About two years since my first visit to Good Neighbour in Camberwell, a popular wine bar and restaurant from Australian chef Paul Williamson, I was pleased to hear that they had successfully expanded to a second site, this time nestled in the heart of Tooting Broadway. Despite my many years of living in London, I have yet to explore the restaurant and bar scene in Tooting, and Good Neighbour was definitely the perfect reason to venture down south of the river from the depths of East London (my longing for the Crossrail continues two years on …)
Kicking off our Saturday evening with some cocktails, I went for the eye-catching lavender-tinged Aviation whilst Emma ordered a bubbly French 75. The kitchen is headed up by Spanish chef Josue Otero and we certainly felt spoilt for choice as we perused the sumptuous selection of dishes on the menu. We started with a couple of snacks, the artichoke & parmesan dip with sourdough and the spicy Korean fried chicken with sesame and spring onion which I was very fond of – I’ve recently been bingeing on Korean dramas which has had me craving fried chicken 24/7. They also have a selection of cheese & charcuterie from which we ordered a trio selection including the nutty 6 month Comte, a creamy Cornish Yarg, and Proscuitto.
Moving on to the larger plates, we shared a selection of vegetable, seafood and meat dishes. From the vegetarian section, we ordered a refreshing salad which was a mix of fennel, blood orange, green apple, radicchio & pine nuts. The gorgonzola walnut filled gnocchi with wild mushrooms definitely caught my attention whilst I was browsing the menu and it was just what I needed to kerb my carb craving. I’ve never had filled gnocchi, and although the texture of the gnocchi itself was not as light and fluffy as regular gnocchi, I quite enjoyed it with the rich filling and the delectable brown butter sauce that it was smothered in.
The miso cod and savoy cabbage ‘parcels’ were delicious mouthfuls, with an added subtle sweetness from the sweetcorn and sharpness from the pickles, topped with crunchy lotus crisps that added some texture. Another seafood dish that we tried was the grilled & cured tuna accompanied by a miso cauliflower puree, heritage beet & apple salsa, and pickled shitake.
My favourite dish of them all was most probably the melt-in-your-mouth lamb shoulder tournedos, served on top of a decadent layer of dauphinoise potatoes accompanied by a flavoursome romesco, salsa verde, and topped with crispy shallots.
For dessert we shared the classic vanilla crème brûlée which certainly worked down a treat with some dessert wine to finish off our evening.
Good Neighbour in Tooting in open for dinner on weekdays from Monday to Thursday (5pm – 11pm), with additional brunch/lunch offerings on Friday, Saturday (9am – midnight), and Sunday (9am – 5pm).
- My visit to Good Neighbour Tooting was complimentary – views and photos are my own.