Claire's reviews
Review of Green & Blue
11 Aug 07, 10:27
Fine wining & dining 
This wine-bar-meets-cafe-meets-off-license-meets-deli has taken over the spot that used to be occupied by Vinifera but has a million times more appeal and atmosphere than that place.
It's the Clapham outpost of an idea that originated in Dulwich and their USP is great wines from small producers so you get loads of things that you won't see anywhere else - like a Pinot Noir from Luxembourg - but although the wine is fantastic, it's not all about the booze.
During the day, it's more of a cafe with organic coffee served with croissants stuffed with Serrano ham and Emmental for breakfast and then, throughout the day, a selection of really delicious things - it's like someone has gone to Borough Market and scooped up a load of the best things - from olives and cornichons to cheese-stuffed chillies, crab meat on chunky bread, and huge platters of cheese, meat, fish or vegetables, all really reasonably priced.
Four of us had a great meal, sharing two bottles of wine and four of their platters, and it only came to £15 a head. Apparently they've just started doing brunches and roasts at weekends and I'm really looking forward to sampling them.
In addition to great food and wine, the staff are lovely - friendly and enthusiastic, and knowledgeable about what they sell.
Top tip: go down on a Tuesday night when all their wine is sold at off license prices. (And, if you don't know your Merlot from your Muscat, they also hold wine tasting classes.)
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Review of Apex Cycles
10 Aug 07, 15:11
Freewheeling 
I'm presuming these people must be suffering from the fact that Evans has just opened virtually opposite but I implore you to pick 'em over the big chain.
I've got an old bike I bought cheap off a mate for £20. The front brake stopped working; Evans told me I'd need an entire new brake handle that would take about a week to order in, and that it would cost about £35 including labour and parts to fix it. They offered a full service for £55.
Apex looked at it, told me they had the screw/washer it needed and it would cost £1.50. They fitted it for me there and then for nothing, helped me sort out the rear mudguard for free and told me that their services cost £42 but that that it wouldn't be worth paying that much for my old bike.
I know where I'll be going back to.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Blue Pumpkin
07 Aug 07, 00:12
Can't work out why but it doesn't work 
For some reason, this place doesn't quite cut it and I can't work out why.
All the elements are there. There's a decent wine list, the food is fine, service can be a bit half-arsed but nothing dire, but it's just lacking in something.
The terrace outside is nice for a lazy brunch or sinking a few pints or bottles on a sunny afternoon, but local residents mean it's all inside fairly early on.
Inside, it's just a bit bland - part formal dining room, part bar with squishy sofas and low tables. Kind of a paint by numbers place that is decidedly less than the sum of its parts - head to Firefly if you want this sort of food and drink combo, it's just better.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Paddyfield
07 Aug 07, 00:07
Tip top Thai for not many dollar
You wouldn't necessarily think this almost hole in the wall joint would be capable of serving up some of SW's best Thai food.
The prices are rock bottom, you can bring your own booze and the restaurant itself seems little more than a narrow corridor.
Don't be fooled. The food that emanates from the kitchen in the bowels of the place is second to none. Delicious filling soups served with fresh chillies and beansprouts, pad thai which doesn't look like a congealed mess of noodles and curries that perfectly blend creamy with sweet and spicy. The flavours are crisp, clean and delicious.
Service is swift and friendly and, if you book in advance, they'll happily seat big groups, making it an affordable celebration for a large number, or equally, a mid-week treat when you can't be arsed to cook.
And for almost the same price as a McCrap Meal. I can't fault it.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Tagine
06 Aug 07, 23:59
Rocking the kasbah
If someone spirited you to this place with your eyes shut, you could easily be fooled into thinking you were in Marrakech (but for the lack of a 4 hour flight, and the presence of The Bedford opposite).
Low slung tables and seating, Moroccan chandeliers and a beautifully tiled bathroom all conspire to convince you that you're just round the corner from Djemma El Fnaa.
As you might expect, the menu offers predominantly tagines and cous cous, but make room for some of the delicious mezze style starters with flatbread to start with.
The food is delicious, the service is friendly, the lighting is, like the seats, low, and the ambience seductive. Plus, with a BYO booze policy, the bill isn't too unpleasant either.
Bag the big table at the back on the right, lounge in sybaritic fashion on the sofas, and wistfully think back to the old days when you were allowed to smoke shisha there. Damn that smoking ban, you'll have to drink mint tea instead.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Bucci
06 Aug 07, 23:50
Family style Italian
This is one of those places that people who've just moved to Balham take their folks when they've come down for the weekend to help them move house.
It's a reliable well-priced traditional Italian with great pizzas as well as the usual pasta offerings you'd expect. Staff are lovely, welcoming, friendly and always up for making a fuss of someone if it's their birthday - whether they're 9, 29 or 90.
Food is usually served quickly and piping hot, and the place just has a really warm, relaxed feel. Whether you're looking to linger over a few bottles of red, or have a quick bite before heading out, if you're after Italian, Bucci is an infinitely better option than the slicker, more modern Raviolo round the corner.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Marzano
06 Aug 07, 23:41
Non e bene 
This is the sort of Italian that makes me want strangle the owners with their own spaghetti. It's not even worthy of being called an Italian - it's on a par with the likes of Spaghetti House but has pretentions to being Strada.
It's the Northcote Road equivalent of an Angus Steakhouse on Leicester Square, luring in people who don't know any better only to serve them inauthentic, poorly executed crap masquerading as Italian food.
Expect rubbery mozzarella (and that's before it's been cooked), over salted and over cooked pasta and other renditions of Italian food that would reduce anyone, Italian or not, to tears.
You'd be better off buying a lasagne from M&S down the road and zapping it in the microwave.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of La Pampa Grill
06 Aug 07, 23:36
Steak it out
I'm sorry Fiona B had a bad meal here. A lot of people had recommended it to me and I wondered if it could live up to expectation, but I really liked it.
Went with a group of friends on a Sunday evening, place was quiet but still had atmosphere, mostly brought about by helpful staff who didn't seem to object to our noise levels and even encouraged us by bringing the birthday boy a shot of traditional Argentine filth.
There are no frills here when it comes to the decor - you kind of get the feeling you could be sitting at a long scrubbed table on a ranch somewhere in South America (well, you do if you have a slightly overactive imagination).
I'm picky about my steak and was impressed with both the cooking and the tenderness of what I'd ordered. Great chips, decent veg and a fruity red to wash it all down with.
No complaints here. Price seems fair for what it is and where it is. It's cheaper than the Gaucho Grills but less pretentious too. Vegetarians will hate it. And starve.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Falcon
06 Aug 07, 18:48
Al fresco boozing 
For a pub that's not on the High Street, this place does a good job of pulling in the punters.
Service is variable and, while the Thai and trad food is decent enough pub grub, the reason people make a beeline for this place is the beer garden.
There are tables out the front, if sitting on the main road is your thing, but most make for the back garden and hover in the hope that they'll be able to dive in and claim some space as people leave.
Occasionally you'll have to speak up as the Eurostar rattles past, but if you want some al fresco boozing, it's a good bet, especially when it's quieter on a sunny mid-week lunchtime.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Duke Of Edinburgh
06 Aug 07, 18:16
The secret garden of Brixton
Right, from the outside, this pub looks like the sort of place that you really shouldn't go in unless you've got a bull mastiff and lots of tattoos.
But, as they say, looks can be deceptive. Inside they seem a friendly enough bunch and it's pretty publike with TVs to watch football, and pool tables to chase balls around.
However, the really exciting bit is the absolutely humungous beer garden out the back. Alright so it's kind of close to the railway line but it's massive - you just don't get beer gardens this big - especially in London. The added draw of a barbecue means it can get busy on weekends, but if you can't be arsed to heft a picnic hamper to the common, this is a good place to be.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.