Rick’s Café
122 Mitcham Road, Tooting
London SW17 9NH

Reviewed on Sunday 17 May 2009 lunch time

Rick's Café

Rick’s Café is located close to Tooting Broadway tube station, between Pizza Domino and a shoe repairs store. The first feeling is not that great but when you get inside, things are different. It has a kind of nice rustic feeling (see the big table on the photo below) but with some unfortunate mistakes like our small two people table that looks like it came from Ikea and our knives were from Ikea. The restaurant is not big, maybe around 25 seats maximum.
On the Sunday lunch menu, the wines of the week were two French wine (Château Haut du Puy Medoc 2000 – £22.50 and Henry Marionette Touraine Gamay 2007 – £18.95) and one Argentinian wine Alfredo Roca Pinot noir. We wanted the Medoc but it was out of stock so we chose the Gamay upon suggestion.
The choice for the first course is fairly large, with interesting meals like steamed razor clams in garlic and white wine (£6.50),  chicken liver parfait with gherkins, onion marmalade and toast (£6.50), roasted artichoke with red pesto (£5.50) or English asparagus, fried egg and parmesan (£6). We ordered the clams and the chicken liver.
As main course the choice is pretty interesting too, beside the traditional roast beef for Sunday lunch (including a glass of wine – £10), there are  cornish crab, jersey royal potatoes and aioli (£12.50), seared squid, grilled polenta, wild rocket and red chilli (£10.75), pan fried lemon sole, green beans and red wine dressing (£13.75), sauté veal kidneys, gratin dauphinois and grain mustard sauce (£9) per example. We decided on the lemon sole and the cornish crab.
For dessert we had a passion fruit jelly, berries and ice cream (£5.25) and a pot-au-chocolate with biscotti (£6.50).

The chicken liver parfait was good, not as good as Chez Linday in Richmond (where the toast was excellent) but as good as the County Arms in Wandsworth Common or the Tide End Cottage in Teddington and both places had good chicken liver parfait. The steamed razor clams were good (but unfortunately some sand in one of them ruined an otherwise good experience).

The crab was decent but I needed to fight with my fork and knife to get the flesh out and they did not provide the tool for crushing the shell of the crab legs. It was only after a while that I got a bowl of water with lemon so I could rinse my fingers. I have to say the service, whilst friendly, was not really attentive. The aioli was fine and the jersey royal potaoes excellent, warm and perfectly cooked.
The pan fried lemon sole with the red wine dressing was beautifully cooked, and very nicely presented too. The flesh was firm and tender, whilst remaining very moist and with a very nice flavour. I would certainly take that again. The accompanying green beans were nicely cooked – again firm, well flavoured, and not over-seasoned. The dish as a whole could perhaps have benefited from an additional side, such as dauphinois potato, but overall was very good.

The passion fruit jelly was really good, not over sweet at all, and the berries with the vanilla ice cream were a good mix. The pot au chocolat was nicely rich without being over sweet, and had a nice firm texture. Its accompanying biscotti was excellent.
 

Inside Rick's Café

Easy to drink Henry Marionette Touraine Gamay 2007

Steamed razor clams in garlic and white wine

Chicken liver parfait, gherkins, onion marmalade and toast

Pan fried lemon sole, green beans and red wine dressing

Cornish crab, jersey royal potatoes and aioli

Front view of the crab

Pot-au-chocolat with biscotti

Passion fruit jelly, berries and ice cream

Cost and conclusion: it was £78.69 including the “optional” 12.5% service charge added automatically to the bill. The 3 course lunch was good, same for the wine but we feel the total cost is overpriced, especially if you consider the surrounding. For the same amount, you can eat very well at the French restaurant Bellevue Rendez-vous (was Mini Mundus) next to Wandsworth Common or at Chez Lindsay in Richmond. In the same area you have Limoncello if you are into Italian food. Now, if you stick just to the Sunday’s roast beef, served with yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, root vegetables, spring green and a glass of wine it only costs £10, which is an excellent value for money.