In Moscow it is more often than not true that you can find anything and everything you want. So long as you are prepared to pay the price for it that is. Russians have never been famous for their cheese and foreigners wandering around their local supermarket are more often than not very dismayed to find that a decent slab of parmesan or a box of stinky camembert costs almost as much as it does to get to the airport.

Those with a craving for rich and strongly flavoured French and Swiss cheese need weep into the purses no longer however - in the reasonably priced Cheese Hole everything comes with cheese.

Upon entering this cute restaurant you will be overwhelmed by the enticing smell of gruyere, camembert and the like. We opted to dine upstairs in the sweet conservatory area decorated in pastel colours with shaker style fittings, which was the smoking room and hence the cheese smell was well masked. Downstairs the aromas are more profound, although the setting is more intimate and cosy, with the low ceiling basement being filled with little nooks and crannies for holing up in.

After having perused the short menu, where practically everything is inappropriate for the lactose intolerant we opted for a salad and a soup. The cheese, bacon, avocado and chicken salad was perfectly proportioned and arrived promptly with the bacon particularly being particularly impressive as it was neither too salty nor too fatty. The cream of spinach and nutmeg soup also passed with flying colours, with the juicy prawns floating around in it being deemed a definite highlight.

For mains we went for the obvious choice, the house specialty, fondue for two. It was made with five different cheeses and came not only with bread but also grilled vegetables for dipping. Somewhat novices when it came to controlling our fondue set, we had to frequently ask for advice from our patient waiter as to when we should turn the heat up, turn it down and then finally how to switch it back on when we accidently switched it off. What seemed like a bottomless pot of gooey cheesy goodness eventually to our surprise was emptied leaving just a little burnt crust in the bottom and we laid back to let the cheese settle and enjoyed our slightly overpriced wine.

After feeling quite cheesed out yet also giddy from the rich tastes of what is normally a very expensive treat, we skipped the cheesecake and the cheese ice-cream on the dessert menu and opted instead for a macaroon with fresh berries which we were assured would be more than enough for two. When the beautifully presented French delight came out, we knew they were right and struggled to finish it, despite the fact that it again tasted like something that should cost a fortune.

With the annoying elevator-style music starting to slowly grate on us and our stomachs becoming heavier and heavier it was alas finally time to leave, but not without making a reservation for a table the next week. Ladies and gentlemen, this place is addictive!