Arlos
Restaurant in Balham
In the friendly neighbourhood of Balham we decided to go for some dinner at Arlo’s. We had heard a lot of great things about Arlo’s so wanted to see f what the fuss was all about!
A great thing about Arlo’s is that it understands that eating a decent steak in London can be pricey. They have turned what can be a more upmarket cuisine into something a lot less pretentious enabling those purse strings to loosen up a bit!
I absolutely love the décor of this place – really fresh, stripped back, relaxed and inviting. We were served by the most lovely waitress who was very friendly and helpful. She also thoroughly believed in Arlo’s and what it stood for which makes such a difference.
The Drinks
The wine and drinks menu also serves as a reminder to Arlo’s stripped back, laid back ambience. Just a two page menu offering everything from bubbles to IPA and Malbec to digestifs. It was a great list of drinks to choose from without being overbearing.
We chose to sip on the Argentinian Malbec and a Passion Fruit Bellini – just what we needed after a long week at work! We also loved the English Garden Hendricks, cold pressed apple & English elderflower (£8) which was light and refreshing.
Starters
The food menu is no let down to the identity of this restaurant either. It is kept simple with a small number of starters, a focus on steak but also upping their game with vegetarian and vegan main meals. We had the Spiced Halloumi, ginger & red chilli (£5) and Padron Peppers (£4.50). While I appreciated the more adventurous halloumi offering, the dressing sadly wasn’t for me.
The Steaks
First of all you can choose your regular sized steak, or you can level up to the bigger cuts choosing a lump of steak up to 1kg! It is then up to you if you want to share this with your nearest and dearest or decide to go on a crazy man vs food frenzy and eat it all yourself! Also, once you have chosen your steak you can decide if you just want a simple steak or have it arrive sitting on a “trencher”. This is a slice of fire-crisped sourdough soaked in either smoked chilli or garlic and thyme (£2.50 extra).
The steaks at Arlos restaurant in Balham are not your usual fillet and sirloin you would usually see alongside their high-end prices, but instead serve the lesser known Bavette (£13.50), Hanger (£15) and Tomahawk (the 1kg beast for £67!). We decided to try the Bavette and Hanger steaks and of course we had to have the Arlo’s special – the trenchers.
The Bavette and Hanger were not the most tender of steaks (of course they are a cheaper cut) but were packed with a lot of flavour all the same. Brilliantly charred on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside, every bite was delicious! The trenchers definitely made a steak dinner a lot more interesting.
To accompany the steaks we went for the hand-cut skinny chips and the macaroni cheese. The chips were beautiful, really crispy on the outside and super fluffy on the inside. The macaroni cheese was amazing!
We also sampled the Arlos Burger: House bavette, chuck & aged ribcap patty, served straight up with streaky bacon & American cheese (£12.50 dbl). I love my burgers without all the frills so this was pretty much perfect. Cooked medium, the meat was juicy, succulent and flavoursome. A very good burger.
We were also impressed with the Skillet Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower with aged Wookey Hole cheddar & pumpkin seeds (£11).
Dessert
After such a delightful meal we could not resist sharing a Ice Cream Eton Mess. Served with raspberry-rippled mascarpone, meringue, mango, passion fruit & liquefied mint (£6). You HAVE to save room for this! It was an absolute delight without being too sickly.
Overall
I definitely recommend this lovely restaurant in Balham and look forward to trying more on the menu! Look forward to good food in a relaxed atmosphere with lovely staff.
East London Girl: Arlos
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