London Tooting Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: Laura Aitkin & Kiki Evans’s “quirky” wine bar in Tooting Market is “worth a visit for a fun evening” spent with an “eclectic wine list and food menu” – the latter from a succession of guest chefs (“go for the unusual wines based on themes e.g. myths”). The pair have a second wine bar in a shipping container by Waterloo station.

“Reliable curries. Quite spicy!” – This stalwart Pakistani restaurant has played a leading role in Tooting’s development as a destination for curry-lovers over the past three decades, under founder Zahid Iqbal and now his son Numan.

2024 Review: “Always delicious”, this well-known Pakistani canteen on Tooting’s ‘curry corridor’ offers the “same fun and good-value food as it has for years”. A favourite of local boy-made-mayor Sadiq Khan (so come on foot or by public transport), it has an offshoot in Coulsdon, on London’s southern fringe.

2022 Review: “A must-visit on Tooting High Street” – this modest and “amazing-value” family-run café was one of the first in London to serve “authentic and delicious hoppers and other Sri Lankan specialities” when it opened 31 years ago. “The lunch menu is really good for a cheap ’n’ cheerful meal, but for the best experience go in the evening and eat in the back dining room”.

“I don’t know why it hasn’t been picked up for a Michelin star”, say fans of Remi Williams & Aaron Webster’s Tooting hotspot, who feel it “should be shouted out more by restaurant guides” (to be fair, the Tyre Men do nowadays list it). Named for its use of smoking and salting, the interesting food is provided as an assortment of menus, with options ranging upwards from the two-course mid-week menu providing two courses for £30 per person up to the ‘Culture’ tasting menu for £70 per person. “For the price point, the quality and service is outstanding. If this place was in Central London, you wouldn’t be able to get a table”.

“Reliably tasty small plates and a jolly vibe” make this “inventive” and “friendly” tapas bar near Tooting Broadway “a great meeting place any day of the week”. It was opened 11 years ago by ex-food journalist Madeleine Lim and restaurateur Hikmat Antippa, who also owns nearby Turkish spot Meza.

“Great value and so authentic” – this family-run trio in Brixton, Battersea and Clapham offer some of the “best local Thai food in London”, and the BYO policy helps keep costs to a minimum.

“Authentic Basque cooking served on small plates, so you can sample a range of full-flavoured dishes” is found at the back of Tooting’s Broadway Market at this venture from founder, artist Cristina Ruiz, and head chef Jorge López. If you have yet to taste Spain’s famous Txuleta steak from retired dairy cows, this might be the place to do it – a plate here costs as little as £15.

“This nightclub-style, Pakistani/Afghan grill specialist in Tooting is packed night after night – especially after prayers on a Friday” – for “terrific spicy meats, grilled or curried”, in “extremely generous portions”. So “book ahead to avoid queuing” – and note: it is a “dry restaurant, not even BYOB”. Top Tip – “whole lamb grilled at nearby tables generates jealousy: take a big team” (to be ordered 24 hours ahead).

“Loving the BBQ meats!” On the main drag a few minutes’ walk from Tooting Broadway station, Filipino chef Rex De Guzman (ex-Maze) brings his former market stall to its first permanent address. You’ll find traditional Filipino grills and desserts – and larger groups can share a ‘Boodle Fight’ feast, served on banana leaves without crockery or cutlery. Too limited feedback for a rating, but all good so far.