Weekly Review: Bistro Union
Sometimes, you should go to Clapham.
Quick hit: Ultra-pleasant neighbourhood spot on a quiet street with excellent food, attentive service, and a well-crafted wine list.
Details: Booking advised but there is usually space for walk-ins. Clapham. ££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram.
Find it on Google Maps. 40 Abbeville Rd, London SW4 9NG.
The full picture: More trains pass through Clapham Junction than any other rail station in Europe. More than 2,000 per day. The tube from London Bridge or Bank to Clapham Common station takes about 12 minutes. And people actually live there as well.
All of this is to say that Clapham is convenient.
So if you’re looking for a place to gather with colleagues, clients, or friends, it’s a great place to meet up.
Why should you care? Because lunch can now travel.
If there was a silver lining in the pandemic nightmare, it was the COVID-imposed little windows into our colleagues’ lives. Before virtual backgrounds, we spent a lot of time looking into each others’ kitchens, living rooms, home offices, and even bedrooms. We found ways to accommodate each other. That’s as it should be.
These days, we want all of that and the chance to get together in the flesh. And if we allow ourselves to continue to accommodate our colleagues’ lives, we can plan lunch for somewhere convenient that may or may not be near the office. Which is what brought me to Clapham.
I was catching up with a friend and former colleague who lives in the area, and we decided to aim for Bistro Union, which describes itself as “quintessentially British Neighbourhood Bistro located in the heart of Abbeville Village, Clapham.”
It’s also the sister to Trinity, the Michelin-starred spot in Clapham Old Town. Both restaurants are helmed by Chef Adam Byatt.
Bistro Union is a gem. It’s super comfortable — the kind of place you could happily settle in for an afternoon, as the gang in the bar were doing on the day we visited. There’s a straightforward menu of things that you’ll want to eat. You can go traditional — starter, main, dessert — or mix and match plates to share from snacks to bigger stuff. It’s flexible enough to fit any mood or occasion.
We went a bit wild and did both. Snacks included delicious comté gougères and brown crab arancini. Homemade bread and whipped butter was so good that we asked for a second round.
For starter, the chicken liver & foie gras parfait was Michelin quality, and the burrata la latteria with romanesco and chilli was like a bowlful of spring.
Mains were rabbit in mustard sauce and duck confit. Both were perfectly done. The rabbit falling off the bone and the mustard sauce well balanced with sharpness and creaminess.
We were too full for dessert.
But Bistro Union really delivered — with fantastic bistro-style food and in bringing us together over their delicious dishes.
Maybe I should go to Clapham more often. Maybe we all should.
I’m looking for new-to-me places to try, especially in Shoreditch and the City. If you’ve got a suggestion, please hit reply and let me know.