Restaurants in Moscow
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Shinok
In case you didn’t think Moscow’s themed dining was over the top, this restaurant has re-created a Ukrainian peasant farm in central Moscow. Servers wear colourfully embroidered shirts and speak with Ukrainian accents (probably lost on most tourists). The house speciality is vareniki (the Ukrainian version of pelmeni ). As you dine, you can look out the window at a cheerful babushka while she tends the farmyard animals (very well taken care of, we’re assured).
reviewed
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B
Turandot
If you wanted to go to Disney World, but somehow ended up in Moscow, Turandot should be at the top of your dining wish list. Completely costumed in wigs and gowns, musicians play chamber music and servers scuttle to and fro. The decor is unbelievably extravagant, with hand-painted furniture, gilded light fixtures and frescoed cupola ceiling. It is certainly every bit as elaborate as Cinderella’s castle. Turandot is named for a Puccini opera set in old Peking, which is as good a reason as any to serve Chinese and Japanese food in this baroque interior.
reviewed
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C
TsDL (Central House of Writers)
The acronym stands for Tsentralny Dom Literatov, or Central House of Writers, which is the historic building housing this fancy restaurant. A glittery chandelier above, plush carpets under foot and rich oak panelling all around create a sumptuous setting for an old-fashioned Russian feast.
reviewed
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Scandinavia
In most parts of the world, Swedish cuisine is not really celebrated; in Moscow, it is. Much beloved of Moscow expats, Scandinavia offers an enticing interpretation of what happens ‘when Sweden meets Russia’. A delightful summer café features sandwiches, salads and treats from the grill (including the best burgers in Moscow, by some accounts). Inside, the dining room offers a sophisticated menu of modern European delights.
reviewed
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E
Beige Cafe
Beige might sound boring, but subtle lines and soft colours render this romantic cafe anything but. The setting is so sensual due in part to the circular room, arched doorways and rounded ceilings. The lack of sharp angles is cosy and comfortable, but still sophisticated. Dine on grilled fish and steaks, pasta, soup and salad, with an emphasis on fresh vegetables - this place is a great find for the health conscious.
reviewed
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F
Shafran
While ethnic restaurants in Moscow tend to be overdone, Shafran is understated and sophisticated. Strewn with colourful pillows, it is otherwise simply decorated. Arabic music wafts through the air, but does not obstruct conversation. The menu includes a wide range of hot and cold meze (small plates), as well as a selection of kebabs, all expertly prepared and perfect for sharing.
reviewed
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Loft Café
On the top floor of the Nautilus shopping centre, next door to the luxury spa, you’ll find this tiny, trendy café. An even smaller terrace gives a fantastic view of Lubyanka pl. Innovative, modern dishes fuse the best of Russian cuisine with Western and Asian influences – for example, grilled salmon with spinach, pine nuts and caviar sauce.
reviewed
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Starlite Diner
Outdoor seating and classic diner decor make this a long-time favourite of Moscow expats. The extensive breakfast menu includes all kinds of omelettes, French toast and freshly squeezed juice. Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with burgers and milkshakes, any time of day or night. A second, less atmospheric outlet is in Zamoskvorechie.
reviewed
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Baguetteria
Fast food. Fresh food. Cheap food. What more do you need to know? This is one of the few places in Moscow where somebody will make you a sandwich. Not an open-face buterbrod but a real sandwich on a fresh-baked baguette. The interior has all the charm of your local McD’s so you may want to order your sandwich to go and sit on the Arbat.
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Courvoisier Cafe
This informal, French-themed café is furnished with picnic tables and park benches, evoking an idyllic outdoor setting. (There is outdoor seating too but, fronting the Garden Ring, it is not so peaceful.) Serving breakfast, soups, pasta and grills, it’s a popular spot for happy hour (4pm to 7pm), lunch or a late-night snack.
reviewed
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Glavpivtorg
At the ‘central beer restaurant No 5’ every effort is made to re-create an upscale apparatchik drinking and dining experience. The Soviet fare is authentic, as is the russky crooner music (maybe too authentic for some tastes). But the three varieties of beer brewed on site are decidedly New Russia.
reviewed
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Pancho Villa
Near Oktyabrskaya pl, this is still Moscow’s top choice for ‘Meksikansky’ food. If the fajitas and margaritas aren’t enough of a draw, come for breakfast burritos, happy-hour specials (before 7pm Monday to Thursday) or live Latin music nightly (from 9pm).
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Moo-Moo
You will recognise Moo-Moo by its black-and-white Holstein-print decor. The cafeteria-style service offers an easy approach to all the Russian favourites. You’ll also find outlets in Khamovniki and Arbat.
reviewed
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Taras Bulba in Zamoskvorechie
Servers dress up in traditional embroidered outfits and Ukrainian tapestries and wood floors provide a homey atmosphere. There's no salad bar, but specialties like pork stuffed with vegetables and spicy smoked beef are tender and tasty.
reviewed
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Taras Bulba on Ul Petrova
Servers dress up in traditional embroidered outfits and Ukrainian tapestries and wood floors provide a homey atmosphere. There's no salad bar, but specialties like pork stuffed with vegetables and spicy smoked beef are tender and tasty.
reviewed
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P
Jagannath
If you are in need of vitamins, this is a funky, vegetarian café, restaurant and shop. Its Indian-themed decor is more New Agey than ethnic. Service is slow but sublime, and the food is worth the wait.
reviewed
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Q
Il Patio in Smolenskaya
With more than 15 outlets, this reliable Moscow chain changed its name from Patio Pizza to Il Patio recently. The pizza is the same, though - a big choice at reasonable prices.
reviewed
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Shokolodnitsa in Zamoskvorechie
Those with a sweet tooth will not be able to resist this place for coffee and desserts. Popular amongst night owls.
reviewed
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Vanil
It’s hard to say which sight is more grandiose: the glitzy interior of this ultrafancy eating establishment or the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour that looms across the street. Actually, the views of the cathedral through the restaurant’s picture windows are a perfect complement to the crystal chandelier and giant gold-framed mirror that hang in the dining room. The modern Asian menu features sushi and other seafood dishes, which are all prepared with delightful innovations. And the service is top notch. Don’t be put off by the row of Mercedes parked out the front; you will be treated well here – even if you show up on foot.
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Kishmish
Besides being a word that rhymes with itself, kishmish is a kind of a grape – often a dried grape or raisin – that is often used in Central Asian cuisine. This place is decked out like an Uzbek chaikhona (teahouse), complete with plush Oriental carpets, staff in national costume and painted ceramic place settings. Everything was imported from Tashkent (except the staff, presumably). It serves simple spicy standards such as shashlyk and plov at the cheapest prices you will find. The dastarkhan (salad bar), is chock-full of vegies and salads and kishmish to fill up the herbivores.
reviewed
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Zhiguli
It’s hard to classify this old-style stolovaya (cafeteria) that happens to brew great beer. The place harks back to the Soviet years, when a popular pivny bar by the same name was a Novy Arbat institution. The minimalist decor and cafeteria-style service recalls the heyday, although this place has been updated with big-screen TVs and a separate table-service dining room. The overall effect is a nostalgic place without the Soviet memorabilia and other retro kitsch. The namesake Zhiguli beer (not to be confused with the original Zhiguli beer that comes from Samara) is brewed on site. Enter from Arbatsky per.
reviewed
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Shield & Sword
In an all-too-appropriate location opposite the former Lubyanka prison, this novelty place is also known as the `KGB bar'. You can't miss it, with the emblem of the former security service hanging prominently in the windows. Inside, the Soviet paraphernalia continues: the centrepiece in the dining room is a replica of the Felix Dzerzhinsky statue that once graced Lubyanka Square.
The menu features Soviet specials - mains like chicken Kiev and pelmeni, served more often than not with 100g of vodka. The place is total kitsch, but it actually attracts real-deal old-timers, who may be longing for yesteryear.
reviewed
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Mari Vanna
Remember when the best Russian food was served in somebody’s crowded living room, on tiny mismatched plates, on a table cluttered with dried flowers in vases and framed photographs? Mari Vanna invites you to recall these days – don’t look for the sign (there is none), just ring the doorbell at No 10. You will be ushered into these homey environs, complete with overstuffed bookcases and B&W TV showing old Soviet shows. You will be served delicious Russian home cooking and, just when you begin to think it is 1962, you will be handed your bill with the prices of modern-day Moscow. Ouch.
reviewed
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Galereya Khudozhnikov
This fantastical restaurant inside the Tsereteli Gallery is everything that you would expect from over-the-top artist Zurab Tsereteli. The gallery’s five rooms follow different themes, all of which are equally elaborate and which culminate in a huge, light-filled atrium that is wallpapered with stained glass and primitive paintings. The place certainly lives up to its name, which means Artists’ Gallery. The menu is a fusion of European and Asian influences. Though it is secondary to the art, the food is well prepared and, appropriately enough, artistically presented.
reviewed
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Y
Parizhsk
Targeting Muscovites who are nostalgic for Paris, this quaint cafe draws them in with old-fashioned ad posters and worn wooden furniture, as well as cold beers and hot onion soup. Early reports complained of slow service, but one hopes the staff would improve with practice. Otherwise, the friendly cafe is ideal for solo diners, who can play computer games or watch the running video footage, as well as for groups, who can take advantage of two-for-one happy hour specials (16:00-19:00 Mon-Fri). Live music on weekends (Thu-Sat) guarantees Parizhsk will be a popular nightspot too.
reviewed