PHAT BITE Ilford — Restaurant in London

Having a read a number of positive reviews and becoming quite popular in the locality, I decided try out Phat Bite for a first time. I ordered through uber, by delivery.

I got the fully loaded box I believe it is called, which contained: 1 smashed burger, masala fries, lamb doner, 2 wings, a drink and salad.

I was looking forward to Phat Bite’s take on the smashed burger and t was not too long before I received my order.

Upon opening, however, I noticed multiple issues: The masala fries looked quite clearly soggy. I understand that these are masala fries but this did not look right. The condensation created through the packaging meant this was not looking good. Sticking with the packaging, the burger had clearly been squashed by the lid and so the bun on top, along with the contents inside were compressed a fair bit. There didn’t seem to be any obvious issues with the wings and doner upon first opening. However, looking at the salad you can tell that this was not fresh.

Inspecting the burger further, I noticed that there was an issue here, multiple in fact. This did not looked like a smashed burger at all. The menu description of the smashed burger mentions that there is a meat patty, with cheese, lettuce, fried onions and gherkin, which are all sandwiched with a brioche bun. In reality, the meat patty used was of a processed variety, certainly not smashed (but definitely squashed), no fried onions or gherkins were found. To add, the buns used were a standard seeded burger bun rather than a brioche bun they mentioned. Bizarrely, some type of burger sauce was used despite not being mentioned in the description. Cheese was present, however this appeared glued, and therefore dry, permanently to the burger. Lettuce was present, however.

Tasting the ‘smashed’ burger and this really was not a burger at all. I struggle to find an appropriate way to describe the taste. Rubbery? It was certainly a massive disappointment. The overwhelming amount of burger sauce added to the mess. This did taste a lot like the terrible processed McDonalds-esque burgers, actually.

Moving on to the masala fries, the soggyness certainly had a negative effect on this in terms of food quality. The spice level was there somewhat, however probably not enough to really consider this as ‘masala’ fries.

The lamb doner, to its credit, did have a good taste and had a good level of spice to it, which had been cooked in some onions too. Although, it did suffer from the packaging chosen - again, just slightly soggy.

The wings were of a good size and tasted fine, without being spectacular.

The salad provided is not worth talking about and they should consider removing this from the box as including this seems like a token gesture.

I selected a 7UP as my chosen drink, however in the notes I mentioned I would like to request 7UP Free (not mentioned in the menu) if it was available and if not, then to replace this with a Diet Pepsi (which is mentioned in the menu). Seemingly, however, the notes were not looked. I’m probably at fault for this too for selected 7UP in the first place, which is what I ultimately received. But, the missed notes just added to this disappointing meal.

Overall, this was a terrible experience. I struggle to recommend Phat Bite, although I was encouraged by the doner - I’m sure this tastes better if you are at the restaurant.

The burger is evidently a massive issue and, unless the wrong burger was provided, I would recommend the menu description to be revised as to not mislead customers. It is not a smashed burger of any variety. I would though appreciate a response from the owner for clarity, along with the other mentioned issues.

The packaging used assisted in the terrible food quality, namely the fries, burger and to an extent the doner. I would recommend using alternative packaging for the burger and fries to prevent squashing and reduce soggyness of the items.

The fully loaded box is not really ‘fully loaded’ and the portion could be increased to reflect the description, although they are not tiny...

On two different occasions I tried their fully loaded platter and they've got it just perfect each time. Unfortunately, I don't have time to dine in but I will soon try that too and present pictures of their food, takeaway boxes do not do justice to their nice food. My only quibble is that the management need to ensure their front end staff are providing a friendly service and are being hospitable, this means not being ungenerous with the sauce, especially when asking for one extra with the already two that comes with the meal. The management team are really nice and friendly. Food tastes amazing. Prices are fairly priced if you're collecting directly from the restaurant. The atmosphere seems nice but I'm yet to dine inside and I will give me feedback with photos of their dishes. Keep up the good work Phat Bite, I shall see you soon. 😊 😊 Finally got the chance to dine in at Phatbite and I'm impressed. Both my partner and I really enjoyed the masala chips. We got the gourmet burger and lamb doner in pitta bread. Full of flavour and cooked to perfection. Food preparation and service was reasonable with the staff being attentive to all the customers dining in - even though the delivery drivers were being somewhat a nuisance by being impatient.

Few feedback for management (and I'm being very pedantic) delivery drivers should be served away from the dining area where customers are eating. The few that disturbed us whilst eating clearly had a few cigarettes before coming into the shop to pick up their order and they stank of cigarettes which spoiled my experience. Secondly, customers who are dining in at your pleasent restaurant/eating area, could their order be taken whist they are sat down and once the customers have finished eating and ready to leave; I believe they'd naturally ask for the bill or go to the counter and pay for the food. I didn't like the fact that I was sat comfortably then I had to get up and go to the till to place the order and pay for it - again that kind of spoiled my experience.

After all this I'd come back again just to see if the feedback has been taken on board and to have that lovely...

Expected better and left underwhelmed.

Ordered the chicken tikka biryani and the house special box. The chicken tikka biryani didn’t deliver and was overly full of onions. We advised for it to be ‘Medium’ spice and this was clearly not followed as it was far too spicy so a word of warning to anyone choosing their spice level to select below their usual as they make it overly spicy.

In regards to the house special box, this simply did not live up to the hype and was overall poor value. This consist of 2 naga lamb chops which were not at the naga spice level and actually somewhat mild. It seems they get their spice levels mixed up. These were not nice and I didn’t feel the naga flavour came through. Two grilled wings were included and they were simply poor and didn’t taste nice. The smash burger was decent with what seemed like Big Mac sauce. Just decent enough but not something I’d be eager to get again or would ever crave. The donner meat was subpar and any place that fries up the meat with sauce could do a better job. The chips with cheese sauce while basic was actually pretty good but the portion size was rather small. Overall poor value for money at £21.

Appreciate the food may taste better when eating in rather than getting it delivered but not somewhere i’d think i’d order from again due to mediocre taste and poor value. This is not hit the spot, was not enjoyed and should have ordered...