I had a busy morning today so I went to the Blue Mountain (Sydenham) for a take away lunch. I ordered the quiche and a salad to go and have felt awful for an hour or so since.
The price is also sickening. They charge organic food prices for non organic food that's bought from the Costcutter down the road and the salad box doesn't have any salad in it!
You would think that at £4 the salad box would allow you to pick anything from the salad bar? Well no it doesn't. You can have pasta - no salad there - potato salad and a sweet potato dish. Artichokes, olives and all the salad items are extra!
Not impressed and still feeling sick from the food. I won't be revisiting.
Food poisoning in Sydenham
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girl_canuck
- Posts: 56
- Joined: 3 Feb 2009 14:24
- Location: Sydenham!
kente is better
The coffee is nothing to write home about either - some cheap generic brand - and it costs the kind of price that you would pay for a fair trade organic fresh roasted coffee. Kente is much better for a fraction of the price! Fry ups are also cheaper and much better at Blue Belle cafe in Penge.
I think it filled a badly needed gap in the market for a trendy upmarket cafe. But now we've got Kente and Sugarhill, which are much better, I wouldn't go back to over-priced Blue Mountain. It's always full of punters though, so there are those who will!
I think it filled a badly needed gap in the market for a trendy upmarket cafe. But now we've got Kente and Sugarhill, which are much better, I wouldn't go back to over-priced Blue Mountain. It's always full of punters though, so there are those who will!
My girlfriend and I had our last Blue Mountain breakfast a few weeks ago. The service was very slow despite the place being only half full, and when our scrambled eggs arrived, they were basically a shredded, overdone omelette. We complained and they were redone, nicely this time. We weren't the only people sending food back either. If the prices were bargain basement, I could put up with it, but it positions itself as a premium outlet, yet is now outclassed by its rivals. It's a shame, as I used to really like the place and don't mind paying a bit more for a better products, but standards have slipped.
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bladerunner
- Posts: 11
- Joined: 21 Jul 2008 18:28
- Location: Sydenham
You have been warned !
Does no one check scores on the doors...I wouln't touch 90% of restaurants/cafes around here....I also have the mis-fortune to work round the back of some of these establishments and have carried out work in their employees own properties...the sort of places you wipe your feet on the way out
Makes me smile when a particular Chinese restaurant on a corner gets rave reviews on this site.....if you'd have seen all the cooked chickens sitting an inch off the floor on cooling racks just a few feet from the commercial bins...flies buzzing around in the summer heat
But the prize goes to Gurkas with no stars at all....just shows how the bean counters on the council value buisness rates far more than the publics health.
Does no one check scores on the doors...I wouln't touch 90% of restaurants/cafes around here....I also have the mis-fortune to work round the back of some of these establishments and have carried out work in their employees own properties...the sort of places you wipe your feet on the way out
Makes me smile when a particular Chinese restaurant on a corner gets rave reviews on this site.....if you'd have seen all the cooked chickens sitting an inch off the floor on cooling racks just a few feet from the commercial bins...flies buzzing around in the summer heat
But the prize goes to Gurkas with no stars at all....just shows how the bean counters on the council value buisness rates far more than the publics health.
Thanks for that link BladeRunner – I didn’t know that information was available online. Shocked by Gurkha’s score I had a little browse. It’s an interesting selection of businesses including schools and supermarkets. On a fairly random selection, here’s a taste (excuse me) of who’s got what:
- 0 star – V. Poor: Bengal Spice, Namaste, Two Half’s, Gurkha’s (but the other Gurkha restaurants vary)
1 star - Poor: Mr Pizza, Haji, Chef’s Delight, Golden Lion, Cummin’ Up,
2 star - Compliant: Golden City,
3 star - Good: That’s Amore, The Dolphin, Mermaid Fish Bar,
4 star – V. good: The Railway, The Bircklayer’s Arms, Adamsrill School, Sydenham Cafe,
5 star - Excellent: Sydenham High School, The Windmill, St Barts PreSchool, Eliot Bank,
Blimey! Sort of confirms my suspicions on Gurkhas really. It's one of my favourite types of cuisine but the last few times I've had a takeaway from there I've had a bad stomach the same night. Always thought it was because I was trying new rich food out though - until I started to use Ghurka's Flavour in FH (I can't find the ratings for this on the site?).oin wrote:Thanks for that link BladeRunner – I didn’t know that information was available online. Shocked by Gurkha’s score I had a little browse. It’s an interesting selection of businesses including schools and supermarkets. On a fairly random selection, here’s a taste (excuse me) of who’s got what:
- 0 star – V. Poor: Bengal Spice, Namaste, Two Half’s, Gurkha’s (but the other Gurkha restaurants vary)
1 star - Poor: Mr Pizza, Haji, Chef’s Delight, Golden Lion, Cummin’ Up,
Bit unsure about what it all means actually! No or 1 star is obviously not good but I'm not convinced the ratings are standardised across the different businesses.
To those of you who have had bad experiences at Blue Mountain - have you considered contacting the management yourself?
It is still one of the best looking businesses on the high street, it would be shame to lose it. Hopefully they would appreciate your feed-back like Kente has on its appearance etc...
It is still one of the best looking businesses on the high street, it would be shame to lose it. Hopefully they would appreciate your feed-back like Kente has on its appearance etc...
I agree with Poppy - better to confront the problem directly with the management so they can do something about it immediately.
It's too easy to sit down and "flame" a business on forums like these, in the comfort of your own home rather than do anything pro-active. This just leads to feed gossip, eventually the business could close down and we'd be left with another hole in the Town Centre.
It's too easy to sit down and "flame" a business on forums like these, in the comfort of your own home rather than do anything pro-active. This just leads to feed gossip, eventually the business could close down and we'd be left with another hole in the Town Centre.
I agree with Poppy and Mummycat.
I haven't been in there for a long time now, but I used to like it (along with Sugahill and Kente).
The management might not know.
Better turn a negative into a positive. When business listens to it's audience (and inteprets that in the right way) it becomes a stronger business. Sometimes they just need to know.
I haven't been in there for a long time now, but I used to like it (along with Sugahill and Kente).
The management might not know.
Better turn a negative into a positive. When business listens to it's audience (and inteprets that in the right way) it becomes a stronger business. Sometimes they just need to know.
I worry about this too. However we do not moderate it because if the criticism is unsound I can depend on five and twenty of you to dive in to 'correct' it - doing no harm to the business. Sometimes quite the opposite.mummycat wrote:It's too easy to sit down and "flame" a business on forums like these, in the comfort of your own home rather than do anything pro-active. This just leads to feed gossip, eventually the business could close down and we'd be left with another hole in the Town Centre.
When there is general agreement then the owner really needs to know about it. Top of my management rules is "a criticism is a gift" - people complaining is better than quietly going somewhere else. The owner knows what the perceived problem is and can choose to sort it. Otherwise the business may be history.
That's if they know about STF of course. Please do take every opportunity to remind them that we do provide a snapshot of Sydenham gossip and opinions. Fair or unfair - something unwise to ignore?
Admin
I did complain at the time, but the person who dealt with my complaint was unapologetic. I'm not sure whether they managed the place or not and, having been in there for so long in the first place due to the slow service and having sent the food back, didn't want to hang around to find out. If anyone has a contact address for the manager, I would be happy to fill them in on my experience, however the company's website doesn't appear to have contact details for the Sydenham branch.poppy wrote:To those of you who have had bad experiences at Blue Mountain - have you considered contacting the management yourself?
About making a complaint there, someone I know complained about their breakfast not being up to scratch etc and the chef came out and had a go at them!
I have only used Blue Mountain once as my first experience there wasn't good so only go to Sugahill and Kente now. Friendliness on an initial visit is so important. I didn't enjoy my drink and croissant at Blue Mountain and would have gone back to give it another go (putting things down to teething problems) if staff had been friendly and helpful etc. Sadly they weren't.
I have only used Blue Mountain once as my first experience there wasn't good so only go to Sugahill and Kente now. Friendliness on an initial visit is so important. I didn't enjoy my drink and croissant at Blue Mountain and would have gone back to give it another go (putting things down to teething problems) if staff had been friendly and helpful etc. Sadly they weren't.