Restaurants

Last time we visited Tootsies, four diners at the table next to us were in tears. Not that this collective misery had anything to do with the restaurant; parents aside, the party must have racked up a combined age of no more than three years between them. Tootsies – bastion of lunching yummy mummies and youngsters – has always taken tots, tantrums and teddies in its stride. Staff are smiley, efficient and only too happy to help stash buggies and set up high chairs. The chain has drafted in author and children’s nutritional expert Annabel Karmel to devise a kiddies’ menu of mini burgers, plus fish and cottage pies: as good as homemade. Her fruit smoothies get the thumbs up as healthy ‘milkshakes’; the strawberry version has become an unintentional hit with expectant mums. The adult menu is varied and includes filling super-food salads and steak sandwiches. But Tootsies’ biggest draw is its first-rate burgers. Served with crisp, golden fries, an army of sauces and plenty of crowd-pleasing toppings, they arrive juicy and with a nice charcoal tinge, in a toasted sesame seed bun.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009