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Moscow Restuarants – Russian CuisineCDL This one of the best Moscow restaurants. You'll find one of the city's most beautiful dining rooms -- and one of the best places to sample authentic Russian cuisine -- in this elegant mansion. The house served in the 19th century as the headquarters for Moscow 's Freemasons; more recently it was a meeting place for members of the Soviet Writers' Union. The name is the Russian abbreviation for "Central House of Writers." Now entirely reconstructed and renovated, the crystal chandeliers, rich wood paneling, fireplaces, and antique balustrades place CDL among the most warm and sumptuous eateries in the city. All the dishes are extremely well prepared, but it's best to stick to the Russian items on the menu: try the borscht or pelmeni -- or both! -- for starters, and then move on to the rabbit Stroganoff. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Barrikadnaya.
GRAND IMPERIAL This truly grandiose restaurant serves superbly prepared and often Croesus-rich dishes, such as roast veal à la Romanoff. The succulent food is well matched by the surroundings -- double-headed imperial eagles, gilded Empire-style chairs worthy of a czar, original art, crystal chandeliers, bouquets of flowers, and an antique silver service from the owner's personal collection. The dining room is relatively small, and made even more intimate by a fountain and an old grand piano. A pianist plays daily, and is joined in the evening by a guitarist singing Old Russia tunes. One of a few Moscow restaurants that are a favorite dining place for Russia 's oligarchs who cherish the grandeur and privacy it offers -- Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and President Boris Yeltsin's daughter Tatyana Danchenko have all feasted here. Reservations essential. Jacket and tie. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Kropotkinskaya.
GRAND OPERA Walk into Grand Opera and you find yourself in a splendid auditorium straight out of 1920s Odessa. Diners sit at tables in ornate boxes surrounded by plush burgundy velvet and gold decorations, listening to a straw-hatted big band and watching performers sing and can-can the evening away. The restaurant, full of wealthy foreigners and high-ranking chinovniki (bureaucrats), is one of the only cabaret-type venues in Moscow. The menu is an odd mix of Russian/Ukrainian, French, and Jewish dishes that echoes the cuisine of old Odessa, but the food is, unfortunately, not as delicious as the surroundings, which nearly buzz with excitement. The nightly festivities carry a cover charge of $10 per person or $15 if you're in a box. Remember: the show begins at 9 PM. AE, MC, V. Metro: Kuznetsky most.
GROT Peter the Great used to stop off for something to eat in the Taganka region, south of Moscow, on his way to his lover. Grot is said to be on the same spot as the original traktir, or restaurant, that Peter lunched centuries ago. Located between two grand, brightly colored churches, it is also rumored to have a secret tunnel that leads to the Andronikov monastery. This is indubitably the perfect place for a lovers' meeting: a small and intimate space with snug leather sofas and soft lighting. The food is a mixture of European and Russian fare, and everything is cooked and designed by the local chef, down to the post-prandial chocolates served gratis. Try any of the fish dishes. In addition to its ordinary menu, Grot is one of the Moscow restaurants offering a large budget menu, a cheap business lunch, and more sophisticated fare for grander occasions. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Okhotny Ryad.
MESTO VSTRECHI A few minutes from Pushkin Square, Mesto Vstrechi's cool cellar setting is ideal for a relaxing, inexpensive meal before hitting the town. It attracts a young crowd, partly because bands accompany dinner most nights (there are, however, plenty of nooks to hide in if you want to have some peace and quiet). Although never amazing, the mix of European and Russian food is well crafted and satisfying. It does have probably the best pelmeni in town. Mesto Vstrechi, which means "meeting place," is the name of a famous Russian war film. The staff can even pack a picnic for you (try the traditional Russian kebabs) if you're heading into the countryside. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Pushkinskaya.
METROPOL Recalling the splendor of prerevolutionary Russia, the renovated interiors of the Metropol Hotel's grand dining hall are a stunning memorial to Russian art nouveau. The nearly three-story-high dining room is replete with stained-glass windows, marble pillars, and leaded-glass roof. Although the service sometimes disappoints, the beautifully laid tables and formally dressed waiters impress in terms of opulence. The kitchen offers a selection of French and Russian delicacies for connoisseurs -- fried duck with wild cherry sauce and baked apple is a favorite -- and there is also a special chef's menu with a different theme each month. Many diners order cheese and wine to cap the meal -- the Metropol has an impressive cellar. Live classical music starts at 7 PM on Mondays; beware that on other nights you'll be listening to loud Russian pop. This is one of the Moscow restaurants alos offering a grand breakfast is also offered here daily. Reservations essential. Jacket and tie. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Ploshchad Revolutsii or Teatralnaya.
MOSCOW CAVIAR HOUSE Whether beluga, sturgeon, or salmon, there are few more enticing Moscow settings in which to sample caviar. The Moscow Caviar House is unlike any of the other Moscow restuarants. Small glass boxes filled with fish and the precious caviar mark the center of the restaurant. You can have a good look before choosing from an impressive menu melding Russian and European dishes, a mix appropriate to the cosmopolitan Metropol Hotel, which houses the restaurant. Caviar can be ordered with blini (buckwheat pancakes), fritters, or toast; 25 grams begins at $27. If not caviar, then try the fresh oysters or the fish soup, which is based on an old Czarist recipe using both a fish and meat bouillon, the latter made from game birds. Placido Domingo and a host of other stars have eaten here. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Teatralnaya.
PUSHKIN 26a Tverskoy Boulevard, Moscow, Russia Phone: 095/229-5590, 229-9411 If you'd like to be a 19 th century Russian aristocrat for an afternoon, come to this cozy café and restaurant. The building looks as if Pushkin himself could have lived there, yet it is perfectly new. Besides the wonderful and authentic Russian cuisine, the interior is what really amazes both newcomer Russians and foreigners. The 1 st floor is a 19 th cenutry café-like setting, great for buisness lunches; the second floor is a library complete with real antique books that you can grab off the shelf to read while waiting. Lastly, there is the antrisole-a perfect afternoon getaway for a good meal and a good conversation. The menu is styled as a prerevolutionary Russian newspaper “The Gastronomic Inquirer”. Even if you know a little bit of Russian, this menu will pose a problem- it is written in old Russian that even most Russians have trouble reading. This is a very popular spot both among Moscow 's privileged classes and among foreigners. The food is all in itslef remarkable, and in combination with the authentic setting, it is one experience not to miss. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Pushkinskaya
PRAGA Centrally located on Arbat Square in a handsome prerevolutionary building, this restaurant once hosted Leo Tolstoy and Ilya Repin. During the Soviet era it was the most prestigious restaurant in town before slipping into near terminal decline. After major renovations in 1997 it now offers no fewer than nine restaurants to choose from -- six Russian, plus a Brazilian, Italian, and Asian. All in all, it's a vast, brash, extravagant, often tasteless, yet appealing place. You could spend days wandering about the luxurious interior -- gold and marble abound and there's a garish nightclub on the top floor. If you want to rise above the masses, royal treatment awaits in the Czar's Hall. For $500, excluding drinks, you become the czar, served by bewigged waiters in the manner of Peter the Great. Other restaurants here have gentler price tags; the Brazilian buffet is the best all-around bargain. Reservations essential. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Arbatskaya.
SAVOY Russophiles and gourmands alike will be pleased by the Savoy 's exquisite menu: the food -- a mixture of Russian and French -- is excellent. And although the menu is being reworked, you can expect the superior Russo-French creations to continue. Food aside, further reason to come here is to see the interiors. Located in the Savoy Hotel, the delicate, gilt wall coverings, long mirrors, and gilt-framed ceiling paintings echo the opulence of St. Petersburg 's imperial palaces. In the middle of the dining room an ornate fountain bubbles -- look for the fish in the pool. Prices are not cheap but more reasonable than you might expect for the surroundings. Reservations essential. Jacket and tie. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Kuznetsky most.
SHINOK Have you ever dined while a horse stared at your meal? Such a moment is part of the unique dining experience at Shinok: its dining room is a faux-Ukrainian farmyard complete with goats, hens, cockerels, a knitting granny, and said horse. Luckily the enclosure is completely sound- and smell-proof and the animals don't really impinge on the meal. Ukrainian food doesn't differ that much from Russian. Many of the dishes are the same, such as borscht, vareniki (pelmeni stuffed with cottage cheese, Ukrainian-style), and solyanka (meat and vegetable soup). The helpful staff are adept at giving advice, although not all speak English. Try salo, thin slices of fat, for an unusual taste from the Ukraine kitchen and the Ukrainian beer Starokiyevskoye. Go on an empty stomach, because the food can be very filling, or stodgy if you're unlucky. Note that this place is open 24 hours daily, and neighbors Bochka. MC, V. Metro: Ulitsa 1905 Goda.
THE TSAR'S HUNT Even though it's a long way from the city center, this spot is fashionable enough to have attracted such guests as Boris Yeltsin and Jacques Chirac. Housed in a traditional log house, it is designed in country style. The carved wood decorations, bear and wolf skins on the floors and chairs, moose horns on the walls, and an antique Russian stove instill an atmosphere so warm it feels as if you've just returned from an ermine-covered troika ride. Diners flock for simple and good food, like the rosemary ribs with hot sauce and the okroshka, a delicious cold summer soup. No matter what you order, you must start out with the Russian zakuski (Russian appetizers, traditionally enjoyed with vodka), displayed on a cart like a salad bar. Reservations essential. AE, MC, V. Metro: By car or train from Belorusskaya railroad station.
UNCLE GUILLY'S Favored by many Americans because of its juicy selection of steaks, Uncle Guilly's is a warren of rooms in a vaulted cellar dating back nearly 300 years. Previously a brothel, a printing house, and home to one of Napoléon's bureaucrats during the 1812 invasion, the cellar was one of Moscow 's first private restaurants. In 1993 it was nicknamed after Vladimir Gilyarovsky, a famous Moscow historian, and began specializing in American cuisine (with a dash of Russian thrown in). If you're in carnivore mode you'll love the T-bone, buffalo wings, or New York sirloin. Or just settle for pelmeni (dumplings) or beef in a pot, Russian-style. All the meat is specially imported from the United States. Guilly's has recently added seafood dishes to its menu, and reports say that standards are as high as the traditional meat dishes. AE, MC, V. Metro: Okhotny Ryad or Teatralnaya.
UNCLE VANYA'S Despite its location at one of Moscow 's finest opera and ballet addresses and the name shared with one of Chekhov's most famous plays, Uncle Vanya's owners insist that their restaurant has nothing to do with the theater world. Step inside, however, and you feel swept back in time to a 19th-century country home right out of a Chekhov drama. Dark wooden paneling, old gramophones, books by classic Russian writers, and tea served in glasses with traditional silver glass holders all enhance the illusion. The menu is good, wholesome Russian home cooking, served 24 hours daily. Beside the usual fare of borscht and pirogi, you can also find dumplings with fresh cherries, buckwheat with mushrooms and onions, and chicken giblets baked in a pot. Reasonably priced for the city center. AE, DC, MC, V. Metro: Chekhovskaya. |
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