Bison & Bird

No. Just no.
This feels like the kind of place I would have hung out at as an impoverished student, when grim, tacky bars lacking in personality were an option chiefly because you could get drunk in them for about a fiver. Unfortunately, Bison & Bird lacks the good value that would be the only possible draw in such a sticky-​floored pastiche of a shit bar.
My boyfriend and I were probably fools for ordering cocktails. The guy behind the bar told us it was his second day — this seemed to be his reason for not knowing what was in one of the ‘specials’, and it was only with further prompting that he deigned to find out. He was then incredibly slow, following guidance in a folder — understandable considering he didn’t know the cocktail but it really underlined that this isn’t a professional establishment. My cocktail included angostura bitters; he asked another bar person where this was, and then looked at it with suspicion, before asking me, «Do you want this sauce on it?»
At least it was funny.
There’s not much point describing the ambience beyond generic scummy hole, but I particularly enjoyed the broken glass in the sink in the ladies.

Interesting menu but food falls short.
We stumbled upon Bison & Bird, all of us hungry after a day festival in Brixton. It looked modern and trendy from the outside so we were excited to eat! The atmosphere was slightly lacking, but this could be forgiven considering it was a Sunday night.
Unfortunately the staff were slightly lacking too and our waiter was almost asleep at his waiting station for the majority of the visit. The drinks took a long time to arrive, but were of a decent standard.
Our food was really average and not worth the fairly high prices. I had the buttermilk fried chicken, with sweet potato wedges, Apple and walnut coleslaw and a lime sour cream. I’m not sure about anyone else, but I like my dips. I was very sad to see the tiniest thimble of sauce that I almost immediately ordered another one. I was very glad I did because my chicken was dry and lacked any flavour. The sour cream didn’t taste much of lime (or sour cream actually, maybe it was mayo) but was a good substitute for moisture.
The wedges were well cooked, but again no flavour. And the coleslaw was Mayo heavy, again no flavour. I did end up feeling a little cheated out of my £10.
I won’t be returning.

If you’re looking for a good burger but no fries here’s your spot.
I’ve never had to order and pay extra for fries when having a burger they should just come hand in hand.
Other than that the food is delicious and most the time worth the money.
However I have found myself having to go up and order because the staff are too busy talking amongst them selves to take my order.
There is a fantastic atmosphere when sports are on but you’ll struggle to find a seat.
The people who go here for a drink on a Friday night after work always seem angry and stuck up.
Every time I go here I see a fight either over a girl, sport or someone being too drunk.

After seeing the new Anchorman film, I had a few drinks in here. It was my first time in here but really enjoyed it. To be honest, having seen all the food coming out I should have eaten in here too!
On this occasion, we didn’t eat and had a few beers instead. I really enjoyed my time here. The atmosphere was fun and lively!

Let me start off with good news for Bison & Bird bar is that The Squealer burger is definitely a proper American what a burger!!!
The Smokey charred flavoured 8oz Beef Patty, Grilled Bacon, Chorizo & Pulled Pork, Cheese & Aioli burger was brought to me to with a large cocktail stick.
I couldn’t wait to stink my teeth into it. Now I would taken a picture but my mouth couldn’t get round this burger almost had a mouth cramp. So had to use a knife and folk plus I couldn’t finish it either. Had to take a dog bag home.
Now the bad news!!! Thursday is mojtio day for £2.95 all night well more like conveyor belt of strong rum and less of the Cuba essence. I was slightly annoyed but the burger made up for it.

I wouldn’t come to Bison & Bird to eat but it’s pretty good for a place to hang out with friends and have a drink as there is quite a lot of seating and on Thursday’s they do a really good value mojito night that i’d recommend. it’s really near the tube station so pretty easy to get to/​from and is quite a nice place to watch sport in the afternoon if that’s your kind of thing.

I don’t know about the roast, but I would definitely go back for The Common burger.
Deliciously juicy, piled high with trimmings inside a lightly toasted bun and served with perfect crispy fries. And they give you a jar of mayo and ketchup to keep your condiment intake up.
They also do a weekend brunch that I wouldn’t mind giving a try, if only for the pancakes served American style — with bacon.
Oh just one tip; if you are drinking spirits, they serve a double pour as standard. If you don’t ask for a single, you’ll get stung £8 for a vodka cranberry.

IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE ALL OTHER BAD REVIEWS. ~This is one of my favourite chilled bars in Clapham and on a Thursday (my personal favourite night) they have FABULOUS cocktail night. where else can you get cocktails for £3 each!!! ~try the strawberry or tropical mohitos. They also have happy hour every night from 5 to 7! BOOM!
:) Visit and you willl see that it really is a great atmosphere and a smart place to have after work drinks.

Oh how I wish we’d read these reviews before going here. We live locally and just fancied breakfast one Saturday, so we headed to the High Street to see what took our fancy. We both ordered The Bird each, which consists of tomato and basil sausages, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, 2 eggs, hash browns, and toast. The drinks we had were fine, although I felt that it would have been nice to have included what beers they stocked on the drinks menu. Not a problem though, the pint of Meantime was perfect for my thirst. Sadly, this was just as well as the meals took about 40 minutes to arrive and were only lukewarm. The place really wasn’t busy enough to justify that wait I could have gone out, bought the ingredients and cooked them myself in that time. To be fair, a waitress did say it would be another 10 minutes, but that was after half an hour. The sausages were very nice and the rest of it got eaten pretty quickly while we waited for the toast to arrive on separate side plates. Once we’d reminded them about the toast, one serving did eventually turn up. It was cold and stiff as a board. And served in a bowl rather than a plate. With no knife. Toast is not a dish best served cold. Even students get grilled bread right. We complained about the service when we paid, but it was met with a blank look and what came across as complete apathy. I’m sure the place is very different as a bar in the evening, but if they aren’t good at doing food then maybe they should consider specialising a bit more.

Went to the Bison & Bird a couple of weeks ago with my mum, as it was a no mans land time on a Sunday afternoon/​evening, and we were starving and thirsty.
Happy hour was on at the time which never hurts so the drinks on this offer were pretty reasonably priced. Although there seemed to be a bit of a discrepency between the menu and the bar staff about what was actually on offer, so it was a bit hit and miss with what you paid.
Also ate there– started with the tapas, and then I had the nachos and my mum had risotto. The tapas was really nice and pretty reasonably priced (3 plates for £10 i think it was). My mum also rated the risotto. However, I was really disappointed with my nachos. The nachos were flavoured (a sort of mix between cheese and chilli) rather than being plain which just sort of overwhelmed the whole dish. And the melted cheese was a cheese sauce rather than actual cheese (sort of like the stuff you get at a kebab house). there was just too much going on and i barely managed to eat any of it.
i might go to the Bison and bird again, but i think Clapham’s got better places to offer.

DREADFUL SUNDAY ROAST.
If you are reading this on your phone, tempted to go in right now for roast dinner, don’t. Please. No matter how much you crave that roast, no matter if all the best roast dinner pubs are full and you are considering this place as a last resort. No.
I am amused to discover retrospectively that its unique selling point is being ‘cavernous’. Well, yes, that is fair, it is a big pub. It has a lot of chairs, tables and floor. The online review I read (which was clearly posted by the owner/​someone who does their marketing) goes on to say: «Not only a satisfying place for a feed, Bison and Bird is ideal for all those other animal instincts.»
Now then, as far as animal instincts go, it’s probably a fine venue for breathing & shitting. Eating? Oh, no, covered that one. Sex? Well, the toilets are roomy, so I guess if you’re that way inclined…

Really good value cocktail happy hour and a GREAT menu — I went there wanting one or two and ended up trying about 4 different ones and being extremely merry. They’re delicious!
It’s also spacious with a fun atmosphere and a great selection of fairly good value food too!

I visited Saturday lunch time, no reserved signs on tables and not many customers. The bar staff seemed friendly enough. Smart interior, with the antler chanderliers. Access available to wheelchair users. The food looked good, though I didn’t try it myself. The Guinness tasted ok. There wasn’t any loud music at this time. The toilets, which are downstairs, were very clean. There is a small outside seating area, but as it faces Clapham High Street, you may get exhaust fumes with your pint, but at least it face the sun. Overall, not a bad place, but I think it’s a bit too young for me.

People talk about this place as though it is a restaurant but of an evening It trys to turn into a loud bar. Trying to become a nightclub. However, my experience was pretty good. We struggles to find a seat as they all seemed reserved but we managed to grasp a bench and some stools and we were fine. The biggest thumbs up goes to them for their cocktails! They are brilliant. Plus at the moment, before 8pm it is buy one cocktail get one free or buy a pitcher for around £8 which is great if their is a group of you. The music was modern and trendy but very loud and we could request whatever music we wanted although the DJ didn’t seem to happy! The staff at the bar were very friendly, maybe hoping for a tip but still they were friendly and funny. This is a great place to start your night out and to meet up before going out on the town!

I would agree with many of the preceding reviews. The Bison & Bird seems to be struggling with an identity crisis. It looks pretty good from the outside, but fails to deliver on the expectation. I have eaten here once, we felt very rushed, it was as if they were turning the restaurant in to a ‘parents disco’ at a holiday camp, moving tables and chairs, turning up the horrific music. Needless to say we ate our deep-​fried platter and exited pretty sharpish.
Anywhere other than Clapham this bar would be forced to work harder.

Every table (well 80%) had reserved signs on them!
It was empty and yet there was no where to sit, grabbed my girlfriend from the bar before she ordered and left.

«What? Dude, talk louder, I can’t hear you.» That pretty much sums up the conversation I witnessed between two people who were trying to have a conversation over dinner in the Bison and Bird. Trying to be all things to all people and failing miserably. It had the worst atmosphere of any bar I’ve ever been to. You spend the whole time thinking «I…I kinda want to go now.»

Went with a group of girlfriends to the Bison Bar this Saturday after one of them had read of its ‘revamp’ in the London Paper. I’d been here when it was the Fine Line and I have to say apart from a lick of paint and some antler lampshade things I couldn’t see much difference. What was a bit annoying that despite changing hands the new management have failed to invest in some proper air con. The place was sweltering. The toilets downstairs could have doubled as a sauna — sweaty hair stuck to face is not a good look but one which we had unfortuanately all aquired by the time we left! That said the music was a good mix of new and old pop classics, a tad cheesy but fun to dance to. There was a nice mix of people and the alcohol was reasonably priced. I suppose its a good alternative on Clapham High street if you fancy a boogey but don’t want to pay to go to Infernos or anything.