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