Descending down the winding concrete stairs, you enter a candlelit cocktail bar, reminiscent of a New York bunker. But don’t be fooled, you’re not in The Big Apple, you’re in ‘Downstairs at Harrison’s’ in Balham, London.
Harrison’s, run by Sam Harrison and co-owned by Rick Stein and Rebecca Mascarenhas, opened in 2007 and to celebrate its fifth anniversary, Sam decided it was time for a refurbishment and restyle of both the restaurant and bar. With this came a new head chef, Faycal Khait and a redesign by Design LSM, who are responsible for the interiors including Burger and Lobster, Goodman Restaurants and Sam’s Brasserie & Bar.
The décor echoes old school glamour, with a vintage feel of times gone by. The basement bar is inspired by Sam’s favourite New York hotspots, utilising an exposed brick wall and distressed timber, with a splash of sangria red bar stools, intimate deep buttoned banquette booths, and edgy bare light bulbs which gives a perfectly unfinished but refined vibe.
Alongside the brand new interior, comes a fresh bar snacks menu, with a range of sharing and individual choices. So depending on appetite, you can indulge yourself, or share, mini chorizo sausages (£4.50), giant green Puglia olives (£3.50), Padron peppers with Maldon sea salt (£4.00), wild boar scotch egg, in which the yolks are gloriously runny (£5.50), shredded duck lettuce wraps (£7.50) or their lamb and chorizo burger, served with feta cheese and harrisa yoghurt (£7.50).
On top of this, the bar team have collectively created a new range of cocktails for every palette, including Strawberry Fizz (strawberry, Deseado sparkling sweet wine), The Sunrise (Wyborowa vodka, passion fruit, lemon juice, Crème de Framboise), Smoked Manhattan with orange bitters, and Kumquat Martini. Sam has also hand selected the bar’s wine list, which showcases affordable, top end wine and champagne, with a more extensive 80 bin list in the upstairs restaurant.
The newly revamped speakeasy-style basement bar is now open Tuesday to Saturday, from 6pm.
Harrison’s, 15-19 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9EX. For reservations visit www.harrisonsbalham.co.uk, call 020 8675 6900 or follow them @harrisonsbalham.
Hot Dinners were invited to Harrison's. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
