Bob's Café Muswell Hill — Restaurant in London

Restaurant Bob's Cafe Muswell Hill, North London

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I took my two adult children (22 and 19) out for lunch in the Muswell Hill area. I chose Bob's Cafe on Muswell Hill Broadway, as I had enjoyed a visit there pre-COVID and was eager to see how they had fared since reopening.

Both of my children have gluten intolerance, so I was pleased to find that Bob's Cafe offers gluten-free options on their menu. We kicked off our meal with some cocktails, classic nachos, and hummus served with gluten-free bread.

I was upfront with the manager and staff about my role as a food critic, mentioning that my reviews had garnered over three million views in recent months. We then ordered Bob's Burger for myself and the same burger with gluten-free buns for my son, while my daughter opted for the chicken shawarma.

The starters were decent, though I felt the gluten-free bread could have been toasted better. Traditionally, nachos come with a variety of toppings, but unfortunately, sour cream was noticeably absent this time.

When our main courses arrived, my daughter's chicken shawarma was disappointing; it consisted of just two slices of chicken kebab accompanied by an unbalanced bitter sauce that made the dish difficult for her to enjoy. My burger was equally underwhelming—a chewy piece of meat that seemed more fat than actual beef, reminiscent of a fast-food experience rather than a quality meal.

I brought these concerns to the manager's attention, but she responded with a simple, "I’m sorry you didn’t like it," before walking away.

As I know, shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish made from marinated chicken that is seasoned with spices like cumin, paprika, turmeric, and garlic, then cooked on a vertical rotisserie. It should be served sliced thinly, either in a wrap or on a platter with sides like rice, hummus, or tabbouleh for a fulfilling experience.

Despite the sweet demeanor of our waitress, who tried to coax the manager back to address our issues, the manager's lack of engagement left much to be desired. We ended up with a bill of over £100, but our disappointment overshadowed any satisfaction from the meal.

We chose to seek dessert elsewhere, heading to “Planet Organic”. Given our experience, I can only award Bob's Cafe two stars—one for the starters and another for the kind waitress who was clearly new and seemed uncomfortable with the situation. Unless they improve their main courses and source better ingredients, I cannot recommend this establishment. #doctorfoodielondon Nick

This is my reply to the owner : •=================

Thanks for your charming reply! It’s nice to see a restaurant owner so dedicated to the art of defense. I was almost expecting a trophy for your efforts!

As a food critic with over 3.5 million views on my reviews and experience at over 950 restaurants, I base my feedback on what I taste and experience. My critique of the gluten-free bread and the nachos was sincere, and I stand by it. If the sour cream was indeed present, it didn’t meet my expectations, and I believe that’s worth mentioning.

I appreciate that you could accommodate my kids' gluten intolerance. It’s a shame the gluten-free bread didn’t get the same VIP treatment; maybe next time I’ll bring a toaster?

About the sour cream on my nachos—who knew it was playing hide and seek? I’ll be sure to bring a magnifying glass next visit. And while I understand the smash burger is meant to be trendy, it seemed more like a fast-food impersonator. I guess that's the new street food vibe, right?

As for the chicken shawarma, it’s good to know it’s popular. Maybe it just didn’t get the memo that my daughter doesn’t enjoy bitter surprises.

I do find it amusing that you think announcing myself as a food critic is interesting. I mean, who wouldn’t want to share their “three million views” instead of just having 34 Instagram followers? But hey, numbers aren’t everything, right?

It’s disappointing to see such an unprofessional, defensive reaction from a restaurant owner for...

We were a party of 3 adults, two toddlers and a baby looking for a place to eat in Muswell Hill one cold Saturday morning. I had personally called in to reserve a table but was advised that there is no booking system; just turn up and things usually move quickly.

So we turned up at 12.30pm to find a small queue (but there were a few groups leaving).. there was one family ahead of us. We politely queued outside because there was limited spacing indoors while one of the grown ups went up to ask the front desk, which was run by a gentleman. He point blank did not acknowledge my friend’s existence. Fair enough , busy times!

When it was finally our turn, this gentleman had a look around and asked us to wait. There were tables opening up but he figured that he would have to put two tables together for our particular group. After making us and the children wait for 15 minutes in the freezing cold, he refused to serve us, saying that he didnt have space, which clearly was not the case as there were two vacant tables by the windows there and then. He just did not want to put two tables together. They were also movable tables.

I finally came up to him and asked why he couldn’t put those two movable tables by the windows together and that we had been waiting , he said no because those were for two separate groups! “How about if we sat as two families” “no!”. Being in Muswell Hill, one would have thought local restaurants are used to cater to families and slightly larger groups (yes two families can dine together at any one time).

What made me annoyed is the fact that just because of a bit more profit, he was so disrespect and had shown no kindness towards us, to the kids who were cold and tired and hungry. A bit of goodwill goes along way. Suffice to say, I will never be coming here ever again, the place had left a bad taste in my mouth before I even tried their food. I write this review in hope that this particular person might get the feedback and have some compassion towards other the next time he thinks about that extra, what, £20 he might have made then, the restaurant has definitely lost a potential long term client . If...

My wife and I had dinner on 9th May in Bob's Cafe. We have been before and the food is always great. Two problems on this visit, the second I am now told has happened to a friend before. Just inside the door sitting on the left at tables for two were two women one of whom had a dog on her lap with its paws on the table and was being fed food from her plate. This is unhygienic and should not be allowed. Contact between animals and humans can transfer disease.

The other issue was that a tall, young asian man was serving us. He is very efficient however he went from different tables to the serving area and then collected bin liners of rubbish which he took out the back door and put in the bins alongside Sainsbury's.

On coming back in he went straight to the serving area and brought us two desserts without making any effort to wash his hands. I pointed this out to him and he seemed surprised. Whilst we were speaking another member of staff ( a female) did exactly the same, took rubbish bags out of the back door then returned directly to the serving area and collected food on plates and took these to tables. This is completely unacceptable.

The male member of staff did come back to our table to say he had washed his hands after we asked him to but it wasn't obvious.

There is a 5 star hygiene rating on the front door of Bob's but in practice these practices present a threat to diners and more staff training and understanding is required.

We will not be returning to Bob's whilst these practices (dog's and bin contact) continue and reserve the right to inform Haringey Council.

Our dinner cost over over £75, as I say the food is v good but there is a lot of room for improvement given the profit made at...