La Bonne Heure

French

31 Abbeville Road, Clapham, London, SW4 9LA

££

Located on much loved Abbeville Road, La Bonne Heure is an authentic and cosy French Restaurant with killer food at affordable prices. There is another branch of La Bonne Heure, located in Paris and run by the father of the owner of this branch. In this sense, you really do feel like a slice of Paris cuisine and family cooking has been brought over.

I have dined at La Bonne Heure countless times, and it remains one of my favourite restaurants. Their menu changes seasonally, but if you get the chance to have any of the following, you must! To start, I would recommend the Garlic Snails or the Herring with a warm potato salad (both £9). If the Lobster is available for main as a special you simply must have it, it is very well priced (£27) and much nicer than any other Lobster I have tasted before (la di dah). Like any decent French place, the Steak (£19) is always a good shout here, as is their Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb and Duck Confit (both £17).

The atmosphere and service are like the restaurant itself: family friendly, modest and warm. I recently went to La Bonne Heure for brunch and the chap serving us was effortlessly lovely, a real delight. All the staff working here are French which does help to add to the authentic feel of the place, the wine list is extensive (as any good French places should be) but not excessive (as some French places are).

To finish, I would recommend either the Chocolate Mousse or Creme Brulee (both £7), although you're guaranteed to get some decent cheese here also. A top tip would be to try and nab a seat outside on a Sunny Day if you can: the surroundings of Abbeville Village and terrace of the restaurant itself could fool you into thinking you'd stepped out of the other end of the Eurotunnel in Paris itself.