Ground Floor Apartment - Private Garden

Restaurants offering a standard of cooking this high for over 20 years are few and far between, and the numerous regulars of this smart, friendly neighbourhood spot are a testament to its perennial popularity. The reasonably priced menu features traditional, carefully prepared dishes that showcase quality seasonal produce. The wine list is skilfully chosen and features some well-priced rare wines, with an interesting selection by the glass, while a corkage option allows guests to bring a bottle from their own cellar.

This popular neighbourhood restaurant may have started life as a pop-up but it’s now a well-established member of the Tooting dining scene. Located on a High Street corner, it’s a fairly simple place in design, but benefits from the energy emanating out of its open kitchen, friendly team and contented diners. Seasonal British produce and a few pickled and preserved elements form the backbone of the cooking – which takes the form of two lengths of tasting menu that are also available in pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan forms. Look out for their occasional 'Burger Nights' too.

Situated in the Merton Abbey Mills development – which was once a 12th-century priory, then spent time as a mill and is now a thriving cultural quarter – Black Radish is an intimate, well-run restaurant with space for just 12 diners. A chef’s table for two is ideal if you want a ringside seat. The cosy atmosphere provides a backdrop for cooking that’s grounded in top-drawer ingredients – be that Orkney scallops with yuzu kosho, XO and finger lime or terrific Silver Hill duck with complementary quince and salsify.

There's an endearingly personal touch to this intimate Japanese restaurant run by a husband-and-wife team. The menu takes an omakase format, beginning with a series of otsumami dishes and followed by nigiri sushi. It's the latter that proves to be the stand-out, each individual piece delivered one by one to the enraptured diners; you can expect the pure, delicately flavoured seafood produce to include the likes of chutoro, otoro, hamachi and scallop. There's a sake pairing available for pre-order if you want to enhance the experience.

Snugly slotted into a busy South London street, this bustling Indian restaurant comes with a wonderfully relaxed, vibrant atmosphere and dishes you’ll want to eat again and again. The concise menu keeps things simple and is all the better for it, starting with moreish onion bhajis and continuing with a knockout Thanjavur chicken curry. What makes it even better is the mightily appealing prices, meaning you can share a broad range of dishes with friends and come away without your wallet feeling too bruised.

The French bistro spirit is strong at Ploussard, a true neighbourhood spot for the residents of Clapham. The look has a smart elegance to it, alongside the archetypal bistro simplicity, with blonde-wood panelling bringing an almost art deco touch. Francophiles will be pleased by the menu, too, which offers dishes such as white asparagus with vin jaune hollandaise or duck leg pithivier – all underscored by seasonal, high-quality ingredients. The knowledgeably curated wine list may not be the longest, but it’s got some brilliant choices.

Pizza