London Tooting Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “Little wine bar and kitchen, with a great vibe in Tooting Market” – “a consistently delightful gem” with “regularly changing guest chefs” and “a fun and quirky wine list to accompany whatever’s on the menu”. (There’s a spin-off wine bar in a shipping container by Waterloo station.)

2021 Review: High marks again for this brave hipster outpost occupying one of the stalls in Tooting’s covered market, and where funky, seasonal, British small plates are served at the counter. Some diners found themselves “questioning some of the combinations”, but most judged results “very good”.

2021 Review: Helping make Tooting’s Broadway Market a foodie destination, this “very affordable” three-year-old seafood specialist wins praise for its “fabulous food, great service and big smiles”. The “really inventive” approach extends to drinks, which include an “amazing gin cocktail” flavoured with oysters. Antiques trade veteran Jimmy Luttman is an “excellent” host.

2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

2021 Review: “A broad range of dishes with distinct sauces at amazing prices” makes this “basic Pakistani place” a standout on Tooting’s “curry corridor”: “the quality certainly merits the mediocre setting and variable service”; a favourite of Sadiq Khan, it’s “often busy and noisy”. Top Tips: “nihari – slow-cooked lamb shank – is memorable”; “BYO wine is a plus point, too”.

2021 Review: “Incredible thalis at awesome prices”, inspire a dedicated band of devotees to the authentic Sri Lankan and South Indian specialities served up in this “homely dining room”: “maybe not the best, but certainly the best-value lunch in Tooting”.

2021 Review: “It’s a slightly mad room in a shipping container” – well, that’s Pop Brixton for you – but this “relaxed and friendly” 20-seater offers “the epitome of modern dining” with its “super-tasty and interesting” dishes: ‘on-trend small plates created using British ingredients and the ancient techniques of smoking, curing and preserving’.

2021 Review: “High-quality burgers” hit the spot at this funky small chain which “does the simple things well”. The outlets are “fab for families and kids – there’s something for everyone and puddings are a great crowd-pleaser”.

2021 Review: “Tasty tapas”, served in a “slightly odd-shaped room” with a “cheery atmosphere”, have created “a Tooting legend in just a few years” at this “excellent” venue dominated by a marble bar.

2021 Review: “Delicious food and incredibly reasonable prices” ensure that this family-run Thai trio in South London (Brixton, Battersea and Tooting) are “hard to beat – especially with BYO”. You eat “authentically, but very quickly!”