The Bedford, Balham Review
In March, ONIN.London were invited to stay at The Bedford in Balham. The much loved pub has recently had a multi-million-pound refurbishment that includes an £80,000 state-of-the-art sound system.The Grade II listed venue now features five bars, four private rooms, a ballroom and a 250-capacity live music club, as well 15 brand new individually designed ‘rock and roll’ en-suite bedrooms.
I hadn’t visited the Bedford before, but was looking forward to spending a stay-cation in the pub which has hosted some of the world’s best-known acts including Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Paolo Nutini, KT Tunstall, Michael McIntyre, Eddie Izzard and Frank Skinner.
Arriving for check in, I was greeted and shown to my room. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was upstairs compared to the loud and fun atmosphere down in the bars. The owners of The Bedford have certainly spared no expense sound proofing the rooms.
The room was beautiful but it was the bathroom my friend and I could have moved into to. It was definitely bigger than my bathroom and kitchen combined in my house. While we could have spend the evening enjoying the comforting surroundings of our room, we wanted to check out the vibe of the bar and we were getting hungry.
Downstairs in the restaurant we enjoyed the amazing Baked camembert bread bowl, black garlic, rosemary, honey (v) and Cannon & Cannon British Charcuterie for starters. Though I would have been happy with the just the Baked camembert… It was divine.
For mains, I chose the Chicken with quinoa tabbouleh, tender stem, pomegranate and yoghurt. The Quinoa was lovely, every mouthful was a delightful burst of flavour which was good because the chicken was a little bland.
In terms of dessert, we went with the special Cheesecake and the Fried Nutella Gnocchi with Banana Ice cream. Whatever you do, no matter how good the special dessert looks…. go with the Nutella Gnocchi. It is amazing… So actually just order two portions! You won’t regret it.
After dinner, we took the remaining bottle of wine into the entertainment portion of our stay. London’s longest running comedy club in one venue, the Banana Cabaret. We had some great acts on stage including John Folligan, Tony Law, Ian Moore and Shappi Khorsandi. While Tony Law wasn’t our brand of humour, we did enjoy the other acts especially Ian Moore. Given the day we visited The Bedford, there was a march against Brexit, the jokes of the evening did heavily focus on this topic.
After a great sleep in the extremely comfy bed, we headed downstairs to breakfast. Breakfast was a little disappointing. We both chose the Smashed Avocado and while it was delicious. Unfortunately my friend’s toast was very burnt so we had to send her meal back. The staff were extremely apologetic so we weren’t too bothered by this. It just meant we were able to enjoy our juices and hot drinks before we had to check out.
Overall we had a lovely stay at The Bedford and if you’re looking for a weekend staycation where there’s lovely food, great entertainment and a comfy bed… look no further than The Bedford.
Address: 77 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9HD
Telephone: 020 3976 8007
Website: www.thebedford.com
Email: [email protected]
Social media: F: TheBedfordPub | T: @thebedfordpub | I: @thebedfordpub
Written Tegan LeBon