Gazette

Absolutely awful. Never felt the need to write a review for a restaurant before but was bitterly disappointed. Unattentive waiter, salad drowned in acidic dressing, overpriced menu and we were seated near the toilets and kitchen which wouldn't be a problem if the floor didn't 'bounce' every time someone walked past - which was often considering where we were sitting. Avoid!

My husband & I had dinner at the Gazette last night - what a lovely experience. I ordered the Beef Skirt & Shallot Sauce and it was absolutely delicious - rich in taste and prepared to perfection The wine and beer list was extensive & exciting - which was refreshing to see in Balham. It's definitely on my list of favourite restaurants in London & I can highly recommend it. The atmosphere was relaxed & unpretencious and the service was perfect. The Gazette will definitely see us again.

This place should work, but just doesn't.

A set lunch should be sharp and simple. The soup was a disaster...no evidence of a stock, insipid, under seasoned and worse still, lots of it. Mains were slightly better but way over salted and seasoned, perhaps to compenasate for the soup? Service pleasant but very slow.

As a Balhamite, I'd like this place to succeed, but they are going to have to sort out the kitchen. They've been going too long to be echoing the flaws noted in early reviews.

Friends and I had an excellent New Years Day Bruch at The Gazette in Balham. This is a really nice restaurant, with a very warm and inviting feel. Unlike other reviews my experience of the staff was very good. They were friendly and attentive despite a busy service.

I am a big fan of the eggs Benedict – which they do very well and at a reasonable price. Friends had the ‘Full French,’ and an omelette both of which were again very good.

The only negative was the iron metal hot place my eggs were served on. This affected the taste of the eggs a little – a plate would have been fine, but really this is quite minor.

Balham has a lot of restaurants and this is certainly one of the better ones, great food, good ambiance and friendly attentive staff. I think the lunch menu for the quality of food is very good value. I haven’t eaten dinner there yet but look forward to trying it out. I would definitely recommend The Gazette.

What a fantastic bistro. The Gazette is one of our favorite places to eat along the Balham High Road. We usually eat the eggs benedict and their chips which are double cooked and to die for, the food is served in rustic style saucepans and on boards, lunch here really does feel special, not only do they offer cooked meals but there is also a brasserie. The Gazette has a rustic yet modern and clean feel, good ambiance, low lighting and comfy dining areas, it is very child friendly without being too noisy. Service quick and polite, staff always making sure you have a glass of water free of charge, which is a nice touch. The food did not arrive straight away and this is a good sign, it shows that it is all cooked fresh. I would strongly recommend The Gazette.

Food was 50/50. The mussels were not good, served completely dry with none of the cooking liqueur. The chateaubriand was lovely, and the pepper sauce great (despite asking for bernaise!) but the service was very slow and quite unfriendly. eg we asked what ciders they had, the waitress asked "do you like sweet ones?" When we said "yes", she replied "well we don't have any like that." It put us off quite a lot!
2 hours for a 1 course lunch and £135 for 3 people including beer and cider and a coffee to finish. Overall, wouldn't recommend.

Looks good from the outside but we got a very surly welcoming and he just pointed at a table to go and find ourselves. We waited a long time for food and were amazed at how small the kids portions were - when we asked for a bit more mash the waitress said "you'll have to pay for that" - nice. Very miserable staff and they make you feel like you are imposing. Avoid.

If you discovered gazette as the local village bistro on a holiday in France, you'd be raving to everyone back home about how good it was and how it was a shame that places like don't exist in london.

My expectations were low as at the previous Gazette I had also had problems with the service. However, I had a fantastic meal with my wife last night and food and service were good. One thing worth mentioning is the excellent beer list - I had a saison (La Chouffe), a belgian tripel (Vivat) and a trappist (Orval). The staff were friendly and efficient and this place is back on my list for meals in Balham!

Since the refurb / move, Gazette is now a spacious and vibrant destination. Two of us shared a terrine platter with warm cheese with artichoke, country / mushroom pate and fois gras pate. All very yummy.
It came with a large basket of bread which the (lovely French!) waiter was happy to refill. We only had tap water to accompany, but we were never offered a refill. I realised on the way out that they are part of Taste London, and I wish I had seen the sign sooner as it would of made the bill much more reasonable. Gazette is a lovely spot to meet friends for a leisurely brunch or supper. Will def visit again.

Dishonest and disappointing.

I went to Gazette with my (9 months pregnant) wife last Friday night. I'm a member of the Gourmet Society, and according to their website, you can get 2 meals for the price of one. There were conditions, to use the card on Fridays you need to book on the day, and mention that you'll be using the card. I did all of these things, and the man I booked with said it was fine. All good. However, when we went to Gazette and ordered our meal the waiter looked a bit blank at us, and went to find the Manager. When I showed the Gourmet Card to the Manager, it was met with a Gallic shrug and a 'we don't do that'. He then turned on his heels and walked off, and we never saw him again. We were made to pay full price for our meal.

I am very disappointed with the way we were treated in Gazette. It is dishonest, pure and simple. It's a shame, as we've recently moved to a house about 10 minutes walk from Gazette, and we would definitely have gone again, and would have recommended it to our friends as the food was really good. However, all I will do now is tell everyone how rude, dishonest and money-grabbing they are at Gazette. Their loss.

I visited Gazette in their old location in Balham and used a Taste London card to take advantage of a 50% off offer. Had I not used it, I don't think that it would have been very good value for money. I'm a sucker for steak tartare and Gazette's did not disappoint. It comes to the table "unmixed" and the waiter kindly offered to prepare it for me or prepare it myself if I wanted. I chose to prepare it myself and it was delicious. It was so fresh and had a perfect mix of cornichons, which I love.

The wine list is very comprehensive and offers a wide variety of wines, not just French which is nice as I often don't enjoy French wine.

As noted with other reviewers, the service was quite slow, but I've learned to accept that in most restaurants in the UK, and on the continent, especially when it comes to French restaurants.

Overall, it was a good experience and I'll definitely be back.

It's a complicated one, this, and no mistake. I agree with pretty much all the comments, good and bad! The menu's good but a but small. You'd expect that by concentrating on a small number of dishes the food would be consistently good but it's not. The surly service has improved but there are still times when you could be drawing your pension before a waiter notices you. Despite all that, on a good day you can have a truly fantastic meal here for way below fine dining prices. And the wine, beer and cider selection is magnificent. My advice is to always have the specials - which are always great - and only go when you've got time to ignore the tardy service.

The service is fairly good, although there do always seem to be a higher proportion of waiters/waitresses to customers. The new premises are very nice and a huge improvement on the old ones. The food is overpriced for what you get (£9 for a tiny salad) and they could do with extending the menu as it is a little limited, especially the lunch menu.

Do not read the previous review!!! The food is good, the wine list is amazing and the service is friendly. I have been there 4 times already and haven't found a better deal so far in Balham.

It is amazing to see how people react to critics or comments for that matter,....
It is cheap to writte a review on his own place just because the comments are not good.. You should put your efforts in making it work and make it better
The facts are that the first gazette was poor in food quality and the second is exactly the same , no surprises there!! same menu , same cook, same management so same disaster

Have to disagree with the negative review from TO - perhaps coming south of the river for a change gave them a funny turn - and the comments below. Yes it's not perfect but it's great to see someone really investing in a place in Balham & on the whole pulling it off. On two visits we've had great service & good honest cooking at decent prices. Keep ip the good work Gazette!

I think that the service at Gazette has improved enormously since 9 months ago, and certainly deserves 3 stars rather than 2.

It used to be staffed by a particularly obnoxious waitress who would take over half an hour before bothering to take your order - who would then treat you disrespectfully.

Thankfully, she appears to not work there anymore, and the new staff put a lot of effort into being friendly and polite. They should be given credit for this.

The new premises has given the restaurant a boost, with a bigger kitchen, and smart furnishing.

I think there may have been some teething issues with the new premises. I went there in the first week after opening and they got my order mixed up. However, the last 2 times I have visited, there has been no problem.

I welcome the addition of a smart establishment on what would otherwise be a slightly shabby section of the balham high street.

I think they should observe how le pain quotidien in Wimbledon village is run, and emulate them slightly. If they keep putting the effort in, this could be a fantastic place to eat.

Fantastic Meal - the best I have had in Balham in a long time. Service was a little scattered, but we put this down to teething problems. WIll be back for sure!

The reviews are no surprise to me. The old Gazette offered appalling service and indifferent food, so why should the new one be any different. God knows why anyone would go here when there are so many good restaurants in Balham.

I LOVE THE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE even though i am not a chocoalcolic, it is to die for - however the SERVICE IS BAD- the waitress were doing the 'mise en place' while i waited with my friend for 15 min to be asked to order some food (they ignored us completly) i had to ask a waiter to take our order otherwise i would still be there. very dissapointing when they have just opened they should take care of their clients first before their apparence. But the souffle was sublime!!

Went here last night. Service was poor, food had to be sent back as it was cold, chips were overcooked and veg arrived after we had all eaten our main. Had to share an ice bucket with another table who had their dog sat on the chair!Dreadful experience staff poorly trained and no cutlery replaced between courses. They agreed to reduce the bill by 20% but in view of how expensive it was will not be returning.

Food cold, and turned up in dribs & drabs, they can't cook steak to order & the chips were burnt- not Belgian style, just burnt & soggy. Other patrons had a dog in the restaurant. Had to share a wine cooler with the table behind us. Not value for money. AVOID. Worse meal we've had in ages.