The Exhibit

Last night we went to the Exhibit for dinner. It was the launch night for their new "393" menu and I had been invited along as someone who is apparently "a committed member of the Balham Social scene". In the interests of full disclosure I should make it clear that we didn't pay full price for our meals.

We've been eating in the Exhibit off and on since it opened. I remember being slightly dubious when the outhouse in Sainsbury's car park was converted into a bar and restaurant, but they've overcome the limitations of their location and turned it into a great little venue. A couple of years ago they expanded the building upwards and there's now a small cinema on the top floor.

But the restaurant never seemed to have found its stride. We've never been particularly frequent visitors and it seemed that the style had changed each time we went there. One time it would be a high quality and expensive restaurant, the next it might be focussing on burgers and chip. After a rather strange night there a couple of years ago (when the menu was all East-West fusion stuff) we stopped going.

Coincidentally, even before I received the invitation for last night, we had decided to give it another try and we went there at the start of September for my birthday. The 393 menu was being served that night too - so I assume they have been trialling it for at least a month.

The 393 menu is an extension of the "three course for £15" offers that you see in a lot of restaurants these days. All starters are £3, all mains are £9 and all desserts are £3 - hence 393.

So what was it like? We enjoyed ourselves. And the food is certainly good value for money. I had goat's cheese croquettes followed by the burger and my wife had mushrooms followed by the fish (cod, I think) special. Everything was well-cooked and tasty. Unfortunately, neither of us was in the mood for dessert so we skipped that course - but we both had dessert on our previous visit and enjoyed it.

We ate relatively early and left before 8:30pm. As we walked through the bar downstairs a singer was just setting up. They have acoustic music there every Thursday night. My wife has been to a few of those as one of her friends has been playing there. She has really enjoyed those nights.

All in all we really enjoyed ourselves. The ambience in the restaurant is nice - there was one rather loud table, but you have to expect that everywhere these days - the food was food and the prices are very reasonable. We'll definitely be putting the Exhibit back on our list of regular Balham places to eat.