Balham

On the first sight, Balham looks fairly boring. The high street has the same shops as every high street in a middle class neighbourhood in London. There are, however, some excellent cafés and pubs in this area and it might just be that Balham will soon get its fair share of cool. The highstreet is also filled with charity shops where you can make some bargains.



Cafés:

• Bertie and Boo is a super cozy small café with excellent bakery products and delicious coffee. They also have quite a big terrace outside, where you can drink your coffee when it's sunny outside.
• Milk is a super cool hipster café that serves brunch and lunch. They also have American style pancakes. This place can get really busy, so prepare to queue if you're there during the busy hours.

Entertainment:

• The Bedford is an amazing pub and a venue for stand-up shows, theatre, live music and live sports. Anything you might want for a good night out.

 Parks: 

• Tooting Bec Common, a broad green area with sports grounds and green fields, is close to Balham centre. Good place to hang out in the sun during the summer. 

 Eating: 

• Ciullõsteria is a fantastic little Italian restaurant. The place looks quite fancy but the prices are very reasonable. Authentic pastas, pizzas and amazing starters and wines. Great place for a proper meal.

Drinking:

• We Brought Beer is an amazing small beer shop and bar focusing on tasty craft beers. Lots of local beers as well as some imports. Drink there or buy home.
• Balham Arms is a nice neighbourhood pub with classy decorations. They also serve delicious pizza. The beer selection is quite decent.

 Areas around Balham: Tooting, Clapham, Wandsworth, Streatham