Fourteen Tooting is low key but high style

Fourteen on Trinity Road is a really tempting spot. Just like your sister’s new boyfriend, this dinky restaurant is charming and full of character. The decor is all low-lighting, marble counters and muted pink and green tones and you can either hunker down at one of the tables or pull up a pew at the beautiful bar. Whichever you decide, you’ll be wrapped up in the warm atmosphere of the place, which is as delicious as the menu.

To kick off the evening we had two seasonal cocktails, a spiced apple sour was smooth and sweetly spiced whilst the Somerset apple and blackcurrant mojito was a really zingy British twist on the Cuban classic. Both were clearly carefully thought through and came garnished with dried apple slices- the drinks here are good enough for a visit alone, so don’t discount Fourteen if you are just looking for a place for a quick cocktail after work.

The food is all tapas-style small plates with a big focus on seasonality and European flavours. We got a tableful of dishes; pleasingly squidgy bread with high quality olive oil, a crisp courgette tempura topped with a tomato chutney to nicely cut through the oiliness of the batter. The beef shin croquetas were a luxurious bite with a bit more heft to them with the addition of potato in there and the prawns with garlic and chilli were so big that they were almost as meaty as the beef.

To freshen things up a little bit came a big ball of beautifully presented burrata that had a pleasing pop to it; begging to be scooped up with some leftover bread we hadn’t already inhaled. The scallops were pan fried to that ideal crispy-on-the-outside-buttery-on-the-inside place and we loved the addition of a delicately flavoured cauliflower puree to tone down the salty parma ham they were plated with. But a sneaky star dish for us was the pan con tomate. The flavours were fresh and the whole thing was a bright, lifting mouthful to the meal. We’d highly, highly recommend getting this one- especially whilst tomatoes are still at their finest.

Finishing up were two desserts; the lightest chocolate mousse that was sadly gone too soon, and a tiramisu that stole our hearts. The cream was sweeter than usual, but with the snowfall of intensely bitter coco powder it worked a treat. Again: gone too soon.

It’s really, really easy to order the whole menu and so what if you do? Not one plate misfired for us and all are small enough to leave you wanting just a little bit more. Go with a date, a mate or just solo. Whatever you do, just go. You’ certainly won’t regret it. You’ll love it.

P.S: Christmas bookings are now live! Yep, it’s that time already. Check them out and nab either a private room for 12-14 people or a section of the restaurant for a smaller group.