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.

Pakistani restaurant Al Mirage
215 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting
London SW17 7TG

Reviewed on Saturday 30 May 2009

Restaurant Al Mirage

After the not so great experience at Kolam we decided to go again to Al Mirage to get fantastic curry. It has been over two months since we ate there (click here for the 25 March 2009 review). What we like at Al Mirage is the modern, clean style. You have room between tables, something that cannot be said for most restaurants we’ve tried in this location. The staff are friendly and efficient too.

We (two people) were quite hungry so we saw big, maybe a little too big… As a starter we ordered the Special Mixed Grill made of four grilled chops, four seekh kebabs, four pieces of chicken tikka and one grilled fish (£12) and for main courses we chose the Balti chicken tikka massala (£6) and the Balti chicken korma (£5.50). As drink we had two sweet Lassi (£1.40 each). They provided some papadum ( thin crispy wafer) and a basic salad while we were waiting for the first course.

Papadum

Salad and papadum

Spicy sauce

Sweet lassi

The Special Mixed Grill was excellent! They have the grill within the dining area behind the counter so you can see the lamb, seekh kebabs being chargrilled. It does generate some smoke but the ventilation is quite good, you can feel the wind sometimes. The pieces of chicken tikka were great, with some bits burnt giving a barbecue taste. The seekh kebabs were really good, with a nice spicy flavour and a little crispy on the outside. The grilled chops were good too but too tiny to really enjoy them. We were already starting to get full when the grilled fish included in this starter arrived. We forgot about it! The fish was excellent too. Firm enough inside and the coating was crispy and quite spicy. For just two people this starter can easily be the unique meal.

The Special Mixed Grill

In the plate

Detailled view of the chicken tikka, seekh kebab and grilled chop

Grilled fish

We were still eating the chops, seekh kebabs and chicken tikka pieces when the fish arrived...

Excellent fish

We were still eating the fish when the two currys and the butter naans arrived. The naans were hot, crispy on the outside and covered by butter. The currys were really good. The balti chicken korma was extremely creamy, with a delicious smooth and lightly spicy taste. The balti chicken tikka massala was also creamy but less so than the korma and also more spicy. We can clearly tell the chicken pieces were grilled before being put in the sauce. By the way there is plenty of sauce in the two meals for good use of the naans. The sweet lassi drink, which tasted a little like yoghurt, was good to fight against the hot spices.

Balti chicken korma

Balti chicken tikka massala

The naan bread and curry

Seekh kebab and fish from the starter mixed with the curry

Overview of the table

Cost and conclusion: this is the best place for eating curry in London! Definitely a  better (less diner-like) surrounding and also better food too compared to the curry houses in the area and we did try almost all of them in that street! My minor complaint is about the timing between first course and main course. All the dishes arrived a little too quickly, which was ok but we would have wanted more time between them. Possibly the cook thought we were four as this starter was for four people but he could have looked at us or the waiter could have told him to wait a little. Still, all that for just a little over £26 is a very good value for money! We will be back!

215 Upper Tooting Road
London SW17 7TG

Reviewed 24 March 2009.

Al Mirage

Al Mirage is a Pakistani restaurant located close to Tooting Broadway which is a centre of the Asian community of South London. There are many Indian and Pakistani clothes shops, sweet shops and of course restaurants in this area. It is simply my favourite restaurant for eating a curry. I have been there several times and nothing I tried has been bad. The staff are friendly, something that cannot be said for other restaurants in the area, and they help you to choose the meal with some nice suggestions. The place feels airy, thanks to the reasonable space between the tables but also to the high ceiling as from the ground floor you can see a part of the first floor. Strangely, it is not as busy as in the restaurants next door for some reason but people do not know what they are missing! They also do take aways, I never tried it.
On the door you can see their Scores on the door (food hygiene rating) and they got 3 stars which is good compared to the restaurants around not displaying their score (as it is too low), with the exception of a few of them.

We took the Al-Mirage Masala Fish (£4) for starters which is a cod fish marinated and deep fried. It was excellent: fresh fish and nicely spicy. I like the fish design plate used with it as you can see on the picture below.
Other starters can be the Chicken Tikka (boneless chicken pieces marinated and barbecued – £2.50), the Peri-Peri Chicken grilled or fried for £3.95 (it is a whole chicken marinated in peri-peri sauce), Tandoori Chicken leg (£1.95) etc. They also have many vegetarian starters like Onion Bhajia (deep fried balls of onion and batter – £2), Chilli Paneer (grilled cheese cubes dry or in sauce – £3.50), Vegetable spring rolls (£1.50) etc.

Al-Mirage Masala Fish

Main courses:

Like for the starters they divide the menu between vegetarian dishes and non vegetarian dishes.
Vegetarian dishes includes Bombay Alo (a hot spicy potato dish – £3.25), Channa Masala (a rich creamy chick peas dish – £3.25), Mixed Tarka Daal (lentils flavoured with cumin seeds, garlic, ginger and spices) etc.
As we aren’t vegetarians, we chose the Lamb Bhuna (tender lamb cubes prepared with fresh ginger, onions, peppers, tomatoes and garlic – £5.50) and the Balti chicken Tikka Masala with cream (£6) in the non vegetarian dishes. Others dishes per example are the Shakari chicken (chicken on the bone – £4.95), the Balti chicken Keema (minced chicken – £4.50), the hot Lamb Rogan Josh (mutton pieces cooked in traditional Kashmir masala with yoghurt and cream – £5.50), the Ginger Chicken (£4.95)… There is also 12 kinds of Naan to choose from!
We had two Mango Lassi for drink for £1.85 each (This is a alcohol free restaurant).

Mango Lassi

The Lamb Bhuna was very good, spicy and hot (we asked for making it hotter) but not overly hot. We could still enjoy its taste. The sauce was oily but not too much. Just one downside here: we both had a piece of bone, so check well your plate before eating!
The Balti chicken Tikka Masala with cream was delicious. A rich smooth cream, slightly spicy (hot) and the chicken was great, with some burn as it was just grilled. As you can see on the photo below, there is enough sauce for a good use of the Naan

The Lamb Bhuna (red meal), the Balti chicken Tikka Masala with cream (yellow meal) and the Naan.

A closer look

Cost and conclusion:  for about £20, the value for money is excellent. Adding to that a good and fast service, this restaurant IS the place to go for anyone who is into curry. Highly recommended!