Cheap and cheerful in Vauxhall

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Call me contrary but, this week, I'm starting with the bill. When was the last time you had dinner, a massive meal for four, including starters and copious side orders, and paid £28.75? Not each; in total. That's the staggering amount we paid in Vauxhall's Hot Stuff, an unassuming little BYO spot in a semi-suburbanlooking, rather God-forsaken parade of shops.

I thought I'd discovered that holy grail of restaurant critics' destinations - the unsung hero, the cheap authentic local patronised by a bunch of enthusiastic fans, great cooking by the original mom and pop. Well, Hot Stuff is indeed all of these things, but examining my surroundings (basic in the extreme), I quickly realised the frames on the walls contained not art, but reviews. So much for my pioneering spirit.

The food, from an extremely terse laminated menu, is very good in a rather slapdash, home-cooking style. Mixed bhajis were dense with gram flour and light on the spinach, onion and potato. My pond-coloured butter chicken, severely laced with coriander, contained plentiful chunks of tender chicken breast but little taste of butter or even ghee. Chicken tikka karahi was ace, as was an unusually light king prawn biryani. Spiced okra and dhal were competently executed, and everything was served with a proud smile by the owners.

If it hadn't been for the two overloud opinionated oiks at the table behind us (you know the sort, think they're popular because they know the owners) it would have been even better.

Hot Stuff
Wilcox Road, London, SW8 2XA