Bohemia House — Restaurant in London

After looking for a Slovak restaurant for a very long time, I only found this one. Due to the reviews, I was really hesitating whether I should go. I decided to go and it was a huge mistake. First of all, it is not a restaurant, it is a pub. You have to go to two different places to order your drinks and meals. We ordered both soups they have. I have to admit, they were delicious and I was feeling like I was at home so it was a good start. Then the mayhem started. I ordered a typical Slovak dish called "Halusky". The portion was a joke for 7 pounds. The bacon was burnt and tasteless and the dumplings were definitely frozen, even the cheese was so it tasted like they've had it there for 3 days in a row. We also ordered Gordon Bleu with rice. We couldn't choose half chips, half rice for unknown reasons even though it is generally known that all the restaurants in Slovakia and Czech Republic do it. We just ordered rice with it. We forgot to order a sauce so I came to the counter and ordered it with the meal. They brought the sauce straight away asking me if I have ordered just a sauce. There is no communication whatsoever and there are only 3 "waiters". When the meal came(10 minutes after the sauce), the rice looked more like a white mash. It was tasteless and overcooked by at least 15 minutes so we asked them to bring us roasted potatoes instead. Those weren't really roasted but just boiled. The meat was definitely frozen when they put it in the fryer since there was plenty of water and oil leaking from the batter. The batter was also falling off due to them not putting it in flour before using batter, even though that this is a general knowledge when it comes to SK/CZ food.

In addition, we have asked for "Kofola" which is a soft drink from Czech Republic. Apparently, they don't even have it as a draft even though it is one of the most popular things coming out of Czech Republic. They literally take out the 2L bottles and pour it into the glass. It tasted like the bottle has been there for at least 3,4 days and it greatly affects the taste. ( I have been drinking this beverage all my life ).

This restaurant is also extremely overpriced. You are supposed to pay for all the extras even though they usually come with the meals. One of the traditional soups is supposed to be eaten with a bread, which is always included. Here, it wasn't and you had to pay extra for it.

I am absolutely shocked and horrified by the fact that this is the only "restaurant" representing our nations and I feel ashamed that I come from the same country. I came here to remind myself of our delicious meals and I ended up with the feeling that I should have gotten frozen pizza, which would be more appetizing and wouldn't leave me hungry, which this pub did. I really wanted to give you at least 2 stars for the soup but I think my overall experience resulting in 1 star is justified.

Also I just have to add that this pub has 3/5 hygiene, which is the worst I have ever seen and you can clearly see why once you are inside. You can't expect them to clean the toilets since they are probably to sassy to do that. I have seen dirty chicken stores in North London having...

This is a lovely place to have a meal, or just a drink. There are almost no Czechoslovakian restaurants in London, which is a real shame if this place is anything to go by. When you first walk in, past the little garden-like area with some tables, you feel as though you're walking into an old house from the 19th century. At any moment you expect a lady in voluminous skirts and petticoats to come gliding down the wide staircase (going up leads to the lavatory). There are a few dining areas, and we were in the large hall. It could have been a Germanic beer hall, or a Duke's dining hall in the process of being cleared for a ball. To be clear, it is quite rustic-looking, as well as expansive with tall ceilings. There isn't much adornment, but the few things that are on the wall are interesting to look at, and add greatly to the atmosphere without becoming a jumbled mess. The food is fantastic. The smoked sausage is perfect, with a clear crackling crunch when you bite into the sumptuous meat. It comes with pickles and pickled chili, and a fantastic mustard sauce that cuts through the fattiness of the sausage without overpowering the palate. The duck leg tastes fatty but not greasy, and is complimented by the red cabbage so that its crunchiness gives the delicious duck a helpful complexity. The goulash was very nice, rich and meaty with bread dumplings that soaked up the sauces wonderfully. The meat might have been a little overcooked, but I believe it worked considering the rustic nature of the dish. The potato pancakes covered in sauerkraut (you get three, and they're large enough to share let alone to eat alone) tasted so good I wish they were a main meal. I can't wait to go back and try the fried cheese, the strudel and the schnitzel. The beer is delicious and unique, with drinks you won't find anywhere except speciality places, like this. Everyone was friendly...

We had our Christmas do there, and for the second year running were cheated out of the room we booked, lied to by the owner (on the phone he himself suggested we take their function room, only to deny everything when we got there on the day and found that "our" room was already occupied by another party!), and accused of trying to smuggle in our own drinks! (he saw me carrying a small bag with books (!) I had bought earlier that day, looked at me and then said "I expect you to spend your money here, buy food and drink, and not come in with your own"!! We should've left there and then, but we had 20+ people coming and in December in that area, with no back up plan, we were stuck. We found out later some of us were overcharged on drinks, the bar staff would accept card payments on a whim and would short-change us on shots, and the food was awful (I've seen reviewers saying they've had nice desserts - no one from our party had a dessert, so maybe we missed out). You may ask why we came back for the second year running (similar thing happened last year, also a Chrismas party, told we'd get the nice function room, arrived at the place, "mixed up booking, function room not available, but we have an area at the back" - there weren't even any tablecloths!) - convenient location, we thought we were getting the function room this year (as advised on the phone), and Czech beer. But nothing is worth the humiliation, the stress, the talking down from the looney owner. The only saving grace was one of their waiters, who apologised to us for the owner, was lovely all the way, and tried to give the drab back room we were given a touch of homeliness with tablecloths and tea lights (soon taken away by the owner as a "fire hazard"!). I can't say how awful an experience it was. Not worth the...