The Nightingale Cafe

Totally agreeing with jesca j's review! Paid £7.50 for a stale chewy hard quiche what a rip off! Was expecting something a but more fancier with the way it looks could get 2 better tasting quiches from Asda for that price!

Enjoyed a superb flat white coffe and Danish pastry sitting outside on a sunny Sunday morning while waiting for a train at Victoria round the corner. A busy road but a great place to chill and watch the Londin traffic pass by.

The building is lovely which is what drew us in. The menu was large but out of date as I got an alternative to what I ordered. The staff do have language difficulties with English. I know absolutely no Polish or Croatian so they are doing better than I but nevertheless...

unfriendly staff. we were twice in series, served by two different employees and both were incredibly unfriendly. I never write reviews, but the waiters are so angry that I felt compelled to express my disappointment! it is a real shame, as the building itself is nice comfortable sitting places decent eating, but the personal really let it.

A disgrace. The staff here are unbelievably rude. The scrambled eggs are consistently under cooked (salmonella) and its run by arrogant middle easterns so theres no bacon on the menu. They take a long time to serve you so if you dont need to be anywhere that day then fine. It is frequented by yuppy mummys with yuppy babies who scream alot. Avoid this place like the plague. I feel I must mention the staff here are so rude they dont deserve to still be in business.

I have been a regular at the Balham Nightingale for the past 5 years and I believe there may be some confusion with a similarly named restaurant in Victoria. The TripAdvisor photo is of the Victoria location, but the address is for the Balham one. The Balham Nightingale is always bustling, with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. They serve excellent coffee and offer a good variety of snacks and meals. It is my favorite spot in the area for a delicious cooked breakfast.

Looks nice form the outside, very dark inside Balham Style.Asked for the table to be wiped after given menus. The Nightingale Breakfast at £7.50 ; 2 x fried eggs, baked beans (luke warm) , 3 mushrooms, one half tomato, 2 x 'organic ' sausages (which taste spicy) , NO bacon, 10 chips, 2 pieces of toast (toasted only on one side) with curdled butter in pots. Bacon is not served on query why…. 'we don 't serve it '?Hot drinks not included in breakfast price.Nice decor would look great if cleaned n fresh. Filthy in loo, seat detached off , nice old fashioned scale but covered in dirt.Wil not revisit but walk the short distance to either Balham or Tooting Bec cafes.

Went to the Nightingale Balham) for a coffee and a bit of cake. For that purpose it suited us fine. It's been open a while now and the interior is nicely decked out in an old fashioned way i.e. not brassy etc. Looking at the menu the range is not vast and it's more a place for a snack. I have some sympathy with the comments of other reviewers regarding the breakfasts I'd had one several years ago and it was okay but very pricey. I don't know if it's run by the same people now though. With the likes of Milk or even indeed the chinese Spicy noodle cafe further down the road) competition is fierce in this enclave of South London so I don't think the place can afford to be complacent.

Lovely relaxed cafe. I have used this cafe a few times and every time I have loved it. Great food (falafels recommended). Great decor and big comfortable tables and chairs where customers can use a laptop comfortably. Good mix of people in yesterday from mummies with children, a few business types using laptops to an impeccably turned out lady of senior years enjoying a cream cake and a coffee with evident pleasure. Nice community notice board where local people can put up notices. Friend and I occupied a table for an hour on one cup of coffee no pressure to move on. The management of the cafe are creating a pleasant place where all sorts of people can meet up and pass the time of day in...r...