The best restaurants in Clapham
A Michelin star on the Polygon, a family-run newcomer on Abbeville Road, Robin Gill's Italian on Clapham Manor Street and a gallery lunch off the High Street. Where Clapham books a table, and what to order when you get there.
By Clapham London Editorial
The best restaurant in Clapham is Trinity at 4 The Polygon in the Old Town, and the smart move is the four-course lunch. Clapham eats well at every level, from a Michelin star to a slice in a former public toilet. These are the tables we book, street by street, with what to order when you sit down.
Trinity, 4 The Polygon
Trinity is Adam Byatt's restaurant, now run day to day by chef Harry Kirkpatrick, and it holds a Michelin star. It has been on the Polygon since 2006 and is still the room Clapham books for birthdays, anniversaries and parents in town. The format is simple: four courses, chosen from a short list. The menu is £105 at lunch and £155 at dinner, with an extra course for £15, and lunch runs every day from 12.15pm. Expect dishes like Dover sole Veronique and Fosse Meadow chicken, then finish with the Clapham honey souffle. Book ahead for weekends. If you want the kitchen without the ceremony, Trinity Upstairs does sharing and small plates in a more casual room above.
Maai by Nikita, 33-35 Abbeville Road
The newest name on everyone's list. Nikita Pathakji, winner of MasterChef: The Professionals and Great British Menu, cooks UK produce with the flavours of her family's Indian heritage, while her mum Rima runs the floor and her sister Isha runs the bar. Time Out gave it five stars. Order the halibut in Malay fish head curry, start with the cuttlefish doughnuts, and share the banana pudding. At the bar, the buttered popcorn old fashioned. Ask for a table by the patio doors on a warm evening. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, opens for dinner on Wednesdays, and runs from noon to 10pm Thursday to Sunday.
Sorella, 148 Clapham Manor Street
Robin Gill's Italian is the neighbourhood place that feels like a night out. Order the homemade ricotta with truffle honey (£6.50) and the tagliatelle with pork and nduja ragu (£17.50), then the caramelised white chocolate cremoso (£8.50). If you would rather not choose, there are two chef's menus at £55 and £65 a head. Book online, and call ahead for groups of seven or more.
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, 1A Nelsons Row
A restaurant in the lobby of an art gallery, just off the High Street, from the team behind Bistro Freddie. Chef Michael Miles cooks fresh pasta, charcoal-grilled meat and fish and a menu that changes often. Small plates run £10 to £14 and large plates £15 to £28. Lunch is Wednesday to Sunday, dinner Wednesday to Saturday, and booking is advised. The cafe is walk-in, so a coffee and a look round the gallery is a good afternoon too.
The Pig's Head, 87 Rectory Grove
A pub in the Old Town that eats like a restaurant, from the team behind Smokehouse and the Princess of Shoreditch. Nikita Pathakji calls it her favourite pub in Clapham. Take her order: the tartare, the beef dripping chips with chicken salt, and the Pedro Ximenez affogato. On Sundays it is one of the best roasts in SW4.
Knife, 160 Clapham Park Road
Clapham's steakhouse, a Clapham Park Road fixture for a decade, with beef from Lake District Farmers. It is not cheap, so save it for when steak is the whole point of the evening.
The Pepper Tree, 19 Clapham Common South Side
The Pepper Tree is the Thai restaurant thirty seconds from Clapham Common tube that everyone ends up at. It opens at noon every day, there is a set lunch, and you can book online. From Monday to Thursday, happy hour runs 4pm to 7pm with two-for-one cocktails, which makes it a good early start before the Common. It is the answer when the group cannot agree.
Two for when you want pizza, not a reservation
- Berberè, 67 Venn Street. A Bologna-born pizzeria, founded in Castel Maggiore, with a long sourdough prove. Order a margherita and sit by the window.
- Joe Public, 4 The Pavement. Slices cut from 20-inch pies, in the converted public toilet next to Clapham Common tube. Stools only. Grab one on the way home.
How to book in Clapham
Friday and Saturday nights fill first, especially in the Old Town and on Abbeville Road. Book Trinity, Maai and Sorella a week or more out for weekends, and try midweek for a last-minute table. Lunch is the easy win: Trinity, Maai and Crispin all serve it, and it is quieter and kinder on the bill. For the full Clapham list, with ratings, Harden's keeps a good one.
