is visiting Shashlik Restaurant after more than 20 years, and finding much comfort in the old and worn but cosy and homely surroundings. The food isn't flash or fine, but it's good old comfort food, the epitome of fine-dining in the 80s...

Dinner starts off with old skool style soft buns! Warm and fluffy, they were perfect with the salted butter (the local SCS no less!)

For starters, we tried the salmon blinis which were chewy, light and clean to the palate, the salmon only being very lightly salted.

Our second started was the mushrooms stuffed with chicken. I was disappointed as they used chinese dried mushrooms for this which didn't do much for flavour or texture as it was tough and chewy and rather tasteless. Would have faired better with plump button mushrooms.

Being semi-vegetarian (I eat fish), I settled for the fish cutlet which was a patty of minced fish in, strangely, the shape of a leaf. This was rather odd as the patty was so well compacted, it felt like I was eating a chicken patty - an a rather salty one at that. I should have just ordered a simple grilled fillet...

My colleague ordered the beef stroganoff and considering how she must have repeated "The beef is very good!" at least three times throughout dinner, it was a good choice.

And what's a visit to Shashlik without their famed Bomb Alaska?Sweet, cold and comforting. I loved the nostalgic choice of Magnolia(?) vanilla ice-cream, the bits of cold cold peaches and crumbly butter cake layers.

The food and place is not flash, but this restaurant still has that magic touch and is great for an authentic slice of the past.