St Petersburg
Bookings are essential for this speakeasy cocktail bar styled as a secret poker joint and hidden beneath the Grill Brothers burger restaurant. It's a fun,…
Must-see nightlife in Russia
Yekaterinburg
Relaxed art-scene cafe and cocktail bar on the top floor of Mytny Dvor mall. One storey below the same company restaurant serves Russian soul food and has…
Tomsk
A hip and literally underground basement with live jazz, including frequent US guests, most weekends. Also has an extensive drinks and food menu and old…
Veliky Novgorod
Cool bohemian Samovar is a great spot to hang out, with an all-welcome atmosphere, good vinyl spinning, art on the red-painted walls and a range of…
Arbat & Khamovniki
This tiny coffee shop is hidden between the Old and New Arbat streets. A vibrant chain from Sochi, it envelops you in a special atmosphere of surfboards,…
Ulan-Ude
Capping off the Mergen Bator hotel, this bar probably offers the best views of any in Russia: the entire Buryat capital and the surrounding mountainscape…
Meshchansky & Basmanny
Winds of change brought US national Jerry Ruditser to Moscow in the early 1990s on a mission to create the nation's first coffee chain, which he succeeded…
Irkutsk
Belgian Benoit de With ended his career as beer plant manager and set up this great beer place. It has its own beer (cheap) and dozens of kinds of Belgian…
Irkutsk
This place is cleverly divided into two areas – the downstairs bar for those who want a quick cup of brew, and a brightly coloured upstairs lounge zone…
Zamoskvorechie
This Shabolovka district local is an alcohol-infused version of the Mad Hatter's tea party with a hint of BDSM. It features waitresses dressed as…
Moscow
The biggest drinking and eating establishment in Hermitage Gardens, this veranda positioned at the back of the park's main building looks a bit like a…
Moscow
Fun, informal and affordable (so surprising on swanky Stoleshnikov), Gogol is great for food, drinks and music. The underground club takes its bunker…
Zamoskvorechie
The name may not sound original, but these guys do get your mojo working! Their magic formula includes outstanding cocktails, classily understated design…
Zamoskvorechie
The goatee and moustache factor is high in this hipster-ridden verandah bar that comes with a dozen pétanque lanes. Grab a pitcher of sangria or a pint of…
Presnya
Tucked into the courtyard in the old Tryokhgornaya manufacturing complex, Jagger is a super-hot bar with a super-cool vibe. Excellent cocktails, sharp…
Moscow
The scale of the craft beer craze is so terrifying for some folks in Moscow, they've decided it's time for a backlash. This large pub has no Russian beer…
Meshchansky & Basmanny
Tearoom? Gelateria? This place looks more like an academic library of tea and ice cream, an impression enhanced by it sharing premises with a bookstore…
Zamoskvorechie
This is the only place in Moscow you can drink and drive. Not to be confused with the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, this is the reincarnation of a…
Zamoskvorechie
Plastered with covers of the namesake magazine and lit by naked bulbs, this place has the feel of an upscale dive bar. The music spans all genres and…
Meshchansky & Basmanny
This playful club-cafe invites relaxation and fun with lounge furniture, tantalising cocktails and colourful modelling clay. Containers of pliable play…
St Petersburg
This is our ideal post-Soviet bar, specialising in Georgian wine accompanied by tapas-sized versions of succulent Georgian fare, including khachapuri …
Zamoskvorechie
Ready to satisfy your thirst and hunger (both literal and social) at any time of day and night, this venue comes with human-sized maharaja dolls, waiters…
Meshchansky & Basmanny
Synonymous with Winzavod art centre, where it is located, Tsurtsum is a watering hole where all the beasts of the postindustrial savannah at the back of…
Moscow
It looks like just another cellar bar, but if you walk all the way through the underground maze you'll find yourself in the huge overground 'orangerie'…
Yekaterinburg
This English-style pub aims at the New Russian drinking and eating crowd, who grace the bar and perch at polished wood tables gourmandising on steak and…
Russian Caucasus
At the intersection of two leafy pedestrian lanes, you couldn't find a greener, more peaceful setting for this delightful espresso bar. The interior is…
St Petersburg
Boasting a stylish contemporary design, this aptly named place serves an excellent variety of wines from Europe and the New World, plus tasty snacks to go…
Kazan
Laid-back, ultra-trendy bar and occasional club occupies a hived-out former industrial building, given a makeover of hardwood floors and exposed beam…
Zamoskvorechie
This cosy little pub hidden away from the perpetually crowded Klimentovsky per has the melancholy of an Edward Hopper painting or a good road movie. The…
Zamoskvorechie
One could claim that Coffee Bean started the coffee craze in Moscow. While the original location on Tverskaya ul is no longer open, there are a few of…
Irkutsk
Russian literary celebrities stare at you from every wall, so after a few pints of Smolensk craft beer or a selection of great cocktails, you might be…
Western European Russia
It might be a fair hike south from the town centre, but Red Panda is a great basement craft-beer bar with tasty food and a welcoming atmosphere. Ten…
Moscow
Dining, drinking and dancing are all on offer in this sexy space. There is a long menu of Pan Asian cuisine – as well as sushi, pasta, tapas and more –…
Sochi
Just steps from the sand, Sea Zone is an enticingly upscale venue to relax in and savour the sunset. The covered terrace is tastefully furnished with dark…
Moscow
Strategically located on the city's busiest square, this place has nothing but a long bar and lots of taps pumping from barrels, representing dozens of…
Arbat & Khamovniki
Eclectic and atmospheric, Dom 12 may be the perfect place to attend an event or chat with friends over a glass of wine. The cosy interior is enhanced by…
Eastern Siberia
Surfboards that greet you at the entrance perhaps embody the ultimate travel dream one might conceive in a place that can’t be further removed from the…
Krasnoyarsk
A vast vaulted cellar contains a German biergarten with a Siberian twist. There is a good dozen German, Czech and Belgian beers on tap, which you can top…
Meshchansky & Basmanny
Occupying what looks like an abandoned classroom in its Winzavod premises, this easygoing cafe has hip, likeable waiters, an intriguing list of lemonades…
Moscow
Amid the craft-beer mayhem, a good old – and not-so-fake – Irish pub feels like a welcome refuge. Occupying a vast cellar space with vaulting bare brick…
