Hot Stuff

First impressions of Hot Stuff are that this is simply a cheap Indian takeaway with a little bit of seating. The budget tables and chairs, plate glass frontage, bring-your-own-booze policy and bog-standard curryhouse menu all lead to sinking of the heart.

Take a closer look, though, and there are some subtle hints that all is not as you expect. There are quirky, amusing touches to the decor, the specials board lists some decidedly unconventional dishes, and the customers are not boozy lads in football shirts, but a cross-section of South London society. At this point, we realised that the man sitting on his own having an animated conversation with the waiter was Will Self, and we started to wonder if there was something rather special going on in this unexplored corner of Stockwell.

The menu, it turns out, has very little to do with what you actually end up eating. We let the maitre d' order for us from the specials board, and found ourselves with a huge array of sparklingly original Indian treats. A buttery, slow cooked mushroom biryani was the base onto which we layered fresh, fiery Kerala prawns, a melting - and authentic - lamb bhuna, chilli calamari with a bright, clean citrus tang and half-a-dozen other fantastic treats. All this came in under ?30, including a bottle of wine from the off license next door.

Add in the fantastic buzz generated by the charming, chatty staff, the outdoor tables, and the constant variation in the cuisine, and you have what is surely one of the best budget restaurants in the capital.