Arany Kaviar, Budapest

Until the fall of the Communist regime, this restaurant was called Red Caviar (Voros Kaviar). It has now gone more upmarket and re-named itself Gold Caviar (Arany Kaviar). The head chef is a Russian-Hungarian named Sandor (Sasha) Nyiri. The decor recalls the opulence of Tsarist times with paintings of onion-domed churches in winter landscapes, while the stained glass windows depict an underwater world of crabs and fish. The wooden booths seat four. Three kinds of high quality - and expensive - caviar are available: Volgograd Beluga, Astrakhan Sevruga and Kamchatka Red Salmon Caviar, all costing around HUF 6000. It can be eaten with a blini (Russian pancake). Other Russian dishes such as pelmenyi (dumplings), borsch (beetroot soup) and beef Stroganoff are also available as are shots of ice cold vodka.