Author: swishjunction

The Hamlet, Streatham High Road

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A one minute walk from Streatham Hill station, we learnt a few facts upon entering The Hamlet; Streatham means the hamlet on the street, or ‘street ham’, hence the namesake of the town and bar. We visited over the Jubilee weekend and it was deserted. Yes, we chose bar dwelling over standing on Southbank in the drizzle to greet our Queen.

We stayed for lunch. A few thoughts on our experience:

*The service was wonderful. We were greeted by the owner, Elsa, who recognised us as new to the area (was it that obvious?). She asked our names and remembered them throughout our visit. Service may well be different when the place is packed to the rafters but we felt welcome and appreciated.

*The decor is quaint. Printed wallpaper on the ceiling, antique lampshades, squashy leather sofas. A very cosy setting for a leisurely drink – we felt right at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The drink selection is very spirits-based. If you like your cocktails you’re in for a treat. Ditto wine. The prices are competitive, but of course you can always take advantage of happy hour. Our daytime visit meant we stuck to draft beer, of which the range was limited. But it’s a bar, and the drinks selection reflects that.

*We ordered roast beef, plus sausages and mash. The roast came with courgettes as a side veg – a very odd addition (we’re a big carrot/pea/parsnip with our roast, though). The meat was thinly sliced and the meal was ‘ok’, but like beer, certainly not their strength. The sausages were plump and tasty (gristle-free) but the mash was a little salty. For the price we paid (around £10 per meal) it was a little disappointing. We haven’t tried their dinner menu, so we can’t comment on that – it could arguably be a lot tastier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We won’t be put off, though. We can tell The Hamlet has its strengths – it prides itself on its DJ and other social entertainment, so we’ll be back soon for a stiff cocktail and a mixed sharing platter to feast over.

Reviewed: Sunday lunch at The Clarence

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Sunday lunch at The Clarence is all we know – we’ve visited in the evenings occasionally, but not since their revamp last year. We always thought it looked good but each patch of wall is covered in some artwork, or even the weather forecast. (Did we take pics? No, that would have been far too organised. In our defence it was the final day of the Premier League so our attention was elsewhere). They’ve also added a pizza oven and menu to boot (yet to try – let us know what you think if you have). They’ve banished the small outdoors space and replaced it with glass roofing, which brightens up the corner but can be a little stuffy in the sunshine.

They have table service which is both convenient and lethal. You barely need to move except for toilet breaks, so standing up after copious amounts of alcohol is lethal. Their Sunday roast menu is short but we always think that’s a good sign – an overloaded menu means less attention is spent on the dishes, yes?

We had beef brisket and pork belly. One consistency is their portion sizes – you will NOT go hungry (unless you’re Adam Richman of Man v Food fame, of course). The plates are piled high, as demonstrated here. They serve their condiments and gravy separately too, which gets massive bonus points (we’ve not met anyone who doesn’t get grumpy over allocated gravy portions).

The meat was excellent quality – no mean slices of what you’d otherwise find in the school canteen or a shop sandwich. Heck, with the creamed leeks they made greens interesting! They’ve got a good selection of beers and their wine glasses are a good, big size (this is important). The downside? Table service can sometimes be harder to navigate than simply queuing up at the bar – we had to fight for attention a couple of times, and we never got the dessert we ordered (we never paid for it either, at least). As mentioned before it was a particularly busy day so we’ll cut some slack but it’s worth noting.

The roasts cost around £12 each max, and so far this is the best value roast we’ve experienced.

Enq. The Clarence, 90-92 Balham High Road, SW12 9AG.

Flowers: Sherree Francis, Streatham

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Always a delight to receive flowers, especially when they’re this beautiful.

(Shame the reason was illness but what can you do). The purchaser of these gorgeous blooms reported that the florist at Sherree Francis was very helpful. We wouldn’t know the price, it’s rude to ask, but we’re guessing it’s not on the cheap side.  Several days on, the flowers are still thriving – we love the dusky, delicate colours. It’s a right pain when we have to take them out of their cellophane… Upon looking at their website we note they also deliver champagne and food hampers – now that is a weekly delivery we’d like every Friday…

In fact, SwishJunction found itself in a ‘first world problem’ situation this week as we have just one wide vase but two bouquets of flowers delivered (told you). However nowhere in Streatham seemed to sell a simple, wide vase. We lacked the energy to pursue it further… if anyone knows of a shop that sells home furnishings like this we’d love to know about it.

Reviewed: Earl Grey & Rose, Streatham Hill

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On our first ever walk up Leigham Court Road towards our new flat, we passed this quaint little cafe-cum-jewellery shop. The bottom of this road is a random combo of the usual shops – newsagents, barbers, charity shop and a restaurant called the Dorchester that looks like it’s in a time warp (we’re SO visiting there soon).

Earl Grey & Rose sticks out – the pale blue shop sign, windows stuffed with looks-good-enough-to-eat cakes and bakes (just as well, of course). We’ve lived in Streatham for a month and this was our first opportunity to visit.

No detail has been spared – you’ve got bunting, jam jars, rows of teapots and homemade chutney (more on that later), and a miss mash of shabby-chic tables and chairs, not to mention Radio 2 in the background (pleasingly it was Tony Blackburn’s show, which fitted the vintage feel rather nicely).

So, food. We had:

*Brie, bacon and avocado sandwich (£4.50). You could choose between white, granary and rosemary/olive oil bread, and toasted or not. We went for rosemary/olive oil, plus toasted (who can resist the melty texture of brie?).

*Ploughman’s (£7.50)  – choose between a huge variety of cheeses, then whether you want it as it is or half and half (that’d be with a helping of ham).

*Strawberry cupcake. Choose between various basic but delicious flavours, all made that day – lemon, blueberry, chocolate etc. All delicately decorated, as you’d expect…

*We washed it down with Victorian Lemonade and elderflower cordial – hardly their fault, but I always think these bottles are way too tiny for the price sold and the amount you really want. I’d finished mine before our food even arrived.

We only waited around ten mins for our orders. Everything was in huge servings, garnished with soft lettuce leaves (none of the leftover stalky stuff you’re reluctant to gnaw on), and a syrupy honey/mustard/balsamic style dressing. When we say huge, we mean it. Check out the HUGE chunks of ham!

Delicate enough to tear apart easily with a fork, there was actually another layer of the stuff underneath the lettuce, pictured. The gherkins and pickled onions were a fab traditional touch, and the homemade chutney was sweet with a pleasingly sharp aftertaste. You can buy the stuff to take home, too.

The sandwich didn’t lack any ingredient, and the bacon was also substantial and fat-free. Quite frankly, we were too full for the cupcake but we did our duty and gobbled it up. See, strawberries all the way inside too…

Our lunch came to just under £20 – we won’t need to eat until dinner now. It wasn’t as busy as the likes of Lavish Habit, which surprised us. Perhaps because it’s not quite in the hub of Streatham, we don’t know. Do make a visit though. The relaxing environment let us take a step out of our hectic lives, if only for an hour…

Enq: Earl Grey & Rose, 1 Streatleigh Parade, SW16 1EQ.