One side effect of living in Clapham is that you're surrounded by Australians. I love them because they're always sunny even in the constant rain of London, their ability to drink even the most veteran English pub-goer under the table, and, most of all, their love of a bloody great brunch. The city has been sprouting Australian brunch spots for a while now - with the likes of Brickwork and Granger and Co. being of particular note - yet despite all this mid-morning meal excitement, no one is talking about their dinner offering. Well, I popped to Timmy Green to put an end to all that.
Venue and Atmosphere
The brother of Daisy Green in Marylebone and the floating Paddington restaurants Darcie and May Green, little Timmy sits within the fancy and still-very-sparkling new Nova complex at Victoria. While Londoners adverse to new builds may not be overly charmed by the location, the team have managed to keep the interiors warm, welcoming and full of corners worth a quick Instagram or two. Think neon lighting, shadow casting plants and marble tabletops, plus a velvet corner booth where an old friend and I sat: hidden away from the melee but still within the golden halo of the restaurant’s buzzing atmosphere.
One of the best parts of the venue is the service. Matthew, our server, and the rest of the Timmy Green team were effortlessly friendly while being respectfully attentive.
Sleek and stylish, Timmy Green is Instagram ready while staying incredibly friendly.
Food and Drink
While the restaurant as a whole is stylish, the most striking feature to me was their very fully-stocked bar. Knowing that it's rude to refuse a drink from an Australian, we ordered Raspberry Sours (£9.50), made from Originality London Gin, fresh mulled raspberries, raspberry syrup, egg white and fresh lime. It arrived picture-perfect and easily shed the stress of the 9-5 grind. These impressed us so much that we stuck to the cocktails all night, bouncing between the sour and the Pink Martini (£10), a tart gin and Aperol cocktail with on-trend goji berry liqueur and fresh grape juice.
Inspired by the founder’s cowboy brother, Timmy, this Green’s menu is a verified homage to the land (grass fed slow-reared steaks can attest to that) and the fruits of the sea. We started with a bit of both - a generous plate of crispy calamari (£8.80) with deep-fried courgettes, green beans and the playfully named 'Ribman's Holy F*ck Sauce', that were tasty in a naughty-and-nice kind of way. However, the beef takati was the true showstopper; we could have eaten it three times over.
For mains, we both opted for the sashimi grade tuna steak (£22.40) served with Jerusalem artichoke, fennel and caper salad and a salsa verde. While the tuna arrived perhaps a bit more cooked than we hoped (I prefer a quick sear on both sides), the generous helping of salsa verde kept it moist and flavourful.
While Timmy’s starters and mains menu leans more on the healthy side of life, the desserts are gloriously indulgent. The Melbourne Mars Bar cheesecake ball (£7.80) is literally a ball of cream filled with chunks of caramel goodness, while the vegan chocolate cake even had me, a non-vegan, thinking about converting.
Yes, the food is as good as looks.
Summary
Our experience at Timmy Green’s was nothing short of great, but what really tipped it over the edge into a meal-to-remember was the service. We never felt lost at sea in the midst of the menu and were never without a drink in hand. Yes, food and drink is why we eat out, but what makes us visit the same place again can be something so simple as being made to feel at home. Timmy Green very much does that. Not only do these Aussies know how to cook a great dinner, they're also some of the most welcoming folks around.
