With its offer of community investment and crowdfunding, this “great neighbourhood bistro” had Streatham talking even before it opened. The result is a good fit for SW2, with an unpretentious yet upwardly mobile vibe, colourful chairs, one-off artworks and a feature wall mapping the provenance of key ingredients. The kitchen makes good use of high-quality produce for “interesting seasonal food” along the lines of crispy pork rillettes with sage cream, apple jelly and onion rings or fillet of cod with braised butterbeans, mussels, mascarpone, cider and chives. Lamb is from Shropshire, chicken from Norfolk and desserts might include a mischievous sundae involving rhubarb, vanilla, pistachio and Rice Krispies. Weekend brunch also wows the locals with its offer of pancakes, club sandwiches, short-rib hash etc to go with patriotic English wines and obscure bottled beers from London breweries (Brixton, Partizan, Gypsy Hill etc). No wonder Hood already has a place in locals’ hearts.