The Lawn Bistro

A good addition to Wimbledon. Good food and a particularly good wine list with many interesting wines at sensible prices. Friendly and efficient staff and a decent atmosphere. The food is a shade pricey for what it is, but at least the vino is better value.

Another welcome addition to the Wimbledon restaurant scene, coming hot on the heels of the Fox & Grapes nearby. Having been dominated by chain restaurants, Wimbledon village now has two excellent independents based on my first visit there. The place has clearly hit the ground running – it was difficult it was to get a table (although it was Saturday night) and the restaurant had a real buzz to it and a very nice atmosphere. The staff were pretty good – clued up on the menu, smart, attentive (have only scored down as one bottle of water ordered never appeared) and the food was excellent. I started with a spinach salad – much tastier than it sounds – and shared a cote de boeuf with my wife for main course. This was excellent – very well cooked and a very good piece of meat. The chips were good – real chips made from a potato thank goodness (as opposed to terrible packet things). We skipped desert (being pretty stuffed by then), but the table next two us had a baked alaska which looked amazing (and I regretted not making the room for!). The bill was £110 for the two of us (no bottle of wine, just a glass or two), so i guess that's about par for the course these days in London. Given how much we enjoyed it, that felt like reasonable value. Would certainly recommend the restaurant and I wish them every success – we need more like this to keep the ‘non-chain’ choice growing.