Bar Bar Black Sheep (Robertson Quay)

I've been living in Singapore for 6 weeks now and visited BBBS for the third time last night. It's close to where we live and the previous visits have been OK. Nothing special but an acceptable meal. 

Last night we ordered a jug of beer which arrived promptly and was really cold.  We decided to order Indian. Rice, Cheese Naan, Chicken Korma and Shahi Paneer. After waiting for about 40 minutes we asked the waitress if our meal was on its way and after visiting the kitchen she came back and said it would be 5 minutes.  When it arrived both dishes were in the same sauce and were a creamy colour. More like an Italian pasta sauce.  One had some chicken in it and the other had a few bits of paneer. Not the slightest taste of India.  We questioned the meals and I spoke with the Indian chef who said he would redo the dishes admitting they were not right.  10 minutes later two new dishes arrived.  This time they at least resembled Indian food in appearance but neither tasted very much like anything Indian. The rice and bread sat at our table while we waited for the new dishes and neither were replaced with fresh/hot servings.  We ate the rice, bread and a little of each meal.  My companion commented that she was only eating it because she was starving.  When I went to pay I suggested to the staff that I pay for the beer, rice and bread (which would have been $30) as we got what we ordered but not the other two dishes (totalling $18).  When they said no, I told the staff to ask the chef if he thought I should pay for them.  The chef said I should so I asked to see the manager and was told there was no manager available. I paid the full amount. I told the staff it was disappointing and I stressed to them it was not their fault. They were polite, obliging, served the food that came from the kitchen, accepted our complaint and apologised for the wait and poor quality which they had nothing to do with.  My guess is our order was lost and when we asked where our food was the dishes were thrown together assuming we had no idea what a korma or a Shahi dish should look or taste like.

I'm sitting her looking at the receipt and it finishes with "Thank you. Please come again"  I'm here for at least another 2 years and disappointingly I don't think I will.Overall- I would have frequented the venue on a regular basis but I'll find somewhere else.  If the mains had been deducted from the bill I'd have accepted the poor meal and stuck to the Western meal in future.

My rating is based on all my visits.  The setting is nice.  The food usually about a 6/7 but last night a 1 (beer, rice and bread were OK).  Value - prices are acceptable for this area. Service - The wait staff are a 7/8.  Kitchen service - last night very poor!!

The food prices are not bad, but the service is very slow.  we went there a couple days ago, and our main dishes came out.  the food was just so so.

our appetizers took a lot longer.  after waiting another 30 minutes, we cancelled the appetizers and left.  the manager didn't seem too happy about it.

i would not go back.

I was surprised that the counter do not want to take in any more orders from customers even though the place was not crowded. My friend who was late was not allowed to order any food. First time we met with this incident.

Since there is no service charge, i will not comment on the service of the crew but still, the food was cooked pretty slow and the food is not hot. I am sure 'kopitiam' can serve hotter food. The waiting time was more than 30 mins for most of our orders. Maybe they only have one chef preparing the dishes.

I had ordered Sauteed Mushroons + Bacon Cheeseburger. This must be one of the worst burger i ever ate. The beef patty was pretty dry and when i slice it, the beef crumbs fallen off all over the plate. The bacon was no better as it was hard to chew. I had my friend tasted it as i don't wish to be the one making baseless accusation. True enough, he agreed with me. The burger was a little burnt and hard. I could easily forgive them if the price is less than $10. For $16.90, it is not worth the money. One of my friend even commented that Carl Junior had better burger for a cheaper price.

We tried Kronenbourg Blanc as the staff mentioned that it is of a lower alcohol level with fruit juice base. True enough, i could not taste any alcohol or fruit juice, but it wasn't that bad as its a thirst quencher when served cold. Ice water was available on self-service.

The ambience there was pretty nice, especially for a night chill out. I will not mind going back for chilling session but definitely not for dinner.

p/s: Stand Chart card members can enjoy 10% discount on food items. =)

As a bbbs regular, after reading some reviews lamenting about their service, well- i feel compelled to jump to their defence, because just as with a foodcourt/coffee shop/hawker centre, they don't charge service charge nor the 10% gst, and for this reason i tend to lower my expectations when it comes to table service. 

Perhaps these guests may not really understand what this joint is trying to achieve, and what it does offers us. FYI, the joint operates like a coffee shop, although it doesn't look like one- so the staff are really not compelled to serve you ice water, if they are busy. In fact, try asking the coffee shop auntie to bring free ice water and napkins, and see what reaction you'd get? Though i am Singaporean, i am sadly a little ashamed when we pay ten bucks, but expect napkins placed on our laps. 

Having said that, there is no excuse for rude staff, and though i haven't encountered any yet (they are just usually really busy), i hope the management will look into this to prevent further misunderstandings. i see bbbs for what it is, an honest watering and dining hole that makes no pretences, despite its upmarket surroundings, in giving its visitors a good variety of both food and drink, with awesome waterfront views, especially during sunset. and to me, that's what matters.

For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow.

A sad day, I cried on the phone, asking Hooker Lily to come out. She was freaked out; I never cried before.

Robertson Quay is a bitch to get to when you don't drive or don't want to take cab. By the time, we walked, then bus-ed, then walked there, we were ready to eat a cow, and I was emo-eating.

Because there is no service charge, no GST, you have to go to the counter to order but they deliver the food to your table. I ordered and when the food came, it was missing a naan, and seeing the next table of White people paying the waitress, I told the waitress that the order missed out a naan. I ordered it but the counter didn't key in into the receipt. I asked the waitress if she could order the naan for us, instead of we going to the counter to order again. She said no, we have to go to the counter. I said, "But I saw you taking money from the white guy." She explained that you have to order everything from the counter but if you want another round of same drinks and only drinks, you tell the waitress. Fair enough and she was polite and sweet. But such an idiot system. Everyone should just order at the counter, regardless the number of rounds.

We ordered: Butter Chicken; Palak Paneer; Cheese Naan; Garlic Naan;Buffalo Wings and two drinks.

The photo of the buffalo wings has my hand in it because my hands were dirty from eating the naan. I believe in using fingers to eat; things taste nicer.

We got this from an insider: Seriously, forget about the Western menu. The buffalo wings were deep-fried, covered with a tomato-based gravy - not at all like buffalo wings. The insider recommends the Indian and Thai food, although she says there isn't a decent dessert at this place.

Attack the Indian food. I said, "Wow, the Indian food is not bad, considering how it is microwaved." She said, "No way, there is an Indian chef working in the kitchen."

I adore ALL the Indian dishes. The Palek Paneer doesn't even taste like spinach - how wonderful. But the Indian food has also been adulterated to suit the taste of the Angmohs, who account for a large part of their clientele. I don't mind non-authentic food as long as they are awesome.

Hooker Lily said that she loves the relaxed atmosphere here because the al fresco-ness and the clientele make her feel like she's in another country. Perhaps that's what I dislike about it, I thought it was pretentious. You know lah..I'm kampong boy. When I told Mr NGFL about the place, he said, "Oh, it's just a high class kopi tiam right?"

Walked pass this Sunday afternoon at this relatively new stretch of riverfront at Robertson Quay, and saw a good crowd. Decided to try their burgers with some mates. They went extremely well with tetley's. Heard their indian and thai food are equally good so would definitely be back soon! 

Went here with some kids on a lazy Sunday afternoon. We were the only people here. My friends ordered Indian which was delivered in 10 mins and tasty enough. I ordered Thai for the kids and they waited expectedly for 25 mins. I wandered up to the bar to enquire how much longer we'd need to wait as the kids were becoming increasingly restless. the manager casually tells me the meals have not been started cos the chef is asleep! Wow has this girl got her finger on the pulse or what....she took our order (remember we're the only ones there) yet doesn't notice we have received nothing in 30 mins. I politely tell her to cancel our order as our kids are in a frenzy now and can't wait; she's reluctant to refund our money and goes to no effort whatsoever to make things right.I left angry. The kids were after blood.

I was looking for somewhere with a nice ambience,affordable drinks , food prices and nice food!  and i heard that this place does it all!

On a very wet friday evening, it was such a dampen  as we were looking forward to our end of week drinks and dinner.Thnk godness that the heavy downpour stopped by the late afternoon.

This place has such a brilliant concept. the food as mentioned by previous reviewers were sold by 3 major stalls within the bar. We had the butter chicken, pad thai, tom yam chicken soup. The food were all good. no complains.

With it's non pretentious vibe, reasonable drinks and food prices, i will give this place a thumb up. but the service staff looked like students, so it would be nice if someone more "professional" helms the service section.

 

 

I have always been an ardent fan of Bar Bar Black Sheep (BBBS) at Cherry Avenue, but its often hard to get a table by the time I reach Bukit Timah. Therefore, I was really happy they opened at Robertson Quay. We were there last night for dinner. Got my favourite Blanc beer, which is fruity and light. Ordered heaps of food, from western to indian. The fish & chips were not bad, and portion was quite big. Calamari was disappointing as they were skinny and tasteless, unlike the ones found at Bukit Timah. The naans were one of the best I ever had! My version was topped with lots of sesame, and came piping hot. Very good with butter chicken. The place is not as cosy as compared to the original branch and there are alot of mosquitos! Other than that, a good place for cheap and good beer after work!

The “memory experience” at BBBS clearly didn’t do much when I sit here and what I remember is the taste of Carl’s Junior’s Portobello Beef Burger instead. Not to mention the oil-filled fries as compared to CJ’s handcut, very well-fried potato sticks.

But what I loved was the experience of being at Robertson Quay on Saturday mornings. It rained before we arrived, so the air was cool and comfortable to our skin. We were tempted to go Kith Cafe instead but decided to embark on a new adventure (and check off my wishlist). I liked the concept of this place – the high ceilings, red walls and 3 “stalls” at the side selling Thai, Western and Indian food. Western was our choice because we didn’t want to eat Thai/Indian when we could get better ones in the neighbourhood. We were also promised free iced water only when we purchase drinks - but the water never came even though we ordered a drink EACH. boo.

Because it was brunch, we didn't try the draught beers. We LOVE draught beers - bottled ones are a definite NO-NO. So, seeing that there is a wide selection of draught in BBBS, I suppose it will be a good place to check out at night, a beer in hand watching a soccer match.

Did I mention, the massive industrial metal fan in BBBS is very intriguing?