Tootsies is the name of an excellent chain of
flame-grill burger restaurants. Burgers are sold with
chips and a small salad included, and prices range from £6 to £10. Extra ingredients can be included on request (and at a cost). The burger menu has a wide range of choices, including vegetarian and chicken as well as beef burgers and fillings from the traditional (salad, cheese, tomato) to the more exotic (
jalapeno,
avocado,
ham & pineapple). There are other options besides burgers: 8oz steak, sausages, salads (chicken caesar, mozzarella and tomato...).
To drink, you can choose from soft drinks, milkshakes, wine, beer and the usual assortment of teas and coffees.
The puddings change regularly, but at the moment I'd go for the banoffee pie or the banana split. There used to be a brilliant dark and deadly sticky toffee pudding cake which has since been taken off the menu due to the fact that nobody could fit through the door when they then tried to leave.
The restaurants all have a good atmosphere, being largely wood-panelled and with old signs and adverts on the walls. They also play good music, but not so loud that you can't talk.
My local branch is in Holland Park Avenue, and was the first to be founded. In fact I think Tootsies is not so much a chain as a franchise. There are several of these restaurants in London, with others mostly scattered around the southeast. As far as I can tell, the northernmost is in Manchester. Another is being planned for the Reading Oracle centre, and there may well be one in Glasgow soon.