Tag: Abbeville Road

Bistro Union, Clapham

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

Last Saturday I had the most wonderful day with my friend Gaby. We met at Bistro Union in Clapham and had a fab lunch, when looked in a few shops on the way to the V&A for the Ballgowns exhibition.

Bistro Union is situated on the very cosy street, Abbeville Road in Clapham, and it is run by the team behind Trinity (often mentioned on this blog) and head chef Adam Byatt. Both Gaby and I had high expectations, but were seriously impressed.

The interior is simple with lots of old details and we found it very charming. The menu looks like an old school notebook and offers fabulous treats for not much money at all. We decided to try quite a few of the snacks to make up our meal but we are definitely coming back for a full three-course meal.

Lovely flavours in the chicken liver paté with toast.

The best sausage puffs we’ve both had, and I’m usually not even that keen on English sausages. Which says a lot.

Asparagus served with hazelnut sauce and savoury creme. An unusual but welcome combination of flavours.

The pickled mackrell with onions, sour cream and chives took me back to Sweden for a moment – delicious.

Ham terrine with homemade piccalill. I liked the terrine but the piccalilli was rather too sharp and overpowered the pork.

Rabbit and pea spread. The slight sweetness of both rabbit and green peas really worked together.

The couple at the table next to us were really enjoying their icecream so I had to try it too. This is honeycomb icecream (divine), served in a jar.

Gaby and I both really enjoyed Bistro Union and we will definitely be back soon. The food was gorgeous and we liked all the little details in presentation. It is probably the most recession-friendly restaurant for its guests too, as the prices are very modest without compromising on the produce. To illustrate this, I can tell you that our bill came to only £39 for the two of us, including everything above, a soft drink, a glass of wine, a coffee and service charge. Seriously good value for money.

Bistro Union

40 Abbeville Road

Clapham

London SW4 9NG

Tel: 0207 042 6400


Le Chardon, Clapham

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

Although I like to discover new restaurants all over London (and especially central), sometimes it is quite nice not to venture too far from home for a meal out.

On Sunday, I met up with Laura, who lives in the same area, and we went to the cosy Abbeville Road for lunch. To the French restaurant Le Chardon to take my Taste Card out for a spin.

I have been to this restaurant once before over a year ago and although we enjoyed the food, the service decreased as the restaurant filled up and we were sat ignored for 30 minutes after our maincourses. Not ideal.

They were better this time, but the service could still be smoother. It was the little things, like forgetting cutlery and ketchup, but it does a lot for the overall dining experience.

The food here is classic French bistro and not innovative or gourmet, which is nice sometimes. You know what to expect and if the produce is good and the food cooked with knowledge then it is usually good.

Laura started off with a bowl of mussels and they were big nd juice. Definitely good.

I wanted to warm up, so I chose the French onion soup which was nice with the right amount of cheesy croûtons on top.

For maincourse Laura had a whole seabass and it was perfectly prepared; the meat was tender and fell of the bone.

I chose a more carnivorous approach and had the steak (rib eye) with bearnaise sauce and chips. It was good, not great but then I didn’t pay very much for it either.

With our taste card discount the bill came to £36 in total and that is definitely reasonable, don’t you think?!