MOSCOW RESTAURANTS

To finish off my long-delayed posts on Moscow is a list of a few restaurants I went to that I really enjoyed. Most are located either in the center or just off the garden ring road.  Here they are in no particular order:

Moloko Cafe

Ulitsa Bolshaya Dimitrovka 7/5

Moscow

Telephone: +7495 692 0309

*Open 24 hours daily

Moloko Cafe used to be a state milk store hence the name (moloko means milk in Russian).  Interiors are modern - great velvet chairs line each side of the room with a large bar in the middle.  There's a good crowd of expats and locals and not everyone is dressed to the nines.  We came for lunch on a Sunday and the place was half-full with mostly young Russian couples and their kids.  We shared a starter of smoked mackerel on baby potatoes followed by the sea bass in red curry for me and the beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes for A.  Food was fine and service was friendly, the only downside was the dessert which seemed store-bought.  As it's open 24 hours, I'm sure that there is a pre-club crowd that hangs out for cocktails and a post-clubbing crowd who come for breakfast before heading back home at dawn.

Vogue Cafe

Kuznetsky Most 79

Moscow

Telephone: +7495 623 1701

*Open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. till late, Weekends from noon to midnight

Another concept from the Novikov group, Vogue Cafe is a modern, bright space with a black and white interior with some color brought in with the large framed model shots on the walls and shelves of Vogue magazines.  Food is modern European Russian-style which means Italian or Mediterranean with some sushi and sashimi thrown in.  The combination works though as the place is crowded on most days with fashion-conscious Muscovites enjoying the Euro-inspired menu.  Its' location alongside trendy department store Tsum also helps.  We had a decent mixed salad, a penne arrabbiata and a pappardelle with cepes.

Il Forno

Ulitsa Neglinnaya 8/10

Moscow

Telephone: +8495 621 90 80

*Open weekdays from 8:00 till midnight and weekends from 11:00 a.m. till midnight

Other branches on Ulitsa Ostrozhenka 3/14 and Kutuzovsky Avenue 2/1

We stumbled into Il Forno on a cold windy evening on our first night in Moscow since it was on the same street as our hotel not expecting anything special and we were pleasantly surprised with the pizza and the service.  We had a salad to share and some pizzas on one evening and pasta on another night.  The menu has classic Italian pastas, risottos and pizzas and a few meat and fish main courses.  It's a casual restaurant with a proper brick-oven which makes the pizzas perfect.

Brownie Cafe

Maly Kozinsky Pereulok, 10

Moscow

Telephone: +7916 336 26 33

*Open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

In hip and happening Patriarch's Pond, Brownie Cafe is a tiny. welcoming place owned by the Friends Forever group, which has a dozen hip cafes specializing in cakes and coffee.  This newest addition which opened in February of this year,  has a retro vibe with it's multi-colored chairs, communal wood tables and large display case filled with all sorts of cakes and sweets.  We shared two - a chocolate raspberry cake and a strawberry shortcake with excellent coffee.  I dare you to enter and not have a slice of cake.

WILLIAM'S / UILLIAMS

Moscow's restaurant scene is still growing and the other group responsible for this is Ginza Project.  Hot on the heels of the Novikov restaurant group, Ginza project currently manages forty restaurants including the franchise for Paul. 

Williams (or as the Russians call it - Uilliams) is located in  Patriarshiy Prudy (Patriarch's Pond), which was made famous in Mikhail Bulgakov's cult novel The Master and Margarita and has since become Moscow's hip and happening neighborhood.  Just off the garden ring road, the small streets surrounding the pond are now home to cool cafes, funky boutiques and high-end restaurants which also means that it is now achingly cool live here and many of Moscow's bright young things do.

The place is small and rustic - wooden floors and simple metal-edged tables in the front where the in crowd sits and a smaller back area where a few tables are placed.  The restaurant's piece de resistance is the open kitchen showcasing a large red rotisserie where all the action takes place.  The menu is modern European (some Italian, some French) with a some bruschetta, salads, soups, risotto, pasta, plus meat either from the grill or the rotisserie along with some side dishes and a few daily specials.  They have a separate breakfast menu and unusual for Moscow - a good selection of vegetarian dishes.

A late lunch one day with the girls was a bruschetta of crab, avocado and sprouts and a plate of grilled vegetables followed by a delicious pasta special - spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce.  Fresh warm bread is served in a brown paper bag along with a complimentary plate of beet hummus.  On our last day in Moscow  A and I went back for Sunday brunch after a morning of sightseeing where we had a creamy roasted eggplant, tomato and mozzarella bruschetta and shared a rigatoni with veal ragu and a pappardelle with wild mushrooms and cream.  If I lived in Moscow, this is where I would go for a simple dinner on a weekday or brunch on the weekend just as much for the food as for the people-watching.

William's / Uilliams

Malaya Bronnaya 20A

Moscow

Telephone: +7495 650 64 62

*Open daily from 10:30 a.m. till late

CAFE PUSHKIN

Cafe Pushkin is housed in a newly-built mansion just off Pushkin square whichhas successfully recreates a Russian aristocrat's home from the 1800's from the wood panelling to the heavy furniture, the chandeliers and the candlelit tables, the plaster and moldings on the ceilings and even the waiters dressed in period outfits making it feel like we were having dinner during the time of Anna Karenina.

Opened in 1999, the restaurant is spread out on three floors with the cafe-like Drugstore hall on the ground floor serving more casual fare and the restaurant on the upper floors called the Library hall with a more extensive and pricier menu.

Our good friends Farina and Satesh invited us to dinner there since they really wanted me to experience Cafe Pushkin and see what Moscow became right after I left in 1997.    They went all out to welcome A and I and we did a classic Russian dinner starting out with Russky Standard vodka with beluga caviar and blinis.  The first bite of the salty black pearls popping in my mouth with the warm pillowy blinis and cold smetana (sour cream) brought me back to the Russia I fell in love with and the ice-cold shot of vodka that followed reminded me of when I was young and adventurous.  As a start to a Moscow meal, nothing beats that.

We shared a few hot appetizers - julienne, the classic white mushrooms baked in sour cream made more luxurious with the addition of chanterelles followed by piroshki, traditional meat pies.  Four our main courses - Farina and I shared large plate of pelmenis - meat and mushroom filled dumplings served with a bit of broth, sour cream and vinegar, Satesh had the roast chicken and A had the kotlety pozharski - a breaded veal cutlet stuffed with mushrooms served with fried potatoes which we enjoyed with a bottle of Carmenere.  Dinner was delicious and it was definitely the best Russian food we had in Moscow and the company of Farina and Satesh helped made the evening memorable.  Even the weather cooperated to give us a full Russian experience as the streets were covered in fresh white snow when we left the restaurant.

Cafe Pushkin

Tverskoy Bulvar 26A

Moscow

Telephone: +7495 739 0033

*Open 24 hours daily

RONI

The Moscow restaurant scene has certainly evolved since the deep, dark, post-perestroika nineties with two main restaurant groups (Novikov and Ginza) filling the city with all sorts of restaurant concepts.  Roni is part of the pioneer Novikov Restaurant Group (from Arkady Novikov) who started it all with Sirena (which already existed when I lived in Moscow) and now has an empire with almost 50 restaurants, food and beverage concepts (including the franchise for Krispy Kreme) and even Novikov TV which runs a never-ending loop of images and events on television screens which seems to be a typical Moscow restaurant accessory.

Roni is located on Petrovka street (where the only club on that street in the early nineties was Marika).  Interiors are dark and modern with a large black and red chandelier serving as a focal point in the center of a square room with lanterns and black and white photographs.  The open kitchen is on one side of the room alongside the bar where open shelves showcase Asian ingredients - bottles of chili sauce, oyster sauce, noodles - while open crates line the counter filled with dried chills and different spices.

I ate there twice in a week  - once for lunch with girlfriends on a snowy day and again for dinner with A after an evening at the Bolshoi.  Both times, the food was good, the atmosphere fun and the crowd interesting.  Malaysian chef Mamu heads the kitchen and although the food is a melange of Asian cuisines catering mostly to what Russians like, it surprisingly works. For lunch, we shared several appetizers - a tuna tartar, some sashimi, seared scallops,  fried gyoza and a wonderful salad mixed with crunchy duck in with a sesame-based dressing.   For dinner, we had some miso soup, sweet and spicy fried chicken, tuna tataki and fried rice.  It worked and gave us a much-needed Asian fix in Moscow.

Roni
Ulitsa Petrovka 20/1
Moscow
Telephone: +7495 625 2606

MOSCOW MUSTS

The Kremlin is the center of it all.  Recently, they implemented an online system for buying tickets and it's first weekend trial was when we there but we did it the old way - get in line and try and snag a ticket as the entries are limited and scheduled.  You can do full-priced ticket which includes the Armory museum, the three cathedrals (Annunciation, Assumption and Archangels), Ivan the great's bell tower, the Patriarch's Palace or opt for several cheaper ticket options which is just for the grounds and Cathedral square usually bought by Russians or locals who like to walk around the Kremlin drink the weekends.  The ticket for the diamond exhibit, which is also in the Armory, is sold separately inside the museum. Be patient as the ticket seller is a babushka who hardly speaks English and there are hardly any signs in English so use sign language and figure it out.  My rusty Russian helped a bit but not much.  Ticket booths open at 9:30 for the first entry at 10:00.  Once you have your ticket, get in the long line and wait until the Kremlin gates open - this took about 45 minutes to an hour.  Once inside, head straight to the armory which is filled with Russian state regalia, ceremonial vestments and crowns and all the precious metals from jeweled crowns to state silver service which should take about an hour.  After that, we walked out towards Cathedral square which gives one a 360 degree view of the three cathedrals and Ivan the great's bell tower.  After a short wander around, we exited towards Manezhnaya Ploshad (Manezh square) to the cobblestoned red square and walked towards the Kremlin clock tower and the iconic St. Basil's cathedral.

It was about time for lunch so after a short tour of red square, we escaped the cold (3C) and entered GUM - the State department store, now fully renovated and filled with high-end boutiques.  When I left in 1997, GUM was just starting to be renovated and was still a mix of Benetton (one of the first Western labels present in Russia) and Russian style shops.  Now, it's a bright, modern shopping mall housed in an architectural marvel from the 1890's filled with upwardly mobile Russians and a few tourists.  We went up to the second floor where we got in another line (remnants of Communist times) to have lunch at Stolovaya No.57 -  a retro Russian-style self-serve cafeteria complete with white lab coat uniformed counter staff dishing out potato salad and smoked fish, borscht and chicken Kiev, pierogi and black bread.  Even the drinks are authentic - from an ice-cold piva (beer) to a kitschy vending machine dispensing super fizzy Russian sparkling water by the glass.  I had the classic chicken Kiev with mashed potatoes while A had a slab of roast pork with cranberry sauce and a beet and smoked fish salad.

From there, we continued our walk around the center and headed towards Tversakaya street, known by its' former name as Gorky street.  Just like GUM, this busy street is now home to luxury hotels and shops but still retains something of the old Moscow.  We visited Yeliseyevsky Gastronom (Yeliseyevsky food store) which used to allow access only to Communist party elite.  This food hall was always a gastronomic mecca but more so today that the shelves are filled to the brim with everything from fresh raspberries to French lentils as well as a large glass case stacked with tins and tins of edible black pearls, caviar.

Another day should be devoted to the Pushkin museum - housed in three buildings - the main one on (Volkhonka street 12) in the center for ancient artifacts, sculpture and 18th century European art, the smaller one on the right (Volkhonka street 10) for private collections and the adjacent one on the left (Volkhonka street 14) for 19th and 20th century art.  We visited the main building on one day and I returned another day with N to visit the Impressionists which was a visual pleasure - rooms and rooms of Monets, Renoirs, Pissarros, Degas, Gaugins and Van Goghs.  

Just in front is the gigantic gold-domed Christ the Saviour cathedral, reconstructed in the late nineties then continue onwards to the pedestrian bridge to cross the Moscow river to the other embankment and walk around what used to be the Krasny Oktyabr (Red October) Chocolate Factory - converted into an urban center with cafes and restaurants, design offices and the Lumiere Brothers Photo gallery showcasing Soviet-era photographs with a cafe and an interesting gift shop, sorely lacking at the Pushkin museum and the Kremlin.

Last but not least the Bolshoi is essential, preferably to watch a ballet in the historical stage or an opera at the new stage or at the very least a tour.  After a six year renovation, the theater which opened in 1856 has retained the gold rococo interiors and red velvet seats but the sound system and acoustics have been updated.  We were able to get tickets for the premier of Alexandre Dumas'  La Dame aux Camellias - a ballet in three acts on the historical stage.   The experience of an evening at the Bolshoi should not be missed and was the best way to spend our last evening in Moscow.

ARARAT PARK HYATT

In mid-March, after almost 16 years, I finally returned to Moscow with A (who was on a business trip).  When I left Russia in 1997, after living there for three years, I didn't know it would take me that long to go back.  In the last decade and a half, Moscow has certainly gone through many changes - most of them good.  We arrived on a beautiful sunny spring day at the luxurious Ararat Park Hyatt right smack in the middle of town - a few blocks away from the Kremlin, GUM and Red square, walking distance to the pedestrian streets of the center now filled with restaurants and shops, half a block away from the recently renovated Bolshoi and across the street from the Maly theater which is still under renovation.  In the week we were there, we walked to nearby restaurants and also to explore.  In my opinion, the Park Hyatt probably has the best location in the city for sightseeing and exploring on foot.

The renovated rooms, redone by Tony Chi at the Park Hyatt Moscow, are modern and luxurious with illy espresso machines, Blaise Mautin amenities, separate rain shower and bath and a spotlit Murano glass bear sculpture by local artist Andrey Frangulyan.  Our room had a large picture window overlooking the renovated TSUM, the Central Department Store (and what used to be the little sister to GUM, the State Department Store, on Red square).  We also had a view into the dance studios of theater school next door where we watched dancers going through their routine nightly.  My only gripe about the room was that with all the dramatic lighting, it was quite dark and difficult to read but I suppose that with dim moody lighting, everyone and everything looks good.

Breakfast was a wonderful spread at the very quiet The Park restaurant on the second floor.  I also had the chance to enjoy a solo sushi lunch at the top floor Conservatory Lounge on one of the snowy days, of which we had several during the week.  Room service was impeccable and the set-up was impressive - from the heavy silver tray to the crisp white linen, eating at the Park Hyatt was a pleasure and a great way to re-experience Moscow, my old home.

___________________________

ARARAT PARK HYATT MOSCOW

4 Neglinnaya Street

Moscow,  Russia, 109012

Tel: +7 495 783 1234

Fax: +7 495 783 1235

Email: moscow.park@hyatt.com

The Expat Weekend Brunch

Brunch is the one of the highlights of the expat weekend.

In every place I've lived, there has always been one particular place that we end up spending almost every Saturday and/or Sunday morning in. These places are all unique and as far as I know, none of them are franchises.

Lots of different places could have been included but I set a few parameters to make the list: it should open early and/or stay open all day, serve good coffee and a selection of breakfast items, carry foreign newspapers and magazines and most important of all, cater to other expats. Here's my list arranged by city in alphabetical order:

BALI

Ku De Ta - Jalan Laksmana no. 9, Seminyak, +62 361 736969

Ku De Ta's location right on the beach coupled with its' chic design makes it a one-of-a-kind breakfast place and an expat magnet. It opens early and is a restaurant/bar/beach club/cigar lounge all rolled into one. Dinner is good too and needless to say, the place is pumping all night long and with the sun loungers and great breakfasts, you won't even have to go home at dawn.

BUENOS AIRES

bar6 - Armenia 1676, Palermo Viejo, +54 11 4833 6807

My sister-in-law, Silvia, took me here for lunch several years ago and we really enjoyed it. Ever since then, my husband and I make it a point to stop by bar6 each time we visit Buenos Aires. They open from 8 a.m. till late and are usually full. The crowd is a mix of artsy locals, chic Porteños and expats. Great for hanging out with a book and a coffee, brunch on the weekend or even after-dinner drinks when they pump up the music with the in-house DJ. Also an excellent stop for when you explore Palermo Viejo's shops.

DUBAI
Lime Tree Café - Beach Road (across the Jumeirah mosque) +971 4 349 8498

Although this is more of a deli than a classic breakfast place (they don't have the full eggs and bacon option) it's on this list because it has a great selection of sandwiches and salads, a cool-looking interior and lots of people hanging around. It's fine to go it alone or with kids or a deux - this place is casual and friendly. You can always enjoy a large coffee with an even larger slice of homemade cake or linger over a salad and sandwich lunch. They have a small front garden with outdoor tables but with the desert heat, better to grab a table inside or upstairs on the breezier terrace. This being Dubai and liquor licenses almost impossible to come by, the Lime Tree Cafe is a non-alcoholic hangout.

PARIS
Coffee Parisien - 4, rue Princesse 6ème arrondissement +33 1 43 54 18 18 (also in the 16th and Neuilly)

I first came here in the early 1993 when it was hidden away in a small street off the boulevard St. Germain. It was packed to the rafters every weekend with English-speaking expats clamoring for weekend brunch. My sister and I spent many Saturday mornings here waiting for a table. It was also our choice for when we just needed a hamburger and a milkshake. The atmosphere was noisy and crowded and the tight tables conducive to making friends. It's still the same except now they've moved to larger premises beside the Village Voice bookshop on the Rue Princesse. they've also branched out in the Rive Droite and Neuilly. Coffee Parisien continues to cater to expats but there are lots of locals as well looking for a taste of America. Breakfast and brunch are still on the menu along with those famous hamburgers as well as a large selection of daily specials, sandwiches and salads.

MARBELLA
Terra Sana - C/Las Malvas, Edif. On-Line, Nueva Andalucia (+34 952 906 205)

Lots of places in Marbella serve breakfast and are open all day but Terra Sana's food quality, free Wi-fi, numerous magazines and newspapers, friendly staff and all sorts of expats under the Spanish sun make it the best choice in town. There are plenty of breakfast options and Lavazza coffee plus a super selection of wraps and salads along with a daily changing list of specials. There is an extensive wine list as well and a daily happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Pity that the one near us closed recently so now we have to drive down to Puerto Banus to get our Terra Sana fix.

MOSCOW
Starlite Diner - 16 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ulitsa +7495 290 9638

It's been ages since I've set foot in Moscow but I hear from my friends that the Starlite is still there. When they opened in the early 90's, it quickly became the place to have breakfast on the weekends. It's conveniently located in a small park off the ring road and is basically an aluminum trailer kitted out as a typical diner with the standard interiors - red leatherette booths, Formica-topped tables, bar stools, black and white checked linoleum and ketchup and mustard in squeeze bottles. The only thing missing here is the gum-chewing smart aleck waitress (or maybe not anymore). The all-American menu and the fact that it's open 24 hours is a real draw. It's probably the only place in town where you see expat couples and families sharing the space with party goers who just finished clubbing all night tucking into their fried breakfasts on the weekend. Not the place for a lover's tryst but great for a midnight snack on those long, dark Moscow winters.

SANTIAGO

Cafe Melba - Don Carlos 2898 - off Av. El Bosque Norte, +56 2 232 4546

This cafe serves all the typical breakfast items and lots of newspapers and magazines if you decide to eat solo. In the El Bosque area, it's where you go for brunch or lunch. Cafe Melba's Aucklander owner, Dell, is there to check that everything is running smoothly and those frothy cappuccinos keep coming.

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These next ones on my list are not necessarily expat hangouts but are great places for breakfast that both tourists and locals frequent and where we used to go.


MONTREAL
Beauty's - 93, Avenue Mont-Royal West corner St. Urbain, Mile End +1 514 849 88 83

Opened in 1942 as a simple place for workers to get a decent meal by Hymie and Freda Skolnick. This place has become a Montreal institution. Hymie still hangs out at the counter and assigns seating to everyone walking in while his son helps out. It's a great place for breakfast and has a strong local clientele who have been going there for years. Visiting celebrities enjoying Montreal's party scene are also frequent diners. The menu is simple but has all you expect from a typical diner and the mixed crowd and people watching is always lots of fun. Sit at the counter if you're alone and strike up a conversation with Hymie about the good old days. Keep in mind though that this isn't a place to hang out with a cup of coffee (except when on weekday afternoons when it's a bit quiet). Eat up and pay before Hymie seats someone else at your table.


NEW YORK
E.A.T. - 1064 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10128 (bet. 80th & 81st) +1212 772 0022

There are loads of interesting brunch options in Manhattan where power brunches rank high on the weekend social agenda. If you're in the mood for "painfully hip" then Balthazar in Soho is the place to go but in my opinion, Eli Zabar's E.A.T. on Madison is where you get to see the locals, or at least the "upper east side locals". There is an excellent deli and takeaway service, wonderful breads and pastries but also a bustling cafe in the back with serving breakfast items and excellent deli sandwiches all day long.

NAPA VALLEY

Gordon's Cafe and Wine Bar - 6770 Washington St Yountville, CA 94599 +1707-944-8246

Yountville's main street boasts several fine dining establishments including The French Laundry, probably the most well-known restaurant in America. At the very end of this street across the gas station is a small unassuming one-story building with a large front porch and a screen door. Step inside and you immediately understand why I love this place. It's small and cozy and not pretentious. There are lots of delicious things to eat and the valley's movers and shakers stroll in and out for breakfast or coffee.