From fancy-feeling restaurants and cool brunch spots, to top Thai and tear-inducing spicy chicken joints, these are the best places to eat in Clapham.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Ploussard has got the kind of quietly luxurious look—wood panelling, concrete floors, artfully tousled linen napkins—that’d make Gwyneth Paltrow proud. A short stroll from Clapham Common, it draws you in off the street with lettering in a colour we’re calling French bistro red. The expensive chalet-style interiors are excellent and so are the European-leaning dishes—fall-apart lamb and anchovy crumpets, and an airy chocolate mousse with salted caramel ice cream. These might be small plates but you won’t feel small-changed by the portion sizes.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
It’s pretty much impossible not to be charmed by Minnow, a laid-back spot overlooking Clapham Common. If you sit on the pavement terrace, there are chic blankets for chilly days or evenings, and inside it’s all wicker chairs, foliage winding up the walls, and vintage glass bottles with tasteful sprigs on each table. The perfect backdrop for a mid-morning catch-up over eggs or a cosy date night over dependable European dishes like bavette or crispy pan-fried fish.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Bird & Tie has one focus and one focus only: Nashville-style hot chicken. Deep-fried pieces covered in a cayenne-heavy dry rub or hot oil, it’s the kind of tear-inducing spicy chicken that only a handful of places in London serve. And the dishes you’ll find at this small spot directly opposite Clapham Common are worth breaking a sweat over. Come here for a casual, comfortable pit stop where you can eat messily and worry about wiping your hot oil-covered hands later.
Trinity is a restaurant that’s split into two not entirely dissimilar spaces, serving British fine dining, MasterChef: The Professionals-style food. The downstairs, all Farrow & Ball vibes with duck green walls, is a pleasant enough room that suits special occasions, if you’re into delicate plates that look like they should come with a Do Not Disturb sign. While the upstairs (which is more casual by virtue of high tables and stools) is the kind of place you’d take someone who was into horse riding and burrata. Slightly stiff atmosphere aside, Trinity delivers on flavour. We once had a palm-sized, hand-raised short rib pie here that made us shed a single tear of joy.
Going to Chez Bruce is a little like going back in time via Clapham. There are twinkly, charming, suited staff who serve you warm bread. There are couples holding hands across the crisp white tablecloths. There are baked Alaskas being served all over the humming dining room. The menu is based on the foundation of classic French technique but also has some sometimes good, sometimes odd alternative flourishes—miso glaze, caponata, and the like. But in a room full of doe-eyed dates and anniversaries, it’s clear that Chez Bruce has known what it’s been doing since 1995.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Sorella is cool and it knows it. The romantic, rustic Italian-inspired spot off the high street is ideal for a first, second, or 304th date if you’re still counting. It’s lively, with a buzzy, intimate feel, moody lighting that welcomes DMCs, and a menu with creamy arancini, earthy mushroom pastas, and hearty ragus. This is a restaurant that covers all the bases: intense catch-ups over malt and salted caramel tiramisu, to a low-key meal with someone you’re trying to impress. Book a table as it’s popular and gets filled up pretty quickly.
Tempura rolls, tiger rolls, and truffle tuna rolls. This Japanese spot on Voltaire Road serves some seriously good, and kind of OTT sushi. It’s a relaxing and romantic spot, with the kind of dimly lit dining room that automatically makes anyone look 10 times more attractive. You’ll mostly see couples dotted around the spacious dining room, but it works just as well for friends celebrating birthdays with colourful cocktails in hand. Come with a hungry group or bring that person you fancy, order the kataifi prawns to start and don’t hold back on the rolls.
Soif is an absolute delight. It’s one of those great little places where you clock the blackboards and old-school stools, eye up the other guests’ white wine mussels, and instantly know that this is somewhere you’ll be heading back to you. Back with a date, back with enough friends to enable an order of the whole, gloriously juicy rotisserie chicken, and back to sample the roquefort because you’ve already filled up on pork and pistachio terrine. It’s packed full of locals on their weekly date night, and three generations making their way through three bottles of beaujolais.
A homely spot with warm, terracotta-coloured walls and friendly servers, Tumnan Thai is a neighbourhood staple that has been serving hearty kaeng massaman and crispy tempura for over 20 years. The tables are the kind of snug that’ll have you apologising awkwardly while shuffling too close to someone’s face to get out, but the cosy setup creates a nice buzz come dinnertime. Come with a small group for a long phad Thai and chicken satay-fuelled catch-up, or a casual date night when it doesn’t matter if you spill spicy red curry on your jacket.
Recreating that bustling energy of a holiday meal is no easy feat, particularly when you’re enjoying honey-drenched halloumi and kofte skewers while it’s biblical outside. But Sappho Meze Bar does its best. The Greek restaurant on Clapham High Street packs people into its small, basic space and focuses on feeding them heartily. Salty homemade tirosalata is always a winner and a plate of lamb chops on a bed of oregano-covered chips is, quite frankly, a hard thing to say no to. It’s by no means the best Greek food in London, but it’s good-value and the close-knit, jovial atmosphere make it a fun, Thursday-night-with-a-few-drinks kind of restaurant.
Tweezered micro coriander, orange gels, and cauliflower velouté poured from a teapot give the impression of boring fine dining food served in an equally dull setting. However, Sinabro, near Clapham Common, is anything but. The spot has an inviting, neighbourhood restaurant energy, and is perfect for celebrating a special birthday or just the weekend. You really want to be facing the open kitchen. That way you can watch the polished, French-leaning dishes from the monthly changing set menu being prepared. There might be a gel here and a mousse there, but dishes like tender guinea fowl and creamy rice pudding are still hearty.
