I have lived on and off in Clapham over the past 2 years, with a stint in small town South Africa inbetween. I grew up down the road(ish) in Herne Hill, and spent a couple of years living in rural Wales.
So by my well travelled standards Clapham is rather exciting!
Well, it isn't Camden..it isn't Shoreditch.. but it has it's perks and it has more than just sheep or biltong dens..
When I first moved here I spent alost every evening I had free in Bar Local. Which is a small, almost grotty little bar but it is qiant and has that sexy grimeyness about it.
They serve easy, yummy food like burgers and nachos, they do a Mojito Monday where you get two mojotos for £5.. and they come in various exotic flavours, not just your standard mint..
Local artists are exhibited on the walls, and there is a generally friendly chilled out slightly boho atmosphere about the place.
I tried out Grafton House in Old Town a few times too. Over priced and snooty.
Personally I like places with edge, personality and character. If you like Expensive champagne cocktails, designer hadbags, hugo boss suits and that feeling of being privaledged to be served at a place.. then Grafton is for you. I felt posh drinking there, but I felt poor the next day. A lot of fakeness I felt.
I like the Artesian Well down on Wandsworth Road too. Gets a bit clubby later on on a Friday and Saturday night, but earlyier on it has a nice chilled bar feel to it. Good music and such an incredible decor! It is like being inside an ancient myth.

Aside form places to drink, Clapham has some other gems. Clapham Picture House is a great cinema. It is small and shows some underground/ arty films as well as most of the big general releases. There is a little bar area and it's nice to just go there for a coffee during the day.
For South London, Clapham is not bad.
But it could be better.
But it does feel inescapebly 'South'.
So if you live South anyway, come to Clapham!
If you live in Angel (which Clapham, well, isn't really 'like'), unless you have a lazy mate who lives this side who is insisting you come visit, I can see why you'd stay in Angel.

Maybe if more trendy, arty Angel-ites and the likes popped over our way though, Clapham could have a revolution..?

Clapham has some good bars and restaurants but there is nothing spectacularly out of the ordinary. Locals mainly consist of mid-20s middle class types who work in the city or are in law/marketing/advertising/PR, and there are a lot of Aussies/travellers too. So cutting edge nightlife/eating it ain't. Quick note-most of the food in the area is pretty poor as most of the locals are not old enough to know what good food is (sounds harsh!). A lot are in 1st jobs after leaving uni, and as a result will eat anything put in front of them, so in general the quality is not that great (although you wouldn't know it with the prices that are attached to some meals). But there are very good places here, and I'll try to list them.
Clubs/bars:
Revolution bar and the legendary Inferno's are great pulling joints (especially the latter).
White House-pretty people dancing to House Music-nice open air terrace.
Souk-dj bar-more of the pretty people dancing to house.
Arch 365-bar/club-house music.
Cafe Sol-is a Mexican restaurant but at the weekends the tables get put away late at night and it becomes a cheesy club sort of thing. The same as Infernos's, a lot smaller, but it doesn't cost a tenner to get in either.
Revolution bar: one of the vodka bar chains-lots of early 20s people looking to recreate their recent student union days but drinking classy vodka cocktails (yeah right) in their HM/TopShop clothes instead of drinking snakey b in jeans. But the girls are good looking, I can't deny that
Kasbah-gay bar.
Two Brewers-gay club
(Quick note-Clapham is a gay friendly area-the 2 places above are specifically gay but open to all).
Sport: you can watch football at the Clapham North or the Alexander pubs (the Alex as it's known is largest and has more screens).
The Royal Oak also has a big screen-it's quite small and fills up quickly though. Avoid the food-small portions and over priced.
Pubs and bars-from the Clapham North end and working up towards Clapham Common:
The Falcon-big yellow pub, very nice beer garden, one of my favourite places for a drink.
The Clapham North-decent food (good Sunday lunch but not huge portions), good looking crowd at weekends. Also has Sky for football games.
The Railway-nice pub, run by same people as the Falcon-nice upstairs bit, good for a quiet drink.
Rinky Dink-small and rammed at weekends, go for the happy hours for drinks/pizza when they're on.
The Bierodrome-Belgo style restaurant-good food, bar gets busy on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Alexander (Clapham Common tube)-biggest place for sports in Clapham. Dark inside so not ideal for summer days.
Clapham Old Town-The Sun-rammed on nice summer evenings-pitch up and try to pull.
The Tim Bobbin-older crowd, not a party joint-good pub, decent food.
Frog and Forget me Not-good pub for sport, nice pub anyway, great roof terrace if you can get a seat.
The Calf-really nice chilled pub, good place to drink and eat. Pool table at the back.
The WIndmill (halfway between Clapham Common and Clapham South)-big pub, very nice interior, not cheap but a good place to chat.
Food:
If you want to splash the cash and have a great meal then go elsewhere. But for cheap eats there are some stand outs of good quality:
La Terraza (Bedford Road-next to the Falcon). Has bright orange awning-none of the Claphamite cool crowd really go here so they won't tell you about it. Spanish (not Portugese tapas), not expensive and good quality.
Alba Pizzeria-Tiny pizza joint serving excellent pizzas.
Cafe Sol-Mexican joint-no idea if it's any good but is probably a safe pair of hands.
Bodeans-one of the chain. Sophisticated it ain't, great American food it is.
The Pepper Tree (Clapham Common)-best place in Clapham-cheap Asian food, no reservations, nice bright/clean interior, you eat then leave, no real

I have been a Claphamenite for over a year now but the pull of North London is still strong. Comparing drunkard Aussies camping out trying to force feed the general public silly touch Aussie rules against the blissful harmony of Hampstead heath is not really a fair comparison. In fact I took a recent date all the way up north instead of central london. As you lucky Highgaters will know-the flask is one of the best pubs...well pretty much ever! Saying all this, I wouldn't trade living in St Ockwell/Clapham for the longer commute as I am in essence a very lazy man! Word out