The Little Taperia

Dear diners, please be aware that tables booked online are available for 1.5 hours only.
For bookings of six or more people, please contact the restaurant as a small deposit will be required.
This Spanish tapas bar in Tooting is just too modest. Cosy, sure, The Little Taperia has a room at the rear that can accommodate ten to fifteen people enjoying a private party and a heated garden area in addition to the main dining room, flanked by a long white marble bar backed by ranks Spanish and international wines and premium spirits. An award-winning restaurant that’s attracting a lot of attention in London foodie circles, it’s the consistently excellent food that’s the real star of the show, with menus covering drinks, tapas, and lunch. Just a short walk along Tooting High Street from Tooting Broadway tube, The Little Taperia is easily accessed with reservation in hand.

Dear diners, to reserve for groups of more than 6 people, please contact the restaurant directly. Please also be aware that credit or debit card details must be provided to secure bookings of this size.

The Little Taperia occupies the former premises of a pet shop along Tooting High Street, but it’s now a bar and Spanish tapas restaurant with the kind of pedigree that eschews doggy-bag takeaway – though the proprietors are happy to pack any excess ordering up for overambitious diners. Established in in May 2015 by South London hospitality pioneers Hikmat Antippa (Meza) and Madeleine Lim (The Little Bar), it sits next door to one of Nick Jones’ eateries (Soho House, Chicken Shop) and has quickly become an emblem for the local Tooting restaurant renaissance. And it looks as good as it promises and as good as the food tastes – bentwood stools are serried against a bar decorated with Middle Eastern tiles, the front dining room features weathered wood panels scavenged from the 1940s-era Bush House, and if you’re waiting for a table – not that you’ll have to with a Quandoo reservation – you can take cover under a corrugated iron roof.

Reserve a table for rustic tapas and settle in with The Little Taperia’s considered pre-dinner drinks recommendations – the SW17 Cava (brandy de Jerez, angostura bitters and a lump of sugar), the Cava Royale (crème de cassis, cava), or the classic Aperol Spritz (Aperol, cava, and a slice of orange) – while you decide between morcilla-stuffed Scotch eggs with piquillo pepper chutney, spinach Catalana with pine nuts and raisins, the escalivada (Catalan-style grilled vegetables on toasted sourdough), platters of Iberian meats and Spanish cheese, and much, much more. Never forget to round your small plate session off with traditional churros. Pick a time for lunch, Monday to Friday between noon and 4pm, and you can choose any two tapas for a great price, adding on a dessert if you wish (you must). The Little Taperia represents some of the best tapas in Tooting and, if we concede to the critical acclaim, London – reservations are essential.