Lamberts

You can live in Balham and walk past Lamberts daily without having any idea it’s even there, let alone what great food lies awaiting inside. I honestly feel it’s the best food in the area.
The cuisine is top-​end traditional English fare, bordering on the molecular. Last night I ordered roast lamb, which was accompanied by a superb jus, two types of potato (gratin and roast), buttered greens and a pretty sublime smear of artichoke reduction. The little twists on established classics set it apart from the predictable. My girlfriend and I shared a dessert which deconstructed a chocolate tarte into its component ingredients. This was actually a bridge too far and become rather difficult to eat. We weren’t in the mood for navigating a slab of pure caramel, a wodge of dark chocolate ganache and a blob of buttermilk. It was more of an ‘eating experience’ than an actual dish, which was a shame given the excellence of our mains.
It came in at about £40 a head after a shared starter and dessert, mains and booze. Not cheap, but in all a totally justifiable expense for what is a real treat. We’ve been there twice now and absolutely plan to go again.

I like the food here, traditional British cuisine. There are no surprises in the menu, everything is well prepared, without many seasoning. Good place for a quite dinner in Balham.

I’m not looking forward to writing this review, but I feel as though I have to. I dined here a few Fridays ago and I have to honestly say that the quality of the food and service has significantly declined.
We had a table booked at 8, The waitress was nice and chatty, came to take our meal orders and informed us that 1 (no more beef filet) of the 5 main options were no longer available. Twenty minutes later, she returned saying that my husbands order of pork loin was also sold out. It’s absurd that a restaurant has run out of 2 of the 5 options for the mains at 8pm. My husband quickly changed his order to the fish. When the mains arrived, my husbands meal looked like it had been thrown on the plate and the potatoes that came with my meal were tasteless. The worst part was, when our waitress came to collect the plates, she didn’t even ask how the meals were (which I would expect considering we left 40% of the food on our plates). At this point in the evening, she seemed like the only service staff in the restaurant; and her attitude conveyed this. She tersely asked us if we wanted any dessert or if we wanted our bill.
We were hoping dessert would be better. Wrong. We ordered a chocolate tart, which was rock solid and was so bitter we couldn’t even finish it (btw, I have never not finished a dessert in my life).
All in all, we left really disappointed, and I’m sad to say we won’t be back. Several years ago this place was great, but for the price and the quality you receive now, it’s just not worth it.

Pics @ Chopstix2Steaknives
We found ourselves in a restaurant called Lambeth. It was a comfortable setting which exudes a charming modern vibe. We opted for the fixed menu (2 course £17, 3 course £20) which offered quite a good selection. I was genuinely surprised with the quality of the food which all came out consistently well seasoned and delicious. This is one place that I wish was in my neighbourhood. Good food and Great value what more could you ask for.

We found ourselves in a restaurant called Lambeth. It was a comfortable setting which exudes a charming modern vibe.
We opted for the fixed menu (2 course £17, 3 course £20) which offered quite a good selection.
I was genuinely surprised with the quality of the food which all came out consistently well seasoned and delicious.
This is one place that I wish was in my neighbourhood. Good food and Great value — what more could you ask for.

Yesterday was the first time I’d been to Lamberts despite living in the Balham area for 8 years. Lambert’s is on the main high road and from the outside looks non-​descript.
We opted for the Tasting menu and it didn’t disappoint. For £55 per person you got a five course meal and matching wines which is really good value.
On the day we Chargrilled Mackeral, Beetroot, Fried Quails Egg and a light horseradish. The combination worked really well. For the wine we had a Gruner Veltner 2010 white from Austria which lovely and crisp
Second course was a fantastic Tomato Basil and pine nut consommé.
Next up was Plaice, crisp potatoes, and caramelised leeks. Each component was spot on. This was washed down with NZ white — Matakana Estate Pinot Gris.
The next main was succulent boiled bacon with a sweet glaze, with bubble and squeak and carrots. Again I could not fault the food. For this course we had a full bodied French red Cassiopee 2009.
Finally dessert consisted of a Summer Fruit fool, with strawberry’s honeycomb, and a berry sorbet, topped with cress. This was served up with a fantastic dessert wine Mitchell Noble Semillon 2006.
Service was good without being fussy and I would say it’s up there with Chez Bruce up the road in Wandsworth in terms of food

Probably one of the few ‘Proper’ restaurants in Balham i.e. not a pub/​bar with food and not a themed or ethnic speciality place. Sort of French/​Modern but not mean on portions. Some ‘brown-​rice’ type stuff for the veggies but enough of a mix to keep everyone happy. A little pricey but worth it for something a bit posh.
I would buy them a pint.

This place is a real find in Balham. It’s fairly unassuming so you’d probably walk past thinking it was another of the cafes that line station parade, but it’s actually a pretty fancy (in a good way) restaurant serving local and seasonal food. Yes, local and seasonal have become almost ubiquitous anywhere smarter than Starbucks (only because we can’t grow coffee though, I suspect), but here the food is beautifully presented and tasty which is just as important to make it work.
We went for a mid-​week dinner which is an absolute bargain at £25 for 3 courses. My boyfriend ordered a la carte, essentially to be able to get cheese at the end. Everything was lovely — fantastic gnocchi in particular (though these may have stuck in my mind since my own pursuit of creating the perfect gnocchi has hit a brick wall and I can’t get past just ok), with fresh wild mushrooms and some salady stuff. I think I had pork belly because it came with black pudding — my usual achilles heel for ordering — and it was a good not-​too-​heavy portion.
Service was fast but not rushed, etc. etc. The spiral staircase to the toilets can be daunting after 2 glasses of wine. I do wish they’d make more of the bar though, it would be a lovely place to have a quiet drink methinks.

Delicious food, great, relaxed atmosphere. This high quality restaurant is child-​friendly and sources food from mainly local producers. Great wine list, categorised by style rather than price, has great new world and classic region selections. Consistently excellent!

Lamberts is a cosy little place right next to Balham station, it is ideally located, as it is easily accessible in high-​heels (if you are having a super posh dinner date, which we weren’t), and you can get as drunk as a skunk and still get home in one piece, with no trouble (which we did).
Slightly unsteady for having two cocktails at once (pre-​meal drinks down the road), we were shown to our table. We took an age just deciding on drinks, because we were so overwhelmed by the delicious sounding menu options. Finally, Paul took the bull by the horns and ordered us each a champagne cocktail, and a bottle of their Saint Chinian 2005 (to share!!) The waiter staff were very attentive and spotted every time we finished a bottle of water throughout the evening, promptly replacing it.
Eventually, we managed to decide on what we wanted to order, and vowed to share a taste of each dish.
For starters, I predicted correctly that Ben would home in on the Cornish squid, served with black pudding, confit tomato and dill oatcakes. I chose roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup, topped with rabbit ravioli and thyme oil. Angharad chose the potted ham hock and peas, with grilled spelt bread (which would have been my alternative choice), and Paul went for the partridge Wellington, plum purée and spiced jus. The latter, we were warned, would take an extra ten minutes to prepare, but it was all beautifully timed and all starters arrived within moments of each other.
For our mains, I could do nothing but chose the duck: if duck is on the menu, it is MY duck. Here, it was glazed Telmara farmed duck breast, presse of leg, smoked garlic mash, baby gem, peas and bacon. Ben went for the rare breed beef (which was Galloway) from the chargrill, chips, portobello mushroom and peppercorn sauce, and he had a side of baby gem, peas and bacon as an extra. Angharad went for the game of the day, which was saddle of deer, and came served with a potato rosti, and finally Paul chose the herb crusted saddle of Blackface lamb, garlic & thyme potato terrine with caramelised pearl onions.
We all tried all of the courses (except Angharad wouldn’t touch Ben’s starter with a bargepole, for fear of tentacles) and agreed it was the best meal we have had in a long time. I know that once Angharad gets back from her travels she intends to review the food on her blog, and so I will post a link to that once it’s up.
Finally, what is a fine-​dining experience without the gluttony of pudding that none of us really need or have space for? Exactly.
Angharad has the elderflower & crème fraîche tart, strawberry sherbert and Secrett’s farm strawberries, and I said yes! to the Amedei Toscana chocolate mousse, malt ice cream and shortbread. Ben was content with a piece of shortbread to accompany his whisky (a Benromach Peat Smoke from Speyside) and Paul and I split a decanter of port (although by this point I was thoroughly plastered and ready for sleep it was a Quinta do Tedo, LBV, 2002). Oh Lamberts, I WILL be back.
We paid our bill. Ben ate three of the four complimentary truffles that came with it. We piled into a taxi and headed home, vowing to explore our local area more in future.

Decent British food, not extremely adventurous in terms of flavour and ingredients, but I guess the philosophy of the restaurant is to use seasonal and local ingredients, which does limit the range of dishes that can be produced.
Execution was hit and miss our cauliflower soup with smoked haddock and quail’s egg was spot on, but the six hour roast pork belly was very tough, but my pan fried pollock fillet was extremely fresh and well cooked.
£20 for 3 courses on a Saturday lunch menu is not bad. In the City you pay £30+ for that, but you also do get more interesting menus and consistent execution (The Chancery is a good example). But for Balham, it is probably one of the finer and better restaurants in the area and £20 for 3 courses is not bad. A pity that the service charge was 12.5% I personally feel unless it is a very high end restaurant with exceptional levels of service, 10% is good enough.
⁰⁹⁄₀₉ EDIT: We went back here again on a Tuesday evening, and found the meal qjuite disappointing. Despite a more than half empty restaurant, our main courses took more than half an hour after we finished our starters I suspect the kitchen forgot our order. Furthermore, after enquiring where our food was, it took another further 10 minutes for more complimentary bread to be brought (and two measley slices at that!). When the food arrived, although the fish was warm, the crushed potatoes were cold. The final kick in the teeth was when the bill came and there was still a 12.5% discretionary charge still attached. Review has now been downgraded to 2 out of 5 stars.
Reviewed by The London Insider

Another one of our local restaurants that is great value for money and service. We actually spent last NYE here with a few friends and having their tasting menu which was amazing. I think we had a totoal of 8 courses paired with wine @£100 per person. Not too shabby for London prices.
We recently went here again for my husband’s 31^st birthday dinner and sinceit was mid week they offer a 3-​course menu for a whopping £20. However, we opted for the a la carte which is still very resonable. To start I had the cornish squid with dill cakes and then moved onto the Telmara Farm Duck Breast, Pressé of Leg, Smoked Garlic Mash, Baby Gem, Peas and Bacon for my main — so tasty. I’m not usually one for peas but the bacon with babygem combination just worked so well.
The stafff here are always friendly and helpful and I’m glad it’s a little gem of Balham and not some chain restaurant. A must try, even if you need to venture a south of the river!

Great locally sourced food, incredibly helpful staff — I can’t recommend highly enough.
I cam for a birthday and the owner came out to reccomend wines to compliment everyone’s choices, we had beautifula nd unusual cocktails to start and it felt like a really special occasion.
Sunday lunch menu looks like a bargain!

This is one of the best restaurants in London to my mind — and I’ve eaten in a lot — and definitely the best one south of the river. Joe Lambert has done an amazing job and his staff are the last word in excellence!

This is one of the best local restaurants in London and serves food which is just as good as many of the top central London restaurants.
If you’re a SW london person i recommend Lamberts over Chez Bruce and it’s worth the trek if you’re not a local.

Brilliant restaurant tucked away on the Balham High Rd. Good for special occasions — the food is very very good and of a high restaurant standard. Service is also excellent.
The most impressive aspect of Lamberts though is the price. It’s a Michelin level restaurant (although it doesn’t have it’s star… yet) but it’s incredibly good value.
Don’t let the location put you off — highly recommended but book in advance.

I reckon this is the best restaurant in Balham right now (Chez Bruce is better, but it’s in Wandsworth Common, not Balham).
Great food, good service and not bad value.

This is a sensational eatery, and a rare breed of restaurant. A British restaurant that is devoted to celebrating our fine cuisine, sourcing local, seasonal ingredients. It is always refreshing and inspiring to find somewhere that devotes their menu to seasonal changing produce.
Located just near Balham tube station, this is really one of South London’s hidden gems. Well, Gordon Ramsey does live in Wandsworth so there should be amazing restaurants to entice the locals.
Their menu includes yummy celeriac and chicory starters, nut roasts and for the carnivorous of you partridge pies and venison sausages. They also offer an amazing selection of Niels Yard cheeses to round off your meal.
If you are passionate about food, and eating the seasons, then this is a great place for you. You’ll be parting with around £30-£50 for a three course meal, but it really is worth it.

Great fusion restaurant just south of Balham Tube, offering a European style menu in clean and classy surroundings. The service is friendly and the wine list extensive. Add to this great food and a relaxed romantic atmosphere, and you’re talking about one of the best kept secrets in Balham.
With dinner deals at £16 for two courses, and some seriously good steak for meat lovers, this place isn’t going to break the bank either, so instead of heading into town for the pricey, poncey places, try this place on for size.