Review of 'Beboz'
Nestled in a line of cookie-cutter shops on the Holborn viaduct in the middle of commuter-central you could easily pass by Beboz or, when entering, think you were in one of the numerous burrito shops around when you see plastered on the wall the ubiquitous “1”, “2”, “3” menu that tells you how to go about ordering…Nice they took the time to tell us as I do often wonder exactly what I need to be eating when looking at a menu (sorry, I am being IRONIC if you did not catch it).
We decided to pay a visit for lunch. Step 1, “Choose your base” - We both went for “Pasta Bowl” (with penne though there was another type on offer as well) but we could have also chosen “Italian Wrap”, “Italian Bread” or “Salad Bowl”. Step 2, “Choose your filling” - I went with “Spicy Italian Sausage” which was basically small meat-balls rather than the expected slices of sausage. My companion tried the “Free Range Chicken” but there was also vegetables and rump steak on offer. We had some grilled vegetables thrown on top for good measure. Next, step 3, “Add Toppings, Sauces and Dressings”, where you are allowed to pick up to four toppings (extra toppings costing an addition £1 each and the grilled veggies we already had counted towards our 4) - I added the Pomodoro sauce which looked quite nice and turned out to be the tastiest of everything I had in my cardboard bowl. At £6.70 it was a relative bargain and certainly was different than what is offered in other shops in the area.
Tasty? Hum, it was OK. It certainly filled a bit of a hole…starch to the max! The pasta was cooked correctly though…slightly under done.
Beboz bills itself as “Italian Street Food” but I am not sure I ever saw anything like this in Rome. It is basic cooking that is done alright and is good for a step out of the ordinary but I would not go out of my way for it. It was certainly busy and, I have to admit, the food was quite fresh just not terribly special or, indeed, not terribly authentic Italian.
BTW, Beboz recently added pizza to the menu but when we tried it it was like something you would buy at the supermarket in the frozen food section - It seemed to be mass-produced and not very tasty.
Rating: “Not great, but not the worse”
Review Date: 2015-04-01
Cuisine: Italian
Address: 60c Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2FD ENGLAND
Public Transport: 
Chancery Lane
Location: London (England) - Holborn
Map:
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Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7489 7008