I meant to write this blog post a while ago but life got in the way... It's a review of a FANTASTIC pop-up restaurant I went to in Clapham at the end of last month. Keep your eye on the
FTLOL website to see if/when they do another pop-up because it is well worth going.
For the Love of Life at Tony's has got to be one of the best meals out that I have had in a long time - and I go to a lot of
restaurants!
They had made Tony's (a fantastic greasy spoon in it's own right) into a quirky and cosy little restaurant with fresh flowers, candles and mismatched cutlery and crockery on each table.
The staff were friendly and helpful, not to mention skilful in navigating their way around the tiny cafe! It was BYOB and they kept all the white wines in massive bucket on the counter but never needed to be reminded which bottle belonged to which table...
The food was absolutely delicious. I started with asparagus with a deep fried soft boiled egg which was cooked to perfection (never a certainty with asparagus). There were lots of murmurs of "how do they do that?" relating to the fact that the egg was perfectly soft boiled on the inside and perfectly deep fried on the outside - too much for our booze addled brains to make sense of!
Next up was a delicious (and not too rich/filling) parpadelle with basil but the star of the show had to be the desert...
My table all opted for the doughnut station. A sort of DIY doughnut extravaganza with giant syringes of melted chocolate, crème Anglaise and strawberry jam. Not only did the doughnuts melt in the mouth but the whole humour of the doughnut station captured the relaxed and unpretentious attitude of FTLOL at Tony's. The food, the service, the atmosphere were all fantastic but there was none of the gastro-snobbery you sometimes find at pop-ups.
Their aim was clearly to make sure that we (the punters) had a fantastic evening. Mission accomplished!
If
FTLOL decide to do another pop-up restaurant then the team at the
GDG would suggest you book it ASAP. The delicious food and the great atmosphere are perfect for a date, and ladies, the brownie points you'd get for agreeing to take your date to a greasy spoon will go a long way!
