Mirch Masala — Restaurant in London

MIXED REVIEWS for good reason and you would hope the owner would pay attention. Hygiene is not as good as it could be and that is bad for many customers even if staff dismiss it. Customer service us variable. Bad for customers because they want to go somewhere they can rely on for a friendly welcome. Fairness has been questioned. Several customers complain of being watched (too much) by staff when using the buffet. We were. This shouldn't be. It suggests a selfishness by the management. Food quality is mixed... and this is just not acceptable. Food quality must be consistently excellent.

Our visit was after a funeral, we were a large Party of 20+, a mix of very old to the very young. We were treated well and the starters were tasty. The buffet wasn't open when we arrived but opened quickly enough. Standard dahl, potato and spinach curry, chicken curry etc. They were tasty (but as said, we were watched - was it to see how many visits?).

I have been to other Mirch Masala restaurants, they are pretty standard. I quite like the "no frills" plain tables, canteen-style feeling. You're there to eat staple Indian food. That's it. But, as a customer, you want to know that the food is safe and that the environment is clean, and that the management are generous and fair.

My hope is that Mitch Masala management read back the many positive and negative reviews and take action to change people's perceptions so that it only achieves 4* and 5* reviews in future.

Will I be back? Yes, for sure (and I'll be ready to make another...

Pakistani food for people who like Pakistani food, served in something not unlike a school canteen.

If you've ever been to an Indian restaurant where the inoffensiveness of the decor is matched only by the that of the food, you'll know exactly what not to expect here. This is not a place where they tone down the flavour to appease cries of "I don't like it. It is too hot", where "is too hot" just means "has flavour". Nor do they seem bothered about the school canteen vibe the cheap chairs and tables give.

This all makes it an ideal place for meeting up with friends for tasty, cheap food. Plenty of space, accommodating staff (mostly), and you don't have to worry about getting the tablecloth oily. Because it doesn't exist.

It could also be a good place to take a first date, if you want to test your theory that your beauty will win over anything terrible you do that night. N.B. That is some kind of joke right there. Do not take anybody here on a first date. In fact, you might want to wait until you've trapped them into the relationship with a baby or something.

There are a few of these scattered around South London. I've only been to two of them, and they were both...

Please inform yourselves of where exactly you are eating. I live above the restaurant in Norbury and have seen the kitchens and staff many times. The kitchen is very dirty and opening out to a back alley really shockingly full of rubbish caked in bird poo and feathers and running with rats even in the day light hours. They just dump waste food and other all over the place with lots of old building materials also piling up. This is the area the staff break to smoke always with aprons on, they are the same people preparing your food envitable with dust and such from bird dropping and other. It is because of the slum like standards I see them conform to from the back I’ve never eaten from the frount. They are simple selling food and preparing it in risky conditions surrounded by rubbish rats and all that goes with it. The re fit in Norbury is only in the frount and has contributed to the further build up of rubbish out the back. There are far better and safer places to eat with staff that make a true effort to serve good food without abusing a customers trust or the environment around them.

A...