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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Toby Young's rating
Reader rating
Description: "Sensational" curries, "astoundingly cheap" prices, and "the friendliest" service -- a formula that wins adulation for this "crowded, downmarket and wonderful" South Lambeth Indian; BYO.
Food: 
Service:
Ambience:
Phone: 020 7720 1480
Website: http://www.eathotstuff.com
Open: Mon-Fri 12-10pm Saturday 4pm-10pm, Sunday closed
Good for: Good food, Ambience.
Payment options: All major cards
Hot Stuff: Not much atmosphere, but great food very reasonably priced
Just how good does a place have to be in order to become a 'destination restaurant'? Fifteen years ago, the standard was much lower than it is today for the simple reason that it now takes at least twice as long to get anywhere in London.
For instance, there's a Mauritian restaurant in Finsbury Park called Chez Liline that I still used to visit regularly, even when I moved from Islington to Shepherd's Bush.
It may have taken 45 minutes to get there, but it was worth it. Today, though, the traffic in London is so bad I've been forced to downgrade Chez Liline from a 'destination restaurant' to a 'local gem'. From where I live, it would be quicker to drive to Oxford.
This was running through my mind as I sat in my car last week, stuck in traffic on the Earls Court Road. I was on my way to Hot Stuff, the legendary Indian restaurant in Vauxhall, but I'd been sitting in my car for 45 minutes and I wasn't even halfway there.
My dining companion, a fellow Shepherd's Bush resident, said he wasn't surprised by how congested it was. He's currently going out with a woman who lives in Stoke Newington and he said that, these days, dating someone who lives in a different postcode constitutes a long-distance relationship.
When we arrived at Hot Stuff, some 85 minutes after we'd set off, my heart sank. Had I really wasted an entire day for this? It was situated on one of those run-down, windswept streets in South London that look like the set of a zombie movie. Apart from Hot Stuff, the only signs of life were off-licences and minicab offices, of which there were about half a dozen.
To describe the décor in Hot Stuff as 'functional' does not quite do it justice. It wouldn't even be accurate to say it hasn't been redecorated since it opened in 1988, since I doubt if it was decorated in the first place. The tables and chairs look as though they've been salvaged from some long-abandoned sink comprehensive and the only things on the wall were laminated reviews dating back to 1996.
There is only one waiter at Hot Stuff - Raj Dawood, who also happens to be the proprietor. This seemed like a sensible arrangement, given that we were the only people in there. He advised us to leave the ordering to him, something we were happy to do since he probably doubled as the chef as well.
It wasn't until I took my first bite of the king prawns in garlic and chilli that I began to change my mind about Hot Stuff. They were really very good, particularly considering they were only £6.50. The same was true of the chilli paneer (£3.60) and the mixed bhajis (£1.50). This was shaping up to be one of the best-value Indian meals I'd ever had. Then the main courses arrived - and my companion and I were blown away.
Raj deposited a small banquet in front of us consisting of karahi chicken, masala fish, butternut squash and magic mushroom rice (thankfully not the hallucinogenic kind). We didn't think we'd be able to make much of a dent in such a vast quantity of food, but it was all so fantastically well cooked we practically finished it.
Hot Stuff may not be much to look at. Even at peak capacity on Friday nights - when it attracts an eclectic mix of rugby-playing Sloanes and local Indians - it doesn't have much in the way of atmosphere.
But there's no faulting the food. For my money, the ultimate test of a meal is whether it produces the same mouthwatering, eye-rolling effect that a doughnut has on Homer Simpson, and Hot Stuff passed that test with flying colours. Who knows, I may even come back, in spite of the fact that it was a three-hour round trip. A 'destination restaurant' indeed.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
"one of those run-down, windswept streets in South London that look like the set of a zombie movie."
As it happens the laundrette in My Beautiful Laundrette was situated on Wilcox Rd.
- Andy, London. UK.
Edited by Admin14/01/2009 13:20 - Abusive language
- jimmy pisshole, your arse
You are so right...
- Vince Lance, London, UK
It might no be posh enough for you but there happens to be a quick, easy and (mostly) reliable way to get around London (even Sarf of the dreaded border): it is called the Tube... Bon Voyage!
- Nicolas Chinardet, London, UK
"It was situated on one of those run-down, windswept streets in South London that look like the set of a zombie movie. Apart from Hot Stuff, the only signs of life were off-licences and minicab offices"
Leave it out - next you'll be telling me that south london is actually a ghost town entirely filled with the undead wandering the streets... Oh, you actually did.. My word... Just proves that your obviously not great at travelling more than a few inches a day whilst stuck in your car, in traffic, and that you don't get to South London often enough.
We're going to whoop you North Londoners in Run London - why - because South London actually has places that are safe + pleasant to go running in.. Unlike the dirty north. HA!
- Matt, South London
Dude, learn to use public transport!
- Robert Nelson, London, UK
