Big Bamboo
381 Hong Feng Lu,
Jinqiao
near Biyun Lu
红枫路259号
近碧云路
5030-1779
www.bigbamboo.asia
carsten@bigbamboo.asia
5030-1797 (fax)
- Share with a friend
- Add a review
- Add an event here
- Report corrections or abuse
- Is this your business?
Claim it!
- City Weekend says
The latest link in the popular chain of sports bars sees more of the same winning formula. Big TVs showing sports, decent pub food and beers, plus friendly, English-speaking staff makes this an easy, blokey option.
Reviews
Been there? Add a review!
Big Bamboo is a Shanghai's best sports bar chain, hands down. All three locations adhere to strict quality standards in providing a diverse selection of dishes. The staff is well-trained, very accommodating, and always attentive to customer needs. The music selection is awesome and the range of sports they are able to show on their numerous big-screen TVs is unmatched.
I highly recommend their all-day breakfast selections, anything from their Asian menu, and the cheddar burger... quite the masterpiece. For beer, I always order Guinness because they seem to be the only ones in town that properly train their staff on how to pour it.
Food orders:
Greek salad: Not really Greek and very stingy w/ the Feta and kalamata olives.
Wings - both "wicked" and "homestyle." We ordered them as part of the 16-piece 140 RMB deal that was supposed to come w/ 3 beers. We drank 4 beers (from a predictably poor selection), but they charged us for all of them. The wings showed up in separate batches of 8, the first being the "wicked," which arrived at the front end of the meal (as we asked all of the wings to arrive) and, though sizeable, were barely spicy and had a soggy batter. Yuck. Between the 4 of us, didn't finish. The second batch arrived after we had consumed everything but and were ready for the check. No batter, but only slightly more interesting with a mild sauce that was sweet more than anything. Rubbery in texture, we didn't finish these either. Hard to believe the wings were deep-fried as the menu claims. The "Ranch dressing" that came with the wings was tasteless, absent of anything but calories.
The schnitzel was huge and thick, which no schnitzel should ever be. Edible is about all I can say about it. Did not finish. Same for the cold, limp red cabbage. The order of fries we asked to accompany this dish, oddly, came to the table separately and first - in a basket with no plate (and no place to put catsup)! Nonetheless, the fries were outstanding. Finally, in Shanghai, we were served a basket of piping hot fries!
The chicken quesadilla turned out to be shredded chicken housed between tortillas! Where was the CHEESE?! And, the onion, tomatoes and chiles?
Service: Abhorrent and having a good ole time chatting and laughing and eating!!!!! w/ the other staff members while we waited a long time for food that pretty much falls into the "fast" category to arrive. Long after our food should have arrived, several plates of food were delivered to a table near the bar that was quickly descended upon by employees - including the bartender, who abandoned station to get his grub on. Midway through our meal, our waitron disappeared, not to be seen again. No glasses for water or bottled beers - OK, no problem, but napkins, plates, drinks and table/plate clearings had to be requested by getting up and walking over and asking. It took minutes to find a small plate. Self-serve/buffet style would have been preferable to this requisition process.
Overall, the food is inexpensive and tastes it. Poor value at any price.
0 stars for service. 0 stars for bad, loud music. 1 star for food. The football game sure was nice in HD, though. 5 stars in that dept. Don't know what this place would be without it. Being nice, I'll round up to 2 stars. Thank your luckies, BB.
I must say that this guy is way, way off base! The comment below has obviously been used here to try to defame, and It is unfortunate someone has chosen to bring up such hated word about such a long standing, established and respected Shanghai entertainment group rather than add any valid observations. Big Bamboo has a hands on Chinese founder/owner as well as a western founder/owner, with a mixed race Chinese daughter, a ton of Chinese friends, and a 15 year history of living happily in Shanghai. Many Chinese managers run the floor and the group has over 200 Chinese staff, many that have worked for Big Bamboo for years and years and all are happy with the way they are treated and respected within the Big Bamboo family. Staff have daily training sessions on how to present the F&B services and hospitality Big Bamboo are well known for and certainly they would never be taught to act as this guy suggests - and for that matter how could he even suggest this - our staff would obviously never tolerate this! For him to say this about Big Bamboo and it’s staff it is obvious he has not frequented the popular venues to see how western and Chinese coexist in a friendly environment. On any given day you will find a diverse mix of people in the bars, with a large percentage of them Chinese. If indeed Big Bamboo was what this guy describes there is no way that such a diverse ethnic group could be found there day in and day out enjoying the surroundings in a such a cosmopolitan way. Everyone is always welcomed at Big Bamboo with open arms, warm hospitality and respect. This is why the company continues to see it’s customer base grow and every day and see more and more frequent – as well as new - Chinese customers enjoying the Big Bamboo experience along with a diverse ethnic mix.
I used to think Big Bamboo was ok for sports, despite being expensive and many food dishes not so good. But now I am really offended by the place. I first heard it from a Chinese girl I know, but now I have heard it from more and more Chinese friends. Big Bamboo is racist against Chinese customers. I've been told terrible stories of how rude the waitresses and even managers are to Chinese clientele. Chinese customers are not welcomed in Big Bamboo (unless they are a girl with a White guy). That's not right. I am offended by such things even though I am not Chinese. We are living in China and we should respect everyone. It is terrible to be racist towards Chinese people. The even sadder thing is that it is the Chinese waiters at Big Bamboo who act that way. Who would teach their own waiters to act racist towards their own people? It's awful
Great new venue - lots of room. Service first rate and food superb. Live music now is a great plus.
Big, beautiful place full of friendly regulars and very good service. Great place to spend a weekday evening. Manager Tim, well done.