Mote - rhymes with boat, not foot

Another new café/bar/restaurant in Tooting to try out, and this place definitely is worth giving a go.

I went on a Saturday around lunch time and was really surprised to find that there was just one other person here, I guess the location is a bit out of the way. There would be little in the way of passing foot traffic. I expect and hope that it is popular with the hospital crowd.

Nice style, reasonably well executed (in my entirely unqualified opinion)

Baby Spiller was snoozing so I was able to relax, as suggested by the piping on the wall.

I was making chicken schnitzel for dinner so couldn't go for the house special of schnitzel. Instead I had a chicken and bacon salad with a flat white.

The menu looks pretty good, there would be a number of things I would like to try. It is order and pay at the bar, which gives it a slightly more bar/pub vibe than restaurant. You're supposed to know your table number when you order. I couldn't see my table number but figured it didn't matter as I was the only person ordering. When I got back to my table I hunted out the number, it was hidden in the pot plant.

The salad was very nice. If I could have one complaint, it would be that it was served on a plate, it probably would have been better in a bowl. But that's such a ridiculous complaint to have you can tell that it was pretty darn good, I'd definitely have it again.

I was looking forward to the coffee. They use Climpson and Son's coffee, which I am familiar with from my regular morning coffee at Local Hero in Kingston. It is very nice when done well.

Unfortunately my flat white was burnt to within an inch of its life, it was a real shame as the milk was steamed very well, maybe a bit more of a cap than flat white but nice strong steamed milk. If the coffee wasn't burnt it could have been a very good brew.

Looks fine, didn't taste the best I'm afraid.

Service was fine but given I was the only one there for most of the time it can't have been too tough on them.

I really like the fit out, it's a bit different to other venues we've got in Tooting. It does have TV's which sometimes can bring the tone down, but I don't think it did here. I liked this place a lot and hope they do well. I worry that there location is going to make it tough for them.

On the baby/child friendly front, once again I didn't have need for the baby change facilities (neither did baby Spiller) but the rest of the place seemed pretty good for those of us with little ones. Easy access and plenty of space for prams.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 9/13 (too hot I guess, although I'd rather that than something luke warm)
Aroma: 6/13 (you could tell it was burnt just from the small)
Flavour: 6/13 (I'd rather strong burnt than too weak)
Texture:  12/13
Presentation: 11/13

General
Service: 10/13
Food: 11/13
Atmosphere: 10/13 (I really enjoyed my own company in a nice environment)

Overall 9/13 (this blog is supposed to be about the coffee, so this had to be marked down, but I will be back and highly recommend giving it a go)

Baby/child friendly 11/13 (I think this would be a much better parent and baby venue than Gravney and Meadow but it's location probably will mean it will never reach those levels of popularity.


 

(please note: any complaints on the title of this blog can be directed to Mrs Spiller)

Graveney & Meadow - a tooting rock star

You wouldn't believe that Graveney & Meadow has been open for less than a year in Tooting. What did everyone in the Greater Tooting area do before Graveney & Meadow?

It was quite an audacious plan. Taking a dodgy nightclub and turning it in to a massive bar, coffee shop, restaurant and bakery.  Whether it was incredible prescience or luck, Graveney & Meadow is exactly what Tooting was crying out for and has led the way for a new wave of great new food and drink venues.

My first experience of Graveney & Meadow was at Tootopia, prior to the proper opening. I've been back several times since it's opened, usually for coffee. I haven't done brunch or dinner there.

It is affiliated in some way with the Antic group and has the obligatory Antic style fit out, and it works well even though G+M is a bit of a different offering to the usual Antic pub.

There are two distinct areas, a dining room and front bar/cafe area. Actually, now a third area - the massive outdoor space which is a bit scruffy but has plenty of bbq tables, I suspect in time that will develop further.

I would say G+M get just as many, if not more young children in on a Saturday than Bertie and Boo's adventure island. I think G+M is a regular meet up spot for parents. I guess one of the reasons it has drawn the parent crowd, other than its location,  is that there is plenty of space available for prams.

I do find it odd sometimes, because other than the space and location there are a few things that don't work very well for parents, such as there being plenty of opportunity for young kids to get into trouble (such as stealing food from the self service bakery). Also the doors aren't very pram friendly - awkward and heavy and it is dark - which is actually probably annoying for anyone trying to see the coins in their wallet when trying to pay.

As well as the above gripes, I do find the location of the bakery food, separate to the service area a bit inconvenient and as a result they probably miss out on some cake sales. Also, as with most Antic establishments the staff can be a bit indifferent, I guess it's part of their too cool for school image which actually works in their favour.

All those points aside, G+M has is firmly colonised by us parenting folks at certain times of the week. I've probably been a bit unkind to say the only reasons for this is because of the location and space, the coffee, food and atmosphere is great which is why G+M became a local favourite so quickly.

Anyway, that's enough of that, you can read all about Graveney and Meadow in all sorts of places, and fact is the 3 people that read this blog will have no doubt spent more time at G+M than I have!

The coffee is interesting. I think they're still using Workshop Coffee roasts, which are highly regarded by people that know more about coffee than I. I really like their flat white which is very consistently prepared no matter who makes it. Somehow though, I find the coffee to be dry, in the kind of way that you can get a dry wine. I'm not sure if that is just me but that is what I find and it hasn't changed. That's not to say it's a bad thing, it's just my experience of that coffee.

My most recent visit was on a Wednesday afternoon when unusually, there was not a single other baby in the place, Baby Spiller was fast asleep and there were just a few people there. It was a great opportunity to sit and relax, enjoy the tunes and read my book. And enjoy my coffee of course!

I've not had the food recently enough to comment, and I've not eaten brunch or dinner there. From other reports I've seen the food is good.

As well as doing a very good flat white, a friend convinced me to have a mocha which is definitely one of the best mochas around. It is small but the flavour is really something else, worth a try even if it's not usually you're drink of choice.

That's enough on that, scores...

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 11/13
Aroma: 11/13
Flavour: 11/13
Texture:  11/13
Presentation: 10/13

General
Service: 9/13
Food: n/a/13
Atmosphere: 10/13

Overall 11/13

Baby/child friendly 8/13

There are so many facets to Graveney & Meadow, check out these other write ups for different perspectives:

Time Out review
Drinks and Nibbles blog
I am Daisy Alice blog
Loots of Tooting blog
Livia Loves blog
Vintage reflection blog

You can also check out Graveney & Meadow on Twitter (@GraveneyMeadow) and the web (graveneyandmeadow.com)

Fisher and Co. nothing fishy here

Fisher and Co. is one of the most recent additions to the burgeoning Tooting cafe scene.

We've been a few times since it opened and have really enjoyed it.

They have secured a great corner location and have made the most of it with big windows so it is a really bright cafe. It is kind of the antithesis of Gravney and Meadow in that respect.

I like the layout inside, not to crowded, particularly around the entrance.

One tricky thing with this place is the heavy doors, it can make it difficult to get in, particularly with a pram. The trick is, if you're trying to get in with a pram to push both doors open till they stay open, you can then stroll in easily. The staff seem pretty aware of the heavy doors and usually rush to help out.

Once inside it is very baby friendly, high chairs available, room for prams and welcoming staff.

There are a variety of food options on offer including daily specials, home made sausage rolls and scotch eggs - I've tried both and they are very tasty.

At times I feel the cafe lacks something, maybe a bit of atmosphere. I also am not sure they've got the food offerings quiet right, I can't really put my finger on it, perhaps it's how it's displayed. I'm really not sure what it is. That said I've enjoyed all my visits.

As an added benefit the coffee is very good and has got better with every visit - hot, good texture, good flavour, an all round solid performer.

The staff have also got better with time, it always takes some time for new places to get the creases ironed out and they're getting there. They are all very welcoming, helpful and enthusiastic.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 12/13
Aroma: 8/13
Flavour: 9/13
Texture: 9/13
Presentation: 9/13

General
Service: 11/13
Food: 9/13
Atmosphere: 7/13

Overall 9/13

Baby/child friendly 9/13

You can check out Fisher and CO. on the web: http://www.fisherandco.co.uk/; on Twitter: @FisherandCoSW17 and on Facebook

Deelicious, Delicious

Indeed, this place is delicious.

I walked past this place a number of times and never thought I'd go in however a few positive comments on Twitter made me think I should give it a go.

Sure enough the do a nice coffee and their cupcakes are very good.

I've now been a number of times. The order is usually the same. Flat white, cupcake and babycino.

The flat white is more like a cappuccino but it is a very tasty coffee, good strong flavour. Nothing too spectacular, just decent coffee made well. It was exactly what I needed today actually. I needed a proper 'wake me up' coffee and this one did the trick.

The cupcake, banoffee on this occasion, was very good. I like the fact that the icing is icing, not that empty sugary frosting that you get on so many cupcakes that are appearing everywhere to take advantage of the cupcake craze.

I had to explain what I meant by babycino, which was fine because it seems to mean different things to different cafes. I suggested a bit of steamed milk with a little choc sprinkled on top served in a takeaway espresso cup.

Apart from the drinks and food being good, the service is always friendly and there is plenty of space for a pram along with a few good high chairs. Big windows make it a good spot for watching the world pass by.

The only drawback with this place is despite it being good for those with young children in many ways, there is a step up when getting in and the door is just a little heavy, so if you're on your own with a buggy it can be a little tricky to get in. Nothing a bit of practise won't fix though! Didn't check toilets/baby change facilities I'm sorry.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 12/13
Aroma: 8/13
Flavour: 10/13
Texture:  9/13
Presentation: 9/13

General
Service: 11/13
Food: 9/13
Atmosphere: 7/13

Overall 9/13

Baby/child friendly 8/13

You can check out their website here and they're also on Facebook and Twitter.

I heart coffee - it's true

I <3 / heart / love Coffee - I'm never really quite sure what to call this place in Streatham. I usually go for I heart coffee. From a trawl around the web I think most others go for I love coffee. I guess that confusion is part of the problem when you opt for a name which includes a symbol.

Anyway, that's enough about the name, this place is good so let's get down to business.

I've been a few times now, on this trip the order was a flat white, pan au raisin and babycino...

This place gets so many things right, a cherry hello as you come in. Friendly staff take your order. The staff are thoughtful too, they saw baby spiller was probably too young for a china cup, so checked that they should provide a paper cup. They new exactly why I asked for a straw as well and promptly provided one.

The coffee is very good. Nice creamy texture to the milk, hot but not burnt. Intense coffee flavour.

Pan au raisin was good too, although nothing special.

I was a little surprised about the quality of the coffee at this place, the name and exterior didn't really give me a huge amount of confidence. However it had been recommended by a few people, I'm clearly not the only person to have discovered that this place is doing a great coffee - they've been busy every time I've been there.

I'll try and remember to add a 'baby friendly' review for future posts (and might update previous ones). I heart coffee is good for babies I think. Door is relatively easy to get through with pram, plenty of space inside, high chairs available, plenty of comfortable chairs (I would guess good for breastfeeding), baby friendly staff. I didn't see a specific child area and didn't check baby change facilities I'm sorry.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 10/13
Aroma: 10/13
Flavour: 11/13
Texture: 11/13
Presentation: 9/13

General
Service: 10/13
Food: 8/13
Atmosphere: 7/13

Overall 10/13

Baby/child friendly 9/13

Moka - not mocha

Having lived in Balham for five years I had never been drawn into Caffe Moka. Now I live in nearby Furzedown I have finally got around to going, my only regret is not having gone earlier.

This isn't a fancy place but it does what it does well. It's a comfortable local cafe with nice coffee and food and some tempting deals.

We were looking for a coffee and cake, as per usual, and we thought we'd give Moka a go.

It's been a while now so had to check with Mrs Spiller what we ordered, it was a cappucino for me and a white americano for her.

Cakes were banana, chocolate and peanut butter and a toffee and walnut (not sure if that's right, it's been a couple of weeks).

The coffee was strong, not burnt, really good without being exceptional.

 



The cakes were good too, the banana, choc and peanut butter in particular was very nice.

A couple of eventful moments while we were there: as we arrived, and throughout our stay, there was a table of ladies gossiping about what I thouht was a friend of theirs. It was all quite graphic, tragic and sensational. It was great eaves dropping time. As we left Mrs Spiller commented how the table of ladies had spent the whole time talking about Katie Price, it all makes much more sense now.

There was also an incident where an entire cup of coffee was spilt. The staff were very good at clearing it up and providing a replacement coffee for the unlucky customer.

If you're there on a weekday they've got a cake half price between 2-4.30 on weekdays!

So, the scores...

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 9/13
Aroma: 9/13
Flavour: 9/13
Texture: 9/13
Presentation: 8/13

General
Service: 9/13
Food: 9/13
Atmosphere: 8/13

Overall 9/13

Boyce da Roca - it rocks

I've been to this place twice now, first visit was ok, second very good.

This place is a bit hipster, which sometimes comes with nonchalant service but this place managed not to fall completely in to that trap.

First thing first, the coffee is very good. A proper flat white, flavour spot on, maybe could have been hotter, but that might have risked damaging the flavour. Milk texture was good. An all round strong performer

I had piece of banana cake/loaf which was yum. Baby Spiller got most of that though.



Gooooooooooood

A couple of the nice touches included water bottles and glasses at all tables, some kids books and toys in the back room, local art on the walls and staff offering to turn on the heater in the back room for me.

There food menu looks good too, some great looking sandwiches on big bread.

One of the things that does bug me about this place is the staff that stand right outside the door smoking, not a welcoming sight. Also, there were times that the staff seemed a bit too interested in catching up on each others antics from the night before.

This place would do reasonably well on a baby friendly scale as there is a decent amount of room  to get a buggy through and as mentioned some toys and books around. I don't think the staff are too fussed about having babies around but they don't make it difficult.



Stuff for the kids

 

The big table, some of the local artwork on the wall, sorry it's a bit fuzzy.

I like this place and will be back. I'd like to give their food a try. They do supper clubs from time to time for those of you without kids who can do such things.

This place would fit well in all sorts of trendy parts of London, a testament to the changes happening in Streatham. Tooting and Streatham appear to be in a battle to the death for the next best thing in SW London, it's great to be a part of it.
 

Gone are the days of ready the paper with a coffee, Sammy the Snail was a pretty good read though.

You can check these guys out on Facebook and Twitter.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 9/13
Aroma: 10/13
Flavour: 11/13
Texture: 10/13
Presentation: 9/13

General
Service: 9/13
Food: 9/13
Atmosphere: 9/13

Overall 10/13

Cafe Parisien - got there in the end

Cafe Parisien was one of the cafes I didn't get around to visiting in 2012, I finally got there last weekend.

It was a bit of a chance visit, I wasn't intending on going but had a little time to kill in the area so Baby Spiller and I popped in for a cappuccino.

The cafe isn't anything special, not much more than a greasy spoon although there did look to be a few nice looking salads in the cabinet.

The coffee was as expected. Hot, burnt, strong but bitter flavour. Milk texture was good, better than expected. The coffee did the trick, wouldn't be a preferred choice but then if you're looking for high quality coffee you probably wouldn't be coming here.

The staff were nice and service was good. There appeared to be a few regulars there having their Saturday morning full English and I think this place would be good for that kind of thing.

Anyway, not much more to say really.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 10/13
Aroma: 7/13
Flavour: 6/13
Texture: 11/13
Presentation: 10/13

General
Service: 10/13
Food: na/13
Atmosphere: 7/13

Overall 7/13

Tota - totally

Tota was a highly anticipated, heavily hyped addition to the Tooting scene.

I really enjoyed the build up, it was great fun to see the development of this place and the excitement build with Tooting residents.

There is of course always a risk with such a build up the expectations are raised and possibly not met.

Before I had a chance to visit Tota myself, I had a report from someone whose opinion I trust who had been to Tota. Their experience was bad, amongst the worst dining experiences they have had. I'm not going to go in to detail, I wasn't there but rest assured those two friends will not be visiting Tota again.

This increased my curiosity so the next day I went in to grab a takeaway coffee. I picked up an almond croissant as well. I was impressed with the fit out, the staff were friendly and the food looked good. First problem was no bags for a take away croissant, they offered a plastic bag but that's not a great look, I'm not that precious though, and let's face it, I was going to stuff the croissant in my face as soon as I was out the door.

The next problem was the coffee, it was weak. That's all, but that's a big deal for me.

My first visit didn't put me off though, I was keen to see if things would improve.

Next visit included a sandwich (halloumi and roast vege - yum) and a smoothie (yum), Mrs Spiller had a flat white which unfortunately was weak.

This place has so much going for it that I took the unusual step of dropping Tota a line with my feedback on the coffee, they responded.

My next visit was just for coffee, everything else about this place had impressed me by this stage and on my third visit the coffee did too. I was so relieved and pleased for Tota.

My only photo comes from this visit. I highly recommend you read ColPorter's blog about the fit out and to see more of the interior of Tota.

I recently visited Tota again. A difference this time being we went at a peak time, they were busy, I was interested to see if being busy was going to challenge the quality of the service. It did not, we received very friendly, accommodating, attentive service and the food was great. Mrs Spiller declared half way through her meal that Tota was her new favourite place. She had bacon buttie (simple but good and reasonably priced) with chai latte (one of the best around). I had eggs Florentine (very tasty, egg slightly over done).

We finished off with delicious carrot cake and a flat white each. Oh dear, the flat whites were terrible. They were weak white americano's at best. It was a real shame but I guess we have to accept this is a restaurant first and foremost and perhaps our coffee expectations are too high.

That said, we really like this place. We're more likely to stick to chai lattes in the future. There is so much to like about this place, I'm not going to dwell on the negative. However, when it comes to the scores on this blog it is so much about the coffee, so without further adieu...

I am basing these scores on our most recent visit which was the visit I intended to use for this review.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 10/13
Aroma: 7/13
Flavour: 6/13
Texture: 3/13
Presentation: 3/13

General
Service: 11/13
Food: 11/13
Atmosphere: 12/13

Overall 7/13 (a tricky one, the coffee has really let Tota down. I suspect on a good day the score could be much higher)

The Kitchen Table - worth finding

The Kitchen Table on Franciscan Road in Tooting is a great place. It's off the beaten track so I guess it really just serves the locals which makes it all the better. It's quite small, and maybe not set up to make maximum use of the space.

I've been a few times now and have always been impressed by the guy who runs the place, he's really trying hard to make the place work.

Every time I've been I've ordered a flat white and every time he has taken much care in crafting the coffee. The coffee is generally good, he gets an intense espresso which isn't burnt and comes through over the  milk.

I've eaten here a couple of times, once having cake which was really good, we think he might be getting his cakes from Dee Light, they're that good. Another time I had a pizza slice which was very nice too and served with a little side salad, which baby Spiller enjoyed.

Flat white was good. I think Mrs Spiller was having a hot choc, which wasn't that flash.

I've not had any of their more substantial meals, they do the standard English breakfast type fayre and I think the last time I was in it looked like they were going to be expanding their menu and possibly a few evenings.

What I love most about this place is that it is set in a small row of shops on Franciscan Road and has a feel of a friendly neighborhood coffee shop, something we're lucky to have. The problem in this however is that they will need a lot of support from the locals to survive. I hope they can maintain their standards and continue to attract the crowds to establish themselves as a vital community venue.

If you do live in the Balham, Tooting, Streatham area it's definitely worth giving this place a go, maybe combined with a walk around nearby Tooting Common.

There's not a huge amount on the web about this place, check out citybumpkin's blog for another view.

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 10/13
Aroma: 10/13
Flavour: 10/13
Texture: 8/13
Presentation: 8/13

General
Service: 10/13
Food: 8/13
Atmosphere: 8/13

Overall 9/13

Earl Grey and Rose - A real peach

I love coffee shops which do something different and do it well. Earl Grey and Rose does the vintage vibe really well and this is backed by decent coffee and food.

When I made my first trip to Earl Grey and Rose I thought I was about to discover a new gem. Turns out this gem was well and truly discovered by Streatham residents years before me.

On this trip I was worried about whether there would be space for us, with pram and all. We were able to navigate our way to a table at the back. Mrs Spiller did the ordering, flat whites and carrot cake.

Baby spiller and I looked around at all the stuff which gives this place a special vibe. It's not a very blokey place but that doesn't stop local tradesmen coming in for one of the impressive door stop sandwiches and I don't feel less of a man being here either.

The carrot cake was nice, we weren't too sure about the icing, a bit bland but otherwise fine. The coffee wasn't a flat white, it was more like an americao with warm milk but it was a very tasty coffee so I was happy. 

We bought Baby Spiller a babycinno, we thought that would just be frothed milk but it was actually the works, some hot chocolate, frothed milk and lots of marshmallows. Baby Spiller wasn't too sure about it but that suited us just fine, yum. 

Baby Spiller peering over the table to his massive  babycinno

If you've not been to Earl Grey and Rose, get down there, it's one of Streatham's many great spots.

They've got a website under development with some nice photos, check it out... www.earlgreyandrose.com

Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 11/13
Aroma: 10/13
Flavour: 11/13
Texture: 4/13
Presentation: 5/13

General
Service: 10/13
Food: 9/13
Atmosphere: 9/13

Overall 10/13