Restaurant Reviews

Click on a restaurant, bar or pub below, to see a review:

• Lamberts
• Kastoori
• Cafe Viva
• Nandos
• The Exhibit
• Lybar & restaurant

• The JackDaw and Rook
• Spice of India
• The Paddyfield
• The Balham Tup

Lybar & Restaurant

We ate here just last week, and I am very impressed with the presentation of the food, it was really delicious. The decor of the restaurant was very nice. It is a place definetly to come and eat and drink with friends and family. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the night.

Lamberts

Lamberts leaves every other restaurant in South London (and probably north!!) in the shade.I have been a regular visitor there since they first opened,going usually once sometimes twice a week.I have yet to have a meal there that is short of perfect.....Being a tricky customer that is saying something.

Clair Newbury (February 2006)

Kastoori

188 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting, London SW17 7EJ,
Tel: 020 8767 7027
Open: Wed - Sun 12.30 - 14.30, Every day 18.00 - 22.30
Reviewed by Michael Jessop

Kastoori is a family-run restaurant fast becoming an institution in south London vegetarian circles. The unique and innovative menu - combining Gujarati and east African culinary traditions - invites you to share the Thanki family passion for explorative cuisine and surprising taste sensations.
The vast, vegan-friendly menu includes possibly the most exquisite samosas in London. Delicately spiced and laced with cinnamon, the Thanki recipe eschews potato-reliant convention in favour of more imaginative ingredients. And with three samosas per portion at only £1.95, the quintessential Indian starter is as well priced as it is delicious.
Other appetisers include sev puri, onion bhajias and the ever-popular dahi puri - so-called 'taste bombs' of diced potato, chick peas, puffed rice, onion and a sweet and sour sauce encased in crispy puri bread and topped with yoghurt.
The exceptional trio of popadom accompaniments is worth commandeering for the rest of your meal. Though fiery, the coriander and chilli chutney is every bit as addictive as the tangier carrot and tomato chutney, and the soothing raita acts as a foil for both.

A rich spectrum of curries include the Kastoori kofta - vegetable patties in a creamy, garlic and herb sauce, the house special tomato curry - a traditional recipe from the family's roots in Katia Wahd and numerous vegetable and bean-led dishes. All fall within the £4.75 and £5.25 bracket. Dosas are similarly priced and generous thalis (mixed plates featuring a range of curries, chapati or puri, rice, dahl and dessert) cost £8.50 and £16.25.
A part of the menu is devoted to the more unusual and exotic Thanki family specials. Among these dozen dishes - each priced at around £5.50 - you'll encounter a divine fennugreek and aubergine dish cooked slowly in a coriander and garlic sauce for a long, savoury finish. The stuffed banana and mild chilli dish served in a spicy tomato curry is a perennial favourite, as is the green pepper curry flavoured with sesame and peanut. Sadly, only one special is featured per day - perhaps a cunning ploy to attract impressed and curious clientele throughout the week.
The desserts lack variety and are perhaps the least enticing aspect of the menu. The mainly traditional and dairy-based sweets include khir (aromatic rice pudding), gulab jambu (milkballs in syrup) and mango or pistachio flavoured kulfi.
Décor at Kastoori comes a poor second to the food. The seating arrangement is rather regimented and tightly packed and the inconspicuous reproduction Hindu sculptures do little to add character. The classical Indian background music is low key and almost imperceptible above the steady hum of conversation.

The service, however, is impeccable, and the knowledgeable and attentive staff are happy to discuss the subtleties of any dish that catches your attention.
Kastoori is a licensed restaurant offering house wine at £7.95 a bottle or £2 per glass. Lager is served on draught (Carlsberg or Fosters) or bottled (Kingfisher or Budweiser). An immensely enjoyable three-course meal with alcohol will cost around £16.
I doubt I'm the first satisfied customer tempted to pounce upon the family name for punning purposes, but it really must be said: Thank you Thanki!

The JackDaw and Rook

The vision behind Bar Interlude's replacement on Balham High Road was a balance between a bar and a pub thus leaving pretensions at the door and entering what aimed to be a laid back local with the sort of light and space that's associated with most modern drinking venues.

The result however leaves the Jackdaw hovering in limbo. It isn't homely, it's vast, lacks atmosphere and the staff though friendly and helpful cannot disguise the fact that they are working a permanent graveyard shift even on a Saturday night. Mock bookshelves, fireplaces and pictures in no way to make the punter feel they are in their local boozer and there is not enough style here to give Balham's established bars a run for their money. Not even the promise of a seat to watch the weekend's big fixtures is enough to draw in the crowds. Who wants to watch their team come romping home without comrades and competitors with whom to cheer and jeer?

A plus point is the menu which offers a wide selection of traditional dishes with a twist that will take you through from brunch to dinner. Be warned though it is unjustifiably expensive which confirms their intention to use the pub come bar excuse to charge prices mostly associated with the latter.

If you're looking for a place where you are guaranteed a seat and can hear yourself above the usual din then the Jackdaw is a safe bet but if it's the warm atmosphere of a well loved pub complete with its own genuine noise, smoke and good humour, you'd better keep walking along to the Bedford and if it's the sophistication and no effort ambience of a bar you're after, head for the Exhibit.

The Jackaw is the last in a dying breed of chain run, sit on the fence establishments that have no real identity or appeal and therefore no regulars, fans or 'crowd' It's inevitable then that The Jackdaw will struggle in an area with a high density of well known, popular competitors. A word of advice to the Fullers chain behind this latest venture....do your research.

Katie Timms 22/03/02

Cafe Viva

Well well...... I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what a pleasant surprise this was.
I overlooked the fact that I had to wait an hour for my starter, however I did get a free drink for the inconvenience! The waiting staff were very pleasant (& apologetic).
After being treated to a 'salsa moment' from 2 very energetic showoffs, sorry customers, the food arrived, very tasty indeed!
The choice of music was just what I needed for a Thursday evening, plenty of Cafe del Mar mixed with a little Salsa. It didnt strain on the ole purse-strings either, which is refreshing for Balham.

I'll go back there again !
Vanessa - editor 10th Sept 2001

Spice of India

Yes I know it's another Indian take away/ delivery service but the difference is the food is good!! I suppose for a take away it is slightly more pricey than regular ones, but the service is with a smile, well certainly the small gentleman who always recognises your voice on the phone (okay i admit I eat at least once a week - which is surely a good sign). The food tastes authentic and they will adapt the curries to your tastes. My usual is the Tarka Dhall, Bhindi Bhaji and chicken Madras (hot!) Also good is the Chicken Taba Josh, and the sag aloo. Delivery is normally within 20 mins. Yum!
Nina Sandhu - guest reviewer 28th Aug 2001

Nandos

How disappointing, after watching the transformation from gutting shop to nice decor, the food was not what it could be. Chicken although supposedly freshly cooked (and hence the reason for having the open kitchen to prove they cook them fresh) tasted tough and well er tasteless. Even though I burnt my mouth drowning the chicken with sauces to add flavour, nothing would rescue it. Maybe i just had the one bad experience and should give it another chance, but it's too pricey to take the risk of having another bad chicken burger.
Nina Sandhu -guest reviewer 28th Aug 2001

The Paddyfield

Justifiably popular, this smallish and minimalist Thai/Vietnamese noodlerie is the thing if you need a good value, spur-of-the-moment outing with a small group of friends. Plain yellow walls set off the Ikea-esqe blond wood tables and B&W photos of Vietnam (for sale). Dido is just audible behind the hubbub. Friendly and efficient staff serve the mixed clientele - some adults with well-behaved kids around seven thirty-ish; an hour later very busy, mainly with returning commuters and locals.

Go Thai-side with familiar dishes of tom yum, pad thai, red or green curry or venture over the border to Vietnam with dishes such as bo sao xa, seafood pho, laksa or banh canh. Freshly-cooked, tasty and well-presented although since they first opened about a year ago have the portions got slightly smaller and lost that steaming hot crispness as they take longer to reach the table?

BYO (corkage £1) helpfully cuts the cost - two of us paid £26.50 before service for starters and mains - there are plenty of veggie choices and it is pleasantly smoke-free. The Paddyfield is cash/cheques only and the turnaround is quite fast - they don't expect you to linger as 30% is added for sittings over 2 hours. You may need to phone an hour or two ahead to book for the busiest times or consider their takeaway service on hot summer nights when the close-packed interior gets too steamy. Still one of Balham's favourite casual eateries.
-guest reviwer - "Liz the Lizard"

The Exhibit

The minimalist Exhibit sets out to inject some central London buzz into Balham's bar scene and mostly achieves it, despite its rather unglamorous location in Sainsburys car park. Trendy 20 & 30-somethings meet here to chat on leather beanbags and drink bottled beers and cocktails (try the fab Bloody Marys) and there's a definite air of superiority about the place. The big aquarium has stools running alongside which come in highly useful as a place to recover after an encounter with the bar prices. But worth a visit for a more sophisticated night out
-Viv Corke, Balham.com official reviewer- 20/3/2001

The Balham Tup

Part of a chain of 'Tups' (trivia fans take note: Tup = a randy ram) springing up over London, this is a spacious pub/bar in a safe-but-successful mode of an All Bar One. Crowds of young and enthusiastic drinkers gather around the stripped pine tables to sink pints of Guinness and eye each other up in equal measure. It's also the most popular place to watch televised rugby in Balham - sometimes it's literally impossible to get through the door - and holds the biggest St Patrick's knees-up in town. This should tell you all you need to know: Basically it's a 'love it or hate it' kind of a place.
- Viv Corke, Balham.com official reviewer- 20/3/2001