London's up-and-coming neighbourhoods
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Photography Scott Wishart
Updated: Wed Aug 19 2009
Bow | Walthamstow | Clapton | Harringay | Deptford | Tooting
Tooting area guide
Overview
An agreeably diverse area, familiar to telly addicts of all ages (from ‘Citizen Smith’ to ‘Little Britain’). House hunters favour Furzedown (near Tooting Bec) and the more affordable Edwardian terraces of Tooting Broadway. A big upside of the area is easy access to large green spaces and sports facilities.
Arts and culture
The cavernous Bedford pub just to the north hosts top-quality comedy nights and low-key acoustic sets. Or, for a more sedate experience, the London Sewing Machine Museum boasts nearly 600 domestic and industrial sewing machines, accumulated by one Thomas Albert Rushton. Feature continuesAdvertisementFood and drink
The stretch of Upper Tooting Road between the Bec and Broadway tube stations is the curry corridor – the only place in London where you can find good East African Asian, Gujarati, South Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan restaurants within a ten-minute walk. Two favourites are Kastoori and Radha Krishna Bhavan. The Trafalgar Arms (148 Tooting High Street, SW17 0RT; 8767 6059) is cheap and cheerful, with a gloriously mixed clientele. Garden House (196 Tooting High Street, SW17 0SF; 8767 6582) will appeal to arty types with its mismatched furniture, exhibitions and eclectic soundtrack.
Local amenities
Tooting Bec Common has football pitches, tennis courts and the lovely Tooting Bec Lido, built in 1906. Wandsworth and Clapham Commons are nearby. In terms of shops, the best are the numerous Asian and Afro-Caribbean grocers, where you can pick up all manner of authentic exotic ingredients.
Bow | Walthamstow | Clapton | Harringay | Deptford | Tooting
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21 comments
I can't believe this is a review of Tooting. As the other commenter said, the Bedford is most definitely in Balham. The Garden House was renamed some months ago the Manor House. It could have been spot on for the area but somehow they missed the spot... Decor and lighting not quite right and food hit and miss... As for the Trafalgar, back in the day it was fab with its drag queens and glitter, but these days it's pretty mediocre. Not sure what the reviewer means by the 'gloriously mixed' clientele but sounds maybe just a tad patronising... The Selkirk is good and the two new additions (The Tramshed and the Antelope) are by far the most exciting things Tooting has seen for a long time. Sette Bello does fab pizza. I'm not sure how they picked the two Indian restaurants they mentioned but there are many many others that are great... Please ask someone who has actually been to Tooting or lives there to write these reviews in the future....
Has the person who reported on Tooting ever actually been there?
1) The Bedford is in Balham - why is it mentioned here? The Selkirk, which is actually in Tooting, also does comedy nights, and a pub quiz
2) The Garden House has been called The Manor for months now.
3) No mention of new arrivals the Tooting Tram & Social (opened for at least a year now) and the Antelope???? These are pubs people who live outside of Tooting travel to. Definitely worth a mention. Or the Ramble or Smoke for some old favourites.
4) Everyone knows Tooting is good for curry, but there are other restaurants too. No mention of those????
Sigh.
Olde Rose & Crown in Walthamstow has undergone an exciting transformation and is now a theatre and events pub. I am waiting for the rest of the area to pick up, too, but that will probably be 20 years in the making...
For the geezer looking for a pub in Leyton try the William IV up by Bakers Arms or the Birkbeck on the Stratford side of Leyton tube, for Leytonstone try the North Star tucked round the back of the Green Man roundabout.
Budgens is the bane of my existence.
Bow does have a club. Purple E3 just by Mile End Station.
Well THANK YOU for finally remembering the south east! Sometimes I struggle to find any events, restaurants or even mentions to the south east in this magazine. Deptford is ok I guess but just go a bit south and you'll find places such as Brockley and Honor Oak which no many people knows of and you'll have good transport connections, good houses and prices and estaurants like Babur in the corner of Brockley Road and Ackroyd Road SE23 that will surprise you with its good food and ambience.
Bow is up and coming because we have just moved here. All it needs is a club!
Tooting will never be the most glamorous suburb of London, but it's a friendly enough place and has good transport links for South London. Pub-wise the Selkirk is preferable to the Trafalgar. While the Tram & Social and the Antelope are both welcome additions. For shopping, Tooting is bargain hunters central with a new Primark and TK Maxx.
Yasar Halim is one of the finest shops in London, period. No matter what time of day you visit the store will always have people there going for their bread and groceries. Throw in the wide choice of good eateries (especially the kebab shops) and the community vibe and it's hard not to like Haringey.
Malcolm - well done for the mention of the Harringey tranny - she's a tourist attraction in her own right!
What about Leyton / Leytonstone. Its still a dump, but i moved here because i cant afford Bow / Hackney. I think its like Bow was 7 years ago, lots of nice Victorian terraces, but ABSOLUTELY nothing in the way of nice bars / restaurants. I think it has a lot of potential particuarly as its 10 mins to the city on the central line, and the new Westfield / Olympic village will be built on the Leyton side......
The Nags Head in Walthamstow also has a fine selection of beers and a beer garden. The village high street also has a decent butchers, deli and newspaper shop. Oh, a Budgens is on it's way.
Stay out of Clapton, its fine as it is! Antepliler is amazing
All this and no one's even mentioned the legendary Harringay Tranny, of Green Lanes!!! Quite an, erm, character, known by everyone.