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In a city where onion domes and Soviet-era monoliths bespeak a long, varied, and storied past, it's easy to forget that the dining scene is relatively new, having emerged with democratization in 1991. Now, nearly twenty-five years later, the Moscow restaurant scene is still going through growing pains and has yet to find its pa
In a city where onion domes and Soviet-era monoliths bespeak a long, varied, and storied past, it's easy to forget that the dining scene is relatively new, having emerged with democratization in 1991. Now, nearly twenty-five years later, the Moscow restaurant scene is
In a city where onion domes and Soviet-era monoliths bespeak a long, varied, and storied past, it's easy to forget that
In a city where onion domes and Soviet-era monoliths bespeak a long, varied, and storied past, it's easy to forget that the dining scene is relatively new, having emerged with democratization in 1991. Now, nearly twenty-five years later, the Moscow restaurant scene is still going through growing pains and has yet to find its pace. This is good news for adventurous diners. You might still find yourself being served by pantaloon-and-ruffled bedecked "serfs" beneath glittering chandeliers in one of the showy, re-created settings that arose in the post-Soviet era—and that even a tsar would find to be over the top.
But many restaurants now approach their food sensibly and seriously. A new crop of chefs is serving traditional Russian fare, often giving it some innovative twists. One European cuisine to invade the city anew is Italian, and scores of dark-haired chefs from the Mediterranean are braving the cold to bring Muscovites minestrone and carbonara. Other ethnic restaurants have long since arrived as well, and you can sample Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, Latin American, or Turkish cuisine any night of the week.
One welcome, long-standing Russian tradition that remains in place is a slow-paced approach to a meal. It's common for people to linger at their tables long after finishing dessert, and you're almost never handed the bill until you ask for it. Keep in mind that chef turnover is high in Moscow, which means restaurants can change quickly—and that there's always a new culinary experience to be had in this ever-evolving city.
This one-room café has home-style Georgian food so good that you'll feel you've found your way to a tavern deep in the Caucasus hinterlands. The house specialty is succulent hinkali, fist-sized dumplings filled with ground meat that you eat with your hands; the variety with herbs is best, and all the better if you add crisp-crusted hachapuri (cheese bread) to the order. There are many vegetarian-friendly options on the menu, including pkhali, assorted vegetables blended with herbs and walnuts. Ordering might be difficult unless you or someone in your party has at least a moderate knowledge of Russian.
Feast on exquisite traditional Russian fare in what was once (and still feels like) a private mansion. On the four floors, there are spaces to fit every mood: a Middle Eastern room with hookahs; a billiard room; intimate, plush dining rooms; and a chandeliered main hall with lots of natural light. Try the ukha, a fish soup, and a basket of their excellent pirozhki, savory filled pastries; the beef Stroganoff is outstanding. The lightning-quick waitstaff is unassuming and attentive.
2a ul. Aleksandra Solzhenitsyna, Moscow, Moscow, 109004, Russia
This modern chain of cafes shares a name with Georgia's most beloved culinary export, a crispy pie filled with a creamy, tangy cheese (six varieties of this Caucasus pizza are on the menu). The brick walls and track lighting at this popular branch create a bright and airy space, and the cooking displays a refreshing contemporary sensibility, with the always luscious chanakhi (a lamb stew, light with fragrant cilantro) and the hinkali (large dumplings you eat with your hands) available with salmon or pumpkin in addition to the traditional ground beef. Go for lunch to get the best value.
10 per. Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky, Moscow, Moscow, 103009, Russia
The name comes from a popular Russian pastry, but there's nothing common or traditional about the presentations in this old mansion stripped down to its bare-brick walls. Head Chef Dmitry Shurshakov lets fresh, locally sourced ingredients shine through in dishes like stewed turkey necks with pearl barley and spiced carrot puree, and cauliflower and cod liver crème brûlée. You can enjoy the namesake vatrushka, a cottage cheese–filled pie, for dessert.
5 ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya, Moscow, Moscow, 125009, Russia
In a mansion meant to recall the days when the writer Pushkin stolled the 19th-century avenues of Moscow, staff members dress like household servants; the menu resembles an old newspaper, with letters no longer used in the Russian alphabet; and the food is fit for a tsar. All the favorites can be found here—blini, caviar, pelmeni (meat dumplings)—and there's a fine, if over-priced wine list. Prices rise with each floor (there are three) of the house. If you don't want to splurge on dinner, the three-course business lunch is an excellent way to sample Pushkin's food without breaking the bank. Open daily, 24 hours, Pushkin is popular for breakfast after a night of clubbing. In summer you can dine on the rooftop patio.
The modern takes on Russian classics served in chic, contemporary surroundings in the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya are truly inventive. A trio of Russian salads is a barely recognizable version of the mayo-heavy Soviet standards and the schi is a rich cabbage soup that's unlike the ubiquitous variety served elsewhere—this one contains suckling pig and is baked under puff pastry. Busy ulitsa Tverskaya provides a nice backdrop.
After entering through a tunnel of vine leaves, you're seated at oak tables in a somewhat Disneyfied version of an old country house in Georgia (the country). The food—rich stews, aromnatic rice dishes, grilled meats and kebabs—is genuine, however, and in the evenings you can enjoy an authentic Georgian choir and traditional dancing.
14/2 ul. Ostozhenka, Moscow, Moscow, 119034, Russia
For a fun, retro-Soviet experience, step into this new hot spot owned by one of Moscow's best known restauranteurs for a cold beer and a caviar sandwich. The menu and price list are reminiscent of a typical Soviet beer bar with a modern touch of today's Moscow scene.
7 ul. Kuznetsky Most, Moscow, Moscow, 107031, Russia
Find the unmarked entrance, ring the right doorbell, and you will be taken back half a century to an idealized Soviet home. It could be Red Army Day, the way the tables are garnished with white cloth and water goblets—and the flour-and-water baranki crackers on the table evoke bygone scarcity. Stolid, apron-clad waitresses glide from table to table delivering beet salads, mushroom soup, and other nostalgic fare. Wooden shelves and the bric-a-brac on them—glass cookie jars, an old radio, a deer figurine—make this place feel truly homey. The experience isn't entirely homespun, though—Mari Vanna has branches as far afield as New York and Los Angeles.
10a per. Spiridonevsk, Moscow, Moscow, 123104, Russia
This citywide chain is one of the few trustworthy spots to get fresh, tasty food on the fly. With many shelves of low-cost wraps, salads, soups, and even sushi, there's a lot to choose from. There's also a pastry case with surprisingly good fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, and even a worthy chocolate mousse. When it's warm, sit under a patio umbrella here, on a pedestrian street near Red Square, and watch every class of Muscovite go by.
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