Gazette (Balham)

We eat here alot, the french favorites on offer here are divine and very tasty. There is a relaxing, buzzy vibe (you can even sit back and watch the footie) and a classic French menu with reasonable prices. The staff make you feel welcome and service is always with a smile. The food is always cooked to perfection and very fresh. My family and I will continue to dine at The Gazette for as long as it is around. This is a nice place to eat after shopping along the Balham High Road. I strongly recommend.
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andydawes - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, January 01, 2012

8 of us had dinner at Gazette Balham again last weekend and we all had a very enjoyable evening. The food was great! some of us had the Ribeye which was absolutely delicious! others had the Cote De Boeuf and apparently it was amazing too. We all enjoyed a mix of starters to share as none of us wanted too much to eat before the mains. One of our party chose a few really nice bottles of red wine - one of them being a Marcillac at £27 which was lovely! The restaurant was very busy which created a nice atmosphere. Defintely one of the best places eat in Balham!
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Leigh Carpenter - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 24, 2011

Went for breakfast at this restaurant and was hugely disappointed. My latte arrived ice cold and I was forced the ask for another as the lump of sugar I had inside it would not dissolve. Both myself and my partner ordered the eggs Benedict which came on toast from a high-street loaf of bread. The eggs had not been drained properly and the bread was soaked and there was water on the plate. We got one slice of ham that had been torn in half to cover the toast. The egg was cooked well but cold. The hollandaise sauce had to much lemon in it as it was incredibly tart and I found lemon seeds which further ruined the experience.

When I asked for Tabasco I was brought a huge bottle that was filthy and so old that the sauce inside had gone grey and lumpy. Disgusting!!!

Poor showing from this clearly over-hyped establishment.
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Greg Pawlowski
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 0
Sunday, October 09, 2011

I moved to Balham at the beginning of September and my parents wanted to head out for a 'congrats on your new home meal', after being recommended by a friend we decided to visit Gazette in Balham. We had such a great evening, the atmosphere was great, friendly and lively! My dad had the artichoke to start, my boyfriend the squid and my mum and i had the mussels.... it was all delicious! For mains, my dad and boyfriend chose the same Suckling pig which looked delicious, my mum and I enjoyed the skate wing (which was huge!). Again all our mains were delicious and we couldn’t finish the skate wing, it was so meaty and filling. We enjoyed our meal and sitting in the relaxed atmosphere so much we even stayed for dessert..... and coffee! I would definitely recommend it and go again!
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Flis - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, October 06, 2011

Recently tried out Gazette for a birthday party. 12 adults and 4 children under 3 were treated extremely well by the staff. No problems at all with the service and the food was fantastic. We had the large table towards the back near the lounge area and it had loads of space for buggies etc. The waiters were patient with us and very attentive. One of our friends is French and he was pleasanlty surprised by the choice of dishes and wine. It is not cheap but it was excellent value for money.
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Peter Suta
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 03, 2011

Having passed by the original and then this newer incarnation many times, we thought we'd try Gazette for a mid-afternoon bite last week. Can only agree with the views of other posters on the dire service, mainly from the person who appeared to be the manager (the only staff member not in a white shirt), who seemed to be grudgingly serving the 3 or 4 occupied tables, in between making phone calls and reading a paper at the bar. One of the waiters was pleasant enough in manner, but even he uttered barely more than a single word at a time while tableside. As we'd only just visited the USA, the deficiencies in Gazette's service ethic were shown up more than usual. The food was serviceable enough, although the chef's take on a club sandwich tasted at once bland and greasy. Finally, requesting the bill managed to become a running joke, such was the time it took to catch a waiter's eye. I shan't be returning to Gazette.
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Ed
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Monday, June 27, 2011

After being told we were going to have to wait 20 mins - an hour later we were handed a menu and told we would be waiting another 25 minutes. We ordered and one hour later were seated at a table by the snootiest waiter I have ever met. The food did not make up for the wait and I would not recommend risking wasting your Sat/ Sunday on this place.
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3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Sunday, June 19, 2011

Went to Gazette last Sunday for brunch - despite having read the mainly poor reviews on this site we thought we'd give it the benefit of the doubt. Things started off promisingly enough - the restaurant was fairly quiet, so the service was prompt, and our two fruit smoothies weren't bad. Then we ordered food. Once it arrived, my friend asked almost immediately for a separate portion of toast, as the one that came with her meal was soaked in oil and was inedible; we had to chase this up with the waitress who kept assuring us it was coming (toast!! how long could it possibly take?!!). My poached eggs with salmon were almost hard-boiled - rather worrying that the chef couldn't get this basic dish right. I managed less than half of it before giving up, thinking that i'd politely let the waitress know when she collected our plates that I was disappointed. Unfortunately I never got chance. By this time the restaurant had filled up (mainly with families with children - not a problem in itself, but the staff didn't seem to be able to cope with the numbers) and it was all we could do to get our waitress's attention. When we finally managed to ask for the bill she left it quickly on the table without even clearing our plates away, and that was the last we saw of her. The restaurant had kindly added a 12.5% service charge to the bill, which was 10% more than we would like to have left. Unfortunately by that point we'd lost the will to live and paid the full amount in cash in the interests of making a speedy exit. Poor show all round. Will not be going back.
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4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, April 05, 2011

We have just returned from easily the worst meal I have had in my life at Gazette in Balham - a total disgrace.

Its difficult to know where to start given the restaurant fails in every single departement but number 1 would definitely be service.

We arrived at 1pm and didn't see any food until 2.30pm. Despite repeated attempts to get our child food we failed, eventually the manager told us that the chef could not cope as so many people arrived at once and he was too busy. I'm not sure this is ever an excuse - either you stagger your bookings or you have a smaller restaurant (or you sack the chef). Our baby's food arrived on an adults large boiling hot plate - mash and a piece of chicken - having taken 1.5 hours - quite impressive.

We had many problems with the manager - we had to complain about service, about the wine waiter - who poured a new bottle of wine into a glass containing the last bottle of wine and was angry when we said this wasn't on (he walked off shruging his shoulders angrily) about the food - we were served raw bone marrow, mussels hadn't been cleaned, spinach contained grit, my mothers food was cold. Really the list is endless - it is just so poor.

Not once did we get an apology, the waitresses who were lovely looked extremely embarrassed but the manager just couldn't handle the situation and argued back over everything - it was extraordinary. Eventually we were offered £50 off the wine plus we didn't have to pay for the spinach or bone marrow. our bill was over £200 as it was but never once did we get an apology. We left after 2.5 hours - it was a joke.

We noticed other diners waiting for their food and the table next to us complained about quality. It was a real shame as it was mothers day and the restaurant just didn't appear to care or cope.

A total disgrace, this can't last - don't visit.
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Mildred76 - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, April 03, 2011

Just come back from lovely Saturday lunch at Gazette which, thankfully, seems to have improved hugely since it's relocation.

We'd last been in the summer and vowed never to go back as the service was so incredibly awful... not to mention rude.

But the new restaurant looked so nice - and busy - we thought we'd give it another go.

The menu is much bigger, the restaurant itself is lovely and the food is good. Best of all, the service is massively improved. You can even take your dog inside which is a bonus!

Glad we gave it a second chance and will definitely be going back.
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Lou
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, March 26, 2011