Harrison's

If you’re on the lookout for fine cuisine plus a great day or night out in London, let me point you in the direction of Harrison’s owned by Sam Harrison in Balham (5 minute walk from Balham station, southwest London.)

The restaurant is co owned by Rebecca Mascarenhas and celebrity chef Rick Stein who is a household name having appeared on many cooking documentaries, most recently in his Far Eastern Odyssey which was broadcast back in July. The chef/ restaurateur holds an OBE for his services to Cornish tourism and Sam Harrison was his manager at his Padstow seafood restaurant in Cornwall for four years. To watch an exclusive interview with Stein and Harrison, visit www.caterersear­ch.com/harrisons.

Harrison’s 100 seat neighbourhood restaurant opened two years ago, in October 2007 following the success of Sam Harrison’s first restaurant called Sam’s Brassiere and Bar in Chiswick, west London (which he also co owns with Rebecca Mascarenhas and Rick Stein.) The three partners have teamed up again with fantastic results – we had a sensational meal and dining experience. Be sure to make a visit here soon as you won’t be disappointed.

Harrison’s is an attractive modern European restaurant and bar with an upbeat contemporary brasserie feel. The sophisticated black and orange light shades caught my eye when I walked in, as did the customers enjoying their meals in view of the open kitchen where you can see the chefs at work preparing the food.

We were greeted and looked after very well by restaurant manager Steven Godby and assistant managers Theo Vannawa, Matt Guthrie and their team-all of whom were very friendly and charming.

To start with, the vegetable soup I ordered was fresh and hearty. I’m a big soup lover and this soup tasted wonderful.
For the main course, I opted for penne, with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, basil and ricotta. I really enjoyed this dish. It was bursting with fresh flavours and was nicely complimented by Rick Stein’s own label red wine. I also sampled the wild sea bass with brown shrimps which was cooked and seasoned to perfection.
For dessert, I chose the healthy fresh fruit pudding but couldn’t resist trying some warm chocolate brownie! (What can I say? It looked and smelled so good! And yes it tasted mmm!)

The menu focuses primarily on modern British brasserie food and the restaurant opens for breakfast through to late evening dining and drinks. At the weekends, breakfasts and brunches are served from 9am. There is a brasserie and set lunch/evening menu and daily soups and fish specials. There is a separate bar food menu for less formal dining, while the Sunday lunch and children’s menu also make it a perfect family restaurant.

There is a wide selection of beers, spirits and wines available. Be sure to sample Rick Stein’s Australian wines with your meal, there are plenty to choose from! (Plus don’t forget with the close proximity to Balham train station, you can sip away to your heart’s content without the burden of driving home!)

There is also a very sophisticated downstairs bar available for hire which proves a very popular venue choice for many party occasions. Check out their website for pictures and booking details. You can also see the Harrison’s Christmas menu and book those big festive parties online.

I would like to thank all the restaurant staff for their wonderful service.
My full compliments also, to head chef, Dan Edwards for the wonderful cuisine and diverse menu. I will be sure to return again to sample more glorious fish specialities.

Friendly, smiley and chatty staff, all with good English. Some of whom even were English. So not a bad start for any restaurant these days. Predictable menu executed pretty well, there is a steady hand in the kitchen. Proper, tasty homemade burger, and steak of decent quality, and well-presented. Top-notch Bearnaise. Braised lamb shoulder with borlotti beans looked good but braised means the meat should pretty much fall apart; perhaps this was not cooked for long enough. Some of the prices are a tad too high – £8 for a a few small slivers of salmon carpaccio (advertised as “raw salmon with soy and ginger” so was rather expecting sashimi-style tranches, so disappointing – but nice fish) – and £17-odd for a small rib-eye steak (which ought to be an oxymoron). The bar is good for cocktails, which were well-made and reasonably priced. The wine list is OK, if lacking some inspiration, and prices not bad. Only one bottled real ale which is a shame (albeit much better than none!). Tables for two are a bit small, and a number are too close together, but otherwise, and overall, they have made this modern, brasserie-style space an attractive place to spend time, and I would recommend it.