Tooting

Tooting, in South London, is one of the city's most underrated food destinations — a strong South Indian and Sri Lankan restaurant scene, one of London's best outdoor lidos, and a genuinely local, unpretentious atmosphere that rewards the short Tube journey out from the centre.

The Food Scene

Tooting's South Indian restaurants specialise in dosas, vegetarian thalis and Sri Lankan specialities like kottu roti — consistently better value and often better quality than equivalent options in more central, tourist-facing areas. This is one of London's genuine food destinations rather than a place people visit for sightseeing.

Tooting Bec Lido

One of the largest and oldest open-air swimming pools in Britain, open seasonally (and for cold-water swimming enthusiasts, sometimes beyond) — a proper local institution rather than a tourist attraction, and a genuinely enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon.

Tooting Market

A covered Victorian market building now home to independent food stalls, vintage shops and a lively evening bar scene — smaller and more local than Brixton's equivalent, worth a browse.

Getting There

Tooting Broadway or Tooting Bec (both Northern line) serve the area directly.

Tips

• Go specifically for the food — Tooting rewards visitors who come with an appetite for South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking.
• Tooting Bec Lido in summer is a genuinely excellent, distinctly local London experience.