Balham shopping: Fred & Pickles (plus reader discount offer)

March 30, 2012June 6, 2015 / swishjunction / Leave a comment

If, like us, you can’t spend time on the computer without buying a little something then check out Fred & Pickles, a Balham-based shopping site. They cover a huge range of boutique brands – think LSA, Lisa Stickley, Rob Ryan and Tatty Devine – boasting products that are worthy of being at the top of the barometer and Christmas wish lists.

We’ve got our eye on the following:

Cup & Saucer 3-tier Cake Stand, £39.99

http://www.fredandpickles.co.uk

‘Tea Time’ Tea Towel, £10 (if you’ve got to do the dry, might as well make it fun)

http://www.fredandpickles.co.uk

Littala Taika Coffee Cup and Saucer Set, £19

http://www.fredandpickles.co.uk

Fred & Pickles is offering SwishJunction readers 20% off all products until 9am Friday 6th April, so treat yourselves this payday. Simply enter code ILOVEFRED in the promotions box at the checkout.

Do tell us what you end up buying…

Lamberts Restaurant, Balham High Road

March 21, 2012March 20, 2012 / swishjunction / Leave a comment

Not our first visit, Lamberts is a bit of a bi-annual treat. A tad too expensive to make it really regular and like all good things, you don’t want to overexpose yourself and tire of it (though we doubt that’ll happen).

The excuse of a 6-month wedding anniversary and a new food season was enough to lure us back into the small, comfy confines of Lamberts. A couple in front of us hadn’t booked and we’re trying their luck at getting a table. Fat chance; Lamberts is consistently busy, especially at the weekend. It doesn’t require a long pre booking period like Chez Bruce, but calling a few days ahead is recommended.

We love a few consistent aspects about this place. One is the bottle of filtered (and free, might we add – none of that tap water snobbery here) water plonked on your table upon arrival and continually filled throughout your meal. Two is the friendly staff on hand to help you through the wine and food menus. A fondness for red wine had stalled when headaches began to occur only after a glass. After explaining this the waiter recommended a Pinot Noir – Les Templiers – one of their cheaper bottles. Still a smooth, light taste but without the acidity that seems to leave a furry taste in the mouth (oh hello morning after…).

Onto the food. We excelled ourselves with 3 courses PLUS cheese. The starters we sampled were Langoustine from the specials and Selsey Crab, Potato Pancake and Dill Picked Quail’s Egg. The langoustine was all in its unshelled glory, claws and everything. If you’re not into getting your hands a little dirty and working for your dinner then don’t go for it. (Apologies for the out of focus starter pics!)

The main course had that great combination of gorgeous presentation but impressive portion sizes – we defy you to feel hungry after finishing your plate. The side dishes are, at first impression, on the small side but as ever, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.

Most visits here involve the consumption of red meat – the quality is some of the best in south west London for the price you pay. Our choices tonight were rump beef (32 day aged, no less – although we can’t pretend we know what this means) served with bone marrow, Dauphinoise, glazed carrot and heaps of horseradish – homemade, we’re guessing, as it was quite creamy and not too eye-watering. The venison haunch (sorry Bambi), potato rosti and beetroot fondant felt more autumnal but still delicious – kudos to getting fresh beetroot that soft!

Dessert: the sorbet was fresh and zingy (a great excuse for dessert when you’re not really that hungry) and if you fancy a mixture of sweet and sharp, go for the doughnuts with forced rhubarb (forced? why? were they picked/cooked against their will?) is a good option.

All in all, if you have a spare £100 (ahem) then you could do worse than treat you and your fave person to a dinner here. Their lunches are often good value too, if you’re sensible with the add ons; we once took advantage of the ‘3 courses for £20’ but we forgot to budget for booze. £80 each later… ahem again.

Lamberts Restaurant, 2 Station Parade, Balham High Road, SW12 9AZ. Enq: 020 8675 2233.

Milk, Hildreth Street

March 16, 2012June 6, 2015 / swishjunction / Leave a comment

Formally Le Petit Bistro (which admittedly we never visited), we tried to get into Milk during Saturday lunchtime to no avail. We ended up at The Fat Deli (which will be posted in the near future) but Sunday brunch was a success. And then cake…

Hildreth Street is a little hit and miss if we’re being honest. There are a couple of great spots – Fara, The Wine Tasting Shop, Bunka Boutique – but there are far too many closed-down shops on that route, which is a shame because as a pedestrianised spot it could make a really great shopping spot. Hopefully the recent addition of the weekly Hildreth Street market will encourage this.

Anyway, back onto Milk. It’s a small setting but they’ve made the most of it – cramming tables in but you don’t ever feel like you’re on top of each other. The kitchen area is impressively small; they obviously have a bit of a slick operation going on to produce and serve cooked food to hungry punters. The brickwork and wallpaper are very shabby chic indeed; like a big family kitchen in the country. There’s some space outdoors without having passers by squeeze past – it will make an ideal people-watching spot come the warmer months.

Their menu is modest, offering mostly egg-based brekkies. A lot of their menu seems to offer classics with a twist; omelette with feta cheese nestled between the spinach and mushrooms, and banana bread with passionfruit.

Their breakfasts feature sourdough bread; light and spongey and great for mopping up the orangey yolk. The presentation of all the cooked food is beautiful – try and spy the English breakfast on the serving spot by the kitchen in the picture above. Nice garnishes like rocket and vine tomatoes that compliment the food rather than overwhelm it (hello corriander/parsley etc).

Eggs Benedict, omellete, a pot of tea, cappuccino and a slice of banana bread came to £22; pretty similar to other Balham coffee spots. We like. Just go before 1pm to grab a table or be disappointed.

PS: they seem to have an occurring theme of dolls heads dotted around the place, and on the menu. When asked why, the answer was “because it’s fun”. OK.

Enq. Milk, 20 Bedford Hill (Hildreth Street).

Tiger Lilly Florists, Balham

March 14, 2012June 6, 2015 / swishjunction / Leave a comment

A short but sweet (and pretty) post. It’s nice what a 6 month wedding anniversary will bring. This beautiful bouquet is from Tiger Lilly, a mixture of gerberas, tulips, eucalyptus and the most beautiful smelling white roses. Pictured below is the bouquet upon delivery, then a day after with a little help from the sunshine.

For a more economically sound way to brighten up the living room we’ve taken to buying a fresh bunch of tulips from Petals in Balham each Saturday (on Hildreth Street facing the main high street), plus Sainsbury’s in Balham always does a good deal on daffs that seem to last the week. Hurrah for Spring…

Enq: Tiger Lilly, 3 The Boulevard, SW17 7BW. 020 8675 5454.

SJ revisits The Vintage Event

March 12, 2012June 6, 2015 / swishjunction / Leave a comment

We made our first visit to The Vintage Event since November and it made for a fun afternoon browsing. Making an appearance every second Sunday of the month at the Balham Bowls Club, February’s slot saw a wedding themed fair that went down very well. This month’s didn’t seem to have a particular theme but was chock-full of the usual clothing, accessories, furniture and miscellaneous items, plenty of which had good deals – £10 each, ‘2 for £15’ on items of clothing. Personally we’re more partial to home products and handbags – we’re not built for most vintage items – we could spend hours browsing items that are much easier to store/wear.

Particular favourite stalls include one held by a lovely lady named Barbara. She has spent the last few years cultivating a collection of brooches (above) and household items (she didn’t name her sources, fair play) to sell on. Among her collection we spotted a lot of glamourous gaming fare – Patience cards set, two packs of cards presented in an ornate box, poker dice, olive forks, fancy teaspoons and sweetie tins. Our little buy from this stall? This floral tea caddy, £6. No, we don’t need it, but that’s hardly the point.

The other notable stall this time is Joanie’s Junk, particularly the bags. Lots of detailing and handles featured; nothing you’ll really find on the high street.