This review is going to come across a little mean. However, at $100 each, this get-together was the most expensive one that we have had to date.
To start with, the positives, it was a great turn out for the first get-together for 2024. Fifteen of us in total, with the addition of three newbies. Welcome to Schalk, Zander and Pete. Paddington is a very nice location, with a couple of pubs (like the Hope & Anchor) nearby. The restaurant is nicely decorated, and our waitress was very welcoming, pleasant and absolutely worked her butt off as the only server.
Now for the critic. Because they were understaffed (which was the same experience our last visit), we waited 50 mins between entree and mains. The evening weather was raining and muggy. Although they had an air conditioning unit, directly above us, it clearly needed a service because it wasn't cooling. So we all sat there hot and sweaty.
Food - It is not understood why Mirchi (translation - having a relatively high temperature) is in their name. Because the curries were very G rated, with simply no heat in any of them. Including the 'Indian hot' beef vindaloo. The Heathy Indian part of their name also escaped us, as there is no obvious differences, other than they had vegan options on the menu. None of the dishes stood out for me. Other than possibly the Daal Makhani. Generally they all lacked depth and flavour. The Lentil Vegetable dish was a watery soup and was not touched. The spinach gravy in the Palak Paneer looked watered down. Vikram summed up the dishes best as 'Indian food for beginners'. A nice place to take someone for an Indian meal if you were unadventurous, couldn't tolerate heat, or weren't looking for the depth of spices of an authentic cooked dish.
For the reasons above, we have now removed It's Mirchi from our Top 9 recommended list and will most likely not be returning any time soon.
For the record, we ordered:
Entrees:
Spinach Onion Pakora
Samosa
Chicken Tikka
Mains:
Butter Chicken - Medium
Beef Vindaloo - Indian Hot
Lamb Rogan Josh - Hot
Eggplant Potato - Medium
Lentil Vegetable - Mild
Daal Makhani - Hot
Palak Paneer - Medium
Steamed and Coconut Rice
Garlic Naan
Sounds bloody awful. Paul I think your review was indeed too kind. Glad I missed it for a steak at the Breakfast Creek hotel, which was delicious by the way and only $45.
Looks like I dodged a bullet with this one - good, honest review - that's what we're about!
Yep. Pretty disappointing and especially at that price. No reflection on the organiser though 🤔🙄🤣
Well summed up as a clear outline of what ultimately was still an enjoyable evening thanks to the people attending and in spite of the disappointing and expensive meal.