Smoke & Salt Tooting

It happens often now, that a pop-up transforms into a restaurant proper. This can be said of Salt & Smoke, which originally found its home in Brixton’s container-filled street food destination, POP. Having shifted south slightly, its new home in Tooting seems to be suiting the team well.

The atmosphere is a buzzy one - warm and lively - and the dining room packed out with the same crowd of young professionals who once graced its SW9 original. Interiors are simple and in keeping with its already recognisable aesthetic – clean modern lines, functional table and chairs, and the odd delicate element (like the gold cutlery) to tie everything together.

The menu offers guests the chance to try an a la carte selection, or to put their trust in the chefs’ hands with a tasting series. Dishes are wonderfully colourful and come prettily plated, for that all-important Instagram fodder, delivered by way of genial front of house staff who are happy to explain the various techniques that have been employed for each plate. Smoked trout is cut with the sharp pickling liquor of blackberry vinegar for a lively opener; while a courgette salad combines varying varieties of both roasted and raw vegetables. Elsewhere, a mussel and aubergine pasta was all smoke and all salt thanks to its charcoal flavours and rich seafood notes, although it perhaps teetered on the edge of bitterness, so the sweet toothed should beware. A meal like this could never get boring, with flavours and textures evolving with each course, ending in a suitably indulgent pud of roasted pears with cake and ice cream.

At £32 for six courses, there’s no denying the tasting menu represents considerable value for money for the level of food offered, but by doing away with the rough edges of its original home, somehow some of the spark seems to have been lost at Smoke & Salt. However, the team here are obviously passionate about what they do, and little touches like petit fours represent their commitment to true hospitality and ensuring guests have a good time. Also – a very important note – they do a great cocktail.

There’s good news for fans of Smoke & Salt: it’s vacated its original home in the tiny shipping container at POP Brixton in favour of a permanent site in Tooting. The move isn’t wholly unexpected since the pair behind this small-plates restaurant have been drawing the crowds since opening in 2017, much like its predecessor, Kricket, which started out on the very same site before finding its forever home in Soho.

The new-look Smoke & Salt has taken up residence on the former site of burger joint Dip & Flip near Tooting Broadway tube station. The new site can accommodate double the capacity of the Brixton restaurant, which is great news for fans who have struggled to get a table in the tiny POP site. The format of the menu remains the same meaning diners can look forward to dishes that are modern and inventive, yet traditionally prepared.

Brining, curing, smoking and fermenting remain central to the seasonal menu (which currently changes every eight weeks), so the sorts of dishes you might encounter include roast parsnip with sour cherry, Cornish Gouda and radicchio; curried mackerel flatbread with crispy shallots, pickled onions and mustard saag; or buttered pheasant with carrots, caraway and pistou, washed down with a handful of seasonally inspired cocktails, beers, wines, fizz and softs.

Owners Remi Williams and Aaron Webster told us once that they are less concerned about Michelin stars and the like, and more focused on serving good food. Years have passed and this refreshing take is still clearly evident in the exciting dishes they continue to put together. Ironically, that honest dedication coupled with the variety of interesting ingredients on offer in the diverse area of south London Smoke & Salt has moved to is likely to result in the kind of accolades the pair don’t much care for.