Holy moly the food is hot. Mirch: That is a hot pepper, I get it. The food lives up to its name. It was also very tasty. Sometimes it is ok to suffer a little while eating super spicy food. The nose runs, your heart beats just a bit quicker, every bite feels like it might put you over the edge. But really, it can't get any hotter in there: the mouth is already an inferno and your job is to make your brain realize there is more to the food than heat. And to drink water. Such was my adventure at Mirch Masala while friend told us that she chose this place over another because the other made really hot food. LOL. We ordered vegetable biryani, palak paneer, and other vegetarian dishes and they were all very good. I would not say exceptional as they were a little bit on the greasy side, but very tasty. The waitstaff was kind and competent and the food came out quickly. The ambience was bright and bustling but not chic or cool in any way. Good enough for a quick meal after long travels. I would likely want to try a different restaurant in the future, but I think this place is a solid four stars.

This has been endlessly recommended to me, but then by now, so have most places in Tooting. Each one has something different to offer, I find. We chose Mirch because we wanted a slightly smarter-than-canteen (ruling out spice village and lahore karahi, both excellent) setting, and the BYOB was a bonus. Mirch has to offer: excellent chicken wings (made famous by the review stuck in the window, which I used as leverage to make my party order them), not very meaty but full of flavour. 'Proper' popadoms (not greaseballs). Onion bhajia which is actually like spicy onion rings and deliciously bad for you. Beautifully cooked meat, lovely flavours, huge range of dishes. It also has in my experience pretty poor service - mango chutney received ten minutes after we ate all the popadoms (so we had some more, of course), a refusal to take away dirty plates so we had to re-use them, and an announcement they'd run out of okra for my main just after they'd served the other 5 people their dishes.... I was perfectly happy with mine in the end (lamb to die for), and I've learned to expect this kind of service as it's sort of standard 'let everyone be' stuff - we did sit for over 2 hours. But it still grated when we ate too much chilli and had to share a single glass of water! A friendly and lively Saturday night crowd and no hurry atmosphere make it a good choice though. Not sure about the 'best curry in Tooting' tag, but it's definitely miles above anything Brick Lane has to offer!

Long story short, a young couple was drawn to my Spiderman hoodie while waiting for the 44. We got to talking and during the bus ride, the young couple invited me, my girl and her sister to join them for curry. Another stranger (who was not joining us for curry but happened to overhear us talking) recommended Mirch Masala. The place is BYOB and everyone from the waiters to the chef to the owner are friendly. I don't eat Indian food often so take my review with a grain of salt, but the food here is really good. I ate a lot of bland things during my stay in London, but this food was seasoned well. I would go back if I wasn't 5360 miles away!

Who needs Brick Lane, when Tooting has some of the best curry houses in London. Amid such intense competition, I would have to say that this place does the best curry in Tooting. Mirch Masala is always busy (a good sign) and reasonably priced. All food is freshly prepared in the open kitchen towards the back, with diners given a choice of how hot they would like the curry (when they say hot they mean hot). Those wanting to experience good honest Indian cuisine should look no further than Mirch Masala!