One hot joint

So why did nobody tell me? Granted this resto is already so busy that it's tough to get a table - so busy that on pleasant evenings the wide pavement outside is crowded with people tucking into their BYO booze as they wait patiently for a seat. Granted Sudbury isn't at the centre of everybody's universe, but Five Hot Chillies opened some two years ago, and with a blue ribbon pedigree - links to both the original Karahi King in North London and the original Mirch Masala in the South.

It is hard not to resent those wasted years, time spent ignorant of a truly exceptional restaurant. You can tell that Five Hot Chillies is outstanding --the moment you sit down the place buzzes with energy, happy diners come and go. The food is cheap, service is confident and the cooking is outstanding.

Line up three dishes and note what is most impressive - intense flavours, light but rich saucing, no pools of oil, huge portions, plus (and it's a big plus) each of the three dishes will taste completely different. However slick a chef may be it is rare to find this kind of integrity whatever the cuisine. Even the little plate of salad you get free at the start of your meal is exceptional: ripe tomatoes, freshly cut cucumber, sweet onion rings - what a contrast to the tired and wilting platefuls elsewhere.

It's hard to single out any dish for special praise as all deserve a mention. If you are having starters open with an onion kulcha - a beautiful bread, fluffy inside, crisp and buttery outside and stuffed with softened onions. Use it to soak up the extra juices of the 'butter wings' (best-ever buttered chicken), or the masala lamb chops (on the bone, very rich). The fish tikka is also outstanding - firm flakes of fish and sensitive spicing. Despite the name no dish here is harsh with chillies.

With starters this good it is hard for the mains to impress, but they do. Try something simple, cheap (£3.50), rich and genuinely delicious - karahi butter bean methi - amazingly good. Or deige chicken - served on the bone, melting chicken and layer upon layer of flavour. Order another bread or two - the plain nan is stunning, or a garlic roti for contrast: crisp and crunchy. Try the karahi karella gosht: tender lamb, the thick sauce balanced with the sharpness of bitter melon.

This style of cooking relies on intense sauces lifted by masses of fresh herbs added at the last minute, so as you tuck into each dish you not only get wave after wave of taste, but everything seems fresh and vibrant. However, the food is not only remarkable, somehow it has remained incredibly cheap. Sure, you have to be able to find Sudbury, you may have to queue in the street for a table and you also have to BYO booze if you want some, but these are small inconveniences when set against food this good. Why did nobody tell me about this place? It's a conspiracy.