The Best Restaurants in Balham, Greater London, United Kingdom (2025)

This may be the BEST Chinese restaurant I have been to in ages. The atmosphere is super vibey, drinks are amazing and cheap!, and the food WAS TO DIE FOR, I mean, high-level quality food - I ate every morsel of food on my plate I had to loosen my belt! New favourite local spot - will be back weekly! The staff were super attentive too and always preempting your needs.

Debbie was a great waitress. She looked after us very well. Really recommend the won ton and sesame prawn toast. Also the Lamb Massaman but worth noting it comes with rice.

I am a new customer as I have only ordered from here twice but I am a fan of this place already. Really friendly staff - even when they are busy and excellent, authentic Chinese food. They were a little bit late when with my first take away because they were so busy but they gave me a free pint of Asahi in way of apology. In summary - nice people, nice food.

I had a fantastic experience at Balham Social Restaurant. The service was exceptional, and the entire staff was incredibly friendly and attentive. Special thanks to Vandana, who went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect—her warmth and professionalism were truly exceptional. The food was delicious, and the overall atmosphere was pleasant. I highly recommend this restaurant for great food and excellent service!

I had a wonderful experience at balham social restaurant the service was exceptional, with all the staff being incredibly kind and attentive. A special mention to Vandana, who went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect—her warmth and professionalism truly stood out. The food was delicious, and the overall atmosphere was welcoming. Highly recommend this place for great food and outstanding service!

Instagramable environment with beautiful flower arrangements on the ceiling. The food is modern Indian and was great, the cauliflower starter was probably the best. The curry’s were good and the sea bream nice, all at friendly prices. If this restaurant was in Mayfair people would cue up and pay double.

We loved our experience at Balham Social! The food was outstanding and delicious! I wasn’t sure what to get and our lovely waitress recommended the Social Chicken Curry which was a 10/10! The chicken was tender and went very well with the rich but light sauce. The service was also spectacular (they gave us a Christmas cracker to celebrate the holidays) and the ambiance was cosy and pretty! I highly recommend it and will definitely be back 🥰✨

So this was a last minute decision for my partner’s birthday.. and we are so glad we went here. Highly recommended!!! Food was delicious, prepared fresh, affordable and tasted incredible. Drinks were amazing too. We could not recommend this restaurant enough. The chef and the lady serving us (sorry forgot her name) were super lovely!!! They even surprised my partner with a free dessert for his birthday. This was such a nice touch. We are definitely coming back and we are bringing family and friends with us! Can’t wait to visit again! Thank you for such a lovely evening. You made his birthday extra special!

What a lovely restaurant! I’ve often walked past and finally decided to go for dinner. The staff were very friendly and food fresh and tasty. It was my birthday so the chef gave me a complimentary desert which was very kind. I had the sea bass and my partner the aubergine moussaka. We’d recommend both. It wasn’t very busy which was surprising given the restaurant is a real asset to the Balham food scene.

Was looking for brunch spots in Balham and came across blue fig, hadn’t really heard of it hence giving it a try. When we arrived we were seated promptly as it wasn’t massively busy, the waitress attending was very friendly and attentive, the menu was decent unfortunately a few things we wanted to order were not available. The food itself was reasonable the frittatas were particularly nice. It’s a decent spot to visit, the lack of items available let it down a bit.

Travelled up from Wales and booked last minute. Absolutely fabulously tasty food and we'd definitely return. Service was timely and friendly and the chef popped out too to say hello. Such a cute place, loved everything about it - including just a few paces from Balham tube station.

Really liked the place. The attention was amazing and the food as well. We went during "brunch" time on a Saturday. Still a good choice for drinks and food. I'll come back

We've just moved to Balham and we've already been here twice. Very tasty food, excellent service from all waiters (last time we had Bat and he was 5*) and cozy atmosphere. Will definitely come back again.

my boyfriend and I went to celebrate our anniversary and had the most fabulous time! the staff was incredibly kind and warm. the food and drinks were amazing! 10/10 will go back, great spot for balham

We had the most delicious birthday meal here. The food is a mixture of Spanish tapas and Mediterranean meze dishes. The highlights were the borek and the calamari but everything we ordered was excellent. The staff was just as amazing as the food. Serhat was friendly and attentive and added to the experience. I would 100% recommend Betto. We will definitely be back.

Visited to collect my order from 2good2go. Waiting time was quite long for that kind of service but that's because they were preparing all the food for me. It just doesn't happen with 2good2go. It was on expensive side thou. I'm not a massive sushi fan, but I can eat pretty much everything. I usually get sushi from chains like Sushi Gourmet or Wasabi and this food was so much testier, you can tell they know what they do and are good at it. Food was fresh, had many flavours, and I wanted to eat more. Liked bao bun and aubergine in particular. Also it’s nice looking place with good atmosphere and simple design.

The best sushi I’ve had in London. Without a doubt. You see the chefs make it on the counter in the restaurant and it’s as fresh as it looks. Can’t believe this little place is so under the radar down in Balham here. The miso aubergine was next (next) level, closely followed by the butter fish nigiri. Also recommend the kudasai roll and baobuns. Go all in. It’s worth it. Super friendly service. Comes out hot and fast. And you get a cheeky little fortune cookie to mull over on the way home. Top work all round.

We went for the bottomless and it was absolutely delicious. The portions were huge and the quality was exceptional. I’ve eaten at a lot of expensive, fine dining sushi restaurants and this food was on par. Fantastic value for money, and we left super contented and felt we had an amazing experience. Highly recommend and will return!

The food here is delicious and worth the visit. We had a selection of gyozas, spicy chicken bites, sushi, sashimi, bao buns and miso aubergine. The attention to detail and presentation of the dishes is second to none. I'm going to try the bottomless menu next time!

The interior design it's quite amazing in my opinion. Great hot chocolate and atmosphere was straight up relaxing and relatively fun. Great for studying, reading a book or for couples to have breakfast/lunch.

A very welcome quality food store in the neighborhood. All items are of the highest quality and the customer service is outstanding. This is a great spot to get food gifts also.

Finally found good Pasticciotto outside of Puglia. Coffee is typical Italian style espresso but it’s the pastries that make the place.

Lovely cafe - amazing pastel de nata, lovely service, great coffee and overall could not be more welcoming atmosphere

I recently got takeaway from Libano, and I absolutely loved the food! From the start, the service was fantastic—they really made a great first impression. I ordered a selection of starters, including hummus and the aubergine dip with pita bread. All the dishes came with a side salad and rice, which were both amazing and perfectly complemented the meal. For the main, I had the mixed grill, and it was incredible—the lamb and chicken were cooked to perfection and bursting with flavor. My only wish is that they included more of that delicious rice because it was seriously to die for! I also tried their homemade lemonade, and it was so refreshing. Overall, the service was excellent, and I’d give it a 10/10. I’ll definitely be coming back to Libano!

Delish food lots of choice and lovely vegan and vegetarian options also. Service was very friendly and great. Really cost feel to restaurant. Highly recommend trying it.

We ordered a bunch of mezze to share and all of it was delicious. Atik was also a fantastic server who looked after us very well. Will be coming back 100%!

Amazing Family run restaurant that make you feel welcomed. Food is amazing and the staff are very friendly. Never had a bad meal here. Really recommend this place. Space is limited so can be busy and sometimes there is a wait. However worth the wait.

The people are lovely that work here. I love there salads and they make great flat whites. I tried their vegetarian breakfast and it was delicious with it's North African inspired flavours. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a cheerful delicious meal!

I’ve only ordered from here once and enjoyed the food but nothing beats the service and ambience inside the cafe. So lovely and accommodating and service with a smile throughout. The food was delightful and I cannot stress enough how amazing the service was.

The shakshuka here is absolutely divine! Incredible large serving size as well. Cozy atmosphere. Great brunch spot.

Excellent meal in busy restaurant. Highly recommend this place. Only complaint is when you pay by card the minimum service charge is 15% - maybe I'm just old and usually give 10% - 12%.

My son and his girlfriend are regular visitors at this wonderful restaurant . We went on a Sunday afternoon and the place was busy and full of atmosphere . We all had different dishes and they were all unbelievably tasty . The owner Giuseppe was a great host with a lovely warm and friendly personality. I can't wait to go back and try more dishes . I shared a tomato pizza and a garlic pizza to start with, followed by seafood pasta and finally a delicious pantone and butter pudding with vanilla ice-cream. This is definitely the best Italian restaurant I've been to in years. Thank you Giuseppe for putting quality food in our stomachs !!

My husband and I had a fantastic time at this restaurant today. All the dishes we had were beautiful and the customer service was great. They were very attentive and it made a difference. Also the setting was intimate and personal. We will certainly be back and will recommend. Thank you.

Lovely spot for some fresh authentic Italian food. Had the bruchetta pizza starter, which was spot on. The seafood marinara was packed with flavour, and the pasta was cooked to perfection. The homemade tiramisu was a great way to end it. Would definitely recommend

Fantastic flavours, impeccable service - all around a wonderful experience. My dad has memories of Nepalese cuisine from his childhood, and he was very impressed. The food had delicate flavours, and you could taste each and every spice that they had added to the meals. Even more importantly, the food was not oily like you might find in other places. Overall, the quality and flavours were wonderful. Especially recommend the momo cha and Kathmandu pork. The service was brilliant! I was really impressed - the waiters took the time to explain and recommend dishes in detail and engaged in lots of friendly conversations with us. It was a lovely dining experience - my dad said he felt special dining here. They took care of us in a way that he said felt like the old British dining experience. Will definitely return!

Hidden Gem in Balham! Top value, service and quality. Just wanted to share a review after our delicious meal at Gurkhas tonight. New to the area and stumbled across Gurkhas. Really impressed with the 5-star service and amazing Nepalese cuisine. We tried the Spicy prawn crackers, lamb Momo Cha, Kukra chicken curry, Bhuteko Bhat rice and garlic bread and could not fault any of the dishes. Highly recommend and will definitely return! Thank you ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Little known gem in Balham, food was spot on! Authentic Nepalese food, momos were so good and the roasted pork and chicken with spinach sauce was so tasty and well balanced. Service was so friendly, typical Nepalese hospitality! Cannot give 10 stars on here but well deserved

Honestly I do not know why it's taken so long to try this restaurant - I'm so impressed! My partner and I popped in after seeing their 21st Birthday offer of 15% off the bill and we will definitely be returning; the service was excellent, all the staff were so friendly and professional and the food arrived quickly; food was really fresh and nicely seasoned and the menu included a lot of options. Even without the discount, the prices are really reasonable. 100% recommend this little Balham gem!