please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
another nice find in balham,a lovely outside area, food ok.
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Uniquely terrible customer service. One of the Exhibit's only draws is the sunny terrace at the front. Yet it has a 'policy', displayed nowhere of The 'policy' of only letting diners sit at the front is fine, but enforcing it when there are tables free is perverse. Pointing out a) the idiocy of this policy and b) the pointlessness of enforcing it in a half empty pub ended up with me arguing with two of the staff, who seemed to equate a 'policy' with holy writ. A girl who complained immediately before me, and pointed out that there were free tables, was told by the bar manager 'I'm busy - I've got a bar to run'. I was the only other person at the bar.
It's a shame, because the food's actually pretty good. But there are plenty of bars with good food that give a monkey's about their customers
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I've been going to the Exhibit for over 2 years, as we live nearby. However this week (early August 09), some friends and I met for a beer and were shocked at the rude attitude of one of the bar staff and the manager herself. The bar was really busy (which is not unusual for this place in summer), but when I was served a glass of hot white wine, I waited for the crowd to die down before I approached the staff to ask if they could change it for a cold one. Both the female staff member and the manager were rude and dissmissive. I was quite shocked. Another member of staff approached me and said they were sorry and that the staff member was actually a nice person and not usually like that. No matter how busy a bar gets, there's no excuse for customers to be treated like that. I wont be going back.
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Been drinking here off and on for about 8 years. Struggled to find its way in the last few (changed hands a bit I think), but it's still more hit than miss and I still tend to organise at least one gathering a year here which always goes well - areas reserved without trouble, staff are still good, prices have probably gone up like everywhere, but I never think to myself that it's over the top.
Restaurant has to watch itself - had some good meals here, but there are better places to eat in the area. Cocktail bar and cinema are good ideas though and work pretty well.
Clientele have always seemed okay to me - there are plenty more pretentious places all over London, or maybe I'm just a terrible sloane and never realised it before.
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Went in here for the first time last night. It was fairly quiet but it was a Tuesday night and so were the other places I'd been to. Overall I'd say this place was pretty decent. The candle light was good and music was not too loud (note every person in there were in groups of two one guy one girl think that says a lot about what the lighting and music were aimimg for).
No ales or bitters on sale as far as I could tell but then this wasn't a surprise from the looks of the place. The lager tasted pretty good though and the service was good (however as I've said before it was a quiet Tuesday night).
Other things I like about the place is that it oes have the cinema option (much needed as there isn't a proper cinema for miles as far as I know) and the place offer cocktail making courses which I guess is a bit of a change in things to do. Also I love the giant fishtank. It makes the place look very 80s but I do love fish tanks so there you go.
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Pretty awful place. Bar staff can be rude, as if we should feel honored to be in a Sainsbury's shopper�s bar. The food is very hit and miss and most dishes are overly priced. The Chef clearly doesn�t have a clue on how to compliment dishes or make them look vaguely interesting. Friend had Seabass from the 'specials' board which came as one half of a small fillet on some lettuce and nothing else. The size of the plate made it look laughable. I asked the waitress if it was meant to be like that and yes it was! I asked why the portion was so small with nothing else served, and if it was a special kind of Seabass to be one of the most expensive things on the menu. The response...'no it's just over priced!' At least she was honest.
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I agree with the last post. The Exhibit was once good but no more. Poor decor and poor service. What a shame.
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I used to like The Exhibit but it has gone downhill in the last year or so. The staff can be awful at times ("what do you mean, you don't want lemon in your coke? Just take it out then!"), and it is expensive too. But I have noticed just how tacky and cheap it is looking now; it has had some renovating done on it and it just looks so awful now. There used to be some nice tables and chairs on the ground floor - they've been replaced by what look like some small old camping furniture bought from a car boot sale.
The idea of a small cinema is good though.
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The Exhibit does indeed look like Irene House (the local dole office) only smaller. Doubt it was built to be a bar/restaurant.
It's not for me. You can sit outside and watch the Sainsbury's car park if that's your sort of thing. Inside get too loud, service is hit-and-miss (depends if the bar manager is around, in which case people fall over themselves to serve you - if she's not you can wait an age).
Bit of a case of nice pub, shame about the location.
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i of course meant top right!
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
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to anon. below:
look at the tag line at the top left of the page: beerintheevening.com- pubs, bars, drinking...
so why don't you understand why it is being reviewed here?
THE SERVICE IN THIS BAR IS APPALLING.
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I have been a Balham local for the last 5 years and have frequented the Exhibit throughout. Firstly i dont understand why the Exhibit has been reviewed on this site as it is not a pub but primerily a restaurant and cocktail lounge with a laid back bar on the ground floor, i suggest if you want to to go to a good boozer then visit the Bedford accross the road.
The Exhibit has continually changed in my opinion to please the masses, they offer great food at reasonable prices in the restaurant, cocktails on the third floor and a cinema. So what if the stools are slightly uncomfortable around the fish tank....you should have arrived earlier to bag one of the comfy leather sofas!!
anonymous - 19 Jul 2007 11:16 |
Don't sit on the stools next to the fish tank. To begin with, you'll think you have prime spot. 'I'm higher up than everyone else and I'm next to some fish - yeah!', you will say.
Ten minutes later you'll be questioning how these stools ever passed even the initial testing stage at the factory. They're arse-numbingly uncomfortable in the extreme. Rubbish stools, they are.
Oh yeah - the rest of the bar is OK but nothing special. Weird building - looks like a job centre.
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USed to be such a great bar, but since the "renovation", it seems to have lost its way.
Staff are average to be polite, and there is less than no atmosphere.
A minor point - be really careful on the stairs - no hand rails and a really big lip to fall over!!
Unfortunatley, not so much to choose from in Balham, so you have to put up with it.
anonymous - 1 Jul 2007 13:33 |
Dire
Thinks its in Soho, looks like its in some crappy seaside resort. The fake mahogany wood is thinly veneered, as are the clientelle.
I had 2 pints and the second was really only because I found that watching all the idiots in this place was like a bizarre lesson in anthropology, and I found it so amusingly up on itself.
Seen it before, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Distinctly average. Ideas above it's station (this applies to drinks, food, staff and clientele). Don't rate the staff much, or the bar snacks (chicken wings, etc etc) but it's OK. Seating outside which is a plus in summer but it faces a car park - almost directly behind this bar (although you have to walk round the block) is Blithe Spirit bar which has an infinitely better terrace and is cheaper too. 5/10 in my book.
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An okay bar. We went here for some company drinks so didn't have to pau for anything but it seems quite expensive.
Worth a punt in the week but reckon it could be quite busy at the weekends.
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Go to the restuarant. Bar is just a very expensive bar so i'd go elsewhere for a more chilled out less showy drink. Fair enough if you want to look at the girls.
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has it changed hands? went on sunday, not only was it freezing, but the staff were crap as well.
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"The clientelle on the ground floor is 20 something cool"...Nope, it's 20 something pretentious 'look at me' Henry and Harriets from what I can see. Did I mention rude? manners seem to be alien amongst a lot of them. Jumping the queue at the bar, barging into people, and treating the bar staff as if they were something on one's shoe. In fact I've seen more loutish behaviour from the ones who should know better than I have from those I'd expect it from.
The final nail in the coffin for me was when they put up Guinness twice in a month, from �3 to �3.20 and then to �3.30. So maybe the whole place has become pretentious. This is Balham, not bloody Knightsbridge, and I'm not a fool. The only thing I parted with is this place's business.
Time for me to find a proper pub, with proper prices, and proper people.
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I am going to take the time to defend the Exhibit not only because it is my local but also one of my favourite bars and restaurants in London.
This bar is better than ever and still inexpensive compared to venues similar to it in the area. �3.10 for a pint is standard(their most expensive pint selling for �3.20, not �4 like the other reviewer may have you believe) and cocktails start at �5.50 which is cheap! (Unless you're drinking some rubbish gin with flat tonic and one ice cube in some dismal, dark pub with sticky carpet). The Exhibit is a great place that doesn't allow any louts in so I guess that's why the clientelle is 60% (hot) females.
The food upstairs has attracted a huge amount of attention from critics as of late (Check out Urban Junkies, The Evening Standard, Class Magazine and Fluid Style)and is still far cheaper than BKB across the road. The steaks are all free range and the menu items such as the fresh organic salmon (�11.95) are amazing. There are also BBQ's on the weekend where you can get a phenominal Burger for �4.50.
The clientelle on the ground floor is 20 something cool (mostly pretty girls as I mentioned before). The restaurant and cocktail lounge are a bit more sophistocated attracting a slightly older crowd(30's and 40's) and offering great cocktails and table service. There is a penthouse cinema with leather sofas and a bar on the 2nd floor that shows a mix of new and old movies and there is comedy as well.
So there you have it - The truth!... now will the other bars please stop telling lies about the Exhibit in an attempt to steal their customers and just spend more of your time making your own venues better.
Thank you Exhibit for making your place such a great venue that we can all enjoy.
anonymous - 24 Jul 2006 16:34 |
I have been visiting the Exhibit for a few years now, and believe it is a great bar. Cocktails are always fantastic.
However, as of late, management have decided to change the tap beer selection. Gone is the half decent Amstel and Kirin, and the top notch Budvar (which on tap is probably one of the best lagers that money can buy), which have been replaced by Fosters, Kronenburg and some Russian beer?
What are management thinking? Have they gone mad?
In a time when consumers are waking up to the potential that their money can buy, why would a consumer choose a substandard pint of rubbish? Fortunately some pubs are making this choice quite obvious and easy to make (in Balham the Clarence is serving this role excellently).
jmati - 16 Jun 2006 17:45 |
Expensive, busy and faux-classy, perfectly pitched at those chinless wonders who live in and around the Gateway to the South.
Last time I went in there the only vaguely interesting beer was Kirin, the rest was your usual bland nitro keg rubbish at a high price.
The food is distinctly average and certainly not worth the price, which is comfortably on a par with Michelin-starred restaurants in terms of cost, but not in terms of taste.
Still, it would be wise for the Fionas and Tarquins of this world to remember that expensive does not mean it is any good.
anonymous - 14 Jun 2006 16:58 |
I like this bar, i have been coming here for the last 2-3 years. I like a place that does not rest on its laurel so it has to be applauded for its imaginative expansion and it's support to local film makers.
The lagers are always top notch, and the cocktails are good too (if a little small).
The staff are good, so even when it is busy you are served pretty quickly, and the fish tank is top.
I wish they didnt let so many puch chairs and buggies in though.
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I've never had a problem with having a conversation in here and I certainly don't feel the need to shout. Yes, it's quite loud, but that's because there are plenty of people here usually. I like the atmosphere. Maybe that's because I'm concentrating on the company of the people I'm with and not desperately trying to spot chinks in others' armour. The service is always good at the bar and upstairs at the restaurant. The food is excellent in the restaurant, and the cocktail bar upstairs seems pretty good too, the two times I've used it. I've developed quite a rapport with the fish now - they will invariably lend a friendly and welcoming ear when I've had a bad day.
Haven't tried the new cinema in there yet, but will do soon. Good idea, given the lack of a 'real' cinema in Balham. Have been approached by dodgy DVD sellers quite a lot in here, which I wish didn't happen. Can't really blame the place for that, though.
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Bar downstairs is always lively and has a good selection of drinks. Restaurant serves excellent food and reasonable prices. Excellent range of cocktails in the new cocktail bar and a cinema room on the top floor showing films once a week.
All in all a great place to have on your doorstep.
anonymous - 22 Feb 2006 13:23 |
excellent food, proper drinks at the bar, big up. don't expect having a quiet conversation upstairs, the earlier mentioned competition completely spoils the atmosphere.
staff could be bit more organised, but we always get our drinks eventually...
pepsi - 25 Jul 2005 13:51 |
Nice staff, and great service. Would be good for a relaxing Sunday afternoon drink except there always seems to be a 'can the rest of the bar hear me?' competition going on amongst all the tables. As a Goth, I have no end of fun at turning the heads of the clientelle.
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Nice!
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The day 'pina colada' is a 'rock 'n' roll drink' is the day I try to eat a grand piano. Good bar with proper drinks of you want them. Restaurant a little overpriced, but food is okay.
Gram - 6 Nov 2004 19:53 |
This place is a beauty, i especially liked the pina colada, which as i am sure you all know is the rock and roll drink of choice at the moment. Night slightly ruined by the girl having a 24th birthday party, embarassing herself. otherwise very good
Tito Harvey - 2 Oct 2004 16:27 |
Ok bar, lager selection is good, rammed on a weekend evening, but would therfore recommed a Sun afternoon visit with the Sundays and a couple of pints to take the edge off the night before. The bloody mary's are excellent.
John - 29 Jul 2004 12:08 |
The reason for the serviette under the beer/drink is to acknowledge that the customer is there and to keep the bar dry,any of the best cocktail bars in the world would put one down,the place is great,atmosphere excellent and with great service,tip top!
Arron - 20 Jul 2004 14:26 |
A well establised bar. Really good place for meeting friends... and when you get really drunk you can stare at the fishies in the biggest fish tank i've seen in a bar south of the river!
Tom - 7 May 2004 16:18 |
The Bar has a good atmosphere, great to meet in straight from the tube after work, and yes there is Sainsburys car park, but you must be pretty boring if you spend the whole time looking out of the window when you go to bars, does nobody want to talk to you?.
Binni - 6 Apr 2004 18:08 |
Apart from the fact it overlooks Sainsburys car park this is a great bar/restauarant.
You get the occasional idiot in there who thinks they're better than everybody else and uses phrases like 'Balham sloanes' but I highly recommend it if you're in Balham.
Frank - 2 Apr 2004 15:21 |
Lovely bar, nice seats, blah, blah....its next to f**king Sainsbury's Car park! Looks like a home counties recreation centre and is entirely populated by the most tiresome Balham sloanes.
Tereall - 5 Mar 2004 14:52 |
Nice people, good atmosphere, lovely sofas to sit around with your friends. I havent eaten at the restaurant myself, but heard great things about it. Yes it is generally quite expensive, but worth it. Much better than the Bedford just down the road.
becca - 24 Feb 2004 11:42 |
I think they ran out of money when this site was turned from warehouse to pub. Simple tables and seating. But...Nice atmosphere inside. Fantastic fish tank at one end of the room. Great restaurant upstairs. Beers a bit pricey and they always give you a serviette which undoubtedley gets stuck to the bottom of your glass. Not the best view of Sainsburys car park in the Summer if you sit outside.
Ted - 13 Feb 2004 13:50 |
