Rosie's reviews
Review of The Balham Tup
29 Jul 07, 14:28
poor 
This place has somehow gained a reputation as a good place to watch sports.
The problem is the screens are in really bad places. There are pillars obscuring views and it is really, really busy on match days.
The beer is also really expensive. I can name a few supposidly upmarket places nearby, where you can get cheaper beer.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Bedford
29 Jul 07, 14:25
So many gripes
This review, like the above, is based on just the pub. The gigs, banana cabaret and quiz nights are great.
My gripe is with the pub. The Bedford still refuses entry if you arrive after 11 and the bouncers aren't the nicest. Of course, if you are organised enough to get there before 11 you can go to the club night, but the bar downstairs close at 11.20.
My second gripe is the meals. The Bedford likes to think of itself as a gastro pub. It starts serving at 12.30 at weekends. Once I arrived at 12.20 and they wouldn't let me order because they were still "printing out the menus". When the menu had been printed I went to order, but was told to sit down and someone would take my order. The waiteress went round to the tables, apparently in the order people arrived in the pub - so much for a quick bite to eat in the pub.
The stuff on tap is not much to write home about either.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Goat
29 Jul 07, 14:15
Nice place for after work drinks 
A former O' Neills pub, the Goat is a sprawling drinking den, beloved of people who work in the area.
There are lots of continental largers on tap as well as bottled beers, alchopops and ciders. Food is served on the Mezzanine level.
The only drawback with this place is, like many places in Clapham Junction it can get rather overcrowded, especially at weekends.
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Review of Balham Bowls Club
29 Jul 07, 14:09
A bit different
This place serves decent lagers in a mocked up bowling club.
Before it became BBC, the building was a disused bowling club. Now they've done it up with features salvaged from a bowling club.
There's a good choice of continental lagers available, and you can also order food. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and its never been too busy when I've been in.
My only disappointment is the outdoors drinking - I'd hoped for a pristine bowling green, but the beer garden is rather shabby.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Nightingale
27 Jul 07, 18:35
Yummy mummy haven 
Balham is a haven for yummy mummies and this is the place they hang out (though the Fat Delicatessen is itching to steal that particular crown).
Seriously, this building was derelict for years so its great to see it back into good use as a cafe. The interior is quite modern now and there is also space to sit outside.
It's a pretty regular suburban cafe, having said all that. It sells fairly decent coffee, smoothies, milkshakes and herbal tea among other things. You can also get paninis, light bites and soup of the day.
It's open quite late for a cafe, which is worth knowing.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of My Back Pages
26 Jul 07, 13:30
Great place to get lost in a book
My Back Pages is an independent bookshop that sells both new and second hand titles.
It's quite a big shop and has thousands of books of all types crammed into its bookshelves. There's lots of different sections, such as travel, biographies and children's books. You'll find quite a lot of stuff that's out of print and you can pick up some bargins too.
The owner is very helpful and buys second hand books, although he's quite selective about which titles he buys.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review of As Nature Intended
25 Jul 07, 16:30
Lots of choice - but a little on the pricey side
This store has been a real hit since it opened in Balham last autumn.
Located in a former Iceland store - its range of products are as big as any small high street supermarket. The main difference is that all the food is organic.
Like most supermarket it has fresh produce, wine, tea coffee, diary produce, tinned food and more. It also has non-food products, such as health and beauty items or cooking untensils.
The best thing about As Nature Intended is that you get a lot of stuff that you would not find anywhere else locally. Vegetarians and people with particular dietary requirements will find more choice than they would get elsewhere.
Unfortunately, this comes at a price - the fruit and veg sold here is incredibly expensive, although for some reason, other products are much more compeitively priced. Look out for their occasional offers, which makes shopping here less of a financial strain.
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Review of Chadwicks Butchers
25 Jul 07, 16:19
Organic food heroes
This place stocks carefully selected meat from livestock that is reared naturally.
You can get all the usual stuff here... beef, chicken, pork and lamb cuts, plus mince sausages and other products. They also sell cheese, chutneys and soft drinks, among other things.
Be sure to check the blackboard outside for special offers!
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Review of The Firefly
25 Jul 07, 16:13
Retro chic for an older crowd
The first thing I noticed about this place is that everybody here seemed to be having grown up conversations - but once you get past that, this place is alright.
There's lots of funky lampshades and wooden cladding - feels a bit like a singles bar in 1970s Stockholm. Sticking with the 1970s theme, this place also has a reputation for doing good cocktails, though I have yet to try any.
Food is served most of the day and evening, with Sunday lunch a Firefly speciality.
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Review of Blithe Spirit
25 Jul 07, 16:07
Going downhill rapidly
When I first moved to Balham, this place was a firm favourite.
It was one of the few places in Balham you could get decent continental lager - I sampled Fruli, De Koninck and Lapin Kulta for the first time in here. The food menu was also pretty good, but the best thing about Blithe Spirit, for me anyway, was the no smoking area.
Now, there seems little point in coming here. Gone are the continental beers, replaced by more run-of-the-mill Kronenberg and Stella. And now everywhere else is non-smoking. Also, the decor's not as nice as Balham Bowling Club and other places in Balham.
Still - BS still has a couple of assets, late night drinking and a decent beer garden.
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