Restaurant Review – The Abbeville Clapham Abbeville Road
(we used the Eat Out To Help Out Discount to dine here. Check out this post for more Clapham Abbeville Road restaurants taking part in this deal)
Hello! Today we are off on hunt of Lunch. We visited The Abbeville on Abbeville Road, Clapham.
Where is The Abbeville Clapham Abbeville Road?
Clapham Common is in South London, on the Northern Line tube you could get off at Clapham Common station . If you are driving then there are a few places you can park on Abbeville Road but they are pay for parking. Just make sure you aren’t parking in a residents only parking area.
Outside The Abbeville Clapham Abbeville Road
Abbeville Road is a lovely road in Clapham. It has a good selection of houses and flats but, more importantly, it has a number of shops including a Co-op, Sainsburys local and an independent butchers. The road can be a little busy. The Abbeville puts some tables outside on the pavement so you can sit outside in the sunshine if you’d like to.
Inside The Abbeville Clapham Abbeville Road
From the outside it looks like The Abbeville is a pub but it becomes clear once you are inside that this is a restaurant that also has a small bar. Its a bit like a Tardis in that once you walk past the bar you see that the restaurant extends much further than you’d think! There is a nice skylight to help let light in and artwork up everywhere.
The Menu
The waitress brought over the specials board and also gave us a paper menu. An interesting point they made was we could keep the menu as they were recycled after use, rather than re-used. It did mean we could check out the desserts during the meal rather than ask for the menu again at the end.
The Food
The menu has a ‘Gastro-pub’ theme. There was your pub standards like Burgers or Steak but also sea bass and calamari. When you added the specials to it there was enough for us to choose from and to not have to go for just chicken in a basket.
Starters for Ten
How can I not order the Chicken Wings? You know its what I was going to order! I must admit, I was a bit worried I might not like the lime and chilli dip but there was no need to worry.
There were enough wings for a starter portion and the dip really was a complement. It did not have the heat/spiciness that some Chilli dips have. This made the chicken wings and enjoyable starter to commence the meal, not a small dish to defeat before you are rewarded with the main course.
The scallops tempted my dining partner. They were cooked well and the kitchen was happy to alter the dish slightly at our request. They added some additional onion puree in case you are wondering while it looks to have far too much!
The Mains Event
Lots of options to choose from. Today I really fancied a burger so I went for their burger. It came with a brioche bun (as all gastropub burgers must have) and a cup of fries. This is exactly what I wanted. Well, if you read my reviews you know i don’t usually want a bun and in all honesty today I just forgot to ask for it without!
The burger was cooked medium – if you want it cooked more then do make sure you ask. It also came with a tomato relish, gerkins, and some lettuce. The cheese was melted perfectly.
If I had a complaint about the burger it was going to be the bun. You can see from the photo below that the bun is almost 2/3rds of the offering. Usually I have no bun but even eating only half the bun here was too much for me. If you are a fun of brioche buns then I think you’ll enjoy this.
My dining partner really loves pies. One of her biggest disappointments is when a restaurant sells a ‘pie’ but its just a stew with a pastry hat. We did ask the waitress and she advised that their chicken pie was an encased pie. For that reason, she ordered that.
I must admit the pie looked a bit strange and much flatter than I imaged it would be. This did give it the appearance of a home-made pie. The Kale was also a decision making item and was very tasty. If you were in ever doubt to get the chicken pie, then you should get it and you wont be disappointed.
Look at the pie! You can see how it looks home-made! The gravy was also a silent star of the dish, and although the chicken pie had a ‘white’ gravy, it worked really well on the plate.
Cost of Lunch at The Abbeville Clapham
During the old Pando’ there are two things affecting restaurant prices. We have seen a reduction in VAT (I covered this on this blog post) on food/drinks. On £20 worth of food/drinks this would work out at about a £2.50 ‘discount’. On top of this the government are offering a ‘Eat Out to Help Out‘ 50% discount (up to a maximum £10 discount). I knew that both of these would bring down the cost of our meal.
The total bill after the EOTHO was just under £35. This included the water on the table and a couple of drinks. Before the discounts this would have been about £55 so a good amount off.
The Reverend’s Final Thought
If you are looking for a bite to eat while in Clapham then The Abbeville has a great choice of options. Although Abbeville Road is a bit of a walk from Clapham Common tube station, its worth the walk as there are a few pubs, a ‘Gails’ bakery and the Ginger Pig butchers
The food was excellent at The Abbeville and as we left the waitress advised that they would be looking to extend the discount in September – this wouldn’t be backed by the Government (unless something massive changes) so it is The Abbeville trying to make an offer to the people who might still want to visit.
Check out my other Clapham restaurant reviews here https://thereverend.co.uk/tag/clapham/
Check out my other restaurant reviews here https://thereverend.co.uk/category/food/restaurant-reviews/