The Bedford

Been here a number of times!
The live bands that perform here are great — it’s a small, yet vibrant atmosphere.
The food is also pretty good and the selection of drinks is also good.
This place is never really quiet and there are always people here during large sports events.

The Bedford has always been one of the main magnets to drag me to Balham — I live in West London and a trip here involves changing tube lines several times … I’ve been to the main theatre downstairs and also for a midweek meal in the main bar and always loved it. It’s a truly beautiful building with plenty of hidden corners (walked into a kitchen on the top floor by accident — so many doors!).
I was happy to find that a play I was interested in was on at the Bedford, but Friday night does not seem to be the best night to go — unless you like to get drunk fast and be deafened by ridiculously loud music from 10.30 or so.
I have never seen so many bar staff behind just one bar. They were all really friendly, just not very knowledgeable.
Two gripes: inform your staff about your events to avoid confusing customers — there’s nothing worse than being told there’s nothing going on when indeed the play you’re after takes place in one of the smaller upstairs rooms.
Gripe no. 2: don’t put drinks on your menu without telling all staff how to serve them. Aperol Spritz seems to be the drink du jour all over London, but only one of the many bar people had even heard of it — and, no, I didn’t ask for Appletize …
I left feeling disappointed as I had been so excited about returning to the Bedford, but my love was not requited.
Thank goodness, the play was excellent — try and catch «Phone Whore» in a fringe theatre near you — for a very thought-​provoking and intimate night out. This is not light comedy but a serious tour de force. Good on the Bedford for booking it — and shame on them for not owning up to it!

By day its a gloomy no mans land but by night its the heart of Balham!
Ive eaten here a few times now as my local the main reason being you get 50% of with a tastecard! (don’t mind me) However like i said its not where you want to be by day as the light through those large windows show you the worst in its ways of needing a bit of a face lift and with no music… well that’s no atmosphere in my eyes.
Any how, every night they have something going on be it an open mic night, comedy, dance class or small theater show all free or for a very small fee! There a great buzz in the evenings and you wouldn’t even believe its the same place!
And the food is good!

I love the Bedford!!! There’s live music, decent priced drinks and it’s nice and close to the tube.
This visit was on a Thursday and there were plenty of places to sit without it being too empty. I didn’t go and watch the band on this occasion but they did sound great :)

Really good acoustic nights starting from 8pm on Tuesdays. The pub is deceptively small, as part of it being reserved for live entertainment, including comedy and music.
I had the lamb burger which was great, being there on a Tuesday meant any draft beer was on the house with burger purchased. Score! There are other offers on other days of the week. Be sure to check them out on their website menu!
The sound is great in the theatre room, clear and crisp. It’s difficult to get seating if you’re late, so try to get here early if coming for one of the acoustic nights. There’s a fair selection of good beers and the place seems friendly overall. In all a nice place to relax and close to the nearby railway/​underground station

Good comedy out in Balham? Yeah! Always a good sign to start the year off with some good comedy. We had a quick meal in the pub beforehand. I had the veggie burger and it was really good. The twice cooked fries are amazing. Now onto the banana cabaret,
It was really unexpected to walk into the theatre which felt like a really old school theatre. There were 4 really solid acts with an interval in between. The compere didn’t warm up he audience very much but wasn’t really needed. Highly recommended for some good local comedy.

This is most visited pub in Balham. The food is really good and inexpensive compared with the other similar places in the area. There are comedy shows every Friday and Saturday, which are getting popular day by day and the people really like them.

Greatest pub around! I can spend the whole night here and I won’t even notice it the whole atmosphere is engaging and you don’t even know how the time passes by in sweet talk with friends and having drinks. I underestimated the pub a little but now I am all-​in. The place is awesome.

The Bedford is a good place to have a drink and watch live sports. The place is pretty large with 2 screens. However, was not impressed with food. Asked for Olives, got 4, asked for pitta bread, got 2. The squid salad had no taste at all, only the chunky chips were delicious. All in all, not a bad place or atmosphere but deffo not to eat. They also have a clubbing area which I’ve yet to try

i came here for one of the free music nights. i like the idea of it, it was well executed, and i even enjoyed peering through the bars of the upstairs area to see the stage.
the bar was cheap, and i am definitely a fan of that!
some points to work on though — the bar man was really not very customer focused at all — he was more into chatting with what looked ridiculously like his brother across the bar, than serving us our drinks, and he barely even had time to make eye contact with us — he wasn’t busy, just preoccupied — rude!
the other thing is that a lot of the tables in the music area were reserved, but not fully utilised. i think it would make more sense to make this a first come first served basis, and then the downstairs area would also become fuller for the musicians on stage — a lot of people were forced to come upstairs because of the reserved signs on tables downstairs where people hadn’t turned up, or hadn’t turned up with as many people as they said they would. or if they wanted to continue with the reservation policy, perhaps they could have a staff member remove reserved signs after the first performance or something allowing people to move back downstairs.
the other thing was that people were eating full on meals whilst watching the bands — i felt it was kinda awkward hearing the chinks of cutlery in quiet moments, from the people who won’t be distracted from their food no matter what, and then on the other hand lots of wasted food from people who had ordered but were ultimately distracted by the music. not to mention it’s weird smelling pub food whilst watching a band!
i wouldn’t necessarily come to this bar for a drink, and i’m pretty sure on a friday or saturday night it would be my worst nightmare, but i will definitely return in the future to discover new musical talents.

This is one of my favourite places to spend a work night relaxing with a glass of red wine and watching some fantastic live music.
Monday to Thursday in the intimate setting of the ballroom new unsigned bands take to the stage to showcase their talent all for free! I have discovered some true talents at The Bedford and have been lucky enough to witness some excellent guest appearances from the likes of Newton Faulkner and Ed Sheeran.
There is a real community atmosphere here and the audience are almost always very respectful to the artists by keeping quiet during the slow numbers and showing their appreciation (this can be a rare find in London).
The pub also host a range of other events such as comedy nights, dance classes and dj nights.
A great find I would recommend a visit, especially if you are a fan of new music.

Have only been here for the Comedy Nights and have always loved them. The comedians are normally really funny with some misses every now and then but that’s totally expected.
Otherwise, a normal pub. Exit it fast when it turns into a nightclub.

The Bedford is a good boozer — nothing fancy — just a good boozer.
If you live in Balham it’s probably one of only 4 proper pubs within easy reach. The comedy club is the main attraction but that is quite expensive — nearly 20 quid now.
There is food but I find that the situation of the kitchen (out front at the end of the bar) means that you are going to smell everything being cooked — like it or not. Personally I don’t want to smell chip oil and deep fried fish when I am having a pint early evening or (worse still) just after I have eaten.
Good staff — friendly and not too Australian.

Decent range of beers and whatnot. Nice comedy. Pretty lovely space– particularly the nightclub. Pretty typical DJ-​ing with the same crap you could listen to in any other pub (I.e, the music is crap. Which is a shame. The sound is rather nice). Sticky, beer-​sodden floors. Open late.
If you’re looking for that Oxford-​street/​soho crap club, you could do much worse than come out here– it’s nicer and the people are more real and whatnot. Though you’ll not have any proper real nice music…
I’m sort of tempted to push it up another star. If I were 10 years younger, I probably would. Or, maybe if I came on a comedy night instead.

My housemates and I like the Bedford for a night out of drinking, dancing, and general shennanigans. It has the ultimate selling point of being stumbling distance home and overall is a pretty decent venue.
We started with drinks at the Regent and wandered over. The downstairs bar was crowded (as to be expected on a Saturday night) but we got drinks in short order. Take note though, they don’t serve cocktails downstairs when it gets busy, and by cocktail I mean a whiskey soda which is really a well (1 alcohol plus mixer) drink. But, there is Red Stripe on tap!
Cover to get upstairs was £6. Why £6? why not just £5 so I don’t have to carry coins which just annoys me. I’m going to blow more than a quid on drinks upstairs anyways so is it really worth it?
There are a couple of areas to dance in here. There is a large circular almost gladiatorial ring (perhaps not too far a comparison as guys fight for girls… or vice versa) which leans towards house music. The upstairs seating area has a large dance floor and the music is more jive, r&b and such. Downstairs was crowded and after nearly getting into a fight with a dude who wanted to spin around in the packed space we moved upstairs. I had a great time making a fool of myself and spinning girls around the dance floor so overall a positive experience.
Drinks are reasonably priced and there are plenty of places to sit and relax if you need a break too.
Overall, a good time and a great place to go near home rather than face the masses of Central London.

Generally this is a really relaxed spot filled with locals and comfortable seating. On a cold day, it’s quite cozy to sit in front of the fire on their comfy leather sofas. The food and drink are basic, yet tasty. I had the pâté with a green salad the other night – the pâté is homemade so it’s soft, smooth and fresh. The salad was… well… a salad. Sunday roasts are enormous, so make sure to come without having eaten breakfast or you’ll leave half of it on your plate – you don’t want to be left out of the clean plate club, do you?
On occasion (Sunday’s during the day) the pub can be over-​run and service is hard to come by. But if you are a patient person without a great thirst or hunger, it might be worth the wait.
Although I’ve never been, they also have comedy shows and other performances in their back room. Through the grapevine I’ve heard the shows are quite good. Maybe I’ll give it a try one of these evenings.

— Old looking big pub. Check
— Glowing coloured lights on the outside. Check
— Random Aussie/​Kiwi barstaff. Check
— Lots of beer. Check.
At first glance, The Bedford appears to be pretty much the same as any other grandiose old London boozer but it has two things that really make it stand out from the crowd: character and variety.
Most pubs in London offer the same standards to varying degrees of competence — drinks, food, music, service (cough!) and for want of a better word ‘events’.
The Bedford feels a bit like your Grandma’s house — old, comfortable and with that strange sense of familiarity. It has everything you want from a pub and isn’t really much better or worse than other local competitors in those stakes. But it feels great when you walk in — blazing fire in winter, comfy couches, big viking hall style wooden tables for groups, sneaky nooks for couples and they even still let you take your dog in!
But what totally floats my boat is the aforementioned ‘events’ and the scope inside the building — normal pub, old man’s lounge bar, screens for terrestrial sporting events, funky DJ on a Sunday, live music, comedy, salsa & ballroom lessons, private function hire, nightclub, retro clothing store… the list goes on. If you want somewhere with a bit of everything (or possibly anything!) then The Bedford is really the only local choice.
I have to ask you — where else do you get to see Al Murray the Pub Landlord unbilled as the comedy act on a Friday night?

Wenn man eine Pause vom Stadtzentrum benötigt und Lust zu einer Bootsfahrt flussabwärts hat, lohnt das The Bedford in Balham durchaus einen Besuch. In dieser interessanten künstlerischen Bar findet man Livemusik, Dichter, Tänzer, Schauspieler und Komiker. Einen Besuch wert!

I’ve had two great nights out at The Bedford.
The first time I ventured to this curious venue in Balham was to see some comedy. I was working for a comedy agent’s at the time and had the chance to go see some of our acts play The Bedford (The Banana Cabaret).
The Banana Cabaret has showcased comedy acts big and small and has many shows there through the week. We went on a Friday night, there was a bit of a queue to get in but I really liked the size of the venue, it was pretty big upstairs and there was lots of room to roam around, sit and drink and, of course, watch the comedy.
The second occasion I was at The Bedford was for a simple night out with friends. We had been drinking at the pub until the club night started. There seemed to be two rooms — a smaller room and a bigger venue. The Bedford is pretty big so it’s hard to explain but nevertheless, I had a good time. We danced to a mix of cheesy pop and classic dance numbers — all feel good tunes for a Saturday night.
I’d highly recommend going back to The Bedford, it’s got it all — a nice pub, a great set of comedy nights and a fun, no frills, club if you fancy a wee dance afterwards.

The Bedford in my opinion, is one of the best venues in London for comedy and music. The general bar has a lovely cosy yet vibrant atmosphere whilst the numerous performance rooms are constantly filled with exciting acts from established artists to up and coming ones.
The menu is brilliant and at not too much of a costly price (the chips are definitely recommended), it is brilliant for a group looking for an entertaining evening out. Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday nights are the best for comedy (the weekends showcase the more renowned comedians with the Banana Cabaret). On some evenings you don’t even have to pay to listen to the bands and artists but the staff are pretty strict on keeping talking to the minimum which is absolutely fair enough. In between music, comedy and cabaret they also hold Swing Dance and Tango classes! A great excuse to head to South London. Oh, and ladies — the men always seem to be rather good looking in here!

My absolutely favourite music venue in the whole country. I have travelled there several times over the years as it is where my heart seems to linger.
On first impressions you would think it is just an ordinary pub from the outside. Once inside it is nothing out of the ordinary. Until you walk through the door at the back of the room and enter the Shakespear globe. It is like walking into another world.
The Globe is a fantastic intimate venue with a sparkly backdrop behind the stage. The floor is set out with lots of tables and food is available to order while you enjoy the great live music. Or if you require a more distant view of the stage you can go up the stairs to the balcony which goes right around the room.
If you walk round the balcony and through the door at the back you will find a rather intimate bar area where you can get up close and personal with the artists and chill out on the comfy sofas. There is also another live room where you will find The comedy nights and more live music.
Over the years I have seen many great acts including Alistair Griffin, James Fox, Paolo Nutini, Guy Chambers, The Storys, Foy Vance and a wealth of other great talent.
I will be back!!!
Don’t forget if you can’t make the gig you can always watch live on the
Webcam (
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