Filipino barbecue concept Turo Turo finds permanent home in Tooting
Due to open later this month, the 50-cover Turo Turo restaurant will serve a ‘playful, affordable menu’ of Filipino barbecue dishes, many of which draw on the use of bagoong, a traditional fermented shrimp paste condiment.
Turo Turo takes its name from the Tagalog phrase for ‘point-point’, which used to describe fast food stalls in the Philippines where customers signal the items on display to order.
De Guzman, who previously cooked at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, launched the brand as a street food concept in 2018 and since then has run numerous food stalls, events and kitchen residencies.
The Tooting restaurant will operate alongside Turo Turo’s long-running pop up at The Queen’s Head in Holborn.
Designed for sharing, the menu will include a selection of small plates such as oxtail kare kare croquettes served with peanut sauce; ginger bagoong wings; and ensaladang talong, a charred aubergine and tomato salad (pictured below) that was named ‘Best Vegetarian Dish’ at the 2019 British Street Food Awards.
Larger plates will include grilled chicken inasal seasoned with annatto, lemongrass and garlic, which will be sold by the half or quarter; pancit palabok, a bowl of rice noodles topped with shrimp sauce, hard-boiled eggs, chicharon and a squeeze of citrus; and pork sisig, a platter of chopped pork face and ears seasoned with citrus and chilli.
The dessert menu will feature a mango float made with creme patisserie, whipped cream and Biscoff; and the royale bibingka, a glutinous coconut rice cake cooked in banana leaves and topped with grilled cheese.
Turo Turo’s drinks menu will include cocktails inspired by the restaurant team’s favourite Filipino flavours and stories. Every ingredient has been selected for its reference to the culture, with rum and sugar cane central to the menu on account of the ingredients’ historic cultural importance in the region.
Options will include the ‘Sugarlandia Storm’ with Don Papa Barolo, lime juice, ginger beer and Angostura; and the ‘Jungle Bird' with Diplomático Mantuano, bitter liqueur, pineapple puree, sugar cane syrup and lemon juice.
Back in 2022, De Guzman feature on Channel 4's The Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver, reaching the finals of the cooking competition.
