Tootoomoo – Crouch End

Located in trendy Crouch End, Tootoomoo is a Pan Asian restaurant that serves cuisine with Far East and South East Asian Influences.

As you step into the restaurant you are presented with a wall displaying a great range of sauces and other food items that are used in some of their dishes and can be purchased by visitors to help them create similar dishes in the comfort of their own home or add a different flavour to their favourite home cooked dishes.

There are a few seats at the front but the main seating area is at the back of the restaurant.

Check out the origami birds!

This is a child friendly restaurant with baby changing facilities and also colouring in sheets to keep the children busy whilst you look through the menu and await the arrival of the food.

Tootoomoo’s menu boasts a good range of healthy foods that will entice and delight their guests. They use both modern and ancient cooking techniques to create an interesting assortment of dishes. The menu has been thought out well with a key indicating which dishes are gluten free, vegetarian, dairy free and contain nuts.

First up Edamame – Soya beans with sea salt.

These are fabulously healthy and a great start to a meal.

The cocktails were delicious.

On the left a Lychee Bellini and the right a Tootoomoo Martini with Passion Fruit. The Bellini had a good strong flavour from the prosecco followed by a subtle flavour and sweetness from the lychee. The Martini had a fresh aroma and flavour. There is a tang from the passion fruit yet it is also smooth and moreish.

Starters

Soft Shell Crab Tempura

I have been wanting to try this for ages so I was very excited that it was on the menu. Served with a fresh tasting jalapeno chili aioli this dish is amazing. The batter is crispy and has a slightly salty flavour and the crab is gorgeous. A must try in my opinion I have already started trying to arrange a return to the restaurant to have this dish again. This is a great size dish but next time I doubt I will be sharing as I would love one all to myself!

‘Shichimi’ Salt Squid

The batter was different to that of the crab but it also had a good flavour and crunch to it. The squid seemed a little thin for my taste but was perfectly salted. The sweet chili used was of a good quality and was not too hot. Some of the sauces used in the dishes we were told are fresh with a shorter shelf life than their bottled counterparts that were sold at the store.

Salmon and Tuna Sashimi

Beautifully fresh and tender fish that is truly a lovely healthy and tasty dish. The slices were a good size and there was chopped wasabi stalk that added a fantastic crunchy texture and fresh flavour and heat to the dish. The salad that was below the fish that would normally comprise of just radish in many sushi restaurants also contained beetroot and carrot which made a refreshing change. The soy that was included in the dish had a lovely sweetness to it and we later discovered from our waiter that it contained a mix of soy, mirin, a dash of sesame and infused wasabi. I am hoping to recreate this at home. The presentation of the dish was as good as the taste.

Citrus Salmon Futomaki and Spicy Tuna

Pretty and tasty these clearly had been made to order. I did feel that the dairy part was not necessary as they would be perfect without the need of it. The rice is perfectly cooked and these are great with the wasabi, ginger and soy sauce that come with them. The tuna contains lettuce which is firm and crisp just reinforcing the freshness of this food. The salmon did not come across as particularly citrusy but it was still good.

Main

Beef Rendang

WOW! again another winner with me this is gorgeous. The beef is cooked for 24 hours and as a result it virtually melts in the mouth. The mix of flavours is amazing, the coconut and mix of spices is a great blend. The portion size was very good and even though we began to struggle we couldn’t help but spoon out more and more of it. We couldn’t get it into our mouths fast enough as it was that good. A little more coriander would have been nice but then I felt it combined very well with the dish.

Nasi Goreng

There were quite a few prawns in here once we dug about which were a good size. Slightly salted this rice was just the sort of thing my children would love.

Duck and Watermelon Salad

Dessert

A sweet and refreshing dish, prefect to round off a meal, very inventive and absolutely delicious. This was my favourite dish of all and since my visit I have not stopped telling people about how good it was. A mix of watermelon, cashews, mint leaves, coriander leaves, cucumber and of course duck. The duck was crispy on one side a soft on the other like crispy duck that one would get with pancakes and hoisin sauce in a Chinese restaurant. There is a sweet sauce that I just could not get enough of and this is something I know I shall be eating again some time soon.

Dark Chocolate and Cookies (Left) Mixed Berries and Crumble (Right)

The chocolate dessert was basically a squirty chocolate sauce with some chocolate sprinkles and oreos and to be honest I was disappointed. If I had been making this at home I would have made a fresh chocolate sauce and grated some chocolate over it just before serving.

The mixed berry one was a lot better although it would have benefited from a little more fresh fruit sprinkled over it. The crumble was good as was the fruit compote that was mixed with the yogurt.

There was so much thought that went into the food that it was a shame that the dessert was just frozen yogurt. I would have liked to have seen as much creativity and enthusiasm going into the desserts. That being said this is a restaurant I want to revisit very soon as I would love to introduce some of my friends to some of the lovely dishes that we were treated to on the night.

I hope you enjoyed reading all about the various dishes we tried at Tootoomoo – Crouch End. They have such a great selection and they often change the menu so you” always have a great variety to choose from.

Tootoomoo – Crouch End

Tootoomoo – Crouch End