Bistro Union
British
40 Abbeville Rd, London SW4 9NG
££
Bistro Union, sister restaurant of The Trinity in Clapham Old Town prides itself on serving delicious food made from locally sourced produce with both warmth and humility.
A modern British restaurant with a seasonally changing menu, Bistro Union is located in Abbeville Village, Clapham, and fits in just perfectly. Whilst the venue is unpretentious and laid back, having the theme of a vintage classroom (all wooden desks and minimalist decor etc...) the menu manages to turn traditional laid back british dishes (fish and chips, pie and mash) into something exciting, new and... well... trendy.
I've been to Bistro Union two times in the past month, once on 30th Jan (Monday) with a girlfriend for a long awaited catch up and again today, for my Dad's birthday. On the 30th I had the slow cooked Jacob's ladder and the Hot Chocolate Pot. Whilst the Jacobs ladder was delicious, I felt there could have been more... a small square of meat lay on a portion of mash with one glazed carrot. The hot chocolate pot was an absolute taste sensation and actually had the opposite problem - don't attempt to finish one of these yourself, make sure you share with a friend! Today I had a Sirloin Steak with Twice Cooked Chips, followed by the cheese board. The chef recommended the steak medium rare (my usual choice anyway) but when it arrived it was more medium to well done... not a drop of blood in sight! Whilst it was still tender and tasty (garlic dressing is great) this was slightly disappointing as when one is paying for a steak they expect it to be cooked how they asked (and how the chef recommended in the first place)! The cheese board wasn't much more impressive... a slither of tired looking stilton and slab of brie accompanied by 6 biscuits and some tasteless cabbage chutney, £8 could have gone a lot further...
Bistro Union made it onto Time Out's best 100 restaurants in London, and whilst I do believe the food is good, I wouldn't have included it on here myself. For starters, directly across the road stands May the Fifteenth, formerly known as The Abbeville Kitchen - a restaurant which in my opinion is in a much more worthy position of being noticed. The staff in Bistro Union are by far some of the friendliest I've experienced at a restaurant, and whilst the owner of May the Fifteenth is lovely, the waitress could learn to smile a bit more (although I haven't been here in a while - maybe she has learned now). In essence, Bistro Union is perfectly nice, but I don't really get the hype.
Come to Bistro Union if you want a relaxed weekend brunch or lunch with friends, some decent food and good service. Don't come if you're expecting to be blown away with a unique or unconventional menu - if you're in the foodie mood head to May the Fifteenth instead.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://www.bistrounion.co.uk/
