The Avalon 16 Balham Hill, London SW12 9EB

"The Avalon, what a chirpy place! A lovely Street side pup in the south of Clapham. Plenty of keg beers and three cask ales on offer, all served by the delightful friendly staff. A large European menu on offer with plenty of seating both inside and out where you may enjoy food, drink and company. Avalon is named after the (mythical) Island of fruit trees from Arthurian legend. No sign of the Lady of the Lake here today. Never mind, the beer is great."

"We hired the Blue Room private function room upstairs at the Avalon to celebrate my birthday. The room accommodates up to 20 people, sitting around a large table. The room itself is of a good size, with high Victorian ceiling and nicely decorated. You can connect your own music to the sound system, just ask the staff. There is the option to have a karaoke sing-off - again you just need to pre-book. The 3-course menu options are varied and everyone liked their choices - which includes veggie. The food was very good and we were all very happy and satisfied. Generally, the level of service was very high, we had our own waiting staff, who looked after our (drinking) needs very efficiently. The booking experience was easy, and emails were answered promptly and the Events team were very effective. We will be back!!"

"I honestly think this is one of the great London pubs. It’s perfect in every season. It’s perfect for a lone pint, for a family meal and, speaking from personal experience, the best place for a large scale event. They’re attentive and helpful and friendly and the food is good value and delicious. 5 stars across the board."

"A pub of two halves, especially on a Saturday. As a man who is now in his 40s I must say I enjoyed the ‘Secret garden’ - with its own bar it manages to be cozy and cool simultaneously. Unfortunately this was closed in the early evening so we had to move into the main bar, which, by this time, was packed full of enthusiastic red-cheeked youngsters. Nothing wrong with that, fair play to them, that was me once - however it means if you are looking for something more laid back then you will have to move on."

"The Avalon is a place I visit semi-regularly. On Sundays it is absolutely rammed. I would say it’s best to make a reservation. On a weekday with a football match on, most tables in the pub area become full from reservations, but the restaurant area is huge (and very pretty). Now, I would said that The Avalon has the best pub pizza I’ve tried thus far. They have a more interesting pizza menu than usual, but will also modify it to fit your preferences. For me, a good pizza is in the stringiness of the cheese and the tomato base; this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s priced at around £30 for a 20 inch and about £13 for the 12 inch. I have also tried other bits off the menu in the restaurant and found them all to be quite good quality for the neighbourhood pub. Quite a mixed crowd which I enjoy. The staff are attentive and accommodating always."