The Lambourne

This was my first visit to The Lambourne, as I was on my way to see a performance at The Wimbledon Theatre.
I’d seen some very positive reviews, which was a big plus, and I was recommended by a friend.
As I had to be at the theatre for a 7pm performance, I booked a table for 5pm, just to be on the safe side and because I didn’t know the distance from the restaurant to the theatre (a five minute walk as I subsequently found out).
I arrived and was warmly greeted by Siobhan (who I later found our was the supervisor) and was escorted to my table (being the first there, I was offered a choice of wherever I wanted to sit).
Whilst I settled down at the table, I was offered a drink and shown the menu (which I believe was newly introduced last week).
There was a good choice of starters, mains, deserts and side dishes to choose from, offering something to satisfy most guests.
I opted for the calamari to start, the veal for mains, with a side order of vegetables, and a salted caramel desert. The food was really first class and well presented.
Service was really good and if ever you get the opportunity to have Siobhan as your host, then you will be in very good hands.
My meal cost me £35.15, which as it goes isn’t one of the cheapest meals I’ve had. That said, I didn’t expect it to be and I was more than prepared to pay the price.
I’ve eaten at other establishment’s in Wimbledon and paid more, but received a lot less, so I thought I did very well.
I’d not hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone, and it really does make a great pre-​theatre dining venue.
Well done to all staff members at The Lambourne, seen and unseen.

Great bar and good steaks. Staff very friendly and good atmosphere. You should try it

I don’t come to Wimbledon to often and never walked this far down the Broadway before it was definitely worth it! Not only because it was a friend’s birthday, but because everything about The Lambourne seems to be just right, the ambience, food and drink, and friendly service. A perfect neighbourhood place.

Quick glance:
+ good waiting staff
+ relaxing atmosphere (weekday evening)
+ wine by glasses available
— unproportional main
— unseasoned sides
I went with my friend to Lambourne Bar and Grill on a Wednesday night for pre-​show dinner, where we had one hour before the show starts down the road. When we got there at 6:30pm, the place was fairly quiet, with a handful of people at the bar drinking, and another 2 – 3 tables of diners in the restaurant area.
We picked this restaurant because it was close by to our show and had a pre-​theatre menu, but because of our time constraint we decided for just the main course from the a la carte menu.
I had salmon and my friend had chicken, both of which were served with mash. The piece of salmon /​chicken was pretty small when compared against the big dallop of mash served, so the presentation made it feel like there wasn’t much food on the plate except potato.
We also ordered two different sides of vegetables, which looked nice but weren’t seasoned to bring out the tastes.
The waiter was fairly alert and even gave us a 15 minutes «warning» as we told him we were in a hurry to catch a 7:30pm show.
Overall, the restaurant is a bit of a walk away from the «happening» part of Wimbledon and the food wasn’t spectacular to draw in punters. The staff can cater for those dining in a hurry before catching a show.

Ort: Lambourne Bar&Grill, Wimbledon, London
Samstag, 19:30 Uhr
Warum dieses Mal kein Frühstück? Ganz ehrlich? Habt ihr schon mal in England full English gefrühstückt? Speck, Bohnen, Würstchen, frittierter Toast, Spiegelei. hilfe, nein, ich bin aufs Abendessen umgestiegen ;)
Übers Internet buchen wir einen Tisch für 2 und der Manager persönlich ruft an und bestätigt die Buchung, freut sich, dass wir kommen. Mh, da fühlt man sich schon wie die Queen persönlich! Trotz deutscher Effizienz sind wir 15 Minuten zu spät, aber das ist anscheinend kein Problem, die freundliche Bedienung begleitet uns durch die Bar in den abgeteilten Restaurantbereich. Der Tisch ist schon mit Blümchen und Teelicht, Besteck und Weinglas dekoriert… alles richtig schick.
Die Vorspeisen kosten alle um die 4 Pfund, die Hauptspeisen schwanken zwischen 8 und 16 Pfund. Wir verzichten auf die Vorspeise und schlagen gleich mit Steak (12.95) und vegetarischer Tagilatelle (8.95) zu Buche, gönnen uns aber ein vegetable Caesar Salad (7.95) zum Teilen. Anscheinend ist das in England nicht üblich, denn der Kellner guckt ganz verdattert, als wir zu zweit 3 Hauptspeisen bestellen. Und das ist alles für euch? hakt er nach. Kleinlaut nicken wir verfressenen Deutschen. Noch ehe die Getränke kommen, kommt der Kellner zurück und bringt ein Brettchen mit hausgemachtem, warmen Brot und ein Schälchen mit Olivenöl und Balsamico Essig zum Eintunken. Oh je, der hält uns jetzt wirklich für Nimmersatts sage ich, aber als wir uns umsehen, sehen wir dass jeder Tisch ein Brettchen bekommt. Uff. T. bestellt das Steak medium-​well und wir waren gespannt, ob der Koch Extrawünsche berücksichtigt. Ja, tat er, das Steak ist perfekt mittel bis durch! Auch die Pilz Tagliatelle in feiner Sahne Weissweinsosse ist köstlich, der Caesar Salad war jetzt nix besonderes, aber trotzdem nicht schlecht. Der lustige Kellner kommt 2x und fragt ob wir noch irgendwas brauchen, ob das Essen schmeckt, macht noch ein paar Witze. Wir sind rundum versorgt und unterhalten, das nenne ich Service. Nach dem Essen werden die Teller abgeräumt und die Nachtisch Karte überreicht.
Zugegeben, nach 1,5 Hauptspeisen sind wir eigentlich satt, aber das Panacotta (3.95) hört sich dann doch zu verlockend an, aber jetzt nur noch eine Portion mit 2 Löffeln bitte. Mhh. das war wirklich gut.
Die Rechnung ist schon mit 12,5% Service Charge versehen. aha, also das Trinkgeld schon mit inbegriffen, nu ja, andere Länder, andere Sitten, aber es sind auch noch 2 Pfefferminzbonbons auf dem Silbertablett, auf dem die Rechnung liegt!
Wünschenswert: ich bin wunschlos glücklich!
Bemerkenswert: Der Service! Hier ist man echt König! Das kostenlose Brot, die Bonbons, die mit der Rechnung kommen
Preis-​Leistungs-​Verhältnis: Stimmt auf jeden Fall!
Ort: Lambourne Bar&Grill, Wimbledon, London
Saturday, 19:30
We booked a table for two via internet and the manager himself rang to confirm the booking, he s looking forward to see us. wow, we already feel as important as the queen herself! Despite German efficency we are running 15 minutes late, but apparently thats not a problem at all, the nice waitress escorts us through the bar into the separate restaurant aera. Our table is already set up with flower and candle, cutlery and wine glass. quit posh!
Starters starts from 3,50 to 5 GBP, mains are inbetween 8 and 16 GBP
We skip the starters and order steak (12.95) and vegetarian Tagliatelle (8.95) and a vegetable Ceasar Salad (7.95) to share.
Apparently this is not common in England to order 3 main courses for 2 people, because the waiter looks quite confused as he double checked, if this is only for the two of us. Nodding a bit ashamed, we greedy Germans…
The waiter was back, before even our drinks arrived, with a board of fresh baked bread, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. well now he really thinks we re greedy I said, but when we looked around we saw, that everyone got a board. thank God!
T. ordered her Steak medium well and we were curious if the chef bears it in his mind. Yes, he did!
As good was the mushroom Tagliatelle in white wine double cream sauce, the Ceasar Salad was nothing special, but not too bad.
The funny waiter comes twice and asked if the food s all right if we need anything else, makes a few jokes. We are perfectly taken care of and entertained, this is what I call service.
After dinner we got the desert menu offered. I admit, after 1,5 main courses, we re pretty much full, but the panacotta (3.95) sounded to tempting, but this time only one, with 2 spoons to share… that was amazing!
The bill comes on a little tray, probably real silver, 2 mint sweets, and an already added service charge of 12,5%.

I ate there recently with a group of friends as we’d spotted an offer of 30% off our bill if we had tickets to the Comedy Tree nextdoor, which we did. Sadly, when it came to paying the bill, the manager refused to honour this discount, depsite the fact it’s clearly advertised as being available. The manager of the Comedy Tree even kindly took the time to come into the restaurant and try and explain the situation to him.
The Lambourne’s manager made absolutely no effort to offer explanation or apology. Quite the opposite in fact as at that point he decided to threaten us with a call to the police if we did not pay (which at no point crossed our minds). It was incredible. It would have been preferable for him to do so mind you, as maybe the police could have told him something about the Trades Descriptions Act.
So in the end we had to pay the full bill, minus the discount. This would have been everso slightly less painful were it not for the fact the food was distinctly average anyway, and that we’d waited a very long time for it to arrive.
Avoid this place at all (non-​discounted) costs. At least until they get a new manager anyway.

Finally a bar in Wimbledon that sells food to rival any place in the village. Tried the Sunday Roast today and is was the best I had had for a long time. The nightlife is good too. It is open until midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 11pm other nights. Great atmosphere. The staff are very attentive and polite, a rarity these days. Best place in Wimbledon at the moment.

A fantastic place with attentive staff
Great value and a really nice atmosphere!
Would recommend