So, the other day we decided on eating out, as a family.. My mom wanted to go some place that had a buffet, but on a Sunday afternoon, in Tooting, Buffet menu's seem to be a bit scarce..
So Spice Village had been highly recommended, and we knew the food must be pretty good, seeing as our Aunt knows her stuff.. so eventually, we settled on Spice Village, and figured we'd give it a go.
Al Mirage being the family favourite choice in Tooting, we thought we'd try something a little different.
Fortunately, we weren't disappointed.
We went around 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, and the place seemed fairly quiet, with only a few diners in the now fairly large restaurant (they took over the store next door to them, knocked down the wall, and made the dining area twice as large). We decided to grab some seats near the back, seeing as it was freezing cold, outdoors, and we didn't fancy sitting near the windows. Must admit, the seats were nice and comfy, not the usual cheap, plastic or wood only chairs you find in some Indian/Pakistani restaurants.
Three of us ordered Mango Lassis, and one of us had a Mango Milkshake (for the uninitiated, lassi's are made with yoghurt, whilst the shakes are made of milk). I enjoyed my lassi, though I didn't taste the shake.. Fortunately, there was enough of a lassi to last the meal, and make a sweet finish to the meal, so I didn't even think about dessert at the end ;)
For starters, we had 2 Lamb Samosa's, 2 Fried Masala Fish, 6 Seekh Kebabs, and 2 Tandoori Nans. For our main courses, My mom had 1 Naan Kebab Roll (it's a cheaper way of getting 2 seekh kebabs +1 tandoori Nan + salad), my dad opted for 1 Chana Daal, I chose the Whole Murgh Chicken (my choice!) and my brother had the Lamb Biryani with a Chicken Jalfrezi.
Before our starters came, we got a complimentary 'salad', that was just the usual of some lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and onion.. but it gave us something to munch on whilst we waited for the real food to come ;)
The Fried Masala Fish was really good.. comparable, if not better than the fish at Al Mirage. The Seekh Kebabs were good too.. a little spicy, but personally I prefer it that way ;)
The Lamb Samosa's were large, but unfortunately they'd been 'microwaved' to re-heat them, as they'd already been fried and were kept in the refrigerated display they have. My brother mentioned how at Al Mirage they appear to make the samosa's from fresh, as they come warm and crispy.. so be warned, ur samosa will come soft, not crispy here.
Tandoori Nan's were a good size.. though it's really quite hard to get those wrong in any half decent traditional Curry House. They served them up, cut in half, which made it a little easier to share. Personally, I don't like it when they serve up Tandoori Nan's as whole, because inevitably you're going to have to break them up, to eat them, and why not just cut em into smaller pieces for the customers, and make it easier for them?
Anyhow, the whole chicken was really nice.. Some good strong flavours, and it was nice and soft but cooked chicken. Not too tough, chewy or burnt at all, which is always good in my books ;)
The Chana Daal was good, nothing to write home about.. and the Lamb Biryani, and Chicken Jalfrezi were ok.. Though I must admit I've had better at Al Mirage..
My mom get a particularly large Nan/Kebab serving, and wasn't able to finish hers off. And whilst we all enjoyed bits of everything, it was definitely more food than we could eat.. so we made sure to get the leftovers packed (and boy did they taste nice the next day!)..
If I'd only eaten the chicken I ordered, I could have very easily finished it.. Maybe not entirely if I'd eaten it with Naan. But I had to sample everything else that had come, so I ended up only eating about a quarter of the chicken after all.. And we ended up ordering an extra Tandoori Naan, but again that was more just for me ;)
Next time, we might try some different dishes, and see how they turn out.. I know that they're one of the few places that serve 'brain', and do it well. It's pricey, for sure, but if you're into that sort of thing, like my dad is, then you'll appreciate it here, seeing as they don't 'mush it up', but cook it in nice 'chunks'. (We've had brain from here, as a Take Out in the past, and it's definitely one to taste, if you've never tasted it before!)
All in all, it was an enjoyable meal, and with the combination of nice clean facilities, a large dining space, and affordable pricing, I'll definitely be back here in the future. Though I may just pick some different menu options next time ;) read more