Bodean's — Restaurant in London

I was flying solo and wondering around Camden tonight and decided to try the Camden Bodeans tonight, having only previously been to the Soho branch.

Have to say, the service was excellent from start to finish. A lovely, cheerful server greeted me from entrance and got me seated and, despite admitting she was quite new, she couldn't have been more helpful.

Now, the food and drink...

I ordered the Boss Hog lager and, when it arrived, it was clearly in a bit of a dirty glass (bubbles clinging to the sides) but otherwise tasted fine. Food-wise I ordered the "classic duo" (brisket burnt ends, pulled pork and seasoned fries) and a Texas sausage.

The food then arrived and, I must admit, I was quite surprised by the small portions for the price and, especially, the weird brisket cubes in a bowl rather than the strips of brisket I'd had at the Soho restaurant. I'll outline my individual reviews below:

Seasoned fries - 8/10 - These were good. Well cooked and nice seasoning, though I did smother them in Cholula but they held up well...

Pulled pork - 6/10 - Tasted great, though a little bit dry and texture wasn't the best plus, as mentioned, the portion was tiny for the price

Brisket burnt ends - 3/10 - By far the most disappointing aspect of the meal. Cubes of mostly dry beef, in a notably bland BBQ sauce, that had no discernible barbecue flavour.

Texas sausage - 10/10 - The highlight. Amazing! Such a good flavour and texture. In hindsight I should've just ordered three of these and the fries.

Overall, not a bad experience and I have to commend the excellent service again, but I really think they need to focus on the quality and quantity of the food. The excellent location of this branch certainly means they'll get custom, but they're unlikely to get repeat custom at this rate. I feel they just need to make a few improvements and they could make themselves a real go-to place for locals and...

I used to be a big fan of Bodean’s, especially the Soho branch, which I remember serving juicy, flavour-packed BBQ with great service. So when I happened to spot a new Bodean’s in Chalk Farm – ironically where a vegetarian restaurant once was – I thought I’d give it a try, especially as I was feeling a little peckish.

The interior is quite nice – not too dark or overly American-themed like the Soho location – and the staff were genuinely friendly and helpful.

Sadly, that’s where the positives end. I ordered the pulled pork and burnt ends, a combination I’ve loved before. Back then, the pork was moist and the burnt ends had just the right crisp char on the outside while staying tender inside.

This time, however, was a completely different story. The pulled pork was painfully dry – like shredded wood chips – and the so-called burnt ends were nothing of the sort: just tough, dry cubes of meat drowned in BBQ sauce. To make things worse, the whole dish was lukewarm at best. I noticed the woman at the next table actually sent her food back, saying it was completely cold – which mirrored my experience too.

On top of that, the portion was noticeably smaller than what I remember from past visits. Given how disappointing the food was, I wasn’t too upset about eating less – but it’s still worth noting for those expecting the hearty BBQ plates Bodean’s was once known for.

These days, London has so many excellent BBQ options, and if this is where Bodean’s quality now stands, I won’t be rushing back....

Long been a fan of Bodeans and its Tower Hill branch, gave this one a try after a day at London Zoo and unfortunately was left disappointed. This place seems more interested in being a bar flogging happy hour cocktails than a place for decent BBQ. Had the chicken thighs, very dry and disappointing. Wife had pulled pork that resembled shredded mush, the beef burnt ends were nice, but were not authentic bbq burnt ends, just lumps of beef in sauce. Everyone's fries were luke warm and cardboardy, not sure how they managed to even mess up making some decent chips! Menu had poor choice compared to what we were used to at other Bodeans branches and was more pricey when we compared like for like. Also had no kids meal options, which we took to be a massive ' you are not wanted here with your kids' as it is not challenging to have kids options, so definitely a deliberate slight towards parents. Staff did their best to pretend to be interested , but don't think I would ever return, would rather travel out of my way to the tower hill branch and reccomend others do the same for...