Spice Village 32-34 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting London SW17 7PD
Spice Village
Spice Village has been voted the best curry house in the Tooting round of the 2009 Tiffin Cup – which is an annual competition run by a cross-party group of MPs to find the Best South Asian Restaurant in Britain. Last year the winner in Tooting was Al Mirage.
On Fircroft road side
Spice Village is located near Tooting Bec tube station, at the corner between Upper Tooting road and Fircroft road. The restaurant, which used to be quite a lot smaller, has recently been extended. As you enter, on the left is the ‘kitchen’ and the counter which handles takeaways as well as meals ordered inside, and at the right is the dining area which is a little like a moderm canteen with flashy colours (blue and green apple).
It was very busy with tables occupied mainly by family groups but we managed to find a table. The downside of being that busy is the noise which is not helped by the room’s acoustic: it is not easy to hold a conversation without talking loud. We ordered two seekh kebabs, a Masala fish, two garlic naan, a chicken biryani and a chicken tikka masala. To drink we had two mango lassi.
Mango lassi
Sheekh kebabs & masala fish
Garlic naan
Kebab and fish
Chicken biryani and curry tikka masala
My plate with everything on it.
The sheekh kebabs were lightly spicy and quite good (though perhaps not quite as good as those at Lahore Karahi nearby, which serves the kebabs with onions and on a crackling hot metal plate, which ensures they remain piping hot). The fish masala was excellent, really perfectly cooked and one of the best examples of this dish I’ve had.
I have mixed feelings about the naan. On the one hand, it was very garlicy – they weren’t at all stingy there. But on the other hand, the naan wasn’t as light and fluffy as it should be, so a little disappointing.
The chicken biryani was a bit average. It was too dry with stuck-together rice, dry chicken, and not a lot of flavour. To a degree, that’s just a feature of biryani (so maybe it wasn’t the best choice), but overall still a fairly average rendition. The chicken tikka masala was quite good. The chicken was tender, and the curry sauce creamy. But again, not quite perfect – it seemed just a bit too heavy.
Cost and conclusion: it was about £23. Overall, this is still a good curry house. I think it is not as good as Al Mirage and Lahore Karachi further down the road toward Tooting Broadway. But it is still good, and easily better than most others in the area. The service was friendly suggesting meals and efficient. Other curry houses reviewed in the same area are Mirch Masala and Kolam.
Pakistani restaurant Lahore Karahi 1 Tooting High Street London SW17 0SN
Lahore Karahi
We have not been to this restaurant for a couple of years, mainly due to the very poor service (especially to women) that we had experienced in the past. That was quite a while ago now though, and we decided to give it another try. I’m very happy to report that things were much improved, with smiling waiters who even showed some humour.
It is quite a large space inside the restaurant, with an upstairs area available for functions. When you enter, the grills and tandoors are to your right. This is noticable after you leave also, as our clothes always smell very strongly of curry. Better ventilation would not go astray, but at the same time, it is only after you leave that you notice it – the atmosphere inside is not choking.
As starters we took a shish kebab, and the kebab roll – just to find out what that was. It turned out to be a shish kebab in naan bread, with a little salad and onions. And as mains, we took one of their specialities, chicken tikka masala karachi – which is a very creamy and mildly spiced chicken tikka masala – and a chicken korma. To this we added two naan bread, and to drink two sweet lassi.
Sweet lassi
Kebab roll
Shish kebab
The shish kebabs (both types) were very good – nicely cooked and lightly spicy. These starters are inexpensive, and we didn’t realise they would be quite so big. Another time, we would just take one and share it.
The two curries
Curries and naan bread
Mix of tikka masala karachi & chicken korma curries
Close-up
The chicken tikka masala karachi was supremely creamy – if you like smooth creamy curries with some depth of flavour, this is nirvana. It is a naturally mildly spicy dish, but they will spice it up for you if you ask. The chicken korma was also very good, and also very creamy (and actually, taking both of them was overkill), but between the two the tikka masala wins hands down. Really an excellent curry.
Mango kulfi
The lassi were good – not too sweet, tangy, and nicely chilled. I finished the meal with some mango kulfi, which had a rich and slightly caramelised flavour.
Cost and conclusion: for about £20 for two, the value for money is excellent. They managed to improve greatly their service so I would recommend this place if you are in the area. I still prefer overall the Al Mirage curry house two minutes walk away because the service is still better. They do suggest dishes to you, and are happy to provide any description or explanation you need, for example. Both are much better than the Mirch Masala nearby.
Sri Lankan restaurant Hop & Spice 53 Bedford Hill, Balham London SW12 9EZ
Hop & Spice
Inside Hop & Spice
Hop & Spice introduces the tapas concept to Sri Lankan cuisine (which is not dissimilar to South Indian). The idea there is that you choose about 3 small dishes from their menu, and construct the rest of your meal by choosing bread, rice, etc. Or you can just take one (larger) main course which comes with basmati rice, bread, popadoms, chutney and a yoghurt raita already included. We opted for the latter (but now suspect it wasn’t the best choice).
As main courses we chose kandian scallops (medium) described as king scallops poached in a delicately spiced sauce (£16.85) ; and kerala coriander chicken (mild) described as off the bone, simmered in spices and finished with coconut cream and fresh coriander (£11.55) . We took two different types of bread: paratha – delicious rich bread made with ghee, and chapati – healthy wholemeal unleavened bread (these were inclusive, but if you were to choose from the tapas menu would be £1.45 each).
Good beers
We followed the menu suggestion and took Lion beer 4.8% Sri Lanka light and refreshing, brewed in Sri Lanka since the colonial days (£3.20), and Singha beer 33cl 6% Thailand a full bodied barley malt with a rounded long finish, made for spice (£3.30).
As desserts we tried wattilappam (pronounced vuchillupum) – described as our twist on this wonderful Sri Lankan pudding; a custard made with palm sugar, coconut and mango, topped with caramelised cashew nuts (£4.95), and banana tiramisu – a tropical twist on this amazing italian pudding; fresh banana cream layered with sponge, espresso and tia maria (£4.45).
A small remark about the seating in this restaurant – the chairs have varying heights. Mine, for example, was too low whilst my companion’s was normal height. I noticed that other tables also had a mix of chair types. Though I’d prefer not too, I can live with the low seats – but it needs to be uniform (i.e. it doesn’t feel right when your companion is sitting at a different height, and degrades the dining experience a bit). With that remark out of the way, on to the food!
Soup
Overview of the two meals
Kerala coriander chicken
The meal started with little bowls of vegetable soup. The soup was quite tasty, but I didn’t like the metal bowls it was served in. These were too hot to hold, and the bowl too small to tidily drink the soup with the serving (not soup) spoon provided.
The kerala coriander chicken was good, but after comparing it to the kandian scallops, it seemed a little bland. Still, a quite decent meal. The chicken was tender. I did not care much for the yoghurt and the chutney coming with it. More sauce to go with the rice would have been welcome.
Kandian scallops
The kandian scallops was an expensive dish for any sort of curry restaurant. Scallops aren’t exactly cheap – but the portions here aren’t exactly large either and £16.85 is a lot to pay for this type of cuisine. Fortunately, the dish was very good. It was nicely creamy and the scallops themselves were very nicely cooked. I wouldn’t give much for the paratha bread though, which was somewhat greasy and the rice which was rather dry. That last complaint takes on some significance in consideration of the small size of the dish overall (seemed a bit less than half of what you’d ‘normally’ get in a curry house), as there wasn’t enough sauce to flavour & moisten more than about 1/3 of the rice. And forget about dipping the bread in the sauce (unless you’re then prepared to eat your dry rice dry ;)). My suggestion with this dish would absolutely to take it as part of a tapas selection – and if you’re taking rice, make sure you get several dishes that all have some sauce (unless, of course, you like dry rice).
The desserts
Banana tiramisu
The banana tiramisu was surprisingly good. On first sight, I was worried as it was covered in a chocolate sauce (I hate most chocolate sauces, as they’re usually horribly sweet). I worried needlessly though, as the sauce was not over-sweet and not overpowering either. The tiramisu was nice and fresh, and I believe flavoured with real bananas. The tia maria was detectable, but also a gentle flavour that didn’t overpower the rest. A nice surprise
Wattilappam
Details of the Wattilappam dessert
The Wattilappam was surprising. I ordered it because I had no idea what it could be. It was ok but in very small doses because it is quite sweet. Its main flavour is mango but also cashew nuts. I liked the cashew nuts more than the custard. Fortunately it was not that big as it appears on the photos. Its plate is raised, so actually you get a thin layer of it and shallow bowl.
Cost and conclusion: it was £48.73 with the “optional service charge of 10%” automatically added. One again, I am against these “optional service’ charges automatically included. It should be up to the clients to decide if the service was worth a tip and then how much. Here, the service was friendly but not that efficient since we got our main courses before our drinks arrived. Not a big deal. Overall I would say the food is quite decent but on the expensive side compared to some other Asian restaurants. I prefer the Thai restaurant Banana Leaf in Clapham even if it is more canteen like.
Curry house Mirch Masala 213 Upper Tooting Road London SW17 7TG
Mirch Masala
Inside
In the past we have been several times to Mirch Masala and found their butter chicken to be very good, but we have not been for about 2 years – and in the meantime discovered Al Mirage next door. Have we been right to have switched to Al Mirage? To be short, yes. Our experience this time did not start well. When we received our cuttlery, they were covered by some curry/grease on one end. How it escaped to the waiter is a wonder. Actually not really since we had a dozy waiter. He was quite fun to watch but definitely on another planet.
It was not busy at the time we went, so we were a bit disappointed to be left sitting so long. We ordered a Karahi butter chicken (£7), a Karahi Lamb Tikka Masala (£7) and a fried chilli/onion mix (£1) as an accompaniment. As drinks we had a sweet lassi and a mango lassi. Unfortunately they were not cold, being even on the warm side. At Mirch Masala they provide some some poppadoms and an onion/cucumber salad when you get the table.
The butter chicken dish was fine – good flavours, and reasonably tender bits of chicken. It did not live up to our memories from previous visits though, seeming distinctly ordinary. The lamb tikka masala wasn’t good. Here the food seemed excessively salty and – unusually for a curry – the meat was quite tough and chewy. Certainly not the tender, well marinated chunks of lamb one usually gets in a curry house. The naan bread was also disappointing, quite dry and stiff, as though it had sat for 15 minutes before being brought to us. The fried chilli accompaniment was incredibly hot. Quite possibly the hottest chilli I had in my life. We managed to eat only one of them and we felt unwell the whole day with a burnt feeling in the stomach.
Sweet lassi and mango lassi
Karahi Lamb Tikka Masala
Karahi butter chicken
Fried chilli/onion mix
Overview of the table
The two currys in the plate
See the chilli!
Serious weapon!
Not great naan
Cost and conclusion: it was £18.30 in all. The food was alright but not great. At £7 per curry it is overpriced considering its average quality and the canteen like decor. The good butter curry lost its buttery flavour and became greasy. We were surprised the prices went up that way because they stayed stable at Al Mirage next door (about £1 to £2 less per curry). If you are looking for a curry restaurant in Tooting, Al Mirage is a better choice with cheaper and much better food.
Kolam Restaurant 60 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting London SW17 7PB
Reviewed on Thursday 28 May 2009
Kolam Indian restaurant
We had intended to go to to Al Mirage since it has been a long time since we were there. On the way, we noticed Kolam and its promotion of £15 for two for two starters, two currys, two bread or rice, and a bottle of wine. Actually it is the bottle of wine that caught our attention since many restaurants in this area are Pakistani and alcohol free. So can we eat well for a little over the price of two fastfood menus?
Outside, the restaurant looks small but inside it is pretty long to the point to waitress has to walk to come near your table to check everything is all right. It is decently decorated. It does not look like an ordinary curry “diner” but more like a comfortable restaurant (with tablecoths, etc). For the starters the requirement from that £15 deal was to take a South India starter. The menu is quite extensive so the choice was in no way restricted. We chose a dosai masala and a dosai “special” masala. A dosai is a crepe stuffed with potato curry, onion and for the “special” masala it also had some chicken. It is a meal that can be eaten for breakfast too, apparently. They were both good, with crepes that were crispy on the outside. They were surprisingly spicy, and even hot. The two sauces were good too. The green one was served cold while the other one was warm. I do not know enough about Indian food to tell what they were exactly. It is a very filling meal. Seriously, after eating it we wondered how we were going to eat the main course! As main courses, we had to choose between currys and we decided on the spicy chicken vindaloo curry and a chilli chicken curry. We had a problem with them: they were both very spicy, which is fine as we are both into hot spices, but they were WAY too salty. The vindaloo was salty but could be handled. The chilli chicken was just too salty. It was more salty than spicy (and it was seriously spicy, so that tells you about the amount of salt). The two currys looked similar but had different taste in case you wonder about it looking at the photos below. The naans could not soak up the salt. They were on the heavy, dense kind of naan. They could be good if things were not that salty. The wine included in the menu was a bottle of Marcel Hubert dry red. It is of course a cheap wine that costs around £3 but it was not too bad. If you do a search for that wine you can find other restaurants charging about £10 for this same wine!
Spacious restaurant
Marcel Hubert red wine included in the £15 menu for two.
Dosai
Dosai masala
Not too bad for a cheap wine
Inside the dosai
The sauces served with the dosai
Naan and vindaloo curry
Chilli chicken curry
Details of the vindaloo curry
Cost and conclusion: two starters, two main courses and a bottle of wine for £15. Hard to beat it! Just too bad the currys were so incredibly salty because the surrounding was pleasant, the waitress very nice… Without that problem (which completely ruined the meal), it would be a good value for money and we can only think and hope it was a one time mistake. In the area, you have Al Mirage if you are into curry (2 minutes walk toward Tooting Broadway) and the Kings Head if you are looking for a pub (same way as for Al Mirage but it is closer).
