Balham Bowls Club

AlexWoods

Best pub in Balham. Hands down. 21st January 2009

3 found this helpful

I love the Balham Bowls Club! It took me ages to find and then brave it, as from the outside it can look pretty non-descript. I'm so glad I did.

Not only do they have the most charming and efficient bar staff in London* but the atmosphere, the whole quirky, idiosyncratic feel of the place is just lovely. Not too pretentious but absolutely unique.

It feels cosy and welcoming, while being quite a spacious place. There are leather chairs, wooden pews and benches and all sorts of unexpected items of furniture, and a little bit of random bowls paraphernalia, tucked away here and there. It's sensitively lit while not feeling gloomy and there's something curiously intimate and romantic about the place.

The clientele seem on the whole pretty decent and inoffensive. You have to endure the odd Rah in collars and pashminas talking about what a, you know, like sariously orrrr-sum time they had in En-fair-Nose last night, but such is life.

The music they play is just fantastic and most importantly, it is background music! It doesn't attempt to be heard over/drown out the pleasant sound of a good pub; it just complements the atmosphere when things are quiet. Kudos my friends. Well done!

They don't have a vast selection of drinks on draft but I admire that. I know people have different tastes but, on the whole, if you have one standard and one premium continental lager, a cider, stout, bitter and one "other" (Hoegaarden if my memory serves me correctly?) then you've pretty much catered for any one (other than those who won't be happy anywhere) And the wine list is pretty good.

The BBC keeps a very good Tim Taylor's Landlord, of which I am a fan. And frankly there is little point in living in SW12/17 unless you like Tim Taylor's Landlord and is nigh on the only beer not brewed by Youngs that you can get.

I don't like the food.
"No!" I hear you gasp!
"Is it because it's a little bit pretentious and over priced but if you were being fair you'd be forced to admit that it's actually very imaginative and interesting and People like that kind of stuff?"
Yes. Yes that's exactly it. It's just so fussy and noncy and would really make me excited if I saw it in a restaurant. But not in a pub please?
Basically, as I've said before and I shall say again, life is too short to poach quail eggs.

How ever, I shall let this flaw pass, docking but one star for the fact that one can't get a sandwich, because in every other way the place just rocks. (And the food is actually really interesting! But don't tell anyone I said that.)

I think I've covered everything. Apart from the massive rooms with pool and snooker tables (for members only. Membership is about a quid I think. And there's no need to pay in advance) front and back beer "gardens" (which shan't win awards but they are, like the rest of the pub, comfortable and quirky), and did I mention that the staff are charming? I think they also do book clubs and chess clubs and fight clubs (from which I'm now, presumably, banned), something to cater for everyone! Think of it like the Bedford but shrunk down to a sensible size, but where everything is nice rather than horrible.

*This may be an exaggeration, but not much of one...

Browners at 22/01/09

I'm a big fan of the BBC as well. And love your paradoy of the rah. Cringe.

Top review.

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mario

Unique.. 11th March 2008

2 found this helpful

Quite a unique place, but all the better for it. Totally unmatched, old and worn furniture (seemingly what was left over from when it was an actual Bowling Club), but somehow it works and makes for an incredibly relaxed and comfortable place to have a drink.

They also do something they call "international tapas" and some bar food, but I haven't tried that yet so can't comment. Noticed that they just opened one of the additional rooms as well, with a couple of pool tables in it, which appear to be in regular use already.

And last but not least: it has free Wifi!

Browners

Surreal Pub 5th December 2007

3 found this helpful

After getting smacked in the eye playing squash with Cowie, the best course of action seemed to be a trip to the local boozer. We'd driven past The Balham Bowls Club several times on our little missions to Waitrose and I've wanting to go there ever since.

It's essentially a converted bowling club with all the paraphanalia that I imagine goes with a bowling club house, including a sign saying "All visitors must report to the secretary's office". It whets your appetite and makes you wonder whether you're actually allowed in!

The BBC, as it's known to the locals, is full of nooks and crannies, retro furnishings and reminders that it used to be a bowling club! We settled into a comfy corner booth and supped on a gorgeous pint of Timmy Taylors for me and a vintage looking gin and tonic for Cowie.

I've fallen in love with the place and can't wait to go back for more than just one, solitary pint!