The Bedford Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Great service and very friendly and very professional."
• "Robyn was an absolute gem, we turned up with 7 people and with all the fuss and hecticness she managed us to perfection."
• "On the night Saff, Naj, Rory and Carleen were absolutely excellent. Dead keen to help, top quality service and great with the guests."
• "All of the bar staff were very welcoming and helpful, with no attitude or ego."
• "We were served by Reece who was extremely professional, helpful and attentive."
• "The staff were amazing. Special thanks to Charlie and Katie for helping make the night a good one!"
• "The staff went out of their way to help and make sure we had everything we needed."

Cons:

• "But the manager, Natalie, can be very frosty. Unwelcoming and unfriendly."
• "The bar staff have been consistently awful for years."
• "Service was very poor, staff were not smiling."
• "The service was horrible for us that night."
• "The main let down was the service at the bar. 10min wait each time you want a drink."
• "Service was very unfriendly."
• "Bar staff seem dead against the idea of serving drinks."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "We got a couple of appetisers and then mains and everything was super tasty!"
• "Had a Sunday roast here which was delicious - really impressed as we were such a big group but the food came out in good time and was really good quality."
• "The food was lovely, especially the enormous sour dough pizzas."
• "The food was superb - best roast I’ve had in ages - and the children’s menu was also really good with something for everyone."
• "Fantastic cheeseburger, the meat,was the best I could have had asked for."
• "The meals were perfectly cooked and tasted delicious."
• "The restaurant had a good selection of tasty food."

Cons:

• "Sunday roast was expensive and cold."
• "I found what I think was a piece of fingernail in my food."
• "The sweet potatoes chips were not good, not crispy."
• "The chicken ceasar salad, was very poor ... not enough ceasar dressing, we had to ask for more, and the chicken was over cooked and dry."
• "The roast was cold and extremely dry."
• "The food is not good at all. Mostly burnt and the chips are trying to be trendy but turn to be rubbish."
• "The food wasn't bad. The charcuterie board was hit and miss."

Ambiance and Entertainment

Pros:

• "This pub is a real jewel if you like live music and comedy."
• "Whole evening felt like a tiny 'Later Live with Jooles Holland'."
• "The atmosphere was magical and really good value."
• "One of the best pubs in South London. A true gem."
• "The Bedford is a Balham bedrock. It was a great local 15 years ago and it still is."
• "The venue is lovely as well, great aesthetic and lovely indoor and outdoor seating."
• "The atmosphere is great and the staff friendly and helpful."

Cons:

• "This is the definition of an uninclusive establishment and more pro-Brexit than weatherspoons."
• "The venue has deteriorated. You're not allowed to go the toilet, have a beer or leave the venue without joining the queue for a nice bit of kettling."
• "Noisy guests shouting and screaming in the corridors."
• "Don’t come here on Saturday nights!"
• "Avoid 'the Bedford' at all cost if you want a good Friday night experience."
• "The toilets are screaming for a refurb."
• "Head banging music until 2am."

Value

Pros:

• "Enjoyed a 50% off promotion on the meals due every Tuesday., cutting down the Cheeseburger to £7 (!!!)."
• "Roasts are good value and tasty too."
• "The food was also great and you get a 30% off if you're staying in the rooms."
• "Wednesday nights have a 2 Steaks + Wine for £40 which is great value and food!"
• "Reasonably priced drinks."
• "The best Sunday roast in Balham I’ve had in the year I’ve lived here."
• "Great Venue and Lovely fire on a cold day with lots of weekly activities and Great Free Live Music !!!"

Cons:

• "Pricey even for Balham."
• "Prices a bit steep for all drinks."
• "Taken aback by Taylor's Landlord at £4.90 a pint and the fish and chips were £13 ISH without being cod or haddock."
• "The £20 'party platter' we ordered looked and tasted as if 'mum had been to Iceland' and she'd still managed to mess it up."
• "When your steak is on the menu at £24.50 you really need to justify that price!"
• "Now being a country dweller and used to paying £3 for a decent pint of bitter, stumping up £4.90 for the same here took a bit of getting used to."
• "We ordered 2 x fish and chips which when came looked a big portion but when you cut in it you can see that its been double battered to look like it’s a big bit of fish when in fact the size of fish is a child’s portion."

Accommodation

Pros:

• "Added to a fabulous large shower room and great selection of tea/coffee/juice on the room all made for an excellent stay."
• "The room that I had above the premises was out of this world, very reminiscent of Las Vegas and worth the money."
• "The rooms in the hotel above. Very nice too."
• "The rooms are really classy with good showers and smartly decorated."
• "Beautiful, comfortable room with awesome decor."
• "The hotel rooms are really cute and pretty."
• "An excellent stay in a great location for an extremely reasonable price."

Cons:

• "Noisy guests shouting and screaming in the corridors."
• "Our bathroom was not properly cleaned upon our arrival. The toilet was not cleaned and a towel from the prior guest was still hanging on the bathroom door."
• "We stayed one night at the hotel. The room is nice but not clean. I found at night 2 cockroaches in the bad room."
• "The hotel rooms look lovely at first glance, but we quickly realized the room hadn't been thoroughly cleaned."
• "When we arrived room had not been cleaned from the previous party, blinds hanging off of the windows."
• "Double bed? Hah! Big single...."
• "Piles of junk in the corner of the 'Harlequin' room."