The best restaurants in Tooting

Done out like a Tamil truck-stop with bright lighting and movies on the flatscreen TV, this Sri Lankan and South Indian caff is famed for its minuscule prices and superlative dosas. Veggie options are the standouts – the mysore masala dosa, served with spiced onion, potatoes and homemade chutneys is a winner, as are the onion uthappam and veg biryani.

A tiny Lebanese licensed restaurant, Meza has a kitchen smaller than a Beirut takeaway stall, but manages to turn out a sizeable menu of meze and grilled dishes freshly made to order, from perfectly crisp-shelled falafels to aubergine dips seared with the whiff of the charcoal grill. Highlights? Everything.

A deliciously retro-cool Antipodean joint with toned-down music and a more family-orientated vibe. Everyone comes for brunch. Try the Young Betty (a take on eggs benedict with sourdough rather than a muffin) plus a mango and lemon verbena smoothie or a slice of moist, fluffy banana bread. Breezy young staff are as warm as can be.

If you’re looking for some real Jamaican home cooking, then head down to Dub Pan. Here you’ll find curry goat and slow cooked oxtail, shrimp rundown (juicy shrimp cooked in lots of coconut milk) and saltfish fritters. Their cocktail selection is excellent. Go for the rum punch if you fancy something strong and fruity or Guinness punch for something malty and milky.

A cute little Parisian-style bistro snuggled into a corner of Tooting’s trendy Broadway Market, Bordelaise has bags of character to go with a menu of rustic French small plates and the odd foray to faraway lands. If you’re hungry, go for one of chargrilled rare-breed steaks with Bordelaise sauce, crispy shallots and beef-dripping fries. Try to bag one of the cute sheltered tables ‘outside’ (ie under the cover of the market). 

Apollo Banana Leaf offers an authentic rendering of South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine – and is great value. Though prices have increased, they remain fantastically keen – note the cracking lunchtime deals. Spices are at Jaffna (north Sri Lankan) levels: a single chilli icon on the menu is to be taken seriously; more than two denote a dish for the brave. Try the rich, warmly spiced crab masala, served claws and all.

A spin-off from Peckham’s popular Mr Bao, this hip hangout is a dark, buzzy, atmospheric spot dedicated to fluffy Taiwanese buns and much more besides. Daddy Bao is also cheap, great fun, super-friendly and bang-on for flavour – if you don’t believe us, try the beautiful, melting beef-brisket bao with wasabi slaw or, even better, one of the small plates (sesame-slathered aubergine with spring onions and pomegranate seeds, perhaps). Daddy’s lip-smacking cocktails and bottomless brunch also get our vote.

The busy Little Tapería deals in homespun charm with a striking marble bar that dispenses decent cocktails. Sit near the open kitchen for a glimpse of the chefs working on cool, artistic renditions of croquetas, tortillas, albondigas and more outré ideas such as piquillo peppers stuffed with truffled beef, morcilla scotch eggs or orange and manchego cheesecake.

Keep your coat on when visiting this laidback eatery in Tooting’s chilly Broadway Market, even though Sea Garden’s pimped-up seafood classics, veggie ideas and meaty grills are guaranteed to warm the cockles. Our faves? The bottomless prawn and spicy pineapple marg deal. 

If you fancy your brekkie sunny side up, this café makes for a bright start in Tooting. Breakfast or brunch is served until 3pm and the menu is a familiar run through the classics – eggs benny, corn-fritter stacks, pancakes, granola etc. Smashed avocado is served the Australian way with feta on top, and there are plenty of cakes to go with decent coffee.