough waiting staff for the number of covers, so I suspect the fault lies with the kitchen operations. Individual waiting staff were friendly enough though.

The food itself was actually good, I thought, though not the best Korean food in London I have had. Prices seemed reasonable at the moment, though when the menu was introduced in October 2020 I can see why others might have found them too high at the time. Toilets were clean.

Afterwards we were asked to go up and pay at the counter. The waiter added service charge of 10% (mentioned on the menu) to our bill without asking or offering to take it off the bill even though he acknowledged that the service wasn’t up to scratch and apologised for it. I didn’t ask for it to be removed but I can imagine from reading other reviews that it would have gone down badly.

In this time of Covid, supply chain problems and labour shortages, it’s obviously a difficult time to be running a restaurant or any hospitality business and I try to cut some slack for this. Normally, I also try a new place more than once before leaving a negative review, in case the experience is an outlier. But at the same time, bad service is bad service, and on the basis of our experience and those of other reviewers here it’s very unlikely that we would return.

This is a busy and popular restaurant in the area so I doubt they will have a shortage of customers...

I had been to BariBari before and everything was good so decided to take my wife today.

Got dumplings, kimchi fried rice, beef bulgogi and prawns. But that isn’t the purpose of this review.

During my visit it was prayer time, and me and my wife wished to pray. I knew they didn’t have a prayer room but not an issue as can always make do with whatever available.

The restaurant wasn’t really busy at all and my wife said she will pray in a corner besides our table, which wasn’t going to be in anyone’s way.

Whilst she was praying the waiter came and told me and then also her after she finished her prayers, that “you can’t do that here” and the manager saw her on camera and sent him to instruct her to stop.

Didn’t really get time to digest how we were treated in this situation until after and it really hasn’t sat right with me.

I would understand a restaurant not wanting someone to pray if it is causing inconvenience to others or if I guess the customers were non-muslim and they would find it uncomfortable but everyone there sat was muslim and no one was bothered! Only this manager who was apparently watching over on a camera…

What kind of restaurant that serves halal food would be so against praying. Like if it was causing them a personal discomfort. Would such a manager even serve halal food.

After some thought I did think I didn’t see any form of halal certification for the partial halal menu… is it really halal.

I am disappointed I stayed after we were told “you can’t do that here” but definitely will never come again and will actively make sure people are aware of this situation so they can make their own informed decision.

Edit: I acknowledge their response but it shows that they are just upset 'how the situation was handled'. It was just someone (my wife) praying, there was no 'situation' until they made one. Their response shows they still do not accept people praying, moreso just the way they spoke to us. I can't see how a place like this serves halal food in Whitechapel to a 90%+ muslim population.

I can also see in past bad reviews, the manager has hid in the backrooms to avoid confrontation with upset customers.

Apologies just to keep your pockets full aren't...