The Tommy Tucker has only been open two weeks when we visit, but it could well have been a neighbourhood favourite for years: there are no empty tables and staff are bubbly and efficient. Chef Claude Compton has a great CV – after stints at Petersham Nurseries and Club Gascon he went solo with Claude’s Kitchen, a hit with Parsons Green locals.
Tommy Tucker is cockney rhyming slang for supper, and while this Fulham destination is billed as a pub it’s closer to the casual-yet-upmarket style of its SW6 neighbour. Dishes are hearty but clever - a case in point is the starter-sized wood pigeon with bitter leaf salad (the menu is divided into meat, fish, veg and sides rather than courses), which nicely balances gamey meat with berries and lavender. Pickled pumpkin and goat’s curd is another innovative combo, a generous helping of tangy, creamy curd which reminds us labneh makes a very good pairing for strips of pickled pumpkin.
Chargrilled lamb is deliciously tender, served with a generous dollop of mushroom ketchup and standard winter veg: roasted beetroot, parsnip and carrot. Most triumphant of all is the smoked beef short rib, with salsa verde, baked beans and black olives; the meat bursts with flavour and slides off the bone in enjoyable fashion.
The only minor niggle is the crispy apple tart, there’s decent enough flaky filo pastry but the apple is too mushy. Worthy of note is the thoughtful wine list, which is perhaps to be expected from the team that runs champagne bar Amuse Bouche, below Claude’s Kitchen. We’re very impressed by the gutsy Cabaret Frank, a US wine labelled as “seductively smooth and long. Just like Frank’s moustache on the label.”
We thought the gastropub shabby chic look had been done to death, but here dim lighting, alcoves and furniture made out of floorboards gives the place a refined yet very welcoming feel, echoing the menu.
