Rick’s Dining Room | A Local Favourite In Tooting Broadway
We can’t comment on the rest of his house, but Rick’s Dining Room is special…
You’ll find it in Tooting Broadway (in the same vicinity as Daddy Bao and Juliets Quality Foods), where it’s been since 2001. While those two aforementioned restaurants are new, creative, worldly and great in their own ways, sometimes you just want steak & frites with a generously-sized pour of red wine – and that’s where Rick’s comes in. It’s earned a reputation for being something of a neighbourhood sanctum, somewhere that’s a safe hand whether date night is on the cards, whether you’re looking for a quiet early-week meal with friends or the opposite, a boisterous (and boozy) Friday night dinner to kick off the weekend.
The man of the hour, Rick Gibbs (a former Head Chef at the Chelsea Arts Club and long-time Tooting resident), runs the place as though you’re dining in his own home, which is how he wants you to feel. You’ll see him striding from table to table in between breaks from the pans, leaning in for conversations, remembering names and if you’re lucky, inviting you into the kitchen for a tour. His quirky character shines through in the space – the walls are coloured in forest green and covered in art, while tables are each bestowed with a three-armed candelabra and vase of flowers.
As for the food Rick’s cooking, well, it’s a wide-range. He leans on his Spanish roots (his mother is from La Coruña), his love of the Mediterranean and also adds a bit of French and UK flavour to create a menu that’s mix match of all those influences, with dishes spanning cod cheek croquettes to roast lamb with Lyonnaise potatoes to fabada (a spanish bean stew with chorizo and pork belly) and the warming British classic that is sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream. He’s fond of wine too, and hosts regular tastings. Another thing he’s really into? Specials. It feels almost wrong to mention this – in a ‘we feel like we’re spoiling a juicy local secret kind of way’ – but from Wednesday to Friday Rick’s does three courses for £10 (don’t rub those glasses, it’s true). Anchovies on toast, Galacian chicken with Spanish rice and then a pear tart with aperol cream to finish, all for a tenner.
It’s special alright…
NOTE: Rick’s Dining Room is open Tues-Thu 5.30-9.30pm and Fri-Sat 5.30-10pm. To book call 02087675219 or email [email protected]. For more info, their Instagram is fairly active…
Rick’s Dining Room | 122 Mitcham Rd, London SW17 9NH
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