The recently reopened Warsaw restaurant Oberża pod Czerwonym Wieprzem (The Red Pig Inn) has recreated the atmosphere and menu of the former Żelazna Oberża (Iron Inn), whose traditions date back to the 18th century.

The restaurant's new managers say that while political systems change, good recipes are eternal. It is hard to believe the introduction to the menu, which states that former guests have included Vladimir Lenin, Fidel Castro, Leonid Brezhnev and Mao Tse Tung. The decor, is reminiscent of the socialist epoch, with tables decorated with carnations-the favorite flower of communist Poland.

Guests can sample some unique dishes such as Volodya's Blini, Brezhnev's Kołduny (traditional Lithuanian dumplings stuffed with meat), Wild Boar Roulades á la Tito, Mao Chicken and Erich Pig's Knuckles. Naturally, you can also get Fidel's Cigars. Visitors will be reminded of the atmosphere of those days by the Seta i Galareta set (100 milliliters of vodka with a popular cold starter), a Plate of People's Poland's Delicacies (see for yourself what dignitaries ate in those days) and a Proletarian's Pork Chop. Of course, feasts at the inn are accompanied by musical hits from the communist era.

The history of the building that houses the restaurant is unusual. During renovation work, it was discovered that the Iron Inn must have been located on the same site. It served abundant and delicious meals, a tradition that today's restaurant seeks to cultivate. When famous communists from a hundred years ago, including Lenin apparently, started frequenting the Iron Inn, people sarcastically nicknamed the place The Red Pig Inn.

After World War I, the restaurant became famous abroad, with people visiting from across the globe. The inn was a favorite haunt of Warsaw's prewar high society. Then, during World War II, the restaurant was completely destroyed. In the 1960s, the communists erected a building at the junction of Chłodna and Żelazna streets that housed a bar named Magda. This was a disguise covering "Lenin's" old inn, which was meticulously recreated in the basement. In the days when Poland was suffering extreme poverty, communist officials came here to eat tender loin, cold meats, poultry, lamb and pork chops, and to drink French wine, Georgian cognac and Cuban rum. The restaurant operated until around 1990. A few weeks ago, it returned to the culinary map of Warsaw, aiming to remember and highlight its unusual heritage.

Oberża pod Czerwonym Wieprzem, 68 Żelazna St., tel. 0-22-850-3144.