New Traditions

SibirSibir 

A transplant to Moscow from Novosibirsk, SibirSibir specializes in Siberian cuisine both traditional and contemporary. To build the menu, the restaurant delved into the culinary archives and the depths of the Siberian taiga, discovering hundred-year-old methods of cooking that had been forgotten. The ingredients are just as unusual, even sending Russians to their smartphones toGoogle muksun, capercaillie, and agaric. You’ll enjoy salted fish, Siberian dumplings and pinecone jams. Don’t miss the wide selection of infused vodkas. 

Ulitsa Smolenskaya, 8.Metro Smolenskaya.

sibirsibir.ru

Matryoshka

Mixing pre-revolutionary aesthetics with a hint of steampunk, this restaurant will make you feel like you’ve stepped back one hundred years in time. In fact, it mimics some of Moscow’s great restaurants from the turn of the century — in style as well as in its menu. Here you can dine like Tolstoy’s heroes on caviar and blini, beef stroganoff, and borshch, as well as a number of creative meat and fish dishes, all inspired by classic Russian recipes. 

Kutuzovsky Prospekt, 2/1 Bldg. 6.Metro Kievskaya.

matryoshka-rest.ru

Grand Cafe Dr. Zhivago 

The name is misleading, because this place has little or nothing to do with the novel. But it is one of Moscow’s trendiest restaurants, and, located in the Hotel National and with huge open windows looking onto the Kremlin, it’s difficult to beat. The menu selection is terrific, featuring traditional Russian gourmet dishes with a contemporary flair, including cold smoked fish, different types of caviar, dumplings with fish, crab, or duck and lavish soups and salads. A gourmand’s delight.

15/1 Mokhovaya Ulitsa. Metro Okhotny Ryad. 

drzhivago.ru

Delicatessen 

Combining innovative recipes with home-style cozy interiors, Delicatessen is the perfect place to experience the new era of Moscow dining. With dishes ranging from diaphragm steak with lime and coconut mashed potatoes to grilled tongue with black chanterelle cream, one thing you may be sure of is that you’re in for a surprise. And as for the cocktail bar, with dozens of creative choices chalked onto the walls of the restaurant, your only limit is your own imagination — and Delicatessen can help you with that.

20 Sadovaya-Karetnaya, Bldg 2.Metro Mayakovskaya. 

newdeli.ru

Haggis

Take Russian and British cooking traditions, mix them together, put them in a typical British pub, place it in the center of Moscow, and you get Haggis— a cutting-edge gastropub whose dishes combine familiar flavors in unique ways to make something entirely new. Serving everything from Scotch pies with wild deer to chicken liver pate with jellied cider, the pub is a love letter to the two cultures. Add to that its inexhaustible drinks menu, featuring craft beer from seven countries, and there’s no better place to spend an evening.

15 Petrovka Ulitsa, Bldg. 1 Metro Teatralnaya. 

en.haggispub.ru

Proliv

Proliv has become a hip magnet for Moscow’s intelligentsia. With its inviting menu and atmosphere, the restaurant’s others strong attraction is an installation by the Russian artist and architect Alexander Brodsky. It resembles an open-air bar on a seashore. There’s a small table where visitors can have a drink, while looking around and listening to the sound of the sea and seagulls. The restaurant’s dining-room interior can be best defined as “shabby chic,” with a decor reminiscent of a pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg apartment. Proliv’s menu blends well with its comfortable atmosphere, with traditional Russian cuisine given inventive twists and a modern flair.

12 Nikitsky Bulvar. Metro Arbatskaya.

prolivproliv.ru

Vinoteka Abrau-Durso

Abrau-Durso Wine House is the leading Russian producer of sparkling and still wines; and Vinoteka Abrau-Durso provides a rare format for a Moscow venue, one in which the leading role is given to sparkling wines, with the accompanying food specially designed to highlight the tastes of the wines. The restaurant is situated in the historic GUM, one of Moscow’s most prestigious shopping malls. In this place, the histories of two legendary brands merge. The wine list offers a full selection of sparkling wines, still wines, cocktails based on wine and sparkling wine, and Russian wines from VedernikovWinery and Usadba Divnomorskoye. The bar also serves exquisite European and Russian cuisine, including Pacific crab canapés, Russian sturgeon, ceviche, baked starlet, caviar, oysters, mussels, bruschetta and snails – as well as a tempting dessert menu and other tasty treats. Moreover, Vinoteka Abrau-Durso offers lectures and themed master-classes. Upon request, the staff gives private wine tastings.

3 Red Square. Metro Okhotny Ryad.

abrau.ru

Soup-café 

If you’ve already had your fill of the classic borshch and shchi, Soup-café is the place to go. A cornucopia of flavors, the restaurant aims to collect every recipe under the sun — and it’s at 127 and counting. Visitors can let their worries drain away as they sip kharcho or Boston cheddar and enjoy Soup-café’s cozy atmosphere. And if they want to experiment at home, the restaurant’s got them covered: From Creole gumbo to the millennial favorite, avocado soup, Soup-café’s website boasts a recipe for every taste.

17 Skakovaya Ulitsa.Metro Belaruskaya.

soupcafe.ru

Pho

Located in Danilovsky market, one of the trendiest food spots in Moscow, Pho is a gem within the city’s developing international food scene. Faithfully followingVietnamese culinary traditions, the restaurant offers soups, fresh mangos and, of course, their namesake pho — a rich Vietnamese soup filled with herbs, rice noodles and meat for those who want it. Add the pepper if you dare, and be sure to come in hungry — the serving size is generous enough for two. And other tempting eats beckon from all over the market.

74 Mytnaya Ulitsa. Metro Tulskaya.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/B%C3%B4/421354388204497

Korchma Taras Bulba

As you enter the tavern —or korchma, as they call it in Ukranian — you find yourself enveloped in the warmth and hospitality of an old Ukrainian kitchen. Taras Bulba has it all: bright fabrics with traditional motifs, folk art, a soundtrack of Ukranian tunes and, most importantly, an extensive menu chock-full of beloved Ukrainian dishes, from smalets and draniki to vareniki and pampushki.Soups, naturally, are in pride of place as the core of every meal, and Taras Bulba is one of the best places to try real Ukrainian solyanka or sorrel borshch. 

Multiple locations.

tarasbulba.ru

Have a Nice Day

It’s not always easy to find vegetarian food in Moscow, but Have A Nice Day sets out to offer its customers plenty of creative veggie, raw and simply healthy options. The restaurant strives to promote a balanced, conscientious lifestyle, and its breezy, uncluttered interior and summer smoothies are enough to make visitors feel lighter and more at ease. If that doesn’t tempt you, their vegetarian chowder, cauliflower cream soup and raw cold soup with asparagus and avocado should certainly put it on your radar.

15 Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. 

hndcafe.com

White Rabbit

From its location on the 16th floor of Smolensky Passage, White Rabbit offers its visitors stunning views of the city as they taste the restaurant’s many innovative dishes. Every Russian classic is brought to the next level as borshch gets a filling of crucians, baked beans and turnip crisps, and simple pies are re-imagined to contain grouse and mushrooms, or veal and beef tongue. The restaurant’s special pride, however, is its unique set of vegan dishes: moving with the times, they provide sun-dried beet tartare, star-shaped pumpkin ravioli and much more.

3 Smolenskaya Ploshchad. Metro Smolenskaya.

whiterabbitmoscow.ru/en

Expedition.North Cuisine 

The legendary restaurant Expedition. North Cuisine has been around for 16 years, and has long been a favorite among Moscow’s adventurous and foodie crowds. Here you can try unique delicacies from the Russian North — products delivered from ecologically clean Russian regions where a regular tourist is unlikely to ever set foot. The dishes, from the traditional “Aybarch” stroganina of reindeer to “Baikal Port” — lightly marinated Baikal omul with onion sand garlic — are prepared using unique and creative recipes. The interior of the restaurant immerses visitors in the atmosphere of a real expedition: Siberian cedar furniture, a real MI-2 helicopter and a mountain river under your feet.

6 Pevcheskiy Pereulok.Metro Kitai Gorod.

expedicia-restaurant.ru

Goodman

If you treat meat as a cult or a religion, you’ve come to the right place. At Goodman steakhouses they know everything there is to know about good meat, as well as how to cook it to perfection. Come and check out their menu, bursting with tantalizing options from beef cheek burgers to beef ribs in raspberry sauce to pastrami on a piece of farmers bread — the list of wonders just goes on and on. If you’re more into the original steaks, try the Tomahawk and you’ll experience the sublime combination of perfectly charred outside and luscious rare-red center. And don’t despair if you’re more into fish and seafood: Between grilled octopus, crab cakes, and fresh melt-in-your-mouth seabass, you’re sure to find your new favorite dish.

Multiple locations: goodman.ru

Chicago Grill & Bar 

An upscale take on the classic American steakhouse, Chicago Grill & Bar aims to deliver the best, juiciest piece of meat you’ve ever had. The elegant, warm interior creates an intimate atmosphere perfect for a date, business meeting or family outing, while those in the mood fora more rowdy evening will feel right at home at the restaurant’s well-stocked bar — a long-time favorite hangout for the foreign business community in Moscow. Witha remarkable selection of open-fire steaks, ranging from the standard filet mignon and rib eye to ChicagoGrill’s signature Machete or Denver, the restaurant is a carnivore’s paradise. It has a great wine list too.

8 Strastnoi Bulvar.Metro Pushkinskaya.

chicagogrill.ru

Bamboo.Bar

Feeling like something tropical smack in the center of the city? And in the center of MoscowCity, to be exact? Then Bamboo.Bar is the place for you. This exotic tropical culinary island serves up tasty pan-Asian cuisine in a comfortable atmosphere located between the concrete and glass jungle of the Moscow City business center and the Presnenskaya Embankment. It takes up two floors and has a twelve-meter long bar, a famous summer terrace and some of the most glamorous parties in the city. The head chef, Sergei Kozhakov, offers guests a unique menu of traditional pan-Asian dishes that are inspired by his gastronomic journeys throughout Asia.

8 Presnenskaya Naberezhnaya, bldg  . 1. Metro Delovoy Center.

bamboobar.su/en

Pescatore 

Located next to Strelka Baron Bolotny Island — Moscow’s hip heartland — this seafood restaurant caters to an entirely different audience with its fish-themed décor. Restaurateur Andrei Zaitsev, Pescatore’s owner, is a semi-professional angler in his spare time, and his passion for exquisite seafood resonates throughout his restaurant. An open kitchen and a mountain of ice displaying the restaurant’s choicest seafood greets all visitors. Sometimes afresh catch by the owner himself is offered as a special dish. Diners can ask for items on display to be prepared to their specifications. Pair your meal with a glass of wine from the extensive offering and enjoy the ebb and flow of the crowds meandering around the island.

16/9 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Metro Kropotkinskaya, Polyanka. 

pescatore-moscow.ru

Pyany Crab i Schastlivaya Kuritsa

Find yourself on the streets of California as you settle down for a meal at Pyany Crab iSchastlivaya Kuritsa (literally, DrunkCrab and Happy Chicken). Set up with vintage finds from San Francisco flea markets and the owners’own photographs of California, the restaurant is as authentically WestCoast as they come. Seafood runs the show, as shrimp come in all shapes and sizes, from marinated with mango to shrimp tempura; and crab dishes take it up an extra notch. You can take a crack at a whole baked Kamchatka or snow crab, or get everyone’s favorite, the crab cakes — but if you do, know you’ll be hooked for life.

6 Bolshoi Sukharevski Pereulok.Metro Sukharevskaya, Trubnaya.

facebook.com/drunk.crab

Tin Woodman Bar

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then TinWoodman is the most important place in the city. Serving all-day American breakfasts and burgers, this restaurant has one goal: to make you leave happier than you came in. The staff greets you like an old friend; the cocktails are creative and never fail to do their magic; and the feta burger is to die for. Perhaps best of all, the bar is next door to one of Moscow’s must-see sites: the Moscow State University’senchanting Botanical Gardens. After a few hours’ walk through the exotic plants and flowers, you’re sure to work up an appetite for the deluxe breakfast of eggs, burger, tater tots, toast and jam.

26 Prospekt Mira. Metro Prospekt Mira.

facebook.com/tinwoodmanmsk

Brisket BBQ

This place is heaven and even the most discerning Texan would agree. A joint venture by innovative chefs Fyodor Tardatyan and Maxim Livsi along with Arkady Novikov, Moscow’s best-known restaurateur, Brisket BBQ brings the cooking culture of Texas into the heart of Russia’s capital. Inspired by Tardatyan’s visits to the Lone Star State, where he got a chance to discover all the secrets of the trade firsthand, the restaurant is a Texan style barbecue: The meat is prepared in a traditional smoker at low temperatures and takes several hours to cook, giving it that unmistakable smoky flavor. Offering an overwhelming array of dishes, from its namesake brisket — a cut of beef or veal from the breast or lower chest— to pulled pork or smoked quarter of duck, Brisket BBQ has something new for each visitor. Once you’ve come in from the bustling streets of Moscow and settled in a booth, the restaurant’s tiled walls and simple modern interior give the impression that you’re actually in the U.S. And even Texan tourists, skeptically entering the restaurant, ready to catch every mistake, end the meal with a glass of moonshine and feeling like they never left home.

15 Smolensky Bulvar. Metro Park Kultury, Smolenskaya.

brisketbbq.business.site