Tucked away on Broad Street it will face a state-of-the-art multiplex, bowling arena, and shopping area.

Right now, however, this little eaterie looks on to a boarded-up Netto and a bingo hall that needs a lick of paint. It's the perfect place for it.

But wait – before you dash off for a window table at some generic city-centre chain – that's a compliment.

ThaiStyle refuses to be pretentious or up-its-own-location, it's only interested in authentic, super-spicy, knock-your-socks-off grub.

If it was in New York, it would be a back-alley joint where outside the mist rises from the sewers but inside UN officials chow down. If it was in London it would be above an abandoned East-End shop without a sign but with a queue of celebrities.

Of course, Halifax doesn't have a UN building (although who knows what the Broad Street plans will evolve to) or celebrities, so the clientele is the kind of mixture of in-the-know customers you expect at any word-of-mouth restaurant.

Word of mouth is right. ThaiStyle doesn't do advertising any more than glamour.

That may explain why it's occasionally so quiet.

The lunchtime we visit the peeling door remains shut throughout and the rickety tables stay empty but if this makes it a secret, it's one worth being in on.

That's obvious as soon as we dive into a pre-meal bowl of Tom Yum seafood soup.

The stuff is wonderful. Crammed full of prawns, mussels and fish, it's a taste of the Indian Ocean itself. Although with lashings of chilli in the mix, it's perhaps also a taste of some South East Asian volcano. In a good way.

For starters we tried the Poh Pia Tord – spring rolls to you and me. Stuffed with chicken and mixed veg, they are served with a sweet and sour sauce by smiling, continuously courteous staff. It was an honest, if perhaps unspectacular, warm-up to the mains.

Which is exactly what was needed because the follow-up took no prisoners.

Between three of us we chose to mix and match Phad Prik Sod Kai, Phad Kra Prow Kai and Pork Thai green curry.

And the message is clear: if you can't stand the chillis get out of the restaurant. Or at least don't have what we did. Hot doesn't cover it. Dynamite probably does. Just.

The Sod Kai and Prow Kai are stir-fried chicken dishes cooked with a variety of different veg but both including ladles of chillis. The meat was tender, the veg sweet, the gravy thick. They combined perfectly on a bed of rice – as did the curry with its refreshing but non-overpowering sauce.

"The curry is said to be an aphrodisiac," our waiter told us, and three pairs of male eyes eyed each other dubiously.

But, certainly, after polishing the three dishes off, along with reasonably priced bottled beer, the whole world seemed more attractive.

And that included – as we walked out blinking into the sun – the abandoned Netto.

Location means nothing when you serve food this good.

Ratings
Name: ThaiStyle

Address: 21 Broad Street, Halifax.

Phone: 01422 344772

Food 4/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Service 5/5
Value 4/5