Gay Hussar

2 Greek St, London

Legend has it that when ex-Conservative MP Michael Heseltine (and indeed any Tory politician) wanted to prove he was his own man, he dined at the Gay Hussar. Tony Blair is said to have been persuaded to run for the main job at one of its tables (number 10, funnily enough) and the same trick was tried on Mick Jagger by former chairman of the Labour party Tom Driberg. Although not keen on Driberg’s, ahem, advances, he apparently fled from the restaurant. Needless to say, such is the Gay Hussar’s colourful history (and we’re talking every shade of red), I could fill this column with tales of political machinations. Suffice to say, from the moment Socialist MP Aneurin Bevan made it his favourite in the 1950s, it became the restaurant of choice for everyone of the left-voting persuasion.

Today, when you walk in, one wall is covered with Martin Rowson caricatures of some of the famous faces who have dined there – it’s a who’s who of Labour party history and then some. That, when it opened in 1953 by Victor Sassie (who was actually born in Barrow-in-Furness but lived in Hungary for some time), it was London’s first Hungarian restaurant doesn’t seem to matter. From the history to the decor (doilies on walls, kitsch floral plates, bookshelves full of political novels), this place is unique. And, lest we forget, it also serves food.

The days of keeping carp in an aquarium are long gone, but if the quite wonderful Polish manager John Wrobel and his stories don’t put a smile on your face, the Hungarian fare will. It’s the kind of food you imagine Hungarian aristocracy eating – about 200 years ago. It might not look pretty, but it’s bloody tasty.

Amid the variations on goulash, salami, sausages and things with potato, there’s the foie gras: a doorstep of lightly toasted, spongy bread with lots of foie gras on top, covered with caramelised onions and served with a Tokaji and black truffle jelly. It’s not subtle, but it is so delicious it matters not. Likewise, the fish dumplings in a dill and mushroom sauce, and the stuffed cabbage with sauerkraut, sausage and bacon (there’s a farm’s worth of animal flesh packed inside). For pudding, try the sweet cheese pancakes filled with a curd of lemon and orange peel and sultanas.

The Gay Hussar doesn’t so much fill a belly as take it into a whole new spherical dimension.