Tasty Pan-Asian

After hearing about a new menu and a refurb at Tootoomoo in Crouch End, I dropped in at the weekend with my other half to check out the changes. 

As first conceived, Tootoomo was all about offering the best of the tastes of Asian street food to north London. Now, owner Phillip McGuinness, wants to offer more from the experience of dining in. He's changed the feel of the interior, and added more seating and a bar area. He's also adding some tasty sounding new dishes to the menu.

New bar area at the front of Tootoomoo with a marble counter running through the middle

The bar area offers a new place to grab a drink before you eat. Inside, new booth seating areas have been added. One area you can't miss is a striking all red area.

A striking new area at Tootoomoo designed to reflect the feel of a restaurants in Vietnam

Some people love it apparently. I can see choosing it for a night time meal, but on a Sunday lunchtime, the day after the night before, we opted for the next area bathed in a soothing winter light.

Other seating areas Phillip has created include generous booths for families or groups and diner-style tables for two.

So much for the refurb, so what about the food?

I have to admit to scepticism when trying a new menu restaurant or menu in London. I'm always prepared to be disappointed, but hope not to be. When I'm doing this locally and thinking about writing up my visit, there's an added complication of not wanting to be critical of a local business. So, it was a huge relief to us both that we both really enjoyed our meal at Tootoomoo. 

Duck & Watermelon Salad

After some snacky bits, we started with the Duck and Watermelon salad. There's a nice balance to this dish. The rich crispy duck is balanced with fresh leaves and little explosions of sweet juiciness from the chunks of watermelon. The whole lot is served with a hoisin flavoured dressing that makes the dish irresistibly reminiscent of crispy duck pancakes.

Cod Tempura - Tootoomoo's Asian take on our national dish!

Our next dish was Cod Tempura. The name doesn't really do this dish justice really. It's a playful Asian adaptation of fish & chips that could have gone so wrong. As executed, it works really well. Moist chunks of cod are cooked in a light tempura batter and served with a green chilli aioli and crispy chips dusted with spices. (I had to control myself and not order a second serving of this dish).

Our final dish was Wasabi Lamb. The beautifully tender lamb was cooked in a wasabi jus. The flavouring was not so strong as to dominate the dish, but enough to make its point! It was served with green beans. My other half informed me that beans were 'dry fried'. This is a Sichuan cooking style in which the green beans are fried until the skin starts to "pucker". This makes them extra tender.

We rounded off the meal with a very competently made Pistachio crème brûlée.

We'd both happily go back for more. The food was really tasty and playful enough to be interesting. 

I checked with Philip after the meal about how much of the food was bought in or pre-cooked. He told me that everything they serve is made in Tootoomoo's kitchen every day. That includes the sauces, the pasta, the wontons and deserts, literally everything.

Tootoomoo: 12 Crouch End Hill , Crouch End , N8 8AA | www.tootoomoo.co.uk

Note: These views are my own and are neither solicited nor paid for