Moscow restaurants

Sadly, I found the majority of restaurants in Moscow extremely overpriced. Be prepared to pay double if you order wine with your meal because wine is a luxury in Moscow (esp. after they banned wine from Georgia). Not that there are no good restaurants in Moscow, but finding good-value restaurants is just not that easy. Many of the hip/trendy restaurants are owned by one guy, Arkady Novikov, who is seen as the 'Godfather' in the Moscow restaurant scene. I think it's quite odd that one man can dictate the entire city's culinary direction, but then what I see as 'odd' is usually the 'norm' in Russia.

Often bargains can be found at lunch time, it's best to ask for the 'bizness lunch menu', but they won't tell you unless you ask for it! Usually there is only one option and they like to keep it a secret, so you just have to eat whatever you are given. And don't expect much service, even in upscale restaurants. The waiting staff often make you feel that you are lucky to be served at all!

There are many types of restaurants in Moscow, but probably 70% are Japanese or sushi places! Don't expect high quality sushi (for obvious reasons) and authentic Japanese because everything is catered to the Russians' taste. Indian is rare and expensive, and authentic Chinese is hard to find. I managed to find a Chinese place called Dim sum, but at US$10 per basket, their dim sum was probably more expensive than the 3-Michelin star Chinese at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong!!

Good takeaway pizzas are not easy to find either, Pizza Express is probably the best in town! Steak houses vary, but the Russians prefer their meat well-done, so I don't think meat quality is their priority. As for Russian cuisine, a meal at Cafe Pushkin is enough for one trip...

Apart from sushi, caesar salad is probably the second most popular dish in Moscow, it is always on the menu! Although Russian women don't eat very much (they are always on diet), they seem to like anything with mayonnaise and sour cream, so potato and caesar salad are their favourite dishes.

After bashing most of the restaurants in Moscow, I would recommend trying Central Asian cuisines from Georgian, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Their dishes are usually quite meaty, but tasty and not so expensive. In an ultra-expensive city like Moscow, these restaurants are like an oasis in the middle of a desert!

However, there is one good thing about restaurants in Moscow and that is many (including high-end ones) are open 24 hours, which is unheard of even in other major cities, so it definitely is a city that never sleeps!

Here is a list of restaurants that I love and hate:

My favourite restaurants:

Cafe Pushkin - yes, it's a bit touristy, but this restaurant does live up to the hype. Not cheap at all, but you pay for the atmosphere, service and the food. This is the best place to take visitors because it feels so 'Russian' (faux pre-revolutionary style) and you can find many Russian classics such as beef stroganoff and pelmenis. A sophisticated restaurant!

Correa's - Expats' favourite and I totally understand why. Founded by a New Yorker, this place does make you forget (temporarily) that you are in Moscow. It's bright, airy and casual, very different from other restaurants in town. Fresh, simple and delicious food but most of all, reasonably priced. Best to go for one of their most popular dish: pizza with smoked salmon and sour cream!

Rip-offs:

Bosco Bar/restaurant: Great view of the red square, but you would have to pay a lot for it! Celebrity hang out, probably best to just go for coffees!

Na Melnitse: My first meal/dinner took place here and I never came back again. A theme windmill restaurant that is very Disney-like. Do not order wine here, such a rip-off!

Most disappointing:

Pavillion - Good location, with the view of Patriarch's Pond, expats' favourite neighbourhood. Food was expensive and so-so (a mixture of Chinese, Japanese and Russian etc), but the worst was its service: slow, rude and lazy. Another problem was the DJ, she started playing loud techno music during our meal, and we couldn't talk at all!

1 Red Square : This restaurant has been recommended in most guide books, but I didn't like it at all. Yes, there was live music but the service was cold and the food wasn't particularly interesting nor memorable.

Scandanavia - Expats' favourite hangout esp. in the summer. The patio is quite pleasant in the summer but the restaurant itself is characterless, and serves bland and overpriced food.

Reasonable & good:

Paname: Inexpensive French bistro serving decent good food. Quite cosy and casual, but difficult to find.

Goodmans: Probably the best places for steaks in town, simply because they refuse to serve meat well-done for their Russian customers! Also, both food and wine are reasonably priced.

Shafran: Excellent Middle Eastern restaurant with an bright, airy and comfortable dining room. Went there for lunch and it was very reasonable and delicious.

Restavratsia: Interesting restaurant serving international cuisine and many types of whisky. I really enjoyed the cool band playing live jazz when I last visited.


Expensive but good:

Coffeemania: Surprisingly expensive for a chain coffee shop! The place has an European feel and is popular with expats and wealthy locals. Good food (esp. cakes) and coffees but not really worth the price!

Peperoni: Owned by Novikov, the food here was surprisingly good! Not cheap, but proper Italian being served in a relaxing setting is so hard to find in Moscow!

AIST: Another Novikov outlet, this is THE place to see and be seen with oligarchs, models and wannabes! Usually I am not so keen on trendy/hip restaurants but the food here was very good. 3-way Foie gras starter was excellent and desserts were great too, though the mains were less interesting in comparison.

Cafe des Artistes: A high standard French restaurant but not so cheap.

For ambience & experience:

Uzbekistan: Amazing Arabian decor and setting with a courtyard. Menu is Central Asian/ oriental (including Chinese), there's also belly dancing and live music each night. The food was quite good, but best to come here for the ambience and setting.

Cafe Margarita - tiny Russian restaurant located near the patriarch's pond. It's very cosy, with lots of wood and tourists. The food was basic and so so, but people generally come here for the atmosphere and violinists/live music.

Chaikhana #1 - This restaurant/tea house is inside a huge yurt at Gorky Park/ Park Kultury. It's a relaxing and cool place with Uzbek/ ethnic setting. Tasty food and not too expensive, best to come here for Sunday brunch in the summer!

Food Shopping

Food shopping in Moscow was a nightmare for a foreigner like me... Due to my limited Russian, I never ventured out of town to shop in the local markets. Though occasionally I did enjoy shopping for fresh fruits in an outdoor market near our apt. during the summer. Otherwise, I spent most of the time visiting supermarkets in town and often found the experience extremely frustrating and tedious.

Problem 1: Stock. Stocking system is (I'm using present tense because I don't believe much has changed since I left!) almost non-existent in many Moscow supermarkets (esp. Seventh Continent). When a product is sold out, they would simply replace it with something different and random. Hence, to find what you need is a matter of luck sometimes and this includes fresh milk! Not only herbs and vegetables are randomly stocked, household goods are treated the same way too. They once replaced boxes of tissue with napkins and didn't restock until all the napkins were sold out (which took over 2 months)!

Problem 2: Prices. After spending years living in London, I never thought shopping there was reasonable until I moved to Moscow. A bottle of not-so-decent Italian wine would cost over $20. Tomatoes in the winter: about $10 for 5/6 (prices would drop in the summer). Lettuce (winter prices): $20! Raspberry/ strawberry (winter prices): be prepared to pay up to $70/80 per box! From what I observed, the most reasonable food items: whole chickens, sour cream and onions (in no particular order).

Problem 3: Quality and freshness. Don't expect anything fresh in the winter, since everything has to be imported from abroad or other parts of Russia! Best to live on a protein-based diet if you are on a budget because meat is reasonable and available all the time! The worst buy for me (and my friends) was pre-packed smoked salmon/ cured salmon. Almost 9/10 times the salmon was so salty that it was inedible! They also tricked us by placing the decent slices on top but scraps underneath. Simply horrible!

Problem 4: Exotic spices and ingredients. Although a small selection of dried Asian spices and ingredients can be found in most supermarkets, fresh lemongrass and coriander are still hard to come by. Cooking Thai and Indian food proved to be quite a challenge in Moscow!

I know that most Muscovites and experts would drive to Mega malls to do their regular food and household shopping, but since I didn't have a car (nor chauffeur!), it wasn't really an option for me. Besides, I didn't want to be stuck in traffic for 3 hours just to do some food shopping! After visiting most supermarkets and specialist stores across town, here is my verdict:

My favourite supermarket: Stockmann. This Finnish chain was the most reasonable (Moscow standard) and well-stocked supermarket in town! Sadly, the flagship store closed down due to some dispute with the landlord!

The most over-rated and over-priced: Globus Gourmet. A place to see and be seen, with ultra tall, skinny blondes strolling around in their fur coats buying ready-made potato salad (surprisingly, full of mayonnaise...). If money was no object, then this place would be heaven!



The grandest: Yeliseyevsky. Though more like a tourist attraction than a supermarket, prices are surprisingly reasonable despite its appearance and location.

Best for foreign ingredients: Japro and Indian Spices. Japro specialises in Japanese products, including household goods. However, I couldn't find mirin there, a key condiment in Japanese cuisine and the Russian staff there didn't seem to know much about Japanese cuisine either! I found Indian spices a bit odd, it's more like a small Asian grocery store that sells everything, including Chinese and Thai products!

I heard that Dorogomilovsky market is the best market in Moscow (esp. for caviar), but I never had the chance to go there before I left. Oh well, I am just glad that I don't have to pay $6 for fresh basil anymore!

Sushi, sushi and more sushi

For someone who enjoys cooking and dining out, living in Moscow turned out to be quite a challenge! Importing exotic ingredients and spices became my habit! Dining out was never cheap and food shopping became a nuisance. Despite the fact that Moscow has become a 'hip' destination in the past few years with new restaurants springing up allover town, I still think their culinary scene is years behind most major cities. I know I am being harsh because decades of communism has probably changed people's eating habits and tastes (though this theory does not seem to apply to China). I don't want to generalise but I honestly don't think the Russians are that passionate about food. Perhaps it is to do with their history, culture, geographic location, climate and political issues, but seeing a sushi menu inside an upmarket Indian restaurant was just too shocking for me!

I still haven't figured out why Muscovites love sushi so much? Is it simply a fad or do they really enjoy eating raw fish that are not so fresh? Being landlocked, all seafood has to be imported, so fresh fish is scarce and a luxury in Moscow. But shockingly, almost all restaurants in town (including Chinese, Indian, Russian, European, Georgian, American sports bars and even German beer hall) would serve sushi! From my observation, salmon with cream cheese roll seems to be quite a popular choice. I had sushi a few times in Moscow and it made me realised that Yo! Sushi is actually not that bad!! I don't want to sound like a snob, but what is the point of eating raw fish if it is not fresh? Besides the fish, soggy seaweed and cold, hard rice are not acceptable either! Japanese restaurants with inconsistent standards are all over town, but nothing can be worse than seeing a list of sushi on the back of an Indian restaurant menu! I just wish there is a law to stop people from serving sushi outside of a Japanese restaurant!!!!!

Red Square


Favourite spot for Sky/ BBC reporters...

Our apt. building (from the Stalin era) by the river, it is known as 'House on the Embankment' or 'The Mercedes' Building'. There is a theatre, cinema, Japanese restaurant, supermarket, casino as well as a museum within the huge complex.

Christ the Saviour Cathedral, opposite our apt building

St Basil's Cathedral

Kremlin

Moscow in winter


Frozen river


Floating restaurant




Icy river


St Clement - 18th C Baroque style church, not open to public because of safety reasons