Reviews or Comments for 'Bibis Criterion' (13)

OTT decoration in Art Deco style distinguishes this glitzy Italian institution; the food tends to be “ordinary” and “overpriced” though, so make sure you go on a cabaret night – “they’re always worth seeing, sometimes because they’re so good, other times because they’re so terrible!” read more

Harden's's profile     Other reviews by Harden's     Harden's likes    

17th April, I visited this restaurant with my family to celebrate my Mum's birthday. On arrival we had pre-dinner drinks gin and tonics full of ice not much gin. Our party was for six people, the table was very small and had a lot of clutter. The best part of the meal was the tomato and garlic pizza bread. Starters were OK but not worth the price charged. Main course arrived for four people, who politley wanted to wait for the other 2 meals which we had ordered only to arrive 15mins later, waiters were not observant enough to notice that we were missing these. No waiters around to draw attention to this. Pizzas lacked topping and we had to search for the seafood and the courgettes in the pasta.I too remember the good old days when Dino & Oliver had the real Bibis on Mill Hill,Greek Street when Italian food was Belissimo! Waiters smiled and were sincere, and service was excellent. Will not be returning to the glitzy palace, ideal for the couch potatoes who like tv dinners!

julie's profile     Other reviews by julie     julie likes    

Have a heard a lot about this venue before they moved to the larger venue and it was mostly highly postive. However when I went I was totally underwhelmed firstly by the venue and then the food. In fact my lasting sentiment was annoyance at the poor service and average food - at the prices they charge its appalling. I have no objection to spending money on good food so the price isnt what put me off - the food and service would not have been acceptable at any price. Our table of ten had a gap of 20mins between the first and last person getting their dishes for starter and main course. This meant I'd finished and was ready for my main by the time 2 people had even seen their starter. The staff were dismissive and not interested - bordered on rude. 20mins seems to be significant with them as it also took this long to get the bill when all we wanted to was leave we had to wait again. I didnt dare see how long it would take to collect the bill I just took it to the desk - they tried to charge 10% service and it took 5mins to communicate and action my polite request to remove it as we had recieved very poor service. If a business contact offered me lunch I'd return but failing that I wouldnt pay or let a friend pay for another meal here - if I want to wait and pay for an italian I'd rather go to Headingly and visit Salvos - travelling time included I'd probably eat quicker anyway !

daniel's profile     Other reviews by daniel     daniel likes    

Bibi's is a beautiful place with perfectly cooked food. I dont mind paying that bit extra as I've never been there once and had a complaint. You have to wait long for a table but simply because its busy. An empty place would ring bells to me! You dont wait long for your food and the waiters are pleasant but do avoid banter etc as they are so busy. However, they are not rude or abrupt and remain professional.

sarah's profile     Other reviews by sarah     sarah likes    

Went with my partner. My starter, beef carpaccio was more like 4mm of sliced roast beef. My main course, lemon sole, had the texture of school dinner fish. Mushy over cooked.My partner had a nice seafood starter and a somewhat dubious veal. The service was prompt. I find it unbelievable that a restaurant like Bibis where you get bliped when your table is available still does not use the mobile card readers. An invitation to fraud. Will not be back in a hurry if ever.

morgan's profile     Other reviews by morgan     morgan likes    

horrible.. so much hype.

zab's profile     Other reviews by zab     zab likes    

I used to love Bibis!! The food was great, the asmosphere was great and the staff were fantastic. But now in the new SHINEY restaurant, the staff are extremely rude, like everything is too much of an effort for them. The food is still ok, but seems to get more and more expensive. Wine is very overpriced for the quality, and I definately agree with people about the big screen, its just massive and pointless... very tacky.

The food is pricey at Bibi's and the decor in the bar is stunning, so I was really looking forward to the experience of eating in a top notch restaurant: however, as soon as I was led into the main dining room my heart sank. The main feature of the restaurant seems (bizarrely) to be a huge video screen showing awful pop videos. Not even good ones! Gloris Estefan, Riverdance, Phil Collins -aaaagh!It is really hard to concentrate on what your friends are talking about, when right behind their heads is a huge screen showing 80's soft rock!The tables are packed together so tightly that each time a waiter passed, or someone went to the loo, we all had to interrupt our meal to pull our chairs in. The menu is Italian (of course) but for someone with a very bad grasp of Italian, and therefore a bad Italian accent, I found the waiters/waitresses quite impatient with me. I got the impression that they thought we were all quite stupid.If any one has seen a comedy sketch involving 'snooty' waiters, I'm sure they would appreciate how I felt!When the food (pasta, veg, pizzas) did arrive we found it adequate, but unless you are going there to eat an enormous steak or piece of veal, you really don't feel like you are getting value for money. Everyone knows how easy it is to cook pasta, with tomatoes and cheese, isn't it every student's first dish?

Bibi''s interior appears to be a 1970''s version of the 20''s, it would be far more stylish if the designers had made it more authentic. The starters and desserts are prety special but the mains are bland and unappetising. If I had plans to return I would skip the main course.

emma's profile     Other reviews by emma     emma likes    

I used to really enjoy a lunch or evening meal at Bibis. The friendly staff, fun atmosphere and top class food made Bibis my favourite restaurant. However, since the move to larger premises the service is very slow, the food overpriced and the staff very arrogant. The whole experience was very disappointing and I now regret paying the service charge.

tim's profile     Other reviews by tim     tim likes