Bat & Ball Stratford — Restaurant in London

Absolutely appalling experience. Do not visit, especially with children or anyone under 18, no matter the time!

Originally came in April and I was allowed in (I’m 17, it was around 4pm the same time on a Saturday instead of Friday). I showed my Oyster card as I used that last time and they allowed me in, however today the security requested a different form of id (understandable). I willingly gave him my provisional driving license(now 2 forms of id) and he asked my age and i willingly said 17. He said under 18’s are not allowed within the venue (my boyfriend and another 18 year old was there with me). The security guard then very rudely claimed I lied about my age (if I wanted to lie, which I did not, I would’ve said I was 18? I then explained how I was allowed in with my boyfriends cousins (12 years old) in April. He told he was were lying and he will not have this. By this point, I found this experience extremely rude the fact he said I was lying when I clearly was not with multiple evidence of proof. One evidence I showed him was a picture of me, my boyfriend and my boyfriends cousins inside the venue. He said this picture is not real, and I lied about visiting. What a rude thing to say. The background of this location in the photo showed we weren’t lying! Our first experience nothing great or worth the money, but nothing inherently bad. The ping pong table was enjoyable. Hence why we rebooked it. Second experience (this one) was just appalling. My boyfriend went upstairs to speak to someone else, the manager and receptionist told him that under 18s were allowed in? Again, clear lack in management,control and set rules. Seems biased. My boyfriend also saw multiple children within the venue. Once again, clear bias. We booked ping pong (no alcoholic drinks involved/booked, I simply wanted a water).

The security guard was extremely rude, never visit this place (especially with people under 18!). The customer service is also appalling, they emailed saying I used “deception of age”? How so, by willingly showing my provisional license and when he asked me I answered the truth? My date of birth is April 2008, he asked me my age I said 17. He then said under 18’s are not allowed within the venue, which he didn’t adhere to when other under 18’s went in.The email then went on to claim there was “refusal of id” on my behalf. They said they looked, but if they had even checked the CCTV, they would see I willingly and happily took out my id. Never had such a...

After spending 2.5 hours and a considerable amount of money, a reserved sign was slapped on our table and we were told we had 30 minutes to leave. When we argued, we were told by one member of staff that someone had made an online reservation and our table was mistakenly listed as available. Not our fault surely? Another member of staff blatantly lied and said the table had been booked before we arrived. Not true, because we were shown to the table by a security guard. Clearly we were being thrown out in favour of someone the staff knew. We decided to leave rather than spend any more money in a place that would behave in such a shameful manner. First and last visit.

UPDATE: The manager has replied to say that every seat was fully booked from the morning. As stated, on arrival we were shown to the table by a security guard, who told us we could have that table because it was not reserved. It had no reservation sign on it, whereas the tables either side did have reservation signs. So our table was NOT reserved. In order to be "reserved" it would need a "reserved" sign on it. Maybe somebody SHOULD have reserved it, but they failed to do so. The course of action open to the staff was to apologise to the people who made the reservation for failing to reserve their table and find them another one. The available course of action was NOT to throw out paying customers. The mistake was theirs, not ours.

The reserved sign that was slapped on our table after 2.5 hours had no name on it. All the other reserved signs did. Strangely suspicious if it had been reserved since the morning.

One member of staff told us the table had been recently reserved online and that the system had failed to mark our table as taken (by us). Another member of staff told us the table had been reserved since before we arrived. If so, why did it not have a reserved sign when we arrived like all the others? Whichever one is true, the fault was not ours.

Either we were thrown out in favour of someone else, or the staff failed in their duty to reserve a table and should have explained that mistake to the person who reserved it, rather than embarrassing other customers by asking them to leave.

NOBODY is going to accept being given half an hour to get out if they are not told IN ADVANCE that the table is reserved from a certain time. We were not told.

Anyone who disagrees with the above should not be...

We visited Bat & Ball in Stratford Westfield to watch the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, and had a fantastic experience from start to finish.

Welcome & Atmosphere

We arrived slightly early and were warmly greeted at the door by a team member who quickly confirmed our reservation and directed us upstairs. Upon reaching the upper floor, we were pleasantly surprised by the range of seating options and screens available. They catered to both cricket and Formula 1 fans, which was a lovely touch.

We were guided to a booth in the upper section. At first glance, we were hesitant because we couldn’t see any screens immediately. However, we soon realised there were two large screens positioned perfectly for our booth. It turned out to be an ideal hideaway spot, perfect for those of us who are a bit introverted and just want a relaxed, comfortable environment to enjoy a drink and watch the race.

Pet-Friendly Touch

We had our small dog with us, and although this isn’t a dog-focused venue (no water bowls or treats), the staff were welcoming and there was no issue having him with us. That level of flexibility really made the visit feel casual and inclusive.

Food & Drink

We ordered a butter chicken burger, a bowl of loaded fries topped with braised beef and cheese, and the hottest wings on the menu, which truly lived up to the name. Everything was delicious, arrived quickly, and was served hot and fresh. I also enjoyed a pint of Two Tribes Campfire Hazy IPA, which was a brilliant choice to accompany the meal.

Service & Value

The service was friendly and efficient throughout. Despite being busy, the team remained attentive. The total for our food and drinks (one IPA, one San Pellegrino, one Coca-Cola, the burger, wings, and fries) came to £55, which felt fair given the generous portions and the experience of watching live Formula 1 with Sky Sports in a high-quality venue.

Summary

• Atmosphere: 5/5. Lively, spacious, and full of viewing options without being overwhelming. • Service: 5/5. Quick, polite, and well-organised. • Food: 5/5. Delicious and generously portioned. • Pet-Friendliness: 4/5. Not dog-focused, but accommodating. • Value for Money: 4/5. A great lunch-and-sports combo experience but don’t expect it to be budget friendly.

We’ll absolutely be back for the next race. Thanks again to the Bat & Ball team. You made our little F1 lunch...