Where shall we meet?: Ashbees SW5

Ashbees is a middle European heaven tucked into a basement off the Earl's Court Road. Tardis-like, it's larger on the inside than it looks from the outside, its front room filled with candles and friezes of grapes and vines, with a

harvest scene fresco through the mullioned window. The real joy, however, is the intermittent presence of a Hungarian gypsy band. Their violinist is a

paragon of virtuosity, and they play just about anything as long as it's in a guttural language, as the elegantly coiffed ladies who staff the bar encourage the

gathered Poles to sing along. Unlike much you're familiar with, unless your name happens to end in -ski.

Ashbees, 22 Hogarth Place SW5 (071-373 6180)