Now there are two reasons to visit Balham, Harrison’s restaurant and the trendy new downstairs bar. This modern local restaurant opened in 2007 with Sam Harrison at the helm and is co-owned by Rick Stein and Rebecca Mascarenhas.
To celebrate the venue’s 5th anniversary Sam decided it was time to revolutionise the space, building a bar downstairs and giving the ground floor a makeover. Both restaurant and bar were redesigned by Design LSM (Galvin La Chapelle; Goodman Restaurants; Burger and Lobster; Sam’s Brasserie & Bar) who have created a neutral colour scheme with vibrant turquoise bar stools and dining chairs; rich orange, deep buttoned banquette seating has been installed in the front window area. Particularly cool are the reclaimed factory pendants with bare light bulbs hanging above the bar.
“Downstairs at Harrison’s” is a candlelit cocktail bar with intimate booth seating and a specially designed bar running the full length of one wall. The design is heavily influenced by Sam’s favourite New York bars and evokes a luxurious feel of times gone by. All furniture is bespoke with brass-edged stools and tables and black leather seats edged with brass studs. Here the lighting is dimmed and couples huddle intimately round tables. We sat at the bar and chatted to the bar staff while enjoying two of the newest concoctions, a pomegranate inspired gin based drink and a wonderfully revitalising cucumber creation.
With the refurbishment comes a whole newly revamped menu. The best of British recipes are better than ever, bold flavours with the highest quality ingredients. The whole dining experience here is simple but stylish, I even liked the vintage brown paper menus used as place mats. After some crusty bread with garlic infused balsamic vinegar and olive oil, we tucked into a faultless three course meal. Head chef, Ian Leckie presents food that is the standard of fine dining, but with a real emphasis on comfort dishes.
Lamb belly fritters with pumpkin puree and salsa verde, and salt and pepper squid turned out to be very successful starters. Despite my ambivalence for fish, I stole several pieces of ultra thin squid, addicted to the peppery seasoning and crunchy light batter. My fritters were delicious too, surprisingly not too fatty but modestly coated in breadcrumbs and served with a fresh salad and sweet pumpkin puree.
After the first course we made a pact to politely share the mains… Harrison’s meatballs with soft polenta and Aged 10 oz sirloin steak with fries. I wanted to try something from both areas of the menu, and looking around the restaurant it seemed that the Grill offerings were very popular. The meatballs were wholesome and warming with crispy sage leaves placed delicately on top… a lovely winter recipe. Polenta is a favourite of mine, but rarely found on menus, grainy textured but a much more satisfying carb than pasta or rice, and particularly scrumptious with grated parmesan as Harrison’s illustrated. The steak had a lovely flavour and the chips were ultra thin and crispy. We weren’t massive fans of the peppercorn sauce which was very thin and strong. To accompany our meaty mains we both opted for a glass of Sam’s recommended red, Ajaya Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 from South Africa.
The desserts all sounded exquisite – we eventually decided on Harrisons mini puddings with coffee, and the chocolate fondant with salted caramel ice-cream, all homemade that day in the pastry area of the kitchen. The petits fours were chocolate chip cookies, coconut and white chocolate truffles and marshmallow squares, all very tasty. The star of the show though was the fondant, oozing indulgent sauce and perfectly paired with salty caramel ice-cream – it was, my friend said, “the best dessert I have ever tried, can I have another one?”
Harrison’s can do no wrong, offering amazing food and drinks in a lovely setting. The people of Balham are very lucky, and I’d really like a branch in Acton please?
More information here.
