The Exhibit Bar

Really brilliant place! Beautiful inside, chilled atmosphere and great feeling. Cannot believe I have not yet experienced the cinema yet, but watch this and I will soon review the cinema too as I am off to visit this Friday! Definitely worth a visit, it is small however and doesn't really get going often or until late, so much better as a quiet one before a date :)

The Exhbit in balham is easily found its in a great location.Heart of Balham. Nearest staion is Balham Staion Food was greast. Service was good. Toilets were nice and clean. staff where amazing. I enjoyed there tasty burgers and fries. very local to myself as i live nearby. Worth visiting if near by. In the evening it is the place to be as they have a bar a big dancefloor. amazing music. good DJ. drinks are reasonable. good place to be. very famous. people from all over london pop by.

what more can you ask for food, beer, movies. what a place. great vibe, great place
http://www.youtube.com/vidify#p/u/55/O6x39CPYSrg

It has a bar, restuarnt and cinema all in one.
Major plus point was the nintendo wii that you could rent out.
And the huge fish tank!
Nice beer garden too.
Right next to the rail station, so you can stumble home after closing hours.
Big drinking spot for TUBES from Soccer AM

Balham has always been one of those places I have considered waaaaaaay down South. My trip to The Exhibit was my first time down there and I was pleasantly surprised to find the trip from Victoria on the overground quick and easy.

We started in the bar, which I must admit I was not mad about. Maybe I just chose badly from the menu but I thought the drinks were just ok. The passion martini I had was very sweet and hard to drink, but I suppose I expected passion juice and I got passion flavored liquor or something like it instead. However it was all up from there...

The cinema was great. I love the intimacy of 12 leather couches for 2. It was comfortable and a treat to be at a cinema where you could have a proper glass of wine. I wish all my cinematic experiences could be like this!

On to dinner, which was also good, solid pub food. My salmon was cooked really well with properly crispy skin. I was just a bit disappointed by the sticky toffee pudding, which is one of my favorite things. It was not as moist as I like and the cream on my plate I think was sour cream? Whatever it was it did not mix well with the pudding.

All in all it was a really pleasant place to spend an evening and I would definately go back, particularly for a film and dinner.

I came here for the Qype Anchorman screening and have to say was pretty impressed with the whole setup - before the screening, the downstairs bar was pretty full, but pretty vibrant with a good mix of people, and bar staff who know how to mix decent cocktails.

The screening room was excellent, definitely the highlight, with comfy chairs and the kind of setup you want in your own home the day you win the lottery.

The food at the restaurant was cheap and good value, nothing to complain about (at least not what I ate). Service was great as well.

The only downside to the place was later on when the downstairs bar somehow turned into what I could only describe as a drunken student venue - this was only due to the shift in clientele during the night and nothing to do with the place itself - but the mood was different. Overall though two thumbs up!

The Exhibit is an all-in-one entertainment centre. Everything you need for a night out - cinema, bar and restaurant all in one place.

The bar is pretty hip, and the private cinema is brilliant. Very comfy two-seat couches with candlelit tables and drinks around the corner. What more could you ask for?

Must admit I wasn't over the moon about the restaurant. The food is super cheap (all starters £3, all mains £9), but it shows in quality. There are plenty of places in Balham that are better for about the same price.

Go here for everything but the food!

When I heard about The Exhibit Bar I was immediately suspicious: a bar that was boasting to be Bar, Restaurant and Cinema ... as a bit of a cinephile this sounded like an all to familiar mashup that ultimately destroyed the cinema part of the experience.
I was lucky enough to blag an invite to the Qype meetup there on Friday for the Anchorman screening so a real chance to find out. Meeting in the bar downstairs we started with cocktails, the staff were brilliant and really knew their stuff. We moved on to the top floor for the screening where I was pleased to find a completely self contained cinema with lush leather couches each with tables for our drinks.
After the movie its down to the lively restaurant on the middle floor and again great service and good food. So after all my reservations about this type of venue, The Exhibit Bar somehow pulled it off on all three counts.

Have wanted to go here for ages but just hadn't managed it, I finally got a chance with a Qype meet-up group which absolutely rocked.

Firstly Exhibit rocks because it is uber easy to get to/find. Opposite Balham station, in fact, you could see your train approaching and dash for it if you are feeling brave. I didn't quite get a chance to put this into practice, too many cocktails in great company made me miss my last train but hey there is a cab station right next to the bar - yes, it is that conveniently placed but I digress...

The staff were so friendly and even when it got busy later on, there was still banter on hand and quick orderly service.

The intimate cinema at the top of the building is a great set-up and sits about 25-30. You can hire it out for private do's and I am seriously considering it as part of a hen-party package.

The event manager at Exhibit was on hand to explain all the great things the bar has on offer including prices and mentioned that all these details could be found on their website as well.

We also ate at the restaurant and the food was fine & generous in portion. Food score 6 out of 10

Once again the waiting staff mirrored the bar staff in being ultra friendly and efficient. The staff score a huge 8.9 out of 10

It would not be a Woodyrocks review if I didn't comment on the toilets and Exhibits scored about 4.3 out 10. They did have full lenght mirrors which rocks but there was no toilet roll in a couple of cubicles.

The music was varied and very loud. It is not a place for chatting but hey late on a Friday night, I am guessing you are not there for heart to hearts with your mates but a bit of fun.

Would definitely return to exhibit, even if only just to hire the cinema for my mates and I.

Normally I find that when a venue tries to be all things to all people, it ends up being nothing to nobody (shut up, double-negative pedants)... Exhibit however, pulls it off.

The top floor screening room is definitely the highlight: large wall projection and tiered leather sofa seating for 2 dozen or so make it a perfect place to hire for a screening for your friends, or to pop in and catch a recent release for a fiver.

The middle floor houses a decent restaurant with a well priced menu: pork ribs were fall off the bone succulent, and the risotto was creamy and flavoursome (two dishes that seem to be commonly ruined in many places). Definitely check the specials board though, I was overcome with food envy at the sight of the lamb shoulder.

The only part I can possibly find fault with is the ground floor bar, which evolved over the night from a nice place to have some 2 for 1 cocktails (variations on mojitos a specialty, but of seemingly random strength and composition during happy hour) and a chat, into the kind of drunken-dancing to tinnitus-inducing music that I would have loved 5 years ago, but is no longer enjoyable for my aging eardrums and liver.

Let's see … I visited Exhibit Bar for a recent Qype screening of Anchorman. It was a lot of fun and the folks at Exhibit were great hosts. As I enjoyed three distinctly different aspects of this venue I suppose I should break this review down into three parts:

• Main bar: buzzy atmosphere, variety of comfortable seating options, great cocktails. I had a refreshing and expertly mixed “Extra Old” Mojito – really enjoyed it. I suppose what the bar (as well as the whole of Exhibit) has going for it is its close proximity to Balham Station. It's a brilliant place for meeting up for a drink, as many folks were indeed doing on my Friday night visit.

• Restaurant: Good solid pub-y menu. I had a Roquefort, walnut and endive salad as well as an 8oz burger with chips. Really liked the food. Can't say it was the greatest ever but I really can't complain. What I absolutely loved was the friendly and attentive service. The staff here hustle! And I really appreciated that aspect of my dining experience. Too often, I find service in London restaurants to be lackadaisical – often to the point of being insulting. The manager and wait staff at Exhibit went the extra mile to accommodate our large group and did their best to make sure we were looked after properly.

• Screening room: plush! I've been in nicer private screening rooms but never one as comfortable. It was an ideal setting for watching a movie with a group of friends. I'd be happy to book it for a special occasion (reasonable per hour rates!).

All in all, a great local venue with lots going on. I'm glad I know about it and can happily recommend it to anyone looking for a fun night out in Balham.

WOW this place is awsome, first floor very cool,cosy and great atmosphere they even have a wall length fish tank open fire with a nintendo wee that you can play witch i thought was UBER cool, then you go to the 2nd floor very very romantic low lit dinning room which looked like one of those places you can take a girl on a first date, very cool. and then last but not least one of the best fetures is the 24 seater cinema can you believe it, awsome films very comfy 2 seater sofas. this place is in the top 5 places in LONDON

i HAD DINNER HERE LAST FRIDAY great place food wine service, this confirms now that its in my top 5 if not top 3 places in london

Great bar/restaurant making the heart of Balham. Come here during the week to avoid big crowds and hear your friends talk!

Nothing special about this place really. A fairly decent plce to meet for a drink, but only if you have enough to make the evening decent already without depending on the venue to provde atmosphere.
The restaurants sub standard- i had lamb which, though was half price, was dry and felt i could have cooked it better.
On the plus side its got a large area outside- nice to sit there when the sun’s out and people watch after work. The cinema’s also quite quirly- showing films on a wed and thu, and allowing you to take in your pudding and chill out in big comfy chairs.
All in all its 'okay.’ Nothing to rave about and nothing to complain about.

Some years ago, (4 or 5 perhaps), this place was one of the best to go in Balham, whether for a quick beer or a whole night out. However, the management then changed, (can you guess what’s coming?), and things have been going downhill since then.

Service is consistently slow, and the bar staff seem unable to serve people in order - even when the bar is empty. On top of this, the whole place now just feels a little shabby and rough around the ages.

It’s a shame as the location, (as in, “close to the tube”, rather than “overlooking Sainsbury’s car park”) and size of this place make it a perfect place to start a big night out - but once you get in the illusion is ruined.

• UPDATE: I felt a little bad after writing the above review, and so popped in again recently to give the place one more try. As a result, I’ve downgraded this review to one star. Quite simply, The Exhibit has the rudest and most incompetent bar staff in Balham (perhaps even South London). The icing on the cake? A pint of Guinness in the Exhibit is more expensive than in Harrison’s! Go there instead.**

My body has been yearning for a decent steak since I moved to London a year ago. After numerous attempts at a variety of establishments, ranging from Gastro Pubs to big name steak chain restaurants , I am glad to report that this carnivorous Saffa has finally been satisfied. The steak I ordered was akin to angels weeping on my tongue. The starter was amazing, and on a whole the entire structure is a beautifully quirky setting. It obviously didn’t hurt that it was 50% off food that night (Mondays).

Typifies a bar that offers very little and no quality draught beers. They have even taken the San Miguel off. Fosters, Carling, Amstel and Carlsburg. Why would anybody want drink this muck.

A decent local bar a stones throw away from Balham tube station so it’s nice and handy for an after work 'sherry’ on your way home.
I have also been there in the afternoon for a spot of lunch and the food is ok, nothing to shout too loud about! It has a decent sized patio area (the view of of Sainsbury’s car park is not that great) but in the summer somehow you don’t mind the view as the atmosphere is always cool.
I don’t know anyone who has been to the cinema but I am curious to find out what it’s like…...

went here last saturday, was ok but like most of Balham it lacked any sort of atmosphere to make you want to stay. The seating area outside is good though with loads of space.

It’s got a fish tank too, in fact I like to think this is where those fish who have done their time in infernos come to retire.

Quite a nice little bar/restaurant actually. I hardly ever go into Balham and i was delighted to find a place like this with a bit of soul and quite a few young revellers (Hooray! Balham isn’t just leafy streets and 30’somethings called Toby). Exhibit is actually a decent place to go out on a Friday night as long as you don’t mind queuing a bit for drinks, i’d highly recommend it. I didn’t get a chance to check out the restaurant or the cinema, but i’m told both are good. Lots of outdoor seating and it’s free to get in (even after midnight).

All in all a surprisingly decent place. Must come back to check out the cinema….