The Abbeville
Contemporary British 67-69 Abbeville Rd, Clapham, London, SW4 9JW
££
Cosy neighbourhood pub 'The Abbeville' may not seem like the most obvious choice out of the vast selection of restaurants on Abbeville road, however it would only be foolish to underestimate it.
The Abbeville wins on two accounts: quality gastropub grub and lovely location. In the Summer months, The Abbeville offers a half price lunch in August, where the doors are thrown wide open for some alfresco dining in the sun. In winter, the interior is warmed with open fires, and they recently offered half price food again through January - winter warmer indeed. Only tiny thing to note is that it's not the best place to come and watch the sport: the pub has two bar areas and lots of seating, however the TV is positioned in the front bar, which can get cramped very quickly and you will most likely have to stand.
I have eaten at The Abbeville on numerous occasions and can only recommend the food here. Recently, I've been reluctant to try any other starter than the Risotto with Scallops and crispy Pancetta - delicious (despite the scallops being slightly overdone the first time around). Every part of this was as good as the rest - the risotto flavoursome, pancetta perfectly crispy and scallops tender and juicy. Yum yum YUM.
The mains, however, have ranged - I had the christmas Special Venison Burger back in december which honestly is the best burger I have ever had - and that is a bold statement. Perfectly pink venison with blue cheese and cranberry sauce, with a side of sweet potato fries - delish. I also rate their Beer Battered Hake - much better than the trendy fish and chips across the road at Kerbisher and Malt. The Pork Belly Special they had in January was great also; a ginormous portion still managed to be elegantly presented. The only main I've had here which didn't fully 'wow' was the Duck Cassoulet - although cooked well, the beans could have had slightly more flavour and the dish ended up getting a bit samey after a while.
The drinks here are expensive, but no more than your average London pub - £5.50-£6.00 a pint/glass of wine. With the food half price you can definitely afford a few bevvies to go with it. The dessert list is within the £5.50 range too - I've only tried the Irish Cream Chocolate Pot with Honeycomb Ice Cream, but I would strongly recommend getting this if you haven't filled up too much already.
The Abbeville takes Tastecard, meaning that you can get half price food out of the selective months. I would have no qualms paying full whack for the food here, given the quality, but when you can get it so reasonably priced it makes things even better! From a weekday dinner to a Sunday lunch, the Abbeville has more than enough on offer, so get down there now - half price or no half price!
OVERALL RATING: *****
Update June 2018: The Abbeville's current Summer Menu is BANGING. Pictured above is their traditional steak, a lamb nicoise and the best chicken bacon and avocado salad I have EVER had (top tip: add some halloumi for added deliciousness). I've also had the sea trout with prawn & pea risotto. I would recommend them all. Starters enjoyed would be the calamari and the aubergine and burrata stack, and puds the banoffe pie, sticky toffee pudding and apple crumble. Calamari is good, stack was alright - sticky toffee definitely the best out of the three puds.
https://www.theabbeville.co.uk/
