Mirch Masala and The Selkirk

The Pint: Tooting may be better-known for its curries than its pubs - in fact just walking down Tooting High Street whilst hungry can be torture as the whole place smells of curry - but it has at least one gem that we know of in The Selkirk. The Selkirk is a decent boozer which serves a good pint of Junction, for the ale lovers. Its not too loud but definitely not an old man's pub, and it seems to have plenty going on such as pub quizzes and the odd bit of live music. It has an impressively-sized beer garden which I imagine must be busy on a sunny Sunday afternoon and all in all makes for a perfect pre-curry pint.

The Curry: From there it is a short 7-minute walk round the corner to Mirch Masla. Mirch Masala has recently capitalised on its success by opening no fewer than 7 branches in London, the first being opened in Norbury in 1997. Tooting is the second branch to open, in 2001, and has been a staple of South London curry-lovers ever since.

The Mirch Masala has a simple cafe-style interior, nothing fancy about this place at all. The restaurant is BYO, so beer and wine are encouraged (we grabbed a few bottles of Kingfisher, our favourite of the Indian lagers, from an off-licence next door). If part of a large group you may like to book, but for smaller parties there is probably no need, given the quick turnover.

To begin we had onion bhajis - crispy and not too oily, and chicken tikka, which was a lovely deep red and tasted excellent (although not sizzling like Tayyabs). All the mains are actually "Karahis" - named after the cast-iron pan with a rounded bottom that the curry is cooked in. I ordered Karahi Ginger Chicken, which packed a nice punch - and my friend ordered the Karahi Chicken Tikka Masala, which tasted superb. The portions are not enormous - the bits of chicken are slightly on the ungenerous side, until you consider the cost. Our bill came to just under ten pounds per head, representing excellent value for money.    

A textbook curry and pint combination this.
The Selkirk: 8/10
Mirch Masala: 10/10