Craft Tooting, Tooting, SW17

Visited 27/08/24. This is a small venue in Broadway Market and is a small glass fronted establishment with a couple of tables outside in the market. The servery is at the back, literally 2-3 strides only from the front door. It was busy during the time I sat outside with a steady stream of punters popping in for their take-aways! There were four draught beers to choose from on my late evening visit, namely Yonder ‘Helles’ lager, Unbarred ‘Joosy’ pale ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Drop Project ‘Gazin’ IPA. Loads of beers to choose from in can and bottle, indeed hard to see how they pack so much choice into such a small area. I had a 440ml can of the Verdant Light Bulb, a choice based on label recognition rather than any DD of the options available! Cracking venue that is worthy of a more leisurely return to on my part.

This is a tiny little shop unit hidden away in the depths of Tooting Broadway Market, operating essentially as a bottle shop, but with a few draught options which you can drink in. The miniscule tiled floored shop space has a single table with two chairs under the front window, large shelves displaying bottled and canned beer to the left and a seat-less drinking ledge to the right which was all but lost under a deluge of boxes, kegs and other such beer-related paraphernalia. A small servery to the rear has a basic counter with a tatty old map tacked to the front and a whitewashed wall bar back lined with fridges and more shelves full of beer. Lots of old keg badges line the bar back whilst the little wall space through the rest of the room has been covered with a range of beer and Tooting themed bits and bobs, plus some ‘Craft Tooting’ merchandise. A couple more tables and chairs are available outside the unit and as this is a covered market, that’s essentially as good as being inside the unit itself in terms of warmth and shelter. A good soundtrack was playing throughout my visit, during which numerous customers came and went but we were the only ones who actually stopped by for a drink. There were three craft keg options on draught as well as a vast array of bottles and cans to pick from on the shelves, all of which can be enjoyed on site if required. I tried the Wylam Jakehead, which was a nice, tasty brew, if a little cloudy, and the other half opted for a fruit beer from Tiny Rebel, which was too sour for my liking, although she seemed quite happy with it. The staff here were friendly and industrious, giving recommendations to punters and sorting through vast amounts of newly arrived products, which might have explained some of the clutter in the pub. I seem to be encountering more and more places like this around London these days and find them very difficult to rate as their primarily bottle shops rather than bars. This one seemed like a middle of the road sort of place on the ‘pub’ front, with a limited draught selection, cramped confines but friendly staff and a buzzy feel. Worth a look if you’re traipsing around the market but Tooting has better pubs a short distance away.

Yes Hondo's not wrong , it is tiny, about 14 ft square, packed with bottles and cans as well as three keg taps, two were on,Hackney Boogie Van and Slaters Citrus Tide, very nice but then I'm a sucker for Lemon in a beer, £2.80 a half.If you like drinking in something with the dimentions of a wardrobe, Its ok.

Official site of Craft Tooting - www.crafttooting.co.uk

Official site of Craft Tooting - www.crafttooting.co.uk