Lamberts

A great independent neighbourhood staple.

Simply outstanding!

Food was delicious, with courses changing according to season to ensure good quality ingredients are used. Drinks menu was standard so nothing much to comment on but their service was very friendly and the staff were happy to give suggestions on dishes to try and if the order was enough for the party. Decor gave off a clean and fresh look with wooden features softened with comfortable side booth tables at the back where we sat. Ambience was nice and perfect for a relaxing yet trendy dinner catch up. The value is slightly higher than average for a normal dinner out but the dishes packed such a good impression, I would not hesitate to dine there again!

What an amazing lunch......in Balham of all places (I'm joking so don't get too upset) Went for lunch on Saturday, and whilst the restaurant was not the busiest, we were in awe of the food and the service at Lamberts. Oh, and the wine list is not too shabby either. I won't bore you with the details of every single course we ate, as I think you should go and see for yourself. Love love love this place

We live fairly locally, had heard this was a restaurant worthy of 'special occasions' so as foodies we finally went with high expectations. Disappointing considering all great reviews, but then we do cook and have high standards. Started with fried coley and a ham hock with barley which was fine but frankly would have been better as a main. Both were served in pottery that you would expect in a tapas bar, nothing like the beautifully presented dishes in photos associated with this restaurant. The same goes for the main. We both ordered lamb MP which turned out to be barnsley chops. Swimming in a watery gravy/jus though perched on cooked al dente broccoli. The best part of a barnsley chop are the ends, these were missing, and any fat on the lamb was not crispy. Extra order of triple cooked chips were delicious. Wine list was very strange. Service and atmosphere were fine. If we lived walking distance we would return occasionally but certainly not for a special occasion!

Lambert's is a cut above the other restaurants in Balham, offering great quality seasonal food with a menu that changes monthly. It's not the cheapest place but the set menus offer great value and the a la carte is reasonable given the quality of the food. Whilst the restaurant layout and decor feels fairly formal, the service is relaxed and the restaurant usually has a nice buzz to it.

I've been to Lamberts a couple of times. Once for lunch on a Saturday with a group of friends and once on a Saturday evening with my other half. Both times the food was of very good quality and very nicely presented and this makes it great value, as it is about half the price of nearby Chez Bruce, whilst being of equally good quality. The service is nice and friendly and not at all stuffy, which makes for a nice relaxed meal. The wine list is good and with the desserts we went for matching dessert wines for each dessert, which were exceptional. We will definitely be back, but more likely in the evenings when it is mainly couples and groups of friends, than the daytime, when it's was rahter full of large tables of noisy families.

A couple of Sunday’s ago myself and my daughter (owners of food blog Livelifelovecake.com), decided to round up the family for Sunday lunch at Lambert’s on Balham High Road. We were greeted by friendly staff who took our coats from us and showed us to our table. The restaurant isn’t very large, fairly cosy, which is nice and we couldn’t hear other people’s conversations so we didn’t feel on top of other people. The decor was nice and fresh with paintings on the wall. We took a while to order as we couldn’t make our minds up and unfortunately a couple of items were off the menu. For starter I ordered Middlewhite Pork Terrine with chutney and toast. It was like chunks of cold pork pressed together with aspic. I wasn’t a lover of this although it did taste fresh and the chunks of pork were nice, but I would prefer a pate or parfait. The toast was a little hard and I was worried I may cut the inside of my mouth on it. The chutney was tasty and went well with the dish. I opted for the Rare roasted Angus beef for my main meal – my first choice would have been the pork, but they had run out. This was served with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnip and topped with a large Yorkshire pudding. Gravy and horseradish sauce was provided on the side.The gravy was a little on the watery side for me, I like it thicker and I found the carrots were rather cold. The potatoes were lovely, hot and quite crispy and the parsnip was nice too. The beef was done very nicely and cut fairly thick, a little gristle and fat but I suppose it’s what’s to be expected from a joint. My husband had lamb and I wished I had ordered that as it was tastier than my beef. For my dessert I had hot chocolate fondant served with homemade Meantime stout ice-cream. Our first choice for all of us bar one was the white chocolate cheesecake, but this had run out along with the apple crumble which they replaced with pear. But the chocolate fondant was very nice, it was fresh and light, not too stodgy and plenty of hot chocolate oozing out of the middle. On top was a serving of Meantime stout ice-cream which was rather tasty and a pleasant change to the usual vanilla. I had a little of my husband’s pear crumble which was very nice too and lashings of hot custard. This was all washed down with a bottle of fresh tap water and we picked a lovely white wine, The Wing Walker Voignier 2010 Alpha Domus, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand which I can thoroughly recommend. It was so fruity, very much like a Marlborough which we all love. Sunday lunch at Lambert’s is available from noon until 5pm, two courses £20 and three at £24. A good price I think so well worth a visit. They have an À la carte menu for the evening as well as a set menu and also a weekday lunch menu. We enjoyed our meal – it was a shame that a couple of our first choices weren’t available but our meal was booked for late afternoon – and wouldn’t hesitate on returning. Living life, loving cake A & H x

If you'd like to go to Chez Bruce, just up the road, but want to spend half the amount but get food that's not far off being as good, then this is a really good choice. Service is pitched nicely, sort of casually formal, and always very friendly. The menu is consistently interesting and not too long, and nearly all the food hits the mark. Sometimes the odd dish is served lukewarm, or something doesn't quite work, but these are exceptions and I keep coming back.

We live locally and are regulars at this restaurant. The food is reliably good, the menu varies enough to be interesting. The wine list is interesting, varied and caters for all budgets. The evening crowd tend to be couples and small parties while weekend lunches have large/multiple families and large groups of younger people enjoying themselves. It bills itself as Seasonal British and that is fair and accurate but this is not just a menu for those with an appetite for the old fashioned or traditional – the menu usually include conventional favourites such as Rib Eye steak (the best cut imo) and Pork Belly as well as some slightly more unusual choices. They do several excellent themed menus per year, for example nose-to-tail pig once and a whole menu from the catch of a fishing boat that landed at Hastings that morning on another. The sourcing of food, wine and spirits is all done with enormous care. In the good old days when Lamberts did breakfast the bacon, sausages and black pudding came from three different suppliers! Usually I am ambivalent about black pudding but theirs was just delicious. I had my birthday party there once and we were served the best Chablis I have ever had. I tried to buy some from the importer only to discover that it cost significantly more than I normally spend at home – so the mark-up in the restaurant must have been very modest. Many rate it as the neighbourhoods' second choice after Chez Bruce. I like CB but think Lamberts is actually better and cheaper too. The midweek dinner (and lunch) are amazing value.