Bodean's does a lot of things right, from the heady smell of barbecue sauce permeating the upstairs dining room to the buckets of Coors Light beer - which under just about any other circumstance would be outrageous to order in Britain - and finally to the food itself. The range of choice is decent, although (obviously) the odds are stacked against any vegetarians in your group. My meal, a Soho Special (pulled pork sandwich) was quite tasty and messy, as it is meant to be, and I was very satisfied with it. I also went to Bodean's with some proper Southerners, and they were pretty pleased with their food as well. The prices weren't even that bad considering the portions, the quality of the meal, and the speed of service.
So why only three circles? Well maybe I was expecting too much, but it was just the accumulated effect of various small issues that eventually attained critical mass and brought down my experience. As I said, there is a delectable flavour of smokey bbq sauce in the air upstairs in the main bar and dining room which is rather intoxicating when you enter. Downstairs, in another sizable dining room where we sat in a lovely booth, the smell of sauce was mixed with a less appetizing anti-septic citrusy odour that came from the cleansing of tables and hung unfortunately in the air throughout the meal. I was also bummed at the lack of bourbon whiskeys and the seemingly innocent ignorance of our waitress (who was very attentive and lovely to us, but just didn't seem to know barbecue all that well..).
These various issues, among others, slightly brought down the overall sense of the place for me. I'd still recommend it as a good barbecue spot in London, but I can't quite echo the ebullient attitude of some of the other reviewers.