foodLDNreview
Tootoomoo’s Asian tapas menu.
7.10.16
Sampling the new tapas menu in Crouch End, London.
My favorite indulgence - when it comes to dinner, at least - is the ability to try lots of things all at once. Growing up in a foodie Chinese family, I’m fairly accustomed to evening meals comprising of individual bowlfuls of rice, plenty of dipping sauces and three or four sharing dishes, generously heaped on plates and sat in the middle of the table. (The food, not us!) This tapas-style of eating has remained with me even up until today and so I was more than excited to be invited over to sample the new Tootoomoo branch and its’ menu over in Crouch End, London.
Tootoomoo is a modern, Pan-Asian restaurant with a huge range of tapas-style dishes in a vibrantly decorated setting. I had to make note of the beautiful interiors, from somebody that once helped her parents design a restaurant from scratch. It covers all sorts of Asian cuisine, from Japanese to Thai, Chinese and Szechuan. There’s really something to please everybody!
We began with cocktails - a Lychee Martini for me and a Red Square for my boyfriend - which were the perfect start to the evening. The restaurant would certainly make an apt venue for a celebration!
Onto the food… Like I previously mentioned, Tootoomoo operates in a tapas style with each dish available on a small plate, perfect for sharing. We were recommended to select 3 dishes each and so we opted for the Shichimi Squid, Veggie Spring Rolls, Vegetarian Potstickers, Aromatic Duck, Veggie Pad Thai and Veggie Tofu Szechuan Chilli. (Spoiler alert: this is the *perfect* amount of food for two!)
Dishes are served as they’re ready which isn’t a worry with the sharing manner of the meal. We both absolutely loved the Shichimi Squid, gluten-free, and served with a wonderful Japanese pepper sprinkling and sweet chilli dip. Squid is almost always my go-to for a starter and this was easily one of the best I’ve tasted with a light yet crisp batter and perfectly cooked squid. I would've liked to see the Vietnamese fish sauce and chilli dip but the one that was provided was great nonetheless.
Other standouts for me were the Veggie Spring Rolls and the Pad Thai - oh that Pad Thai!! I’m such a sucker for a good pad Thai and the Tootoomoo one was brilliantly tangy with plenty of crunch, plenty of texture and a perfect portion size.
To finish off the evening, we were treated to a bowl of Fro-Yo each (always a winner!) which can be topped with a range of classic dessert toppings. My boyfriend and I were both so full that we opted for a simple drizzle of chocolate sauce which, accompanied with a bottle of Shiraz, turned out to be the ideal way to round-up our Thursday evening.
A huge thank you must go to Tootoomoo, Crouch End for hosting us last week! We couldn’t recommend it more for a casual but still special meal out.
12 Crouch End Hill, Crouch End, N8 8AA. Closed on Mondays.
