YourThai Cafe

You'll walk past this unassuming little place on Prescot Road three times before you spot it, which is exactly the point. Inside, it's basically someone's front room with a few tables, but the Thai food coming out of that tiny kitchen is ridiculously good - proper spice levels that'll make you sweat, tom yum that tastes like it's straight from Bangkok, and curries that cost less than a pint in town. The catch? They're only open Thursday to Saturday evenings, and with just a handful of tables, you're gambling if you rock up without booking. But when you're slurping those noodles and wondering why you ever bothered with chain Thai places, you'll understand why people drive across the city for this place.